ROLE OF RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY IN THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WORK IN INDIA

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born on 22nd May, 1772 in a village of Radhanagar of Hooghly District of Bengal when Britishers took hold over what they called India with a firm grasp and Bengal was already in the grip of social and educational stagnation. He studied multiple religious systems of the past including Buddhism, Sanskrit literature, English, Persian, Arabic to mention a few. His greatest glory lay in this, that in the midst of thick, brooding darkness he saw afar the vision of New India and bravely laboured against large odds. He was not just a founder of a religion and he wanted his countrymen to accept not only the rational and scientific approach but also principles of human dignity and social equity of all men and women. His political, social, educational ideas and activities enriched the field of social work in India. He had done many social work related activities that helped in uplifting Indian society. Social work is a practice based profession that promotes social changes to social development.