Who among the following wrote the book Bahubivah?

1. The Socio-Religious Reform Movement in India (basic)

Welcome to our journey into the heart of modern India! To understand modern Indian literature, we must first understand the Socio-Religious Reform Movement of the 19th century. This wasn't just a religious shift; it was an intellectual revolution. During this time, Indian thinkers began to look at their society through the lenses of rationalism (reason) and humanism (human dignity). They were responding to the challenges posed by colonial rule and the internal decay of social institutions Modern India, Growth of New India Religious and Social Reform After 1858, p.234.

These reformers didn't just reject Indian tradition; they sought to purify it. For instance, leaders like Raja Rammohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar used their deep knowledge of ancient scriptures to prove that social evils like Sati or polygamy had no true religious sanction. This period saw a massive surge in the use of the written word—pamphlets, newspapers, and books—to communicate these radical ideas to the masses. The emergence of new economic forces and the spread of Western education provided the fertile ground for these ideas to take root A Brief History of Modern India, Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.191.

One of the most striking aspects of this movement was the focus on the emancipation of women. Reformers attacked practices that left women in destitution, such as child marriage and the denial of education. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, a legendary polymath of the Bengal Renaissance, was a pioneer here. He didn't just give speeches; he wrote influential books like Bahubivah (1871) to argue against polygamy, using his literary talent as a weapon for social justice. This blending of literary activism and social reform is what paved the way for modern Indian literature.

Feature	Traditional Outlook	Reformist Outlook
Authority	Blind faith in rituals/customs	Rationalism and logic
Social Status	Caste hierarchies and gender restrictions	Humanism and social equality
Communication	Oral traditions / Sanskrit elite circles	Modern prose, journalism, and vernacular literature

Sources: Modern India (Bipin Chandra), Growth of New India Religious and Social Reform After 1858, p.234; A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.191

2. Raja Rammohan Roy and Early Social Advocacy (basic)

To understand the roots of modern Indian literature and thought, we must begin with Raja Rammohan Roy, often hailed as the 'Father of Modern India.' His contribution wasn't just in social reform, but in how he used the written word—journals, pamphlets, and books—to challenge centuries-old traditions. Roy believed that for India to modernize, it had to rediscover its own rational roots while adopting the best of Western scientific thought. He was a master of languages, writing extensively in Bengali, Persian, Sanskrit, and English to reach different segments of society Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM., Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.196.

His most significant victory was the campaign against Sati (the practice of burning widows). Roy’s brilliance lay in his strategy: he didn't just call the practice 'inhumane' from a Western lens; he delved into ancient Hindu scriptures to prove that Sati was never a mandatory religious duty. This intellectual 'frontal attack' gave Governor-General Lord William Bentinck the necessary support to enact the Sati Abolition Act of 1829 (Regulation XVII), which declared the practice illegal and punishable as culpable homicide History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), Effects of British Rule, p.271.

Roy also pioneered the use of the Press as a tool for public education and advocacy. By founding journals like the Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali) and Mirat-ul-Akbar (Persian), he created a space for public debate that had never existed before in India. This marked the birth of modern Indian journalism and prose literature, where the pen became a weapon for social justice. His legacy was carried forward by the Brahmo Samaj, an organization that sought to purge Hinduism of idol worship and caste rigidities, eventually influencing later giants like the Tagore family and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), Towards Modernity, p.300.

Sources: A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM., Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.196; History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), Effects of British Rule, p.271; History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), Towards Modernity, p.300

3. Social Issues Affecting 19th Century Women (intermediate)

To understand the evolution of Modern Indian literature, one must first grasp the social landscape of the 19th century. During this era, the 'woman's question' became the focal point of the Indian Renaissance. Reformers argued that the moral health of a nation was reflected in the status of its women. The issues were not merely social but were deeply rooted in a distorted interpretation of religious texts, which reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar sought to challenge through logic and primary scriptures.

