Research context - The Brahmo community

The monotheistic Brahmo Samaj – ‘The Society of the Worshippers of the one True God’ – was founded in Calcutta by Rammohan Roy in 1830. Although branches were established elsewhere, the Brahmo Samaj has been described as a ‘Calcutta phenomenon’ (Roy, 1991: 134). As cosmopolitan modernizers, steeped in the values of the Bengal Renaissance, Brahmos were pioneers in Indian entry to the civil service, travel abroad and the emancipation of women. Brahmos also contributed to the city’s educational, cultural, literary and political life through institutions such as the Brahmo Girls School and City College. Today there are an estimated 10,000 Brahmos in Calcutta in two main centres: near the original ‘Brahmo’ or ‘Samaj para’ around Cornwallis Street and in Bhowanipore (personal communication, K. Dasgupta, 2006). Brahmos have been visiting Britain since the nineteenth century when Rammohan Roy died in Bristol. The London Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1947, the year of Indian Independence. London Brahmos meet to worship at prayer meetings in a variety of halls belonging to the Unitarian Church, particularly in Golders Green. The main festival, Maghotsava, is attended by 70-80 Brahmos. The research will analyse the ways in which Brahmos imagine Calcutta through their participation in the London Brahmo Samaj, The Tagoreans and the Bengali Institute. In Toronto, the research will also investigate the involvement of Brahmos in the Toronto-Calcttua Association and the Bengali Association of Canada. The research will also study the ways in which a diasporic imagination of Calcutta is fostered and recast through Brahmo cultural references and representations, including the writings of Rabindranath Tagore and the films of Satyajit Ray.

The Anglo-Indian community
The Chinese community
The Jewish community

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