Grade VIII - History

Lesson 8. Women, Caste and Reform

Objective Type Questions (1 Mark each)

I. Multiple choice questions

1. In 1875 which samaj was founded?

a. Brahmo b. Matva

c. Satnami d. Arya

2. were known as Ati Shudras.

a. Brahmans b. untouchables

c. Vaishyas d. touchables

3. The writer of the book “Stripurushtulna” was

a. Pandita Ramabai b. Tarabai Shinde

c. Laxmi Bai d. Rashsundari Debi

4. In which year was the Child Marriage Restraint Act passed

a. 1929 b. 1949

c. 1939 d. 1959

5. were an important untouchables caste of Andhra Pradesh.

a. Madigas b. Sadigas

c. Aadigas d. Tadigas

6. Name the presidency in which untouchables were not allowed in government schools.

a. Madras b. Bengal

c. Bombay d. Chennai

7. He was born in 1827

a. Haridas Thakur b. Rammohan Roy

c. Periyar d. Jyotirao Phule

8. Brahmans claim that they were superior because they were .

a. Rich b. Aryans

c. educated d. Rajputs

1. (a) 2. (c) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (a) 6. (c) 7. (d) 8. (b)

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 II. Multiple choice questions

1. The Brahmo Samaj was founded by

a. Dayanand Saraswati b. Raja Rammohun Roy

c. Vivekananda d. Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar

2. A window home was established at Poona by

a. Tarabai Shinde b. Pandita Ramabai

c. Mumtaz Ali d. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain

3. Peasants and artisans were referred to as

a. Vaishyas b. Shudras

c. Untouchables d. Kshatriyas

4. Periyar founded

a. Self-Respect Movement b. Temple Entry Movement

c. Paramhans Mandali d. Dalit Movement

5. The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College was opened by

a. Khizr Khan b. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

c. Sayyid Ahmed Khan d. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan

1. (b) 2. (b) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (c)

III. Multiple choice questions

1. Who supported the idea of self-respect movement?

a. Mumtaz Ali b. Rammohun Roy

c. Periyar d. PanditaRamabai

2. The idea of widow remarriage was advocated by

a. Dayanand Saraswati b. Rammohun Roy

c. Periyar d. PanditaRamabai

3. The SatyashodhakSamaj association was founded by

a. Mumtaz Ali b. Periyar

c. Jyotirao d. B.R. Ambedkar

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4. Widow Remarriage Act was passed in the year

a. 1826 b. 1856

c. 1876 d. 1886

5. What is coolie ship?

a. Luggage lifter at railway platform

b. A ship that carried many Indians to Mauritius

c. Association of Coolies

d. Non of the above

6. E.V. Ramaswamy was known by the name

a. Phule b. Periyar

c. Vidyasagar d. Dayanand Saraswati

7. During which period did Ambedkar lead three temple entry movement?

a. Between 1900 to 1927 b. Between 1927 to 1935

c. Between 1935 to 1940 d. Between 1940 to 1945

8. PrarathanaSamaj was founded by

a. H.L.V. Derozio b. Swami Vivekananda

c. R.G. Bhandarkar d. Raja Rammohun Roy

9. Which of the reforms movement was founded by H.L.V. Derozio?

a. Young Bengal b. Brahmo Samaj

c. Veda Samaj d. Aligarh Movement

10. Who started schools for Muslim girls in Patna and Calcutta?

a. Mumtaz Ali b. Begum RokeyaSakhawat Hossain

c. Sayyid Ahmed Khan d. None of these

11. The first Urdu novels began to be written from

a. the late sixteenth century b. the late seventeenth century

c. the late eighteenth century d. the late nineteenth century

1. (c) 2. (a) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (b) 6. (b) 7. (b) 8. (c) 9. (a) 10. (b) 11. (d)

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 IV. Multiple choice questions

1. In her book Stripurushtulna, she wrote “Isn’t a women’s life as dear to her as yours is to you.

Her face is not be seen a widowed woman is a bad woman”. Who wrote these words?

a. PanditaRamabai b. Tarabai Shinde

c. Begum RokeyaShekhawat Hossain d. Rashundari Devi

2. Arya Samaj, an organization to reform Hinduism was formed in 1875 by:

a. Swami Vivekananda b. Sri Paramhans

c. Swami Dayananda Saraswati d. Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

