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Q62 (IAS/2020) History & Culture › National Movement (1857–1947) › Social reform movements Official Key

In the context of Indian history, the Rakhmabai case of 1884 revolved around 1. women's right to gain education 2. age of consent 3. restitution of conjugal rights Select the correct answer using the code given below :

Result
Your answer:  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

The correct answer is Option 2 (2 and 3 only). The 1884 case of Rakhmabai was a landmark legal battle that significantly influenced social legislation in colonial India.

  • Restitution of Conjugal Rights: The case began when Rakhmabai’s husband, Dadaji Bhikaji, filed a suit seeking the "restitution of conjugal rights" after she refused to live with him, citing that the marriage was performed in her childhood without her consent.
  • Age of Consent: The public debate generated by this case highlighted the horrors of child marriage and the lack of legal agency for child brides. This discourse was instrumental in the enactment of the Age of Consent Act, 1891, which raised the age of consent from 10 to 12 years.

While Rakhmabai later became a doctor, the 1884 litigation itself did not revolve around women's right to education; it was strictly a legal fight regarding marital rights and the validity of infant marriages.

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Q. In the context of Indian history, the Rakhmabai case of 1884 revolved around 1. women's right to gain education 2. age of consent 3. rest…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 10/10

This question is a classic 'Hidden Current Affairs' trap. While it looks like static history, it was likely triggered by the Google Doodle (Nov 2017) or the biopic 'Doctor Rakhmabai'. Standard books cover the Age of Consent Act 1891 but often omit the specific litigant (Rakhmabai) who sparked it.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern a woman's right to gain education?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"debates on the age of consent for marriage when Rakhmbai refused to obey. ... The case was instrumental in the drafting of the Age of Consent Act in 1891."
Why this source?
  • Explicitly links the Rakhmabai case to debates on the age of consent, indicating the case's primary focus was marital consent and age, not education.
  • Says the case was instrumental in drafting the Age of Consent Act (1891), showing legislative impact concerned consent rather than educational rights.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"still in school, her husband, Dadaji, insisted that Rakhmabai come and live with him in his house. Rakhmabai... refused. Early in 1884, one of India’s most influential and publicized trials began. After Rakhmabai refused to stay with her husband, the court gave her two options – to either comply or face imprisonment."
Why this source?
  • Describes the immediate cause of the trial as Rakhmabai's refusal to live with her husband while still in school, showing the dispute was about marital obedience/consummation.
  • Shows the court compelled compliance or imprisonment, indicating the legal issue centered on marital rights and consent rather than a legal right to education.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Dr. Rakhmabai Bhikaji was a pioneer in the field of medicine and women’s rights in the 19th century. Her efforts to be granted the right to choose was instrumental in raising the age of consent for women in 1891."
Why this source?
  • Identifies Rakhmabai as a pioneer in medicine and women's rights but links her efforts to being 'granted the right to choose' and raising the age of consent, again tying the case to choice/consent.
  • Mentions her medical studies as biographical context, not as the legal issue at stake in the 1884 case.

India and the Contemporary World – II. History-Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 5: Print Culture and the Modern World > Source E > p. 124
Strength: 4/5
“In 1926, Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossein, a noted educationist and literary figure, strongly condemned men for withholding education from women in the name of religion as she addressed the Bengal Women's Education Conference: 'The opponents of female education say that women will become unruly … Fie! They call themselves Muslims and yet go against the basic tenet of Islam which gives Women an equal right to education. If men are not led astray once educated, why should women?'”
Why relevant

Quotes Begum Rokeya arguing that religion should not be used to withhold women's education, presenting a contemporaneous discourse linking women's rights and access to education.

How to extend

A student could use this to infer that late‑19th/early‑20th social debates included claims about women's educational rights and therefore look for 1880s legal cases that engaged similar themes.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Direction of Social Reform > p. 198
Strength: 4/5
“Pandita Ramabai Saraswati founded the Arya Mahila Samaj to serve the cause of women. She pleaded for improvement in the educational syllabus of Indian women before the English Education Commission which was referred to Queen Victoria. This resulted in medical education for women which started in Lady Dufferin College. Later Ramabai Ranade established a branch of Arya Mahila Samaj in Bombay. In 1925, the National Council of Women in India, a national branch of the International Council of Women, was”
Why relevant

Describes reformers like Pandita Ramabai pressing for improved and professional education for women (e.g., medical education), showing organized campaigns for women's educational access in the period.

