Reform movements

Before politics came reform. British rule set off intense debates within Indian society, and many of India's educated elite looked to Europe as a model for 'modernising' India.

But notice how the chapter describes the reformers: they "took note of European models while challenging" problems that were India's own: the widespread lack of formal education, child marriage, the low status of widows, and caste discrimination.

So they were neither copying nor rejecting. They looked outward and worked inward.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj in Calcutta in 1828. It opposed child marriage and caste discrimination, supported widows' rights and girls' education, promoted belief in one God within Hinduism, and favoured English education. Disagreements inside it weakened it later.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875, stressing a return to the Vedas along with rational thinking, equality and self-reliance. It opposed empty ritual and caste by birth, and supported women's education and widow remarriage.

Look at that mix: 'return to the Vedas' and 'rational thinking' together. Reform did not have to mean leaving tradition; it could mean going further back into it.

The Arya Samaj inspired many later freedom fighters in north India, and its leaders led the Shuddhi Movement in the late 19th century, which aimed to bring back people who had left Hinduism.

Many others worked on the same ground: Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Syed Ahmed Khan, and Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, promoting modern education, especially for girls and marginalised groups, and opening schools.