This paper intends to state how the law, which allows widows to remarry, was passed. It also aims to discuss why people ignored after it was passed. Finally, it attempts to talk about the religious beliefs related to why a widow is not allowed to remarry.
How the Law on Remarrying was Passed In the beginning, there actually was no law stating that remarrying is being passed; this is simply because of the fact that no scriptures forbid it (Beliefnet, Inc. n. p.
).Thus, if it is not illegal in the first place then no passing of a law related to this have occurred (Beliefnet, Inc. n. p. ).
Interestingly though, remarrying was improper and objectionable according to tradition, as well as, culture of the believers of Hinduism (Beliefnet, Inc. n. p. ). Widows were not just allowed to do so in the name of the Hindu religion because “Brahmin gurus and priests preach the blatant lie that the Hindu religion did not allow widow remarriage” (Mittra n.
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. ).In fact, if one is to scrutinize the “Rigveda”, which Hinduism’s beliefs were constituted and based, it can be read that, “it categorically approved and encouraged remarriage of widows” (Mittra n. p. ).
This has also been the case in the texts or Scriptures of Hinduism that follow the “Rigveda” (Mittra n. p. ). For instance, the “Parasara Samhita”, written between 200 – 100 B. C.
has been considered as the one which gives widows the permission to remarry especially in the following cases: “remarriage of a woman whose husband is alive under four situations – first of all, the husband leaves his family without leaving any trace; second, he becomes a recluse and renounces the world for religious pursuits; third, he is impotent and the marriage cannot consummate, and, fourth, he is outcast by the society” (Mittra n. p. ).This was formed basing on the belief that the women should not be the one to suffer the consequences for the men’s or husbands shortcomings (Mittra n. .
). Furthermore, there was actually an extremely brilliant individual in the 1850’s named, “Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, an eminent scholar and erudite, who received the degree Vidyasagar or ocean of learning, which is a much harder achievement than a Ph. D. in Sanskrit, at the age of 21”, who actually initiated “the movement for legalizing widow remarriage” (Mittra n. p. ). This has been successful since the “British government passed a law on 26th July, 1856 legalizing widow remarriage, wherein his only son elected to marry a widow and he presided at his son’s wedding” (Mittra n.
. ).Why the People Ignored it After The people ignored this after because after the law was passed it has been discovered that this law “deprived widows, who remarried, from property inherited from their deceased husband, even though permitted by custom” (Huda n.
p. ). Religious Beliefs Related to Why a Widow is not Allowed to Remarry Religious beliefs related as to why a widow is not allowed to remarry may be seen in the movie entitled, “Water” (IMDb. com, Inc. , n. p. ).
Here the character named “Chuyia does not know that according to Holy Hindu Scriptures she has been destined to live here for the rest of her life, for when a woman’s husband dies’, she has three options: One, to marry her husband’s younger brother, if his family permits; two, to kill herself on his funeral pyre; three, to live a life of celibacy, discipline, and solitude amongst her own kind” (IMDb. com, Inc. , n.
p. ). The aforementioned are their beliefs and that’s the reason why a widow is not allowed to remarry (IMDb.
com, Inc. , n. p.
).
