“What marked these 19th-century social reform attempts was the modern context and mix of ideas.” Interpret the given statement.

OR

Discuss the various aspects of the phenomena of westernisation.

The 19^th century witnessed many social reforms and the superstitious beliefs and practices that prevailed were brought to an end.

1. The practice of Sati was greatly opposed by Raja Ram Mohan Roy on the basis of humanitarian grounds and as per Hindu practices.

2. Mahadev Govind Ranade supported widow remarriage through his writing titled The texts of Hindu Law.

3. Kandukiri Viresalingam was very much familiar with navya-nyaya logic. His work is entitled The Sources of Knowledge.

4. Humanism, Secularism and Liberty were found to be the new themes of modern education. These were derived from the literature of European Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment.

5. Another Social reformer called Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan viewed Islam in his own way and had found out the relationship between the revelations of Quran and that of the laws of nature by the modern science.

Thus there was a mix of modern ideas and content during the reformations done during the 19^th century.

OR

Westernisation can be defined as, “the changes brought about in Indian Society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule, the term subsuming changes occurring at different levels,…technology, institutions, ideology and values.”

The various aspects of westernisation are as follows:

1. The western culture involves the use of modern technology, different food habits and clothing and an entirely different way of living in different countries.

2. Some of the parts of India developed a separate sub-cultural pattern of the western nations. Many people started following both the western style of life and concepts.

3. Only the lifestyle and culture is adopted and not the modern values of democracy and equality.

It is to be noted that the westernisation changed the lifestyle of the people living in other countries which have brought about huge changes in the economy and cultural liberty of individuals.