Sati in India

8/8/2019 Sati in India

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Sati in IndiaSati-the Burning of TheWidowSati is the practice through whichwidows are voluntarily or forcibly

burned alive on their husband'sfuneral pyre. It was banned in 1829,but had to be banned again in 1956

after a resurgence. There wasanother revival of the practice in

1981 with another preventionordinance passed in 1987 (Morgan

1984). The idea justifying sati is thatwomen have worth only in relation tomen. This illustrates women's lack of


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What is Sati?

Hindu custom in India in whichthe widow was burnt to deathon her husbands pyre.Can be a voluntary choice or force upon a woman by her in-

laws

Reasons for S ati - A widow's status was looked upon as an unwantedburden that prevented her from participating in the

household work. Her touch, her voice, her veryappearance was considered unholy, impure andsomething that was to be shunned and abhorred.

A woman was considered pure if she committed Sati.


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The History Behind Sati

Sati, the wife of Daksha, was soovercome at the demise of her husband that she immolatedherself on his funeral pyre.Sati was the consort of Lord

Shiva. She burnt herself in fireas protest against her father,Daksha did not give her consortShiva the respect she thoughthe deserved.


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Theories of Origin

Even though Sati is considered an Indiancustom or a Hindu custom it was notpracticed all over India by all Hindus but

only among certain communities of India.Sacrificing the widow in her deadhusband's funeral or pyre was not uniqueonly to India. This custom was prevalentamong Egyptians, Greek, Goths, andothers.Ramayana- Sita walks through fire toprove her purity.Mahabharata- Madri throws herself on her

husband, Pandus fire.


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V . Outside V iews Impact

A few rulers of India like theMughals, tried to ban thiscustom.Italian Traveler Pietro DellaV alle (1586-1652) has

documented the Sati ritual thathe witnessed in the town of Ikkeri in November of 1623.Colonel William. H. Sleeman1809 - 1856 A.D. served as the


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Sati in the Modern timesIn general, before this custom was outlawed in

1829, there were a few hundred officiallyrecorded incidences each year.The efforts of Raja Rammohan Roy and other Hindu reformers greatly impacted the movementto outlaw this practice.Even after the custom was outlawed, this customdid not vanish completely. It took few decades

before this custom almost vanishedIn 1987 an eighteen years old widow, RoopKanwar, committed Sati in a village of RajasthanThe 'Sati' version is that Roop told her father-in-law she wanted to commit Sati.Roop was forced to commit Sati.The case went to court, but no one was charged

with her murder.Even in the year 2000, you hear about Satioccurring in rural villages.


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Dowry in India

Definition Of Dowry :- Dowry or Dahej is the payment in cashor/and kind by the bride's familyto the bridegroom' s familyalong with the giving away of

the bride ( called Kanyadaan)in Indian marriage. Kanyadanam is an importantpart of Hindu marital rites.Kan a means dau hter, and


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Dowry originated in upper castefamilies as the wedding gift to the

bride from her family. The dowrywas later given to help withmarriage expenses and became aform of insurance in the case that

her in-laws mistreated her. Althoughthe dowry was legally prohibited in1961, it continues to be highlyinstitutionalized. The groom oftendemands a dowry consisting of a


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The practice of dowry abuse is rising inIndia. The most severe in bride burning,the burning of women whose dowries werenot considered sufficient by their husbandor in-laws. Most of these incidents arereported as accidental burns in the kitchenor are disguised as suicide. It is evidentthat there exist deep rooted prejudicesagainst women in India. Cultural practicessuch as the payment of dowry tend tosubordinate women in Indian society.


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Though prohibited by law in 1961, the extraction of DOWRY fromthe bride's family prior to marriage still occurs. When the dowryamount is not considered sufficient or is not forthcoming, thebride is often harassed, abused and made miserable. This abusecan escalate to the point where the husband or his family burnthe bride, often by pouring kerosene on her and lighting it,usually killing her. The official records of these incidents are lowbecause they are often reported as accidents or suicides by thefamily. In Delhi, a woman is burned to death almost every twelvehours . The number of dowry murders is increasing. In 1988,2,209 women were killed in dowry related incidents and in 1990,4,835 were killed . It is important to reiterate that these areofficial records, which are immensely under reported. The lackof official registration of this crime is apparent in Delhi, whereninety percent of cases of women burnt were recorded asaccidents, five percent as suicide and only the remaining fivepercent were shown as murder .


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According to Government figuresthere were a total of 5,377 dowry

deaths in 1993, an increase of 12%from 1992. Despite the existence of rigorous laws to prevent dowry-deaths under a 1986 amendment tothe Indian Penal Code (IPC),convictions are rare, and judges(usually men) are often uninterestedand susceptible to bribery. Recentnewspaper reports have focused on

the alarming rate of deaths of

Sati in India

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