Question

Under whose Governor-Generalship the Hindu widow remarriage Act was passed?
A)Lord Cornwallis
B)Lord William Bentinck
C)Lord Dalhousie
D)Lord Ripon

Answer 1

HINT: Widow remarriage was not allowed in some parts of India especially upper-caste Hindu widows were expected to lead a life of misery and extremities. The passing of this Act was an extremely crucial social reform towards the empowerment of women.

Complete Step by step answer:
Option A)Lord Cornwallis, was a civil administrator, diplomat and a British army officer. He enacted various civil administrations, management practices and legal reforms under British Raj in India.
This is an incorrect option.
Option B)Lord William Bentinck, was British Governor-General of Bengal. Among the various social reforms he is most credited for his abolition of Sati ( widow burning on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband). This is an incorrect option.
 Option C)Under East India Company rule, The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage act 1856, also Act XV enacted on 26 July 1856, legalized the remarriage of Hindu Widows in all jurisdictions of India. The Act was passed by Lord Canning and was personally drafted by Lord Dalhousie. This new law held that women were entitled to the rights and inheritances that a woman who marries for the first time would have. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, filed a petition at Legislative Council, in favor of the widow Remarriage but received a counter petition by Dharma Sabha. The law also provided safeguards to men who married widows. This law as an opposition was believed to be a flagrant breach of Hindu customs.
Option D)Lord Ripon, is remembered as Liberal Viceroy of India in the early 1800. In order to provide freedom to the newspapers published in vernacular languages, he opposed the Vernacular Press Act passed by Lord Lytonn. This is not a correct option.

NOTE: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, never shied away from challenging orthodoxy. He vigorously fought child marriage and married off the first Hindu widow. He also played a pivotal role in passing the Widow Remarriage Act.