Chapter 17 Women and Reforms

Punjab State Board PSEB 8th Class Social Science Book Solutions History Chapter 17 Women and Reforms Textbook Exercise Questions and Answers.

PSEB Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 17 Women and Reforms

SST Guide for Class 8 PSEB Women and Reforms Textbook Questions and Answers

I. Answer the following questions:

Question 1.
Due to whose efforts the Sati system was declared illegal?
Answer:
Sati system was declared illegal by Lord William Bentick in 1829 A.D. due to the efforts of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

Question 2.
In which year the permission of widow remarriage was granted?
Answer:
Legal permission of widow-remarriage was granted in 1856 A.D.

Question 3.
When and who established Aligarh Muslim University?
Answer:
Aligarh Muslim University was founded in 1920 A.D. Actually it was Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College founded by Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan which later on converted into university.

Question 4.
When and where who founded the Namdhari Movement?
Answer:
Namdhari Movement was started on 13th April, 1857 A.D. at Bhaini Saheb (Ludhiana) by Shri Satguru Ram Singh.

Question 5.
Where Singh Sabha established educational institutions for the women education?
Answer:
Singh Sabha established educational Institutions for women education at Firozpur, Karron and Bhamor.

Question 6.
Write down in brief the contribution of Raja Ram Mohan Roy for the emancipation of women.
Answer:
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a great social reformer of 19th century. He was of the view that society cannot do progress unless women are not given equal rights as compared to males.

He propagated to eradicate Sati system from society. He convinced the government of William Bentick that there was no place of Sati system in ancient religious books or shastras. Due to his reasons and efforts, the government passed an Act in 1829 and declared it illegal.
He wrote many essays for the welfare of women.
He criticised child marriage and polygamy and also opposed the girl infanticide.
He raised his voice against purdah system and told that it is one of the largest obstacle in the way of women progress.
He propagated for women education. He was also in favour of widow remarriage.
He also stressed on giving share to women from ancestral property.

Question 7.
Write down in brief the contribution made by Ishwar Chander Vidyasagar to reform the condition of women.
Answer:
Ishwar Chander Vidyasagar was a great social reformer. He did a lot of hardwork for the interests of women and founded around 25 schools in Bengal for girls education by his own expenses. He struggled a lot in favour of widow remarriage. He was instrumental in 25 widow remarriages from 1855 till 1860 A.D.‘Hindu Widow Remarriage Act 1856’ was passed only because of his efforts. He also criticised child marriage.

Question 8.
Write down in brief the efforts made by Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan for the improvement of the condition of women.
Answer:
Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan wanted to bring reforms in Islamic society. He was of the view that society can prosper if women would be considered as equal to males. He strongly opposed the marriage of boys and girls in the early age. He raised his voice against divorce system. He also criticised purdah-system. He was of the view that purdah is dangerous for the health of women and is an obstacle in the way of progress of women. He considered that the custom of slavery, prevailing in society, is not good. He published a newspaper called ‘Tehzib-ul-Akhlak’ to remove prevailing evils from the society. He did a lot to remove illiteracy from the society. He was in favour of religious education as well as in favour of giving Western education.

Question 9.
Explain the contribution by Swami Dayanand to improve the condition of women.
Answer:
Swami Dayanand Saraswati stressed on the fact that women should be respected in society. He strongly opposed the custom of marriage of boys and girls in early age means child marriage. He was in favour of widow remarriage. He started many widow homes to improve the condition of widows. He founded an institution .called Arya Samaj which criticised Sati system and dowry system. He started many schools to give training of sewing-weaving to poor girls. He motivated the females to get education and opened many girls schools in different parts of the country.

II. Fill in the Blanks :

Question 1.
The women in Hindu society had not right to property.
Answer:
inherit

Question 2.
After the Sati of his brother’s wife a new turn came in the life of ________
Answer:
Ishwar Chander Vidyasagar

Question 3.
Due to the efforts of Keshav Chander Sen in 1872 A.D. banned ________
Answer:
Second marriage

Question 4.
________ condemned divorce system.
Answer:
Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan

Question 5.
________ joined Theosophical Society in 1886 A.D. in England.
Answer:
Annie Besant.

