History

Women, Caste and Reform

Question:

Why were Jyotirao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker critical of the national movement? Did their criticism help the national struggle in any way?

Answer:

Jyotirao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker were critical of the national movement. Ramaswamy Naicker had become a member of the Congress. He soon left the Congress as he felt that the Party discriminated among castes. The lower castes were made to sit at a distance from the upper castes. Periyar founded the Self Respect Movement as he felt that the untouchables had to fight for their dignity. He stated that the untouchables were the true upholders of the Tamil and Dravidian culture. Periyar passionately wanted the untouchables to free themselves and achieve social equality.
Periyar was an outspoken critic of Hindu scriptures, especially the Codes of Manu, the ancient lawgiver, and the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana. He felt these scriptures established the authority of Brahmans over lower castes and the justified the domination of men over women. There was great opposition for Periyar's views among the upper-caste nationalist leaders
The forceful speeches, writings and movements of Jyotirao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker set many upper-caste nationalist leaders thinking.

 

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Women, Caste and Reform

Q 1.

What was the plight of Indian women 200 years ago?

Q 2.

What were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school?

Q 3.

What were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school?

Q 4.

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.
(b) Social reformers had to discard the ancient texts in order to argue for reform in social practices.
(c) Reformers got full support from all sections of the people of the country.
(d) The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in 1929.

Q 5.

Who was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar?

Q 6.

Mention the caste system that was prevalent in those days in India.

Q 7.

Write about Raja Rammohun Roy and his reforms

Q 8.

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.
(b) Social reformers had to discard the ancient texts in order to argue for reform in social practices.
(c) Reformers got full support from all sections of the people of the country.
(d) The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in1829.

Q 9.

What were the reasons for the awareness among women?

Q 10.

Why were Christian missionaries attacked by many people in the country? Would some people have supported them too? If so, for what reasons?

Q 11.

Why were Christian missionaries attacked by many people in the country? Would some people have supported them too? If so, for what reasons?

Q 12.

How did Jyotirao, the reformer, justify their criticism of caste inequality in society?

Q 13.

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.
(b) Social reformers had to discard the ancient texts in order to argue for reform in social practices.
(c) Reformers got full support from all sections of the people of the country.
(d) The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in1829.

Q 14.

What were the changes that could be seen as women became actively involved in reforms?

Q 15.

How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?

Q 16.

How did Jyotirao the reformers justify their criticism of caste inequality in society?

Q 17.

Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to the American movement to free slaves?

Q 18.

Why were Jyotirao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker critical of the national movement? Did their criticism help the national struggle in any way?

Q 19.

In the British period, what new opportunities opened up for people who came from castes that were regarded as "low"?

Q 20.

In the British period, what new opportunities opened up for people who came from castes that were regarded as “low”?

Q 21.

What did Ambedkar want to achieve through the temple entry movement?

Q 22.

What social ideas did the following people support?

    • Rammohun Roy
    • Dayanand Saraswati
    • Veerasalingam Pantulu
    • Jyotirao Phule
    • Pandita Ramabai
    • Periyar
    • Mumtaz Ali
    • Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar

 

Q 23.

How did Jyotirao, the reformer, justify their criticism of caste inequality in society?

Q 24.

Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to the American movement to free slaves?

Q 25.

How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?