Women Caste and Social Reform

• The Indian National Congress also advocated for social reforms related to women's rights, education, health care, and economic development.
• The Indian National Congress played an important role in the freedom struggle against British colonial rule through peaceful means such as non-cooperation, civil disobedience, and boycotts.
• The Indian National Congress was founded by Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Rajendra Prasad, Kamladevi Chattopadhyay, Aruna Asaf Ali, Kamla Devi Chattopadhyay, and many others.
• Important Terms:

  • Conservative: People who wish to stick to old customs and traditions and oppose change
  • Sati: Women who embraced death by burning themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands
  • Suffrage: The right to vote
  • Untouchables: The lowest class people who were denied entry at public places
• The condition of women in the Earlier Days:

  • Women were married at an early age
  • Forced to burn themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands
  • Women's right to property was restricted
  • Virtually no access to education
  • Parents were apprehensive of sending girls to school due to fears of corrupting influence
• Aligarh Movement:

  • Founded by Sayyid Ahmed Khan
  • Established the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College in 1875, later becoming Aligarh Muslim University
  • Promoted educational reformation and offered modern education to Muslims
  • Aimed to reinterpret teachings of Islam and align Muslims with modern science and philosophy
• Untouchables:

  • Considered the lowest rank in the Hindu caste system
  • Faced discrimination and were not allowed in temples or public places
  • Seen as inferior human beings
• Brahmo Samaj:

  • Formed in 1830 by Raja Rammohan Roy
  • Prohibited idolatry and sacrifice, believed in the Upanishads, and discouraged criticism of other religious practices
• Prarthana Samaj:

  • Established in 1867 at Bombay
  • Sought to remove caste restrictions, abolish child marriage, encourage women's education, and promote widow remarriage
• Veda Samaj:

  • Founded in 1864 at Madras by K Sridharalu Naidu
  • Aimed to eradicate the caste system, encourage widow remarriage, and education for women
  • Followers believed in one God and condemned superstitions and rituals of orthodox Hinduism
• Prominent Women Reformers:

  • Begums of Bhopal promoted education among women
  • Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain started schools for Muslim girls
  • Indian women began entering universities in the 1880s
  • Tarabai Shinde criticized social differences between men and women
  • Pandita Ramabai founded a Widows' Home to support mistreated widows
• Slave Trade in Africa:

  • Started when European explorers landed in Africa in the 17th century
  • Black people were captured and brought to America as slaves
  • Worked on plantations, facing long hours, punishment, and torture
• Society Divisions in the 19th Century:

  • Class and caste distinctions were prevalent
  • Untouchables were considered the most inferior human beings
• In Hindu caste there were four Varnas-The Brahmins , the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas and the Shudras. Apart from these four groups there were people at the lowest rank of society called untouchables by the "upper caste". They were knows as the fifth varna and their social condition was miserable.