III. Match the words :

Question 1.

A	B
(i) Swami Vivekanand	1. Namdhari Movement
(ii) Sri Satguru Ram Singh Ji	2. Rama Krishan Mission
(iii) Singh Sabha	3. Aligarh Muslim University
(iv) Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan	4. Manji Sahib (Amritsar)

Answer:

A	B
(i) Swami Vivekanand	2. Rama Krishan Mission
(ii) Sri Satguru Ram Singh Ji	1. Namdhari Movement
(iii) Singh Sabha	4. Manji Sahib (Amritsar)
(iv) Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan	3. Aligarh Muslim University

PSEB 8th Class Social Science Guide Women and Reforms Important Questions and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions :

Question 1.
Where was Sri Narayana Guru born?
(a) Kerala
(b) Andhra Pradesh
(c) Tamil Nadu
(d) Karnataka.
Answer:
(a) Kerala.

Question 2.
Which Governor-General of the British India helped in declaring Custom of Sati as illegal?
(a) Lord Hastings
(b) Lord Wellesely
(c) William Bentinck
(d) Robert Clive.
Answer:
(c) William Bentinck.

Question 3.
Who formed an association in Madras Presidency for Widow Remarriage?
(a) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
(b) Veeresalingam Pantulu
(c) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
(d) Swami Vivekananda.
Answer:
(b) Veeresalingam Pantulu.

Question 4.
Who was the main person behind the passing of legislation of Widow Remarriage Act in 1856?
(a) Veeresalingam Pantulu
(b) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
(c) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
(d) Swami Vivekananda.
Answer:
(b) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

Question 5.
Who published a book ‘Stripurushtulna’?
(a) Ramabai
(b) Swami Vivekananda
(c) Ram Mohan Roy
(d) Tarabai Shinde.
Answer:
(d) Tarabai Shinde.

Question 6.
Which of these leaders lent his support to demands for greater equality and freedom for women?
(a) Jawaharlal Nehru
(b) Both a + c
(c) Subhash Chandra Bose
(d) None of these.
Answer:
(b) Both a + c.

Question 7.
When was Paramhans Mandali was founded?
(o) 1840
(b) 1845
(c) 1842
(d) 1847.
Answer:
(a) 1840.

Question 8.
Which of these social evils prevailed in Indian society during 19th century?
(a) Sati Pratha
(b) Untouchability
(c) No widow remarriage
(d) All of these.
Answer:
(d) All of these.

Question 9.
When was Sharda Act passed?
(a) 1929 A.D.
(b) 1930 A.D.
(c) 1931 A.D.
(d) 1932 A.D.
Answer:
(a) 1929 A.D.

Question 10.
When did the British government allow inter-caste marriages?
(a) 1871 A.D.
(b) 1872 A.D.
(c) 1873 A.D.
(d) 1874 A.D.
Answer:
(b) 1872 A.D.

Fill in the Blanks :

Question 1.
In Hindu society, females were not given share in ________ property.
Answer:
ancestrol

Question 2.
A great change came in the life of ________ when he saw his brother’s wife becoming Sati.
Answer:
Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Question 3.
In 1872 A.D ________ we banned by Keshav Chandra Sen.
Answer:
Second marriage

Question 4.
________ opposed the divorce system.
Answer:
Sir Sayyed Ahmed

Question 5.
________ joined Theosophical Scoeity in 1886 A.D. at England.
Answer:
Annie Besant.

Tick the Right (✓) or Wrong (✗) Answer :

Question 1.
Wood’s dispatch of 1854 A.D. gave stress on Women education.
Answer:
(✓)

Question 2.
Keshav Chandra Sen was a famous leader of Arya Samaj.
Answer:
(✗)

Question 3.
Prarthna Samaj opposed widow remarriage.
Answer:
(✗).

