Practice of Sati in India

Sati was a practice followed in some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman used to immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. It is said that it was more prevalent among the higher castes and among those who considered themselves to be rising in social status.

• Though the act is despicable, some Brahmin scholars, supported by scriptures, tried to justify it. Chief among them have been Vijnanesvara of the 12th –century Chalukya Court and Madhavacharya of the Vijayanagara Empire. Though justifications are given in Vishnu Smriti, however Manu Smriti does not mention or sanction Sati.
• Others like Medhatithi and Bana criticized the act. The Reform and Bhakti movements as well as the Alvars and the Virashaiva movement also condemned Sati.

Abolition of Sati

• The Practice of Sati was first banned in Goa in 1515 by the Portuguese, but it was not that much prevalent there. This evil practice was banned by the Dutch and French also in Chinsura and Pondicherry respectively.
• The British permitted it initially but the practice of Sati was first formally banned in city of Calcutta in 1798, but it continued in the surrounding areas.
• The Bengal Presidency started collecting facts and figures on the practice of Sati in 1813. The data showed that in 1817 only, 700 widows were burnt alive in Bengal alone. From 1812 onwards, it was Raja Rammohan Roy, who started his own campaign against the Sati practice. His own sister-in-law had been forced to commit Sati. Raja Rammohan Roy used to visit the Calcutta cremation grounds to persuade widows not to die in this way. He also formed the watch groups. In Sambad Kaumudi he wrote articles and showed that it was not written in any Veda or epics to commit this crime.
• It was on 4 December 1829, when the practice was formally banned under Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829, in all the lands under Bengal Presidency by Lord William Bentinck. By this regulation, the people who abetted sati were declared guilty of “culpable homicide.”
• The ban was challenged in the courts. The matter went to the Privy Council in London. The Privy Council upheld the ban in 1832. After that other territories also started following banning, but it remained legal in princely states, particularly in the Rajputana where it was very common. Under the British control, Jaipur banned the practice in 1846.

The Roopkanvar Case

Roopkanvar was mere 18 years old when she was murdered on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband at the Deorala village in Sikar Rajasthan. The matter was quickly taken up by the activists and media and this led to the enactment of the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 . As per this act, it illegal to abet, glorify or attempt to commit Sati. Abetment of Sati, including coercing or forcing someone to commit Sati, can be punished by death sentence or life imprisonment, while glorifying Sati is punishable with 1-7 years in prison.

• The law as it exists now makes no distinction between passive observers and active promoters to the act of Sati. All are supposed to be equally guilty.

However, since the enforcement of these measures is not always consistent, the National Council for Women (NCW) has suggested amendments to the law to remove some of the flaws.