Before the passage of the Hindu Widow's Re-marriage Act of 1856, Hindu culture required a lady to dwell as a digital outcast after her husband's dying. Widows have been anticipated to shave their heads, discard their jewellery, stay in seclusion, and suffer usual acts of penance. Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar used to be the 1st Indian highbrow to effectively argue opposed to those cruelties. A Sanskrit pupil and passionate social reformer, Vidyasagar was once a number one proponent of widow marriage in colonial India, urging contemporaries to reject a ban that prompted numerous ladies to undergo needlessly.

Vidyasagar's exceptional technique paired a rereading of Hindu scripture with an emotional plea on behalf of the widow, leading to an natural reimagining of Hindu legislations and customized. Vidyasagar made his case via his two-part e-book Hindu Widow Marriage, a travel de strength of common sense, erudition, and humanitarian rhetoric. Translating the complete textual content into English for the 1st time, Brian A. Hatcher makes one of many nineteenth-century's most vital treatises on Indian social reform on hand to an English-speaking viewers. a professional on Vidyasagar, Hinduism, and colonial Bengal, he complements his paintings with a considerable creation describing Vidyasagar's multifaceted profession, in addition to the historical past of colonial debates on widow marriage. He innovatively translates the importance of Hindu Widow Marriage inside of Indian tradition and philosophy, situating the textual content in terms of indigenous highbrow practices. furthermore, Hatcher presents an summary of uncomplicated Hindu different types for first-time readers, a word list of technical vocabulary, and an intensive bibliography, making the textual content obtainable to scholars and students alike.