An Ode to Men!

Since ancient times, women in the Indian society have always been subjected to a mediocre status, until the medieval era. However, there hasn’t been an era of women supremacy or complete equality. Even in the ancient times our scriptures talk about Sati Pratha and of non-inheritance of property rights by women. Although there were instances of women excelling in multiple fields such as literature, administration, art, philosophy and warfare, there existed a sense of discrimination. Most educated women who had the ability to fight for their rights were from patrician families in the ancient or medieval times.

During the late 18th century when British came to India, the dissoluteness against women saw its peak. Manusmriti from ancient India was translated into the language of communication to formulate Hindu Law by Sir William Jones. This book then started setting the path for the rightful way to conduct oneself, perform duties, discourse lawful decisions, follow virtues, etc.,. Manu has been quoted in this book, saying several things that disregarded women’s position as equal beings and explicitly refers to women as subordinates who did not deserve the right to freedom. Although the assembly and authenticity of the contents are being questioned by modern scholars, the damage was already done as male chauvinism got an approval to unleash their hideous means of dominance freely over the declared subservient beings.

Nevertheless, the irony of the matter lies in the fact that it’s men who rose to the cause and pioneered several movements for liberating women from their fateful destiny.

Our article is dedicated to giving an Ode to Three of the many Great Men who fought for the cause of women and did what they could do best to free them from the claws of social demons:

1. Raja Ram Mohan Roy- 1774-1833

A Persian and Sanskrit scholar of Philosophy was one of the biggest benefactors of women and a trailblazer of Indian Renaissance. This great reformist was the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, an organization that worked towards fighting social evils with the help of like-minded men called the Brahmos who did not believe in idol worship and the rigid caste systems. He was born in 1774 in the then Bengal Presidency and was bestowed upon with the title of Raja in the year 1831 by Mughal emperor Akbar II.

(Image Credit:) http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/images/raja-ram-mohan- roy-3.jpg

Although he came from an extremely orthodox family with a rich financial background, he was easily able to relate to a common man’s issues. His fight against the gruesome Sati Pratha and his perseverant attempts to abolish this hideous social monster, finally got Bengal rid of it in the year 1829 through the Regulation XVII or the Bengal Sati Regulation. Not only this, he was also the first to raise his voice against many other nightmarish practices against women during the dark ages of the 18th century. Some of these included polygamy, child marriage and no inheritance right for women. His name will forever be etched in Indian history for the contributions he made by pioneering the concept of equality between the two genders.

2. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar: 1820 to 1891

He was conferred with the title of Vidyasagar (ocean of Knowledge) in the year 1839 when he won several competitions that assessed ones knowledge in Sanskrit. After mastering the Vedanta’s, Vyakrans and many other rhetorics, he also cleared his law examination. For Vidyasagar, who was one of the pioneers of women’s renaissance in India, education was the only way to empower women. To this effect he even started a fund called Nari Siksha Bhandar to aid in women’s education. Those days, women were considered to be the ones responsible only for home and hearth with no say whatsoever, in the financial decision made by the men of the family. It was during that era when he managed to open 35 school for women and enrolled more than 1300 students. He achieved these numbers by going from one door to the other requesting people to educate their girl children. The curriculum was designed in such a way that women not only were educated in academics but also went through vocational classes that could make them self-reliant. He was a true visionary who was determined to go against the tide and had the grit to fight all odds in the process. John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune, who was an Anglo-Indian Barrister from the Governor Generals Council during the British Raj in the 19th century, was also a great patron of women’s education. Ishwar Chandra extended his support when John Elliot Drinkwater was setting up the first ever permanent educational institution for women in Kolkata, the Bethune College and it still speaks loud of the struggles against a patriarchal society, in order to educate women.

(Image Source:) http://www.vivekananda.net/PPlHeKnew/SagesSavants/Vidyasagar.html

Not limited to this, he was also the one who initiated a fight against the torture of widows. In his undeterred fight he went to all the Brahminical societies and proved that in the Vedas, widow remarriage was allowed. Due to his efforts a new act called the Hindu Widows Remarriage Act was brought about in the year 1856. He led many marches to rescue child and adolescent widows. To set an example he got his son married to an adolescent widow in the year 1870. He passed away at the age of 70 in the year 1891 leaving behind a legacy of values and an admirable chutzpah.

Swami Vivekananda said, "There is not a man of my age in Northern India, on whom his shadow has not fallen." (Source:)

Sister Nivedita had written that Swami Vivekananda called this reformer “the hero of widow re­marriage, and of the abolition of polygamy." (Source:)

3. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule – 1827 to 1890

Mahatma Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was born to a lower-caste family from Pune, Maharashtra in the year 1827. He was a social reformist and a visionary who had the courage to think way ahead of his times. The fundamental principle of his movement was to bring about equality amongst people in terms of caste, creed, religion and gender.

(Image Credit): http://mahatmajyotiraophule.blogspot.in/

He was married to Savitribai Phule at the young age of thirteen and was supported by her in all his social endeavours. He firmly believed that education was the only way to release the society from the clutches of the evil designs. He started the first ever school for girls in India in the year 1848, which was closed down soon due to shortage of funds. This did not dampen his spirit and he started an even bigger school for girls in the year 1851. He along with his wife taught in this school. His heart grieved at the exploitation of women and especially that of the child widows. Adolescent girl children were married to older men and after their death the girls were impregnated by exploiters of humanity. He opened a home for these widows where they could safely deliver their babies and bring them up with the right values. Such was the magnanimity of this man who in his path to clear the society of inequality, locked horns with several powerful and orthodox communities. In his life he earned the title of Mahatma and The Father of Social Reforms, for his unparalleled contribution in pioneering the cause for women and freeing the society of caste systems. This Selfless man of principles took his last breath in 1890 after suffering a paralytic attack and left an irreplaceable void in the hearts of many who supported him or were rescued by him.

This article is dedicated to all the men who stand alongside their women folks to celebrate womanhood and share the pride of their achievements. To free the society from the evils of objectifying women, a lot of work needs to be done at the grass root levels by introducing formal education on equality of gender, caste, creed and religion. This change will happen when all global communities come together in all honesty to bring about a cultural renaissance where all genders feel proud of who they are.

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