Provincializing England

Abstract

Rammohun Roy had many reasons for coming to Britain. Some of these have already been discussed. Keeping sati illegal, securing greater Indian participation in judicial administration, and promoting more settlement by the right kind of Europeans were part of a reform agenda he shared with overlapping groups of Britons. There were other political objectives, including representing Akbar II in his claims against the East India Company and learning more about those who now ruled Bengal. Sheer intellectual curiosity was another motivation, as was the desire to meet individuals—particularly Unitarians—he knew through publications or correspondence. Deeply religious, Rammohun wanted to observe spiritual life in the West too. He may also have sought materials for his planned biography of the prophet.¹