SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

The New Dispensation: Keshab Chandra Sen and the Search for Universal Religion in Late Nineteenth-Century Bengal

Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884) has remained a controversial and often misunderstood figure in the historiography of Bengal. Leader of the Brahmo Samaj of India from 1866, he was responsible for increasing the membership, popularity and international status of an organization whose ideals and activities have been regarded by many historians as important to the development of Indian national identity. However, Keshab’s reputation was largely destroyed in 1878 following the scandalous marriage of his daughter to the Maharajah of Cuch Bihar, when his daughter was below the legal marriageable age as defined by a Marriage Act which Keshab himself had fought hard to make law. Following the crisis of Cuch Bihar, Keshab devoted himself to the establishment of a new world religion - the New Dispensation - a movement which has been relatively neglected in the historiography of Bengal. This paper attempts to analyze the ideals and activities of the New Dispensation by placing the movement in the broader context of late-nineteenth century projects of comparative religion as pursued internationally, and by relating its development and decline to the contemporary political, social and cultural landscape.