Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday said Rammohun Roy was a pathfinder in introducing social reforms in the country. Addressing a programme on the 251st birth anniversary celebration of the icon at the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation, he said the great social reformer who was one of the doyens of the Indian renaissance did what he felt was necessary for the welfare of women and the society.

"He went against the prevailing system then and stood up for ending what he felt were the ills of the society," said Meghwal, the Union MoS for Culture. The minister said that when people came around Roy in support of his ideas, he formed the Brahma Samaj.

"Raja Rammohun had the biggest contribution in the banning of the Sati system in the country," he said. Apart from being a great social reformer, Roy was an acclaimed scholar and had mastered several languages, including Sanskrit, Urdu and French, he said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that the Indian society has the inherent power to cleanse itself of any ills that may creep into it," Meghwal stated, adding that Roy, a tiger from Bengal's soil, was one such towering personality who rose to the occasion to cleanse the society of the wrongs in it in the 19th century.

The unfinished job of Roy in achieving widow marriage in the society was taken forward by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, another great scholar and social reformer, he said.?Mahatma Phule of Maharashtra and several other stalwarts, and also the Ramakrishna Mission, played a role in bringing changes in the society, Meghwal said.

He said that despite being busy with the new responsibility of the Law and Justice Ministry, he kept his promise to attend this glorious programme.?The minister formally released a commemorative coin of Rs 250 made by the India Government Mint to mark the 251st birth anniversary of Roy. He also released a commemorative stamp and first day cover made by the postal department to mark the occasion.