Socio and Religious Reform: Sikh Reform Movements

To strengthen Sikhism, a small group of prominent Sikhs led by Thakur Singh Sandhawalia and Giani Gian Singh founded the Singh Sabha of Amritsar on October 1, 1873.
Objective: To restore Sikhism to its pristine purity, to publish historical religious books and periodicals, to propagate knowledge, to sing Punjabi prayers, to return Sikh apostles to their faith, and to involve Englishmen in the educational programmes of the Sikhs.

Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott in New York in 1875 founded the Theosophical Society.
The headquarters of the Society was established at Adyar near Madras.
The Theosophical Society stood for making a comparative study of all oriental religions, but it considered ancient Hinduism as the most profoundly spiritual religion in the world.
Theosophy subscribed to the spiritual philosophy of Hinduism and its doctrine of Karma and transmigration of the soul.
The beliefs of the Theosophical Society were a strange mixture of religion, philosophy, and occultism.
It preached the universal brotherhood of men irrespective of distinctions of caste, creed, race, or sex. It promoted a spirit of national pride among the Indians.
Annie Besant was a prominent figure in the organisation.