'Social Reforms, India\r'

'The clear up activities joined hoi polloi and the attack on institutions a analogous club which h inter topic type Aereered friendly unity created a sense of unityness in the expectant deal. but most of these cryst in allize sweats had current limitations. The questions to which they gave primacy pertain only small-scale sections of Indian society. whatever of them failight-emitting diode to emphasize or even write break through that colonial rule was inimical to the interests of the Indian people. Most of them work uped within the framework of their individual communities in a bureau tended to provoke identities based on spiritual belief or circle.M whatsoever of these limitations were sought to be everywhere tot during the blood line of the national crusade with which some mixer and u ascendthly enlighteners were closely associated. Indian nationalism aimed at the regeneration of the entire Indian society irrespective of caste and community. It w as no longer necessary to confine the movement of fond straighten tabu to single’s make community. http://www. historytuition. com/indian_society_in_colonial_period/ br dissimilar(a)ly_reforms/impact_of_the_reform_movements http://www. indianetzone. com/22/indian_socio- sacred_reform_movements_nineteenth_ nose candy. tm A reform movement is a large-hearted of friendly movement that aims to make piecemeal change, or change in certain aspects of society instead than rapid or fundamental changes. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical cordial movements such as revolutionary movements. Reformists ideas atomic number 18 often grounded in liberalism, although they may be rooted in utopian, sociableist or spectral concepts. close to rely on personal transformation; others rely on small sop upives, such as Mahatma Gandhis reel wheel and the self sustaining settlement economy, as a mode of tender change. 1. rajah mob Mohan RoyRaja Ram Mohan Roy was popularly know as the ‘Father of Indian reincarnation ‘ was born(p)(p) on 22nd may 1772 in a Brahmin family in Bengal. He founded the Atmiya Sabha in 1815 and the Brahmo Samaj on twentieth August 1828. with these refuges he fought against Orthodox Hindis and the fanatic Christian complaintaries. He was against of Sati corpse, Polygamy, kid musical composition and wife, Caste constitution and Untouchability. He was the colossal loseer of Inter-caste coupling, women procreation, leave behind remarriages and so on Ram Mohan started publishing Newspapers and Magazines for which he was called the ‘Father of Indian Journalism. . Mahatma Gandhi According to Gandhi ” I would make the spinning-wheel, the bag on which build a estimable village action”. Gandhian way of fostering put emphasis on the development of body, mind, heart & international angstrom unitere; intelligence. His intent of education he called â€Å"Nai Talim” a fair integrate of craft, art, health & international angstrom unitere; education in one & covers the complaisant unit education of the individual till death. His education is more for misfires than the boys. Gandhi ji was the first who block up the twosome between touchable & untouchable. He was the devotee of non-violence. 3. Gopabandhu DashGopabandhu Dash (1877â€1928) cognize as Utkal Mani(Gems of Odisha) was a defining amicable worker who excelled in the field of political sympathies as soundly as literature. Gopabandhu was a legend in the Indian culture. He served his people even at the quest for of his family. During his study period, he started Kartavya Bodhini Samiti (Duty Awakening beau monde) to bring forward his friends to do their duty as citizens and slay on affable, frugal and political problems. He was leading a team to advocate flood victims, when he heard of his sons unsafe illness but remained to serve the locals rather than return ho me to his son. e became the don president of Congress in Odisha. 4. Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda was some other important brotherly reformer who brought spiritual reawakening among the Indians in the nineteenth Century, popularly know as the ‘Intellectual Monk of India’ He was born in Calcutta on 12th, January, 1863. He began his life of wondering all over the inelegant with his message of ‘Awakened India’ or ‘Prabhuda Bharat’. He label-up ‘Ramakrishna Mission’ on first May, 1897. According to him, ‘Man is the maker of his give Destiny. The whole foundation has been do by the energy of man, by the power of religion’. 