Against high-caste polygamy: a colonial-era appeal to abolish Kulinism in Bengal : an annotated translation

In: AAR religion in translation

In: Oxford scholarship online

Abstract

A complete, annotated translation of Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar's influential social-reform tract from 1871. Crafted by one of the nineteenth century's most prominent voices for social change, 'Against High-Caste Polygamy' demonstrates Vidyasagar's ability to call upon the classical discourse and argumentation of the Sanskrit legal tradition while engaging the norms of modern historical and social criticism. In this work, Vidyasagar utilizes both a kind of 'imaginative sociology' geared at capturing the suffering of Kulin women and a kind of proto-statistical analysis aimed at opening the eyes of readers to the extent and ramifications of polygamous practices that left Hindu women ostracized, neglected, and abused.