Brahmans and Kshatriyas were regarded as members of the "higher castes" in accordance with the caste system. After them, they have put others like merchants, and money lenders (commonly referred to as Vaishyas). Peasants and Shudra (artisans) including weavers and potters, then arrived. The lowest caste consisted of those who laboured to maintain towns and villages clean or who were employed by upper castes. These groups were viewed by the upper castes as "untouchable." Very few women had the same possibilities for education as males before the 19th century, mostly because of these conventional expectations for women. In fact, teaching women was frequently considered subversive and a potential distortion of the established social order. Also were women completely excluded from political deliberations. Voting was not permitted for women as well.
Newspapers, magazines and novels were written in order to ascribe to women in the nineteenth century. Social habits and norms were debated and discussed in new ways. The creation of new mediums of communication like books, newspapers, magazines, leaflets, and pamphlets was a significant factor. In the new cities, men and occasionally women could debate and discuss a wide range of topics, including social, political, economic, and religious ones.
The Father of the Indian Renaissance was recognised as Raja Ram Mohan Roy who believed that society needed to reform. In the nineteenth century, social concepts in Indian history underwent a striking shift. Raja Ram Mohan Roy's efforts led to the abolition of India's long-standing "Sati system," which involved widows being burned in their husbands' funeral pyres. He was the Brahmo samaj's founder and was a key figure in India's efforts to ban child marriage and polygamy.
Women's emancipation in modern India was pioneered by Ram Mohan Roy(1772– 1833) and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891). Ram Mohan Roy launched an offensive against the sati custom. Through his publications, he attempted to demonstrate that ancient literature did not support the practice of burning widows. Sati was outlawed in 1829. In order to dispute a practice that seemed damaging, later reformers embraced Ram Mohan Roy's method and looked for a verse or sentence in the prehistoric sacred scriptures that supported their viewpoint.
In order to improve their standard of living, girls must receive an education. The first schools started opening in the middle of the nineteenth century. Many people feared that sending females to school would keep them away from home and prevent them from taking care of household chores.
Girls had to cross busy streets to get to their classrooms. Girls should avoid public areas, according to many individuals. So, the majority of educated women received their education from liberal fathers or spouses at home. By eliminating the barriers against women's education that were pervasive in the then-Hindu culture during his period, his Brahmo Samaj rendered a major service.
Ram Mohan assisted the British government in pushing for an educational system in India that was more liberal. He used his writings and the newspapers as a means of disseminating his ideas. He significantly aided Bengal's development as well. Languages and literature that were written in books include Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, and English, as well as books in Hindu, Bengali, Persian, and other languages.
Beginning of the 20th century, the Begums of Bhopal made a significant contribution to the cause of women's education. In Aligarh, they established an elementary school for girls. for girls.
In Patna and Calcutta, Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain established schools for Muslim female students. By the 1880s, Indian women were enrolling in colleges and being trained as doctors and teachers.
By the late 19th century, women had started women's clubs, produced journals, built schools and training facilities, and written books.
They established political organisations as well to promote legislation that would grant women the right to vote, as well as improved access to healthcare and education. In the 20th century, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose endorsed calls for more liberty and equality for women.
The establishment of schools for children from "lower" castes and tribal groups was started by Christian missionaries in the nineteenth century. The Bhakti tradition, which held that all castes are spiritually equal, was upheld by the Prarthana Samaj. The 1840- founded Paramhans Mandali in Bombay campaigned to abolish caste. A new need for labour in the metropolis at the same time led the poor from rural areas and small towns to start moving there. Assam, Mauritius, Trinidad, and Indonesia all had plantations where some of them went to work.
Non-Brahman castes started organising protests against caste prejudice and requesting social equality and justice during the second half of the nineteenth century. Ghasidas, a leather worker who organised a movement to raise their social standing, launched the Satnami movement. Haridas Thakur challenged Brahmanical literature that upheld the caste system in eastern Bengal. For his people, Shri Narayana Guru preached the value of oneness. He opposed discriminating against individuals by virtue of caste.
The condition of the girl child was different before India's reformation. Ram Mohan Roy launched a campaign against the abolition of Sati. Before that women have been coerced into observing Sati in several areas of the nation. The majority of the kids were married off at an early age. There was no education and few property rights for women. Educating women were generally seen as disruptive to the social order.
Q1. Describe Gulamgiri
Ans. Gulamgiri, a word that denotes enslavement, was a book written by Phule and published in 1873. An Indian social reformer named Jyotirao Phule was born in 1827, and he formed his beliefs regarding the inequities of caste structure. Caste equality was promoted by the Satyashodhak Samaj, which Phule created.
Q2. To whom were temples open?
Ans. In 1927, Ambedkar started the Mahar caste-backed agitation for temple entrances. The Dalits' use of the temple tank's water infuriated the Brahman priests. Three such initiatives for the temple entrance were spearheaded by Ambedkar between 1927 and 1935. His goal was to draw attention to the dominance of caste discrimination in our society.
Q3. Define the non-Brahmin movement
Ans. The Non-Brahman castes that had gained access to riches, education, and power were the ones that founded the non-Brahman movement. They contended that Brahmans were the descendants of northern Aryan conquerors who had taken southern territories from the native Dravidian races who had lived there originally.
Q4. Who was Periyar?
Ans. Periyar was an opponent of Hindu scriptures, particularly the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana as well as the ancient lawgiver Manu's Codes. He claimed that the dominance of men over women and the dominance of Brahmans over lower castes had been established via the use of these writings.
Q5. Name few books written by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ans. “Varna-parichay”, “Kathamala” “The Marriage of Hindu Windows” were all written by Ishar Chandra Vidyasagar who was a nineteenth-century social reformer and educator from India. He also made a lot of effort to improve and streamline Bengali literature.
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