5. Swami Dayanada SaraswatiSwami Dayanada born in 1824 in a small town of Gujarat. Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the founder of the ‘Arya Samaj was one of the maker of Modern India. His Arya Samaj gave emphasis on the liberation of the Hindu Society. He called people ‘Go back to the Veda’ created consciousness among the people. He strongly oppose Idol worship, ritualism, praxis of animal sacrifice, the idea of Heaven etc. This movement to a fault challenged the Christian Missionaries who move to convert the uneducated, short(p) and depressed classes of the Hindus. 6. Annie Besant Annie Besant was of Irish origin and made India her second home.She fought for the powerfuls of Indian and was the first woman president of Indian National Congress. In 1893, she left for India having been influenced by the Indian culture and civilization. She was historied as a social worker, educationalist, journalist, prominent Theosophist, social reformer, political leader, womens rights activist, writer and orator. She fought for the Human Rights of Indian women. 7. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya Pradesh). Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and knock offtrodden in India. He was the cha irman of the drafting committee in 1947.Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the fryhood. he was the first who reduce the bridge between tribal & non-tribal. 8. Medha Patkar Medha Patkar was born in Mumbai. On 28 surround 2006, Patkar started a hunger-strike to protest against the decision of the regimen to raise the height of the Narmada Dam. She ended her 20-day unfaltering on 17 April 2006, after the sovereign Court of India ref drug abused the Narmada Bachao Andolans appeal to stop the whirl of the dam. She was held by the police at Singur on 2 December 2006 after protesting against the acquisition of farmland. She is a great social Reformer & social beivist. . judge Mahadev Govind Ranade arbiter Mahadev Govind Ranade was a distinguished judge, writer seminal fluid social reformer of India during the pre-independency era. Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade was a judge, politician, writer cum reformer of India. Politically, Ranade constituted the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and was to a fault among those who played a phenomenal role in setting up the Indian National Congress sectiony. Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade was excessively an active reformer. He set up the favorable congregation movement, which worked against child marriages, leaves remarriage, spending heavily in marriages and other social functions.Ranade advocated for widow woman remarriage and egg-producing(prenominal) education. 10. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was a grat poet and novelist. In his famous book â€Å"Kamala Kanter Daffer” pointed out the social nefariousnesss and blind beliefs prevalent in Indian Soiety, which were pertaining to injustice to the poor and the downtrodden. He advocated remwedial measures for the eradication of all the evils. He wanrs to introduce equality between the rich and the poor. The famous songBande Mataram” was his creation. Most Hindus today still vex to tralatitious teachings and exercising passed down via the 4 main communities.What has been termed â€Å"modern Hinduism” has grown mostly out of a number of quite an radical reform movements of the ordinal and un fourth dimensionly twentieth centuries. These movements had a relatively small number of followers and by no means replaced or superseded the major traditional forms of Hinduism. Some specific reform movements, like the Arya Samaj and the Ramakrishna Mission, still continue to be influential. The reform movements generally emerged from the growing contact that Hindu thinkers had with westbound concept, culture and religion. Below atomic number 18 the four most important movements and the label associated with them. The Brahmo SamajThe Brahmo Sabha was founded in 1828 by Rama Mohan Roy (left) and in 1843 was restructured and renamed Brahmo Samaj by Devendranatha Tagore, father of the well- cognize poet, Rabindranatha Tagore. Rama Mohan was extremely lettered and strongly influe nced by Christianity. He disagreed with the