Match the Following :

Question 1.

A	B
1. Swami Vivekanand	(i) Na mdhari Movement
2. Satguru Ram Singh Ji	(ii) Rama Krishna Mission
3. Singh Sabha Movement	(iii) Aligarh Muslim University
4. Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan	(iv) Manji Sahib

Answer:

A	B
1. Swami Vivekanand	(ii) Rama Krishna Mission
2. Satguru Ram Singh Ji	(i) Na mdhari Movement
3. Singh Sabha Movement	(iv) Manji Sahib
4. Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan	((iii) Aligarh Muslim University

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Name the four evils prevailed in Indian society in 19th century with which the condition of women became very pity.
Answer:
Sati system, Female infanticide, Purdah system and Polygamy.

Question 2.
Why people killed their daughters in 19th century? Write any two reasons.
Answer:

Lot of money was required to marry the girl child.
It was very difficult to find a suitable match for a girl.

Question 3.
Why people were not educating their girls in 19th century?
Answer:
People thought that giving education to girls is just like giving more freedom to them. Except this they thought that giving education to girls is dangerous for society.

Question 4.
Name two leaders associated with Brahmo Samaj.
Answer:
Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Keshav Chandra Sen.

Question 5.
Who was the founder of Arya Samaj?
Answer:
Swami Dayanand Sarasvati.

Question 6.
Who where and why Scientific society was founded?
Answer:
Scientific society was founded by Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan in Aligarh. It started to translate one book of science into Urdu language.

Question 7.
Who was the founder of Nirankari Movement? With which method he taught to do marriage?
Answer:
The founder of Nirankari Movement was Baba Dayal Ji. He taught to do marriage according to the custom of ‘Gurumat’.

Question 8.
Who started custom of ‘Anand Marriage’? What was its feature?
Answer:
Custom of Anand Marriage was started by Sri Satguru Ram Singh Ji. The main feature of this system was that only one rupee and twenty-five paisa is required to do marriage.

Question 9.
When and where the foundation of Singh Sabha Movement was laid?
Answer:
Foundation of Singh Sabha Movement was laid at ‘Manji Sahib’ (Amritsar) in 1873 A.D.

Question 10.
When a branch of Singh Sabha was founded at Lahore? Who was made its President?
Answer:
Branch of Singh Sabha at Lahore was founded in 1879 A.D. Prof. Gurmukh Singh was made its President.

Question 11.
When, where and who founded Ahmedia Movement?
Answer:
Ahmedia movement was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed at the Distt. of Gurdaspur in 1897 A.D.

Question 12.
When and who founded Sangat Sabha?
Answer:
Sangat Sabha was founded by Keshav Chandra Sen in 1860 A.D.

Question 13.
When Mrs. Annie Besant came to India? With which organization was she associated?
Answer:
Mrs. Annie Besant came to India in 1893 A.D. She was associated with the Theosophical Society.

Question 14.
When was Prarthna Samaj founded? Name two of its main leaders.
Answer:
Prarthna Samaj was founded in 1867 A.D. Two of its main leaders were Mahadev Govind Ranade and Ram Krishan Gopal Bhandarkar.

Question 15.
Who founded Arya Samaj and what did it condemn?
Answer:
Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayanand Sarasvati and Arya Samaj condemned the Sati system and dowry system.

Question 16.
When Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College was converted into University?
Answer:
Mohammadan Anglo oriental college was converted into Aligarh Muslim University in 1920 A.D.

Question 17.
Who founded Rama Krishna Mission and why?
Answer:
Rama Krishna Mission was founded by Swami Vivekananda and he started it in the memory of his teacher Swami Rama Krishna Paramhansa.

