Summary

Modern Indian History Class 23

Child marriage (5:00 PM)

Reasons:
The Gharbhandhan ceremony has a religious basis as per which marriage before puberty and consummation of marriage post-puberty.
Due to religious basis, not just a socio-religious issue, therefore high use of scriptures by reforms and orthodox Hindus.
Efforts of Vidyasagar led to the age of consent act of 1860, which set the minimum age of consummation at 10 years.
AK Dutt cited medical opinion against child marriage.
Rukhmabai case, 1884-88:
Rukhmabai was married as an infant and after a decade of separate living, she argued that marriage was invalid.
22 years Rukhmabai was taken to court by her husband for denial of conjugal rights.
Rukhmabai's defence committee of reforms was led by Malabari whose 1884 note on child marriage and enforced widowhood has created enormous controversy.
The Orthodox Hindu supported Rukhmabai's husband.
Rukhmabai lost the case.
Two years later in 1890 death of 11-year-old Phulmoni due to sexual abuse by her husband led to the age of consent bill 1891, which set the minimum age of consummation at 12 years.
Now a massive controversy as orthodox Hindus who controlled the masses opposed the bill.
Tilak argued that the British had no right to interfere in Indian customs and religion and that any reform should be the product of not government action but social movements of Indians.
RG Bhandarkar of Pune Deccan college showed by research on Dharmashartas that Hinduism allows marriage post-puberty.
Overall reforms against child marriage failed.

Widow Remarriage (5:20 PM)

The problem of child widows existed existed existed existed existed existed due to child marriage and the high age gap.
Efforts of Vidyasagar led to the Hindu Widow remarriage act of 1856, however upon remarriage, the woman lost the right to the property of her dead husband.
In Maharastra Vishnu Shastri Pandit in 1866 and Telugu-speaking areas of Madras Vir Salingam Pantalu set up a society for Widow remarriage, therefore the debate continued even after the 1856 law.
Jyotiba Phule in Maharashtra made efforts among lower castes for Widow remarriage but he failed.
Pandita Ramabai in Maharastra married late and married a man from a lower caste
She later got widowed and worked for women-related reforms.
She set up a widow's home in Maharastra.
Orthodox Hindus finally won the scripture-based debates, that is Hinduism does not allow widow remarriage.
Due to huge debate, the issue became popular and now the lower caste, which earlier practised widow remarriage stopped it.
By the 1900s only 38 Widow remarriage in Maharastra.
It succeeded only in Haryana as here it was already being practised.

The character of reforms (5.33 PM):

These reforms were led by upper caster western educated brahmins.
Major focus on women-related reforms, since the British used the benchmark of the status of women to decide the status of civilization.
However no leadership of women, and this hurt success of reforms.
They were led by brahmins but were anti-priest.
They were a response to the criticism of Indian civilization by the British that increased post-1813.
They were inspired by the doctrine of reason and Humanism.
Reliance on British legislative and executive authority, therefore top-down reforms and not based on any mass movement.
This hurt the success of reforms and reformers did not even try to build a mass movement.
For example, Roy used complex sanskrtized Bengali Pores not understood by the common man.
Prathana samaj only had 72 members, therefore reforms target was only the upper caste.
Also, the leadership of only the upper caste, therefore lower castes could not associate, and no women leadership, thus no mass movement
The use of British authority led to distrust among the masses towards reforms.
The primary importance was of scriptures as reforms, Orthodox section and British gave primary importance to scriptures.
Therefore reforms searched for modernity/rationality within scripture and did not suggest the adoption of British culture on grounds that it was superior.
Reformers stayed largely silent on issues of castism and even on women's issues in the early phase, as these issues were considered too sensitive and reformers feared alienation from upper-caste Hindus and they were themselves from upper caste and therefore neglected caste issues.
Most followed the method of gradualism.
There existed rival organizations of the orthodox section having greater support from the masses.
Differences in goals and methods contributed to the failure of reforms like in Bharmo samaj.

