Widow re marriage act was passed in 1856 in br itish india. Before this law the custom of sati was also abolished by the lord. Hindu widow remarriage act,1856 law commission of india. First, wr would be legally valid and the offspring would be legal. The hindu widows remarriage act xv of was passed which enabled widows to marry again. Widow matrimony by imarriages is a free service that provides indian widows and widowers with a way to connect with others who have also lost their life partners. This act may be called the hindu widows marriage act. They welcome lovers but value the freedom to pursue individual interests without the constraints of marriage. The hindu widows remarriage act, 1856 a hindu widow can not remarry under the cutomary hindu law. This is because of the elevated status these two groups, which perform these types of marriages belong to. State government employees widow can get pension even. No marriage contracted between hindus shall be invalid, and the issue of no such marriage shall be illegitimate.
The hindu widows remarriage act, 1856 indian kanoon. He was a staunch believer in the remarriage of widows and tried to create awareness about this issue. Provision related remarriage of divorced person is. We know that it is not easy starting a new relationship after the loss of your partner but by communicating with other people who are widowed and gone through similar experiences. This gave a severe shock to the then conservative hindu.
Remarriage of hindu widow and her issues rights of inheritance. The hindu sages emphatically enjoined upon every person the duty of maintaining the dependant members of his family. These petitions were filed and taken up in public interest are intended to bring back some sunshine in the lives of the widows in vrindavan and in ashrams elsewhere in the country. Widow remarriage is not prohibited in smritis, widow remarriage is not prohibited in vedas, widow remarriage is not prohibited in upanishads, widow remarriage is not prohibited in manu smriti. The rights of a survivor of a second or subsequent marriage of the decedent are the same as though he or she were the survivor of the first marriage. Users can read the form and fill up as per the instructions to obtain benefits under this scheme. Section 15 of the hindu marriage act 1955 divorced. All rights and interests which any widow may have in her deceased husbands. They quoted hindu widows remarriage act 1856 in support of their contention. Widow remarriage in modern india was a very sensitive issue and much was done by reformers to enforce this system. Remarriage is a voluntary act in which requires investing time e and money in. July 25 it was the plight of child widows in india that influenced his passionate campaign and he worked hard to make life better for these young girls and women.
A lord canning b lord dalhousie c lord hardinge d none of the above show answer lord dalhousie the hindu widows remarriage act, 1856, also act xv, 1856, enacted on 25 july 1856, legalized the remarriage of hindu widows in all jurisdictions. It is known that by the law as administered in the civil courts, hindu. According to the act, all rights and interests which any widow may have in her deceased husbands property by way of. This is why ruling in sahus favour, the court held that the provisions of the hindu succession act, 1956, would override the provisions of the repealed hindu widows remarriage act, 1856. On the remarriage of hindu widow, if neither the widow nor any other person has been expressly constituted by the will or testamentary disposition of the deceased husband the guardian of the children, the father or paternal grandfather or the mother or paternal. Hindu widows remarriage act free download as pdf file. Normally these were performed by the brahmana, kshatriya and vaisya communities. Section 15 of the hindu marriage act 1955 divorced persons. To support his request, ishwar chandra vidyasagar collected almost signatures and sent his petition to the indian legislative council. After successfully banning the practice of suttee widowburning, the british government in india has been mindful of the plight of highercaste widows, forbidden to remarry, deemed unlucky by their families, often poorly treated, and sometimes forced into beggary and prostitution many widows had been married at a very young age to. During the company rule, the hindu widows remarriage act. The court held that even after remarriage, a widow would qualify as classi heir, and her late husbands kin would still be the class ii heir. The widow remarriage act was passed during the governorgeneralship of.
As per the 1991 census, widows account for 9 per cent of the female population and only 40 per cent of them are over 50 years of age. But this enactment brought a radical change in this situation and removed the obstacle in the way of remarriage. The most important part under family law is hindu succession act 1956. Saving of rights of widow marrying, except as provided in sections 2 to 4 6. Does a remarried widow have a right in the property of her. Whereas it is known that by the law as administered in the civil courts. Widows of government employees can avail of pension till their death even if. Of these eight, in the first two case, brahmana vivaha and prajapati vivaha, divorce and remarriage and widow remarriage were not allowed. I was a widow staying with my mother in law and my 7 years old daughter in kolkata in the ancestral house of my previous husband of whose mutation has been done in the name of my mother in law and myself vide deed of partition entered between my previous deceased husband and his elder brother. An act to remove all legal obstacles to the marriage of hindu widows. Among the foremost advocates of widow remarriage in modern india was ishwar chandra vidyasagar 182091. A divorced person can marry again subject to the conditions under section 15 of the hindu marriage act 1955. Application form to apply for scheme of widow remarriage.
