Worksheet – 8

Year: 2023-24Topic: Women, Caste and Reforms

Subject: History Class: VIII
NAME: ________________________________Date: __________________

1 Which British Officer has banned the Sati Pratha in 1829?

A.Governor General William Bentinck banned the Sati Pratha in 1829.

2 What is female infanticide?

A.Practice of killing a girl child soon after the birth is called female infanticide.

3 Write any three adverse effects of casteism on the Indian society?

A.Caste system created inequalities and injustice towards the people of lower caste.
• It led to the deprivation of basic social and economic opportunities for the lower
caste.
• Untouchablity was another outcome ( result) of casteism.

4 Name the social reformer who was popularly known as the Periyar?
A.He was E V. RamaswamyNaicker.

5.How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?
A.Whenever they 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.
 They then suggested that the practice as it existed at present was against early
tradition.
 Thus, the knowledge of ancient texts helped the reformers promote new laws.

6.List the discrimination faced by the Indian women in the 19 th century.

A.(i) Exploitation of women even at home by the their family members.
(ii) Women were denied education.
(iii) Women were denied their right to property.
(iv) Early marriage/child marriage.
(v) Forced to commit Sati.
(vi) Women sometimes, were victims of polygamy because men could marry more
than one women.

7. State JyotiRaoPhule’s contribution to the Indian society.

A. JyotiRaoPhule’s contribution to the Indian society is unforgettable.
 He founded SatyaShodhakSamaj in1873.
 The main objective of this Samaj was to improve the condition of the oppressed
people.
 He worked for the upliftment of the oppressed people throughout his life.
 He displayed the qualities of love and determination in doing social work.

8. Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to theAmerican movement to free
slaves?
A.JyotiraoPhule was concerned with all forms of inequalities and injustices existing in
society – whether it was the plight of the upper-caste women, the miseries of the
labourer, or the humiliation of the low castes.
 By dedicating his book Gulamgirito the American movement to free slaves, he
linked the conditions of the black slaves in America with those of the lower castes
in India.
 This comparison also contains an expression of hope that one day, like the end of
slavery in America, there would be an end to all sorts of caste discriminations in
Indian society.

9. List the movements started by BhimRaoAmbedkar.

A.B.R. Ambedkar belonged to a lower caste family (Mahar) in Mhow village in Madhya
Pradesh.
 He started a Temple-entry Movement in 1927 to allow lower caste people to offer
prayer in temples.
 He had launched a movement against untouchability.
 Between 1927 – 1932 he had led a series of non-violent campaigns for the rights
of ubtouchables.
 He demanded separate electorates for untouchables.
 He had started the temple-entry movement for the lower caste people.

10. What did Ambedkar want to achieve through the temple entry movement?
A.Dr. B. R. Ambedkar started a temple entry movement in 1927 which was participated
by his Mahar caste followers.
 Brahman priests were outraged when the lower castes used water from the
temple tank.
 Dr. Ambedkar led three such movements for temple entry between 1927 and
1935.
  His aim was to make everyone see the discrimination made within the society.

11. Why were Christian missionaries attacked by many people in the country?
Would some people have supported them too? If so, for what reasons?
A.In the nineteenth century, Christian missionaries started setting up schools for tribal
groups and lower caste children.
 These children were trained to find a footing in the changing world. Soon the
poor left the villages and started looking for jobs in the cities.
 People who looked down on the lower caste did not like the progress of this
section of people.
 Social reformers would have supported the missionaries for their work against
social evils

12. How did Raja Rammohan Roy fight against the evil practice of ‘Sati’?
A.RajaRammohan Roy opposed the evil custom of Sati and worked hard to eliminate it
from the society.
 He used to visit the burning ghats at Calcutta to stop the evil practice of Sati.
 He organised groups of his followers to keep a strict watch to prevent any
attempt to force the widows to commit Sati.
 He founded a reform organisation in the name of ‘Brahma Samaj’.

13. Write a short note on Ishwar Chandra Vidhyasagar’s contribution to widow

remarriage.
A.IshwarchandraVidyasagar was shocked to see the pathetic condition of widows.
 They were badly treated, ignored and were not allowed to remarry.
 Vidyasagar pleaded (appealed) in the light of the ancient texts that widows could
remarry, and in this way his movement in favour of widow remarriage spread to
other parts of the country.
 On account of his sincere efforts, the British government passed the Widow
Remarriage Act in 1856. In 1874 ‘Right to Property Act’ was passed, based on
which the widows had a right on her husband’s property.

14. Write a short note about the Civil Rights Movement started in the United
States for the Black Americans.
A. ‘Civil Rights Movement’ was a mission started in United States by Martin Luther to
bring justice to Black Americans.
 In the United States, Black Americans were hated by White Americans.
  They were brought as slaves mainly from Africa to work in cotton plantations and
were treated in an inhuman manner.
 After working hard all day long, they were kept in chains, whipped and tortured
regularly.
 Finally, a great hero among the Blacks emerged. His name was Martin Luther King
Jr. He led the Civil Rights Movement to bring equality for the Black Americans.