How to extend

One could extend this pattern to hypothesize that legal disputes involving women then (such as Rakhmabai's) might touch on education or related social reforms, and so check case details.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 30: Development of Education > Evaluation of British Policy on Education > p. 573
Strength: 3/5
“3. Mass education was neglected leading to widespread illiteracy (1911—84 per cent and in 1921—92 per cent) which created a wide linguistic and cultural gulf between the educated few and the masses. 4. Since education was to be paid for, it became a monopoly of upper and richer classes and city dwellers. 5. There was an almost total neglect of women's education because (i) the Government did not want to arouse wrath of orthodox sections; and (ii) it had no immediate utility for the colonial rule. 6. Scientific and technical education was by and large neglected. By 1857 there were only three medical colleges at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, and only one good engineering college at Roorkee which was open only to Europeans and Eurasians.”
Why relevant

Notes British-era neglect of women's education and that education was largely for the upper classes, providing background context for why legal/social challenges about women's education could arise in the 19th century.

How to extend

A student could combine this structural background with knowledge of specific cases (like Rakhmabai) to assess whether such a case might involve educational access or social mobility issues.

Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 90: Landmark Judgements and Their Impact > MOHINI JAIN CASE (1992) > p. 631
Strength: 3/5
“t MOHINI JAIN CASE (1992) • Name of the Case: Year of Judgement: Mohini Jain vs. State of Karnataka: 1992 • Name of the Case: Popular Name: Mohini Jain vs. State of Karnataka: Capitation Fee case • Name of the Case: Related Topic: Mohini Jain vs. State of Karnataka: right to education • Name of the Case: Issue: Mohini Jain vs. State of Karnataka: • Name of the Case: Related Article/ : Mohini Jain vs. State of Karnataka: 21 & 41 • Name of the Case: Schedule: Mohini Jain vs. State of Karnataka: Supreme Court Judgement: It ruled that the right to education is a fundamental right under Article 21.”
Why relevant

Summarizes Mohini Jain (1992) as a legal case explicitly about the 'right to education', showing that courts have been arenas for adjudicating education rights.

How to extend

Using this pattern, a student could reasonably search for whether earlier landmark cases (e.g., 19th‑century ones) similarly raised education issues, or contrast later jurisprudence with older cases like Rakhmabai.

Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 90: Landmark Judgements and Their Impact > UNNI KRISHNAN CASE (1993) > p. 632
Strength: 2/5
“~UNNI KRISHNAN CASE (1993) | Case Na: Unni Krishnan vs. State of A.P. | Case | Case Na: Popular News | Case Na: Right to education | Case Na: Articles 21 & 45 | Case Na: Schedule Supreme Court Judgement: It held that the right to education is a fundamental right under Article 21 and that this right directly flows from the right to life. But, it declared that only children have the right to free education until they complete the age of 14 years. After that age, the obligation of the state to provide education depends on its economic capacity.”
Why relevant

Describes Unni Krishnan (1993) holding that right to education is connected to fundamental rights, illustrating a legal framework where private litigants can raise education claims.

How to extend

A student might extend this rule to consider whether the Rakhmabai litigation could have been framed (or later interpreted) as involving educational entitlement or related personal rights.

Statement 2
Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern the age of consent?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"debates on the age of consent for marriage when Rakhmbai refused to obey. ... The case was instrumental in the drafting of the Age of Consent Act in 1891."
Why this source?
  • Explicitly links the Rakhmabai case to debates over the age of consent for marriage.
  • States the case was instrumental in drafting the Age of Consent Act (1891).
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"debate generated by this case helped influence the enactment of the "Age of Consent Act" in 1891, which changed the age of consent from 10 to 12 years across British India."
Why this source?
  • Says the debate generated by Rakhmabai's case helped influence the Age of Consent Act (1891).
  • Specifies the Act changed the age of consent from 10 to 12, directly tying the case to legal change on consent age.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Rukhmabai’s trial ... imparted great urgency to debates and agitations against child marriage in the next decade, which eventually led to the increase of the minimum age of marriage to twelve for girls through the Age of Consent Act 1891."
Why this source?
  • Describes how Rukhmabai’s trial gave urgency to debates against child marriage.
  • States these debates eventually led to increasing the minimum age for girls to twelve via the Age of Consent Act 1891.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Direction of Social Reform > p. 197
Strength: 5/5
“Natarajan among others. Controlling Child Marriage The Native Marriage Act (or Civil Marriage Act), 1872 signified legislative action in prohibiting child marriage. It had a limited impact as the Act was not applicable to Hindus, Muslims and other recognised faiths. The relentless efforts of a Parsi reformer, B.M. Malabari, were rewarded by the enactment of the Age of Consent Act (1891) which forbade the marriage of girls below the age of 12. The Sarda Act (1930) further pushed up the marriage age to 18 and 14 for boys and girls, respectively. In free India, the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978 raised the age of marriage for girls from 15 to 18 years and for boys from 18 to 21.”
Why relevant

