Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar Relevance of his Ideas and Movements

Abstract

Abstract newlineThe proposed dissertation intends to explore Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar: Relevance of His Ideas and Movements from a purely historical point of view on the basis of available documents. It will be an honest effort to re-search the life and activities of Pundit Iswar Chandra Bandyopadhyay. As a result of his diverse activities throughout the life, Iswar Chandra Bandyopadhyay is known to many by different names like Vidyasagar (Ocean of Knowledge), Dayar Sagar (Ocean of Kindness), Karunasagar (Ocean of Mercy) etc. But he is widely known as Vidyasagar all over the globe. Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar was born in a poor traditional Brahmin family and only due to his invincible manliness and indelible humanity he achieved milestones like no others in Bengal as well as in India. He was an Educational Reformer, a Writer, a Social Reformer, a Homeopathic Physician, and so on. newlineIswar Chandra Vidyasagar was very sensitive to the fortune of women in Bengal as well as in India. He had always been hostile to child marriage and had expressed his views in an article in the first issue of Sarva Subhakari Patrika , published in August 1850. He opposed child marriage. According to him, child marriage was one of the primary causes of mental and social degradation of Bengali womenfolk. But after a while he did not write anything about child marriage as long as he was alive. He moved for another reform movement i.e. re-marriage of Hindu Widows. Long before Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, wealthy and powerful members of the Bengali Hindu community have tried to oppose widow remarriage. The rules of the Hindu society of that time did not permit remarriage of the widows as per religious faith. Vidyasagar s goal was to legitimize widow Re-Marriage by evidence of the scriptures. He also fought to establish widow women s rights in property. He newlineii newlinehad set on another agitation for social reform namely the prevention of the practice of polygamy among the Hindus, particularly the Kulin Brahmins of Bengal. He applied his heart and soul to the