15. How did Gandhiji contribute to the upliftment of the untouchables of India?
A.Gandhiji was moved to see social inequality in Indian society and several
discriminations made to lower castes people.
 He tried to abolish untouchability.
 He founded the All India HarijanSangh in 1932 for the upliftment of untouchables
of India and launched a campaign against untouchability.
 He raised their status by calling the untouchables Harijans–or God’s own people.

16. In the British period, what new opportunities opened up for people who came
from castes that were regarded as “low”?
A.The British period saw the rise of the cities.
 As the cities were growing, there was a great demand for labour – labour for digging
drains, laying roads, constructing buildings, working in factories and municipalities,
etc.
 This demand for labour was met by the population migrating from the villages and
towns.
 There was also the demand for labour in the various plantations, both within the
country and abroad.
 The army too offered opportunities for employment.
 Many of these migrating people belonged to the low castes.
 For them, the cities and the plantations represented the opportunity to get away from
the oppressive hold that upper-caste landowners exercised over their lives and the
daily humiliation they suffered.

17. Way back in the past, a literate girl was considered as a curse or bad omen
for her husband. Write your opinion and share your views about the girl
education.
A. Yes, it is true that in the past a literate girl was considered as a curse or bad omen
for her husband and family.
 But, later it turned out to be a superstition only.
 Today many girls’ schools are operating all over India.
 Girls are not only studying but also doing well in various fields of human activities.
 We must take appropriate steps to boost girl education a girl well educated will be
able to make difference in two houses – her father’s as well as her husband’s.

18. Write briefly about the efforts of social reformers who promoted women’s
education.
A. The prominent social reformers who promoted women’s education were
Vidyasagar, DadabhaiNaoroji, JyotiRaoPhule, Keshab Chandra Sen, etc.
 They advocated that women should be given full freedom for education like the
boys. Vidyasagarorganised 35 girls’ schools in Bengal. DadabhaiNaoroji laid the
foundation for female education in Bombay.
 JyotiRaoPhule started a girls’ school at Poona. Keshab Chandra Sen also favoured
women education.

19. Write about different women and their writings to highlight the condition of
women in the 19th century.
A. To highlight the condition of women in 19th century, some of the women started
writing and spreading their views on the plight (troubles) of women in the Indian
society.
1. Rashsundari Debi of Bengal wrote her autobiography ‘Amar Jiban’ in the secrecy of
kitchen. It was the first full length autobiography in Bengali language. Another
Bengali woman writer was Kailashbashini Debi.
2. TarabaiShinde and PanditaRamabai of Maharashtra wrote about how women were
exploited at home, kept in ignorance, forced to do hard domestic labour and treated
badly by the male members.

20. What were the challenges faced by the social reformers of 19th century in
reforming the society?
A. Whenever a social reformer put forward a different idea or opinion for the well being
of the people, the orthodox sections opposed them making offensive opinions.
 They tried to threaten people that if they adopted new ideas, they will be
segregated from the society.
 Facing harsh opposition from the community had been the biggest challenge for
the reformers.

21. Education brings freedom but with responsibilities. How do you think we
should be responsible towards our family and society? Describe.
A. We often talk about our rights, but we hardly think about our responsibilities. In fact,
rights are corresponding to our responsibilities that we perform.
 These responsibilities can be towards our family or society.
 By helping and respecting each other we can contribute to our family and society
and mark our presence as a responsible person.

22. Why were JyotiraoPhule and RamaswamyNaicker critical of the national

movement? Did their criticism help the national struggle in any way?
A.BothJyotiraoPhule and RamaswamyNaicker were critical of the national movement
as they could barely see any difference between the preachers of anti-colonialism and
the colonial masters.
 Both, according to them, were outsiders and had used power for subjugating and
oppressing the indigenous people.
 They believed that though the upper-caste leaders were then asking people all over
the country to unite for fighting the British, once the Britishers had left, they would
continue with their oppressive caste policies, thereby causing divisions amongst the
very people they were trying to unite.
 They believed that India not only need freedom from British but has to be free from
prejudices of caste, religion and gender too.

23.What social ideas did the following people support?

Rammohun Roy
DayanandSaraswati
VeerasalingamPantulu
JyotiraoPhule
PanditaRamabai
Periyar
Mumtaz Ali
IshwarchandraVidyasagar
A.Rammohun Roy- Ban on sati
DayanandSaraswati- Widow remarriage
VeerasalingamPantulu- Widow remarriage
JyotiraoPhule- Caste inequality
PanditaRamabai- Ill treatment of widows
Periyar- Caste inequality
Mumtaz Ali- Women's education
IshwarchandraVidyasagar- Widow remarriage

24. What were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school?
A.When the schools for girls were set up by Vidyasagar in Calcutta and other
reformers,
many people had different reasons for not sending girls to school.
i. They feared that schools would take girls away from home, thereby preventing them
from doing their domestic duties.
ii. They felt that traveling through public places in order to reach school would have a
corrupting influence on girls.
iii. They felt that from public places, girls should stay away.

