The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c17.s4.4

c17.s4.4

In the sphere of marriage and marital relations, some reforms are necessary very urgently. It is now high time for Hindu society to give up polygamy altogether. It is of course true that the number of persons who have recourse to polygamy is very small, but it must be reduced to a zero. The Nagar Brahmanas have already given it up. Some noble souls like the present Maharaja of Mysore, Sir Krishna Raja Wodeyar, and the present chief of Ichchalkaranji, Srimant Babasaheb Ghorpade, have set glorious examples by refusing to contract a second marriage, even when no heir to the hereditary throne could be obtained from the first marriage. Such noble examples and the strength of the enlightened public opinion are undoubtedly working in the desired direction. Polygamy is becoming rarer day by day. But it is now high time for the legislature to intervene in the matter. If complete abolition of polygamy is immediately impracticable, a legislation ought to be at once passed rendering court's permission necessary for contracting a second marriage during the life time of the first wife. The courts should be authorised to grant this permission, only if the first wife is found to be imbecile, barren or incurably deceased. There is no doubt that the legal recognition of polygamy is working an untold harm to a not negligible number of women, who are often superseded by their husbands, especially in uncultured classes. We must now stop this evil. The legislation suggested above would be quite in keeping with the spirit of our culture, which intended to allow the second marriage only in exceptional cases.