Question 18.
According to Sati system, the wife was burnt alive after her husband’s death. Do you know when this evil practice was abolished?
Answer:
In 1829 A.D.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Write a note on Nirankari Movement and Baba Dayal Ji.
Answer:
Baba Dayal Ji was the founder of Nirankari Movement. Birth of girl, in that society, was not considered as good for the family. That’s why people killed their daughters exactly after their birth. Many social evils related to females were there in society such as child marriage, Dowry system, Sati system, etc. Widows were badly treated by the people and they were not allowed to remarry. Baba Dayal Ji tried a lot to eradicate all these evils from the society. He strongly opposed girl infanticide and Sati system. He also taught his followers to marry their children according to ‘Gurumat’.

Question 2.
When and who founded Namdhari Movement? Describe the social reforms done by it.
Answer:
Namdhari Movement was started by Sri Satguru Ram Singh Ji at Bhaini Sahib (Ludhiana) on 13th April, 1857 A.D.
He strongly opposed the prevailing evils of society :

He severely condemned child marriage, girl infanticide, Dowry system and other social evils.
He stressed on giving equal rights to females as compared to males so that their social status could be uplifted.
He condemned the useless expenditure on marriage.
He started a system of marriage which was known as ‘Anand Marriage’. Only one rupee and twenty-five paisa was required to do marriage in such system. He did not believe in caste system as well.

Question 3.
Who was Keshav Chandra Sen? Describe his contribution in the field of social welfare.
Answer:
Keshav Chandra Sen was a famous leader of Brahmo Samaj. He became the member of Brahmo Samaj in 1857 A.D. He founded Sangat Sabha in 1860 which discussed subjects such as religion. Keshav Chandra Sen propagated in favour of women education and widow-remarriage. He strongly criticised customs like child marriage, polygamy etc. Just because of his effort, the British government passed an Act in 1872 A.D. to restrict second marriage.

Question 4.
What is the contribution of Mrs. Annie Besant and Theosophical society in the field of social reforms?
Answer:
Mrs. Annie Besant became the member of the Theosophical society in England in 1866 A.D. She came to India in 1893 A.D. She went from one place to another in India and gave speeches. She propagated ideas of her society by writing books and essays. The theosophical society also brought many social reforms. It also opposed child marriage and caste system. It also does many efforts for the welfare of widows and backward classes. Society opened many boys and girls schools for the development of education. It started central Hindu collage at Benaras in 1898 A.D., where education of Hindu religion and other religions was given.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Describe the work done by Singh Sabha Movement, Ahmedia Movement and Swami Vivekananda (Rama Krishna Mission) for social welfare and upliftment of women.
Answer:
1. Singh Sabha Movement. The foundation of Singh Sabha Movement was laid at Manji Sahib (Amritsar) in 1873 A.D. Its objective was to remove prevailing evils from Sikhism and society. Sardar Thakur Singh Sandhawalia was appointed its President and Giani Gian Singh was made its secretary. All the Sikhs residing in different parts of the country were allowed to become the member of Singh Sabha. Another branch of Singh Sabha was opened at Lahore in 1879 A.D. and Prof. Gurmukh Singh was made its President. Gradually many branches of Singh Sabha were founded in Punjab. Propagators of Singh Sabha strongly condemned the prevailing caste system, untouchability and other social evils in society.

This movement propagated to give equal rights to females as compared to males. It criticised the evils related to women like Purdah system, Child marriage, Polygamy and restriction on widow remarriage. Singh Sabha opened widow-homes for the welfare of widows. It also gave special emphasis on women education. Sikh girls school at Firozpur, Khalsa Bhujang school Karron and Vidya Bhandar Bhamor are famous girls schools which were started by Singh Sabha.

2. Ahmedia Movement. The Foundation of the Ahmedia Movement was laid by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed in 1853 A.D. at Qadian Distt. Gurdaspur. It told the people to live according to the teachings of ‘Quran Sharif. It propagated for mutual brotherhood and religious tolerance. They propagated to sacrifice evil customsr superstitions and evils from the society. They also propagated for religious education as well as for western education. They founded many schools and colleges.

