What Happened 200 years ago -

1 Childern were married off at a young age

2 Both Hindu and Muslim could have more than one wife.
3 Widows were praised if they burned themselves with the husband if husband had died.
4 Womens Rights to property were restricted.
5 Women had no right to education
6 People also believed that if women were educated, she would become a widow.

Division Of Caste-
1 There are 5 types of caste -
The Brahmins - They preached vedas in sanskrit and perfromed rituals, They are the highes
Kshatriyas - They are warriors and protectors of people. They are either rulers or soldiers.
Vaishayas - They are producers like money lenders, landlords or merchants.
Shudras - They are peaseants, Artisans, Weavers or potters
Ati Shudras - They are untouchables or they cant be touched. They are the lowest caste of
2 The Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishayas are the upper castes of all.

Working Towards Change-

1 In the nintheenth century, there were many debates and discussions.
2 One reason for this was the developments of new forms of communications. Like books, ne
3 They were easy to read, affordable and assescible than manuscripts and leaflets.
4 Many people can get these so they can express their ideas in their own laungages.
5 These debates were often initiated by indian reofrmers and reform groups.
6 One was Raja Rammohun Roy(1772-1833) who founded the Brahmo Sabha (later known as
7 Rammohun Roy felt that changes were necessary for society and unjust practices needed
8 He was keen to spread the knowledge of Western education in the country and bring about

Changing lives of widows

1 Rammohun Roy began a campaign against the practice of Sati.
2 He tried to show through his writings that the practice of widow burning had no sanction in
3 Later reformers adopted the strategy of Rammohun to challenge a practice that seemed h
4 Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, through ancient texts, suggested that widows could remarry.
5 In 1856, a law was passed permitting widow remarriage. By the second half of the nineteen
6 Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj, to support widow remarriage.
7 Veerasalingam Pantulu formed an association for widow remarriage.
8 Around the same time, yound intelectuals and reformers in Bombay pledged themselves to

Girls Begin going to school -

1 Education for girls was necessary to improve their condition. In the mid-nineteenth century
2 Many feared that schools would take girls away from home and prevent them from doing th
3 Many people feel that girls should stay away from public spaces. So, most educated women
4 In the latter part of the century, Arya Samaj established schools for girls in Punjab, and Jyot
5 In aristocratic Muslim households, women learnt to read the Koran in Arabic taught by wom
6 The first Urdu novels began to be written in the late nineteenth century.
 Women Write About Women -
1 In the early twentieth century, Begums of Bhopal played a notable role in promoting educa
2 Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain started schools for Muslim girls in Patna and Calcutta. In
3 Pandita Ramabai wrote a book about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women.
4 Many Hindu nationalists felt that Hindu women were adopting Western ways and that this w
5 They also formed political groups to push through laws for female suffrage (the right to vot

Law Agains Child Marriage -

1 People started tacking another issue. Child Marriage.
2 There were a number of laws preventing Child Marriage.
3 In 1929, The Child Marriage Restraint Act was announced.
4 This act told us that the age of marriage has changed for women from 16 to 18 and for boy

Caste And Social Reform -

1 The Prarthana Samaj adhered to the tradition of Bhakti, which believed in spiritual equality
2 The Paramhans Mandali founded in Bombay in 1840 worked for the abolition of caste.
3 During the course of the nineteenth century, Christian missionaries began setting up scho
4 At the same time, the poor from the villages and small towns, people from low castes, bega
5 Some also went to work in plantations in Assam, Mauritius, Trinidad and Indonesia.
6 For the poor and the people from low castes, it was an opportunity to get away from the o

Who Could Produce Shoes?

1 Leatherworkers are traditionally disrespected as they use dirty animals for making shoes.
2 In The First World War, There was a huge demand for shoes.
3 Caste Prejudice against leather work meant that only the leatherworkers were ready to cre
4 So, they could ask for high prices and gain immense profits.

