“If men were the principal casualties of the War, these widows represent its, collateral damage” - Author and historian Ed Payne. India has the highest number of war widows in the world. There is no other group affected by the inhumanities of war than widows. This heroic nature of the death of martyrs leads the entire nation and media to speak about the glory of these men who lost their lives on the battlefield but these atrocities of war leave lifelong devastating effects on war widows. This paper aims to capture the struggle of these women wrapped in glorified widowhood. However, this glory quickly fades as the war widows are forgotten and left to fight their own battles. The author is also a war widow and that is how she has attempted to understand different trajectories of the grieving process widows go through in their lives. The journey of rebuilding their lives is a dynamic process, and it is influenced by social economic factors, especially in the context of India as women are subjected to stereotypical expectations, especially from the lens of gender, where despite their trauma they are compelled to perform duties as a daughterin- law, mother, and widow where they often struggle to give priority to their own mental and physical health. In some cases, families, friends, and the military support mechanisms. Above all, these women rise on their own to rebuild their lives between pride and pain. This study also sheds some light on both challenges and positive factors towards recovery experienced by widows to achieve the holistic way of life on their own.

Woman plays a significant role in the life of every individual human being. Securing her better birth rights would mean giving future of our society also as well every family. Prior to commencement of the act 1956 property held by a Hindu female was classified under two heads 1) Streedhan 2) Hindu women's estate. But after abolition of this classification through section 14 it is conferred as absolute ownership on her with respect to every property acquired by her lawful means. We are discussing here with the various rights of Hindu widow regarding her right on husband's property. This research is limited to the rights of Hindu widow regarding her property rights

There are around 25,000 war widows in India. This was due to the wars fought during 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999 with our neighbouring countries. Also, there have been battle casualties during peace time due to Militancy and Insurgency in our Border areas. This paper presents the current socio-economic status of the war widows in India, it brings out the various schemes, initiatives and welfare measures introduced by the Government/Defence Institutes and Civilian organizations to rehabilitate the war widows of this country. Over a period of time there appears to be a lot of improvements done in the welfare measures for the war widows and it appears that there is an improvement in the socio-economic status of war widows. While the officers’ cadre widows appear to be more educated, they are able to manage a job /find employment but the widows of the jawans/Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) have to struggle to manage their life in society. Most of these women belong to Rural areas and are from middle class families. This paper tries to evaluate the present socio-economic condition of war widows in the 21st century and also suggest recommendations based on analysis of secondary data.

This article aims to discuss how Bapsi Sidhwa depicts plight of widows, and how she advocates resistance and rebellion against restraints of widowhood. Sidhwa’s novel Water (2006) deals with lives of Indian widows. The novel describes subjugation and oppression women undergo after death of their husbands. The story is set in pre-independence era when the freedom struggle was at its peak. This is a story of Chuhiya, the protagonist, who gets married at a very young age, and who becomes a widow soon after the marriage. The novel portrays, in the course of the plot, few other women who are widows too, and who also suffer disastrous fate only because of widowhood. They are Kalyani, Madhumati and Shakuntala. The novel puts on record the social and religious restrains that are responsible for women’s inferior status in the society. It also makes an account of discriminatory attitudes and customs cultivated and practiced by the then ‘male’ dominated patriarchal society towards women. The condition of widows was even more pathetic and worse. The author attempts to expose the falsehood and impracticality of social and religious sanctions. The novel rejects those wrong practices that throw women in the ocean of agonies; and promoter resistance and rebellion against fetters of widowhood as well as patriarchy. Though the novel is set in 1940s, it still works as an eye opener regarding our treatment towards widows (women in general) around us. It makes us aware that we must give equal status to women. Sidhwa tries to bring home to all women that only rebellion and resistance against all discriminatory customs and practices will fetch equal status for them.

Since time immemorial, widowhood has been relegated as a jinx in Indian society. But with time the word has lost its meaning as in today’s era a person’s psychological and physical health is given more importance than following the tough path of widowhood. In earlier days, this was escored by pain and emotional sufferings, and it broke down a person mentally to such an extent that a person could never be enticed by sense of happiness .widowhood was more challenging for a woman in the past era. Now, this particular sect of woman is well aware of all her rights. Despite being surrounded by the boundaries of customs and traditions, they articulatory put forward their voice and express their desires courageously. This paper explores the emergence and evolution of widows in the recent times and this will be demonstrated through the work of a Pakistani writer Musharraf Ali Farooqi “The story of a Widow”. The protagonist of the novel evolves beautifully when she hears her own voice and seeks individuality.

