Social Reforms PDF
Social Reforms PDF
Social Reforms PDF
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The new scientific outlook, the doctrine of rationalism and
humanism particularly impressed the English educated class. The India
leaders, stimulated by the new knowledge, sought to reform sought Hinduism
from within and sought to purge it of superstitious pilgrimages came up for
close scrutiny and consequent reform.
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reform. The only difference one reform movement and the other lay in the
degree to which it relied on tradition or on reason and conscience.
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and a great path-finder of his century, for he embodied the new spirit of
enquiry, thirst for knowledge, broad humanitarianism-all to be achieved in the
Indian setting . In the words of Dr.Macnicol:Rammohan Roy was the herald
of new age and the fire he kindled in India has burnt ever since.
From the beginning the appeal of the Brahmo samaj had remained
limited to the intellectuals and educationally enlightened Bengalis living in
the towns . The orthodox Hindus led by Raja Radhakahat Deb organised the
Dharma Sabha with the object of countering the propaganda of Brahmin o
samaj . The early death of Rammohan in 1833 left the Brahmo Samaj
without the guiding soul and a steady decline set in.
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(founded in (1839) which was engaged in search of spiritual truth. The
informal association of the Two Sabhas gave a new strength in membership
and purpose to the Brahmo samaj. Tagore worked on two fronts. Within
Hinduism the Brahmo Samaj was a reformist \ movements, outside the
resolutely opposed the Christian missionaries for their criticism of Hinduism
and their attempts at conversion. Tagore condemned idol worship,
discouraged pilgrimages, ceremonials and penances among the Brahmos.
Under his leadership branches of the samaj were established in various towns
and the Brahmo message spread in the countryside of Bengal.
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The Brahmo Samaj has played a notable role in the Indian Renaissance.
H.C.E.Zacharias writes: Rammohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj form the
starting point for all thevarious Reform Movements whether in Hindu
religion, society or politis-which have agitated Modern India. The
intellectucal min which had been cut off its morning by the Christian
Propaganda found a way out in the Brahmo Samaj. In the Field of religious
reform the main significance of Brahmo samaj lay not in what it retained of
traditional Hinduism but what it discarded of the old beliefsof Hindusim. Its
contribution may be summed up thus: (i) it discarded faith divine Avatars;(ii)
it denied that any could enjoy the status of ultimate authority transcending
human reason and conscience (iii) it denounced polytheism and idol-
worship;(iv) it criticized the caste system;(v)it took no definite stand on the
doctrine of Karma andtrnasmigration of soul and left it to individual Brahmos
to believe either way.
YOUNG BENGAL
About this time new and radical ideas began to be propagated by a band of
young Bengali intellectuals known as the Young Bengal. This movement was
largely initiated by an Anglo-Indian teacher of the Hindu College, Henry Vivian
Derozio (1809-1831). A free thinker and a rationalist, he helped promote a radical
and critical outlook among his students who questioned all authority, loved liberty
and worshipped truth. His followers known as the Derozians attacked old and
decadent customs and traditions, and began to question the whole fabric of Hindu
society and religion. The Derozians, the followers of Derozio, were staunch
rationalists; they measured everything with the yardstick of reason. Derozio was
dismissed from the Hindu college in 1831 because of his radical views, and shortly
afterwards he died of cholera at the young age of 22.
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EARLY PHASE OF NINETEENTH, CENTURY
The first soundings of intellectual revolt in Maharashtra were heard in the
early decades of the 19th century. Among the early intellectuals who initiated and
led the movement, the most prominent were Bal Shastri Jambhekar (1812-1846),
Dadoba Pandurang Tarkhadkar (1814-1882) and Bhasker Pandurang Tarkhadkar
(1816-1847) Gopal Hari Deshmukh better known as 'Lokahitwadi' (1823-1882)
and Vishnu Bhikaji Gokhale (1825-1873), popularly known as Vishnubawa
Brahmachari, for he remained a life-long bachelor.
In Bengal the movement had begun with a religious and philosophical note,
in Maharashtra strictly social issues came to occupy a prominent place in the
scheme of reform. The early intellectuals of Maharashtra were not essentially
religious thinkers, concerned with the philosophical subtleties. Their approach was
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much practical in nature. For example, the Paramhansa Sabha's principal objective
was the demolition of all caste distinctions. Each new recruit to the Sabha had to
undergo initiation ceremony, and take the pledge that he would not observe any
caste distinctions. He had to eat a slice of bread baked by a Christian and drink
water at the hands of a Muslim. The Sabha was, however, a secret society; its
meetings were conducted in the strictest secrecy for fear of facing the wrath of the
orthodox. The challenge to the caste system and other social evils thus remained
limited to the participation of its few members only.
