Widowhood is perhaps the biggest disaster that a married woman can encounter in her whole lifetime. In Hindu society, remarriage of widows was not a common phenomenon. Sir William Hay Macnaghten had observed in 1862 that " Second marriages, after the death of the husband first espoused, are wholly unknown to the Hindu Law; though in practice, among the inferior castes, nothing is so common"1 Hindu law permitted a widow, under certain contingencies, to marry again, and her issue by the second marriage was recognized as a legitimate heir. "This law and practice, however, gradually came into disuse, and the remarriage of widows, at least among higher classes, came to be rigidly prohibited in the medieval age."2 Lucy Carrol, in her essay, Law, Custom and Statutory Social Reform, further states that "the problem of widows and especially of child widows-was largely a prerogative of the higher Hindu castes among whom child marriage was practiced and remarriage prohibited. Irrevocably, eternally married as a mere child, the death of the husband she had perhaps never known left the wife a widow, an inauspicious being whose sins in a previous life had deprived her of her husband, and her parents-in-law of their son, in this one. Doomed to a life of prayer, fasting, and drudgery, unwelcome at the celebrations and auspicious occasions that are so much a part of Hindu family and community life, her lot was scarcely to be envied."3 On the other hand, among the lower castes, particularly Sudra, and the untouchables, these practices of child marriage and the prohibition of the remarriage of widows did not exist.4

Raja Rajballabh of Dacca is credited to have made the last notable effort to introduce remarriage of Hindu widows. He was a distinguished political figure at the time of Siraj-ud-daula. Attempting to remarry his widowed daughter, he referred the matter to the learned pandits all over India. They accorded their sanction on the strength of the well-known verse occurring in many Smriti texts which runs as follows:- "A second husband is permitted to women whose (first) husband is lost (i.e., unheard of) or dead or has become an ascetic, or an outcaste." But in spite of religious sanction, the customs and usages proved to be too strong and Raja's efforts could not succeed.5 With the onset of British rule in India, the western education and thought process also emerged before the Indian elite class as an alternative model of social reforms. Simultaneously, the reforming sects like Brahma Samaj introduced remarriage of widows in their societies which had a "great repercussion on the orthodox Hindu society as well."6 Further, the abolition of the Sati in 1829 helped in strengthening this movement.

Later on, during the forties a few Indians set the example by marrying widows. "In 1845 the British Indian Society sounded the two religious associations, the Dharma Sabha and the Tattva-bodhini Sabha, but found no support or encouragement from any of them."7 Pandit Ishwar- Chandra Vidyasagar, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and Principal of the Sanskrit College, Calcutta, took up the question in right earnest. He penned a plethora of articles and pamphlets defending widow remarriage and sent a petition, signed by 987 persons, to the Government of India. Undaunted by the vitriolic attacks on his thought process and even danger to his body, he went on educating the people and the Government. It was mainly through his monumental efforts that the Hindu Widow's Remarriage Act (Act XV of 1856) was passed on July 26, 1856. It legalises the marriage of widows notwithstanding any custom or interpretation of the Hindu law to the contrary, and declares that the children of such marriages are legitimate.8

In spite of the Act, the remarriage of Hindu widows did not make any substantial progress. Pandit Ishwar Chand Vidyasagar in Bengal and Vishnu Sastri in Western India and Dayanand Saraswati (1824-83) in Northern India put their hearts together in propagating this reform. Professor D.K. Karve founded the Widows’ Home in Poona in 1896, and two years later Veeresalingam Pantulu founded a similar Home in Madras. SasiPada Banerji also set up a Home in Calcutta.9

The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, although not actually repealed, has been superseded by the Hindu Code legislation of independent India. Nothing in the Hindu Marriage Act (XVIII of 1955) restricts the remarriage of widows. Section 5 provides that a marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus if neither has a spouse living; the fact that one or both parties may have been betrothed or married previously is not listed among the factors preventing a child marriage. Thus, there is no necessity for a widow wishing to remarry to have recourse to Act XV of 1856. Further, nothing in either the Hindu Marriage Act (1955) or the Hindu Succession Act (1956) provides for the forfeiting of property inherited by a woman from her first husband upon her subsequent remarriage.10

