Question

The prime advocate of widow remarriage in modern India was _____________.
A) Vinoba Bhave
B) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
C) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
D) Rabindranath Tagore

Answer 1

Hint: When a husband is a sole breadwinner, his death can leave his family penniless. Women's proclivity to outlive men can exacerbate the problem. It may be important for a woman to follow local social conventions since her financial status depends on it, however, this tradition is sometimes misused by others as a means of keeping money in the deceased spouse's family.

Complete answer:
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was an Indian educator and social reformer who was born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay. His efforts to modernise and simplify Bengali literature were notable. He also rationalised and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained untouched since the first (wooden) Bengali type was carved in 1780 by Charles Wilkins and Panchanan Karmakar.

He was the most outspoken supporter of Hindu widow remarriage, petitioning the Legislative Council amid fierce opposition, including a counter-petition with nearly four times the number of signatures. Despite the fact that widow remarriage was seen as a gross violation of Hindu norms and was fiercely opposed, Lord Dalhousie himself finalised the law, which became the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856.

Many of these females would flee and turn to prostitution to sustain themselves because they couldn't stand the mistreatment. Ironically, the city's economic prosperity and extravagant lives allowed many of them to have great jobs once they left society's sanction and into the demi-monde. Calcutta's population of prostitutes and public ladies was estimated to be 12,700 in 1853. Many widows were forced to shave their heads and dress in white saris in order to avoid male attention. They lived a miserable existence, which Vidyasagar believed was unjust and attempted to alter.

The prime advocate of widow remarriage in modern India was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Therefore the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note: Despite being born into an orthodox Hindu Brahmin family, Vidyasagar had a liberal outlook. He was also well-educated and influenced by Oriental beliefs and thinking. In contrast, Ramakrishna lacked formal education. Despite this, they had a pleasant relationship. When Ramakrishna first met Vidyasagar, he referred to him as "the ocean of wisdom."