इथे ‘एकल’ महिला म्िणजे जी नवऱ्याहिवाय एकटी जगते आिे अिी . ती घटस्फोहटता, परित्यक्ता हकिंवा हवधवा स्त्री असू िकते. हतला मूल असेल हकिंवा नसेल. त्यातिी लेखकािंच्या मते ग्रामीण भागातील एकल महिलेची हस्थती हि अजूनच दु:खद असू िकते. हतच्या अन्य िििी मैहिणींपेक्षा हतला जास्ती कष्ट आहण अपेष्टा सोसाव्या लागतातच, हिवाय ती हतच्या कुटुिंबातील व्यक्तीसमोििी मोकळेपणाने व्यक्त िोऊ िकत नािी, स्वतःच्या अडचणी मािंडू िकत नािी. बऱ्याचदा त्यातील बिुतेकजणी या सिकािला ‘हदसत’ नसतात. ( Visible) जसे हक त्यािंचे नाव िेिन काडाावि नसते. त्यामुळे त्या त्याच्या नातेवाईकािंच्या दयेवि अवलिंबून िािावे लागते आहण म्िणून त्यािंचे फुकटचा नोकि असल्याप्रमाणे िोषण िोत िािण्याची िक्यताच अहधक असते. िे सगळे लक्षात आल्यामुळे आम्िी त्यािंच्यासाठी बचत गटाचे व्यासपीठ उपलब्ध केले आहण त्यािंच्या प्रश्ािंवि काम किायला सुरुवात केली.

म. कर्वे हे काळाच् या आधी जन् मलेले महाराष्‍ट रातील एक थोर समाज सुधारक. अत् यंत हुशार असणा-या म. कर्वेंना शशक्षण घेत असतानाच शहंदू धमम-समाजातील अनेक र्वैगुण् ये लक्षात येऊ लागली होती. लहान र्वयात होणारी लग् न, लहान र्वयातच मुलींना येणारे र्वैधव् य पाहून म. कर्वे व् यशथत होत असत. मात्र जेव् हा स् र्वत:च् या घरात बशहणीच् या र्वैधव् यामुळे म. कर्वे यांच् या मनामध् ये या प्रश् नाने एक मोठी जागा व् यापली. पुढे शमत्राच् या बशहणीला र्वैधव् य प्राप् त झाल् या नंतर म. कर्वे यांनी आयुष्‍ट यात शर्वधर्वा शियांच् या उध् दारासाठी काहीतरी कराचचे असा मनाशी शनश् चय केला. याच दरम् यान बंगालमध् ये राजाराम मोहन रॉय ते इश् र्वरचंद्र शर्वद्यासागर आशण इतर बंगाली समाज सुधारकांचे शर्वधर्वा आशण स् त्री शशक्षण शर्वषयक सुरु असलेले कायम म. कर्वे यांची या शर्वषया संदर्ामत मनोर्ूशमका पक् की करणारे ठरले. म. कर्वे यांनी समाजाला र्वेळ प्रसंगी प्रखर शर्वरोध करुन शर्वधर्वा शियांची अर्वस् था सुधारायची असा पण केला होता. अशातच म. कर्वे यांच् या पत् नी राधाबाईंचे शनधन झाले. नातेर्वाईकांनी दुसरे लग् न करण् याचा तगादाच लार्वला आशण कर्वे यांनी शर्वधर्वेशी शर्वर्वाह करण् याचा आपला शर्वचार प्रत् यक्षात आणला. या महाराष्‍ट रातील पशहल् या शर्वधर्वा शर्वर्वाहानी महाराष्‍ट र ढर्वळून शनघाला. कर्वे यांना समाजानी बशहष्‍ट कृत केले, मात्र कर्वे मागे हटले नाहीत. त् यांनी बशहष्‍ट कार सहन केला मात्र आपल् या र्ूशमकेशी ते ठाम राशहले. पुढे समाजाला म. कर्वे यांच् या कायामचे महत् र्व लक्षात येऊ लागले. म. कर्वे पुढे शजर्वंतपणीच एक दंतकथा बनले. र्ारत रत् न झाले. त् यांच् या कायामनी हजारो शर्वधर्वांच् या आयुष्‍ट यात आनंदाचे क्षण आले. मी माझ्या शोध शनबंधात म. कर्वे यांचा पूणम जीर्वनपट न घेता केर्वळ म. कर्वे यांनी केलेले शर्वधर्वा उध् दार शर्वषयक कायामचीच थोडक्यात मांडणी करण् याचा प्रयत् न केला आहे.

Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha is committed to women empowerment through education. Bharatratna Dhondo Keshav Karve worked hard for the upliftment of women. Since that time, many social reformers have been fighting for rights of widows. ‘Hindu Succession Act’, 1956 protects the right of a widow in the self-acquired property of her deceased husband without a will. Her right on the property remains as it is despite her remarriage. There has been revolutionary change in the quality of life of widows over the period but widow remarriages have still not been accepted easily in our society. The government implemented schemes like ‘Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme’, ‘Home for Widows’ etc. Our study highlights the perspective of society on widow remarriages and consequently their property succession rights. The paper also throws light on probable reasons for the low percentage of widow remarriages even in the 21st century. The data was collected on the E- platform and analyzed statistically. The findings suggest the need for awareness about the government schemes for widows. Though the society encourages widow remarriages, the observations show hesitant approach towards ‘Inheritance Rights’ of widows.

