Hindu Widow Marriage
272Hindu Widow Marriage
272Hardcover
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Overview
Vidyasagar's brilliant strategy paired a rereading of Hindu scripture with an emotional plea on behalf of the widow, resulting in an organic reimagining of Hindu law and custom. Vidyasagar made his case through the two-part publication Hindu Widow Marriage, a tour de force of logic, erudition, and humanitarian rhetoric. In this new translation, Brian A. Hatcher makes available in English for the first time the entire text of one of the most important nineteenth-century treatises on Indian social reform.
An expert on Vidyasagar, Hinduism, and colonial Bengal, Hatcher enhances the original treatise with a substantial introduction describing Vidyasagar's multifaceted career, as well as the history of colonial debates on widow marriage. He innovatively interprets the significance of Hindu Widow Marriage within modern Indian intellectual history by situating the text in relation to indigenous commentarial practices. Finally, Hatcher increases the accessibility of the text by providing an overview of basic Hindu categories for first-time readers, a glossary of technical vocabulary, and an extensive bibliography.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780231156332 |
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Publisher: | Columbia University Press |
Publication date: | 11/22/2011 |
Pages: | 272 |
Product dimensions: | 6.20(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d) |
Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Brian A. Hatcher is professor and Packard Chair of Theology in the Department of Religion at Tufts University. His research centers on Hinduism in modern India. He is the author of Idioms of Improvement: Vidyasagar and Cultural Encounter in Bengal; Eclecticism and Modern Hindu Discourse; and Bourgeois Hinduism, or the Faith of the Modern Vedantists: Rare Discourses from Early Colonial Bengal.
Table of Contents
PrefaceA Word About the Translation
Hindu Categories for First-Time Readers
Chronology: Events Pertaining to the Widow Marriage Movement in Bengal
Introduction
A Short Life of Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar
Widow Marriage in Bengal
Hindu Widow Marriage as Modern-Day Commentary
The Real Significance of Hindu Widow Marriage
Hindu Widow Marriage: The Complete English Translation
Book One
Book Two
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
What People are Saying About This
Should Hindu widows be allowed to remarry? Hindu Widow Marriage brings together two master exegetes: Isvaracandra Vidyasagar, architect of the reforms that freed widows for remarriage in the mid-1850s; and Brian A. Hatcher, highly respected Vidyasagar expert. In this first complete English translation of the arguments that Vidyasagar marshaled, in Sanskrit and Bengali, Hatcher brings Vidyasagar's voice alive. I found myself liking Vidyasagar, appreciating his zest for argumentation, and thankful for his appeals on behalf of girls and women without sexual outlet. Sadly, Hindu widows today still need a Vidyasagar on their side. This makes Hindu Widow Marriage poignantly and powerfully prophetic.
Rachel Fell McDermott, Barnard College, author of Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal: The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals
In this complex and finely wrought volume, Brian A. Hatcher provides the first full translation of Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar's treatise on why Hindu widowsmany of them mere girlsshould be allowed to marry. The work raised a furious storm in India when it was published in 1855, and few scholars have been as celebrated and vilified as Vidyasagar. Hatcher's splendid book pays homage to a man of dazzling character and ability while also introducing us to a maelstrom of differencesexual, social, colonialthat even such a man could not tame.
John Stratton Hawley, Barnard College