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held that the caste distinction was the main blot on Indian social system. He
realised that social reform movement could not move the people unless it
assimilated religious reform. Under his guidance the Paramhansa Sabha was
reorganised in 1867 under the name Prarthana Samaj. He guided the movement in
Maharashtra with intellectual strength and pragmatism till the end of his life. The
Prarthana Samaj preached monotheism and denounced priestly domination and
caste distinctions. Its activities also spread to South India through the efforts of the
Telugu reformer, Veeresalingam.
In the field of social reform the focus was on four objects: (i)
Disapproval of caste system, (ii) Raising the age of marriage for males and
females, (iii) Window remarriage, (iv) Women education.
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It should be clearly understood that Dayanands slogan of Back
to the Vedic was a call for revival of Vedic learning and Vedic purity of
religion and not revival of Vedic times, He accepted modernity and
displayed patriotic attitude to national problems.
The creed and principles of the Arya Samaj first defined at Bombay in
1875 were revised at Lahore in 1877. The Ten Principles were approved by
Dayanand and have remined unaltered to this day. The principles are: (1)
Good is the primary source of all true knowledge. (2) God who is All-truth,
All knowledge, Almighty, Immortal, creator of universe, alone is worthy of
worship. (3) The Vedas are the books of true knowledge. (4) An Arya
should always be ready to accept truth and abandon untruth. (5) All actions
must conform to dharma, that means after due consideration of right and
wrong. (6) The principles aim of this Samaj is to promote the worlds well-
being, materials, spiritual and social. (7 ) All persons should be treated with
love and justice. (8) Ignorance should be dispelled and knowledge increased.
(9) Everybody should consider his own progress to depend on the uplift of all
others. (10) Social well-being of mankind should be placed abve the
individualss well-being.
Perhaps the most phenomena achievement of the Arya Samaj has been
in the field of social reform and spread of education. The Samaj based its
social programme entirely on the authority of the Vedas, of course
conditioned by rationalism and utilitarianism. The Arya Samajs social ideals
comprise, among others, the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood. The
Arya Samajs social ideals comprise, among others, the Fatherhood of God
and the brotherhood of man, the equality of sexes, absolute justices and
fairplay between man and man and nation and nation and love and charity
towards all. The Arya Samaj lays great emphaisis on education and enjoins
on all Arya Samajists to endeavours to diffuse knowledge and dispel
ignorance. The D .A.V institutions spread over the length and breadth of the
country are a standing proof of the educational achievements of the Samaj .
The nucleus for this movement was provided by the Anglo Vedic School
established at Lahore in 1886. The education imparted in D.V.A Insitutions
combines the best of the modern and classical Indian studies. The orthodox
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opinion in the Arya Samaj which stands for the revival of Vedic ideal in
modern life set up the Gurukala Pathsala at Hardwar in 1902.
The Arya Samaj movement gave proud self confidence and self-
reliance to the Hindus and undermined the belief in the superiority of the
White Race and western culture. As a disciplined Hindu organization, it is
succeeded in protecting Hindu society from the onslaught of Islam and
Christianisty. Rather, the Samaj started the shudhi movement to convert non-
Hindu to Hinduism Further; it infused a spirit of intense patriotism. The
Samaj always remained in the forefront of political movement and produced
leaders of the eminence of Lal Hans Raj, pandit Guru Dutt and Lal Lajput Rai.
Dayanands political slogan was India for the Indians
Vivekanand never gave any political message. All the same, through
his speeches and writings he infused into the new generation a sence of pride
in Indias past, a new faith in Indias culture and a rare sense of self-
confidence in Indias future. He was a patriot and worked for the uplift of the
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people. So far as Bengal is concerned writes Subhas Bose Vivekanand
may be regarded as the spiritual father of the modern nationalist movement.
