Consider the following statements and choose the correct option. Statement 1 : Indian society was plagued with social evils like sati child marriage, widow remarriage and caste discrimination for along time in precolonial era. Statement 2: No attempts were made to fight social evils and social discrimination in pre-colonial India.

Only Statement 1 is correct Only Statement 2 is correct Both the statements are correct. Both the statements are incorrect.

Only Statement 1 is correct

The well known issues of colonial times were sati, child marriage, widow remarriage and caste discrimination. It is not that attempts were not made to fight social discrimination in pre-colonial India. They were central to Buddhism and they were central to Bhakti and Sufi movements. What marked these 19th century social reform attempts was the modern context and mix of ideas. It was a creative combination of modern ideas of western liberalism and a new look on traditional literature.