The analysis of the background and existing facts relating to Socio-Religious Reform Movements of the 19th century in India suggest the following to be the main causes for the movements.
ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH RULE
One of the prominent reasons for the social and cultural awakening of the 19th century was the establishment of British Rule in India. British Rule deeply influenced the political, economic, social, and cultural life of the country, which created conditions favorable to intellectual growth.
INVOLVEMENT OF MIDDLE CLASS
The emergence of the enlightened middle class that benefited most from Western education produced early leaders of the Socio-Religious Reform Movements. Since the middle class was widely a part of the urban area, the earliest manifestation of these movements was found in urban areas.
ROLE OF MODERN WESTERN EDUCATION
The introduction of Western education resulted in the growth of intelligentsia and acted as fuel for liberalism and rationalism etc. The educated intelligentsia integrated the Indian masses into a Modern Nation and organized various Socio-Religious Reform Movements in the country.
AWAKENING
There is hardly a major Modern Indian political or social figure, who did not edit or write for the popular Indian language press for the social and cultural awakening. e.g. the Amrit Bazaar Patrika, Som Prakash and Sanjivani in Bengali, Rast Goftar and Gujarat Samachar in Gujarati, Indu Prakash, Dhyan Prakash, Kesari and Sudharak in Marathi, Swadesmitra in Tamil, Andhra Prakasika, Andhra Patrika in Telugu, Matrubhoomi in Malayalam, Hindi Pradeep, Hindustani, Aaj and Pratap in Hindi, Azad, Akhbar-i-Am and Koh-i-Noor in Urdu; and Utkal Dipika in Oriya, were some of the major newspapers of the time.
GROWTH OF THE PRESS AND ITS ROLE
The press acted as a medium of communication and was used as an instrument for building an opinion e.g. from Raja Rammohan Roy to Gandhiji, everyone used the medium of the Press to form and further, their opinions. Raja Rammohan Roy brought out journals in Bengali, Persian, and Hindi to spread scientific temperament among the people. In Maharashtra, a similar role was played by Gopal Hari Deshmukh, popularly known as Lokhitawadi.
Hundreds of Indian-language newspapers and journals made their appearance during the 19th century. They were started not as a profit-making business enterprise, but as an expression of love and social commitment, with a view to disseminate nationalist and reformist ideas among the people.
ROLE OF INDOLOGY
Research by scholars like Sir William Jones, Max Mueller, James Prinsep, RG Bhandarkar, etc supplied Indians with sufficient information related to the formidable cultural achievements of India. This led to the cultural revival of India. The translations of Sanskrit text into English created sensations in the Indian mind and made people realize the greatness and depth of Indian culture and civilization.