This document summarizes social reform efforts in India. It discusses practices like sati and child marriage that reformers sought to abolish. Key reformers mentioned include Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, and Pandita Ramabai. It also discusses the Hindu caste system and efforts to promote women's education and rights, as well as movements led by figures like Jyotirao Phule, B. R. Ambedkar, and E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker that fought against caste discrimination and untouchability. Overall, the document outlines many social issues in India that reformers addressed from the 19th century through independence.

2. Let’s understand
Social practices
Reformers
Hindu varna system
Educating women
Social reform
Demands for equality and justice

3. Reformers
People who criticized social practices and worked for upliftment of
the country .

4. Social practices - india
Sati
Child marriage
Untouchability
Let’s take a look at these.

5. Sati – virtuous women
Women were forced to death
by burning them in the funeral
pyre of their husbands
Raja Ram proved that sati
had no sanction in the indian
texts

6. Abolishing sati
RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY played an
important role in abolishing sati
He felt changes were necessary in the
society
Also, the British were ready to listen to
these reformers as they also criticized
indian customs

7. LET’S WATCH AND UNDERSTAND BETTER

8. Child marriage
Children were married off
at an early age
This did not allow them to
live their childhood fully

9. No child marriage ❌
Child marriage was
abolished on 1 Nov
2007
Man – 21+
Woman – 18+

10. Hindu varna system
BRAHMIN
Teachers and priests
KSHATRIYAS
Warriors and kings who fought
VAISHYAS
Merchants and landowners
SHUDRAS
Peasants and servants, common people

11. Raja ram mohan roy
Brahmo samaj
Spread western education in country
Campaign against Sati
Ensure equality for women
Well versed in sanskrit,persian.etc
Translated an old buddhist text critical of
caste

12. Widow remarriage act-1856
The suggestion of widows
remarriage was accepted
by the British officials and
the law was passed
Many widows did not
remarry due to the fear of
acceptance by the scociety

13. Ishwarchandra
vidyasagar
1.Used ancient texts to
suggest widow
remarriage
2.Some people opposed
him and boycotted him
3.Set up schools for girls

14. Veerasa lingam pantulu
1.Formed an
association at
Madras residency
2.Supported widow
remarriage

15. Swami dayanand saraswati
1.Arya samaj
2.Supported widow
remarriage

16. WHY CANT EDUCATE THEM?
People feared to educate girls:
1. Prevent them from domestic
duties
2. Traveling through public
places. This would have a
corrupting influence on them.

18. Reform
Some women were taught at
home by their literate or liberal
fathers and husbands
Mumtaz Ali reinterpreted
verses from the koran to argue
for women’s education

19. Begums of bhopal
Found a primary school for girls at
Aligarh
BEGUM ROKEYA SAKHAWAT
HOSSAIN started schools for
Muslim girls in Patna and Calcutta .
She was a fearless critic of
conservative ideas who argued that
religious leaders of every faith
accorded an inferior place to women

20. Pandita ramabai
Great scholar of sanskrit
Felt Hinduism was oppressive
towards woman
Wrote a book about themiserable
lives of upper caste hindu women
Found a widow’s home at Poona
to train them to live independently
Women were supported
economically

21. The orthodox
Many hindu nationalists felt that hindu
women were corrupting
Hindu culture by adopting
Western ways and values
Orthodox Muslims were worried
at the impact of these changes

22. PROMISES….
Women also started
writing and editing
newspapers and
magazines and also
started setting up women
associations
They started joining
movements from the
1920s
Leaders promised women full suffrage for all after
independence.

23. Caste and social reform
Prarthana samaj
adhered to the
tradition of Bhakti
Paramhans mandali
worked for abolition
of caste

24. POOR WORKERS
The poor began to leave
their villages and started
searching for job
opportunities in the cities . In
this way they could get rid of
the oppressive hold of the
landowners which resided in
their villages
They got work in the army,
municipality as cleaners and

25. Gift of education
Christian missionaries began
setting up schools for tribal
groups and lower castes
Many people thought that
they were doing this to
establish their power

26. Demands for justice
Satnami movement was found by
Ghasidas who aimed to improve the
social status of leather workers
Haridas Thakur Matua’s sect worked
among the chandala cultivators. Haridas
questioned the brahmanical texts that
supported caste system
All these sects were founded by non brahman castes and
those who worked amongst them

27. Shri narayana guru
Proclaimed the ideals of unity for his
people
Argued against people treating them
unequally on the basis of caste
differences
His famous statement:
Oru jati , Oru matham , Oru daivam manushyanu.

28. Jyotirao phule
 Vocal amongst low caste leaders
 Studied in schools set up by Christian missionaries
 He attacked the Brahman’s claim that they were superior to
others as they were Aryans. He argued that Aryans were
invaders who established their dominance in the society
 Began to look at the rest of the population as inferior or low
caste
 He said the right owners of the land were the( low castes)
 He told before Aryan rule there was a time when warrior
peasnts lived peacefully under the just rule of their king
 He said that shudras must unite to challenge caste
discrimination
 Founder of SATYASHODAK SAMAJ

29. Gulamgiri - slavery
In 1873 , Phule wrote the book ‘
GULAMGIRI’
10 years ago the American Civil War
had been fought .. Led to end of
slavery
Dedicated his book to all Americans
who fought to free slaves
Phule extended his criticism of the
caste system to argue against all forms
of inequality

30. AMBEDKAR
Born into a mahar family
Experienced caste prejudice
On his return to India in 1919,
wrote extensively about the upper
caste power in contemporary
society.

31. Got a
fellowship
to US
1919
Return to
India
1927
Started temple entry
movement in which
MAHARS
participated
1927 to 1935:
Temple entry
movement

32. Periyar
EV RAMASWAMY NAICKER
Middle class family
Ascetic in his early life
Studied sanskrit scriptures
Member of congress
Left congress as he got hurt at a
feast organized by nationalists
Founder of self respect
movement

33. Periyar was an outspoken
critic of Hindu scriptures
These texts had been
used to establish the
authority of brahmans
over lower castes and
domination of men over
women

34. Challenges
Self criticism among upper caste leaders
Reaction of orthodox hindu society
Caste distinction as a cornerstone of Hinduism
Show how this was sanctified by scriptures
Debates and struggles over caste beyond
colonial period

35. Join the historical fun
……
THANKYOU FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION
A presentation by ISHITA
M REJI , VIII A😀