Though the roadblock of widow remarriage was altogether cleared by the both the Acts of 1856 and 1955, mentioned above, yet the condition of widowed woman during the medieval age, British period and even after independence in the initial phase remained pathetic, to say the least. They were kept aloof in a dingy room far from the sight of other members of the household and all kinds of restrictions were imposed on their free movements. They were provided with the remnants of food, prepared for the household, in the last. There are numerous instances of their physical exploitation too by the male members of the household and their kith and kin. In short, they were subjected to experience the real hell on earth as a widow. Not only this, after attaining the age of 50 plus, they were largely transported to preeminent religious places like Kashi (now Varanasi) and Mathura in Northern India on the pretext that these places were stairways to heaven. There they were placed in Widow Ashramas for the rest of their lives. These ashrams were run either by some charitable institution or by the government. In both the cases, the arrangements were made to the bare minimum and they were subjected to live an ascetic's life. In many cases, their sojourn was exceptionally long there. It was just nightmarish for such inmates to forcefully live a supposedly spiritual life in extremely hard conditions. The worst thing was that their near and dears and even the close relatives also turned their back on them in course of time. Thus for all practical purposes, they were abandoned forever leaving them at the mercy of the ashram keepers. There also they were subjected to various kinds of physical and mental torture but their voice was unheard for the rest of the world.

Here at this juncture, two important questions pop up on the surface: whether sending the old and not-so-old widow ladies to such ashrams far away from their near and dear ones was the only option? It is worth considering whether a household comprising a joint family was economically weak enough to fend for a single widow for her lifetime? It certainly points out to a dark spot on our entire value system. In fact, our society used to deprive these widows from contributing their worth. Many of them were extremely talented ladies. But their talents were not exploited even casually. They were not allowed to increase their mental capacity by getting proper education. Had they been given sufficient opportunity, the society would have been largely benefited in many respects. The problem was there in the mindset of our society. The general perception about the widowed women seemed to be not that of a human being but as the kitchen waste! Further, it was not at all a financial burden to take care of a widow for her life time. But the social irritants are present in modern times also. Our mindset has not changed substantially. Even today the widows are sent to ashrams for the rest of their lives knowing that the average age of both the males and females has increased many times than before. This is sheer wastage of manpower. Widows are not meant for wasting their lives in the ashrams. They can be taught, given vocational training to enable them to fend for themselves economically and socially. In any case, nobody should take them lightly by treating them less competent or less useful to society. But for this, proper opportunity must be given to them in the light of their aspiration and innate talents. Present time is a witness to women's sterling achievement in various fields.

Further, the remarriage of widows needs to be encouraged. After all, marriage is the other name of companionship. Especially in the old age, the requirement of this company is very much felt by both men and women. In the present times, depression is the most common ailment which is prevalent among all age groups. This is mainly because there is a big communication gap. People find no way or no company to vent their pent up feelings or emotions. As a consequence, they are coming into the grip of depression. As a remedial measure for the single spouse who has lost his partner, remarriage is an efficacious and time-tested phenomenon. From this angle also, widow remarriage must be encouraged. Unfortunately, our society has not been able fully to rise above the past prejudices. Widow remarriage, still carries a stigma with it. This is high time that the civil society did away with this rotten idea and move ahead in the right direction. Widow remarriage is the need of the hour which should be encouraged by all the segments of the society.

We must not forget that women are as important human resource as the men are considered. They are contributing in no lesser terms in the development of society. Their untiring efforts at nation-building is being recognized universally. In such a time, treating widows as the 'Kitchen Waste' or 'House Trash' is just anathema to modern thinking. They must be treated with empathy and respect and be given all kinds of assistance and help to transform themselves as a strong pillar of the society.

They deserve to be treated at par with men in all aspects. Civil Society must take lead to change the mindset of the members of society regarding widows. Their place is in the open society and not in the closed walls of widow ashrams. They must be given an opportunity to work for the betterment of society instead of sulking and waiting for their departure from this earth for heavenly abode. Now, law is on their side. Social taboos are gradually diluting too. Let us change our mindset too and let the wretched ladies in the form of widows bloom in their own style and format. This is high time to move ahead from the dark shadow of the past. Widows are not a stigma or a bad omen to the society; they are harbingers of peace and harmony in the society, instead. They are to be treated as a human being in the least.

.    .    .

Reference:

1. Lucy Carrol, Law, Custom and Statutory Social Reform, The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856, Women and Social Reform in Modern India, (ed.) Sumit Sarkar and Tanika Sarkar, Vol. one, Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2012, p.113.
2. R.C. Majumdur, A.K. Majumdar and D.K. Ghose, British Paramountcy and Indian Renaissance, Part II, Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Mumbai, 2007, p. 276.
3. Lucy Carrol, Law, Custom and Statutory Social Reform, The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856, Women and Social Reform in Modern India, (ed) Sumit Sarkar and Tanika Sarkar, p. 115.
4. Ibid.
5. R.C. Majumdar, et al, British Paramountcy and Indian Renaissance, part II, p. 277.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Lucy Carrol, Law, Custom and Statutory Social Reform, The Hindu Widows Remarriage Act of 1856, Women and Social Reform in Modern India, (ed.) Sumit Sarkar and Tanika Sarkar, vol. one, p. 140.