Talking of the Indian problem, Annie Besant once said: The Indian
work is , first of all, the revival, strengthening and uplifting of the ancient
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religions. This has brought with it a new self-respect, a pride in the past, a
beliefs in the future, and as an inevitable result, a great wave of patriotice life,
the beginning of the rebuilding a nation. Besant laid the foundation of the
Central Hindu College in Benares in 1898 where both the Hindu religion and
western scientific subjects were taught. The College became the nucleus for
the formation of Benares Hindu University in 1916. Mrs. Besant also did
much for the cause of female education. She also formed the home Rule
League on the patterns of the Irish Home Rule movement.
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Shah Abdul Aziz and Syed Ahmed Barelvi popularized the teaching of
walliullah but also gave them a political colour. They aimed at creating a
homeland for the Muslims. The beginning was made by a Fatwa (ruling)
given by Abdual Aziz declaring India to be dar-ul-harb (land of the kafirs) and
the need to make it dar-ul-harb the Punjab in 1849, the movement was
directed against the British . The movement was Crushed by the superior
military force of the British in the 1870s.
A Legacy of the Revolt of 1875 was the official impression that the
Muslims were the arch conspirators in 1857-58. The Wahabi political
activities of 1860 s and 1870s confirmed such suspicions. However, a wind of
change was perceptible in the 1870s. W.W. Hunters book the Indian
Musalman made a vigorous plea for receonciling and rallying the Muslims.
Round the British government through thorughtful concessions. A section of
Muslims community led by Syed Ahmned Khan was prepared to accept this
stance of official patronage. These Muslims felt that the Muslims community
would forgo its rightful share in the administratiove service if they shut
themselves in a shell and resist modern ideas.
Sir syed Ahmed Khans (1817 -98) name stands out conspicuous
among the Muslims reformers of the nineteenth century. Born in Delhi in
1817 in a respectable Muslim family, he received education in the traditional
Muslim style. He was in the judicial service of the company at the time of the
Rebellion of 1857 and stood loyal to the Government. He retired from
service in 1876. In 1878 he became a member of the Imperial Legislative
Council. His loyalty earned him a knighthood in 1888. Syed Ahmed tried to
modernize the outlook of the Muslims . He tried to reconcile his co-
religionists to modern scientific thought and to the British rule and urged them
to accept service under the Government. In this objective, he achieved great
success.
Sir syed also tried to reform the social abuses in the Muslims
community . He condemned the system of piri and muridi. The pirs and
faqirs claimed to be followers of the Sufi school and passed mystic words to
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their disciplines ( murids). He also condemned the institutions of slavery and
described in un-lslamic. His progressive social ideas were propogated through
his magazines Tahdhib-ul-Akhad (Improvement of Manners and Morals).
The orthodox section among the Muslim ulema who were the standard
bearers of traditional Islamic learning organised the Deoband movement. It
was a revivalist movement whose twin objectives were: (i) to propagate
among the Muslims the pure teaching of the Koran and the Hadis and ( ii) to
keep alive the spirit of Jihad against the foreign rulers,
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In politics, the Deoband school welcomed the formation of the
IndianNational Congress in 1885. In 1888 the Deoband ulema issued a
religious decree (fatwa) against syed Ahmed Khans organisationsthe United
Patriotic Associa tion, and The Muhammaden Anglo-Oriental Association.
Some critics observe that the Deoband Ulemasi support did not stem from
any positive political philosophy or any opposition to British Government but
was mainly influenced by their determination to oppose Sir Syed Ahmed s
Activities.
The rationalist and progressive ideas of 19th century also influenced the
Sikh community . In 1873 the Singh Sabha movement was founded at
Amritsar, Its objective was twofold. It planned to bring to the Sikh
community the benefits of Western enlightenment through modern
education. It also countered the proselytizing activities of the Christian
missionaries as well as Hindu revivalists. The Sabha opened a network of
Khalsa school and colleges throughout the Punjab .
An Overview
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The reforms movements suffered from some retrograde features also.
Many reformists desired and worked for social uplift with in the frame work
of imperialism and openly preached loyally to the British. Again, these
reformists held western society as a ideal while combating inadequacies of
their own. Another limitation was that most of these reform movements
confined their activities to upper and middle classes in towns .leaving out of
puview the backward classed and countless millions living in Indias
villages. Still another negative aspect was the growth of religious chauvinism.
The over-emphais on superiority India of ones own religions and social set-
up generated narrow communal outlook. The Imperial rulers were quick to
take advantages of this communal divide and used it to weaken the Indian
national movment.
