TEXT QUESTIONS :
1. What social ideas did the following people support ?
Ans: Rammohan Roy (1772-1833) : He founded a reform association known as the Brahma Sabha (Brahma Samaj) in Calcutta . He supported the ideas to spread the knowledge of western education in the country and bring about greater freedom and equality for women . He wrote about the way women were forced to bear the burden of domestic work, confined to the home and the kitchen, and not allowed to move out and became educated. As a result of his efforts, the practice of Sati was banned in 1829 .
Dayanand Saraswtai : He founded the Arya Samaj in 1875, an organisation that attempted to reform Hinduism. He also supported widow remarriage . He published many pamphlets to spread his ideas. He stressed an spread of learning and education of all .
Veerasalingam Pantulu : He formed an association for widow remarriage in the Telugu-speaking areas of the Madras Presidency .
Jyotirao Phule : He supported education for girls. He established schools for girls in Maharashtra. He also advocated for caste equality. He opposed any type of slavery (giilamgiri) not only in India but also in USA.
Pandita Ramabai: She criticised the social differences between men and women. She felt that Hinduism was oppressive towards women and wrote a book about the miserable lives of upper caste Hindu women. She founded a widow’s 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 .
Periyar : E.V. Rama swamy Naicker or Periyar, as he was called, came from a middle-class family . Interestingly, he had been an ascetic in his early life and had studied Sanskrit scriptures carefully . Periyar founded the self-respect movement. He argued that untouchables were the true upholders of an original Tamil and Dravidian culture which had been subjugated by Brahman’s . He felt that all religious authorities saw social divisions and in equality as God given . He was an outspoken critic of Hindu scriptures, especially the codes of Manu, the ancient lawgiver, and the Bhagavad Gifa and the Ramayan . He said that these texts had been used to establish the authority of Brahman’s over lower castes and the domination of men over women .
Mumtaz Ali : Some reformers such as Mumtaz Ali reinterpreted verses from the Koran to argue for women’s education . The first Urdu novels began to be written from the late nineteenth century. She supported women’s education .
Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar : He supported widow remarriage, education for girls and set up schools for girls . His suggestion was adopted by British officials, and a law was passed in 1856 permitting widow remarriage. Those who were against the remarriage of widows opposed Vidyasagar and even boycotted him .
2. State whether true or false :
(a) When the British captured Bengal they framed many new laws to regulate the rules regarding marriage, adoption , inheritance of property, etc .
Ans: True .
(b) Social reformers had to discard the ancient texts in order to argue for reform in social practices .
Ans: True .
(c) Reformers got full support from all sections of the people of the country .
Ans: False .
(d) The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in 1829 .
Ans: False .
3. How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws ?
Ans: One of the most famous reformers, Ishwarchandra Vidhyasagar ,used the ancient texts to suggest that widows could remarry. His suggestion was adopted by the British officials and a law was passed in 1856 permitting widow remarriage . Some people who were against the remarriage of widows opposed and boycotted him .
4. What were the different reasons people bad for not sending girls to school ?
Ans: When the schools for girls opened,people feared that the schools would take their girls away from home . They would be prevented from doing their domestic duties.The girls had to travel through public places in order to reach the school.Many people felt that this would have a corrupting influence on them .
5. Why were Christian missionaries attacked by many people in the country ? Would some people have supported them too ? If so , for what reasons ?
Ans: The Christian Missionaries were attacked by many people in the country because they began setting up schools for tribal groups and lower caste children. These children were thus equipped with some resources to make their way in a changing world. Some people like Jyotirao Phule studied in schools set up by Christian missionaries .
6. In the British period, what new opportunities opened up for people who came from castles that were regarded as “low” ?
Ans: The leaders from lower castes founded all the sects and worked and worked for their activities. They tried to change those habits and practices among the ‘low’ castes which provoked upper caste contempt . They tried to create a sense of self-esteem among the lower castes .
According to Phule the upper class had no right to their land and power .
7. How did Mahatma Jyotiba Phule the reformer justify his criticism of caste inequality in society ?
Ans: Jyotiba Phule extended his criticism of the caste system to argue against all forms of inequality . He was concerned about the plight of upper caste women,the miseries of the labourer and the humiliation of the ‘low’ castes. He attacked the Brahmans claim that they were superior to others .
8. Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to the American movement to free slaves ?
Ans: In 1873, Phule wrote a book ‘Gulamgiri’ meaning slavery.The American civil war had been fought ten years before,leading to the end of slavery in America Phule dedicated his book to all those Americans who had fought to free, the slaves,thus establishing a link between the lower castes” .
9. What did Ambedkar want to achieve through the temple entry movement ?
Ans: Dr. Ambedkar was born into a mahar family . He experienced caste prejudice . He was forced to sit outside the classroom on the ground and was not allowed to drink water from the taps that the upper caste children used . His aim for starting the temple entry movement was to make everyone see the power of caste .
10. Why were Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker critical of the national movement? Did their criticism help the national struggle in any way ?
Ans: Jyotiba Phule studied in schools set up by Christian missionaries . He attacked the Brahmans claim that they are superior to others.According to phule the upper caste had no right to their land and power.He founded the Satyashodhak Samaj and propagated equality .
E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker was born in a middle class family . He became a member of the congress.He left it when he found that the seating arrangements in the feast organized by the Nationalists,followed caste distinctions. The lower caste was made to sit at a distance from the upper caste.He argued that the untouchables were the true upholders of an original Tamil and Dravidian culture which had been subjugated by the Brahmans .
Imagine you are a teacher in the school set up by Rokeya Hossain . There are 20 girls in your charge. Write an account of the discussions that might have taken place on any one day in the school .
Ans: Good morning students, today we are going to discuss a term that is commonly being used on social media these days . You people must have heard it as well . I want you to participate in the discussion . No matter if your knowledge is correct or not , just shares your thoughts with everyone .
The term is “feminism” .
Teacher: Yes Preeti ?
Preeti: I have heard that women are misusing the term “feminism” for their interest and some men seem to be quite annoyed” .
Teacher: Thank you Preeti . Yes it is true that this term is getting on nerves of many people, but actually it’s being misunderstood . Feminism is not to exploit men or something. It is mainly to empower women especially the ones that are oppressed and deprived of their basic rights .
We will continue this discussion tomorrow . I want all of you to come tomorrow with more questions .