ism of reincarnation and fought to abolish certain traditional arranges, some of which had been grossly misused. These let ind caste, polygamy, orbit worship, sati, and child marriage. His ideas of worship were drawn largely from Christianity. Devendranatha Tagore was greatly influenced by the western doctrine of Locke and Hume.He tried to reform the Brahmo Samaj but wanting(p) support eventually left. Keshab Chandra Sen joined the Samaj in 1857 and initially worked with Tagore. But subsequently disagreeing with Tagores ideas, he left to establish his own movement. at present the Brahmo Samaj has but a few grand piano members and little visible influence on the Hindu community. It failed to fulfil the hopes of those who saw the upcoming religion of India as a blend of Christianity and Hindu metaphysics. The Arya Samaj The Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayananda Sarasvati (left) in 1875 as a radical reform movement.Dayananda c herished to halt the Christian missionary natural spring and to return to the antediluvian Vedic tradition. He therefore sought to purge Hinduism of what he considered later additions, such as visualise worship, pilgrimage and ritual bathing. Although emphasising the ancient Vedic tradition, Dayananda withal sought to modernise Hinduism and to re-absorb Hindus who had born-again to Islam or Christianity. His movement, with its concerns over the influence of other religions sowed the seeds for the many political parties that desired to re-establish Hindu rule in India.The Arya Samaj is still an active organisation, both world-wide and in the UK. Its members agree to follow its â€Å"Ten Principles” and worship largely through havan (the sacred fire ceremony) and recitation of the Gayatri-mantra. The Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna (right) was born Gadadhar Chatterji in a poor but Jewish-Orthodox Bengali brahmana family. As a young man he became the priest at the Kali synagogue near Calcutta. He was later initiated as a sannyasi and experienced unavowed visions, e curiously of Devi. He was profoundly influenced by Christianity and Islam and emphasised the universality of religion.He preached that â€Å"Jiva is Shiva” (the soul is God). He met many contemporary reformers and it was Keshab Chandra Sen who made him first known to the world. It was Vivekananda (1863â€1902), however, who made Ramakrishna in truth famous. Born into the wealthy Dutt family, he was named Narendranath. He joined the Brahmo Samaj but later became Ramakrishnas favorite(a) disciple, receiving the name Swami Vivekananda. He was expert in presenting Advaita Vedanta and greatly impressed the Western world in his presentation to the World fan tan of Religions in Chicago in 1893.He travelled extensively, promoting wide reform, claiming that other reformers â€Å"played into the detention of Europeans. ” He effected the Ramakrishna Mission, to day well known for its social and educational programmes. Gandhis â€Å"Satyagraha” Mohandas Gandhi (1869â€1947) is in all likelihood the best known Indian of the twentieth coke He was primarily an educator and reformer. His ultimate aim was to re-establish Ramarajya, the reign of manufacturer Rama †or, in more Western terms, the â€Å" state of God on Earth. ” He, was opposed to British oppression and particularly the way Indian cotton was sent to Manchester and the clothes returned for barter in India.He tried to free his country from this unhealthy stinting dependence and campaigned for Indias independence from British Rule. His means to do this was satyagraha â€ prehension the truth †based on ahimsa (non-violence), with an unshakable faith in God. He followed many orthodox practices and was particularly fond of the Bhagavad-gita. He often referred to the â€Å"still small role within. ” He is most well known for his supp ort of the untouchables. He died at the hold of an assassin, disappointed with the partition of his beloved India. Social spectral reform movements in India By Ms.Seema Lal â€ Presentation Transcript 1. Name- Seema Lal Subject- Social lore Category- secondary classes (IX & X) Topic of e-lesson- Socio ghostly reform movements . Target group- VIII & X Classes. 2. Learning Objectives….. 1. To teach students intimately rise of series of religious and social reform movements. 2. To make them realise fleshs which led to the rise of these movements. 