Mental health is among important public health issues as it is a major contributor (14%) to the global burden of diseases worldwide. Widows are at higher risk of mental health problems due to gender disadvantaged factors such as lack of family support, financial dependence, single parenting and stereotypes related to remarriage. The present study aims to examine the level of psychological distress of war widows. This study includes 51 war widows between the age range of 40-80 years presently residing in Punjab. Psychological distress was assessed by administering Dass-21 (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). Descriptive analysis was used and t test was applied to study the significant mean difference related to psychological distress and remarriage. Further, the Focus Group Discussions were conducted to understand and identify the reasons of high psychological distress present amongst the respondents. It was found that majority of the respondents have mild to moderate psychological distress and widows who were re married are less stressful as compared to who are not re- married.

India spends notable amount in terms of both and revenue expenditures. The welfare of war widows along with the Ex-servicemen and NOK is a major responsibility Department of Sainik Kalyan Board which comes under Defense Ministry. There is whole integrated system at central, state and district level which works dedicated for wellbeing of these members especially war widows, as they are most vulnerable financially and socially as well. The paper tries to understand different Budgetary provisions made by Government of India to make sure stable lives of NOKs. The analysis of the available data can be seen in 3 parts, first is overall share of military expenditures in union budget. Secondly, Demand for grants on ‘Pay and Pensions of Defense Ministry’ and lastly, ex gratia provided by State Government of Maharashtra. The whole study is aimed to understand financial grants only during 1999 to 2019, that is post Kargil war. Methodology is absolutely on secondary data available on government websites. In the conclusion, the paper states, there is huge and continuous increase in budgetary provisions made by GOI at all levels which is to ensure good life to war widows. Especially in the case of Maharashtra, there is more than two times increase in the financial support provided to war widows in the form of Ex-gratia. This shows the attentiveness of Maharashtra government towards financial issues of war widows in their state.

प्रस्तुत शोधनिबंधात प्राचीि ,मध्ययुगीि ,नशवशाही व पेशवाई कालखंड, निटीशांचा कालखंड,आनि स्वात्तत्रयांिंतरचा कालखंड आनि आता आताचा आधुनिक ,जागनतकीकरिाचा ,संगिक युगाचा या कालखंडातील नवधवा नववाह संबंधी चचाा केली आहे .जो प्रश्न भृिहत्या,नववाह वय, बालनववाहाच्या समस्येपासूि सुरु झाला तो पुढे बाला – जरठ नववाह ,सतीप्रथा, नवधवापुिनवावाह , नववाह संमती कायदा आनि नवधवा नववाह अशा वेगवेगळ्या नस्थत्यंतरे घेत सोडवला गेला आहे आनि आजही पूिात: सुटलेला आहे असे िाही. या सवा नस्थत्यतरात भारतरत्ि महर्षी धोंडो कवे यांचे स्त्री उद्धरांसंबधीचे तसेच प्रनतकूल पररनस्थतीत त्या काळातील सुधारकांच्या मदतीिे केलेले नवधवापुिनवावाहाचे काया या प्रवासानवर्षयी अिेक संदभा ग्रंथांचा दाखला देत शोधनिबंध पूिा केला आहे .तसेच माझे काही निष्कर्षा ही िोंदवले आहेत. डॉ.नवलास खोले आपल्या महर्षी धोंडो केशव कवे या ग्रंथात िोंदवतात “धोंडो केशव कवे यांच्या जीविाचे आनि कायााचे वेगळेपि अिेक प्रकारांिी सांगता येते.सवाात महत्वाची गोष्ट म्हिजे वरवर पाहता नकरकोळ शरीरयष्टी लाभलेल्या कवे यांिा शंभराहूि अनधक वर्षाांचे आयुष्य लाभले .इंग्रजी सत्तेचा अंमल प्रस्थानपत झाल्यापासूि देशाला स्वातंत्रय प्राप्ती होई पयान्तचा सगळा काळ त्यांिा अिुभवता आला देशातील धमा सुधारिेचे व समाजसुधारिेचे सगळे महत्वाचे उपक्रम, देशातील नशक्षि नवर्षयक वेगवेगळे प्रयोग त्यांिी जवळूि व स्व अिुभव घेऊि पनहले” ही खूप मोठी उपलब्धी आहे पुढील अभ्यासकांसाठी असे मलाही वाटते. प्राचीि भारतातील नस्त्रयांचा ‘दजाा ‘पुढील कालखंडािुसार पाहता येईल १) आनदम काळ २) नसंधू संस्कृती 3) वैनदक काळ ४) स्मृती व सूत्रकाळ ५) बौद्ध काळ ६) मिुस्मृती काळ ७) गुप्त वाकाटक काळ ८) हर्षोत्तरकाळ इ. या सवा कालखंडातील नस्त्रयांचा दजाा पुढील सानहत्य व ग्रंथातूि शोधाता येतो. १) वैनदक सानहत्य २) महाकाव्ये व पुरािे 3) बौद्ध व जैि धमााचे सानहत्य ४) धमासूत्रे ५) स्मृती सानहत्य ६) कौनटल्याचे अथाशास्त्र ७) संस्कृत व प्राकृत सानहत्य ८) परकीयांची प्रवास विािे ९) पुरातत्वीय साधिे – मंनदर, लेण्या, मूती इ.

