Social reform refers to organized efforts aimed at improving society by removing social evils, promoting justice, and ensuring the welfare and dignity of all people. It has played a significant role in the origin and development of social work by creating awareness about social problems and encouraging systematic interventions. Social reform movements sought to transform society through education, legislation, community participation, and moral persuasion. These movements laid the foundation for the professional practice of social work by emphasizing service, equality, and human rights. In the nineteenth century, industrialization, urbanization, poverty, child labour, unemployment, illiteracy, and discrimination created serious social problems in many countries. Reformers recognized that charity alone was insufficient to solve these issues. They advocated organized efforts to improve living conditions, protect vulnerable groups, and establish institutions for education, healthcare, and social welfare. Their work influenced the emergence of modern social work, which combines scientific knowledge with humanitarian values to address individual and community problems. In India, social reform movements developed during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in response to rigid social customs and inequalities. Reformers challenged practices such as sati, child marriage, female infanticide, caste discrimination, untouchability, and the denial of education to women. They believed that social progress required changes in both attitudes and institutions. These reform movements contributed significantly to the development of social welfare services and inspired later professional social