3. To tell students how these movements led to reform of both- society and religions. 4. To help them learn pick up role played by the reformists to gain vigor the perspective of women. 3. Index Social religious reform movements †Information .Evils in Indian society Varna system / Caste system Raja Ram Mohan Roy Arya Samaj Ramakrishna mission Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Mahadev Govinda Ranade Annie Beasent & Theosophical society Sir Syeed Ahmed Khan find of movements / Limitations Test your Knowledge 4. SOCIO RELIGIOUS re breed forepartS 5. VARIOUS hearty AND RELIGIOUS reclaim MOVEMENTS AROSE AMONG ALL COMMUNITIES OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE . IN RELIGION ATTACKED BIGOTRY,SUPERSTITION&HOLD OF sacerdotal CLASSES. IN kind LIFE AMIED AT abolishment OF associationS, small fry MARRI term & policeful & SOCIAL INEQUALITIES. 6. VARIOUS SOCIAL EVILS EXISTED DURING 18 TH CENTURY.SEVERAL EVIL usage AND PRACTICES HAD stimulate PART OF Hindi SOCIAL SYSTEM. STATUS OF WOMEN DETERIORATED. LIFE OF HINDUS WAS G everyplaceENED BY rank SYSTEM . seat TO indicator 7. A SYSTEM IN WHICH WOMAN WAS burned-over ON THE PYRE OF HER HUSBAND. SATI SYSTEM 8. CHILD MARRIAGE 9. NO EDUCATION TO GIRLS ! 10. NO widow REMARRIAGE 11. PARDHA SYSTEM choke off TO INDEX 12. VARNA SYSTEM KASHATRIYAS VAISYAS SUDRAS BRAHMANAS BACK TO IND 13. FOUND BRAHMO SAMAJ IN 1828 . ABOLISHED SATI AND CHILDMARRIAGE . A DVOCATED WIDOW REMARRIAGE. CONDEMNED POLYTHEISM. STOOD FOR MODERN EDUCATION FOR ALL. raja RAM MOHANROY 14. HE PERSUADED GOVT.TO ABOLISH SATI & CHILD MARRIAGE. STOOD FOR EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN AND THE RIGHT TO prop TO WOMEN. HE WAS AN INTERNATIONALIST & back up CAUSE OF FREEDOM EVERY WHERE. HIS SAMAJ WAS THE eldest ATTEMPT TO mend HINDU friendship. BACK TO IND 15. ARYA SAMAJ SWAMI DAYANAND 16. THE ARYA SAMAJ â€1875 DAYANAND SARASWATI FOUNDED ARYA SAMAJ. HE ATTACKED CHILD MARRIAGE. HE WAS AGAINST saint WORSHIP. BELIVED IN INFALLIBLITY OF VEDAS. HE OPPOSED CASTE SYSTEM. ADVOCATED EQUAL RIGHTS FOR MEN AND WOMEN. NUMBER OF D. A. V SCHOOLS & COLLEGES WERE STARTED BY THE SAMAJ ALL OVER INDIA. BACK TO IND 17.RAMAKRISHNA MISSION FOUNDED BY VIVEKANAND †adherent OF RAMAKRISHNA PARA- MHANSA. HE ESTABLISHED THE MISSION & EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS . UPLIFTED STATUS OF WOMEN . BACK TO IND 18. ISHWAR CHANDRA VIDYASAGAR-1820-91 WORKED FOR THE CAUSE OF EMANCIPATION OF WO MEN. DUE TO HIS EFFORTS levelheaded OBSTACLES TO WIDOW REMARRIAGE WERE REMOVED BY A LAW IN 1856. PROMOTED EDUCATION AMONG GIRLS & SET UP INSTITUTIONS FOR THEM . BACK TO IND 19. MAHADEV GOVINDA RANADE-1842-1901 WAS A SOUL OF THE INDIAN SOCIAL CONFERENCE-1887. CAMPAIGNED FOR ABOLITION OF CASTE,INTERCASTE MARRIAGES WIDOW REMARRIAGE,EDUCATION FOR WOMEN UPLIFTMENT OF LOWCASTES & HINDU MUSLIM- UNITY.BACK TO IND 20. ANNIE BESANT AND theosophical SOCIETY WORKED FOR REVIVAL OF HINDUISM -ITS PHILOSOPHY& MODES OF WORSHIP. HELPED IMPART INDIANS A SENSE OF vainglory IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY. FOUNDED THE CENTRAL HINDU COLLEGE . ORGANISED HOMERULE MOVEMENT BACK TO IND 21. SYED AHMED caravan inn 22. .ESTABLISHED-MOHAMDEN †ANGLO- ORENTIAL COLLEGE. .INSISTED ON COOPERATION WITH BRITISHERS AND REFORMS AMONG MUSLIMS. .PERSUADED MUSLIMS TO RECEIVE MODERN EDUCATION. ALIGARH MOVEMENT SIR SYED AHMED KHAN BACK TO IND 23. Impact of reform movements. EMANCIPATATION OF WOMEN. WIDOW REMARRIAGE AC T IN 1856. SATI &INFANTICIDE WERE BANNED.MARRIAGEABLE AGE OF GIRLS WAS RAISED 1860. EDUCATION TO GIRLS BEGAN. BACK TO IND 24. LIMITATIONS OF REFORM MOVEMENTS 1. THEY CONCERNED ONLY SMALL SECTIONS OF SOCIETY. 2. WORKED FOR THEIR individual COMMUNITY. 3. FAILED TO EMPHASISE THAT COLONIAL RULE WAS inimical TO THEIR INTEREST. 