Struggle For Equality

Rakhmabai Janardan Save founded the Red Cross Society at Rajkot.

Explanation: Rakhmabai Janardan Save, who was the first practicing woman doctor in India delivered a series of lectures related to health issues of women. She also opened a branch of Red Cross Society at Rajkot.

Sane Guruji was the President of mill workers union at Ammalner.

Explanation: Sane Guruji was a social activist and freedom fighter from Maharashtra, India. He wanted to build a strong union of workers which led to the creation of a workers union at Dhule-Ammalner with him as the president.

The President of the first session of AITUC was Lala Lajpat Rai.

Explanation: India witnessed an industrial revolution in the latter half of the 19^th Century with the opening of railways. Several textile mills, a variety of industries, railway companies etc. developed in the country increasing the need for workers. With the rise in employment, the workers were often exploited, and their basic requirements went ignored. The exploitation of the workers led to continuous strikes. To correct these issues, there was a need to unite the workers under a banner which would allow them to negotiate better with the owners. This led to the establishment of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in 1920. Lala Lajpat Rai, who was the President of the first session of AITUC told the workers to actively participate in the national movement.

Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde was one of the most important social and religious reformers in Maharashtra, India. His greatest contribution was to attempt to remove the practice of untouchability and bring about equality to the depressed classes in Indian society. To aid in his social reform, he established Marathi schools and work schools in parts of Parel, Deonar in Mumbai. Being a prominent campaigner on behalf of the Dalit movement in India, he established the Depressed Classes Mission of India to provide education to the Dalits in 1906. He was also a known practitioner of satyagraha often resorting to it to gain benefits for the Dalits.

As his name suggests, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj was the king of the erstwhile princely state of Kolhapur. He led the Non-Brahmin Movement in his state and provided support to Babasaheb Ambedkar. He was considered a true democrat and social reformer. Among his many reforms, the system of reservation in the state of Kolhapur is considered revolutionary. He also made compulsory education free for all irrespective of caste. He targeted the three restrictions of the caste system. He would routinely eat food prepared by so-called lower castes. He abolished laws against inter-caste marriage in his state. He also abolished the ‘Balutedari System’ on 22 February 1918, thereby granting the permission for practicing any work by any caste which abolished social slavery.

Following Lokmanya Tilak’s article on Communism published in 1881, India was slowly introduced to the concept of communism and actively took it up as a social reform weapon. The Indian Communist Party was formed in 1925, and its main aim was to mobilise the workforce and maintain equality in society. Militant communism by organising groups of workers and peasants was undertaken by the younger communists which caused alarm to the British government ruling in India at that time. Following their philosophy of keeping the workers subjugated and divided and increasing their profits, they understood that the communist movement could unify the workers and harm them not only socially but also economically. This caused them to crush down the communist movement.

According to the traditional Indian caste system, the Dalits belonged to the lowest rung of the society which often led to their oppression and social exploitation. An uprising took place to correct these ills and was headed by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. He was a well-known social reformer and was of the opinion that the exploitation faced by the Dalits would continue until the caste system was fully uprooted. He aimed to establish a society free from injustice and inequality and based on the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. To spread his views, and get the populace educated regarding their rights and freedom, he started several newspapers like ‘Muknayak’ Bahishkrut Bharat etc.

India witnessed an industrial revolution in the latter half of the 19^th Century with the opening of railways. Several textile mills, a variety of industries, railway companies etc. developed in the country increasing the need for workers. With the rise in employment, the workers were often exploited, and their basic requirements went ignored. Narayan Meghaji Lokhande often described as ‘Father of Indian Workers Movement’, formed the mill workers union known as ‘Bombay Mill Hands Association’ in 1890 which is believed to be the beginning of the organised movement in India. The exploitation of the workers led to continuous strikes as exhibited by the agitation of the tea plantation workers in Assam and the strike called by the Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) Railway workers in 1899. To correct these issues, there was a need to unite the workers under a banner which would allow them to negotiate better with the owners. Thus, there was a need for a nationwide workers union.

