NCERT Solutions Class 8 Social Science (History: Our Past III)
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 8 Social Science (History : Our Past III) Chapter – 8 (Women, Caste and Reform) has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
History (Our Pasts – III)
- Chapter – 1 — How, When and Where
- Chapter – 2 — From Trade to Territory The Company Establishes Power
- Chapter – 3 — Ruling the Countryside
- Chapter – 4 — Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age
- Chapter – 5 — When People Rebel 1857 and after
- Chapter – 6 — Weavers, Iron Smelters and Factory Owners
- Chapter – 7 — Civilising the “Native”, Educating the Nation
- Chapter – 9 — The Making of the National Movement: 1870s – 1947
- Chapter – 10 — India after Independence
Chapter – 8 (Women, Caste and Reform)
Let’s Recall
1. What social ideas did the following people support?
Rammohun Roy
Dayanand Saraswati
Veerasalingam Pantulu
Jyotirao Phule
Pandita Ramabai
Periyar
Mumtaz Ali
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Answer –
Rammohun Roy – Ban of Sati
Dayanand Saraswati – Widow Remarriage
Veerasalingam Pantulu – Widow Remarriage
Jyotirao Phule – Equality amongst castes
Pandita Ramabai – Women’s education
Periyar – Equality to untouchables
Mumtaz Ali – Women’s education
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar – Widow remarriage
2. State whether true or false:
(a) When the British captured Bengal they framed many new laws to regulate the rules regarding marriage, adoption, the inheritance of property, etc.
(b) Social reformers had to discard the ancient texts in order to argue for reform in social practices.
(c) Reformers got full support from all sections of the people of the country.
(d) The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in1829.
Answer –
(a) When the British captured Bengal they framed many new laws to regulate the rules regarding marriage, adoption, the inheritance of property, etc. (True)
(b) Social reformers had to discard the ancient texts in order to argue for reform in social practices. (False)
(c) Reformers got full support from all sections of the people of the country. (False)
(d) The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in1829. (False)
Let’s Discuss
3. How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?
Answer – The reformers tried to convince people that widow burning, caste distinctions, child marriage, etc had no sanction in ancient texts. Their knowledge of ancient texts gave them immense confidence and moral support which they utilised in promoting new laws. hey did not get feared when people raised voice against the reforms they had brought.
4. What were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school?
Answer – The following were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school.
- They feared that schools would take girls away from home, thereby preventing them from doing their domestic duties.
- They felt that travelling through public places in order to reach school would have a corrupting influence on girls.
- They felt that girls should stay away from public spaces.
5. Why were Christian missionaries attacked by many people in the country? Would some people have supported them too? If so, for what reasons?
Answer – People suspected that Christian missionaries were involved in forced conversion of the poor and tribal people from Hinduism to Christianity. If some people have supported them, it must be due to the reason that the poor and the tribal people, converted to Christianity, would get a golden opportunity of going to school. The school would equip them with some resources to make their way into a changing world.
6. In the British period, what new opportunities opened up for people who came from castes that were regarded as “low”?
Answer – The poor from the villages and small towns, many of them from low castes, began moving to the cities where there was a new demand for labour. Some also went to work in plantations in Assam, Mauritius, Trinidad and Indonesia. The poor and the people from low castes saw this as an opportunity to get away from the oppressive hold that upper-caste landowners exercised over their lives and the daily humiliation they suffered.
7. How did Jyotirao, the reformer justify his criticism of caste inequality in society?
Answer – Jyotirao Phule, who stood against caste inequality, believed that the upper castes being ‘Aryans’, are not the original inhabitants of their lands. He put forward his opinions by telling people that the land has always belonged to the lower-caste people and that the Aryans were outsiders. He looked forward to the golden age when lower-caste people would live peacefully without the intrusion of upper castes.
8. Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to the American movement to free slaves?
Answer – Jyotirao Phule wrote a book in 1873. He named the book Gulamgiri meaning slavery. Some ten years before this, the American Civil War had been fought, leading to the end of slavery in America Phule dedicated his book to all those Americans who had fought to free slaves. He did this in order to establish a link between the conditions of the lower castes in India and the black slaves in America.
9. What did Ambedkar want to achieve through the temple entry movement?
Answer – Ambedkar led three temple entry movements between 1927 and 1935. His sole purpose behind these movements was to make people see the power of caste prejudices within society.
10. Why were Jyoti Rao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker critical of the national movement? Did their criticism help the national struggle in any way?
Answer – They were critical of the national movement because the nationalists often made seating arrangements following caste distinctions at feasts. The lower castes were made to sit at a distance from the upper castes. Their criticism helped the national struggle to a great extent. Ramaswamy Naicker inspired the untouchables to fight for their dignity by initiating the Self Respect Movement