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The social reform movement in India have aimed at uprooting social
evils, and inculcating men and women the spirit of sacrifice for the general
good of the society . The first and foremost social problem that attracted
enlighted opinion was the need for a better deal for women in society in the
abolition of the cruel rities of sati and infanticide, in the condemnation of
child marriage and poly gamy and popularization of widow remarriage, in the
abolition of Purhda, in provision of education facilities for women and
economic openings to make them self-supporting and finally and equal share
for women in the political life of the country enfranchisement. Another
social evil that was a major concern of the English educated and Hindu
intelligentsia was the caste restriction in Hindu society and the degrading
position of the lower castes especially the untouchables . Of these two great
evils, those connected with the positions of women received greater attention
in the 19th century, while the problems of the untouchables ( Harijiand ) came
in sharp focus in the 20th century because of its political overtones.
Sati. The terms sati literally means a pure and virtuous woman. It
was applied in case of a devoted wife who contemplated perpetual and
uninterrupted conjugal union with her husband life after life and as proof
therof of burnt herself with the dead body of her husband . Englightened
Indian rulers like Akbar, the Peshwas had imposed restrictions on its
performance . Thought the East India Company early Governors-General like
Cornwills, Minto and Lord Hastings had taken siome steps to restrict the
practice of sati by discourging compulsion, forbidding administration of
intoxicating drungs to the sorrow-stricken widows, putting a ban of the sati of
pregnantwomen or widows below of age of 16 years and , above all, making
compulsory the presense of police officials at the time of sacrifice who were
to see that no compulsion was used , How ever, these restriction proved
inadequate and achieved limited success.
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Regulation XVII of December 1829 declared the practice le by of satis. Or
burning or burying alive if widows illegal and punishable by criminal courts
as culpable homicide. The Regulation of 1829 was applicable in the first
instance to Bengal Presidency alone, but was extended slightly modified
forms to Madras and Bombay Presidencies in 1830. Thus, the evil practice
of sati on any scale was wiped out thought stray cases might have occurred
here and there.
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mention. He dug up old Sanskrit references and proved that Vedic texts
sanctioned widow remarriage. He sent a petition signed by 987 persons to the
Government of India urging it for legislative action. His efforts were rewarded
when the Hindu Widows Remarriage Act (Act XV of 1856) legalized
marriage of widows and declared issues from such marriages as legitimate.
However, in Bengal the widow remarriage reform achieved very limited
success.
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Education of Women. Hindu society in the 19th century suffered from
false religious illusions that Hindu scriptures did not sanction female
education that education of girls wrought wrath of gods leading to their
widowhood.
The Christian missionaries, whatever their motive, were the first to set
up the Calcutta Female Juvenline society in 1819. However, the celebrated
name of J. E. D. Bethune, President of the council of Education, will always
be remembered with respect. In 1849 he founded a Girls School in Calcutta.
Pt. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar also did a lot in popularizing the cause of
female education and was associated with no less than thirty-five girls
schools in Bengal. In Bombay the students of Elphinstone Institute became the
spearhead of the movement for women education and founded the Students
literary and Scientific Society. Charles Woods despatch on Education(1854)
laid great stress on the need for female education. In the broad perspective,
women education became a part of the general campaign for amerlioration of
the plight of women in society.
Slavery was abolished in the British empire in 1833 and a cause was
inserted in the Charter act of 1833 requiring the Governor-General-in-Council
to abolish slavery in India as soon as it could be safely and conveniently
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carried out. Act V of 1843 declared slavery illegal in India and all existing
slaves were emancipated without any compensation to the slave-owners. The
Penal Code of 1860 also declared trade in slavery illegal. Bonded-labour in
one or the other form, however, lingers on in India even now.
SOUTH INDIA
In the South of India a leading light of the social reform movement in the early
stages was Kandukari Veeresalingam (1848-1919). Unlike many of his
contemporaries in the social reform movement in Calcutta or Bombay,
Veeresalingam was born in a poor family; by profession he was a school teacher
for the major part of his life. Prolific in writing, he produced a large number of
tracts and pamphlets on social reform in the Telugu language. Hence he is claimed
to be the father of modern Telugu prose literature. His missionary zeal on issues
like re-marriage of widows, female education and generally on the upliftment of
women and removal of social vices, made him the father-figure of the later
generation of Andhra social reformers.
