25 Voluntary Initiatives/Development & Welfare Movements in 19th & 20th Century

Dr. Vijeta Dr. Vijeta

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Contents

 

Introduction

 

1.  Voluntary Initiatives/Development & Welfare Movements Pertaining to Women

 

1.1Mahatma Gandhi

 

1.2 Brahmo Samaj and Raja Ram Mohan Roy

 

1.3 Arya Samaj and Swami Dayanand Saraswati

 

1.4 Prarthana Samaj and Ranade

 

1.5 Satya Shodhak Samaj and Jotirao Govindrao Phule

 

1.6 Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

 

1.7 Virchand Gandhi

 

2.  Voluntary Initiatives/Development & Welfare Movements Pertaining to Anti-Caste/Class 2.1 Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

 

2.2 Vitthal Ramji Shinde

 

2.3 Jyotirao Govindrao Phule

 

2.4 Dayanand Saraswati

 

3.  Tribal Movements during 19th and 20th Century

 

Summary

 

Learning objectives:

 

Through this e-content, one will be able

  • To know about the voluntary initiatives/development & welfare movements in 19th & 20th century in Indian society
  • To know about the leaders who as well as movements which brought change in the society during 19th and 20th century
  • To understand the importance of women emancipation, education
  • To know about the anti-caste/class, untouchability and tribal movements

 

Introduction

 

In later years, with the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, political ideas of equality, human rights and social welfare led to formation of intellectual groups and thereafter of organisations which started taking up issues of social concern. In India, such social action groups began taking shape in the early 19th century. The socio-cultural regeneration in 19th century India was occasioned by the colonial presence, but not created by it (Government of India, 2008). Ideas of social reform combined with national sentiment led to the formation of Societies and Sabhas such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Arya Samaj, Prathana Sabha, Indian National Social Conference etc. Important social figures like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Keshav Sen, Dayanand Saraswati, Jyotiba Phule and Mahadev Govind Ranade provided leadership to this movement to take up issues to combat social bigotry, unequal status of women, the caste system, irrational beliefs and practices based on superstition. The Ahmediya and Aligarh movements, the Singh Sabha and the Rehnumai Mazdeyasan Sabha represented the spirit of reform among the Muslims, the Sikhs and the Parsees respectively. Religion being the dominant ideology of the period, to some extent, it influenced the growth of the reform movement in the country. But, by and large, contemporary social action groups were inherently driven by intellectual and rational intentions. They created organisational structures which were solidly based on social support and participation.The Union Government in its National Policy on the “Voluntary Sector” (formulated by the Planning Commission and approved by the Union Cabinet in May, 2007) stipulates that “Voluntary Organisations (VOs) mean to include organisations engaged in public service, based on ethical, cultural, social, economic, political, religious, spiritual, philanthropic or scientific and technological considerations. VOs include formal as well as informal groups, such as: Community-Based Organisations (CBOs); Non-Governmental Development Organisations (NGDOs); charitable organisations; support organisations; networks or federations of such organisations; as well as Professional Membership Associations”.

 

1. Voluntary Initiatives/Development & Welfare Movements Pertaining to Women

 

Hindu society in the 19th century suffered from religious illusions that Hindu scriptures did not sanction female education of girls wrought wrath of gods leading to their widowhood. The Christian missionaries, whatever their motive, were the first to set up to Calcutta Female Juvenile Society in 1819. However, the celebrated name of J.E.D. Bethune, President of the council of Education, will always be remembered with respect. In 1849 he founded a Girl’s School in Calcutta. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar also did a lot in popularising the cause of education and was associated with no less than thirty-five girl’s schools in Bengal. In Bombay the students of Elphinstone Institute became the spearhead of the movement for women education and founded the Students Literary Society. Charles Wood’s dispatch on Education laid great stress on the need for female education. In the broad perspective, women education became a part of the general campaign for amelioration of the plight of women in society.