The most pressing issues included Sati (immolation of widows), female infanticide, and the prohibition of widow remarriage. While the Bengal regulations of 1795 and 1804 had declared infanticide illegal, the struggle against the 'living death' of widows was more complex Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.196. Beyond these, a peculiar challenge in Bengal was Kulinism—a system where high-caste Brahmin men married multiple young girls (polygamy), often leaving them in destitution or as child widows upon the husband's death.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar emerged as a towering figure who moved beyond general advocacy to specific legislative and literary action. He was not just a reformer but a polymath who used his position as the Principal of Sanskrit College to bridge the gap between tradition and modernity Modern India, Bipin Chandra, Social and Cultural Awakening in the First Half of the 19th Century, p.132. His greatest contribution was demonstrating that social evils like polygamy and the ban on widow remarriage were not divinely ordained. He wrote powerful tracts in Bengali, such as Bahubivah (1871), to dismantle the religious justifications for multiple marriages, effectively using literature as a tool for social engineering.

Sources: A Brief History of Modern India, Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.196; Modern India (Bipin Chandra), Social and Cultural Awakening in the First Half of the 19th Century, p.132

4. Pioneers of Female Education (intermediate)

The movement for female education in 19th-century India was not merely a pedagogical shift; it was a radical social insurrection against deep-seated prejudices. In the early 1800s, education was largely a male preserve, and women were often barred from literacy due to superstitious fears—such as the belief that an educated woman would bring misfortune or widowhood upon herself. While the Calcutta Female Juvenile Society (1819), established by Christian missionaries, planted the early seeds, the movement gained its true indigenous momentum in the 1840s and 1850s Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.197. These pioneers understood that without education, women could never escape the cycles of polygamy, child marriage, and forced domesticity. In Bengal, the Bethune School, founded in 1849 by J.E.D. Bethune, served as the "first fruit" of this powerful movement. As President of the Council of Education, Bethune worked tirelessly to put girls' education on a sound footing, eventually bringing these schools under the government’s inspection and grant-in-aid system Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, Development of Education, p.566. Alongside him stood Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, a polymath who was personally associated with no less than 35 girls' schools in Bengal. These reformers faced immense social backlash; students were often harassed on their way to school, and their parents faced social boycotts for daring to provide their daughters with a "Western" education Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements, p.214. Parallel to the developments in the East, Jyotirao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule pioneered education in Western India. In 1851, they opened a school for girls in Poona, followed by schools for the "untouchables" and the depressed classes. Phule’s vision was intersectional; he saw education as a tool for gender equality and a weapon against the exploitative caste system History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), Towards Modernity, p.302. He even integrated the right to education into the marriage ritual, asking grooms to promise their brides the opportunity to learn. This grassroots activism eventually forced the colonial government's hand, leading to the Wood’s Despatch of 1854, which officially recognized the need for female education in state policy Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.197.

Sources: A Brief History of Modern India (SPECTRUM), Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.197; A Brief History of Modern India (SPECTRUM), Development of Education, p.566; A Brief History of Modern India (SPECTRUM), A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements, p.214; History, class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.), Towards Modernity, p.302

5. Iconic Literature of the Reform Era (exam-level)

During the 19th-century Indian Renaissance, literature evolved from religious hagiography into a potent instrument of social subversion. Reformers realized that to dismantle entrenched evils like the caste system, polygamy, and the subjugation of women, they had to engage in 'ideological warfare' through the printed word. These authors didn't just write stories; they produced polemical treatises and socio-political critiques that challenged the orthodox monopoly over religious interpretation.

One of the most formidable figures was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. While he is legendary for the Widow Remarriage Act, his literary contribution against polygamy was equally revolutionary. In 1871, he penned Bahubivah (Polygamy), specifically targeting the Kulin Brahmin practice of marrying dozens of women, which often led to the abandonment and destitution of wives. Vidyasagar’s brilliance lay in his 'internal reform' strategy: he used his profound mastery of Sanskrit scriptures to argue that such practices lacked actual religious sanction, effectively disarming the conservative clergy with their own texts.

