CDS History · Modern India
Caste, Women and Social Service
The movements against caste from Phule to Ambedkar, the women reformers and firsts, and the service societies, journals and Marathi writers of social reform.
Why this matters
Sixteen CDS questions, nine of them HARD, and four of them from 2025 alone. The Seva Samiti of Allahabad was asked in 2020 and again in 2023, and its Boy Scouts wing in 2020 as well. The HARD ones name lesser-known people, so the tables list each person with exactly one deed.
Concept 1 of 3: Movements against caste
Reform that began with the upper castes soon met reform led from below. Phule in Maharashtra, Narayana Guru in Kerala, Periyar in Tamil Nadu and Ambedkar across India each attacked caste in their own region and style.
Definition
The movements in time order:
- Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (1873) in Maharashtra.
- Sri Narayana Guru: the Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam in Kerala, for the dignity, education and temple entry of the Ezhava community.
- E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (Periyar) began the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu in the mid-1920s, against Brahmin dominance and caste.
- B.R. Ambedkar led the temple entry satyagraha at the Kalaram temple, Nashik (Maharashtra), from 1930.
- Ambedkar founded the All India Scheduled Castes Federation (1942), out of his earlier Independent Labour Party.
| Movement | Year | Leader and region |
|---|---|---|
| Satyashodhak Samaj | 1873 | Jyotiba Phule, MaharashtraQ CDS 2025 (II) put it before the Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) and the Chipko Movement (1973). |
| SNDP Yogam | 1903 | Sri Narayana Guru, KeralaQ |
| Self-Respect Movement | Mid-1920s | Periyar, Tamil Nadu |
| Kalaram temple satyagraha | 1930 | B.R. Ambedkar, Nashik, MaharashtraQ |
| All India Scheduled Castes Federation | 1942 | B.R. AmbedkarQ |
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2021 · CDS (II) 2021 — General Knowledge · Q42Moderate
Example 1 · Modern India · Caste, Women and Social Service
The Self-Respect Movement was initiated by
Self-Respect was Periyar's
The Self-Respect Movement was begun by Periyar (E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker). Ambedkar and Phule led other movements, and Nehru none of this kind.
Kalaram is in Maharashtra
The Kalaram temple stands at Nashik, Maharashtra. Kerala's famous temple entry struggles were at Vaikom and Guruvayur.
Concept 2 of 3: Women reformers and firsts
Reform for women began even before the British: two 18th-century leaders tried to allow widows to remarry. Later, women spoke for themselves, in a fierce book, in a girls' school, and in a legislature.
Definition
In time order:
- In the 18th century, Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber and the Maratha general Parshuram Bhau tried to promote widow remarriage.
- Raja Ram Mohan Roy opposed sati, which was banned in 1829.
- Tarabai Shinde wrote Stri Purush Tulana (A Comparison between Women and Men), attacking the double standards men set for women. She was a writer, not a doctor.
- Pandita Ramabai started a home for widows at Poona.
- Mataji Maharani Tapaswini founded the Mahakali Pathshala in Calcutta (1893), a girls' school rooted in Hindu learning.
- Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was the first girl admitted to a men's college, a doctor, and the first woman legislator in British India (Madras Legislative Council, 1927). Her 1956 honour was the Padma Bhushan.
| Person | Time | What she or he did |
|---|---|---|
| Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber | 18th century | Tried to promote widow remarriage |
| Parshuram Bhau | 18th century | Maratha general; tried to promote widow remarriageQ |
| Tarabai Shinde | 1882 | Wrote Stri Purush TulanaQ |
| Mataji Maharani Tapaswini | 1893 | Founded the Mahakali Pathshala, CalcuttaQ |
| Muthulakshmi Reddy | 1927 | First woman legislator in British India |
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (I) 2025 — General Knowledge · Q96Hard
Example 2 · Modern India · Caste, Women and Social Service
Which one among the following statements about Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, a freedom fighter, is not correct ?
Tarabai Shinde wrote the Comparison
Stri Purush Tulana (A Comparison between Women and Men) is Tarabai Shinde's book, not Pandita Ramabai's. CDS 2025 swapped the two names.
Concept 3 of 3: Service societies, journals and Marathi reformers
Some reformers worked by service: relief, scouting, tribal welfare. Others worked by writing: a reform weekly, or a hundred letters to a newspaper. CDS asks the person behind each, and the names are easy to mix up.