 

1.1 Mahatma Gandhi: M.K. Gandhi remained at the helm of political affairs, since very early age until his death. He fought for migrated workers „rights and against apartheid in Africa, after his arrival in India in 1915, he started fighting for Indian independence. Gandhi‟s approach was broad and his political ideology was also different. He thought upliftment of poor and marginalized as part of his political goal. Empowerment of underprivileged was the ultimate aim of his theory of state. He considered state as welfare and democratic institution where equality in all forms was the true independence. Hence he took up social reforms along with his political activities. M. K. Gandhi was a stalwart who took education as a primary goal and economic independence was to follow the suite. His philosophy for reforms emphasized upon root of the cause, hence he opposed untouchability in any form. This was the basic way to ensure equality at social and humane level. After then education, which was to enrich mind and conscious of human? Education would also be employment and cottage industry oriented which not only would bring in economic independence but also instill confidence and self-respect in the society. He propagated and acted upon ideas related to stave off other social evils and upliftment of women. Thus M.K. Gandhi was not only political thinker but also a social reform at best.

 

 

1.2 Brahmo Samaj and Raja Ram Mohan Roy: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was popularly known as the ‘Father of Indian Renaissance ‘ was born on 22nd May 1772 in a Brahmin family in Bengal. He founded the Atmiya Sabha in 1815 and the Brahmo Samaj on 20th August 1828. Through these organizations/Institutions he fought against Orthodox Hindus and the fanatic Christian Missionaries. He was against of Sati system, Polygamy, Child marriage, Caste system and Untouchability. He was the great supporter of Inter-caste marriage, women education, Widow Remarriages etc. Raja Rammohan Roy was not merely a religious reformer but a social reformer also. His greatest achievement was the abolition of Sati in 1829. Raja Rammohan Roy realized that the practice of Sati was due to the extremely low position of Hindu women. Therefore he started working as a stout champion of women‟s rights. He worked very hard for years to stop this practice of „Sati‟. In the early 1818 he set out to rouse public opinion on the question of Sati. On the one hand he showed by citing the authority of the oldest sacred books that the Hindu religion at its best was opposed to the practice and on the other, he appealed to reason and humanity and compassion of the people. He visited the burning Ghats of Calcutta to try and persuade the relatives of widows to give up their plan of self immolation. His campaign against Sati aroused the opposition of the orthodox Hindus who bitterly attacked him. He advocated the abolition of polygamy (a practice of man having more than one wife) and child marriage. He wanted women to be educated and given the right to inherit property. He condemned the subjugation of women and opposed the prevailing ideas that women were inferior to men in intellect or in a moral sense. He advocated the rights of widows to remarry.

 

1.3 Arya Samaj and Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883): Swami Dayanand was born in 1824 in a small town of Gujarat. Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the ‘Arya Samaj’ in 1875 in Bombay and he was one of the maker of Modern India. His Arya Samaj gave emphasis on the liberation of the Hindu Society. He called people „Go back to the Veda‟ created consciousness among the people. Dayanand Saraswati undertook a tour of the entire county, made fiery speeches condemning the caste system, idolatry, and child marriages and encouraged remarriage of widows. He advocated the ideal age for a girl to be between 16 and 24, and for men between 25 and 40. Dayanand Saraswati was the first leader in the field of theology who welcomed the advances of sciences and technology. To him, the Vedas as the source book contain the seed of science, and to him, the Vedas advocate the philosophy of dynamic realism.

 

1.4 Prarthana Samaj and Ranade: The Prarthana Samaj was established in Bombay by Dr. Atma Ram Pandurang (1825-1898) in 1876 with the objective of rational worship and social reform. The two great members of this Samaj were Shri R.C. Bhandarkar and Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade. They devoted themselves to the work of social reform such as inter-caste dining, inter-caste marriage, widow remarriage and improvement of the lot of women and depressed classes. Justice Mahavdev Govind Ranade (1842-1901) devoted his entire life to Prarthana Samaj. He was the founder of the Widow Remarriage Association (1861) and the Deccan Education Society. He established the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha as well. To Ranade, religious reform was inseparable from social reform. He also believed that if religious ideas were rigid there would be no success in social, economic and political spheres. M.G. Ranade was the leader of social reformation and cultural renaissance in Western India. Ranade‟s great message to the persons who were involved in social service was “Strength of numbers we cannot command, but we can command earnestness of conviction, singleness of devotion, readiness for self-sacrifice, in all honest workers in the cause.”