3. Sri Narayan Guru, in present day’s Kerala belonged to a low caste of:

a. Ezhavas b. Mahar

c. Madigas d. Agarias

4. In Bombay, ParamhansMandali was formed in 1840 to:

A. Work for the abolition of the caste system

B. Eliminate untouchability

C. Question the injustices of the caste system

D. Violate class taboos on food and touchability

a. A, B, C b. B, C, D

c. A, B, C, D d. A, C, D

5. The SatyashodhakSamaj, an association which proclaimed and propagated caste equality was

founded by:

a. Sri Narayan Guru b. Jyotirao Phule

c. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar d. E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker

6. Young Bengal Movement was started by:

a. Henry Derozio b. James Mill

c. Henry Thomas Colebrooke d. William Jones

7. The Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College was founded by:

a. Muhammad Ali b. Shaukat Ali

c. Sayyid Ahmed Khan d. Deoband School

8. Madigas were an important untouchable caste of present day’s:

a. Madhya Pradesh b. Orissa

c. Bihar d. Andhra Pradesh

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9. A reform association known as ‘Brahmo Samaj’ was formed by:

a. Raja Ram Mohan Roy b. Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

c. Keshav Dutt d. Rabindranath Tagore

10. The practice of ‘Sati’ was banned in:

a. 1826 b. 1827

c. 1828 d. 1829

1. (b) 2. (c) 3. (a) 4. (c) 5. (b) 6. (a) 7. (c) 8. (d) 9. (a) 10. (d)

I. Match the following

Column A Column B

1. Temple Entry movement a. 1864

2. Sati was banned b. 1875

3. Mohammedan Anglo-oriental c. 1829

4. Veda Samaj d. 1927

1. (d) 2. (c) 3. (b) 4. (a)

II. Match the following

Column A Column B

1. The Prarthana Samaj a. Madras

2. The Veda Samaj b. Calcutta

3. The Singh Subhas c. Bombay

4. The Brahma Samaj d. Bengal

5. The Brahman Sabha e. Amritsar

1. (c) 2. (a) 3. (e) 4. (b) 5. (d)

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 III. Match the following

Column A Column B

1. Orthodox a. Peasants, artisans like weavers and potters

2. Suffrage b. An important untouchable caste of Andhra Pradesh

3. Vaishayas c. The women who died on the funeral of her dead husband

4. Shudras d. Fanatic, fundamentalists

5. Sati e. Right to vote

6. Madigas f. Traders and moneylenders

1. (d) 2. (e) 3. (f) 4. (a) 5. (c) 6. (b)

IV. Match the following

Column A Column B

1. Sati a. Jyotirao Phule

2. Modigas b. Shri Narayan Guru

3. Brahmo Samaj c. Burning of women at husband’s funeral pyre

4. Stripurushtulna d. Leather workers

5. Low caste Exhavas e. Raja Rammohan Roy

6. Satya ShodhakSmaj f. Critic of Hindu culture

7. Periyar g. Non-Brahman movement

8. The Veda Samaj h. Established in Madras, 1864

9. A great Scholar of Sanskrit i. PanditaRamabai

1. (c) 2. (d) 3. (e) 4. (a) 5. (f) 6. (b) 7. (g) 8. (h) 9. (i)

I. Fill in the blanks

1. and continued the movement for caste system in the 20th

century.

2. All religious authorities saw social division and inequalities as .

planters.

4. The revolution started in 1776.

5. was the one of the main leaders of the Brahmo Samaj.

6. Henry Louis VivanDerozio was a teacher at College, Calcutta.

7. was the disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa.

8. Samaj was established in 1867.

9. The first Singh Sabhas were founded at in 1873 and at in 1879.

10. college was established in 1892.

1. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Ramaswami Naicker 2. God-given

3. Black 4. American

5. Keshab Chander Sen 6. Hindu

7. Swami Vivekananda 8. Prarthana

9. Amritsar, Lahore 10. Khalsa

II. Fill in the blanks

1. were an important untouchable caste of present-day Andhra Pradesh.

2. Tarabai Shinde published a book named .

3. Raja Rammohun Roy was well versed in , and several other Indian and

European languages.

