Caste and Reform Notes

KSEEB Solutions Class 8 History Chapter 9 Women, Caste and Reform Textbook Questions

Question 1. What social ideas did the following people support?

Raja Rammohun Roy
Dayanand Saraswati
Veerasalingam Pantulu
Jyotirao Phule
Pandita Ramabai
Periyar
MumtazAli
Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar

Answer.

Rammohun Roy: Raja Rammohun Roy made great efforts to remove social evils such as sari pratha, child marriage, etc., from the society. Due to his efforts, sati pratha was abolished in 1829.
Dayanand Saraswati: A reform organisation known as Area Samaj was founded by him. He advocated against child marriage, sat’ pratha, caste system and dowry system.
Veerasalingam Pantulu: Veeresalingam belonged to the Madras Presidency. He formed an association for widow remarn’age.
Jyotirao Phule: He was a social reformer of Maharashtra who worked hard for the upliftment of scheduled castes. He set up three schools in Poona where girls of lower castes were given education. He strongly opposed the caste system.
Pandita Ramabai: She considered certain principles of Hinduism as oppressive towards women. She established a widows’ home for those widows who were ill-treated by the society.
Periyar: According to him, the Hindu scriptures were a weapon in the hands of the Brahmans to dominate over people of the lower castes as well as mer over women.
Mumtaz Ali: Mumtaz Ali was a social reformer among the Muslims who advocated for women education by reinterpreting verses from the Koron.
Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar: He emphasised on widow remarriage citing various ancient texts due to which the British passed an Act called the Widow Remarriage Act in 1856.

Question 2. 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 1829.

Answer. (a) True (b) True (c) False (d) False

Question 3. How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?

Answer. Most of the reformers were well-versed in ancient texts. Raja Rammohun Roy started revising the ancient texts and promoted new laws. He was of the view that no ancient literature promotes social evils like soti pratha and child marriage in ancient texts. Due to his efforts, many laws were passed by the British Government to declare many social evils as illegal. Similarly, many social reformers cited verses from ancient sacred texts for challenging the evil practices stating that the on-going practices were against actual traditions.

Question 4. What were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school?

Answer. Many people did not send their girl children to schools due to the following reasons:

People thought that if girls go to school, it would prevent them from doing their domestic chores.
The fear of corrupting influence also prevented the parents to send girls to school as girls has to pass through various public places to reach school.
Inability of finding a suitable match for their girl child was another concern among the parents.

Question 5. Why were Christian missionaries attacked by many people in the country? Would some people have supported them too? If so, for what reasons?

Answer. The Christian missionaries were attacked by many people because they began setting up schools for tribal groups and lower caste children. These children were thus given some resources to improve their lives. Yes, the Christian missionaries were supported by some educated people because they came to know that there is no place of caste system or other evils in ancient texts. Moreover, it will help them to change their status and position in the society. In act, they themselves wanted to change the Indian society. That is why they supported Christian missionaries.

Question 6. In the British period, what new opportunities opened up for people who came from castes that were regarded as “low”?

Answer.

A number of opportunities emerged in the urban areas during the British rule, even for the
lower castes. Several job opportunities as well as many municipalities also came up.
New demand for labour arose due to the expansion of cities.
For digging drains, constructing roads and cleaning the cities, the services of coolies, carriers, diggers, bricklayers, sewage cleaners, sweepers, rickshaw pullers and palanquin bearers were required.
Labour carrying out the above tasks came from the poor sections of villages and small towns with most of them belonging to the lower castes.
Some of them went to work in plantations of Assam, Maurit us, Trinidad and Indonesia. Although the work at these new places was very tough, lower caste people considered it as an opportunity to get away from the oppression of the upper castes.

Class 8 History Women, Caste, And Reform KSEEB Notes

Question 7. How did Jyotirao and other reformers justify their criticism of caste inequality in society?

