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Book No. – 19 (Sociology)
Book Name – Social Background of Indian Nationalism (A.R. Desai)
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1. Women and their low position in pre-British India
2. New Economic Forces, their Impact on Women’s Status
3. Movements to elevate their Status
4. Struggle for Right to Education
5. Women’s Participation in Politics
6. Women’s Participation in Class Struggles
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Movement for the Emancipation of Women
Chapter – 16
Table of Contents
Women and their low position in pre-British India
- The general national and democratic awakening in India was influenced by the new economic environment, the establishment of the new political system, and the spread of modern western education and ideologies.
- This awakening was reflected in the movement for the liberation of Indian women from centuries of social subordination and suppression.
- In pre-British Indian society, except for possibly the early Vedic period, women were assigned a subordinate positionto men.
- Law and religion did not recognize the equality and equal rights of men and women.
- Society granted men rights and freedoms from which women were excluded, and different standards were applied to judge individual and social conduct of men and women.
- Medieval and ancient societies (excluding pre-historic tribal societies) generally held women in subjection to men.
- The British conquest brought a new economic and legal system to India, exposing women to modern democratic influences from Western countries.
- Religio-reform movements like Buddhism partially elevated the status of women, but it was during the British period that significant movements were organized to address the legal injustices against women.
- While there were outstanding women in history like Gargi, Chandbibi, Nurjahan, Razya Begum, Queen of Jhansi, Mirabai, and Ahalyabai, they came from the privileged strata of society, which protected them from the widespread social subjection faced by most women in India.
- These women had freedom and opportunity for self-expression, unlike the majority of Indian women.