His life's motto was 'simple living and high thinking'. He was one of the greatest intellectuals and activists of the 19th century and one of the pillars of the Bengal Renaissance. He was a polymath, Sanskrit pundit, educator, social reformer, writer and philanthropist. Due to his relentless efforts, on 26th July 1856, widow re-marriage was legalized by the then Government of India. Who is this towering personality?

Question

In which year did the Partition of Bengal come into effect?

Answer 1

The answer is Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. He was born in 1820 in Bengal and grew into one of the defining figures of the Bengal Renaissance, working as a Sanskrit scholar, teacher, writer, printer and reformer all at once. He famously lived by the idea of simple living and high thinking, and much of his energy went toward challenging the social restrictions of his time, most notably the ban on widows remarrying under orthodox Hindu practice.

His persistent campaigning is what pushed the government to pass the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act on 26th July 1856, legally allowing widows across British India to remarry, a major break from rigid social tradition. Beyond this reform, he also helped reshape and modernize Bengali prose and script, and put real effort into expanding access to education for women.

Checking the other names rules them out clearly. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was another towering reformer of the same broader era, but his legacy centers on abolishing Sati and starting the Brahmo Samaj, and he had already passed away in 1833, well before the 1856 act came into being. Rabindranath Tagore, the poet and Nobel laureate, was not even born until 1861, so he could not be tied to this 1856 reform. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee is remembered for writing Vande Mataram and the novel Anandamath, not for this social reform work. Every clue in the question points specifically to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

Answer 2

The answer is Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. He was born in 1820 in Bengal and grew into one of the defining figures of the Bengal Renaissance, working as a Sanskrit scholar, teacher, writer, printer and reformer all at once. He famously lived by the idea of simple living and high thinking, and much of his energy went toward challenging the social restrictions of his time, most notably the ban on widows remarrying under orthodox Hindu practice.

His persistent campaigning is what pushed the government to pass the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act on 26th July 1856, legally allowing widows across British India to remarry, a major break from rigid social tradition. Beyond this reform, he also helped reshape and modernize Bengali prose and script, and put real effort into expanding access to education for women.

Checking the other names rules them out clearly. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was another towering reformer of the same broader era, but his legacy centers on abolishing Sati and starting the Brahmo Samaj, and he had already passed away in 1833, well before the 1856 act came into being. Rabindranath Tagore, the poet and Nobel laureate, was not even born until 1861, so he could not be tied to this 1856 reform. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee is remembered for writing Vande Mataram and the novel Anandamath, not for this social reform work. Every clue in the question points specifically to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

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The Correct Option is A

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