Class 8 History Chapter 6 Question Answers - Our Pasts III (Part - II)

Q1: Why people such as Rammohun Roy are described as reformers?
Ans: People such as Rammohun Roy are described as reformers because they felt that changes were necessary in society, and unjust practices needed to be done away with.

Q2: Who were Madigas?
Ans: Madigas were an important untouchable caste of present-day Andhra Pradesh. They were experts at cleaning hides, tanning them for use, and sewing sandals.

Q3: What is Hook swinging festival?
Ans: In this popular festival, devotees underwent a peculiar form of suffering as part of ritual worship. With hooks pierced through their skin they swung themselves on a wheel.

Q4: Why did E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker leave the congress?
Ans:  He left it in disgust when he found that at a feast organised by nationalists, seating arrangements followed caste distinctions – that is, the lower castes were made to sit at a distance from the upper castes.

Q5: What was the contribution of the Christian missionaries in spreading education among the tribal group and the lower caste?
Ans:  Christian missionaries set up schools for tribal groups and “lower”-caste children. These children were thus equipped with some resources to make their way into a changing world.

Q6: What did Ambedkar want to achieve through the temple entry movement?
Ans: In 1927, Ambedkar started a temple entry movement, in which his Mahar caste followers participated. Brahman priests were outraged when the Dalits used water from the temple tank. Ambedkar led three such movements for temple entry between 1927 and 1935. His aim was to make everyone see the power of caste prejudices within society.

Q7: Write a short note on Ambedkar?
Ans:  Ambedkar was born into a Mahar family. In 1927, Ambedkar started a temple entry movement, in which his Mahar caste followers participated. Brahman priests were outraged when the Dalits used water from the temple tank. Ambedkar led three such movements for temple entry between 1927 and 1935. His aim was to make everyone see the power of caste prejudices within society.

Q8: What were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school?
Ans: The following were the reasons people had for not sending girls to school.

• They feared that schools would take girls away from home, prevent them from doing their domestic duties.
• Moreover, girls had to travel through public places in order to reach school.
• Many people felt that this would have a corrupting influence on them.
• They felt that girls should stay away from public spaces.

Q9: Who was Raja Rammohun Roy?
Ans: Raja Rammohun Roy was a social reformer. He founded a reform association known as the Brahmo Sabha (later known as the Brahmo Samaj) in Calcutta.

Q10: Name the Hindu scriptures which were criticized by Periyar.
Ans: Periyar was an outspoken critic of Hindu scriptures, especially the Codes of Manu, the ancient lawgiver, and the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana.

Q11: Who published the book named Stripurushtulna? What is it about?
Ans: Tarabai Shinde, a woman educated at home at Poona, published a book, Stripurushtulna, (A Comparison between Women and Men), criticizing the social differences between men and women.

Q12: How did widow’s home at Poona help the widows?
Ans:  Pandita Ramabai founded a widows’ home at Poona to provide shelter to widows who had been treated badly by their husbands’ relatives. Here women were trained so that they could support themselves economically.

Q13: What do you mean by ‘sati’?
Ans: In some parts of the country, widows were praised if they chose death by burning themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands. Women who died in this manner, whether willingly or otherwise, were called “sati”, meaning virtuous women.

Q14: How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?
Ans: Whenever reformers wished to challenge a practice that seemed harmful, they tried to find a verse or sentence in the ancient sacred texts that supported their point of view. They then suggested that the practice as it existed at present was against early tradition. Thus, the knowledge of ancient texts helped the reformers promote new laws.

Q15: What social ideas did the following people support?
Ans:

• Rammohun Roy – Ban on Sati
• Dayanand Saraswati – Widow Remarriage
• Veerasalingam Pantulu – Widow Remarriage
• Jyotirao Phule – Caste Equality
• Pandita Ramabai – Equality and Freedom for Women
• Periyar – Equality for Untouchables
• Mumtaz Ali – Women’s Education
• Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar – Widow Remarriage