Demands for Equality and Justice -

1 By the second half of the nineteenth century, Non-Brahman castes began organising move
2 The Satnami movement was founded by Ghasidas, who worked as a leather worker and org
3 In eastern Bengal, Haridas Thakur questioned Brahmanical texts that supported the caste
4 Shri Narayana Guru proclaimed the ideals of unity for his people. He argued against treatin

Gulamgiri -
1 Jyotirao Phule was born in 1827 who developed his own ideas about the injustices of caste
2 According to him, Brahmans’ were Aryans considered as foreigners, came from outside the
3 Phule said that the upper castes had no right to their land and power.
4 He claimed that before the Aryan rule, there existed a golden age when warrior-peasants t
5 He proposed that Shudras and Ati Shudras should unite to challenge caste discrimination. T
6 In 1873, Phule wrote a book named Gulamgiri, meaning slavery.
7 Ten years before this, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in America. He dedic
8 Phule was concerned about the plight of upper-caste women, the miseries of the labourer,

Who Could Enter Temples?

1 In 1927, Ambedkar started a temple entry movement supported by the Mahar caste.
2 Brahman priests were outraged when the Dalits used water from the temple tank.
3 Ambedkar led three such movements for temple entry between 1927 and 1935. His aim wa

The Non Brahmin Movement -

1 The non-Brahman movement started initiated by those non-Brahman castes that had acqu
2 They argued that Brahmans were heirs of Aryan invaders from the north who had conquere
3 E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, or Periyar, joined Congress and left it when he found out that the
4 Periyar founded the Self Respect Movement and argued that untouchables were the true u
5 Periyar was a critic of Hindu scriptures, especially the Codes of Manu, the ancient la
6 According to him, these texts had been used to establish the authority of Brahmans over lo
7 These assertions did not go unchallenged, which led to rethinking and some self-criticism a
8 But orthodox Hindu society reacted by founding Sanatan Dharma Sabhas and the Bharat D
9 The objective of these associations was to uphold caste distinctions as a cornerstone of Hin
 if husband had died.

ome a widow.

uals, They are the highest caste.

either rulers or soldiers.
merchants.

y are the lowest caste of all.

unications. Like books, newspapaers, magazines, etc.

ts and leaflets.
r own laungages.

mo Sabha (later known as the Brahmo Samaj) in Calcutta.

unjust practices needed to be done away with.
e country and bring about greater freedom and equality for women.

urning had no sanction in ancient texts. In 1829, sati was banned.

a practice that seemed harmful and tried to find a verse or sentence in the ancient sacred texts that supported
widows could remarry.
econd half of the nineteenth century, the movement of widow remarriage spread to other parts of the country.
idow remarriage.

ay pledged themselves to working for the same cause.

e mid-nineteenth century, the first schools were opened.

event them from doing their domestic duties. To reach schools, girls had to travel through public spaces.
So, most educated women were taught at home by liberal fathers or husbands.
or girls in Punjab, and Jyotirao Phule established schools in Maharashtra.
n in Arabic taught by women who came home to teach.
e role in promoting education among women. They founded a primary school for girls in Aligarh.
in Patna and Calcutta. Indian women started going to Universities by the 1880s, where they were trained to be
-caste Hindu women.
stern ways and that this would corrupt Hindu culture and erode family values. By the end of the nineteenth cen
suffrage (the right to vote) and better health care and education for women. In the twentieth century, Jawaharl

rom 16 to 18 and for boys, 18 to 21.

eved in spiritual equality of all castes.

he abolition of caste.
es began setting up schools for tribal groups and “lower”-caste children.
ple from low castes, began moving to the cities where there was a new demand for labour.
ad and Indonesia.
y to get away from the oppressive hold that upper-caste landowners exercised over their lives and the daily hum

imals for making shoes.

workers were ready to create and supply shoes.

s began organising movements against caste discrimination and demanded social equality and justice.
a leather worker and organised a movement to improve their social status.
that supported the caste system.
He argued against treating people unequally on the basis of caste differences.

ut the injustices of caste society.

