INTRO

Sati is the ancient Indian practice of burning a widow on her husband's funeral pyre or burying
her alive in his grave. This practice is associated with Hindu traditions. The name is taken from
the goddess Sati, wife of Shiva, who burned herself to protest her father's ill-treatment of her
husband. The term "sati" can also apply to the widow who commits the act. The word "sati"
comes from the feminine present participle of the Sanskrit word asti, meaning "she is true/pure.".
According to custom, Hindu sati was supposed to be voluntary, and often it was seen as the
proper finale to a marriage. It was considered to be the signature act of a dutiful wife, who would
want to follow her husband into the afterlifee.

HIST. BG

Sati first appears in the historical record during the reign of the Gupta Empire, c. 320 to 550 CE.
Thus, it may be a relatively recent innovation in the extremely long history of Hinduism. During
the Gupta period, incidents of sati began to be recorded with inscribed memorial stones, first in
Nepal in 464 CE, and then in Madhya Pradesh from 510 CE. The practice spread to Rajasthan,
where it has happened most frequently over the centuries.

DURING MUGHALTIME

According to Annemarie Schimmel, the Mughal Emperor Akbar was averse to the practice of
Sati; however, he expressed his admiration for "widows who wished to be cremated with their
deceased husbands". He was averse to abuse, and in 1582, Akbar issued an order to prevent any
use of compulsion in sati. According to M. Reza Pirbhai, a professor of South Asian and World
history, it is unclear if a prohibition on sati was issued by Akbar, and other than a claim of ban
by Monserrate upon his insistence, no other primary sources mention an actual ban.Instances of
sati continued during and after the era of Akbar. Jahangir, who succeeded Akbar in the early
17th century, found sati prevalent among the Hindus of Rajaur .In order to prevent this practice,
they were converted to Islam by Sultan Firoz. During this era, many Muslims and Hindus were
ambivalent about the practice, with Muslim attitude leaning towards disapproval.
Aurangzeb issued another order in 1663, states Sheikh Muhammad Ikram, after returning from
Kashmir, "in all lands under Mughal control, never again should the officials allow a woman to
be burnt".

DURING COLONIAL POWERS, ESP. BRITISH

During the European colonial period, Britain, France, and the Portuguese all tried to stamp out
the practice of sati. Portugal outlawed it in Goa as early as 1515. The British East India
Company imposed a ban on sati in the city of Calcutta only in 1798. To prevent unrest, at that
time the BEIC did not allow Christian missionaries to work within its territories in India.
However, the issue of sati became a rallying point for British Christians, who pushed legislation
through the House of Commons in 1813 to allow missionary work in India specifically to end
practices like sati. By 1850, British colonial attitudes against sati had hardened. Officials like Sir
Charles Napier threatened to hang for murder any Hindu priest who advocated or presided over a
widow-burning. British officials put intense pressure on the rulers of the princely states to outlaw
sati, as well. In 1861, Queen Victoria issued a proclamation banning sati throughout her domain
in India.

CURRENT TIMES

On 21 August 2006, Janakrani, a 40-year-old woman, burned to death on the funeral pyre of her
husband Prem Narayan in Sagar district; Janakrani had not been forced or prompted by anybody
to commit the act.1

On 11 October 2008 a 75-year-old woman, Lalmati Verma, committed sati by jumping into her
80-year-old husband's funeral pyre at Checher in the Kasdol block of Chhattisgarh's Raipur
district; Verma killed herself after mourners had left the cremation site.

STATUS OF WIDOWS

Widows in Indian culture have had to bear the burden of social opprobrium of horrendous
dimensions, through every period in history. Widows were considered inauspicious, barred from
festivities and forbidden all comforts and pleasures. Prescriptions, often reiterated, for the proper
conduct of a widow included instructions that she should not eat more than one very plain meal a
1
BBC News, "India wife dies on husband's pyre", 22 August 2006.
day, that she should perform the most menial tasks, never sleep in a bed, leave the house only to
go to the temple, keep out of sight at festivals.

RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY

It was due to the efforts of Raja Ram mohan Roy that Lord William Bentick (gov general in
1828) abolished Sati system in 1829 by declaring it an offence. It advocated freedom of the press
and condemned any restriction imposed on it by the Government. It supported widow-remarriage
and the education of girls. He made it happen by son Ka marriage widow se.

SATI PREVENTION ACT, 1987- PPT se

CONCLUSION- PPT SE