3. Swami Vivekananda and Rama Krishna Mission. Ram,a Krishna Mission was founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897 A.D. in the memory of his Guru ‘Swami Ram Krishna Paramhans’. He criticised the prevailing superstitions’ and useless customs of Indian society. He did not believe in caste system and untouchability. He tried to improve the condition of women. He was in favour of giving equal rights to both males and females. He opposed child infanticide, child marriage, dowry system etc. He propagated for women education and established many schools and libraries.

Question 2.
Describe the impacts of Reform Movements of 19th century.
Answer:
As a result of efforts of the Indian reformers, the British government took several steps to eradicate social evils from the society. It gave special care to improve the condition of women.

The British government passed Acts in 1795 A.D. and in 1804 A.D. and imposed ban on female infanticide.
Lord William Bentick passed an Act in 1829 A.D. and imposed ban on Sati system.
Government passed an Act in 1843 A.D. and eliminated Slavery-system from Indian society.
Widow-remarriage was given legal sanction in 1856 A.D. just because of efforts of great social reformer of Bengal, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
The government passed an Act in 1860 A.D. and fixed the minimum age of marriage of girls at 10 years. According to Sharda Act of 1929 A.D. minimum age of marriage was fixed at 16 years for boys 14 years for girls.
In 1872 A.D., the Government passed an Act and gave sanction to Inter caste marriage.
Wood’s Despatch in 1854 A.D. gave stress on women education.

Question 3.
Write down the condition of women in the 19th century.
Or
Explain the condition of women in the 19th century. (P.S.E.B. 2020)
Answer:
The condition of women in Indian society of 19th century was very pitiable. They lived a hell like life because of many social evils like Sati system, female infanticide, slavery system, purdah-system, restriction on widow remarriage, polygamy, etc. To remove these evils from the Indian society, many socio-religious movements were started in 19th century.

Main Social Evils Related to Women
1. Girl Child Infanticide. Birth of a girl, in society, was not considered as good for the family. It had many reasons. First of all, parents had to spent a lot of money on marriage of their daughter which was out of reach of a common man. Secondly, it was very difficult for parents to find a suitable partner for their daughter. Thirdly, if any parents were unable to marry their daughter, it was also not considered good for the family. That’s why many people killed their daughters exactly after their birth.

2. Child Marriage. Parents used to get their daughters married at an early age. That’s why generally girls remained illiterate. If husband of any girl died in his early age then she was forced to go for Sati or she had to live whole of her life as widow.

3. Sati System. According to the custom of Sati system, if husband of any female dies then she has to set on the funeral pyre of husband. In this way she was forced to go for Sati system.

4. Restriction on Widow marriage. Widow marriage was severely restricted by society. Widow was disrespected in society. She was forced to have hair cut and she was forced to wear white clothes for whole of her life.

5. Purdah System. According to Purdah system, females had to live in Purdah for whole of their life. It had a very bad impact on their health and progress.

6. Dowry System. According to Dowry system, girls are given dowry at the time of their marriage. Poor people were forced to take loan from money-lenders to give dowry. That’s why many girls were forced to commit suicide.

7. Illiteracy of Women. Most of the people did not care about giving education to their girls. Giving them education was considered useless so that they could not become self-dependent. Giving education to girls was also considered dangerous for society.

8. Not giving property rights to women in Hindu Society; Women, in Hindu Society, were not given any right over ancestral property.

Question 4.
Write down different views of social reformers and their efforts for the improvement of the condition of women.
Answer:
Views and efforts of different social reformers about education and improving condition of women are given below :

1. Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a great social reformer of 19th century. He was of the view that society cannot do progress unless women are not given equal rights as compared to males.

He propagated to eradicate the Sati system from society. He convinced the government of William Bentick that there is no place of Sati Pratha in ancient religious books or shastras. Due to his reasons and efforts, the government passed an Act in 1829 A.D. and declared it illegal.
He wrote many essays for the welfare of women.
He criticised child marriage and polygamy and also opposed female infanticide.
He raised his voice against Purdah system and told that it is one of the largest obstacle in the way of women progress.
He also stressed on giving shares to women from ancestral property.

2. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a*great social
reformer. He did a lot of hard work for the interests of women and founded around 25 schools in Bengal for girl’s education on his own expenses. He struggled a lot in favour of widow remarriage. He was instrumental in 25 widow remarriages from 1855 till 1860 A.D. ‘Hindu Widow Remarriage Act’ 1856 was passed only because of his efforts. He also criticised child marriage.

3. Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan. Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan wanted to bring reforms in Islamic society. He was of the view that society can prosper if women would be considered equal to males. He strongly opposed the marriage of boys and girls in an early age. He raised his voice against the divorce system. He also criticised Purdah System. He was of the view that Purdah is dangerous for the health of women and is an obstacle in the way of progress of women. He considered that the custom df slavery, prevailing in society, is not good. He published a newspaper called ‘Tehzib-ul-Akhlak’ to remove the prevailing evils from society. He did a lot to remove illiteracy from. society. He was in favour of religious education as well as in favour of giving western education.

4. Swami Dayanand Sarasvati. Swami Dayanand Sarasvati stressed on the fact that women should be respected in society. He strongly opposed the custom of marriage of boys and girls in early age means child marriage. He was in favour of widow remarriage. He started many widow homes to improve condition of widows. He founded an institution called Arya Samaj which criticised Sati system and dowry system. He started many schools to give training of sewing-weaving to poor girls. He motivated females to take education and opened many girls schools in different parts of the country.

5. Mrs. Annie Besant. Mrs. Annie Besant was the member of the Theosophical society. This society strongly opposed child marriage for the welfare of women and raised its voice in favour of widow-remarriage. This society opened many schools of boys and girls for the development of education. It founded Hindu college at Benaras in 1898 A.D. This college gave education of Hindu religion as well as of other religions.

Question 5.
Explain why so many reformers paid special attention towards the condition of women?
Answer:
Many social reforms gave special emphasis on problems of women due to the below reasons :

Different social reformers were of the view that it is necessary to stop atrocities committed on women.
Social reformers were of the view that the education of women is necessary to eradicate present evils from society.
They felt that if we need to get freedom of country from political slavery of foreign countries, first of all our home and society should be reformed.
They also felt that it is necessary to improve the condition of women to eradicate prevailing social evils from the society.
Social reformers were of the view that democratic system of the country is useless without equality in society. So they tried to give equal rights to women as compared to males.

Question 6.
Explain the contribution made by the social reformers of Maharashtra for the emancipation of women.
Answer:
Social reformers founded many institutions in Maharashtra. These institutions started special movements to improve the condition of women and their description is given below:
1. Paramhans Sabha. Social reformers of Maharashtra started movements in the 19th century for bringing consciousness to society. Paramhans Mandali was founded in 1849 A.D. It started the religious-social reform movement in Bombay. Its main objective was to oppose idol worship and the caste system. This Sabha started many schools of women’s education.

It also started institutions to give education in the evening. Jyotiba Phooley opened a school at Phone for the girls of scheduled castes so that the condition of women could be improved. He also tried to improve the condition of widows. That’s why the government passed an Act called the ‘Widow Remarriage Act’ in 1856 A.D. He opened an orphanage for the children of widows. There was another social reformer of Maharashtra ‘Gopal Hari Deshmukh’ who was famous by the name of ‘Lok-Hitkari’. He criticized social evils and stressed social welfare.

2. Prarthna Samaj. Prarthna Samaj was founded in Maharashtra in 1867 A.D. Mahadev Govind Ranade and Ram Krishna Gopal Bhandarkar were famous leaders of this society. They strongly opposed the caste system and child marriage. They were in favour of widow remarriage. They found ‘Vidhva-Vivaha Sangh’. They also opened educational institutions and orphanages at many places. Just because of their efforts, Deccan Educational Society was founded in 1884 A.D., which started Deccan college at Pune.