Prarthana Samaj was founded by Dr. Atmaram Pandurang in 1867 when Keshab Chandra Sen visited Maharashtra with an aim to make people believe in one God and worship only one God. Another leader of Prarthana Samaj was R.G. Bhandarkar. It became popular after Mahadev Govind Ranade joined. Ranade and his followers were unhappy with many religious practices and harmful social customs. They wanted to develop a changed socio-religious outlook among the people in general. They founded the Prarthana Samaj with bold ideas about reforms