In today’s world, girls and boys share classrooms, attend colleges, and pursue careers side by side. Women now have the right to marry freely, choose their life partners regardless of caste, and widows can remarry. Women can also vote and run for elections, reflecting the progress in gender equality.
However, two centuries ago, the situation was vastly different. Early marriages were common, and practices like sati were forced upon women in some regions. Women had limited rights to property and were largely excluded from education. The rigid caste system also dictated social hierarchy, with Brahmans and Kshatriyas at the top and those deemed
“untouchable
” at the bottom, who faced severe discrimination.
Working Towards Change
The period of social reform saw a significant shift in how debates and discussions were conducted. The rise of new forms of communication, such as books, newspapers, magazines, leaflets, and pamphlets, allowed a broader range of issues - social, political, economic, and religious - to be openly discussed, even by women in some cases.
This period also saw the emergence of influential reformers like Raja Rammohun Roy, who founded the Brahmo Sabha (later Brahmo Samaj) in Calcutta. Rammohun Roy strongly believed in the need for societal changes and worked to eliminate unjust practices.
He advocated for the spread of Western education in India and sought to promote greater freedom and equality for women, laying the groundwork for progressive reform.
Changing the lives of widows
Rammohun Roy initiated a significant campaign against the practice of Sati, arguing through his writings that widow burning was not sanctioned by ancient texts. His efforts led to the banning of Sati in 1829. Following his example, other reformers began challenging harmful practices by finding support in ancient sacred texts.
Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar
, for instance, used these texts to advocate for widow remarriage, leading to the enactment of a law in 1856 permitting the practice. By the late nineteenth century, the widow remarriage movement gained momentum across India, with reformers like Swami Dayanand Saraswati, who founded the Arya Samaj, strongly supporting it.
Girls begin going to School
In the mid-nineteenth century, the first schools for girls were established, marking an important step towards improving their condition. However, this development faced significant resistance. Many feared that education would take girls away from their domestic responsibilities and expose them to public spaces, which was frowned upon at the time. As a result, many educated women received their education at home, taught by liberal fathers or husbands.
Despite these challenges, progress was made. The Arya Samaj set up schools for girls in Punjab, and Jyotirao Phule established schools in Maharashtra. In aristocratic Muslim households, women were taught to read the Koran in Arabic by female teachers who visited their homes. The late nineteenth century saw the emergence of the first Urdu novels, reflecting a growing literary culture among women.
Women write about Women
In the early twentieth century, women began to take significant steps in advancing education and advocating for women's rights. The Begums of Bhopal were pioneers, establishing a primary school for girls in Aligarh. Similarly, Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain started schools for Muslim girls in Patna and Calcutta.
By the 1880s, Indian women began attending universities, where they trained to become doctors and teachers. Pandita Ramabai highlighted the struggles of upper-caste Hindu women in her writings, bringing attention to their plight.
Despite resistance from Hindu nationalists who feared that Western influences would corrupt Hindu culture, women made remarkable progress. By the late nineteenth century, they were writing books, editing magazines, founding schools, and establishing training centers and women’s associations.
They also became politically active, advocating for female suffrage and improved healthcare and education for women. In the twentieth century, leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose supported these demands, helping to advance the cause of women's equality and freedom in India.
Caste and Social Reform
In the nineteenth century, efforts to address caste-based discrimination and promote social reform gained momentum.
The
Prarthana Samaj inspired by the Bhakti tradition
, advocated for the spiritual equality of all castes, challenging the deeply ingrained caste hierarchies. Similarly, the Paramhans Mandali, founded in Bombay in 1840, worked towards the abolition of caste distinctions.
Christian missionaries also contributed by establishing schools for tribal groups and children from "lower" castes, offering them access to education previously denied to them.
During this period, many people from low castes and impoverished backgrounds sought new opportunities by migrating to cities or plantations in regions like Assam, Mauritius, Trinidad, and Indonesia. For them, this migration was a means to escape the oppressive control of upper-caste landowners and the daily humiliations they endured in rural areas.
This movement not only provided economic opportunities but also helped in challenging and breaking free from the rigid caste-based social structure.
Demands for equality and justice
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the fight against caste discrimination gained momentum as Non-Brahman castes began organizing movements to demand social equality and justice. One notable example was the Satnami movement, founded by Ghasidas, a leather worker who sought to elevate the social status of his community.
In eastern Bengal, Haridas Thakur challenged the authority of Brahmanical texts that upheld the caste system, questioning their legitimacy and advocating for change.
Shri Narayana Guru, a prominent social reformer, also played a crucial role in this movement. He emphasized the ideals of unity and equality, arguing that people should not be treated differently based on caste distinctions. His teachings and actions were instrumental in challenging the deeply entrenched caste hierarchy and promoting a more just and equitable society. These movements laid the foundation for ongoing struggles against caste-based discrimination in India.
