SSC
The 'Brahmo Covenant' (Brahmo Dharma pledge), a set of vows for members of the Brahmo Samaj, was drawn up by:
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Answer: Option A — Debendranath Tagore
Detailed Solution
The "Brahmo Covenant" (a set of vows or a pledge for members of the Brahmo Samaj) was drawn up by Debendranath Tagore in the 1840s.
About the Brahmo Covenant:
- After Ram Mohan Roy's death in 1833, the Brahmo Samaj declined.
- In 1843, Debendranath Tagore joined the Brahmo Samaj and revived it.
- He introduced the Brahmo Covenant, a set of vows that members had to take, which included worshipping one God, giving up idol worship, and leading a moral life.
- On 21 December 1843, Debendranath and twenty others formally took the vows; this is regarded as the start of the Brahmo Samaj as an organised religious community.
Other contributions of Debendranath Tagore:
- He compiled the "Brahmo Dharma" (1850), a book of passages from the Upanishads and other texts, as the scripture of the Brahmos.
- He rejected the doctrine that the Vedas were infallible (1850), after studying them, and based Brahmo beliefs on reason, intuition and the Upanishads.
- He set up a Brahmo school and trained preachers.
Splits in the Brahmo Samaj:
- In 1866, Keshab Chandra Sen, who wanted more radical social reforms, broke away and formed the "Brahmo Samaj of India".
- Debendranath's group came to be known as the "Adi Brahmo Samaj".
- In 1878, after Keshab Chandra Sen married his young daughter to the prince of Cooch Behar, some of his followers left him and formed the "Sadharan Brahmo Samaj", led by Shivanath Shastri, Ananda Mohan Bose and others.
About Debendranath Tagore:
- He was the father of Rabindranath Tagore.
- He was called "Maharshi" (great sage).
- He bought land at Bolpur, and founded the Santiniketan ashram (1863).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha; Keshab Chandra Sen and Shivanath Shastri led later branches.
Quick tip
Remember: Brahmo Covenant (1843) = Debendranath Tagore ("Brahmo Dharma", 1850); splits: Brahmo Samaj of India (Keshab, 1866), Sadharan Brahmo Samaj (1878).
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Socio-Religious Reform Movements — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Socio-Religious Reform Movements, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
In the 19th century, reformers worked to remove social evils and revive Indian society. This topic covers organisations such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Theosophical Society, Satyashodhak Samaj and the Aligarh Movement, along with their founders and the social reforms they achieved. Questions usually ask who founded an organisation and when, or which reformer is linked to a reform. For example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj and campaigned against sati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar championed widow remarriage, and Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj. A table of organisation, founder, year and place covers most questions. Practise the socio-religious reform movements questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.