The genres of film studies represent, from its origin, socio-cultural, economic, political, religious, spatial changes in contemporary Indian traditional society. Specifically, the Indian film industry explores the varied dimensions of human geography while using different types of critical practices which affect the lives of ordinary human being. Also, most of the Hollywood and Bollywood movies represent the pathetic situation of the female subjects in Indian traditional and conservative society. There are many films those are represents the socio-cultural milieu through lives of characters from different background. Consequently, in dominant system of Indian patriarchal society suppress the voices of Indian women on the issue of gender, sex, class and marginality. Earlier, from the invasion of Raja Rama Mohan Roy’s concept of ‘sati’ to the forceful oppression of widows in contemporary Indian society, it is found that female subjects are become the cause of exploitation and subordination in parochial hegemony. The said imbalanced position of women is reflected in multilingual films that connect with the issues and varied practices reflected in literature and literary studies. The present paper is genuine attempt to find out the issues that affect the lives of widows. The Marathi movie Kaksparsh provides the varied causes of female subjugation in modern but having typical conventional as well as dominant male centric society.

The paper brings out a classic case of Mrs. Vidya Subhash Sanap, a war widow of Kagril Martyr. She has channelized the benefits that were from government in setting up 3 businesses successfully in a staged manned [1]. It also gives an insight into how financial literacy and planned method of working can solve the problem of uneducated/ less educated rural unemployed youth and make them employable in their own farm lands. Her ability to take financial decisions in all her 3 businesses is directly generating employment for 35 youth and indirectly 25000 + household are getting benefitted [4]. The initial training and learning were a challenge for an uneducated widow of 22 yrs., today she is a regular tax payer and is as conversant as any other CA would be. The paper bring out the ground based research, of challenges in her journey from widowhood to being an established business women in a patriarchal society within rural India in Beed District of Maharashtra. Economic independence to women is next to impossible in villages in this part of the country. The commitment of Armed Forces to support the soldier upto the last mile in the battlefield and the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare supports the War Widow in her hometown is evidently the most transparent system that exists today in India. Thus giving fruitful result to the nation in changing the socio economic condition of dwellers in the remote unreachable corners of the country through collaborative development as in this case i. e Indane Gas by generating financial literacy and awareness of budget planning where War Widows like Mrs. Vidya can flourish and benefit the society around and nation as a whole.

Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing therefor the objective of this paper is to know the financial literacy status among the War Widows in Maharashtra. A number of researchers have tried their hands to put forth the changes. On contrary a diminutive work has been done in the field of financial literacy & war widows. The contribution of the War Widows in the economy will contribute to their own welfare as well as the nation’s economic growth. Women are accountable for the household budget, household expenses, and savings for the emergency fund as well as income generation in such situations. Since, we are in a rising economy in the world, many financial transformations are happening. On the other hand, many financial malpractices, smooth fake activities are also happening in our society especially in rural areas. This is because a lack of awareness in financial literacy. Hence, financial literacy plays a very important part to connect the women and war widows in financial inclusion preventing them from financial malpractices and including them in a present economic growth

Indian families are predominantly patriarchal. Males in the family are primary breadwinners and decision makers and have authority over other members and family property. Whereas females in the family are basically caregivers and look after children and household affairs. Certain demographic and personal circumstances outside one’s control such as death of male partner, feminization of ageing, informal or legal disruption of marriage, long term migration of male members of the family, leads to drastic change in the family organization. According to Census of India, 2011, it was seen that there is tremendous increase in the number of Female maintained and Female Headed Households in the country. Major proportion of these households constitute of the households that are headed by widows. India has recorded the largest number of widows in the World. It is recently estimated that there are around 40 million widows in India, which approximately constitutes 10% of total female population in the country. This paper studies the increasing visibility of female widows in India. The specific objectives are to estimate and understand distribution of widows in India and to describe various profiles of widows in India. In the present study tables from, ‘Data on Marital Status’ from ‘Population Enumeration Data’ of Census of India, 2011 was referred and further analyzed for achieving better understanding of the social and economic condition of widows in India. Considering the scope of the study data about widows was curated from 3 tables- 1) Age group wise distribution of widows in urban and rural parts of the country. 2)Religion wise distribution of widows. 3) Age group wise widows who head their families. Widowhood may be defined simply as the transition from one marital status to another. But due to the severe complexity of its consequences in our social setup it draws the attention of sociologists and demographers. The consequences of widowhood to a woman are more hazardous than to a man since the society imposes a lot of restrictions on women. The widow has to undergo deprivation in social, psychological, cultural and economic terms. Present study is an attempt to explain the extent and spread of widows in different parts of India with respect to their age, religion and household headship. It is rather unfortunate that though the cause of widows in our society has attracted the attention of many social reformers, society's attitude towards widows has not appreciably changed in past decades. In this context, it is very important that social workers, voluntary agencies and the atmosphere for widow remarriages with the help of welfare organizations. The Government should also provide some kind of priority or reservation in jobs for widows and, at the same time, ensure self-employment by providing proper training and financial assistance