In what was then called the Madras Presidency the response to the all-India
wave of social reform was given a distinctive hue by the presence of caste
associations and caste mobility movements of various kinds. By the turn of the
century a number of caste associations began to play a significant role in 'reform
movements' which were often not unconnected with the social elevation of the
caste concerned. This was to be observed in the case of, for example, the Kongu
Vellala Sangam of the Gounder Caste in Tamil Nadu, the Vokkaliga and Lingayat
Associations in Mysore, the S.N.D.P. Yogam of the Iravas of Kerala, etc. The caste
leaders of the caste movements formed elite, often in non-traditional careers, who
stressed a common heritage of caste members and pushed forward changes in
social and ritual-practices. A notable feature was that caste associations, originally
concerned with internal reforms, slowly graduated into the form of strong political
forces. We cannot pursue here this course of development which matured in the
20th century.
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Social Reform in the 20th Century
Though many social evils like drinking, beggary etc., received the
attention of social reformers in the 20th century, the twin problems of
improvement of the lot of women and Depressed Classes received greater
attention partly because of the dynamic leadership of Gandhiji and partly due
to the political overtones of the problem of Depressed Classes.
Attacking the purdah system among women Gandhiji said, The sight
of the screen made me sad. It pained and humiliated me deeplyLet us not
live with one limb completely or partially paralysedLet us tear down the
purdah with one might effort. The All India women conference also
denounced purdah. Gandhiji appealed to women to come out to the purdah
and participate in the nationalist struggle by picketing and spinning. In the
Civil Disobedience Movement, launched by Gandhiji in 1930 women
participated and courted arrest in large numbers to evoke a comment from a
foreign observer that if the civil Disobedience Movement accomplished
nothing else but the emancipation of women in India, it would have fully
justified itself.
When the Muslim League obtained separate and taunted the Hindu that
the depressed Classes were not part of the Hindu community but constituted
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a separate community deserving representation in its own rights, the political
ambition of the Depressed Classes was touched and they realized their
bargaining potential in the fast changing political scene. The Indian national
congress and Hindu social organizations saw the political-cum-social aspect
of the problem of the lower castes and made some determined efforts to keep
them within the fold of Hinduism. In 1928 the Indian National Social
Conference adopted a resolution that the present caste system is a great
obstacle to the unification of the Hindu society, therefore resolves that its
abolition should be expedited by(a) encouraging true interidinig ,(b)
promoting intercaste marriages and (c) removing untouchability and all
disabilities arising therefrom wherever they exist.Gandhiji organised the
Harijan Sevak sangh with headquarters at Delhi which has done some useful
work. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, a politically-conscious leader of the Depressed
classes, was not satisfied with half-harted moves and blamed the Harijan
Sevak sangh as a wing of the congress with the real aim of ensuring the
Untouchables and to make them the camp-followers of the Hindu and the
Congress. In 1945 Dr. Ambedkar criticised Gandhiji in his famous book,
What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables and advised his
fellow untouchables to embrace Buddhism.
1. Which was not an inspiration for the various social and religious reform
movements that took place in India during the 19th century?
a) Democracy b) Individualism c) Nationalism d) Socialism
2. Which was a unique feature of the social reform movement of Arya samaj?
a) Opposition to Purdah system c) Opposition to ritualism
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b) Starting of the Shudhi Movement d) Opposition to casteism
3. Which among the following social and religious reform organizations of the
Hindus in the 19th century, has been described as Militant Hinduism?
a) Brahmo Samaj c) Arya Samaj
b) Theosophical Society d) Prarthana Samaj
4. What were the twin pillars on which the Brahmo Sabha was based?
a) Humanism and Reason c) Reason, Vedas and Upanishads
b) Humanism and Vedas d) Humanism, Ramayana and Mahabharata
7. Which one of the not correct about the tenets of Brahma Samaj?
a) Humanism b) Rationality c) Monotheism d) Revival of Vedas
8. Consider the following facts about Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Which ones are
correct?
A. He despised Christianity outright in total
B. He supported the ethics of Christianity
C. He believed Jesus as a God
D. He didnt believe in Avatars
a) B, D are correct b)A, B, C, D all are correct
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c) A & D are correct d) A, C, D are correct.
10. What are the exact tenets of Dayanand and what he stressed as uppermost
importance?
A. Believed in Puranas
B. Only Vedas
C. Smiritis
D. Idolatory
a) A, B, C, D only b) A, B, C only c) B Only d) None of the above
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