Before the passage of the Hindu Widow's Re-marriage Act of 1856,
Hindu tradition required a woman to live as a virtual outcast after
her husband's death. Widows were expected to shave their heads,
discard their jewelry, live in seclusion, and undergo regular acts
of penance. Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar was the first Indian
intellectual to successfully argue against these strictures. A
Sanskrit scholar and passionate social reformer, Vidyasagar was a
leading proponent of widow marriage in colonial India, urging his
contemporaries to reject a ban that caused countless women to
suffer needlessly.
Vidyasagar's brilliant strategy paired a rereading of Hindu
scripture with an emotional plea on behalf of the widow, resulting
in an organic reimagining of Hindu law and custom. Vidyasagar made
his case through the two-part publication "Hindu Widow Marriage," a
tour de force of logic, erudition, and humanitarian rhetoric. In
this new translation, Brian A. Hatcher makes available in English
for the first time the entire text of one of the most important
nineteenth-century treatises on Indian social reform.
An expert on Vidyasagar, Hinduism, and colonial Bengal, Hatcher
enhances the original treatise with a substantial introduction
describing Vidyasagar's multifaceted career, as well as the history
of colonial debates on widow marriage. He innovatively interprets
the significance of "Hindu Widow Marriage" within modern Indian
intellectual history by situating the text in relation to
indigenous commentarial practices. Finally, Hatcher increases the
accessibility of the text by providing an overview of basic Hindu
categories for first-time readers, a glossary of technical
vocabulary, and an extensive bibliography.
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