Table of Contents

Progressive social legislations

Table of Contents

Theoretical  overview

Abolition of sati act 1828

In 1829, the Governor-General of India Lord William Bentinck passed Bengal Sati Regulation 1829 which made the practice of Sati illegal in all of British India.

Earlier, the Practice of Sati was banned by the Portuguese in Goa by 1515 and then by Dutch in Chinsura and French in Pondicherry.

What is Sati Practice?

Sati was an inhumane practice against widowed women which traces its origin from late ancient and medieval era India.

Sati had become prevalent in some parts of India, even though it lacked any support from ancient Vedic tradition.

Sati was mainly practiced in upper Hindu Families which involved the immolation of a Hindu woman on the death of her husband in his funeral pyre.

According to an estimate, in the year 1817 alone, about 700 widows were burnt alive.

Soul of Raja Ram Mohan Roy was tormented by the Sati Practice when his own sister-in-law was forced to commit Sati.

Social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy along with his supporters started fierce opposition against Sati Practice in 1812.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy took it on himself and used to visit cremation grounds and persuade women not to commit Sati.

In his Sambad Kaumudi, He even showed that the Practice of Sati does not find mention in the Vedic literature.

Religious Conditions Under the Cholas

Banning of Sati Practice

Due to the sustained efforts of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Sati practice was formally banned in all the lands under Bengal Presidency by Lord William Bentinck on 4 December 1829.

People who abetted the Practice of Sati were to be held guilty of committing ‘culpable Homicide’ offenses under the Bengal Sati Regulation Act 1829.

Bengal Sati Regulation 1929, banning Sati, was applicable only to the Company’s jurisdiction in British India.

Caste disabilities removal act 1850

The Preamble of the Caste Disabilities Removal Act, 1850 reads,:

Whereas it is enacted by section 9, Regulation VII, 1832, of the Bengal Code, 3 that whenever in any civil suit the parties to such suit may be of different persuasions, when one party shall be of the Hindu and the other of the Muhammadan persuasion, or where one or more of the parties to the suit shall not be either of the Muhammadan or Hindu persuasions the laws of those religions shall not be permitted to operate to deprive such party or parties of any property to which, but for the operation of such laws, they would have been entitled.

The preamble to this Act says that it was being enacted to extend the principle of Section 9 of Regulation VII of 1832 to the rest of the Company’s Indian possessions. The purpose of this law was to preserve the inheritance rights of the converts in their ancestral property. The new Act allowed Indians who converted from one religion to another religion, equal rights under new law, especially on the case of inheritance.

No change of or exclusion from any religion, and no deprivation of caste, can in any way effect or impair any right of inheritance. The provision had the effect of superseding the contrary provisions of all religious, personal and customary laws under which persons who converted to a religion other than their religion by birth were to be deprived of their family and succession rights. It also superseded the rules of the traditional Hindu law under which the customary excommunication from a caste or sub-caste would have a similar effect.

Hindu widows Remarriage act 1856

The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act 1856 legalized the remarriage of Hindu widows on 16th July 1856. The Act was enacted on 26th July 1856.

The introduction of the widow remarriage act was a major change in the state of women that prevailed during that period. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar played a major role in the establishment of the act. Before this act, the Sati custom was also abolished by Lord William Bentick.

This act also provided protection and aimed at safeguarding the condition of men who married widows. The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act was one of the important social reforms towards the empowerment of women.

This Act, also known as Act XV, 1856 legalised the remarriage of Hindu widows in all the regions which came under the jurisdiction of the East India Company (December 31, 1600)

The Governor-General of India at that time was Lord Canning. The act was enacted due to the tireless efforts of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

Condition of Widows before the Introduction of the Act

  • According to the prevalent customs in some parts of India, widows, especially upper caste-Hindu widows were expected to lead a life of austerity and extremities.
  • Widows remarriage was not permitted even if she was a child and the marriage was not even consummated. Widows had to wear a white saree of coarse material. In many cases, she had to shave off her hair and was not even allowed to wear a blouse.
  • They were boycotted from festivals and even shunned by members of the family and society.
  • Ishwar Chandra cited Hindu scriptures to show that widow remarriage was well within the folds of Hinduism. Through his efforts, Lord Canning enacted the Widow Remarriage Act throughout British India.

Major changes after the Establishment of the Act

  • As per the law: “No marriage contracted between Hindus shall be invalid, and the issue of no such marriage shall be illegitimate, by reason of the woman having been previously married or betrothed to another person who was dead at the time of such marriage, any custom and any interpretation of Hindu Law to the contrary notwithstanding.”
  • The law also held that widows who remarry were entitled to all the rights and inheritances that a woman who marries for the first time would have.
  • As per the act, the widow forfeited any inheritance that she may have obtained from her deceased husband.
  • The act also provided legal safeguards to men who married widows.
  • Widow remarriage was, however, commonplace among people of the lower castes.

Female infanticide prevention act 1870

Female Infanticide Prevention Act, 1870, also Act VIII of 1870 was a legislative act passed in British India, to prevent murder of female infants. The Section 7 of this Act declared that it was initially applicable only to the territories of Oudh, North-Western Provinces and Punjab, but  the  Act  authorized  the  Governor  General  to  extend  the  law  to  any  other  district  or province of the British Raj at his discretion. The  British  colonial  authorities  passed  the  Female  Infanticide  Prevention  Act  1870,  under pressure of  Christian  missionaries  and social  reformers  seeking  an end  to  the  incidences of female infanticides in South Asia. The law’s preamble stated that the murder of female infants is believed to be commonly committed in certain parts of British India, and these were Oudh, North-Western Provinces and Punjab. The Act initially applied to these regions. The  law  authorized  the  creation  of  a  police  force  to  maintain  birth,  marriage  and  death registers,  to  conduct  census  of  the  district  at  its  discretion,  enforce  a  special  tax  on  the district  to  pay  for  the  expenses  and  entertainment  of  said  police The  Act  also stipulated  a  prison  sentence  of  six  months  or  a  fine  of  thirty  thousand  rupees,  or  both,  on anyone who  disobeyed  or  obstructed the  police  enforcing  the  Act.  Section 6  of  the Act  allowed  the  police  ocer  to  seize  a  child  from  any  person  he  suspects  may  neglect  or endanger any female child, as well as force collect a monthly fee from that person.

Points to remember

  1. In 1829, the Governor-General of India Lord William Bentinck passed Bengal Sati Regulation 1829 which made the practice of Sati illegal in all of British India
  2. The Preamble of the Caste Disabilities Removal Act, 1850 reads,: Whereas it is enacted by section 9, Regulation VII, 1832, of the Bengal Code, 3 that whenever in any civil suit the parties to such suit may be of different persuasions, when one party shall be of the Hindu and the other of the Muhammadan persuasion, or where one or more of the parties to the suit shall not be either of the Muhammadan or Hindu persuasions the laws of those religions shall not be permitted to operate to deprive such party or parties of any property to which, but for the operation of such laws, they would have been entitled
  3. The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act 1856 legalized the remarriage of Hindu widows on 16th July 1856. The Act was enacted on 26th July 1856.
  4. Female Infanticide Prevention Act, 1870, also Act VIII of 1870 was a legislative act passed in British India, to prevent murder of female infants. The Section 7 of this Act declared that it was initially applicable only to the territories of Oudh, North-Western Provinces and Punjab, but  the  Act  authorized  the  Governor  General  to  extend  the  law  to  any  other  district  or province of the British Raj at his discretion.

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