They Showed Us the Way

There are some great personalities in each country who play a vital role in its growth and development. India too has been blessed with many such people. There have been social reformers, scientists, artists and great ancient rulers. All these people have contributed significantly to make our country a great nation. 

Social Reformers - Despite many religious faiths, our society has been facing many social evils. Social reformers are the people who try to fight against the evil practices prevalent in a society. Let us know about some notable social reformers of India. 

Saint Kabir - Kabir was born near Varanasi more than five hundred years ago. He was a weaver by profession. He was against the caste system and idol worship. He attacked hypocrisy in the society through his couplets (do has). Being an illiterate man, his preachings are in common man's language. He preached that God is one. He greatly influenced the Bhakti Movement in India. 

Raja Ram Mohan Roy - Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born in Bengal in 1772 during the period of British rule in India. His sensitive heart was deeply moved when his sister-in-law was forced to become sati when her husband died. He spent his entire life fighting against evil practices like sari, child marriage and caste system. He started Brahmo Samaj Society in India. 

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan - He was a great reformer who did a lot to improve the conditions of Muslims. He was opposed to the injustice done to Muslim women and purdah system. According to him, education was very important to change the society. He realised that due to lack of education, most of the Muslims had to lead a miserable life. Therefore, he started a college at Aligarh which later came to be known as Aligarh Muslim University. 

Ramabai Ranade - Ramabai Ranade was a social reformer of Maharashtra. She holds a place of pride among the women social reformers. She founded the Poona Seva Sadan where girls were trained as nurses. It also worked for the welfare of orphans and widows. Ramabai also helped poor widows by arranging suitable jobs for them. 

Scientists - Since ancient times, India has given great scientists to the world who have made valuable contributions in various fields of science, mathematics, astronomy and medical sciences. The concept of zero was given by an Indian mathematician. The decimal system was also invented by the Indians. The Arabs learnt these mathematical systems from Indians and carried them to the western world. The Arabs called these numbers Hindsa. 

Two well-known Indian astronomers of ancient times are Aryabhatta and Varahamihira. Charaka and Sushruta were famous physicians of ancient India. Even today, India is proud of having many renowned scientists who are well-known throughout the world. Sir C.V. Raman discovered the Raman Effect in the field of physics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1930. He also received Bharat Ratna in 1955.

Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose was a botanist. He was the first one to claim that plants have life. He invented Crescograph which is used to measure the growth of plants. Homi Jehangir Bhabha is called the 'Father of Indian Nuclear Science'. He established Homi Bhabha National Institute. Scientists like Raja Ramanna, M.S. Swaminathan, S. Chandrashekhar, Vikram Sarabhai, M.G.K. Menon and Meghnad Saha are among other eminent Indian scientists.

Poets and Dramatists - Since earlier times, music, dance and drama flourished in India. There have been many noted poets and dramatists who left their mark on the sands of time. 

Kalidas - Kalidas is known as one of the earliest poets and dramatists of India. He lived about two thousand years ago. He was a poet in the court of King Chandragupta Vikramaditya. Kalidas wrote his poetry in Sanskrit. His works contain grand description of nature, politics and war. His best poems include Raghuvansham, Kumarasambhavam and Meghdoot. His famous play is Abhijnana Shakuntalam.

Tulsidas - Tulsidas was one of the greatest saint-poets of our country. He is best known for his famous epic Ramcharitmanas. He was born in 1456 at Rajapur near Banda. His mother died soon after his birth. His childhood was spent in utter misery and poverty. During this time, he developed a deep faith in Lord Ram. He spent his entire life composing and singing verses about Shri Ram. Besides Ramcharitmanas, he wrote Vinaya Patrika, Kavitavali, Dohavali, Gitavali and Krishnavali.

Surdas - Surdas was another saint poet. He was born at Brij near Mathura. He was born blind and hence received harsh treatment from his family during his early childhood. One day at the age of six, when he heard a group of devotional singers passing by his home, he simply followed them and left home forever. Soon, Surdas memorised the entire Shrimad Bhagvad Gita and started reciting it to throngs of people, and immersed himself into deep devotion to Krishna. Subsequently, he went on to write some of the greatest works in Hindu philosophy and Bhakti literature, the Sur Sagar, Sur Saravali and Sahitya Lahiri.

Rabindranath Tagore - Rabindranath Tagore is fondly called 'Gurudev'. He was born on 7th May, 1861 at Kolkata. His father's name was Maharshi Debendranath Tagore. He received his early education at home. Later, he went to London to study. As he grew up, his interest in writing stories, poetry, novels and plays also grew. Gora, Gitanjali and Kabuliwala are some of the best-known works of Rabindranath Tagore. He founded Vishva Bharati University. He also wrote our National Anthem. He won Nobel Prize in literature for his book of poems Gitanjali in 1913. Rabindranath Tagore died on 7th August, 1941.

They Showed Us the Way

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