Q 1 – What was Brahmo Sabha known as later?
Ans. The later known name of Brahmo Sabha was the Brahmo Samaj.
Q 2 – Why were the people such as Rammohan Roy described as reformers?
Ans. They were described as reformers because they felt that the best way to ensure such changes was by persuading people to give up old practices and adopt a new way of life.
Q 3 – Name the practice against which Rammohan Roy campaigned.
Ans. He began campaigning against the practice of Sati.
Q 4 – Who amongst the reformers was the most famous and used ancient texts to suggest that widows could remarry?
Ans. Ishwar Chandra Vidya sagar used the ancient texts to suggest that widows could remarry.
Q 5 – Who founded Arya Samaj?
Ans. Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded Arya Samaj.
Q 6 – What was criticized in the book, Stripurushtulna written by Tarabai Shinde?
Ans. The book criticized the social differences between men and women.
Q 7 – What did the nationalist’s leaders promise to women?
Ans. Nationalist leaders promised that there would be full suffrage for all men and women after independence.
Q 8 – For which purpose was the Paramhans Mandali founded in 1840?
Ans. It was founded to work for the abolition of caste.
Q 9 – Where did the number of Mahar people found jobs?
Ans. A number of Mahar people found jobs in the Mahar Regiment.
Q 10 – Who wrote the book named Gulamgirit
Ans. Jyotirao Phule wrote the book named Gulamgiri.
Q 11 – What does the social reformers felt?
Ans. They felt some changes are essential in society and unjust practices needed to be sorted out.
Q 12 – Define ‘Sati’.
Ans. Widows who used to burn themselves in the funeral of their husbands were known as Sati.
Q 13 – Who was Raja Ram Roy?
Ans. He was a great social reformer.
Q 14 – Who was the founder of Brahmo Samaj?
Ans. Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
Q 15 – In which year Brahmo Samaj was founded?
Ans. In 1830.
Q 16 – Name the founder
Ans. Swami Vivekananda.
Q 17 – When was the Prarthana samaj established?
Ans. In 1867.
Q 18 – At what place Veda Samsy was established?
Ans. It was established in Madras. (Chennai).
Q 19 – Where does the Madigas belongs to?
Ans. Madigas belongs to Andhra Pradesh.
Q 20 – What was John Allen?
Ans. John Allen was the coolie ship.
Q 21 – What work was performed by Madigas?
Ans. Madiga were experts at cleaning hides, tanning them for use, and sewing sandals.
Q 22 – Who was Pandita Rama Bai?
Ans. Pandita Rama Bai was a great scholar of Sanskrit.
Q 23 – What was the childhood experience of Dr Ambedkar because of his belonging to the Mahar Community?
Ans. Dr Ambedkar was bom into a Mahar family. As a child he experienced what caste prejudice meant in everyday life. In school he was forced to sit outside the classroom on the ground. He was not even allowed to drink water from taps that upper-caste children used.
Q 24 – What was the argument of E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker about the untouchables?
Ans. E.V. Ramaswamy argued that untouchables were the upholders of an original Tamil and Dravidian culture which had been subjugated by BrahmAnswer: He felt that all religious authorities saw social divisions and inequality as God-given. Untouchables had to free themselves from all religions in order to achieve social equality.
Q 25 – What was the objective of associations founded by the upper caste Hinduism?
Ans. The objectives of these associations were to uphold caste distinctions as a cornerstone of Hinduism and how things were sanctified by scriptures.
Q 26 – What was claimed by Phule about the time period before the Aryan rule?
Ans. Phule claimed that before the Aryan rule there existed a golden age when warrior peasants tilled the land and ruled the Maratha countryside in just and fairways. He proposed that Shudras and Ati Shudras should unite to challenge caste discrimination.
Q 27 – How did Muslim women play a notable role in promoting education among women?
Ans. Muslim women like the Begums of Bhopal played a notable role in promoting education among women. They founded primary school for girls at Aligarh. Another remarkable woman named Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain started schools for Muslim girls in Patna and Calcutta. She also argued that religious leaders of every faith accorded an inferior place to women.