Post-1857 reformers (6:06 PM):

Post-1857, there was a shift toward greater cultural nationalism and also towards revivalism from the reformism of pre-1857.
Revivalism meant a stronger assertion of Indian traditions.
There was now greater assertion based on cultural nationalism by reformers as well like Ramkrishna Paramhans, Swami Vivekananda, and Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
As per negative revivalism Hindu past was glorious and degeneration took place under Muslim and Christain rule, also not just Hinduism is superior but other religions are inferior.
In contrast, culturally nationalist reformers believed in universalism that all religions lead to God and that God is one.
Ramkrishna Paramhans:
He was an ascetic.
He believed in mediation, renunciation, and monotheism.
He did not directly criticize colonial rule but due to his pure focus on Hinduism, rejected western values indirectly.
Swami Vivekananda:
He believed in the superiority of Hinduism but also in Universalism.
He set up the Ramakrishnan mission in name of his guru in 1897 to spread ideas of Vedanta and social work.
He argued that a Christian could be a better Christain if he followed the Philosophy of Vedanta, therefore did not focus on conversion but on the values of Vedanta.
He argued for the idea of Daridra Narayan, that God Resides in everyone including the poor and that service of Jeeva is the worship of Shiva, therefore believed in social work as a path to spiritualism.
Argued that Indian masculinity is superior to western masculinity as the former focus not just on physical strength but also on mental spirituality.
Therefore Indians are not feminine as argued by the British and Indian masculinity is superior, he started a movement for setting up Akharas/gyms.
He believed in the supremacy of Vedas and accepted idolatry and some Hindu rituals as they simply help develop religiosity, this led to his greater acceptability in the masses.
He represented Hinduism at the parliament of religions in Chicago, USA in 1893, therefore raising the prestige of Indian culture, and argued here that western materialism and Indian spirituality should come together for the welfare of mankind.
Netaji Bose called him the spiritual father of INM in Bengal, therefore represents cultural nationalism and pride without being communal.

Arya Samaj, 1875 (6:48 PM):

It was started by Swami Dayananda Saraswati a radical reform.
He believed in Vedas are infallible(supremacy of Vedas).
Real scientific truths and rationality are there in the Vedas.
Promoted Hinduism as a religion of books (book authority is final) like Islam and Christianity.
The goal was to go back to the pure Vedic past.
therefore Arya samaj was an aggressive response to British criticism and racism.
Strongly argued against caste system and untouchability and promoted intercaste marriages.
Supported varnashrama for organizing society.
He strongly opposed idolatry, priestcraft, infanticide, child marriage, polytheism, and polygamy.
He strongly supported widow remarriage and women's education.
Failed because demanded radical reforms therefore did not get the support of orthodox Hindus and gradualist reforms.
Was successful in Punjab and the northwest provinces
After 1883 Arya samaj became revivalist and now began the Shuddhi movement for conversion to the Hindu movement
In response, Sikhs started the Singh sabha movement and Muslims started Tanzim and Tabligh movement.
Arya samaj also began the Cow protection movement and there were communal riots in 1893, therefore increase in communal tensions post-1883.

Peasants revolts and Tribal uprisings (7:25 PM):

Was the 1857 revolt the culmination of small and big rebellions in 1st 100 years of British rule?
Highlight the similarity between the various grievances and causes.
As previous efforts failed they rose in collectivity in 1857.
Grievances of peasants in pre-1857:
Farming system of 1772 Bengal- oppression by revenue farmers who overexerted land revenue and had the support of British officials.
In Permanent settlement, 1793 main oppressor was zamindar who extracted high rents and extracted Abwabs which were now illegal and had no occupant rights for tenants and Ryots.
Zamindars were supported by British officials and courts.
In Ryotwadi and Mahalwari systems, there was high land revenue by the British, loss of land in a government auction, high-interest rates by money lenders, and loss of land due to indebtedness to money lenders.
Contact farming oppression by indigo planters in Bengal who forced ryots to cultivate indigo in 25% of occupied land, indebtedness to planters who forced ryots to take advances for buying indigo seeds and seeds drills.
Ryots were not given a remunerative price for indigo cultivation which led to the continuation of indebtedness, therefore ryots against forces to take further loans from planters to cultivate indigo.
Soil productivity is greatly by indigo cultivation, if ryots refuse then vacated from the land by planters, which is no occupancy rights.
Therefore oppressor is the indigo planter and British courts since the contract is enforceable and oppressed by Indian agents of planters.
The grievance was that religion was under threat due to Christian missionaries and the British ending revenue or rent-free tenure on lands of religious sects.
Religion helped in giving organization in form of leaders and unity among those who revolted especially when a sect revolted.

The topic of the next class: Grievances of tribals.