Rembrandt Peale
Rammohun Roy, 1833
Oil on canvas
Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, 137982
Rammohun Roy, a revered religious and educational reformer, campaigned for property inheritance rights for women and against the practice of sati. Often referred to as the “Maker of Modern India,” Roy utilized principles from both Western and Indian religions and philosophies to modernize his country. He was perhaps the first Indian to influence early American philosophers.