Describes the Age of Consent Act (1891) as a legislative response to campaigns against child marriage and gives the specific reform (forbade marriage of girls below 12).

How to extend

A student can note the 1891 law date and infer that disputes about child marriage/consent were active in the 1880s–1890s, so check whether an 1884 case fits this legislative/reform timeline.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 12: Era of Militant Nationalism (1905-1909) > Movement a Turning Point > p. 272
Strength: 4/5
“But the politically progressive Extremists proved to be social reactionaries. They had revivalist and obscurantist undertones attached to their thoughts. Tilak's opposition to the Age of Consent Bill (which would have raised the marriageable age for girls from 10 years to 12 years, even though his objection was mainly that such reforms must come from people governing themselves and not under an alien rule), his organising of Ganapati and Shivaji festivals as national festivals, his support to anti-cow killing campaigns, etc., portrayed him as a Hindu nationalist. Similarly B.C. Pal and Aurobindo spoke of a Hindu nation and Hindu interests.”
Why relevant

Mentions the Age of Consent Bill debate (raising marriageable age for girls from 10 to 12) and political opposition in the same historical period.

How to extend

Use the described Bill and political controversy to deduce that legal cases in the 1880s could be linked to age/marriage issues and compare the 1884 case facts to that controversy.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 9: A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements > Seva Sadan > p. 224
Strength: 4/5
“Diwan Dayaram Gidumal. Malabari spoke vigorously against child marriage and for widow remarriage among Hindus. It was his efforts that led to the Age of Consent Act regulating the age of consent for females, Seva Sadan specialised in taking care of those women who were exploited and then discarded by society. It catered to all castes and provided the destitute women with education, and medical and welfare services. [Behramji Malabari acquired and edited the Indian Spectator.]”
Why relevant

Connects reformers (Malabari, Malabari’s campaigning) and social work (Seva Sadan) with efforts that led to the Age of Consent Act regulating the age of consent for females.

How to extend

Recognize that prominent social/legal challenges to child marriage were driving law changes, so an 1884 legal dispute involving a young bride might plausibly relate to age-of-consent concerns and deserves checking against Rakhmabai case details.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Summary > p. 205
Strength: 3/5
“Age of Consent Act, 1891 • Female infanticide Restrictions on widow remarriage Sati: Sarda Act, 1930 Special Marriage Act, 1954 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 Hindu Succession Act, 1956 • Female infanticide Restrictions on widow remarriage Sati: Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978 • Female infanticide Restrictions on widow remarriage Sati: Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act in Women and Girls, 1956 (amended in 1986) Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (amended in 1986) • Female infanticide Restrictions on widow remarriage Sati: Struggle Against Caste-based Exploitation Factors Undermining Caste Rigidities Forces unleashed by colonial administration Social reform movements National movement • Female infanticide Restrictions on widow remarriage Sati: Gandhi's campaign against untouchability Stirrings among lower castes due to better education and employment Free India's Constitution”
Why relevant

Lists the Age of Consent Act, 1891 among a sequence of late-19th/early-20th reforms addressing marriage and women's status.

How to extend

Place the Rakhmabai case chronologically before the 1891 Act and ask whether it could have been one of the antecedent legal incidents that highlighted the need for such reform.

