ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a movement arose within the Ramanandi sampradaya to declare the total independence of Ramanandis from the Ramanuji sampradaya. In Galta, the Ramanandi sampradaya was recognized as part of the catuh sampradayas, and specifically of the Ramanuji sampradaya, although the two sampradayas did have some key differences on religious beliefs and behaviours. Bhagavadacarya was a charismatic individual who led a radical movement to demonstrate the independence of the Ramanandi sampradaya from that of Ramanuja. Bhagavadacarya received the title of Jagadguru Ramanandacarya during the 1977 Kumbh Mela of Prayag. The history of the Ramjanmabhumi movement has its outset in the middle of the nineteenth century, when tensions began to arise between Muslims and Ramanandis from the Hanuman Garhi over the issue of territory. New Jagadgurus could be accepted by the Ramanandi sampradaya because historically the group never had a leader to organize it.
