The Prayas ePathshala

Exams आसान है !

Q1. Throw light on the contribution of women during the Indian Freedom Struggle.

Paper & Topic: GS I – Modern Indian History

Model Answer:

Women started taking part in the Indian independence movement as early as 1817. Gandhiji was the one who first advocated for widespread female participation in the struggle for independence, even though women had been involved in politics since the Indian National Congress was founded (Annie Besant founded the Home Rule League). This was true, especially during the Swadeshi movement.

Women’s participation in the fight for Indian freedom:

Before Gandhi’s arrival:

Bhima Bai Holkar’s valiant guerrilla campaign against British colonel Malcolm ultimately prevailed.
Prior to the 1857 Revolt, Maharani Velu Nachiyar (1730–1796) bravely fought alongside the British troops. She was likely the final monarch to defeat British forces.
Gauri Parvati Bai, the queen of Travancore, promoted reform and stressed the importance of girls’ education, helping women in a variety of ways to overcome social and academic shame.
Two of the Ranis of Ramgarh, Rani Lakshmi Bai and Rani Tapasvini Maharani, each contributed significantly to the War of Independence (the Great Revolt) in 1857.

After Gandhi’s arrival:

Gandhi’s grassroots campaign attracted a lot of female participants. Due to her involvement in the Quit India Movement, Kasturba Gandhi was put behind bars; she passed away in Poona Jail. Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, who was imprisoned, actively took part in each act of civil disobedience between 1932 and 1941. In a similar way, Indira Gandhi enlisted a young “Monkey army.”
Social and Women’s Mobilization: Women were essential to the movement’s success because they took the initiative and wrote about it. Raj Kumari Kaur, the campaign’s creator, founded the All India Women’s Conference; other well-known women involved in the Quit India movement included Aruna Asaf Ali, who also published the journal “inquilab for mobilisation.”
Indian women also participated in the struggle against British rule. Renowned rebel leader Kalapana Datta participated in the raid on the Chittagong arsenal. Rani Gaidineliu, known as the “Queen of Naga,” was in charge of organising the movement’s resistance to the British.
The Free India Society was founded by Bhikaji Cama in the UK to advance the idea of independence on a global scale. He was also Mother India’s first cultural representative in the US. Vijay Laxmi Pandit represented India at the UN meeting in San Francisco. Gandhi and Nehru joined Sarojni Naidu at the round table discussion.

Conclusion:

Women played a crucial role in the struggle for Indian independence as a result, emerging from the underclass to lead the movement. This impact cannot be quantified or categorised. In her book Mother India, author Katherine Mayo criticised Hindu men for treating women like property within the family.

Q2. What is the role of and challenges faced by the women in the livestock sector of India.

Paper & Topic: GS III – Indian Agriculture

Model Answer:

How important is the livestock sector in India?

One of the sectors of the rural Indian economy that is growing the fastest is the cattle industry. In 2018–19, it contributed 5% and 28%, respectively, to the national income and the agricultural GDP.
Despite the crop farming industry only rising by 2% over the preceding six years, the sector expanded at a rate of 7.9%.

In what ways do women influence the livestock sector?

In rural India, 72% of women employees are involved in agriculture.
Studies have shown that women are regularly involved in animal husbandry in rural homes with cattle.
According to the National Cattle Policy of 2013, women make up more than 70% of the workforce in the cattle business. Notably, NLM has as one of its objectives the empowerment of women.
Dairy cooperatives had more than 5 million female members in 2015–16. In 2020–21, there will be 5.4 million additional female members.

What are the difficulties?

The NLM 2014–15 had serious worries about the expanding supply of feed and fodder, extension services, and loans for livestock farmers. It does not, however, provide any programmes geared exclusively toward female livestock farmers. State governments were urged to distribute just 30% of the funding from federally funded programmes for women.
This policy blind-spot is caused by the lack of gender-specific data.
For a number of reasons, the employment of women has not been sufficiently reported in labour force surveys:
In the cattle sector, working intermittently, or for short periods of time during the day, is typical.
Work is frequently done on homesteads in addition to housework.
As a result, women do not view taking care of these animals as a “economic” task.

How do we approach it?

A crucial first step in concentrating policy on female livestock farmers is data collection that is sufficiently comprehensive.
By accounting for women who spend the majority of the year performing “house duty” and “care work,” as well as family dairy, poultry farming, kitchen gardening, paddy husking, and other activities, official figures may be improved.

Conclusion:

India’s cattle industry has benefited greatly from the contributions of women farmers, who go unrecognised. We must honour rural women on this International Day of Rural Women and include them in all areas of livestock development.