In the society one side women is getting highest success in life and second side she suffers by many problems. Much time they are culturally, socially, economically and politically excluded from the mainstream of the society. In the process of globalisation societal structure has changed but traditional rules could not be changed. This has created very worst position of widows in her family. This research is basically focused on global scenario of widows and widow’s life in different countries. A widow is a woman whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed Widowhood. In 2015, the global affected population was 258,481,056 million widows with 584,574,358 children. The number of children of widows grew by 5.7 percent. Over the same period, the number of widows grew by 9.0 percent. A minimum estimate of 38,261,345 million widows 14.8 percent of the total live in extreme poverty where basic needs go unmet.

Every soldier killed in war, insurgencies and battlefield leaves behind grieving relatives. Being a widow, it has many emotional and social implications. Widow is not just a term but a fact that a lady has to go through and live. It has social, psychologic al as well as economic aspects to be considered. When a woman loses her spouse, dimensions of her life changes. She has to face many issues. When the brave soldiers lay down their lives for nation their families lose the pillar of their family. The life be hind him becomes a challenge for the lady and whole family in many terms. The widow has to take responsibility of the family and raise the children. Present study would be considering the socio economic conditions of war widows in Pune division of Maharas htra.

In a developing country like India, social security provisions and measures have a two-fold significance. Social security provisions constitute essential steps towards the aim of a welfare state by bringing improvements in the living standard and safeguarding people from uncertainties of widows i.e., wife of Employees of PF member that may arrive in the future. The Human Resource Management department in companies is worried about the management of people at the workplace, and it is essential for them to secure the cooperation of workers and employees to increase productivity and to earn good profits. The productivity of employees will be high only if their family i.e., wife, children are secured and they are delighted with their employer and with the working environment at their workplace. Good and satisfactory social security provisions will make employees satisfied with their jobs and will improve their performance as well. It also secures the future of widows if employees die. Someone who feels safe and satisfied with their jobs gives good performance and improves the production at their job. A sample of 250 respondents was collected from respondents.

Maharshi dhondo keshav karve was a pioneer of widow education and women empowerment in India. In pre-independence era, women education was itself difficult but still he worked for widow education, he himself married widow and broke the cruel rules of society. As a social reformer continued his efforts, established educational institute, Hindu widow home in 1896. Later in 1916, established women’s university named shreemati nathibai damodar thackersey in pune. He also worked for abolition of caste system and village primary education. In pre-independence era, society was underdeveloped but in modern era, even though India is developing country, still the caste system is not abolished nor the women education has developed at higher level. Even in current time period, widow remarriage is not accepted widely in society nor their education. Regardless rules and constitution discrimination is present and after the covid-19 pandemic many families lost their financial support also many people died resulting into more number of widow. From many families, females also lost their lives but society support to male candidate to remarry but not to female candidate. They suffered from society’s hatred, domestic hatred and also financially. From last some years, views toward widow has changed and it leaded to less hatred towards them from family and society. But they need to be empowered and financially independent to support themselves and their families. Therefore it is time to empower women to be financially independent. So, when they will be financially independent they don’t need to suffer anymore in domestic part and society. So, this study will be focused on how to relate Maharshi karve’s work in modern era and solve the modern issues of widows. Specifically this study will be based on post covid-19 pandemic period.

Since decades, women have been a major part of marginalised section in India. Women as a class have suffered a lot and still continue to suffer even in 21st century. Women in general have been covered by many government programmes, policies and initiatives in India. However, it can be observed that many such programmes have hardly recognised widows as a separate section. Widows are considered to be more vulnerable in a social environment as that of India. Hence, special affirmative actions are required for upliftment of widows in India. This paper aims to take overview of general status of women and widows in India. In addition to this, it discusses government initiatives for widows in India.

