SATI
: HISTORY
NEWS
:
In
Sikar, India’s last sati village, chorus for temple trumps fear of police
action
WHAT’S
IN THE NEWS ?
In 1987, an 18-year-old Roop Kanwar is said to have
committed sati. Recently, nearly four decades later, eight persons were
acquitted in connection with glorifying the act. In Divrala, locals say a
temple for Roop will change the fortunes of the village.
·
Sati Practice: A widow
immolates herself on her husband's funeral pyre. Memorial stones or shrines
were erected to honor her.
·
Earliest Evidence: Found in the Eran Pillar Inscription of Bhanugupta, Madhya Pradesh
(510 AD).
·
Steps to Abolish Sati:
·
Emperor
Akbar prevented forced immolation and supported widows.
·
Sikh Guru
Amar Das condemned the practice.
·
Marathas,
Dutch, Portuguese, and French banned Sati in their regions.
·
Raja Ram
Mohan Roy and Governor-General William Bentinck made Sati illegal under the
Bengal Sati Regulation.
·
Other Legal Initiatives for Women's Rights:
·
Bengal
regulations (1795, 1804) equated female infanticide with murder.
·
Act of
1870 mandated registration of female infants.
·
Hindu
Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 legalized widow remarriage.
·
Age of
Consent Act, 1891: Banned marriages of girls below 12.
·
Child
Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 (Sarda Act): Set minimum marriage age to 18 for
boys, 14 for girls.
·
1978
Amendment: Raised marriage age to 18 for girls, 21 for boys.
·
Women’s Education:
·
Calcutta
Female Juvenile Society (1819): Started the female education movement.
·
Bethune
School (1849): Key institution for women’s education.