Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/361

 Lord Canning) legalised the remarriage of Hindu widows. *  *   *

"It has proved a dead letter. Not only does it fail to secure to a widow her civil rights to property inherited from her husband, but it has not in the least degree mitigated the religious abhorrence with which orthodox Hindus regard such remarriages. After careful enquiry from the leaders of the Hindu remarriage movement, who run no danger of minimising its results, I can only hear of sixty remarriages under the Act of 1856." So that, since the enactment of the Law, there have not been more than seventy marriages at the most up to date.

The first marriage contracted under this Act, took place on the 7th December, 1856, certainly a memorable day in the history of the remarriage of Hindu widows. The bridegroom was Sris Chandra Vidyaratna, son of the illustrious Pandit Ramdhan Tarkavagis of Khantura. The bride was Kalimati Devi, widowed daughter of Lakshmimani Devi, also a widow, the father of the bride having died sometime before this marriage. It is needless to say that the marriage was consummated through the strenuous exertions of Vidyasagar, who had to spend a good sum of money on it. The marriage was celebrated in the house of Raj Krishna Banarji at Sukea's Street. On the night of the eventful day, there was so great a rush of people in the streets leading to Raj Krishna Babu's