In India widowhood is a very challenging state of life, it’s more than a living death. Because of dominance of religious superstitions and cultural practices, a widow is deemed as a bad omen and forced to live lonely and depressed life. Her presence is not allowed in auspicious occasions or ‘Pooja vidhi’ a widow’s health is affected due to malnutrition, poverty and lack of medical help. In this situation, our society should change its approach towards a widow. There should be strong social security measures for widows. Considering widow’s conditions in our society, researcher tried to study challenges in front of them and also tried to study social security and government schemes for widows. This paper points out the government schemes and social security currently available to the widows in our country. There are a number of Schemes being implemented by various Ministries of the Government of India through States Governments/UT Administrations which address the common needs of widows also. While some schemes cover a broader segment of population of which widows constitute a part, there are widow specific schemes also.

Since ancient times, the women in India have been regarded as one of the disadvantaged sections of the society. Indian society has been an instrument of torture for women and they are also human beings is forgotten all the time. The treatment that widows experience at the hands of the family members and friends differs. There have been instances when widows are not treated well by their family members and relatives. The different types of negative treatment that widows experience from their family members and relatives include: misbehaviour, verbal abuse, physical abuse, taunting etc. Widows normally lived in isolation and did not get much involved in social as well as in cultural activities of day-to-day life. But the women who have become widows because of their marriage with old men and are considered as one of the most unfortunate members of the society. Very diminutive has been done for their deliverance. Their better living is a concern for nothing. Leading a lonely life, though being a part of the social system, becomes unavoidable for them. But the deprived voice succeeds to reach to the literary writings. Perhaps the whole social system is dazed from within by their presentation in literature. The widows are seen from numerous perspectives in these days. Depending upon certain circumstances, widows are regarded as inauspicious. Therefor many authors have tried to emphasis on this isolated section of the society

Present paper is an earnest endeavor to study the important laws specially enacted for widows in India. Various studies and observations have revealed that widows in India for years together have experienced unusual difficulties and deprivation. Thus, it becomes imperative to study the laws formulated to protect their social and economic security. Further, it is essential to study and analyze that how to build the system to address their problems.

Mahla ha bharatiya purushpradhan samajatil durbal ghatak aahe aani mahila hi vidhava asel tar atidurbal ghatakat yete.

२१व्या शतकात स्त्री पुरुष समानतेच्या, महिला सक्षमीकरणाच्या अनेक गोष्टी बोलल्या जातात. मात्र आजिी भारतासारख्या पुरुषप्रधान देशात हस्त्रया दुय्यम मानल्या जातात. हिकास प्रहियेतील एक अहतशय मित्त्िाचा घटक म्िणून हस्त्रयाांकडे पाहिले जाते. मात्र याच घटकाकडे आिजूून ि जाणून बुजून दुलूक्ष केले जाते. मुळातच भारतीय समाजात पुरुषाांपेक्षा हस्त्रयाांचे प्रमाण कमी आिे. मात्र हिधिा हस्त्रयाांचे प्रमाण भारतात सातत्याने िाढत आिे. शिरी भागातच नव्िे तर ग्रामीण भागात देखील हिधिाांची सांख्या िाढताना आढळते. भारताच्या िेगिेगळ्या राज्यामध्ये देखील हिधिाांच्या सांख्येत िाढ झालेली हदसून येते. हिधिाांच्या सांख्येत िोणारी िाढ िी भारताच्या हिकासाच्या दृष्टीने िी अहतशय गांभीर बाब आिे.

Historically, women have been portrayed as marginalized identities defined within the domain of patriarchal socio-cultural frameworks, struggling to break free from the shackles of ideological stereotypes which denied their self-hood and identity. They were forced to remain dependent either on their husbands, relatives or social and charitable institutions or within the quagmires of private or the domestic sphere. In accordance with the binaries that existed between the two realms of the society, that is, the private and the public sphere, New Woman as a feminist ideal emerged in the late 19th Century and was used to describe those women who were pushing the limits that were imposed by the patriarchal society upon them. In accordance with the aforesaid, the present study embarks upon analyzing Tagore’s Choker Bali as an alternate given by Tagore to the deprived, celibate widows. Tagore’s revolutionary widow flaunts all customs and duties which society imposes upon her. In this paper, Tagore’s sense of emergence of ‘new woman’ in Indian context is traced with reference to the textual representation of the character of Binodini.

In accordance with the capability approach, a widow is one of the deprived people especially in Indian society even after so many years of independence of the country. They may possess all the required things, amenities, education, and health and so on; they are unable to have or enjoy a decent or healthy life as they are not supposed to do so. They are assumed to be staying in deprivation in terms of daily routine life which is not just confined to clothing and food. They are not supposed to have a healthy lifestyle before society. They lack basic capability in terms of health and proper nutrition. A widow may not have a good employment opportunity, a shelter, not able to move freely in the society and so on. This research paper put forth the health condition of widows in India in terms of capability approach and also examines the cost of capability achievement in the context of health capability. Though women empowerment is the most spoken phenomenon today; she has been still seen one of the inescapable components as observed to be unfortunate and unexpected where goddess worship is widely held in the region. In this research, an examination will hold on the health conditions of widows in the country and her comparison with their counterparts in terms of health conditions.

