https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8316-6561
-
Views
-
Cite
Cite
Sandipan Mitra, Against High-Caste Polygamy: An Annotated Translation. By Brian A. Hatcher, The Journal of Hindu Studies, Volume 17, Issue 3, November 2024, Pages 381–382, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhs/hiae007
Close - Share Icon Share
Extract
Against High-Caste Polygamy offers a complete, annotated translation of the Bengali educator and social reformer Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar’s first book against Kulin polygamy, a specific form of marriage that was prevalent among the upper-caste Hindus of Bengal. The translation is based on the text of the first edition of the book which was published by the Sanskrit Press in 1871. The book contains his original proposal to the public and some of the earliest responses to it. Although Vidyasagar was a product of the age of robust reform, the book was written at a time when zeal for reform through the intervention of the colonial state in religious and customary matters had waned, which is why Vidyasagar’s campaign failed to generate any legislative action. The book has been translated by Brian A. Hatcher who is an expert on the history of religions, colonialism, and socio-religious reform in India, and the life and work of Vidyasagar.