Statement 3
Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern restitution of conjugal rights?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"we as the Court of Appeal are asked to consider whether a writ for restitution of conjugal rights can be issued, as requested by the appellant, when a Hindu marriage has not been consummated, and against the explicit wishes of the respondent."
Why this source?
  • Explicitly states the court was asked to consider whether a writ for restitution of conjugal rights could be issued in the case.
  • Directly links the 1884 suit (Suit No. 139 of 1884) to a claim for restitution of conjugal rights.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"The case was filed in Bombay. High court in the year 1884 for restitution of conjugal rights."
Why this source?
  • States the case was filed in the Bombay High Court in 1884 specifically for restitution of conjugal rights.
  • Provides a clear temporal and jurisdictional reference linking Rakhmabai case (1884) to restitution of conjugal rights.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"it remains a misnomer to call this a suit for “restitution” of conjugal rights. What the appellant seeks is not a “restitution” of conjugal rights, but the Court’s intervention in instituting such rights."
Why this source?
  • Discusses the suit in terms of 'restitution of conjugal rights', even while arguing that calling it a restitution suit may be a misnomer.
  • Shows the central legal issue concerned the court's role regarding conjugal rights in the matter.

Introduction to the Constitution of India, D. D. Basu (26th ed.). > Chapter 29: RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVANTS > CHAP. 29] REGULATIONS AND LAWS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVANTS 429 > p. 429
Strength: 4/5
“Likewise, the persons employed in government hospitals cannot claim sovereign immunity and the government will be liable for their tortious acts. (B) On the other hand, a suit lies against the Government for wrongs done by public servants in the course of transactions which a trading company or a private person could engage in such as the following: ' (i) Injury due to the negligence of servants of the Government employed in, a dockyard or a railway; (ii) trespass upon or damage done to private property in the course of a dispute as to right to land between Government and the private ,owner, even though committed in the course of a colourable exercise of statutory powers; (iii) the State is liable to be sued for restitution of the profits unlawfully made, just as a private owner, e.g Suability of Heads of Though the state itself is immune from liability in certain State. cases already noted owing to historical reasons, our Constitution does not grant any immunity to a public servant for his official acts which are unlawful under the ordinary law of the land . .”
Why relevant

Discusses 'restitution' as a legal remedy (e.g., State liable for restitution of unlawfully made profits), showing restitution is an established legal concept used in courts.

How to extend

A student could infer that 'restitution' as a legal remedy might also be invoked in private law disputes (including family/marital cases) and thus check whether the Rakhmabai case used that remedy.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 10: Indian Forest > ro.3.2. The Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest llwellers (Recognition ofForest Rights) Act, 2006 > p. 165
Strength: 3/5
“ro.3.2. The Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest Llwelvers (Recognition ofForest Rights) Act, 2006 • The Forest Rights Act, 2006 provides for the restitution of deprived forest rights across India, including both individual rights to cultivated land in forestland and community rights over common property resources. • The Act is significant as it provides scope and historic opportunity of integrating conservation and livelihood rights of the people.”
Why relevant

Uses the term 'restitution' in statute (Forest Rights Act) showing the term's usage across different branches of law and contexts.

How to extend

One could extend this pattern to suspect that historical case law dealing with personal rights might also employ 'restitution' terminology and so search case texts for that term.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Steps taken to Ameliorate Women's Position > p. 196
Strength: 4/5
“The Bengal regulations of 1795 and 1804 declared infanticide illegal and equivalent to murder. An Act passed in 1870 made it compulsory for parents to register the birth of all babies and provided for verification of female children for some years after birth, particularly in areas where the custom was resorted to in utmost secrecy. Widow Remarriage The Brahmo Samaj had the issue of widow remarriage high on its agenda and did much to popularise it. But it was mainly due to the efforts of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-91), the principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta, that the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856, was passed; it legalised marriage of widows and declared issues from such marriages as legitimate.”
Why relevant

Describes 19th-century legal and social reforms concerning women's marital status (e.g., widow remarriage, efforts by reformers), indicating that courts and legislatures engaged with marriage-related legal issues in that era.

How to extend

A student could reasonably look among 19th-century marriage-related cases (like Rakhmabai) for legal doctrines such as conjugal rights or remedies affecting wives.

Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 7: Social and Cultural Awakening in the First Half of the 19th Century > MODERN INDIA > p. 131
Strength: 3/5
“widow remarriage in 1855. Soon a powerful movement in favor of widow remarriages was started which continues till this day. Later in the year 1855, a large number of petitions from Bengal, Madras, Bombay and Nagpur and other cities of India were presented to the Government asking it to pass an act legalizing the remarriage of widows. This agitation was successful and such a law was enacted. I shall never forget the day.”
Why relevant

Notes active movements and legislation around women's marital rights in the 19th century, showing public and legal attention to marital customs and legal regulation of marriage.

