CBSE Class 8 History Our Pasts Women Caste and Reform Worksheet Set A

Very Short Answer

Question. What was the Satyashodhak Samaj? 
Answer: The Satyashodhak Samaj was an association Phule founded propagated caste equality. 

Question. Which social reformer was popularly called as Periyar? 
Answer: E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker was popularly called as Periyar. 

Question. Who were Shudras? 
Answer: Shudras belong to labouring castes. 

Question. What was sati? 
Answer: Sati was a historical Hindu practice, in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre. 

Question. Who were known as Vaishyas? 
Answer:  raders and moneylenders often were known as Vaishyas.

Short Answer

Question. What did Ram Mohan Roy said about knowledge? 
Answer: Raja Ram Mohan Roy believed that Indian masses should have access to Education. He was ardent supporter of education and introduction of education in schools. There was also special emphasis on education of girls. 

Question. Who published the book named Stripurushtulna and what is it about? 
Answer: Tarabai Shinde a woman educated at home at Poona published a book named Stripurushtulna (a comparison between Women and Men) criticizing the social differences between men and women. 

Question. What was sati system? 
Answer: Sati is a practice among Hindu communities where a recently widowed woman either voluntarily or by force immolates herself on her deceased husband's pyre. The woman who immolates herself is called a sati which is also interpreted as a chaste woman or a good and devoted wife. 

Question. How was widow's home at Poona helpful? 
Answer: Pandita Ramabai founded a widows’ home at Poona to provide shelter to widows who had been treated badly by their husbands’ relatives. Here women were trained so that they could support themselves economically. 

Question. What was the situation of the children and women 200 years ago? 
Answer:  Two hundred years ago the situation of women was altogether different compared to in the modern times. The practice of child marriage was rampant. Both Hindu and Muslim men could marry more than one wife. Burning of a widow on her husband’s pyre was a gory practice in many parts of India. This was called the sati system. A widow who died in this manner was praised as a woman of high virtues. Women did not have the right to property. Most of the women had no access to education.

Long Answer

Question. What steps did Raja Ram Mohan Roy take to eradicate sati? 
Answer: 
The steps Raja ram Mohan Roy to eradicate sati are:
1. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was particularly moved by the problems widows faced in their lives.
2. He began a campaign against the practice of sati. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was well versed in Sanskrit, Persian and several other Indian and European languages.
3. He tried to show through his writings that the practice of widow burning had no sanction in ancient texts. By the early nineteenth century, many British officials had also begun to criticise Indian traditions and customs.
4. They were therefore more than willing to listen to Raja Ram Mohan who was reputed to be a learned man. In 1829, sati was banned.

Question. Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to the American movement to free slaves? 
Answer: In 1873, Phule wrote a book named Gulamgiri meaning slavery. Some 10 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 thus establishing a link between the conditions of the lower castes in India and the black slaves in America. This comparison also had the 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.

Question. What were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school?
Answer: 
The following were the reasons people had for not sending girls to school are:
1. They feared that schools would take girls away from home, prevent them from doing their domestic duties.
2. Moreover, girls had to travel through public places in order to reach school.
3. Many people felt that this would have a corrupting influence on them.
4. They felt that girls should stay away from public spaces.
5. In many parts of the country people believed that if a girl was educated, she would become a widow.

Question. What was the role of the Vidhyasagar in girls’ education? 
Answer: The role of the Vidhyasagar in girls’ education are:
1. His plan was to set up the female schools in the same fashion as he had done for Model Vernacular schools for boys because the government’s stance on the female education appeared to him to be encouraging.
2. He opened 35 women's schools and succeeded in enrolling 1300 students.
3. To support women education Vidhyasagar organized a fund called Nari Siksha Bhandar.
4. He had incurred a huge expense for opening and running the female schools.
Now he was put into a great trouble.

Question. Why were changes necessary in Indian society?
Answer:  Indian society had been a prey to many evil practices for long time, some were:
1. Most children were married off at an early age. Both Hindu and Muslim men could marry more than one wife.
2. In some parts of the country, widows were praised if they chose death by burning themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands.
3. Women’s rights to property were also restricted. Besides most women had virtually no access to education.
4. In most regions, people were divided along lines of caste. Brahmans and Kshatriyas considered themselves as upper castes. The social customs and practices made the changes necessary in Indian society.