The East India Company played the role of coloniser, its civilising mission including attempts to correct the status of women. The Industrial Revolution brought poverty, with women suffering especially. The Company commenced and Orientalists attempted the difficult task of imposing a law from 1765, to understand India and the complexities of its oral laws. Even today there is no universal law. The shastras had worked against women, and society was considered backward by the imperialists because ofthis subjugation, although the reality was sometimes less unfavourable. An Indian identity started to form, and an image of the Indian woman that did not take into account differences of caste and society. Reforms were imperfect, and the patriarchal system was in fact retained and reinforced. Anti-British sentiment resulted following increased interference in certain practices, such as perceived sexual excesses and sati - self-immolation by widows - which sparked debate between nationalists, colonialists and religious authorities. The 1856 widow remarriage act was an important reform, but property laws were more pertinent for widows. The age of consent was raised to protect girls, ultimately child marriage was banned, and further acts followed concerning inheritance, divorce, and inter-caste marriage. In the 19,h century women’s rights were used as a tool by men. The first wave of feminism in 1850-1915 featured activists such as Pandita Ramabai; in 1915-1947 there was a succession of women’s associations and conferences, and women were active usually in a nationalist context, but increasingly concerned with women’s rights. More entered politics, especially following Gandhi. Some women were given the vote in the 1920s, but the struggle for universal suffrage continued. The 1949 constitution, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in theory opposed discrimination, and in 1979 a convention was held on eliminating this. Some advances have followed, but many women are still in a bad position, and more education is needed. With Pratibha Patil, the female president, elected in 2007, comes hope for improvement for women.