Abstract
It is now common knowledge that the issue of gender discrimination in India was first taken up by male reformers who were well aware that Indian image and stability depended on the status of women, Gender discrimination presented itself in varied forms, such as sati practice, widowhood at tender age, female infan-ticide and lack of education among women. Owing to the endeavors of the great thinkers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Eswarchandra Vidyasagar, Justice Mahadeva Ranade, D.K Karve, Dayananda Saraswati and Swami Vivekananda, considerable changes were brought in the pattern of women’s lives in India. .As Geraldine Forbes rightly notes: “In reality the concept of the ‘perfect wife’ was being redefined. First, there were mod-ifications in the appropriate activities for a female at different stages of her life. Second, the appropriate arena for female action was expanded. And third, there was a new and growing approval of individualism” (p.28, Women in Modern India).
