SSC
In the Andhra region, the first widow remarriage was conducted in 1881 by the reformer:
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Answer: Option D — Kandukuri Veeresalingam
Detailed Solution
The first widow remarriage in the Andhra region was conducted on 11 December 1881 at Rajahmundry by Kandukuri Veeresalingam (Veeresalingam Pantulu).
About Kandukuri Veeresalingam:
- He was born on 16 April 1848 at Rajahmundry, in the Godavari region of present-day Andhra Pradesh.
- He was a teacher, writer and social reformer.
- He is called the "father of the Renaissance movement in Andhra" and "Gadya Tikkana" (the Tikkana of prose).
His social reforms:
- He campaigned for widow remarriage, women's education and against child marriage and the dowry system.
- He organised many widow remarriages, facing great opposition from orthodox Hindus, who socially boycotted him.
- He set up a home for widows (Widows' Home) in Rajahmundry.
- He opened schools for girls, including one at Dowlaiswaram (1874).
- He fought against corruption in the government and the custom of using nautch girls (dancers) at social functions.
- He founded a reform association in Rajahmundry for these causes.
His literary work:
- He wrote "Rajasekhara Charitramu" (1878), regarded as the first novel in Telugu.
- He wrote plays, essays, biographies and the first autobiography in Telugu.
- He started the journal "Viveka Vardhini" (1874), to spread his reform ideas and expose corruption.
- He was influenced by the Brahmo Samaj and supported its ideas.
His legacy:
- He is remembered as one of the greatest social reformers of Andhra Pradesh.
- He died in 1919.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Gurajada Apparao wrote the play "Kanyasulkam"; Raghupati Venkataratnam Naidu was a Brahmo reformer; Chilakamarthi Lakshmi Narasimham was a writer.
Quick tip
Remember: first widow remarriage in Andhra (Rajahmundry, 11 December 1881) = Kandukuri Veeresalingam ("Rajasekhara Charitramu", first Telugu novel; "Viveka Vardhini").
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Socio-Religious Reform Movements — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Socio-Religious Reform Movements, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
In the 19th century, reformers worked to remove social evils and revive Indian society. This topic covers organisations such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Theosophical Society, Satyashodhak Samaj and the Aligarh Movement, along with their founders and the social reforms they achieved. Questions usually ask who founded an organisation and when, or which reformer is linked to a reform. For example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj and campaigned against sati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar championed widow remarriage, and Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj. A table of organisation, founder, year and place covers most questions. Practise the socio-religious reform movements questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.