Light on reformer's life
Reviewed by Nirbhai Singh
Rammmohun Roy: A Critical Bibliography
By Amiya P. Sen.
Penguin Books India. Pages xii+211. Rs 450

earlier biographies were based on anecdotes and hearsay gathered from friends and co-workers (27-48). The author in this critical book tries to make us aware that critical work is useful for it removes obscurity in the scattered material (ix-x). The average reader will be happier in handling the present epitomised shorter work.

It is useful for Indians and European and English-speaking readers.

Raja Rammohun Roy was champion of man's liberty and civil rights. Being directly associated with religion and morality, he was crusader for religious tolerance and social reformer.

He reinterpreted Hindu orthodoxy and worked for uplift of women. He abhorred Hindu orthodoxy and advocated abolition of the cruel rite of sati. He was a staunch advocate of politics based on revelatory religious values.

The above contributions by Rammohun are effectively presented in the book. He acquired international recognition as a social reformer and crusader for the rights of women and against social evils. The book is welcome in the pool of Indian thought and social philosophy.

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