Answer. Jyotirao Phule was against the ideology of the Brahmans about the superiority- of Aryans the over others. Phule was of the view that Aryans were outsiders and after invading India, they started considering the original inhabitants as lower caste people. He urged the natives to rise against caste discrimination and was of the view that the land and power belonged to the original inhabitants and not to the upper castes.

Question 8. Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to the American movement of freeing slaves?

Answer. Jyoti rao Phule wrote a book in 1873 called Gulamgir’ which means slavery. He dedicated his book to all those people who fought against slavery in the American Civil War that took place in 1861. By doing so, he drew a connection between the sufferings of people due to caste or race in both the countries.

Question 9. What did Ambedkar want to achieve through the temple entry movement?

Answer. Between 1927 and 1935, three temple entry movements were started by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar which were supported by people the belonging to the Mahar caste. Due to the caste system, the people belonging to subordinate castes were prohibited to use water from public wells by the Brahman priests. Through these movements, Ambedkar wanted to reveal the true face of caste discrimination to the society.

Question 1O. Why were Jyoti Rao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker critical of the national movement? Did their criticism help the national struggle in any way?

Answer. Both Jyoti Rao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker were critical of the national movement because they were of the view that leaders of national movement hardly listened to the plight of the underprivileged sections of the society. Their cause gave momentum to the national movement

Women, Caste and Reform Text Questions

Question 1. Can you think of the ways in which social customs and practices were discussed in the pre-printing age when books, newspapers and pamphlets were not readily available?

Answer. Discussions must have held in small groups of people in the pre-printing age before modern forms of communication developed. The ideas would not have circulated among the masses in this manner.

Question 2. Some people thought this situation was better than the total lack of education for untouchable people. Would you agree with this view?

Answer. No. If the lower castes or untouchables would be treated as inferior, it is against humanity and the principle of equality of all. Caste discrimination cannot be resolved through such a measure.

Question 3. Carefully read Source 3 (NCERT Textbook Page 7). What do you think Jyoti rao Phule meant by “me here and you over there again”?

Answer. In his statement, Phule expresses his view that even if the country remains united and becomes prosperous, the caste and communal differences will not end in the society.

Question 4. Why does caste remain such a controversial issue today? What do you think was the most important movement against caste in colonial times?

Answer. Caste remains a controversial issue in the modern thames because our society still discriminates on the basis of caste. Caste status is still an integral part of our social system. In the colonial times, the Harijan movement, the Self Respect movement, the Vaikom Satyagraha and the Dalit Buddhist Movement were some important movements against caste.

Women, Caste and Reform Additional Questions (Solved)

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. What was the sati pratha?

Answer. Sati pratio was a custom of ancient India. According to this tradition, if the husband of a woman dies she had to sit on the funeral pyre of her husband and become a sati which means a virtuous woman.

Question 2. In which four classes was ancient Indian society divided? What was the base of this division?

Answer. Ancient Indian society was divided into four classes namely the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas and the Shudras. This aivision was done on the basis of the occupation of a person.

Question3. Who was Raja Rammohun Roy?

Answer. Raja Rammohun Roy was one of the greatest Indian reformers who initiated the process of social reforms in the country. He is also known as ‘Father of Modem India’. Raja Rammohun Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj in Calcutta in 1834.

Question 4. Who declared sati pratha illegal and when?

Answer. Raja Rammohun Roy persuaded Lord William Bentinck to pass the Sati Prohibition Act in 1829 thus declaring sot’ pratha as illegal.

Question 5. How was widow remarriage permitted?

Answer. Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar was a social reformer who suggested the British officials to pass a law permitting widow remarriages in 1856.

KSEEB Class 8 History Chapter 9 Questions And Answers

Question 6. Who founded the Arya Samaj?

Answer. The Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswat in 1875. It attempted to reform Hinduism.

Question 7. Who published Stripurushtulna and what does it mean?

Answer. Tarabai Shinde wrote the book Stripurushtulna which criticised the social differences between the women and men.

Question 8. Which nationalist leaders in the 20th century supported the demand of greater equality and freedom for women?

