In the Pre-colonial period the extent of religious and social thinking was confined to the conservation of the age - old beliefs, usage, customs, and traditions. But with the establishment of British colonial state the conservative tradition had received a rude shock. Unemployment, poverty and decadence consumed the fading Mughal aristocracy. Consequently the control of the aristocracy on the society was slackened. An jemerging middle class, a direct outcome of the colonial rule, was gradually emerging to dominate both in the urban and rural areas. It was the feeling of that middle class that age-worn social and religious institutions must be reformed. The first quarter of the nineteenth century had witnessed the initial phase of the new reformist mind in the persons of Haji Shariatullah, Titumir, Ram Mohan Roy, Debendranath and others. Reform movements among the Muslims and Hindus commenced nearly simultaneously. In Bengal the reform movements began with Haji Shariatullah (1781-1840). He was influenced mainly by three Islamic thinkers. They were Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab (1703- 1787) of Arabia, Shah Waliullah (1703-1763) and Syed Ahmed Shaheed (1786-1831). But Shariatullah initiated his reforms being influenced by unique religious and socio-economic background. In the pre or post palashi period the intellectuals of the eroded, infirm and decadent Muslim society failed to feel the need of immediate reform. As leadership from the educated upper class was not forthcoming, the vacuum was filled from the grassroot level and the need for such reforms came from their understanding of life
