Cultural Colonalisation and the Philosophy of Ram Mohan Roy

In Bangla region the process of European cultural colonisation commenced in connection with the British colonial rule. Raja Ram Mohun Roy believed that for the native people the practice of European arts and science will prepare them for their political as well as civil rights. For this reason he became an upholder of this process of cultural colonisation. At that time he tried to establish a monotheistic universal religion. The basis of this religion was philosophical monism. The aim of this essay is to investigate the nature and impact of cultural colonisation on his philosophical thought. In Tuhfat-ul Muwahhidin, we observe Ram Mohun as a consistent rationalist, but later, in the course of cultural colonisation, he changed his position. Under the influence of British utilitarianism he began to accept the social utility of the authority of Vedas. Besides as he was overwhelmed with the modernist concept of homogeneity, he rejected the variety of monotheistic practices of Bengali local culture.