In 1812, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, founder of Brahmo Samaj, began to champion the cause of banning "sati" practice. He was motivated by the experience of seeing his own sister-in-law being forced to commit "sati". He visited Kolkata's cremation grounds to persuade widows against immolation, formed watch groups to do the same, sought the support of other elite Bengali classes, and wrote and disseminated articles to show that it was not required by Hindu scripture. He was at loggerheads with Hindu groups which did not want the Government to interfere in religious practices.