Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian reformer, a great scholar and independent thinker. He is considered as 'Father of modern India'. He was given the title of Raja by Akbar Shah II, the Mughal emperor. He was among the first few people who fought against the social evils in Indian society and education system.

Ram Mohan Roy was born on 22 May 1772, Radhanagar, Bengal. He was influenced by the ideology of his parents, father Ramkanta and mother Tarini Devi from early childhood. Ram Mohan Roy completed  his formal education in the village school 'Pathsala' where he learned Bengali, some Sanskrit and Persian. Studied on a Madrasa in Patna for some time and then was sent to Banaras. In Banaras, he became proficient in Sanskrit and learnt Hindu scriptures.

Here are 5 important facts about Ram Mohan Roy:

1. He founded Brahmo Samaj, a social-religious reform movement in India. He opposed the superstitions and orthodox rituals in Hinduism. He was criticized by people for his modern and scientific opinions many times.

2. Ram Mohan Roy was a scholar, proficient in Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi and English. He translated Vedas and Upanishads into Bengali, Hindi and English. 

3. Ram Mohan Roy led many protests and wrote petitions to the British to abolish the 'Sati' practices. Because of his efforts, in 1829 the British government banned 'Sati Pratha'.

4. Roy also opposed child marriage, dowry and polygamy, the social evils of our society at that time. He actively worked for upliftment of women in Indian society and demanded for property inheritance rights for women.

5. Roy believed education is the foundation of any social reform movement. In 1817, in collaboration with David Hare, Scottish watchmaker and philanthropist he set up Hindu College in Bengal. He started India's first English medium school in Kolkata in 1822, which is later called as Anglo-Hindu school.

Ram Mohan Roy was one of the great influential personalities, contributing towards modernizing Indian society. He died on 27 September 1833, at Bristol, United Kingdom.