Ancient India produced great writings in Sanskrit - Vedas, Puranas, the Great Epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, Budhist writings and many more - the quality and depth of which are unprallelled anywhere else in the World. Yet, at the end of the 20th century, we see that many parts of India are in a state of development (both material and spiritual) which is not very different from what was about 3000 years ago! There is enough to prove that many areas have gone backward!
Obviously something has gone wrong somewhere! Over the centuries, there have been no shortage of religious leaders in India. There is no record that any of them advocated violence or evil means. Still, the inequality and superstitions we see in some parts of India are appauling! After careful analysis we have come to the conclusion that eventhough we had many religious leaders in recent centuries, very few of them can be classified as reformers. By and large a religious "reformation" never took place in India! Recall that it was "Reformation" which saved Christianity in Europe.
Having said that, we see some sparklings of change here and there. Most notably Bengal had been the cradle of Indian reformation. Rajaram Mohun Roy, Ramakrishna Paramahasmar, Swami Vivekanada are the most notable among them. Bengal also produced great literary figures who enhanced these reformation movements - Benkim Chandra Chatterji and Tagore, to name a few. In the southern state of Kerala there was another great social leader at the end of the 19th century - Narayana Guru who called for reformation in "hindu" society, with great success. These movements which took place in Bengal and Kerala, at different times with some overlap, had its impact in the societies of these two states in India. Both had long spell of leftist governments, both had popular movements for the enhancement of the common man, both produced literature dealing with issues of common man. This forum is dedicated to the great reformers who called for change in relgious beliefs, change in society and change in social fabric. They all looked forward and stood firmly for views which sometimes were out of phase with the existing dogmas and times.
The reformation in Bengal, was mostly led by somewhat elites of the society who were fortunate enough (those days) to have good English Education (except Ramakrishna Paramahamsar). Naturally they got more exposure in the rest of India and the West. The changes which took place in Kerala at the grass root level, was led by someone who did not belong to the higher echelons of Society. The great reformers of Bengal played the role of "Martin Luther", whereas, as a recent author - Bill McKibben - correctly put it "activists like Sri Narayana Guru had to be both Martin Luther and Martin Luther King" at the same time! There is not much known about Narayana Guru in the West, and for that matter even in the rest of India. In this information age, we dedicate this forum to the teachings of the Guru and its great relevance in the 21st Century.