4. The Satnami movement was founded by who belonged to a low caste family.

5. The Begums of played a vital role in promoting education among women.

1. Madigas 2. Stripurushtulna 3. Sanskrit, Persian

4. Ghasidas 5. Bhopal

III. Fill in the blanks

1. The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in .

2. In 1873, Phule wrote .

3. In the Muslim league demanded ‘Independent State’ for Muslims.

4. was observed on 26th January 1930 all over the country.

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5. The knowledge of texts help the reformers promote new laws.

6. Ambedkar was born into a family.

7. Periyar was an outspoken critic of .

1. 1929 2. Gulamgiri 3. 1940 4. Independence day

5. Ancient 6. Mahar 7. Hindu scriptures

IV. Fill in the blanks

1. Two hundred years ago, most had no access to education.

2. Women who died on the funeral pyre of their husbands were called .

3. founded the Brahmo Samaj in Calcutta.

4. Sati was banned in .

5. Many British officials had also begun to Indian traditions and customs.

6. Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar suggested that could remarry, and a law was passed in

7. Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the reform association called in .

8. Some Muslin reformers such as reinterpreted verses from the Koran to argue

for women’s education.

9. Begun RokeyaSakhawat Hossain started schools for Muslim girls in and .

10. The first novels began to be written from the late nineteenth century.

11. The Satnami movement in central India was founded by a leader named .

12. In 1873, Phule wrote a book named .

13. In 1927, started a temple entry movement.

14. The Aligarh Muslim University was founded by at Aligarh.

15. urged the people to strive for racial equality in America.

1. Women 2. Sati
3. Raja Rammohan Roy 4. 1829
5. Critiase 6. Widows, 1856
7. Arya Samaj, 1875 8. Mumtaz Ali
9. Patna, Calcutta 10. Urdu
11. Ghasidas 12. Gulamgiri
13. Ambedkar 14. Sayyid Ahmed Khan, 1875
15. Abraham Lincoln

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 I. True or False

1. When the British captured Bengal they framed many new laws to regulate the rules regarding

marriage, adoption, inheritance of property, etc.

2. Social reformers had to discard the ancient texts in order to argue for reform in social

practices.

3. Reformers got full support all sections of the people of the country.

4. Brahman priests were outraged when Dalits used water from the temple tank.

5. Shri Naryana Guru proclaims the ideals of unity.

6. The ParamhansMandali worked for the abolition of Britishers.

7. Christian missionaries set up schools for tribal groups and lower caste children.

1. True 2. False 3. False 4. True 5. True 6. False 7. True

I. True or False

1. PanditaRamabai supported economic independence of women, set up widow homes.

2. Reformers got full support from all sections of the people of the country.

3. Jyotirao Phule set up schools for girls in Punjab.

4. Raja Rammohun Roy was the founder of Braham Samaj.

5. People were dissatisfied with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s.

1. True 2. False 3. False 4. True 5. True

II. True or False

1. Raja Rammohan Ray founded the SatyashodhakSamaj.

2. Begum RokeyaSakhawat Hossain established schools for Muslim girls in Patna and Calcutta.

3. Jyotirao Phule wrote a book entitles ‘Gulamgiri’.

4. B.R. Ambedkar was born in a high class family.

5. The Veda Samaj was founded in Madras in 1864.

1. False 2. True 3. True 4. False 5. True

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 Very short answer questions

1. Describe the Child Marriage Restraint Act.

According to the Child Marriage Restraint Act passed in 1929, no man below the age

of 18 and woman below the age of 16 could marry.

2. Why were social reformers felt important?

The social reformers were important because they felt that some changes were

necessary in our society and unjust practices needed to be abolished from the society.

3. What is Sati Pratha?

Sati pratha refers to the widows who chose death by burning themselves on the funeral

pyre of their husbands. Women who died in this manner were called sati meaning virtuous

women.

4. Who was Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar?

Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar was a reformer in Bengal who took forward the cause of

remarriage of widows and educations of women.

5. Who was Sawami Dayanand Saraswati?

Swami Dayanand Saraswati was the founder the Arya Samaj. He raised his voice in

favour of widow remarriage.

6. Write about the Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya

Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya was one of the first institutions to provide girls with the kind of

learning that was usual for boys at that time.

7. Who was PanditaRamabai?

Pandita Ramabai was a scholar of Sanskrit who felt that Hindu religion was oppressive

towards women. She founded the ‘Sharda Sadan’ a school for the widows in Bombay and a

shelter for widows at Poona.