Answer. Natonalist leaders like Jawaharial Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose gave their support for the demand of greater equality and freedom for women.

Question 9. When and who founded the Prarthana Samaj?

Answer. The Prarthana Sarraj was founded in Maharashtra in 1867 by Mahadev Govind Ranade.

Question 10. Why was Satnami Movement founded in Central India?

Answer. Ghasidas founded the Satnami Movement in Central India. He belonged to a subordinate caste and organised a movement for the upliftment of tie social status of leather workers.

Question 11. Who was Shri Narayana Guru?

Answer. He was a guru belonging to the underprivileged sections of the society. He proclaimed the ideals of unity and equality of all people within one sect, a single caste and one guru.

Question 12. What were the views of Periyar about Hindi scriptures?

Ans. E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker also known as Peryar was of the view that Hindu scriptures had been used to establish the authority of Brahmans over the lower castes and the domination of men over women.

Women Caste and Reform Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Write a short note on the condition of women in past and present age. What is the position of women in present age?

Answer. Condition of women in the past:

(A few centuries ago, most of the girls w ere married off at an early age. The concept of polygamy was practiced.
Social evils such as the practice of sat prevailed in many parts of the country.
Right over property was only applicable for men. Most women were not allowed to attend the educational institutions.
Condition of women in the present age:
Nowadays, girls are given proper education along with boys. They even receive higher education from colleges, universities and choose from several career options.
A girl has to attain the age of 18 years to get married. Many of them have the freedom to marry the person of their choice, regardless the community or caste.
Women also have the right to vote and they can stand for elections. They are free to do any work and have equal rights as men.

Question 2. Briefly describe the contribution of Raja Rammohun Roy to the emancipation of women.

Answer. Raja Rammohun Roy was a great social reformer of the 19th century-. He was of the view that women should be given equal rights as men for the progress of the society.

He was strictly against the practice of the scti system and asked Lord William Bentinck to ban such evils. Due to his efforts, the government passed an Act in 1829 and declared this practice as illegal.
Being a scholar, he wrote many articles on the upliftment of women.
He strictly opposed child marriage, polygamy ard female infanticide.
He propagated for women education as well as widow remarriage.
He was in four of w omen’s right to in ancestral property.

Question 3. Briefly describe the contribution of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar in improving the status of women.

Answer. Ishwarchanara Vidyasagar was a great social reformer who put great efforts for the welfare of women. He set up more than 25 schools in Bengal for girls’ education by his own expenses. He was in favour of widow remarriage and playeda significant role in 25 widow remarriages from 1855 till 1864. a significant role in 25 widow remarriages from 1855 till 1864.
It was due to his efforts and hard work that the Hindu Widow Re mamiage Act of 1856 was passed. He strongly criticised child marriage as well.

Question 4. Briefly describe the efforts of Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan for the upliftment of status of women.

Answer.

(Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan wanted to bring reforms in the Islamic society. He was of the view that : the society can only prosper if women are considered as equal to men.
He strongly opposed child marriage and raised his voice against the divorce system and pj’oor? •
system. ;
He considered puroah as an obstacle in the way of progress of the women.
He propagated that the custom of slavery was a setback for the society. Tebzibul Akhiaq was j the newspaper published by him which criticised the prevailing evils of the society.
He did a lot to remove illiteracy ftom the society-. He founded the Mohammedan Anglo- j Oriental College in 1875 at Aligarh which is now known as the Aligarh Muslim University.

Question 5. Why is Veerasalingam known as the ‘prophet of modern Andhra Pradesh’? Describe in brief.

Answer. Veerasalingam Pantulu was a social reformer of Andhra Pradesh who worked for the upliftment of the society. He is widely considered as the man who brought renaissance in Telangana region. Under the influence of Brahmo Sana and Keshab Chandra Sen, he started a journal devoted to the emancipation of women. He advocated the education of girls and widow remarriage. Throughout his life, he worked to eradicate the social evils prevalent in the society. Veerasalingam w as a great writer. His first journal, VieKaardbari, was devoted to social emancipation. He was greatly influenced by English and Sanskrit literature and through his satirical work, Prahasanam, which belonged to a new literary genre, he propagated his ideas on social reforms. With the help of the oppressed and the downtrodden, he constructed the first Brahmo Temple in Andhra Pradesh.
Later in 1908, he started the Hithakami School and a Widow’s Home.
ft is due to his hard work and dedication that he is known as the ‘prophet of modem Andhra Pradesh’.