How to extend

Combine this historical context with a search for notable 1880s family law cases to see whether restitution of conjugal rights featured in such disputes.

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 8: Peasants, Zamindars and the State > Ü Discuss... > p. 207
Strength: 3/5
“Wives protested against the infidelity of their husbands or the neglect of the wife and children by the male head of the household, the grihasthi. While male infidelity was not always punished, the state and "superior" caste groups did intervene when it came to ensuring that the family was adequately provided for. In most cases when women petitioned to the panchayat, their names were excluded from the record: the petitioner was referred to as the mother, sister or wife of the male head of the household. Amongst the landed gentry, women had the right to inherit property. Instances from the Punjab show that women, including widows, actively participated in the rural land market as sellers of property inherited by them.”
Why relevant

Mentions women contesting husbands' neglect and the state's intervention to ensure family provision, highlighting that courts/panchayats handled disputes about marital obligations.

How to extend

A student could infer that legal actions concerning marital obligations (possibly including conjugal rights) were within the remit of dispute resolution bodies and thus investigate Rakhmabai records for such claims.

Pattern takeaway: UPSC frames history questions based on modern anniversaries or cultural discussions. If a personality is in the news, their contribution is tested not biographically, but through the specific *controversies* or *laws* they are associated with.
How you should have studied
  1. [THE VERDICT]: Bouncer for static-only readers; Sitter for cultural current affairs trackers. Source: News/Google Doodle -> Historical Context.
  2. [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: Socio-Religious Reform Movements > Legislative Interventions in Women's Rights (19th Century).
  3. [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: Memorize the 'Consent Timeline': Native Marriage Act 1872 (14 yrs) -> Rakhmabai Case 1884 -> Phulmani Dasi Case 1889 (Immediate trigger) -> Age of Consent Act 1891 (12 yrs, BM Malabari) -> Sarda Act 1930 (14 yrs).
  4. [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: When a historical figure hits the news (anniversary/movie), do not just read their biography. Ask: 'Did they fight a court case?' or 'Did they inspire a specific Act?'. UPSC loves the legal/legislative impact of historical figures.
Concept hooks from this question
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Colonial-era neglect of women's education
💡 The insight

British educational policy made education largely a paid, urban, and male preserve, producing near-total neglect of women's education.

High-yield for UPSC: explains structural roots of low female literacy and links to later reform and policy responses; connects to topics on colonial policy, social change, and post-independence education reforms. Useful for essay and mains questions on education and gender.

📚 Reading List :
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 30: Development of Education > Evaluation of British Policy on Education > p. 573
🔗 Anchor: "Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern a woman's right to gain education?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Role of social reformers in advancing women's education
💡 The insight

Leaders like Pandita Ramabai founded organisations and pressed for changes that expanded educational opportunities and professional training for women.

Important for answering questions on social reform movements and gender empowerment; shows how individual and organisational activism led to institutional changes (e.g., medical education for women). Useful for linking social history to policy outcomes in mains and prelims.

📚 Reading List :
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Direction of Social Reform > p. 198
🔗 Anchor: "Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern a woman's right to gain education?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Religious and ideological arguments for women's right to education
💡 The insight

Contemporary critics rejected religious justifications for denying education and argued for women's equal right to learn.

Helps frame debates in essay and ethics papers about religion, social reform and gender equality; useful for analysing social resistance to reform and constructing normative arguments about rights.

📚 Reading List :
  • India and the Contemporary World – II. History-Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 5: Print Culture and the Modern World > Source E > p. 124
🔗 Anchor: "Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern a woman's right to gain education?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S2
👉 Age of Consent legislation (Age of Consent Act, 1891)
💡 The insight

The Age of Consent Act, 1891 legally regulated the minimum age for girls and is central to questions about whether cases concerned age of consent.

High-yield for UPSC because it anchors the legal timeline of child-marriage and consent reforms in colonial India; links social reform movements to specific legislation and later laws. Mastering this helps answer chronology, cause-effect, and policy-change questions on gender and legal reform.

📚 Reading List :
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Direction of Social Reform > p. 197
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Summary > p. 205
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 9: A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements > Seva Sadan > p. 224
🔗 Anchor: "Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern the age of consent?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S2
👉 Nationalist responses to colonial social reform bills
💡 The insight

Prominent nationalists (e.g., Tilak) actively opposed the Age of Consent Bill, showing political contestation around raising girls' marriage/consent ages.

