This document summarizes social reform efforts in India. It discusses practices like sati and child marriage that reformers sought to abolish. Key reformers mentioned include Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, and Pandita Ramabai. It also discusses the Hindu caste system and efforts to promote women's education and rights, as well as movements led by figures like Jyotirao Phule, B. R. Ambedkar, and E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker that fought against caste discrimination and untouchability. Overall, the document outlines many social issues in India that reformers addressed from the 19th century through independence.
4. Social practices - india
Sati
Child marriage
Untouchability
Let’s take a look at these.
5. Sati – virtuous women
Women were forced to death
by burning them in the funeral
pyre of their husbands
Raja Ram proved that sati
had no sanction in the indian
texts
6. Abolishing sati
RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY played an
important role in abolishing sati
He felt changes were necessary in the
society
Also, the British were ready to listen to
these reformers as they also criticized
indian customs
9. No child marriage ❌
Child marriage was
abolished on 1 Nov
2007
Man – 21+
Woman – 18+
10. Hindu varna system
BRAHMIN
Teachers and priests
KSHATRIYAS
Warriors and kings who fought
VAISHYAS
Merchants and landowners
SHUDRAS
Peasants and servants, common people
11. Raja ram mohan roy
Brahmo samaj
Spread western education in country
Campaign against Sati
Ensure equality for women
Well versed in sanskrit,persian.etc
Translated an old buddhist text critical of
caste
12. Widow remarriage act-1856
The suggestion of widows
remarriage was accepted
by the British officials and
the law was passed
Many widows did not
remarry due to the fear of
acceptance by the scociety
16. WHY CANT EDUCATE THEM?
People feared to educate girls:
1. Prevent them from domestic
duties
2. Traveling through public
places. This would have a
corrupting influence on them.
17.
18. Reform
Some women were taught at
home by their literate or liberal
fathers and husbands
Mumtaz Ali reinterpreted
verses from the koran to argue
for women’s education
19. Begums of bhopal
Found a primary school for girls at
Aligarh
BEGUM ROKEYA SAKHAWAT
HOSSAIN started schools for
Muslim girls in Patna and Calcutta .
She was a fearless critic of
conservative ideas who argued that
religious leaders of every faith
accorded an inferior place to women
20. Pandita ramabai
Great scholar of sanskrit
Felt Hinduism was oppressive
towards woman
Wrote a book about themiserable
lives of upper caste hindu women
Found a widow’s home at Poona
to train them to live independently
Women were supported
economically
21. The orthodox
Many hindu nationalists felt that hindu
women were corrupting
Hindu culture by adopting
Western ways and values
Orthodox Muslims were worried
at the impact of these changes
22. PROMISES….
Women also started
writing and editing
newspapers and
magazines and also
started setting up women
associations
They started joining
movements from the
1920s
Leaders promised women full suffrage for all after
independence.
23. Caste and social reform
Prarthana samaj
adhered to the
tradition of Bhakti
Paramhans mandali
worked for abolition
of caste
24. POOR WORKERS
The poor began to leave
their villages and started
searching for job
opportunities in the cities . In
this way they could get rid of
the oppressive hold of the
landowners which resided in
their villages
They got work in the army,
municipality as cleaners and
25. Gift of education
Christian missionaries began
setting up schools for tribal
groups and lower castes
Many people thought that
they were doing this to
establish their power
26. Demands for justice
Satnami movement was found by
Ghasidas who aimed to improve the
social status of leather workers
Haridas Thakur Matua’s sect worked
among the chandala cultivators. Haridas
questioned the brahmanical texts that
supported caste system
All these sects were founded by non brahman castes and
those who worked amongst them
27. Shri narayana guru
Proclaimed the ideals of unity for his
people
Argued against people treating them
unequally on the basis of caste
differences
His famous statement:
Oru jati , Oru matham , Oru daivam manushyanu.
28. Jyotirao phule
Vocal amongst low caste leaders
Studied in schools set up by Christian missionaries
He attacked the Brahman’s claim that they were superior to
others as they were Aryans. He argued that Aryans were
invaders who established their dominance in the society
Began to look at the rest of the population as inferior or low
caste
He said the right owners of the land were the( low castes)
He told before Aryan rule there was a time when warrior
peasnts lived peacefully under the just rule of their king
He said that shudras must unite to challenge caste
discrimination
Founder of SATYASHODAK SAMAJ
29. Gulamgiri - slavery
In 1873 , Phule wrote the book ‘
GULAMGIRI’
10 years ago the American Civil War
had been fought .. Led to end of
slavery
Dedicated his book to all Americans
who fought to free slaves
Phule extended his criticism of the
caste system to argue against all forms
of inequality
30. AMBEDKAR
Born into a mahar family
Experienced caste prejudice
On his return to India in 1919,
wrote extensively about the upper
caste power in contemporary
society.
31. Got a
fellowship
to US
1919
Return to
India
1927
Started temple entry
movement in which
MAHARS
participated
1927 to 1935:
Temple entry
movement
32. Periyar
EV RAMASWAMY NAICKER
Middle class family
Ascetic in his early life
Studied sanskrit scriptures
Member of congress
Left congress as he got hurt at a
feast organized by nationalists
Founder of self respect
movement
33. Periyar was an outspoken
critic of Hindu scriptures
These texts had been
used to establish the
authority of brahmans
over lower castes and
domination of men over
women
34. Challenges
Self criticism among upper caste leaders
Reaction of orthodox hindu society
Caste distinction as a cornerstone of Hinduism
Show how this was sanctified by scriptures
Debates and struggles over caste beyond
colonial period
35. Join the historical fun
……
THANKYOU FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION
A presentation by ISHITA
M REJI , VIII A😀