NCERT Solutions: Women, Caste and Reform
Let's Recall
Q1. What social ideas did the following people support?
- Rammohun Roy
- Dayanand Saraswati
- Veerasalingam Pantulu
- Jyotirao Phule
- Pandita Ramabai
- Periyar
- Mumtaz Ali
- Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar
Ans:
- Rammohun Roy: He campaigned for social reform, arguing against sati (widow burning), and promoted women's rights and modern education. He used knowledge of religion and law to argue for changes in social practices.
- Dayanand Saraswati: He advocated a return to what he saw as the pure teachings of the Vedas, criticised superstitions, and supported social reform aimed at greater equality and moral renewal.
- Veerasalingam Pantulu: He worked to improve the position of women by supporting women's education, widow remarriage and campaigning against social injustices in his region.
- Jyotirao Phule: He fought for caste equality, the education of all, especially girls and lower-caste children, and challenged Brahmanical claims to superiority and privilege.
- Pandita Ramabai: She championed women's education and welfare, opposed child marriage, and worked to protect and provide schooling for widows and other marginalised women.
- Periyar: E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar) campaigned against caste discrimination and Brahminical dominance, promoted rationalism and gender equality, and sought social and political reform to empower the oppressed.
- Mumtaz Ali: He advocated for women's rights and gender equality within a progressive interpretation of Islamic teachings, supporting social reforms to improve women's status.
- Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar: He supported women's education, campaigned for the legalisation of widow remarriage and worked against social evils that restricted women's lives and opportunities.
Q2. State whether true or false:
(a) When the British captured Bengal they framed many new laws to regulate the rules regarding marriage, adoption, inheritance or property, etc.
Ans: True
Explanation: When the British took control of Bengal and later much of India, they introduced legislation and legal procedures that addressed marriage, adoption, inheritance and property. These laws altered how family and personal matters were regulated and influenced social practices.
(b) Social reformers had to discard the ancient texts in order to argue for reform in social practices.
Ans: False
Explanation: Many reformers did not discard ancient texts; instead they read and interpreted them in new ways to show that harmful practices were not required by those texts. They often used earlier passages to support reform.
(c) Reformers got full support from all sections of the people of the country.
Ans: False
Explanation: Reformers often faced opposition from conservative groups and people who benefited from existing social arrangements. Support was uneven and reformers had to struggle to win wider acceptance.
(d) The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in 1829.
Ans: False
Child Marriage Restraint Act 1829Explanation: The Child Marriage Restraint Act (commonly called the Sarda Act) was passed in 1929, not 1829. It was a law aimed at restricting child marriage by setting minimum ages for marriage.
Let's Discuss
Q3. How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?
Ans: Rammohun Roy was proficient in Sanskrit, Persian and several European and Indian languages. He used his knowledge of religious and legal texts to show that practices like sati were not required by original scriptures. Other reformers followed this method.
When they opposed a harmful practice, reformers searched for passages in old sacred books that supported their view. They argued that the current customs were inconsistent with earlier traditions and teachings. For example, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar used ancient texts to support his proposal that widows should be allowed to remarry.
Ancient textAns: The following were common reasons given for not sending girls to school.
- Families feared that schooling would take girls away from home duties and domestic work.
- There was a worry that moving through public spaces to reach school would expose girls to improper influence or danger.
- Many believed that girls should remain within the private household sphere and avoid public places altogether.
Q5. Why were Christian missionaries attacked by many people in the country? Would some people have supported them too? If so, for what reasons?
Ans: Christian missionaries were attacked by some because they actively sought conversions among poor and tribal people, which stirred social and religious tensions. Missionaries also set up schools and hospitals for underprivileged communities, which threatened existing social hierarchies.
At the same time, many people supported missionaries because they provided education, medical care and relief to those who had little access to such services. The schools opened by missionaries helped girls and lower-caste children gain basic education and new opportunities.
Q6. In the British period, what new opportunities opened up for people who came from castes that were regarded as "low"?
Ans: (a) The growth of towns and cities created many new jobs. People left villages and small towns to find work in cities where there was demand for labour to dig drains, lay roads, construct buildings and work in factories and municipal services.
Labourers(b) This demand for labour was also met by migration to plantations inside India and overseas, and by recruitment into the army and other services. These jobs often did not carry the same caste restrictions as village occupations.
(c) Many migrants belonged to castes regarded as low. For them, cities and plantations offered a way to escape the direct control and daily humiliation imposed by upper-caste landowners and to earn wages with more dignity.
Q7. How did Jyotirao, and other reformer justify their criticism of caste inequality in society?
Ans: Jyotirao Phule developed a critical view of caste by arguing that Brahmanical claims of superiority were historically constructed. He suggested that the so-called Aryans were foreign conquerors who had imposed their rule and privileges on indigenous peoples. Phule argued that upper castes had no moral right to special claims over land, power or status, and he campaigned for education and rights for those treated as low caste.
Q8. Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to the American movement to free slaves ?
Ans: Jyotirao Phule was concerned with all forms of inequality-whether the oppression of upper-caste women, the hardships of labourers, or the humiliation of low-caste people. By dedicating Gulamgiri to the American movement that freed slaves, he drew a parallel between the condition of black slaves in America and that of the lower castes in India. This dedication expressed his hope that caste discrimination in India could also be ended.
Q9. What did Ambedkar want to achieve through the temple entry movement?
Ans: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar began temple entry agitations, the first of which took place in 1927, to challenge the practice of untouchability and to secure equal religious rights for lower-caste people. When Mahar followers drew water from temple tanks or entered temples, Brahmin priests and upper-caste groups protested. Ambedkar led three such agitations between 1927 and 1935 to expose and oppose caste prejudice and to demand that public religious spaces be open to all.
Dr. B R Ambedkar.Ans: Both Jyotirao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker were critical of the mainstream national movement because they observed little change in caste attitudes among many nationalist leaders. They feared that after independence, upper-caste dominance would continue and the lives of lower castes and women would not improve.
Jyotirao PhuleJyotirao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker were critical of the national movement as they saw upper-caste leaders as no different from colonial rulers, believing they would continue caste oppression after independence.
- Phule argued that some nationalist leaders sought unity mainly to secure power and would restore caste privileges once the British left.
- Naicker observed caste discrimination within Congress and felt lower castes needed to struggle for their own rights rather than rely solely on national leaders.
Their criticism forced nationalist leaders to reflect on caste biases and contributed, in part, to making the movement more aware of social inequalities. This encouraged some efforts to make the national struggle more inclusive and to address caste injustices.
FAQs on NCERT Solutions: Women, Caste and Reform
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| 2. How did caste play a role in the reform movements concerning women's rights? | |
| 3. Who were some key reformers who contributed to women's rights in India? | |
| 4. What impact did the reform movements have on the status of women in Indian society? | |
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