The name of D . K . Karve of Western India Figures in the context of which of the following?

D.K. Karve (Dhondo Keshav Karve, 1858–1962) is linked with women's education in Western India. After working for widows, he founded the Hingne Stree Shikshan Sanstha at Poona in 1896, which ran schools and training for women. In 1916 he founded the Indian Women's University in Bombay, later renamed SNDT Women's University, one of the earliest women's universities in India.

Why the others fail:

• Sati Pratha: abolished by Bengal Regulation XVII of 1829 under Lord William Bentinck. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is the name linked with that campaign, not Karve.
• Infanticide: addressed through the Female Infanticide Acts of 1870 and 1871 and local campaigns. Karve is not associated with it.
• None of these: incorrect, because option C fits.

Core concept: 19th and early 20th century social reform, where women's education and widow welfare went together. For Mains GS-I (social reform) and GS-II (women's empowerment), Karve is a good example of a reformer who built institutions rather than relying only on legislation.

Trap: Karve is often confused with Vidyasagar because both worked on widows. Vidyasagar's Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 is the legislative milestone; Karve's lasting contribution is women's education.