Definition
Who did what:
- Gopal Hari Deshmukh, known as Lokahitwadi, wrote the Shatapatre (a hundred letters) in the Marathi weekly Prabhakar, attacking caste orthodoxy.
- The Indian Social Reformer (1890) was edited by K. Natarajan.
- Gopal Krishna Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society (1905).
- Hriday Nath Kunzru, a member of that Society, founded the Seva Samiti at Allahabad in 1914 for social service and relief.
- Shri Ram Bajpai organised the Seva Samiti Boy Scouts Association at Allahabad, at a time when the official Boy Scouts kept Indian boys out.
- Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar (Thakkar Bapa) founded the Bhil Seva Mandal (1922) for the Bhil tribals.
| Body or work | Year | Founder or writer |
|---|---|---|
| Shatapatre in Prabhakar | 1848 to 1850 | Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokahitwadi)Q |
| Indian Social Reformer | 1890 | Edited by K. NatarajanQ |
| Servants of India Society | 1905 | Gopal Krishna Gokhale |
| Seva Samiti, Allahabad | 1914 | Hriday Nath KunzruQ CDS 2020 (I) and CDS 2023 (I) both asked it. |
| Seva Samiti Boy Scouts Association | 1910s | Shri Ram Bajpai |
| Bhil Seva Mandal | 1922 | Thakkar Bapa (A.V. Thakkar)Q |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2023 · CDS (I) 2023 — General Knowledge · Q78Hard
Example 3 · Modern India · Caste, Women and Social Service
Which member of the Servants of India Society founded the Seva Samiti at Allahabad in 1914?
Kunzru's Samiti, Bajpai's Scouts
Hriday Nath Kunzru founded the Seva Samiti. Shri Ram Bajpai organised its Boy Scouts Association. Each name is the distractor in the other's question.
Natarajan edited the Reformer
K. Natarajan edited the Indian Social Reformer. N.G. Chandavarkar was a reform leader, not its editor.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Movements against caste5 rows
| Movement | Year | Leader and region |
|---|---|---|
| Satyashodhak Samaj | 1873 | Jyotiba Phule, MaharashtraQ CDS 2025 (II) put it before the Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) and the Chipko Movement (1973). |
| SNDP Yogam | 1903 | Sri Narayana Guru, KeralaQ |
| Self-Respect Movement | Mid-1920s | Periyar, Tamil Nadu |
| Kalaram temple satyagraha | 1930 | B.R. Ambedkar, Nashik, MaharashtraQ |
| All India Scheduled Castes Federation | 1942 | B.R. AmbedkarQ |
Women reformers and firsts5 rows
| Person | Time | What she or he did |
|---|---|---|
| Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber | 18th century | Tried to promote widow remarriage |
| Parshuram Bhau | 18th century | Maratha general; tried to promote widow remarriageQ |
| Tarabai Shinde | 1882 | Wrote Stri Purush TulanaQ |
| Mataji Maharani Tapaswini | 1893 | Founded the Mahakali Pathshala, CalcuttaQ |
| Muthulakshmi Reddy | 1927 | First woman legislator in British India |
Service societies, journals and Marathi reformers6 rows
| Body or work | Year | Founder or writer |
|---|---|---|
| Shatapatre in Prabhakar | 1848 to 1850 | Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokahitwadi)Q |
| Indian Social Reformer | 1890 | Edited by K. NatarajanQ |
| Servants of India Society | 1905 | Gopal Krishna Gokhale |
| Seva Samiti, Allahabad | 1914 | Hriday Nath KunzruQ CDS 2020 (I) and CDS 2023 (I) both asked it. |
| Seva Samiti Boy Scouts Association | 1910s | Shri Ram Bajpai |
| Bhil Seva Mandal | 1922 | Thakkar Bapa (A.V. Thakkar)Q |
Watch out for (5)
- Self-Respect was Periyar's→ Movements against caste
- Kalaram is in Maharashtra→ Movements against caste
- Tarabai Shinde wrote the Comparison→ Women reformers and firsts
- Kunzru's Samiti, Bajpai's Scouts→ Service societies, journals and Marathi reformers
- Natarajan edited the Reformer→ Service societies, journals and Marathi reformers
Test yourself on Modern India
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.