The hindu widows remarriage act, 1856 laws of bangladesh. Section 2 of the hindu widows remarriage act reads as under. The enactment of the hindu widows remarriage act, 1856 was a major social reform to improve the condition of the widow in india. State government employees widow can get pension even after remarriage clara lewis mar 8, 2016, 01. The marriage was between a child widow kalimati devi who was only eleven and siris chandra vidyaratna. Application form to apply for the scheme of widow remarriage in the state of himachal pradesh. Divorce, widow remarriage allowed by vedic hinduism. When a marriage has been dissolved by a decree of divorce and either there is no right of appeal. Yet, the number of widows who actually remarried remained low.
The first widow remarriage was performed in calcutta at vidyasagars initiatives and expenses on december 7, 1856. In the north and central india, the jats, gurjars and ahirs were in favour of the widowremarriage, a custom, that is till followed. Section 2 in the hindu widows remarriage act, 1856. The hindu widows remarriage act, 1856 1 marriage of hindu widows legalized. Rights of widow in deceased husbands property to cease on her remarriage 3. Recent research on widows in india workshop and conference report marty chen jean dreze the concerns of widows canniot be dissociated froni those of other single wonmen, or inideedfrom those of women in general. Eleanor hamilton in a recent column i asked the question, do older widows seek remarriage. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. The subject matter of the act of 1856 is fully covered by four acts enacted nearly a hundred years later. In the north, swami dayanand saraswati, who founded the reform association called arya samaj, also supported widow remarriage. He had devoted his life to improving the status of hindu widows and encouraging remarriage. While the legal act was passed, a challenge that vidyasagar faced was to make widow remarriage a socially acceptable custom. On july 16th 1856, the remarriage of hindu widows was legalized across all jurisdictions under the rule of the east india company. Hindu widow s remarriage act 1856 sortby old judgments.
An act to amend and codify the law relating to marriage among hindus. The high court of patna in air 1962 pat 65, went a step further and held in a case of remarriage before the hindu succession act, that the forfeiture of widows right on remarriage is based upon general principles of hindu law apart from the provisions of section 2 of the act of 1856. Widow remarriage to devar husbands brother according to the figures available with her ministry, there are 33 million widows in the country. All rights and interests which any widow may have in her deceased husbands property by way of maintenance, or by inheritance to her husband or to his lineal successors, or by virtue of any will or testamentary. In ancient hindu society widow remarriage was considered as a sin because a widow was expected to mourn the death of her husband throughout her life. Guardianship of children of deceased husband on the remarriage of his widow 4. She is adorned in golden jewels, and my desire is that i may attain the realms of brahma through this act the supreme lord who is manifesting. Rights of widow in deceased husbands property to cease on remarriage. The supreme court of india did not concur with the provisions of the hindu widows remarriage act 1856 which says that all rights and interests which any widow may have in her deceased husbands property by way of maintenance, or by inheritance, shall cease upon her re. Widows do experienice special difficulties anid deprivationis, conntiected, inter alia, with the restrictions that. This act also provides that on her remarriage, she will. The hindu widows remarriage act, 1856, also act xv, 1856, enacted on 26 july 1856, legalised the remarriage of hindu widows in all jurisdictions of india. Some sutras allow a widow to marry her brotherinlaw which is also stated in the mahabharata though ma.
A new dimension of social change in india 199 india. 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. See more of hs tet preparation portal, assam on facebook. Around the same time young intellectuals and reformers in bombay pledged themselves to working for the same cause. An act to remove all legal obstacles to the marriage of hindu. The hindu widows remarriage act, 1856 short title given by the short titles act, 1897 14 of 1897 this act has been declared to be in force in all the provinces and the capital of the federation, except the scheduled districts, by the laws local extent act, 1874 15 of 1874, s. In this article the researcher will mainly focused on laws related to disqualification under hindu succession act 1956, what old hindu law and modern hindu laws says about disqualification. Remarried widow has a share in dead husbands property. Rights in case of remarriage unless a statute provides otherwise, a surviving spouses rights of inheritance are not affected by a later marriage after the death of the decedent. Nothing in this act to render any childless widow capable of inheriting 5. Preamble whereas it is known that, by the law as administered in the civil. The hindu widows remarriage act 1856 india act xv, 1856 25 july 1856 whereas it is known that by the law as administered in the civil courts, hindu widows with certain exceptions are held to be, by reason of their having been once married, incapable of contracting a second valid marriage, and the offspring of such widows by any second. July 16 1856 remarriage of hindu widows is legalized. There are no such religious restrictions on women and in particular on the widows in hinduism.
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