rs, came from outside the subcontinent and defeated and subjugated those who had lived here from before the

when warrior-peasants tilled the land and ruled the Maratha countryside fairly.
ge caste discrimination. The Satyashodhak Samaj, founded by Phule, propagated caste equality.

very in America. He dedicated his book to all those Americans who had fought to free slaves.
miseries of the labourer, and the humiliation of the low castes.

y the Mahar caste.

 he temple tank.
927 and 1935. His aim was to make everyone see the power of caste prejudices within society.

man castes that had acquired access to education, wealth and influence.
e north who had conquered southern lands from the original inhabitants of the region – the indigenous Dravidian
hen he found out that the lower castes were made to sit at a distance from the upper castes.
uchables were the true upholders of an original Tamil and Dravidian culture which had been subjugated by Brah
of Manu, the ancient lawgiver, and the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana.
ority of Brahmans over lower castes and the domination of men over women.
and some self-criticism among upper-caste nationalist leaders.
Sabhas and the Bharat Dharma Mahamandal in the North, and associations like the Brahman Sabha in Bengal.
ns as a cornerstone of Hinduism and show how this was sanctified by scriptures.
cred texts that supported their point of view.

her parts of the country.

ugh public spaces.

e they were trained to be doctors, and some became teachers.

nd of the nineteenth century, women wrote books, edited magazines, founded schools and training centres, and
entieth century, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose extended their support to demands for greater equ

eir lives and the daily humiliation they suffered.

ality and justice.

ved here from before the coming of the Aryans.

e equality.
the indigenous Dravidian races.

been subjugated by Brahmans.

ahman Sabha in Bengal.

and training centres, and set up women’s associations.
demands for greater equality and freedom for women.
 Markets -
1 Many people work for manifacturing and making of things like shirts, pants, toys, etc.
2 But, Markets tend to exploit the workers by giving them less than a minimum wage, or tend
3 To protect people from such things, the government tends to protect the people from this e
4 One law the government created was the Minimum Wage Act.
5 The Minimum Wage Act ensures that workers do not get paid below minimum wage.
6 There are also laws that ensure protection of workers, protect the interests of producers, an
7 These help ensure the relationship between the three parties - The worker, the producer an

Laws For the Three Parties -

1 Mimimum Wages Act - Ensures that no worker get paid below minimum wage.
2 The Factories Act - Ensures that there will be adequate safety measures in workplaces.
3 Law Requiring That the goods meet a certain prescribed standards.
4 Law requiring that prices of essential goods are not high.
5 Law requiring that factories donot pollute air and/or water.
6 Law against child labour in workplaces.
7 Laws to form workers unions/associates.

Enforcement -
1 Making these laws is not enough. It has to be implemented. And for this to happen, it has t
2 Enforcement becomes even more important when the law protects the weak from the stron
3 Employers know this well and use their power to pay workers less than the fair wage.
4 Many of these laws have their basis in the Fundamental Rights guranteed by the Indian Con

Bhopal Gas Tragedy -

1 The Bhopal disaster shows lacking on the governent's part.
2 There were weak safety laws and these too were not enforced.
3 In the year 1984, the Bhopal Gas tragedy took place, there were a few laws protecting the
4 The Bhopal disaster brought the issue of enviornment to the forefront.

New laws to protect the enviornment -

1 The Indian government introduced new laws on the enviornment.
2 Henceforth, the pollutier was to be held accountable for the damage done to the enviornm
3 One of the prime responsibilities of the government is to make the aporiate laws and to en
ts, pants, toys, etc.
a minimum wage, or tend to give them none at all while making them work overtime.
ect the people from this exploitation by making laws.

w minimum wage.
interests of producers, and consumers in the market.
e worker, the producer and the consumer - are governed in a manner that is not exploitative.

imum wage.
asures in workplaces.

or this to happen, it has to be enforced.

s the weak from the strong.
than the fair wage.
ranteed by the Indian Constituition.

few laws protecting the enviornment in India.

ge done to the enviornment.

e aporiate laws and to enforce them. Laws that are weak and poorly enforced can cause serious disaster.
e serious disaster.