Barisal Brahmo Samaj
His elder brother Kali Mohan Das, who later became a famous lawyer of Kolkata High Court, then used to practice in Barisal. He provided him shelter and gave him some books of Theodore Parker. His elder brother asked him to read the books before deciding about his religion. On reading the books he changed his opinion and instead of converting to Christianity, joined the Brahmo Samaj.
He got together his friends and established a Brahmo Samaj at Barisal. In order to enlighten devotees, he invited Brahmo preachers from Kolkata to visit Barisal and deliver lectures. Education of women was top priority. He organised many functions and festivals. Soon, Barisal became a great centre of Brahmo activity.
In the course of time, the great controversy about remarriage of widows engulfed entire society and Durga Mohan Das plunged forward into that movement. He and his friends publicly promised to organise remarriage of widows. He offered financial support to such couples because they had to undergo severe social boycott. He even went to the extent of getting his young widowed step mother married to a friend of his. That brought in opposition from entire society. His earnings dwindled because people boycotted him but he remained steadfast in his mission. There were few people, other than Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar who have contributed so much to the cause of remarriage of widows. Mention may be made of another person in East Bengal who had also contributed substantially to this cause - Braja Sundar Mitra.
It was during this period that the sons of Raj Chandra Roy, zemindar of nearby Lakhutia, joined the Brahmo Samaj and strengthened the movement. One day they took their wives with them to the residence of the English commissioner. That created such a sensation that it reverberated beyond Barisal, across Bengal and became a talking point in Kolkata society, because that was an age when women of respectable families never came out in public from the inner precincts of their houses. Later, the noted Brahmo reformer Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee married into this family. That happened to be a great social event in those days.
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