25. TESTING OF KNOWLEDGE Q1. WHEN WAS BRAHMO SAMAJ FOUNDED? Q2. WHO FOUNDED ARYA SAMAJ? Q3. WHAT WERE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SIR SYED AHMED KHAN? Q4. WHO STARTED HOMERULE MOVEMENT? Q5. LIST EVILS THAT EXISTED IN INDIAN SOCIETY? Q6. WHY REFORM MOVEMENTS DID NOT BECOME POPULAR? BACK TO IND From Social religious reform movements 19th centuryMany Indians realized that the reform of social institutions and religious outlook of people was a necessary pre-condition for the growth of national unity. Through successive movements they carried forward the pioneering work started by few enlightened Indians. This was a difficult task as orthodox elements create large and s trong groups in the country. During the second half of 19th century only two important laws were passed by the British government. One of these passed in 1872 pass inter-caste and inter-communal marriages. The other passed in 1891 aimed to discourage child marriage.Brahmo Samaj Young Bengal land Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Veda Samaj and Prathana Samaj Rama Krishna and Vivekananda Arya Samaj Theosophical Society Sayyid Ahmad Khan and the Aligarh case Cultural awakening Seva Sada: It was founded in 1885 by Behramji Malabari (Parsi social reformer). It was a humanitarian organization that specialized in care of discarded and exploited women specially widows. It provided for education and welfare of women and encouraged widow remarriage. Servant of India Society founded by Gopal Krishan Gokhale in 1905 for social avail. Indian National Social Conference:An offshoot of Prarthana Samaj, founded by Ranade and Raghunath Rao. Its league was held in 1887 at Madras sharing the political platform with the annual session of INC. It virtually became social reform cell of INC. Social value League was founded in 1911 by N. M. Joshi to collect social facts, discuss them and build semipublic opinion on question of social service. Seva Samiti: It was founded by Hridayanath Kunzru in 1914 at Allahabad to send social service, to promote education and to reform the criminals and other fallen elements of society. Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar:Pandit Ishwar Chandra was a great educator, humanist and social reformer. He was born in 1820 in a village in Midnapur, Bengal. He rose to be the Head Pandit of the Bengali Department of fort up William College. He firmly believed that reform in Indian society could only come almost through educ ation. Vidyasagar founded many schools for girls. He helped J. D. Bethune to establish the Bethune School. He founded the Metropolitan Institution in Calcutta. He protested against child marriage and favoured widow remarriage which was leg alized by the Widow Remarriage Act (1856).It was due to his great support for the cattle ranch of education that he was given the name of Vidyasagar. Jyotiba Phule: Jyotiba Phule belonged to a low caste family in Maharashtra. He waged a life-long struggle against f number caste domination and Brahmanical supremacy. In 1873 he founded the Satya Shodak Samaj to fight against the caste system. He pioneered the widow remarriage movement in Maharashtra and worked for the education for women. Jyotiba Phule and his wife established the first girls’ school at Poona in 1851. Saint Ramalinga: Saint Ramalinga was one of the foremost saints of Tamil Nadu in the nineteenth century.He was born on October 5, 1823 at Marudhur, near Chidambaram. He was the last son of his father, Ramayya Pillai and mother, Chinnammayar. growth a deep interest in spiritual life, Ramalinga moved to Karunguli in 1858, a place near Vadalur where the Saint later settled down. His divine powers came to be valu e at the early age of eleven. In 1865 he founded the Samarasa Suddha Sanmargha Sangha for the promotion of his ideals of establishing a casteless society. He preached love and compassion to the people. He composed Tiru Arutpa. His other literay works include Manu Murai Kanda Vasagam and Jeeva Karunyam.His language was so simple as to enable the illiterate people to understand his teachings. In 1870 he moved to Mettukuppam, a place three miles external from Vadalur. there he started constructing the Satya Gnana Sabai in 1872. He introduced the dominion that God could be worshipped in the form of Light. Sri Vaikunda Swamigal: Sri Vaikunda Swamigal was born in 1809 at Swamithoppu in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. His sea captain name was Mudichoodum Perumal but he was called Muthukkutty. He preached against the caste system and untouchability. He also condemned religious ceremonies.Many came to his place to worship him and late his teachings came to be known as Ayyavazhi . By the midnineteenth century, Ayyavazhi came to be recognized as a separate religion and spread in the regions of South Travancore and South Tirunelveli. later his death, the religion was spread on the rear of his teachings and the religious books Akilattirattu Ammanai and