Question 6. What was the contribution of Sri Narayan Guru for the welfare of scheduled castes? Write in brief.

Answer. Sri Narayana Guru was bom in 1856 in Kerala and hailed from the Ezhava Community. He believed in the oneness of God. He studied Sanskrit and worked for the upliftment of the subordinate castes. In those days, they were not allowed 😮 enter temples. He picked up stones from the river and built a temple. On the stone, he inscnbed the words, “Here is the place where all people live in fraternity, without caste distinction and religious rivalry”. Later in 1903, he founded Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP). This organisation worked for social reforms. He preached that all of us belong to one castes of humans and gave the slogan, “One caste, Ore Religion, One God for all men”.

Women, Caste, And Reform KSEEB Class 8 Textbook Solutions

Question 7. Describe the contribution of Swami Dayanaid Saraswati in improving the condition of women.

Answer.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati preached that women should be respected in the society.
He strongly opposed the custom of marriage of boys and giris at an early age, or child marriage. He was also in favour of widow remarriage.
He started many widow homes for improving the condition of widows. He founded ari institution called Arya Samaj which criticised sotf bra:na and dowry system.
He started many schools to give training of sewing and weaving to poor giris. He motivated the females to get educat on and opened many girl schools in different parts of the country.

Women Caste and Reform Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Describe the condition of women in the 19th century.

Answer. Women were in a deplorable state during the 19th century. Many social evils existed such as sob pratha,
female infanticide, slavery, Ourdoh system, ban on widow remarriage, polygamy, etc In order to remove ! these evils from the society, many socio-religious movements were started in the 19th century.
Main social evils related to women are given as follows:

Female infanticide: Birth of a girl, in society, was not considered good for the family. It had
many reasons. First of all, parents had to spend a lot of money on the marriage of their j daughters which poor people were unable to do. Secondly, it was very difficult for parents to find a suitable partner for their daughters. Thirdly, if any parents were unable to marry their
daughters, it was not considered good forthe family. That is why many people used to kill their jdaughters soon after their birth.
Child marriage: Parents used to get their daughters married at a very early age. That is why girls
generally remained illiterate. If a husband of any girl died in his eariy age, then she was forced
to perform soti or she had to live her whole life as a widow.
Sati pratha: According to the custom of sob pratha, if the husband died, then the w ife had to
immolate he^elf on the funeral pyre of her husband.
M Restriction on widow remarriage: Widow remarriage was severely restricted in the Indian
society. Unlike today, they did not live a normal life and had to face many difficulties.
Purdah system: According to the purdah system, females had to live behind the veil, .e., conceal
;themselves from the view of others for their entire lives.
Dowry system: According to the system of down’, the bridegroom receives dowry in cash or
kind from the bride’s family. Poor people were forced to take loans, from the moneylenders to j give dowry which is why many girls were forced to commit suicide.
Illiteracy of women: People did not consider educating girls as useless. Due to illiteracy, females
;were unable to become self-dependent

Question 2. Describe the views and efforts of different social reformers for improving the conditions of women?

Answer. The views and efforts of different social reformers on education and improving condition of women ; are given below:

Raja Rammohun Roy: Raja Rammohun Roy was a great social reformer who was of the view ;
;that for the society to progress, women snould be given equal rights as men.
(a)He strictly opposed the practice of soti and propagated that there is no place for sob Drorbo in ancient religious books or siastras. Due to his efforts, the British Government passed an
Act in 1829 which declared the practise of sati as illegal.
(b)He wrotemany essays for the welfare of women.
(c)He was strongly against child marriage polygamy and female infanticide.
(d) He raised his voice against the puraah system stating that rt is one of the main obstacles to
women’s progress.
(e) He also stressed on the right of women over ancestral property.
Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar: See Q.4 of Short Answer Type Questions.
S’Sayyid Ahmed Khan: See Q.5 of Short Answer Type Questions.
M Swami Dayanand Saraswati: See Q. 10 in Short Answer Type Questions.

