Sambodhi 1983 Vol 12

SR No.: 520762
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 1983
Total Pages: 326
Language: English, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Gujarati
Classification: Magazine, India_Sambodhi, & India
File Size: 11 MB

Page 86

PREPARTING THE WOMEN FOR DECOLONIZATION: THE ROLE OF GUJARAT VARNACULAR SOCIETY
(1848-1915)
Miss Bhatt Usha G.
The 19th Century witnessed the trausition of the Gujarat Society as a iesult of the general impact of the British rule in this region. The process of colonization was at the same time released by colonial rulers as a result of which a number of institutions emerged in Gujarat. Some of these institutions were founded with the co-operation and active support of the well-meaning and friendly British officials, although the general colonial environment prevailed and perpetuated. One of these institutions was the Gujarat Varnacular Society, founded in 1848 by the social elites like Bholanath Sarabhi, Bhogilal Pran vallabhdas, poet Dal. patram and Nagarsheth Premabhi Himabhi. The local elites got moral support from the British bureaucrats such as A.K. Forbes, T.B. Curtis and Major Full James. The Gujarat Varnacular Society generated multi faceted reformist activities and it became a neucleus for meaningful social work particularly in connection with the problems of women. The objective of this paper is to trace the growth of this institution and explain its role towards the upliftment of women.
Before we review the work of the Gujarat Varnacular Society from 1848 to 1915 it would not be out of place to briefly sketch the condition of woman which prevailed in Gujarat in the first half of the 19th Century. In the early part of the 19th Century in Gujarat the concept of a woman's independent personality was not accepted. Really speaking social approach towards woman reflected the medieval-feudal attitude In male dominated society a woman was secondary to a man and she had very few social rights.
The tradition of infanticide, child marriages etc. made female life miserable. There was sharp contrast in the social treatment given to male and famale children. Female education in the modern term was not in the existence. It was believed that if a girl was taught she would become a widow. Some families, no doubt, emphasised female education, but this was more of an informal training within the family rubric. She
Sambodhi XII-11