8. Who was Mumtaz Ali?

Mumtaz Ali was a social reformer. Ali reinterpreted verses from Koran in favour of

educating women.

9. Name the leaders who lent their support to demand for greater equality and freedom

for women.

Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose lent their support to demands for greater

equality and freedom for women.

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10. Explain the Aligarh Movement.

In 1875, the MohanmmedanAnglo-Oriental College was founded by Sayyid Ahmed Khan at

Aligarh. The Aligarh Movement had an enormous impact in the area of educational reform.

11. Who was Raja Raammohan Roy?

Raja Rammohan Roy was the Indian reformer who founded Brahmo Samaj in Calcutta and

worked for the emanicipation of Women. He banned the practice of ‘sati’.

Short Answer type questions

1. How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?

Whenever the reformers wished to challenge a practice that seemed harmful, they tried

to find a verse or sentence in the ancient sacred texts that supported their point of view like

Ishawarchandra Vidyasagar used the ancient texts to suggest that widows could remarry.

2. What were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school?

The reasons were-

(i) They feared that schools would take girls away from home. This would prevent them

from doing their household chores.

(ii) Many people felt that sending girls through public places in order to reach school

would have a corrupting influence on them.

(iii) Many people felt that girls should stay away from public spaces.

3. Why were Christian missionaries attacked by many people in the country? Would some

people have supported them too? If so, for what reasons?

(i) The Christian missionaries were attacked by many people in the country because they

suspected them involving in forceful conversion from Hinduism to Christianity.

(ii) Some people have supported them because they set up schools for tribal groups and

‘lower-caste’.

(iii) Social reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, supported the missionaries’ effort to

change the world.

4. Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to the American movement to free slaves?

(i) In 1873, Phule wrote a book named Gulamgiri meaning ‘slavery’. He dedicated to all

those Americans of the American civil war who fought for the abolition of slavery.

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 (ii) He tried to establish a link between the conditions of ‘lower’ castes in India and black

slaves in America.

5. What did Ambedkar want to achieve through the temple entry movement?

(i) Ambedkar started a temple entry movement in 1927. In which his Mahar caste

followers participated.

(ii) He led three such movements for temple entry between 1927 and 1935.

(iii) His aim was to make everyone see the power of caste prejudice within society.

6. Why were Jyotirao Phule and Ramaswami Naicker critical of the national movement? Did

their criticism help the national struggle in any way?

(i) Jyotirao Phule and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker were critical of the National Movement

because it was found that at a feast organised by nationalists, seating arrangements followed

caste distinctions that is lower castes were made to sit at a distance from the upper castes.

(ii) It resulted that the untouchables had to fight for their dignity and Periyar founded

the Self Respect Movement.

7. Explain the caste system in our society.

The people of society were divided into four castes namely-

(i) Brahmans, (ii) Kshatriyas, (iii) Vaishyas and (iv) Shudras.

Brahmans and Kshatriyas were upper castes, Vaishyas came after that and Shudras were

considered as the lowest caste of the society.

8. Name any one reason of change in society.

The one important reason of change in society was the development of new forms of

communications. Books, newspapers, magazines, leaflets and pamphlets were printed.

9. What was the aim of Brahmo Samaj?

Brahmo Samaj wanted the women to acquire a respectable status in the society. It

condemned Sati, was against the Purdah Syatem, opposed child marriage and polygamy.

10. How was the practice of Sati banned?

Raja Rammohan Roy began a campaign against the practice of sati. By this time, many

Britishers had also begun to criticise Indian traditions and customs. They supported the

campaign and in 1829, sati was banned.

11. Explain Widow Remarriage Act.

Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar persuaded the British officials to pass laws for enforcing

remarriage of widows and banning polygamy. The Widow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856.

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12. Name some women reformers.

The women reformers were

 Begums of Bhopal

 Begum RokeyaSakhawat Hossain

 Tarabai Shinde

 PanditaRamabai

13. Who was Tarabai Shinde?

Tarabai Shinde was educated at home at Poona. She published a book ‘Stripurushtulna’ in

which she criticised the social differences between men and women.

14. Describe Gulamgiri.

JyotiraoPhule wrote a book named ‘Gulamgiri’ meaning slavery. He dedicated it to all

those Americans of the American Civil War who fought for the abolition of slavery.

