Suppressed Humanity- Mahatma Gandhi

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar

Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

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Suppressed Humanity- Mahatma Gandhi

 

The untouchable is not the only portion of suppressed humanity! The young widow in Hindu society is no less so. A correspondent from Bengal writes: There is no restriction among Muslims about widow remarriage, but there is provision for a man to marry up to four wives and as a matter of fact many Muslims have more than one wife so none of the Muslim male population remains unmarried. Is it not therefore true that where there is no restriction against widow remarriage the number of females is much in excess of males? In other words is it not true that in the communities in which widow remarriage is allowed, polygamy should also be allowed? If widow remarriage is made common among Hindus, will not young widows induce young men to marry them and make it difficult, rather impossible, to find out bridegrooms for unmarried girls? Will not unmarried girls then commit all the sins which are committed or are presumed to be committed by widows, if there be no provision to keep more than one wife by a Hindu? I refrain from reminding you of the love (prem), the saintly grihasthas life, the pativrata dharma and such other things which should be taken into consideration in recommending widow remarriage. In his zeal to prevent widows from remarrying, the correspondent has ignored many things. Mussalmans have, indeed, the right to take more than one wife but the vast majority of them have only one wife. The correspondent does not seem to know that, unfortunately, there is no prohibition against Polygamy in Hinduism. Hindus in highest circles have been known to marry more than one wife. Many princes marry an unlimited number. The correspondent further forgets the fact that it is only among the so-called higher classes that widow remarriage is prohibited. Among the vast majority belonging to the fourth division, widows freely remarry, but no untoward consequences have taken place. Though free to take more wives than one, they are as a rule satisfied with one companion at a time. The suggestion that young widows will take up all young men and leave none for unmarried girls betrays a woeful want of sense of proportion. The excessive anxiety for the chastity of young girls betrays an unhealthy mind. The limited number of widows remarrying can never leave a large number of young girls unmarried. And in any event, if ever such a problem arose it would be found to be due to the early marriages that take place today. The remedy in anticipation is to prevent early marriages. Of the love, the sanctity of grihasthas life, etc., where there is a widow of tender age, the less said the better. But the correspondent has missed the whole of my point. I have never advocated widow remarriage on a wholesale scale. The statistics collected by Sir Ganga Ram and summarized in these pages deal with widows up to 15 years only. These poor are wretched beings know-nothing of Pativrata dharma. They are strangers to love. The truer statement would be to say that these girls were never married at all. If marriage is, as it ought to be, a sacrament, an entrance into a new life, the girls to be married should be fully developed, should have some hand in the choice of companions for life’ and should know the consequences of their acts. It is a crime against God and man to call the union of the children a married state and then to decree widowhood for a girl whose so-called husband is dead. I do believe that a real Hindu widow is a treasure. She is one of the gifts of Hinduism to humanity. Ramabai Ranade was such a gift. But the existence of girl widows is a blot upon Hinduism for which the existence of a Ramabai is no atonement.

Reference:

Young India, 19-8-1926