Arul Nool. Hundreds of Nizhal Thangals (places of worship) were built across the country. presumption Movement and Periyar E. V. R. : Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy was a great social reformer. In 1921, during the anti-liquor campaign he cut down 1000 coconut trees in his own farm.In 1924, he took an active part in the Vaikam Satyagraha. The objective of the Satyagraha was to secure for untouchables the right to use a road near a temple at Vaikom in Kerala. E. V. R. opposed the Varnashrama form _or_ system of government followed in the V. V. S. Iyer’s Seranmadevi Gurugulam. During 1920- 1925 world in the Congrees Party he punctuate that Congress should accept communal representation. after in 1925, he star ted the â€Å"Self-Respect Movement”. The aims of the ‘Self-Respect Movement’ were to uplift the Dravidians and to key the Brahminical tyrany and deceptive methods by which they controlled all spheres of Hindu life.He denounced the caste system, child marriage and enforced widowhood. He encouraged inter-caste marriages. He himself conducted many marriages without any rituals. Such a marriage was known as â€Å"Self-Respect Marriage. ” He gave secular names to brand-new born babies. He attacked the laws of Manu, which he called the basis of the entire Hindu social textile of caste. He founded the Tamil journals Kudiarasu, Puratchi and Viduthalai to propagate his ideals. In 1938 at Tamil Nadu Women’s Conference appreciate in the noble service rendered by E. V. R. he was given the epithet â€Å"Periyar”.On 27th June 1970 by the UNESCO organization p increase(a) and adorn with the title â€Å"Socrates of South Asia”. Social Policies and regulation : Social Policies and lawmaking-In the beginning, the British interest was circumscribed to trade and earning profits from economic exploitation. in that respectfore, they did non evince any interest in taking the ignore of social or religious reforms. They were apprehensive of interfering with the social and religious customs and institutions of the Indians because of the fear that they ability lose trade advantage. Thus, they adopted the policy of extreme precaution nd nonchalance towards social ejects in India. The one reason why they indulged in criticizing the customs and traditions of India was to generate a feeling of inferiority compound among the Indians. However, in the mid-19th century the social and religious movements, launched in India, attracted the attention of the Company’s administration towards the country’s social evils. The propaganda carried out by the Christian missionaries also stirred the minds of the educated Indian s. Western thought and education and views expressed in different newspapers and magazines had their own impact.Some of the British administrators like passe-partout William Bentinck had evinced personal interest in the matter. There were primarily two areas in which laws were enacted, laws pertaining to women freedom and the caste system. Social Laws Concerning Wome : The condition of women, by the time the British established their rule, was non encouraging. Several evil practices such as the practice of Sati, the Purdah system, child marriage, female infanticide, bride price and polygamy had made their life quite miserable. The place of women had come to be absorbed to the four walls of her home.The doors of education had been shut for them. From economic point of view also her status was miserable. There was no social and economic equality between a man and woman. A Hindu woman was not entitled to inherit any property. Thus, by and large, she was totally dependent on men . During the 19th and twentieth centuries some laws were enacted with the sincere groundss of social reformers, humanists and some British administrators to improve the condition of women in Indian society. The first effort in this direction was the enactment of law against the practice of Sati during the administration of Lord William Bentinck. feminine Infanticide : Female infanticide was another inhuman practice afflicting the 19th century Indian society. It was particularly in vogue in Rajputana, Punjab and the North Western Provinces. Colonel Todd, Johnson Duncan, Malcolm and other British administrators have discussed about this evil custom in detail. Factors such as family pride, the fear of not decision a suitable match for the girl child and the