RAS question
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is primarily known for his contribution to:
Correct answer: (C) Widow Remarriage Act (1856).
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is primarily known for his role in the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856.
Explanation
Vidyasagar's strongest exam-linked contribution is the campaign for widow remarriage, connected with the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 under Lord Dalhousie and Lord Canning. The Press Information Bureau describes him as a legendary educationist and social reformer who challenged Hindu orthodoxy, played a pivotal role in helping widows get remarried, fought for women's education, and opposed child marriage, polygamy and the mistreatment of widows. Option C is the best answer because widow remarriage is the specific reform most closely attached to Vidyasagar in modern Indian social reform. His wider profile also includes women's education, reform of Bengali script, Barnaparichay, and service as principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Brahmo Samaj is associated with Raja Rammohan Roy, while Vidyasagar worked for widow remarriage and women's education within the Bengal Renaissance reform milieu.
- (B) Arya Samaj was established by Dayanand, not by Vidyasagar, whose reform work centred on widows, women's education and social practices in nineteenth-century Bengal.
- (D) Abolition of Sati is associated with Raja Rammohan Roy, whereas Vidyasagar's signature reform was widow remarriage.
Concept
Nineteenth-century Indian social reformers had distinct reform agendas. RAS repeatedly asks these pairings because they connect personalities, institutions and reform legislation in modern Indian history.