Important for UPSC to connect socio-legal reforms with nationalist politics and ideology; useful for questions on why reform measures faced resistance and how reform debates influenced mass politics.

📚 Reading List :
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 12: Era of Militant Nationalism (1905-1909) > Movement a Turning Point > p. 272
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Direction of Social Reform > p. 197
🔗 Anchor: "Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern the age of consent?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S2
👉 Legislative trajectory raising marriage/consent ages (Sarda Act and later amendments)
💡 The insight

Subsequent laws (Sarda Act, later amendments) progressively raised marriage and consent ages, showing an evolving legislative response to the same social issue.

Helps aspirants map long-term legal reform patterns from colonial to postcolonial periods; useful for comparative questions on continuity and change in social legislation affecting women and children.

📚 Reading List :
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Direction of Social Reform > p. 197
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 38: Developments under Nehru’s Leadership (1947-64) > Social Change Under Nehru > p. 648
  • Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 8: Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features > Summary > p. 205
🔗 Anchor: "Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern the age of consent?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S3
👉 Restitution as a legal remedy
💡 The insight

Restitution of various rights or profits is a recurring legal remedy and is the same remedial category as 'restitution of conjugal rights'.

High-yield for UPSC because many questions ask about types of civil remedies and their application across contexts (property, tort, family law). It links constitutional and private law topics and helps answer comparative questions on remedies and judicial relief.

📚 Reading List :
  • Introduction to the Constitution of India, D. D. Basu (26th ed.). > Chapter 29: RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVANTS > CHAP. 29] REGULATIONS AND LAWS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVANTS 429 > p. 429
  • Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 10: Indian Forest > ro.3.2. The Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest llwellers (Recognition ofForest Rights) Act, 2006 > p. 165
🔗 Anchor: "Did the Rakhmabai case of 1884 concern restitution of conjugal rights?"
🌑 The Hidden Trap

The Phulmani Dasi Case (1889). While Rakhmabai started the intellectual debate, the death of 11-year-old Phulmani Dasi due to marital rape was the visceral trigger that forced the British to actually pass the Age of Consent Act 1891.

⚡ Elimination Cheat Code

Anachronism Check: 'Right to gain education' (Statement 1) sounds like a modern Fundamental Right. In 1884, courts adjudicated specific disputes (property, marriage, contract), not abstract human rights. A 'case' usually implies a plaintiff vs. defendant. A husband suing a wife (Dadaji vs. Rakhmabai) strongly points to matrimonial disputes (Restitution/Consent), not education.

🔗 Mains Connection

Mains GS-1 (Society) & GS-2 (Polity): Link this 1884 case to the modern debate on 'Restitution of Conjugal Rights' (Section 9, Hindu Marriage Act). The Supreme Court (Ojaswa Pathak case) is currently reviewing whether this colonial provision violates the Right to Privacy (Article 21).

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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

CAPF · 2015 · Q50 Relevance score: -3.10

Who among the following were well known as champions of women’s education in colonial India ? 1. Sister Subbalaksmi 2. Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain 3. Keshub Chandra Sen 4. Ananda Coomaraswamy Select the correct answer using the code given below :

CAPF · 2015 · Q19 Relevance score: -3.97

Which of the following are provided in India by the Right to Education Act ? 1. Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school 2. Prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational works, other than decennial census, elections to local authority like State Legislatures, Parliament, and disaster relief 3. Right of minorities to establish and administer education institution 4. No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them Select the correct answer using the code given below:

NDA-I · 2015 · Q91 Relevance score: -4.36

Which of the following is/are not funda- mental right(s) under the Constitution of India ? 1. Right to education. 2. Right to work. 3. Right to form associations. 4. Right to practise any profession. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

CDS-I · 2025 · Q90 Relevance score: -4.38

Which of the following statements is/are correct as per the Constitution of India ? 1. The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act has added the Right to Education to the chapter of Directive Principles of State Policy. 2. Right to Work and Right to Education are both, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy. Select the answer using the code given below :

NDA-II · 2025 · Q93 Relevance score: -4.44

Which of the following rights under the Constitution of India is/are Fundamental Right(s) ? 1. Right to work 2. Right to privacy 3. Right to free and compulsory education in the age bracket of six to eighteen years Select the answer using the code given below :