15. Mention the contributions of Veda Samaj

The Veda Samaj was established in Madras in 1864, inspired by the Brahmo Samaj. It

worked to abolish caste distinctions and promote widow remarriage and women’s education.

They condemned the superstitions and rituals of orthodox Hinduism.

Long Answer type questions

1. What social ideas did the following people support?

(i) Rammohan Roy

(ii) Dayanand Saraswati

(iii) VeerasalingamPantulu

(iv) Jyotirao Phule

(v) PanditaRamabai

(vi) Periyar

(vii) Mumtaz Ali

(viii) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

(i) Rammohan Roy opposed child marriage, polygamy and abolished sati pratha.

(ii) Dayanand Saraswati supported widow remarriage and education girls.

(iii) VeerasalingamPantulufavoured widow remarriage and formed an association for

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widow remarriage.

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 (iv) Jyotirao Phule struggled for lower-caste Anti-brahminical ideas in his book-Gulamgiri

and propaged caste-equality.

(v) PanditaRamabaifounded home for widows in Poona.

(vi) Periyarfoght for backward classes and untouchables.

(vii) Mumtaz Ali supported women’s education.

(viii) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar favoured widow remarriage.

2. In British period, what new opportunities opened up for people who came from castes

that were regarded as ‘low’?

In British period, the new opportunities were-

(i) The poor began leaving their villages to look for jobs in cities.

(ii) The expansion of cities created new demands of labour.

(iii) Drains had to be dug, roads laid, buildings constructed and cities cleaned.

(iv) This required coolies, diggers, carriers, palanquin bearers, rickshaw pullers. The ‘poor

from the villages and small towns, many of them from low caste moved to the cities where there

was a new demand for labour.

3. How did Jyotirao, the reformer, justify criticism of caste inequality in society?

(i) JyotiraoGovindrao Phule who struggled for the lower caste was born in 1827 at Poona

in a Mali family.

(ii) He dedicated his life to fight against untouchability and casteism.

(iii) He criticised the superiority of the Brahmins and believe that Brahmins were

actually foreigners, the Aryans who established their rule in India by defeating the native

people.

(iv) He denied the Brahmanical claims to property and power.

(v) He wanted the Shudras and Atishudras to unite to challenge caste discrimination.

4. Give a brief description on the Non-Brahman Movement.

(i) In the early 20th century, the Non-Brahman Movement started.

(ii) The educated, influential and wearthynon-brahman people played a leading role in

opposing the superiority of the Brahmins.

(iii) One such personality was E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker who was also called Periyar.

(iv) He was born in a middle-class family in 1879.

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 (v) He joined the Congress as a youth. At a feast the found that the seating

arrangement had been laid out according to castes. The lower castes were made to sit at a

distance from the upper castes.

(vi) He felt disgusted and left the Congress in 1924. Periyar founded the Self Respect

Movement in 1925, that worked for the awakening of the non-brahmans.

(vii) He referred to Hinduism as full of superstitions.

(viii) He advocated marriage ceremonies without the priest and wanted temples to be

open for the untouchables.

5. Who was Dr. B.R. Ambedkar? What was his contribution in the society?

(i) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was born in the Mahar caste that was regarded as untouchable.

(ii) As a child he had faced the oppressions of the caste system.

(iii) 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.

(iv) In 1927, he started a temple entry movement in which Mahar caste followers

participated.

(v) He also led three such movement for temple entry between 1927 and 1935.

(vi) His aim was to make everyone see the power of caste prejudices within the society.

6. Mention how women reformers helped in changing the conditions of other women?

(i) In early 20th century, women took an active part in the reform movement and

education of girls.

(ii) Some Muslim women, like the Begums of Bhopal encouraged education among women.

(iii) They founded a primary school for girls at Aligarh.

(iv) Begum RokeyaSakhawat Hossain started schools for Muslim girls in Patna and

Calcutta. Indian women began to take admission in universities by 1880s. most of them became

doctors and teachers.

(v) Tarabai Shinde got her education at home.

(vi) She published a book ‘Stripurushtulna’ which criticised the social differences

between men and women.

(vii) PanditaRamabai was a scholar of Sanskrit and earned fame as a ‘Rebel Champion of

Women’s Rights.

(viii) She always felt that Hindu religion was oppressive towards women. She provided

‘shelter for widows in Poona.

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