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The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act was enacted in:
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Answer: Option A — 1856
Detailed Solution
The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 (Act XV of 1856) legalised the remarriage of Hindu widows in all areas under the rule of the East India Company. It was passed on 26 July 1856. It was drafted during the time of Governor-General Lord Dalhousie and passed under Lord Canning.
The Act was passed mainly because of the tireless efforts of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891), the great educationist and social reformer from Bengal. In 1855, he wrote a book in Bengali showing, on the basis of ancient Hindu scriptures such as the Parashara Smriti, that widow remarriage was permitted by the shastras. He submitted petitions signed by about a thousand people to the government. The orthodox section of society strongly opposed it and sent counter-petitions with many more signatures, but the government passed the law.
Before this law, Hindu widows, many of them child widows, were not allowed to remarry. They were often forced to live lives of hardship and isolation. The first lawful widow remarriage under the Act took place in Calcutta in December 1856, organised by Vidyasagar; his own son later married a widow.
Other social reform laws of British India:
- Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829: banned sati, under Lord William Bentinck, after the campaign of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
- Native Marriage Act, 1872 (Special Marriage Act): legalised inter-caste and civil marriages and fixed the minimum age, due to Keshab Chandra Sen's efforts.
- Age of Consent Act, 1891: raised the age of consent for girls from 10 to 12 years, after the efforts of Behramji Malabari.
- Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 (Sarda Act): fixed the minimum marriage age at 14 for girls and 18 for boys.
Vidyasagar also worked for women's education, helping set up many girls' schools, and wrote the Bengali primer "Barna Parichay". He was principal of the Sanskrit College in Calcutta.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1829 is the year sati was abolished.
- ✗1872 is the year of the Native Marriage Act.
- ✗1891 is the year of the Age of Consent Act.
Quick tip
Remember: Widow Remarriage Act = 1856 (Vidyasagar, Lord Canning); Sati ban = 1829 (Bentinck, Ram Mohan Roy); Age of Consent = 1891 (Malabari); Sarda Act = 1929.
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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.