Rammohan Roy

"A nation that neglects the education of its daughters neglects half its future."

"The chains of custom are often heavier than the chains of iron."

"Reason is the lamp by which all religious truths must be examined."

"Progress demands that we question what our ancestors took for granted."

"The mind freed from superstition is the mind prepared for truth."

"Idolatry of any kind—whether of stone or of tradition—diminishes human dignity."

"A society that respects women will rise; a society that oppresses them will fall."

"The real measure of a man is not his wealth, but his contribution to human welfare."

"Blind obedience to authority is the death of independent thought."

"Every reformer must be prepared to stand alone, at least for a time."

"The unity of the divine cannot be found in multiplied idols, but in unified truth."

"To preserve culture does not mean to preserve its errors along with its virtues."

"The greatest sin is to deny another the light of knowledge."

"Social harmony cannot be built on the foundation of injustice toward half the population."

"A backward society is one that fears the questions of its youth."

"True patriotism lies in improving one's country, not in defending its faults."

"The universe reveals God's character more clearly than any human interpretation."

"To reform religion is not to abandon it, but to purify it."

"Tradition without reason is merely the corpse of wisdom."

"The conscience is the truest guide when unburdened by superstition."

"A people who cannot read will never be free."

"The emancipation of women is the emancipation of society itself."

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but action despite superstitious dread."

"The mind must be exercised like a muscle, or it will atrophy in ignorance."

"Progress is impossible for a nation that venerates its own chains."

"A reformed society begins with reformed individuals."

"The light of science dispels the darkness of blind faith."

"To love one's country is to labor for its improvement."

"Superstition thrives in the soil of ignorance and wilts in the sun of knowledge."

"Every person possesses reason; not all choose to use it."