Q 28 – Explain the Singh Sabha Movement in brief.
Ans. The Singh Sabha Movement is a reform organization of the Sikhs, the First Singh Sabhas were founded at Amritsar in 1873 and at Lahore in 1879. The Sabhas aimed to rid Sikhism of superstitions, caste distinctions and practices seen by them as non-Sikh. They promoted education among the Sikhs, often combining modern instruction with Sikh teachings.
Q 29 – How challenging was the life for Dr B.R. Ambedkar during his childhood when he experienced caste prejudice in everyday life? How did he challenge the problems faced by low caste people?
Ans. Ambedkar was born into a Mahar family. As a child he experienced what caste prejudice meant in everyday life. In school he was forced to sit outside the classroom on the ground and was not allowed to drink water from taps that upper caste children used.
After finishing school, he got a fellowship to go to the U.S. for higher studies. On his return to India in 1919, he wrote extensively about upper caste power in contemporary society.
In 1927 Ambedkar started a temple entry movement. The movement of temple entry was participated by Mahar caste followers. Brahman priests were outraged when the Dalits used water from the temple tank. Ambedkar led 3 such movements for temple entry between 1927 and 1935. His aim was to make everyone see the power of caste prejudices within the society.
Q 30 – What was the plight of Indian women 200 years ago?
Ans. 200 years ago most girl children in India were married off at an early age. In those days both Hindu and Muslim men could marry more than one wife. Widows were expected to jump into the funeral pyre of their husbands and perform ‘sati’. Women did not have any right to the family property and had no access to education
Q 31 – Mention the caste system that was prevalent in those days in India.
Ans. Four main castes were prevalent in India in those days- Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Shudras.
Brahmans and Kshatriyas considered themselves as “upper castes”. Traders and moneylenders were called Vaisyas. Peasants, weavers and potters were called Shudras.
At the lowest rung were people who laboured to keep cities and villages clean. They were treated as “untouchable”. They were not allowed to enter temples, draw water from the wells used by the upper castes, or bathe in ponds where upper castes bathed. They were seen as inferior human beings.
Q 32 – What were the reasons for the awareness among women?
Ans. Awareness was created among women and the society in general as people started reading more and more. People started reading books, newspapers, magazines, leaflets and pamphlets as they were much cheaper now. There were debates and discussions about social customs and practices which also helped in creating awareness among the women.
Q 33 – Write about Raja Rammohun Roy and his reforms
Ans. Raja Rammohun Roy was a social reformer. He started the Brahmo Samaj in Calcutta.
Rammohun Roy strongly felt that unjust practices against women had to end. He also felt that there were many changes that were necessary for the Indian society to develop.
Rammohun Roy and members of his Samaj felt that the best way to ensure such changes was by persuading people to give up old practices and adopt a new way of life.
He wanted to spread the knowledge of Western education in the country and bring about greater freedom and equality for women.
He wrote about the way women were forced to bear the burden of domestic work, confined to the home and the kitchen, and not allowed to move out and become educated.
Rammohun Roy was well versed in Sanskrit, Persian and several other Indian and European languages. Roy pointed out to the people that ‘sati’ was not practiced during the olden days. Through his writings he condemned the practice of ‘sati’. As the British were also opposed to the practice of ‘sati’ they supported Roy and a law was passed banning ‘sati’ in the year 1829.
Q 34 – Who was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar?
Ans. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a Bengali scholar and a pillar of the Bengal Renaissance. He was an academic, philosopher, educator, printer, entrepreneur, writer, translator, reformer and philanthropist. His efforts to simplify and modernize Bangla prose were significant. He also rationalised and simplified the Bengali alphabet.
Q 35 – What were the changes that could be seen as women became actively involved in reforms?
Ans. The whole scenario changed as women became actively involved in reforms. They wrote books and started schools. They started training centres, and set up women’s associations. Women formed political pressure groups to push through laws for the right for females to vote. They fought for better health care and education for women. They joined various nationalist and socialist movements from the 1920s.