RAS question
Who is known as the 'Father of Modern India'?
Correct answer: (C) Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy is known as the Father of Modern India for his pioneering social and religious reforms, including opposition to Sati and support for modern education.
Explanation
Raja Ram Mohan Roy fits the title because the question is testing the early reformist foundation of modern India, not later political leadership. He is linked to pioneering social and religious reform, especially the abolition of Sati and the promotion of modern education. The Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture describes him as an independent and visionary thinker, a great social reformer, philosopher, educationist and journalist, and notes his work for education and the improvement of women’s conditions. It also calls him, in substance, the architect of Modern India. Taken together, these points explain why RAS convention associates the title with Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Jawaharlal Nehru is remembered as an architect of modern India, but the specific title asked here is attached to the early reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
- (B) B.R. Ambedkar is associated with the framing of the Indian Constitution, not with this reform-era title.
- (D) Mahatma Gandhi is known as the Father of the Nation, so that title should not be confused with Father of Modern India.
Concept
This tests the Indian Renaissance and socio-religious reform movements in Modern Indian History. RAS asks such titles because they connect reformers, reform themes and institutional modernisation in one recall point.