Continued from last issue…
Excessive jealousy of their female connections operating in the breasts of Hindu Princes renders those despots regardless of the common bonds of society, and of their incumbent duty as protector of the weaker sex, in so much that with a view to prevent every possibility of their widows forming subsequent attachment, they availed themselves of their arbitrary power, and cloak of religion, introduced the practise of burning widows alive, under the first impression of sorrow or despair, immediately after the demise of their husbands. The system of female destruction, being admirably suited to the selfish and servile disposition of the populace, has been eagerly followed by them, in defiance of the most sacred authorities such as Upanishad or the principal part of Veds, and the Bhagavut Gita as well as the direct commandment of Munoo, the first and the greatest of all the Legislators, conveyed in the following wards.
“Let a widow continue till death forgiving all injuring performing austere duties, avoiding every sensual pleasure, &c.”
While in fact, fulfilling the suggestions of their jealousy, they pretended to justify this hideous practise by quoting some passages from authorities of evidently inferior weight, sanctioning the wilful ascent of a widow on the flaming pile of her husband, as if they were offering such female sacrifices in obedience to the dictates of the Shastrus and not from the influence of jealousy. It is however very fortunate that the British Government, under whose protection the lives of the males and females of India have been happily placed by Providence, has after diligent enquiry, ascertained that even those inferior authorities, permitting wilful ascent by a widow to the flaming pile, have been practically set aside and in gross violation of their language and spirit. The relatives of the widows have in the burning of those infatuated females, almost invariably used to fasten them down on the pile and heap over them large quantities of wood and other material adequate to the prevention of their escape. An outrage on humanity which has been frequently perpetrated under the indirect sanction of Native Officers undeservedly employed for the security of life and preservation of peace and tranquility.
In many instances in which the vigilance of the Magistrate has deterred the Native Officers of Police from indulging their own inclination, widows have either made their escape from the pile, after being partially burnt, or retraced their resolution to burn when brought to the awful task, to the mortifying disappointment of instigators ; while in some instances, the resolution to die has been retraced on pointing to the widows the impropriety of their intended undertaking, and on promising them safety and maintenance during life, notwithstanding the severe reproaches liable thereby to be heaped on them by their relatives and friends.
In considering of circumstance so disgraceful in themselves and so incompatible with the principles of British Rule, your Lordship in Council fully impressed with the duties required of you for the honour of the British name, to come to resolution that the lives of your female Hindu subjects would be henceforth more efficiently protected, that the heinous sin of cruelty of females may no longer be committed and that the most ancient and purest system of Hindu Religion should not any longer be set at nought by the Hindoos themselves. The Magistrates in consequence are, we understand, positively ordered to execute the resolution of the Government by all possible means.
We are my Lord, reluctantly by the consideration of the nature of your exalted situation from indicating our inward feelings by presenting any valuable offering as community adopted on such occasion, but we should consider ourselves highly guilty of insincerity and ingratitude, if we remained negligently silent, when urgently call upon by our feelings and consequence to express publicly the gratitude we feel for the everlasting obligation you have graciously conferred on the Hindoo Community at large. We however are at a loss to find language sufficiently indicative even of a small portion of the sentiments we are desirous of expressing on this occasion; we must therefore conclude this Address, with entreating, that your Lordship will condescendingly accept our most grateful acknowledgements for this act of benevolence towards us, and will pardon the silence of those who, though equally partaking of the blessing bestowed by your Lordship, have through ignorance or prejudice omitted to join us in this common cause.
We have the honour to be My Lord Your Lordship’s Obedient. And humble Servants
[signed] Callynath Roy Chowdhury Rammohun Roy
Dwarkanath Tagore
Prossanno Comar Tagore
This letter has been regarded as composition of Rammohun Roy. According to the Bengal Chronicle January 19, 1830 the deputation led by Rammohun consisted of, besides himself, Kalinath Roy Chowdhury, Vaikunthanath Roy, Kumar Satyakinkar Ghoshal, Kunjabehari Roy and Harihar Dutta.
Of the four signatories mentioned out of three hundred, Dwarkanath Tagore could not present at Governor House because of the death of Radhanath Tagore on the previous day morning. Prasanna Kumar Tagore also could not come possibly for the same reason. For them they were cousin.
(A Compilation by Subrata Kumar Datta)
References:
- Raja Rammohun Roy, Collet S. D.
- Rammohun Roy, A Study of His Life Works And Thought – Ball Upendra Nath
- Raja Rammohun Roy And Progressive Movement In India, Majumdar J. K.
- Correspondence of Raja Rammohun Roy, edited by Biswas Dilip Kumar