QUESTION 18
GS1
15 marks
The women’s questions arose in modern India as a part of the 19th century social reform movement. What were the major issues and debates concerning women in that period?
WRITE IN
11 min
250 words
What the examiner wants
Identify the main issues and debates about women in 19th-century social reform.
What wereAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1Issues: sati, widow remarriage, child marriage, female education, purdah, polygamy, female infanticide≈50 words
- 2Reformers and laws: Rammohun Roy (sati ban 1829), Vidyasagar (Widow Remarriage Act 1856), Phules (girls' school 1848), Malabari (Age of Consent Act 1891)≈50 words
- 3Debates: scripture vs reason; reform from within vs colonial legislation; orthodox backlash (Dharma Sabha); women as objects of reform≈50 words
- 4Women's own voices: Pandita Ramabai, Tarabai Shinde, Rakhmabai≈50 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
ContextIssuesReformers and lawsKey debatesWomen's voicesConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Listing reformers without the 'debates' part
- Ignoring women's own agency
Draw this
- Table: issue → reformer → law/year
Value addition
- TextTarabai Shinde's 'Stri Purush Tulana' (1882) critiqued patriarchy from a woman's viewpoint.Tarabai Shinde, 1882
- ThinkerLata Mani argued that in the sati debate women were 'neither subjects nor objects but the ground' of discourse on tradition.Lata Mani, Contentious Traditions, 1998
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 5 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Monika Srivastava · AIR 16 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 21 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
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