This document discusses several Indian social reformers from the 18th-19th centuries who worked to improve women's rights and abolish discriminatory caste and religious practices. Some key reformers mentioned include Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who helped abolish sati; Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, pioneers of women's education; Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, who championed women's upliftment; and Dayanand Saraswati, who advocated for universal brotherhood and reforming Hinduism. Many of these reformers sought to transform Hindu and Indian society from within through education, new social organizations, and spreading awareness of more progressive ideas.

3.  Two hundred years ago things were totally different children
were married off at an early age .In some parts of the country
widows were praised if they chose death by burning themselves
in the funeral pyre of their husbands . Differences between men
and women were not the only ones in the society. Kshatriyas and
brahmins considered themselves as the upper caste and
considered the other peasants money lenders potters weavers as
lower caste. They also considered some as untouchables as the
work they did were polluting i.e. it could lead to the loss of caste
status of the upper caste. Thus a change was necessary during
this period.

8. From the early nineteenth century we find debates and discussions
about social customs and practices taking on a new character.
An important reason for this is the cheaper forms media which
allows more people to access more information and express their
own ideas thus this took an important turn in social reforms.

9.  Sri Raja Ram Mohan Roy a social reformer born in Calcutta
in 1772 initiated many debates which formed a reform group
called as the brahmo Sabah. He felt that changes were
necessary in society. He with he help of British abolished sati.

11.  Sri Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi (Father of the Nation) was the pre-eminent political
and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He was the
pioneer of 'satyagraha'—resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly
founded upon ahimsa or total non-violence—which led India to independence and
inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi led nationwide
campaigns to ease poverty, expand women's rights, build religious and ethnic amity, end
untouchability, and increase economic self-reliance

13.  Basava(1134–1196), also known as Bhakti Bhandari Basavanna or Basaveshwara was
a philosopher, Statesman and a social reformer from present-day Karnataka, India.
Basava fought against the inhuman practice of caste system, which discriminated
people based on their birth, and certain rituals in Hinduism. He spread social
awareness through his poetry, popularly known as Vachanaas. Basavanna used
Ishtalinga to eradicate untouchability, establish equality among all human beings
and a means to attain spiritual enlightenment. These are rational and progressive
social thoughts coupled with established perception of God in Hindu society. He was
a great philosopher.

15.  Srimanta Sankardev(1449–1568), was a 15th–16th century Assamese
polymath: a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, social-religious reformer and
a colossal figure in the socio-cultural and religious history of Assam,
India. . The religion he preached is practised by a large population, and
Sattras (monasteries) that he and his followers established continue to
flourish and sustain his legacy.

17.  Kabir (1440–1518) was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings
have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. Kabir is the first Indian
saint to have harmonized Hinduism and Islam by preaching a universal

19.  Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902) was the founder of
Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Vivekananda was also known as a great scholar.
His real name was Narendra Nath Dutta. Vivekananda is considered to be a
major force in the revival of Hinduism in modern India. He was considered a
key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and America.
He introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions at

21.  Ishwar ChandraVidyasagar (1820–1891) was a philosopher, academic,
educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and
philanthropist. His efforts to simplify and modernise Bangla prose were
significant. He was a Bengali polymath and a key figure of the Bengal
Renaissance. Vidyasagar championed the uplift of the status of women in
India, particularly in his native Bengal.

22.  Unlike some other reformers who sought to set up alternative societies or systems, he
sought, however, to transform orthodox Hindu society from within. Vidyasagar
introduced the practice of widow remarriages to mainstream Hindu society. In
earlier times, remarriages of widows would occur sporadically only among
progressive members of the Brahmo Samaj.

23.  Ramabai was born on April 23,
1858 in Dakshina Kannada
District, Mala, Gangamoola,
Karnataka. She was a social
reformer who tried her level
best to educate women .

25.  Virchand Gandhi was from Mahuva. He advocated female education. He
is a 19th-century Indian patriot who was a friend of Mahatma Gandhi
and contemporary to Swami Vivekanand. He and swami vivekananda
drew equal attention at the first World Parliament of Religions in
Chicago in 1893. He won a silver medal in same. His statue still stands at
the Jain temple in Chicago

28.  Dayanand Saraswati was born on 12 February in 1824 in
Tankara, near Morbi in the Kathiawad region (now Rajkot
district of Gujarat). His original name was Mool Shankar because
he was born in Dhanu Rashi and Mul Nakshatra.
Dayanand's mission was not to start or set up any new religion but to
ask humankind for Universal Brotherhood through nobility as spelt
out in Vedas. For that mission he founded Arya Samaj enunciating the
Ten Universal Principles as a code for Universalism Krinvanto
Vishwaryam meaning the whole world be an abode for Nobles (Aryas).
His next step was to take up the difficult task of reforming Hinduism
with dedication despite multiple repeated attempts on his personal life.

30.  Mahatma Jyotirao Govindrao Phule(11 April 1827 – 28 November
1890) was an Indian activist, thinker, social reformer, writer and
theologist from Maharashtra. He and his wife, Savitribai Phule,
were pioneers of women's education in India. His work extended to
many fields including education, agriculture, caste system, women
and widow upliftment and removal of untouchability. He is most
known for his efforts to educate women and the lower castes as well
as the masses. He, after educating his wife, opened the first school
for girls in India in August 1848.
In September 1873, Jyotirao, along with his followers, formed the
Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth) to attain equal rights
for peasants and the lower caste and his contributions to the field of
education. Phule is regarded as an important figure of the Social Reform
Movement in Maharashtra.

32.  Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade (18 January 1842 – 16 January
1901) was a distinguished Indian scholar, social reformer and
author. He was a founding member of the Indian National
Congressand owned several designations as member of the
Bombay legislative council, member of the finance committee at
the centre, and the judge of Bombay High Court .
A well known public figure, his personality as a calm and patient optimist
would influence his attitude towards dealings with Britain as well as reform
in India. During his life he helped to establish thePoona Sarvajanik
Sabha and the Prarthana Samaj, and would edit a Bombay Anglo-Marathi
daily paper, the Induprakash, founded on his ideology of social and religious
reform.

34.  Sir Syed Ahmad Khancommonly known as Sir Syed, was an Anglo-
Indian Muslim philosopher, pragmatist, and social activist of nineteenth
century India. In 1842, Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar–II
conferred upon Sir Syed the title of Javad-ud Daulah, conferred upon Sir
Syed's grandfather Syed Hadi by Emperor Shah Alam II around the
middle of the 18th century.
 Committed to working for the upliftment of Muslims, Sir Syed founded a
modern madrassa in Muradabad in 1859; this was one of the first
religious schools to impart scientific education.
 Upon his transfer to Aligarh in 1864, Sir Syed began working
wholeheartedly as an educator. He founded the Scientific Society of
Aligarh, the first scientific association of its kind in India.