Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Brahmo Samaj? 1) It opposed idolatry. 2) It denied the need for a priestly class for interpreting the religious texts. 3) It popularized the doctrine that the Vedas are infallible. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

The correct answer is B. Statements 1 and 2 are correct, and statement 3 is not.

• Statement 1 (correct): Raja Rammohun Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, and it was renamed Brahmo Samaj in 1843. It rejected idolatry, image worship and elaborate ritual, and based its monotheism on the Upanishads.
• Statement 2 (correct): Roy argued that people could approach God directly through reason and devotion. The Samaj had no priestly hierarchy and did not accept priestly mediation in interpreting scripture.
• Statement 3 (wrong): The Brahmo Samaj did not treat the Vedas as infallible. It accepted only selected Upanishadic teachings as authority and rejected the idea that scripture was beyond rational scrutiny. The doctrine of Vedic infallibility was the core of the Arya Samaj under Dayanand Saraswati (founded 1875).

The core concept is rational, monotheistic reform within Hinduism, which connects to the 19th-century socio-religious reform movements of Bengal and to the Mains theme of reform versus revivalism.

Trap: Aspirants often attribute Vedic infallibility to the Brahmo Samaj because it is commonly linked with Hindu revivalism. That belongs to the Arya Samaj.