A letter published on this day in Sangbad Bhaskar indicates the complications that arose from widow remarriage, which had been sanctioned by the widow remarriage Act the previous year. Even as Vidyasagar, who had campaigned tirelessly for widow remarriage, received much support and affection, he was criticised severely by many.
Among his supporters was writer, editor, journalist and social worker Kaliprasanna Singha, who promised to pay Rs 1,000 to every person marrying a widow. He had collected more than 3,000 signatures to support the petition for widow remarriage.
This letter reminds Singha, in a somewhat jocular voice, of the promise he had made to a ”remarrier” (bidhaba bibahakarak) and not kept.
Signed by Hari Chakraborty, a ”remarrier”, it complains that despite writing to Singha, no money has been given to him to alleviate his poverty. The letter writer says that by marrying a widow without means he finds himself in great trouble.