Annie Besant: Annie Besant founded the Theosophical Society1 which criticised marriage and raised her voice in favour of widow re-marriage. This society set up schools for the development of education among boys and girls. It also founded Hindu College at Benaras in 1898 which imparted religious education sn various religions.

Question 3. Describe the work done by Singh Sabha Movement and Swami Vivekananda (Ramkrishna Mission) for social welfare and upliftment of women.

Answer.

Singh Sabha Movement Singh Sabha Movement was a very important reform movement among the Sikhs. It was more interested in the religious and social activities of the Sikhs than in any political activity. First Singh Sabha was set up at Amritsar in 1873 and another was set up at Lahore. The members of the Singh Sabha were intelligensia from the middle class. In 1890, both Sabhas attended a joint meeting to make certain reforms among the Sikhs. Propagators of Singh Sabha strongly condemned the prevailing caste system, untouchabilrty and other social evils in the society. This movement propagated to give equal rights to females with males. It criticised the evils related to women like purdah system, child marriage, Polygamy and restriction on widow re-marriage. Singh Sabha opened widow-homes for the welfare of widows.
Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Mission: Ramakrishna Mission was founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897 in the memory of his guru, Swami Ramkrishna Paramhans. Swami Vivekananda’s original name was Narendranath. Ramakrishna Mission was established to reform the society in many ways. He emphasised on social service and respect for women, while he severely opposed untouchability.

Important Questions For KSEEB Class 8 History Chapter 9

Question 4. Describe the impact of the reform movements in the 19th century.

Answer. Due to the efforts of Indian reformers, many steps were taken by the British Government for ; eradicating social evils from the society. For the purpose of improving the condition of women, the j following steps were taker by the government

The British Government passed Acts in 1795 and 1848 that banned on female infanticide.
Lord William Bentinck passed an Act in 1329 imposing a ban on sat Drat’ia.
Government passed an Act in 1883 abolishing slavery from India.
Legal acceptance was given to widow remarriage in 1856 due to the efforts of Ishwarchandra
According to the Sharda Act of 1929, minimum age of marriage was fixed at 16 years for boys 18 years for girls.
Inter-caste marriage was approved by the government through the Act of 1872.
Women education was a major subject of discussion in Wood’s Despatch.

Women Caste and Reform Hots Corner

Question 1 . Give the contribution of muslim women to the spread of girl education in the early twentieth century.

Answer. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was bom in 1880 ir a Muslim Bengali family. She was not allowed to study as a child. Later, she persuaded her brother to teach her Bengali, English, Urdu and Sanskrit. She was married to Khan Bahadur Hossain in 1896. With the help of her intellectual husband, she set up a school for girls in 1909 in Bhagalpur. After the death of her husband, she went to Calcutta and opened the Sakhawat Memorial Girls School. Later, this school was converted into a high school. She was a gifted writer who wrote about the oppression, discrimination and suffering of women in the society. She wrote a number of short stories and essays regarding p’-evalent social taboos.

Question 2. What was the contribution of Pandita Ramabai in improving status of women?

Answer. Pandita Ramabai was the founder of Arya Mahila Samaj. Through this, she taught the women from the deprived classes. She went to America, where an association was formed to find schools for child widows.

Question3. What contribution did Jyotirao Phule make for the upliftment of Scheduled Castes? Write a brief note.

Answer. Jyotirao Phule was a great social reformer of Maharashtra hie had taken many important efforts for the welfare of people from Scheduled Castes.

