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VOL. 12, ISSUE 1 (2026)
Social reform movements in colonial India and their impact on education and society
Authors
Peddamma Srinivas
Abstract
Under the colonial period, social reform
movements were crucial in changing Indian society. Indian reformers fought
against caste discrimination, untouchability, sati, child marriage, limitations
on widow remarriage, gender inequity, and the denial of educational
opportunities to marginalized people starting in the eighteenth century. New
social and intellectual viewpoints emerged as a result of the introduction of
Western education, the impact of contemporary concepts, the growth of print
culture, and contacts with Christian missionaries. One of the most powerful
instruments of social reform in contemporary India is education, which has had
a significant shaping influence on the country's changing society. In order to
combat socioeconomic problems including caste discrimination, untouchability,
child marriage, sati, illiteracy, gender inequity, and religious conservatism,
education also became a crucial instrument for Indian reformers in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Native reformers modified the liberal and
logical concepts that Western education introduced to Indian society. The
reforms of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Jyotirao Phule,
Savitribai Phule, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Syed Ahmad Khan, Mahatma Gandhi,
Rabindranath Tagore, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar all saw education as an instrument for
empowerment and social justice. Schools in the colonial period played a role of
intellectual and the nationalist transformation of society. Organisations such
as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, and Aligarh Movement
contributed to educational and social transformation in different regions.
These movements encouraged the establishment of educational institutions,
promoted women's education, questioned caste hierarchies, and fostered public
debate on social justice. However, their reach remained uneven because of
colonial limitations, entrenched social inequalities, and differences in their
ideological approaches.
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Pages:508-511
How to cite this article:
Peddamma Srinivas "Social reform movements in colonial India and their impact on education and society". International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research, Vol 12, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 508-511
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