 

1.5 Satya Shodhak Samaj and Jotirao Govindrao Phule: Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, who was a prominent activist, thinker and social reformer from the Indian state of Maharashtra during the 19th century. During his time, he tried bringing in positive renovations in the spheres of education, agriculture, caste system, social position of women et al. Out of everything that Phule ever did, he’s most remembered for his selfless service to educate women and lower caste people. He worked for the upliftment of women, took up the cause of women and downtrodden masses. Jyotiba with his wife started a girls school in Poona, in 1857. He also opened a school for the children of the depressed classes. Jotiba Phule was also a pioneer of the widow remarriage movement in Maharashtra. He challenged the dominance of Brahmins and worked for organizing and activating the masses. He championed the cause of villagers and actively worked for rural development in Maharashtra. Jotiba was given the tile of „Mahatma‟ for his work for the cause of the oppressed. In 1873, he founded the Satya-Shodhak to give strength to his movement and make it popular.

 

1.6 Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar: Another outstanding reformer in Bengal was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891). A scholar of great depths, he dedicated himself to the cause of the emancipation of women. It was due to his sincere efforts that obstacles to the marriage of widows were removed through a law in 1856. He played a leading role in promoting education of girls and started and helped the setting up a number of schools for girls.

 

1.7 Virchand Gandhi: He is a 19th-century Indian patriot who was a friend of Mahatma Gandhi and contemporary to Swami Vivekananda. He and Swami Vivekananda drew equal attention at the first World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. He was key member of Indian National Congress and as a reformer established. He helped in establishing the Society for the Education of Women in India (SEWI), under the banner of SEWI; several Indian women came to USA for higher studies, Gandhi Philosophical Society & School of Oriental Philosophy.

 

2. Voluntary Initiatives/Development & Welfare Movements Pertaining to Anti-Caste/Class

 

The backward classes have been deprived of many social, economic, political and religious privileges. These were treated as untouchables and subjected to extreme forms of exploitation. While the presence of structural conditions of relative deprivation provided only the necessary context for the genesis of protest movements, certain external influences provided the sufficient conditions to create an awakening among them. The Christian missionaries were the first group to organize a programme for them. The missionaries not only converted them to different denominations but initiated a broad based programme involving English education and setting up of orphanages and other special welfare programmes. Those of the depressed classes who were converted to Christianity soon developed a different life style from their contemporaries. They received English education and were recruited to various government jobs. A further impetus was provided by the national movement, which provided an ideology of egalitarianism and supported social movements, which revolted against discrimination of any kind. Then there were the reform movements, which initiated programmes of education and welfare for the backward classes. These movements were against many orthodox brahmanical practices including their attitudes towards the untouchables. Finally British abolished slavery and introduced an egalitarian system of law, liberal education and notions of representative government. All these developments provided a favourable climate for the genesis of social movements with distinct ideologies and leadership among the backward classes. They began to organize themselves in different parts of India establishing new identities based on diverse ideologies. These include claims of higher Varna status through a reinterpretation and recasting of appropriate mythologies of origin. For example several castes like Ahirs in North India, Gopas in Bengal, Gollas in A.P and Karnataka and Konars in Tamil Nadu claimed descent from Yadav dynasty to which Lord Krishna belonged. The rejection of Brahmanical ideology and culture was another protest movement. The Dravida Kazhagam movement in TamilNadu idealized the Dravidian culture and religion and attacked the Aryan culture and religion. Some of the leaders in India, during 19th and 20th worked as anti-caste or class. These are listed as follows:

 

2.1 Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: Dr B R Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was one of the architects of the Indian Constitution. He was a well-known politician and an eminent jurist. Ambedkar’s efforts to eradicate the social evils like untouchablity and caste restrictions were remarkable. The leader, throughout his life, fought for the rights of the dalits and other socially backward classes. Ambedkar opined that there should be separate electoral system for the Untouchables and lower caste people. He also favoured the concept of providing reservations for Dalits and other religious communities. Ambedkar began to find ways to reach to the people and make them understand the drawbacks of the prevailing social evils. He launched a newspaper called “Mooknayaka” (leader of the silent).

