In the middle decades the 19th century, the idea of woman education was discussed widely and intensively. Social reformer Jyotiba Phule opened the first school for girls in 1848 in Pune. All social reformers advocate women education. They argued that for the progress of the society, women had to be educated. Many of them believed that many women of the pre-modern India were educated.
But some did not agree with this view. They pointed out that, only a few privileged women had such education in the premodem India. However, reformers wanted to give priority to woman education. They started discussing the meanings of tradition and modernity. People like Jyotiba Phule showed that India was a great country before the coming of the Aryans. But people like Bal Gangadhar Tilak stressed the glory India had during the Aryan era. In short, the reformers of the 19th century questioned meaningless rituals and traditions prevalent in the society. At the same time, they pointed out the good traditions.
Thus they started an era of social revolution. There were some questions that reform movements raised. Some movements gave importance to the problems faced by women in the upper castes. But some concentrated on the inequalities of jati system. Some people felt that jati system was against essential Hindu principles. Some argued jati and gender-related persecutions were part of religious dogma.
Muslim reformists raised their voices against polygamy and purdah system. In an All-India Muslim Women Conference, Jahanara Shanavas got ah anti-polygamy resolution passed. Jahanara argued that polygamy was against the teachings of the Koran. She asked educated women to end this injustice. This resolution against polygamy became an issue of great debate and discussion, especially in the Muslim papers. A women-oriented paper – Tahzib-i-Niswan – supported the resolution. But some papers opposed it. Debates were common among communities.
For example, Brahma Samaj strongly opposed ‘Sati’. But some conservative Hindus in Bengal formed an organization called ‘Dharma Sabha’ and demanded that Sati should be continued. They said that reformers have no right to interpret holy books. They complained to the British government against the reformers. Many Dalits turned against the inequalities preached by upper caste’ Hindus. A13-year old girl named Muktabar, a student in Jyotiba Phule’s school . in Pune wrote very strongly against a religion that upheld the rights of a few upper castes and rejected the rest.