Widowhood is defined as the status of an individual who was legally married to someone who subsequently died. It’s not a choice but something which is inevitable. India, being home to a large population of widows, it is really important how Government and society are treating them. We are all aware that widows have to go through a lot of difficulties. There were various social restrictions like practice of sati, wearing a white saree, untouchability, abstinence etc. They also face many challenges in many sectors like Inheritance, remarriage, economic problem etc. This paper takes a review of various schemes introduced by government to overcome those challenges.

Contemplating over the deprived section of the society, the vision that confronts the mental horizon is the picture of an oppressed widow whose image disrupts the picture of glorious womanhood. This side of womankind is seen as lacking autonomy as well as the capacity to make decisions for her. Dwelling into the celluloid portrayals, widowhood marks a transition and is seen as heading towards ‘new’ ideological or visual horizons. The focus is now on “individual women and their personal choices to reinforce those fundamental societal changes” (Genz and Brabon 14). The study hinges upon these neo-liberal values of post-feminist portrayal of female choice and individuality in Hindi Cinema as providing a pathway to understand the emotional complexities of young widows and as a hope for moving the conscience of the new generation of the Indian society. Exploring the celebratory and optimistic portrayal of widows in Hindi movies, the research emphasizes on the shift in the female power that denies victimization and vulnerability suggesting that women have the power for self-definition; they simply need to explore it. Thus, the paper analyses the protagonists in search for wholeness, dignity, and a positive social image. Such a representation can be seen as a strong critique of existing practices before the concept of widowhood is obliterated- almost a declaration that indicts the society oppressing its widows.

Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve, an Indian social reformer, and the pioneer of widow education, has been a prominent figure in improving the status of widows in India. Not only did he assist in breaking the age-old stereotypes by advocating widow re-marriage, promoting education facilities but himself married a widow. Likewise, he also established Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samsta, an Indian Education Society, in 1896 Indian Education Society to promote Women's education. In the same year, Karve started “Home for widows” and a school for widows in a small village named "Hingane" in Pune. He was also accorded with the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1958 by the Government of India. In this context, the research paper focuses upon the glimpses of Maharshi Karve life as a social reformer, his struggle in advocating widow education and their remarriage in a regional texts, Himalayachi Savali (The Shadow of Himalayas) by Vasant Kanetkar and Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve by Dr. Neela Pandhare. Being an adaptation of Karve’s life, both the texts depict the conflict between Karve’s ideology and the constraints of social entanglements. The paper attempts to explore the transformation of the protagonist who breaks the stereotypical shackles from a feminist standpoint

Purpose – Widowhood is a difficult phase at any stage of life for the surviving partner, particularly in old age, with serious effects on their physical, economic and emotional well being. Even though feminization is rapidly growing but still these groups of females are neglected. Even though these widow women make up major part more than 8% of total female population, they remain a socially and financially vulnerable section of society. Living alone or without a partner for females compared to a male found it very much difficult. It affects badly on their mental and remains healthy. The main objective of this study is to find out the health condition of widows of Pune. Design/Methodology/ Approach: - for this purpose, the researcher has interviewed 100 widows in the Pune region of Maharashtra, India in Feb 2022. Descriptive methods and factor analysis have been used to analyze the collected data so that health status can be correlated with the significant factors explored. Findings: - with the study help of this study, searchers, have tried to explore the major factors that affect ground levels. The study has divided widowhood into 3 levels based on years, which found that emotional care is needed for them to make their life healthy and happy. Originality: - The paper aims to provide ground-level insights to policymakers focusing on widows and also for future research.

India is a developing country. Although India's economy is booming, there are so many problems like poverty, literacy, unemployment, health problems and every segment of the Indian society has to face this problem, be it women, children, young or old. But the situation of widows in India is still different. Premature widowhood, inadequate education, unemployment, and poverty are some of the major problems facing widows. Therefore, the first objective of this research paper is to analyze the schemes and implementation of the Government of India for the welfare of widows as well as the problems facing widows due to poverty. The second one is to make a comparative study of widows based on 2001 and 2011 censuses and suggest solutions for their social and economic welfare. And the eradication of poverty for widows. This is the main purpose of this research

India is a country with the highest widow population of about 40 million – 10% of the country’s female population. If on one hand, a woman is at the peak of the ladder of success in many spheres of public life, on the other hand, when she is a widow, she suffers a silent social death every day which is bound by the customs and traditions in the orthodox Indian Society this condition has changed a bit since 1991 when India adopted - LPG policy - accepted Globalization. The low status of widows can be traced back to since post-Vedic era when widows were restricted to contribute towards socio-religious values of the society. Widows were culturally, socially, economically, and politically excluded from the mainstream of society. The Globalization and modernization of society have led to changes in economic structure, a decline in societal values. Globalization encourages the spread of Western values around the globe. Globalization began with the earliest human development in the history of the world. In India specifically, it can be said that a significant spread of Western values – those values that are widely accepted in Western society, including divorce and remarriage – began in the 16th century, when the British first colonized India. The earliest law in the favour of widows in India was in 1829 – Sati Abolition and many more such laws were made thereafter. However, more recently, trends across India are showing that society is changing its stance on the remarriage of widows, and the acceptability of divorce. These concepts were once considered ‘Taboo’ in Indian society; however, these issues are now being discussed and change has occurred at a legal level. I will explore whether globalization – as the spread of Western values – has influenced this change in societal sentiment in India?