Prior to independence, the Indian society was not only being oppressed by the ruling British class; it was becoming socially backward because of the inherent discrimination and inequality based on caste, religion, gender or economic status. The political movement to gain independence was not only influenced by the political views, but also by the social views present at that time. The main influencers understood that the political movement which was based inherently on the emancipation of the common people would only be further strengthened when the various disadvantages in the society were also addressed. Equality in society would lead to an undivided front which could be utilized to fight the foreign oppressors. Societal ills like feudalism, economic exploitation, caste and religion based discrimination, oppression of women all needed to be addressed if India was to gain her independence and approach a modern era. Hence, the struggle for equality was important in the making of modern India. This has led to equality is a principle recognized by the Indian Constitution. It states that all Indians are equal before the law and there should not be any discrimination on the basis of caste, religion, sex or financial status.

Sane Guruji was a social activist and freedom fighter from Maharashtra, India. Being from a rural background, he understood the abject misery that Indian farmers faced when their crops failed either because of the whims of nature or because of the apathy of the ruling class. In 1938, when the crops in Eastern Khandesh were destroyed because of heavy flooding, the farmers were faced with the inability to give the fixed amount of land revenue and were faced with the loss of their farming lands. To provide relief to the farmers, Sane Guruji, organised meetings and processions involving the farmers. He took out protest marches to the Collector’s office, in order to notify the authorities about the problems, the farmers were facing. This acted as a catalyst to encourage peasant participation in the independence movement later on.

India witnessed an industrial revolution in the latter half of the 19^th Century with the opening of railways.

1. Several textile mills, a variety of industries, railway companies etc. developed in the country increasing the need for workers.

2. With the rise in employment, the workers were often exploited, and their basic requirements went ignored.

3. The exploitation of the workers led to continuous strikes as exhibited by the agitation of the tea plantation workers in Assam and the strike called by the Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) Railway workers in 1899.

4. To correct these issues, there was a need to unite the workers under a banner which would allow them to negotiate better with the owners. This led to the establishment of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in 1920.

5. Lala Lajpat Rai, who was the President of the first session of AITUC told the workers to actively participate in the national movement.

6. Other socialist leaders like Shripad Amrut Dange, Muzaffar Ahmed, spread the socialist ideology among the workers and worked to form militant organisations.

7. In 1928, the Mumbai Mill Workers Union went on strike for six months followed by many such strikes made by the Railway workers, jute mill workers etc. This created a lot of problems for the government who passed several legislations in an attempt to curb the protests.

8. Ultimately, the worker’s struggle proved beneficial and decisive for the national movement.

In India, because of the importance given to patriarchy, women often led secondary roles even within the household, which was often solely their domain. Preference of male children, barring females from gaining an education, the ‘purdah’ system, the system of Sati, lack of rights to inheritance were few of the methods through which women were being subjugated and oppressed. With the movement for equality cutting across caste and gender, several male reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Vidyasagar, etc. tried to uplift the female class in society. Several women reformers also started coming forward including Pandita Ramabai, who established the ‘Arya Mahila Samaj’ and ‘Sharda Sadan’, and Ramabai Ranade who founded ‘Seva Sadan’. At the national level, ‘Bharat Mahila Parishad’ (1904) and ‘All India Women's Conference’ (1927) was founded. The women reformers were known for establishing their independent institutions and organisations and several issues like the right to inheritance, right to vote etc., were dealt through these. Rakhmabai Janardan Save, who was the first practicing woman doctor in India delivered a series of lectures related to health issues of women. She also opened a branch of Red Cross Society at Rajkot.

Women participation in the public sphere increased in the 20^th Century which saw a rise in the number of women involved in the national movement and revolutionary work. The Act of 1935 enabled women to obtain positions in provincial ministries. After Independence, gender equality has been a guaranteed right as mandated by the Constitution.

Dr Anandibai Joshi was one of the earliest physicians of India. She was born on 31 March 1865 in Pune. She was married at a tender age of 9 to a man named Gopalrao Joshi. He encouraged her to study and was focused on the idea that his wife would go to medical school. She gave birth to a child at the age of who eventually died due to lack of proper care. This inspired her to become a physician. She died of tuberculosis on 26 February 1887 before turning 22.

Shahu Maharaj belonged to the Bhosle dynasty of Marathas. He was born to Jaisinghrao Ghatge and Radhabai on June 26, 1874, in Raigad. He was the Raja (reign. 1894 – 1900) and Maharaja (1900-1922) of Indian princely state of Kolhapur. He started Shahu Chhatrapati Weaving and Spinning Mill in 1906 to provide employment. Rajaram college was built by Shahu Maharaj, and afterwards, it was named after him. His emphasis was on education, and his aim was to make education available to masses. He has worked towards the development of women during his reign.