In 1873, Jyotiba founded the Satyashod^ak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth). The main objective of the organisation was to liberate the subordinate castes.
He criticised slavery of the subordinate caste people and demanded justice for them.
He also criticised the exploitation of the subordinate caste people by the dominant caste through his speeches and writings.
He advised the people of the subordinate castes to perform the religious ceremony of marriage without Brahmans and purohits.

Question 4. Who was Periyar? What has he done for the security of interests for the people of Scheduled Castes?

Answer. E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, also known as Periyar, was bom in 1879 in Erode town (Tamil Nadu). He was an ardent supporter of social equality. He devoted his entire life fighting against casteism in all forms. He started the Vaikom Satyagraha against untouchability, in which national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, RajagopaJachari, and Acharya Vinoba Bhave participated. The Raja of Travancore was the first to abolish untouchability.
E.V. Ramaswamy was the founder of the first riori-Brahmanical organisation in south India iri 1917, know n as the Justice Party. He started the Self Respect Movement and took active part in the Khadi and Non-Cooperation movements. He also led the Vaikom Movement which allowed the under¬privileged sections of the society to enter temples and led an organisation, Dravida Kazhagam, to fight for the reservation of Dalits in government jobs.

Women Caste and Reform Miscellaneous Questions

A. Multiple Choice Questions

Tick the correct option from the choices provided:

Question l. Where was Sri Narayana Guru born?

(a)Kerala
(b)Andhra Pradesh
(c)Tamil Nadu
(d)Karnataka

Answer (a) Kerala

Question 2. Which Governor-General of British India helped in declaring the custom of sati as illegal?

(a Lord Hastings
(b) Lord Wellesely
(c) William Bentinck
(d) Robert Clive

Answer. (c) William Bentinck

Question 3. Which reform association was founded by Raja Rammohun Roy?

(b)Brahmo Samaj
(c)Satyashodhak Samaj
(d)Prarthana Samaj

Ans. (b) Brahmo Samaj

Question 4. In which language was Rammohun Roy well-versed?

(a) Sanskrit
(b) English
(c) Persian
(d) All of these

Answer.(d) All of these

Question 5. In which year was sat/ txatia banned?

(a) 1825
(b) 1827
(c) 1828
(d) 1829

Answer.(d)1879

KSEEB History Chapter 9 Class 8 Multiple Choice Questions

Question 6. Arya Samaj was founded by in 1875.

(a)Swami Dayanand Saraswati
(b)Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar
(c)Raja Rammohun Roy
(d)Swami Vivekananda

Answer.(a) Swami Dayanand Saras.vati

Question 7. Who formed an association in the Madras Presidency for Widow remarriage?

(a)Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar
(b)Veerasalingam Pantulu
(c)Raja Rammohun Roy
(d) Swami Vivekananda

Answer.(b) Veerasalingam Pantulu

Question 8. Who was the main person behind the passing of legislation of Widow Remarriage Act in 1856? (a) Veerasalingam Pantulu

(b) Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar
(c) Raja Rammohun Roy
(d) Swami Vivekananda

Answer. (b) Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar

Question 9. Who published the book Stripurushtulnal

(a)Pandita Ramabai
(b)Swami Vivekananda
(c)Raja Rammohun Roy
(d)Tarabaj Shinde

Answer.(d) Tarabai Shinde

Question 10. Which of these leaders lent his support to demands for greater equality and freedom for women?

(a)Jawaharlal Nehru
(b)Both (a) and (c)
(c) Subhas Chandra Bose
(d) None of these

Answer. (b) Both (a) and (c)

Women Caste and Reform B. Match the Following

Find and write the correct options from the given below columns:

Answer . 1(b) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (e) 5. (c)

Women Caste and Reform C. Picture Interpretation

Look carefully at the given pictures and answer the following questions:

‘

Identify the famous personalities given above.
Name the institutions started by them.

Answer.

Raja Rammohun Roy
Swami Dayanand Saraswati (ii) (a) Raja Rammohun Roy: Brahmo Samaj (b) Swami Dayanand Saraswati Arya Samaj