BY RUCHIRA GHOSH

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the 8^th  of March,  it  would be highly appropriate  to  take a retrospective  look  at  Feminism and Liberalism in  the context  of Indian Women. In this  context  I firmly believe that my  countrymen owe a lot to our  erstwhile Colonial rulers. 

Innumerable hardcore chauvinistic Indians feel proud of  and boast about India  being one of the most ancient civilizations that flourished  upon this planet. Happily, many  of  them  tend  to  overlook  the  malaise  and evil  practices  that  have  plagued the women  in  our  society for centuries.  A diabolic practice – call  it heinous – was what Hindu fundamentalists, historians  and Indologists  define as Suttee (Sati). My  blood boils (I am  sure others  too feel likewise)  when I wonder about  when and why and how it originated.

As is well known the renowned scholar and humanist Raja Ram Mohan Roy succeeded in persuading Lord William Bentinck, the first  governor general of British-ruled India, to legally ban this  custom. December 1829 was  therefore a milestone in the  history of Indian  womanhood. This was the beginning of the Renaissance that transmogrified the  lives of  teeming millions of Indian Eves.

Barely  three decades down  the line,  another magnanimous-humanist-scholar, Ishwar  Chandra Vidyasagar appeared, meteor-like, on the prevailing social scenario  to  champion the cause  of downtrodden and oppressed women.

An advocate of women’s education, Vidyasagar believed  that education  and  knowledge  was the only  way  for women to break  free  from  the shackles  of social oppression. A well-established  government office holder and  profound scholar that  he was (the British hailed him as Pundit), he lobbied hard for opening of schools for girls and even outlined a suitable curriculum for them. After  a good  deal of hiccups, Vidyasagar managed to open 35 schools for women throughout Bengal and eventually enlisted about 1300 students. Next he established  “Nari Siksha Bhandar”, a fund to sponsor  the cause  of women’s welfare and upliftment. Another spectacular achievement was  joining hands with J.E.D Bethune (the English educationist mathematician, lawyer, and member of Governor General’s Council of Ministers) to set up the first permanent girls’ school in India, the Bethune School, on May 7, 1849. This pioneering educational institute enjoys pride of place till now. Vidyasagar was vociferous  about the  plight  of women  in contemporary society especially the pre-teen  and teenage widows, who were denied basic pleasures of life, and ostracized.  When  Vidyasagar  determined  to ameliorate the  condition of  these hapless women, he faced vehement  opposition from orthodox society. By means of his in-depth research of the sacred scriptures he  proved that widow remarriage is sanctioned by Vedic scriptures. Undaunted he appealed  to  the  British  Authorities.  July 26, 1856, was another  red-letter  day  in the annals of  Indian history  when the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856 or Act XV, 1856, was passed. He  went ahead to fix  matches for young widows. To lead from the front, he married off his only son to a widow.

It would be unpardonable not to  mention the invaluable contributions  of Sister Nivedita (aka Margaret Noble) the zealous, impassioned Anglo-Irish spiritual seeker-turned-social reformer – and women’s activist who rendered yeomen’s service to the women of Bengal in that era. She endeavoured wholeheartedly tirelessly  to bring sunshine into the darkened lives of  the females, awaken them to knowledge, education, wisdom and overall well-being.