Who among the following founded the Hindu Dharma Sabha in the 19th century?
- A.Radhakanta Deb
- B.Ram Mohan Roy
- C.Dwarkanath Tagore
- D.Keshab Chandra Sen
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Radhakanta Deb. The orthodox Calcutta leader founded the Dharma Sabha in 1830 to defend traditional Hindu practices against the reformers.
Raja Radhakanta Deb (1784–1867) was a scholar who compiled the Sanskrit encyclopaedia Shabdakalpadruma and was a leading figure of Calcutta society. When Lord William Bentinck abolished sati in 1829 with Ram Mohan Roy's support, Radhakanta Deb and other conservatives set up the Dharma Sabha in 1830 and petitioned the Privy Council in London to restore the practice; the appeal failed in 1832. The Sabha also opposed widow remarriage, though Radhakanta Deb supported the education of girls.
Option B is wrong because Ram Mohan Roy was the reformer who founded the Atmiya Sabha (1815) and the Brahmo Sabha (1828), the very groups the Dharma Sabha opposed. Option C is wrong because Dwarkanath Tagore was an industrialist and Ram Mohan Roy's associate. Option D is wrong because Keshab Chandra Sen led the Brahmo Samaj of India (1866).
Exam tip: Dharma Sabha (1830) = Radhakanta Deb, against the abolition of sati; Brahmo Sabha (1828) = Ram Mohan Roy.
Practice Questions
View allThe class of Amar Nayakas in Vijayanagara is a reference to which of the following?
- A.Village Chieftains
- B.Senior Civil Servants
- C.Tributary Chiefs
- D.Military Commanders
Show answer
The amara-nayakas were military commanders to whom the Vijayanagara rulers gave territories to govern. Under the amara-nayaka system, a key political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire, the king granted a commander an area of land called amaram.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following European travellers never returned to Europe and settled down in India?
- A.Duarte Barbosa
- B.Manucci
- C.Tavernier
- D.Bernier
Show answer
The Venetian Niccolao Manucci came to India as a boy, spent the rest of his life here, and died in India in the early eighteenth century.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following sources tells us about women protesting against the infidelity of their husbands or the neglect of the wife and children by the male head of the household?
- A.The Kitab-ul-Hind
- B.Documents belonging to the Village Panchayats of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra
- C.Sculptures from Mandor
- D.The Ain-i-Akbari of Abul Fazl
Show answer
These records preserve petitions that women sent to the panchayat seeking redress. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries village panchayats settled disputes and punished misconduct.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army of independent India?
- A.S. M. Srinagesh
- B.K. M. Cariappa
- C.K. S. Thimayya
- D.K. S. Rajendrasinhji
Show answer
General K. M. Cariappa took over as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army on 15 January 1949. He succeeded General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British chief, and the day he took charge is celebrated every year as Army Day on 15 January.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements with regard to the speech of Mahatma Gandhi at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University are correct? 1. He charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor. 2. He asserted that our salvation can come only through the farmers. 3. He highlighted the plight of the untouchables. 4. He promised to take up the cause of the mill owners of Ahmedabad. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1, 2, 3 and 4
- B.1 and 2 only
- C.1, 2 and 3 only
- D.3 and 4 only
Show answer
At the opening of Banaras Hindu University in February 1916, Gandhi criticised the elite for ignoring the poor and said India's salvation lay with its farmers.
Read the full explanation →