Q97
Indian National MovementSocio-Religious & Educational Reform
Which of the following social and political leaders opposed the 'Age of Consent Bill'?
- a.W. C. Bonnerjee
- b.Gokhale
- c.Ranade
- d.Tilak
Answer: (D) Tilak
The Age of Consent Act, 1891 raised the age of consent for girls from 10 to 12 years; it followed Behramji Malabari's campaign and the death of the child-wife Phulmoni Dasi in Bengal. Bal Gangadhar Tilak opposed the Bill, not in defence of child marriage as such but on the ground that a foreign government had no right to legislate on Hindu social and religious customs and that reform must come from within society. Ranade, Gokhale and other reformers supported it; W.C. Bonnerjee was the first Congress President (1885). Follow-up law: the Child Marriage Restraint (Sarda) Act, 1929 fixed the marriage age at 14 for girls and 18 for boys.