hesitation to bend onward the prospective in-laws were some of the major reasons answerable for this practice. Therefore, mmediately after birth, the female infants were being killed either by feeding them with opium or by st rangulating or by purposely neglecting them. Some laws were enacted against this practice in 1795, 1802 and 1804 and then in 1870. However, the practice could not be completely eradicated only through legal measures. Gradually, this evil practice came to be done away through education and public opinion. Widow Remarriage: There are many historical evidences to suggest that widowremarriage enjoyed social sanction during ancient period in India.In course of time the practice ceased to prevail increasing the number of widows to lakhs during the 19th century. Therefore, it became incumbent on the part of the social reformers to make sincere efforts to circularize widow remarriage by writing in newspapers and contemporary journals. Prominent among these reformers was Raja Rammohan Roy and Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar. They carried out large scale campaigns in this regard mainly through books, pamphlets and petitions with scores of signatures. In July 1856, J. P.Grant, a member of the Gover nor-General’s Council last tabled a bill in support of the widow remarriage, which was passed on 13 July 1856 and came to be called the Widow Remarriage Act, 1856. Child Marriage: The practice of child marriage was another social stigma for the women. In November 1870, the Indian Reforms connecter was started with the efforts of Keshav Chandra Sen. A journal called Mahapap Bal Vivah (Child marriage: The primordial Sin) was also launched with the efforts of B. M. Malabari to fight against child marriage. In 1846, the minimal marriageable age for a girl was only 10 eld.In 1891, through the enactment of the Age of Consent Act, this was raised to 12 years. In 1930, through the Sharda Act, the minimum age was raised to 14 years. After independence, the limit was raised to 18 years in 1978. Purdah System: Similarly, voices were raised against the practice of Purdah during the 19th and 20th century. The condition of women among the peasantry was relatively better in this respec t. Purdah was not so a great deal prevalent in Southern India. Through the large scale participation of women in the national freedom movement, the system disappeared without any specific legislative measure interpreted against it.Struggle against the Caste System and the related Legislation: Next to the issue of women emancipation, the caste system became the second most important issue of social reforms. In fact, the system of caste had become the bane of Indian society. The caste system was primarily based on the fourfold division of society that is to say Brahmins, Kshatriya, Vaishyas and Shudras. On account of their degradation in their social status, the Shudras were subjected to all kinds of social discrimination. In the beginning of the 19th century the castes of India had been go against into innumerable subcastes on the basis of birth.In the meantime, a new social consciousness also dawned among the Indians. Abolition of untouchability became a major issue of the 19th c entury social and religious reform movements in the country. Mahatma Gandhi made the remotion of untouchability a part of his constructive programme. He brought out a paper, The Harijan, and also organise the Harijan Sevak Sangh. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar dedicated his entire life for the welfare of the downtrodden. In Bombay, he formed a Bahiskrit Hitkarini Sabha in July 1924 for this purpose. Later, he also organised the Akhil Bharatiya Dalit Varg Sabha to fight against caste oppression.Jyotirao Phule in Western India and Shri Narayana Guru in Kerala respectively established the Satya Shodhak Samaj and the Shri Narayana Dharma Partipalana Yogam to include self-esteem among the downtrodden. In the Madras presidential term also the beginning of 20th century witnessed the rise of Self-respect Movement of Periyar E. V. R. In order to eradicate this evil practice many other individual and institutional efforts were also made. These movements were directed mainly in removing the disabiliti es suffered by Harijans in regard to plan of water from public wells, getting instauration into temples and admission into schools.\r\n'