Simultaneously, in Western India, Jyotiba Phule was pioneering a literature of the oppressed. His seminal work, Gulamgiri (Slavery), published in 1873, was dedicated to the American movement to free slaves, linking the struggle of Indian 'lower' castes to global fights against bondage Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements, p.215. Phule’s writing was provocative; he famously inverted traditional mythology by using the symbol of Rajah Bali as a hero of the masses, contrasting it against the Brahminical symbol of Rama.

The era also saw the rise of women’s autobiographical and critical writing, where women began to voice their own 'passionate anger' regarding domestic imprisonment and ignorance NCERT, India and the Contemporary World – II, Print Culture and the Modern World, p.124. Figures like Pandita Ramabai, a scholar who earned the titles 'Pandita' and 'Saraswati' for her Sanskrit expertise History, Class XI (TN State Board), Towards Modernity, p.303, wrote The High-Caste Hindu Woman to expose the oppression hidden within 'respectable' households. These texts shifted the reform discourse from what men thought women needed, to what women actually experienced.

Sources: A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements, p.215; India and the Contemporary World – II (NCERT), Print Culture and the Modern World, p.124; History, Class XI (Tamilnadu State Board), Towards Modernity, p.303

6. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar: More than Widow Remarriage (exam-level)

In the landscape of the 19th-century Bengal Renaissance, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is often synonymous with the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856. However, his contribution was far more holistic, spanning the realms of classical scholarship, modern linguistics, and educational democratization. As the Principal of Sanskrit College, he made the revolutionary decision to open the doors of Sanskrit education to non-Brahmin students, effectively breaking the priestly monopoly over sacred knowledge. This was a masterstroke of social engineering, as it empowered a broader section of society to engage with the very texts used to justify social hierarchies Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, p.196.

Beyond his activism for widows, Vidyasagar led a fierce intellectual crusade against Polygamy, particularly the practice of 'Kulinism' among Bengali Brahmins, where elderly men would marry dozens of young girls, often leaving them in total destitution. In 1871, he authored the seminal text Bahubivah (meaning 'Polygamy'). In this work, he used his deep mastery of the Shastras to prove that unrestricted polygamy had no religious sanction. This approach—fighting orthodoxy using its own tools—became his signature methodology for social justice Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, p.205.

Perhaps his most enduring legacy lies in the modernization of the Bengali language. Vidyasagar is widely regarded as the 'Father of Bengali Prose'. He simplified the complex Sanskritized Bengali into a more lucid, accessible form. His primer, Barnaparichay ('Introduction to the Alphabet'), remains the foundation of Bengali literacy even today. He was also a pioneer of women’s education, collaborating with J.E.D. Bethune to establish the Bethune School and personally founding nearly 35 girls' schools across Bengal at his own expense.

Sources: A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.196; A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features, p.205

7. Solving the Original PYQ (exam-level)

Now that you have mastered the building blocks of 19th-century socio-religious movements, this question tests your ability to link specific social reformers with the literary weapons they used to drive change. In the Bengal Renaissance, literature wasn't just art; it was a tool for legislative reform. By identifying the core issue mentioned in the title—Bahubivah (Polygamy)—you can connect the dots back to the reformer who focused specifically on the plight of women in Kulin Brahmin households and the scriptural validity of their domestic conditions.

To arrive at the correct answer, think about the specific crusades of each leader. While many sought general upliftment, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was the primary architect of the campaign against polygamy and for widow remarriage. In 1871, he wrote Bahubivah to challenge the orthodoxy by proving that the practice lacked religious sanction, much like he had done for the Widow Remarriage Act. Therefore, Option (B) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is the correct choice. As a coach, I suggest you always look for the literal meaning of book titles in Indian history, as they often reveal the reformer's specific agenda.

UPSC often sets traps by providing names of reformers who worked on related, but distinct, issues. Do not confuse the work of Raja Rammohan Roy, who is best known for his battle against Sati and his work on monotheism, with the specific anti-polygamy focus of Vidyasagar. Similarly, Pandita Ramabai was a pioneer for women's education and wrote The High-Caste Hindu Woman, but her focus was different from the legislative tracts of the Bengal Renaissance. Rabindranath Tagore, while influential, represents the later literary and philosophical peak rather than the specific social-reformist activism found in A Brief History of Modern India.