Adaptation can be seen as an interaction between a ‘cinematic text’ and a well-constructed ‘original text’. Adaptation of literary text is significant as it helps revisit the written form and reaches wider audience. In reworking of the text, the dialogues are revised and reframed with an altered script while the narrative becomes consistent. Cinematic adaptations have proved to be an effective media of transporting meaning across cultures as they assist in reliving the text, making it a more inclusive enquiry. Likewise, the present paper is a comparative study of Deepa Mehta’s Water (2005) and Bapsi Sidhwa's novel and focuses upon the experiences and challenges faced by widow in an Indian society. Deviating from the stereotypical connotations and patriarchal inhibitions, it emphasizes upon the desires of widows as an individual adding new facet to the time-tested aura.

In the wave of Covid-19, world is struggling for solution to come out from health threats as well as socio -economic problems. More than 42.5 Cr people were infected by this disease and 60 Lac deaths are reported up to last week of February 2022 in the overall world. India has been one of the world's worst Covid-hit nations, recording more than 4.28 Cr cases and 5.12 lacs official deaths so far. The pandemic has left more than twelve thousands of women are newly widowed, struggling to adjust to a new life without their spouse. In our deeply patriarchal system, their lives became very hard. They are struggling for financial support as well as their social problems. Not only sympathy is required for them but financial support also. While losing a spouse can be destabilizing, it has been dangerous for thousands of Indian women who have lost their husbands to COVID-19. Most of them were housewives, who have no any financial knowledge and awareness of their financial status. It became very hard to them to manage their mental state and family needs mostly their children’s needs. In this paper researcher wants to focus on the socio – economic problems these widows are facing. They have school going children, old in laws in family. Now they don’t require sympathy any more but financial help, earning source and respectful life in the society. Their responsibility as a single parent is now very hard challenge for them, so they required some help from their family, society as well as from government in nurturing their children with dignity.

Study on widowhood is one of the neglected areas and it is the need of the hour that, the myths, beliefs and assumptions associated with it need to be examined broadly. Since time immemorial, widowhood is significantly a distressing event in the life of a woman. In the patriarchal Indian society, the religious rituals, customs and traditions made widowhood much excruciating, disapproving and humiliating for women. Globally, apart from the differences in customs, and traditions every culture has its own set of rules to govern the lives of widows. In addition to the stigmatisation and deprivation, the most common experiences observed by every widow are, loss of social status and financial instability. The main purpose of this paper is to focus on the struggles of widows belonging to Naga, Ao, Angami, and Adi tribes of India’s Northeast with reference to the selected works of Temsula Ao, Easterine Kire, and Mamang Dai. The paper also discusses how Ao, Adi and Angami tribal widows were discriminated personally, psychologically, socially, economically by the religious rituals and symbolisms. The paper also portrays their animistic faith, and unique sufferings imposed on them through their belief in spirits and supernatural powers. The paper also observes that, despite internalised and institutionalised patriarchy, how certain situations made the elderly widows ingrained with gender disparity, take the privilege of decision making and exercise matriarchal power control over the family members and the clans. The study also dwells upon how the impact of various wars and insurgencies, have aggravated the sufferings in multiple ways in the lives of north-eastern tribal widows

Delving into the situation and condition of post war widows in the contemporary times, it has been seen that India has the highest number of war widows in the world, and very less has been debated and researched on the experiences faced by them. These widows cope up with the odds and challenges to make a living and are named as “Veer Nari.” Widows are psychologically disturbed due to the sudden death of their spouse. Though they are ensured a pension but under certain conditions; like she should remain unmarried or marry the living eligible heir of her deceased husband’s family. Social isolation is obvious in their lives and as they are secluded from social relationships due to the social stigma attached to widowhood. The bitterness, trauma and unending questions become an unavoidable part of their life. The research papers explore The Warrior Widow by Ambreen Zaidi who is a social activist and a great writer working for the welfare of the war widows. Presently she is running an organisation Changemakers that works in collaboration with various welfare groups of the Indian Army, where she and her team extend their services to war widows, orphans and people with needs. She has personally met 30 war widows and orphans, which looks to highlight the life of a war widow and her journey of survival