 

2.2 Vitthal Ramji Shinde: He was a prominent campaigner on behalf of the Dalit movement in Maharashtra and established the Depressed Classes Mission to provide education to the Dalits in Maharashtra.

 

2.3 Jyotirao Govindrao Phule: He was a prominent activist, thinker and social reformer from the Indian state of Maharashtra during the 19th century. He derived justice and equal rights for the farmers and the lower caste.

 

2.4 Dayanand Saraswati: He is the founder of the ‘Arya Samaj’ in 1875 in Bombay and he was one of the maker of Modern India. His Arya Samaj gave emphasis on the liberation of the Hindu Society. He called people „Go back to the Veda‟ created consciousness among the people. The most influential movement of religious and social reforms in northern India was started by Dayanand Saraswati. He held that the Vedas contained all the knowledge imparted to man by God and essentials of modern science could also be traced in them. He was opposed to idolatry, ritual and priesthood, particularly to the prevalent caste practices and popular Hinduism as preached by the Brahmins. He favoured the study of western science.

 

3. Tribal Movements during 19th and 20th Century

 

Numerous uprisings of tribals have taken place beginning with one in Bihar in 1772, followed by many revolts in Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland. The important tribes involved in revolt in the nineteenth century were Mizos (1810), Kols (1795 and 1831), Mundas (1889), Daflas (1875), Khasi and Garo (1829), Kacharis (1839), Santhals (1853), Muria Gonds (1886), Nagas (1844 and 1879), Bhuiyas (1868) and Kondhas (1817). G.S. Ghurye attacked Elwin‟s position in the Aboriginals, So called & their future (1943, republished in 1959 as the Scheduled Tribes). Ghurye pointed the complex history of migration in the subcontinent & to the close relatives & cultural similarities between tribal groups and their Hindu neighbours in order to argue against the tribe/caste distribution (Upadhya, 1996).

 

The tribal movements may also be classified on the basis of their orientation into four types:

 

(1)   Movements seeking political autonomy and formation of a state (Nagas, Mizos, Jharkhand),

 

(2)   Agrarian movements,

 

(3)   Forest-based movements, and

 

(4)   Socio-religious or socio-cultural movements (the Bhagat movement among Bhils of Rajasthan and

 

Madhya Pradesh, movement among tribals of south Gujarat or Raghunath Murmu‟s movement among the Santhals).

 

If we take into consideration all the tribal movements, including the Naga revolution (which started in 1948 and continued up to 1972 when the new elected government came to power and the Naga insurgency was controlled), the Mizo movement (guerrilla warfare which ended with the formation of Meghalaya state in April 1970, created out of Assam and Mizoram in 1972), the Gond Raj movement (of Gonds of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, started in 1941 for a separate state and reaching its peak in 1962-63), the Naxalite movements (of the tribals in Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Assam), the agrarian movements (of the Gonds and the Bhils in Madhya Pradesh), and the forest-based movements (of the Gonds for getting customary rights in the forests), it could be said that the tribal unrest and the resultant movements were mainly movements launched for liberation from (i) oppression and discrimination, (ii) neglect and backwardness, and (iii) a government which was callous to the tribals‟ plight of poverty, hunger, unemployment and exploitation.The rebellious tribal leaders revolted against the British and exhorted their followers to drive out the outsiders. Such movements were launched by Oraon, Mundas, Maikda, etc., in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and North-East India. After independence, the tribal movements were launched either for maintaining cultural identity or for demanding a separate state or for asserting their status as caste Hindus through sanskritisation process or on economic issues (Mamta Aggarwal). Risley‟s well known racial theory of caste was an elaboration of the Aryan invasion theory of Indian history. He proposed that the caste hierarchy reflects in various degrees, the intermingling of the dark, primitive autochthonous (Dravidian &  Kolarian) people with the invading Aryans. The distribution between Caste & Tribes, which became entranched in official writings by the late 19th century, was also based on their racial mapping of Indian society (Upadhya, 1996).

