Widows in Hindu society were in a pitiable state. It was like a black mark against the entire society. The life of a widow was hell in the society controlled by orthodoxy and blindfaiths. A helpless widow was the embodiment of all the evils conceivable. They were treated like lepers and singled out for physical and mental tourtures. No one spoke kindly to them. And to make matters worse widows could not marry. The situation was so bad that others were able to show Hindus to the world as a society of sadistic brutes.
The custom of child marriages made the widow problem worse because it was greatly responsible for growing number of widows. Sometimes a girl became widow even before she learned to stand on her feet because she had been married in her infancy. And child mortality was high during those days. The reader can see horrific picture of widowhood in the following table.
According to 1921 census the total population of Hindus in pre-partition India was 21,62,37,767 out of which 10,56,16,201 were women. The population of widows was 2,00,18,760. The agewise break-up was as under—
Age group Widows Nos.
Below 1 year 597
1-2 years 494
2-3 years 1257
3-4 years 2837
4-5 years 6707
5-10 years 85,037
10-15 years 2,32,147
15-20 years 3,96,172
20-25 years 7,42,820
25-30 years 11,65,720
On 15th Sept., 1928 a member presented a bill to abolish the child marriages. Home Secretary introduce an amendment suggesting the bill be circulated to get the public support. Lala Lajpat Rai supported the bill but he din’t like circulation idea because it would result in inordinate delay. Later it was decided to refer the bill to a high level ‘Probe Committee’. Lalaji was nominated a member of the committee. The bill was passed and became an Act but Lalaji didn’t stay alive to see it. He always thought that customs must change according to the demand of the times.
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