NINETEENTH-CENTURY WOMEN'S LIBERATION MOVEMENT INBENGAL (1801-1900 AD)

Abstract [English]

Since 1914, March 8 has been recognized as International Women's Day, commemorating the 1910 New York working women's movement. However, this is an international arena; how did the women's liberation movement unfold in India and Bengal? To understand this, we need to examine the nineteenth century. This century was a period of change in Bengali society and literature. In the eighteenth century, the British strengthened their rule through trade barriers. Following the Battle of Plassey (1757), the British began their rule with the authority to collect revenue from Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa after the Battle of Buxar (1764). Despite this, the influence of Western civilization did not penetrate Indian culture. In the early nineteenth century, some Indians received the opportunity for Western education to create native clerks for administrative convenience. When this new generation, educated in Western knowledge, analyzed their own society with an open mind, they were disheartened by the dire conditions of Indian women. They recognized that societal progress is possible only when the larger section of society, women, can advance. Thus, the primary focus of the social reform movement of these newly educated youth was the women's liberation movement. Despite numerous obstacles in their way, they persisted, and as a result, the momentum of the women's liberation movement surged through their efforts throughout the nineteenth century.