 

Summary

 

In later years, with the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, political ideas of equality, human rights and social welfare led to formation of intellectual groups and thereafter of organisations which started taking up issues of social concern. In India, such social action groups began taking shape in the early 19th century. The socio-cultural regeneration in 19th century India was occasioned by the colonial presence, but not created by it. Ideas of social reform combined with national sentiment led to the formation of Societies and Sabhas such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Arya Samaj, Prathana Sabha, Indian National Social Conference etc. Important social figures like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Keshav Sen, Dayanand Saraswati, Jyotiba Phule and Mahadev Govind Ranade provided leadership to this movement to take up issues to combat social bigotry, unequal status of women, the caste system, irrational beliefs and practices based on superstition. The Ahmediya and Aligarh movements, the Singh Sabha and the Rehnumai Mazdeyasan Sabha represented the spirit of reform among the Muslims, the Sikhs and the Parsees respectively. Numerous uprisings of tribals have taken place beginning with one in Bihar in 1772, followed by many revolts in Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland. The important tribes involved in revolt in the nineteenth century were Mizos (1810), Kols (1795 and 1831), Mundas (1889), Daflas (1875), Khasi and Garo (1829), Kacharis (1839), Santhals (1853), Muria Gonds (1886), Nagas (1844 and 1879), Bhuiyas (1868) and Kondhas (1817).

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REFRENCES/SUGGESTED READINGS

 

  1. Bose, N. K. (1929): Cultural Anthropology. Bombay: Asia Publishing House.
  2. Bose, N. K. (1967): Culture and Society in India. Bombay: Asia Publishing House.
  3. Burrowes, R. J. (1996) : The strategy of nonviolent defense: A Gandhian approach. Suny Press.
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  5. Elwin, V. (1943). The aboriginals (No. 14). H. Milford, Oxford University Press.
  6. Elwin, V. (1977). Issues in tribal policy making. R. Thapar, éd., Tribe, Caste and Religion in India. Delhi: Macmillan, 29-37.
  7. Gandhi, M. (1945):  Women and social injustice. Navajivan Publishing House.
  8. Gandhi, M. (1981):  Young India. Vol. 1, no. 52. Navajivan Publishing House.
  9. Gandhi, M., & Parel, A. J. (1997) : Gandhi:’Hind Swaraj’and Other Writings. Cambridge University Press.
  10. Ghurye, G. S. (1959). The scheduled tribes. Bombay, Popular Book Depot1963.
  11. Ghurye, G. S. (1969). Caste and race in India. Popular Prakashan.
  12. Government of India (2008)- Second Administrative Reforms Commission. Ninth Report. Social Capital – A Shared Destiny.
  13. Government of India (2008)- Second Administrative Reforms Commission. Third Report: Crisis Management: From Despair to Hope.
  14. Government of Maharashtra, ‘Mahatma Phule – Samagra Vangmay’.
  15. Government of Maharashtra, ‘Shahu Maharaj – Samagra Vangmay,
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  17. http://socialwork-msw.blogspot.in
  18. Mamta Aggarwal: Tribal Movements in India. http://www.historydiscussion.net/essay/tribal-movements-in-india/1797
  19. Risley, H. H. (1892). The Tribes and Castes of Bengal: Ethnographic Glossary (Vol. 1). Printed at the Bengal secretariat Press
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  22. Upadhya, C. (1996): Anthropology, Adivasi Movements, and the politics of indigenousness. Paper presented at the conference of Indian Sociological Society, December
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