25.How did Jyotirao the reformer justify his criticism of caste inequality in
society?
A.JyotiraoPhule developed his own ideas about the injustices of caste society.
 He did notaccept the Brahmins’ claim that they were superior to others, as they
were Aryans.
 Phulealso argued that the Aryans were foreigners who came from outside the
subcontinentanddefeated and subjugated the native Indians.
 As soon as Aryans established their supremacy,they began looking at the Indians
as inferior and low caste people.
 According to Phule, the"upper" castes had no right to their land and power.
 In reality, the land belonged toindigenous people, the so-called low castes.
 Phule opined that during the golden age period when warrior-peasants tilled the
land andruled the Maratha countryside in just and fair ways.
Write Q Nos. 22 to 25
MCQS
1. What would you call a person who knows several languages ?
(a) Biographer (b) Linguist (c) Biolinguist (d) Translator
Answer: (b) Linguist
2. Complete by choosing the most appropriate word from the following list of options.
The introduction of _____________ brought with it ideas of democracy, liberty,
fraternity among the minds of Indians
(a) Western education (b) Subsidiary alliance
(c) Doctrine of Lapse (d) Expansion policies
Answer: (a) Western education
3. Who started the journal Asiatick Researches?
(a) Henry Thomas Colebrooke (b) Warren Hastings
(c) William Jones (d) Max Muller
Answer: (c) William Jones
4. The temples of darkness that were falling of themselves into decay. Who said these
words about the Calcutta Madrasa and Benares Sanskrit College?
(a) Lord William Bentick (b) Lord Dalhousie
(c) Lord Ripon (d) Lord Macaulay
 Answer: (d) Lord Macaulay
5. How did the European learning improve the moral character of Indians?
(a) It would expand the trade and commerce
(b) It would make them truthful and honest
(c) It would make the Indians realize the importance of developing resources of the
country
(d) It would make them change their tastes and desires and create a demand for
British goods
Answer: (d) It would make them change their tastes and desires and create a demand
for British goods
6. Where in India a Madrasa was set up in 1781 to promote the study of Arabic,
Persian and Islamic Law ?
(a) Madras (b) Bombay (c) Benares (d) Calcutta
Answer: (d) Calcutta
7. Name the person who was a part of the Scottish missionary who helped to establish
the Serampore Mission
(a) Hudson Taylor (b) Andrew Fuller
(c) William Carry (d) William Ward
Answer: (c) William Carry
8. Assertion (A): The British tried their best to win back the loyalty of the people.
Reason(R): They announced rewards for loyal landlords, they would be allowed to
continue to enjoy traditional rights over their lands.
Ans. Option (a) is correct.
9. Assertion (A): The British could not carry on ruling the land with the same policies
after repressing the revolt of 1857.
Reason(R): Soldiers were recruited from Gorkhas, Sikhs and Pathans.
Ans. Option (b) is correct.
CASE STUDY BASED QUESTIONS
The new demands in the towns increased the requirement of the labourers. Drains
had to be dug, roads laid, buildings constructed, and cities cleaned. This required
coolies, diggers, carriers, bricklayers, sewage cleaners, sweepers, palanquin bearers,
rickshaw pullers. Where did this labour come from? 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. Work in the new locations was often very hard. But
the poor, the people from low castes, saw this as an opportunity to get away from the
 oppressive hold that upper-caste land owners exercised over their lives and the daily
humiliation they suffered.
Direction for Question 1 to 5 are given below: Based on above passage, choose the
correct option.
Q. 1. Why did people from the low castes move to the cities?
(a) There was a demand for labour.
(b) To get rid of humiliation.
(c) To get away from oppressive upper caste landowners.
(d) All of the above
Ans. Option (d) is correct.
Q. 2. Coolies, diggers, carriers, bricklayers, sewage cleaners, sweepers, palanquin
bearers, rickshaw pullers. From where did the people for these jobs come?
(a) People from cities
(b) People who were reformers
(c) People from villages and small towns
(d) Women who were widows
Ans. Option (c) is correct.
Q. 3. Where were the plantations where people went to work?
(a) Assam, Mauritius,Trinidad and Indonesia.
(b) Assam, Awadh and Nagpur
(c) Mauritius, Nagpur and Awadh
(d) Indonesia, Awadh and Nagpur
Ans. Option (a) is correct.
Q.4. Work in the new location was often difficult but why did low caste people saw this
as an opportunity?
(i) It will get them away from oppressive landowner.
(ii) It will save them from daily humiliation.
(iii) It will make them economically independent.
(iv) It will allow them to move away from their family.
(a) a, b, c.
(b) a, b, d
(c) b, c, d
(d) a, c, d
Ans. Option (a) is correct.
Q. 5. Why were the labours needed in the city?
(a) To dig the drains.
(b) To laid the roads.
(c) To construct the buildings.
(d) All of the above.
Ans. Option (d) is correct.