sati on the rise in India.

Society Religion & Philosophy
1

Burn the wife alive?

It is settled, no Hindi may now insult Islam on the issue of treatment of women.

By Narayan Bareth
BBC reporter in Jaipur

A religious ceremony has gone ahead in the Indian state of Rajasthan at a temple dedicated to the ancient Hindu practice of “sati”.
Sati, or the practice of a widow immolating herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, is believed to have originated 700 years ago among the ruling warrior community in Rajasthan.

The sudden spurt of worshipping at Sati temples is part of the resurgence of [Hindu nationalist] forces

Kavita Srivastava, People’s Union of Civil Liberties
Prayers were offered on Thursday at the Rani Sati temple in the town of Jhunjhunu, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the state capital, Jaipur, following a court order permitting worship to proceed.

The decision to allow the ceremony was opposed by women’s groups who argued that it could glorify the practice of sati, which is now forbidden under Indian law.

Devendra Jhunjhunwala, a trustee of the Rani Sati temple, disagreed.

He said: “We performed routine prayers and it has no connection with any glorification.”

A case of sati in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh sparked national controversy earlier this year.

Nationalism

The High Court permitted worship at several sati temples in September.

In response to a petition by women’s groups, it said that only simple prayers would be allowed at Thursday’s ceremony, and there should be no attempt to glorify the practice of sati.

Kavita Srivastava of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties, who led women’s protests, linked the ceremonies to a resurgence of Hindu nationalism.

“The sudden spurt of worshipping at sati temples is part of the resurgence of [Hindu nationalist] forces,” she said.

But Acharya Dharmendra, a priest, rejected any such link.

“There is no tradition of sati in Hindu religion, but there are examples of sacrifices where women died along with their husbands,” he said.

A senior police officer from Jhunjhunu said local officials were deployed at the temple to make sure the function took place in accordance with the law.

Since Indian independence in 1947, there have been 26 incidents of sati in Rajasthan.

The heat is on! :rotlf"

2

Mo: the praying at sati temples in on the rise...not sati itself. And you want to go to university in America...LOL! :)

3

But doesn't that intrinsically mean that reverence of sati, the practice, is back?

4

No....not intrinsically. It is an idiotic rajput practice that has seen 20 incidents since independence, as the article suggests. I don't think even doing the math is worth it.

5

But those are 26 officially reported incidents CH, and that too in only one state. Both u and I are very well aware of what goes on in the rural areas. The practice of Sati is not condoned by the government, and may not be going on in the cities to a large extent, but you cannot disregard the fact that it does go on in the countryside dehaat, and not just in the northern areas. I would give u links to numerous India Today and Illustrated Weekly of India articles, but my PC is dying on me every few secs. In the 80s I have worked with this issue as an activist CH, esp. in the southern states, with women faced with choice of sati or forced marriage to their brother-in-laws, rape or even incest (father-in-laws with their widowed bahus). Bride-burning for dowry esp. was rampant, but that is not the topic here. I can't believe in the ten years that I have not kept up with this issue, that sati, or attempted sati atleast, in anyway has decreased to just 26 cases in any given year, that too nationwide.

6

Chal,

Your the first to rip the **** out of Islam on almost any issue, so dont complain when someone highlights seemingly funny acts in Hinduism.

And I'm quite content with British education. Thanks. :)

7

Mo: I have to take issue with that. I do not say things without certain basis or logic. And as per my comments against islam, you could not be more wrong. I am quite appreciative of diverse views uless those whos views are simply incompatible with the majority interpretation. i.e. the fundamentalist streak. So go through the threads and see where I have chimed in on Islam, you will find that is was mostly when terrorism, anachronistic laws and the supposed arrogance were the topic du jour.

And…you are still my favorite :kiss:

8

mo_best, THANK YOU for raising a valid point (one of them in hinduism) that will shut up hindus once and for all in retaliation to their negative remarks concerning Islam and muslims. The ancient practice of female burning (sati) is not only considered respectable and dignified in every region of India, it is expected! When a woman’s spouse dies, she is, mind you, EXPECTED, to kill herself in this fashion to…I don’t know…perhaps show that she is worthless and meaningless minus her husband??? I never could or would understand this strange, abhorrent practice based on pure ignorance and jahiliyaa!

:smokin:

9

Moona: Smoking hash in the morning is injurious to your health sweetie. At least wait until noon to post illogical fantasies.

thanks,

CH

10

Salam alikum

I would just like to add that although the practise of Sati is deplorable by any standards, I think it would be more purposeful if we as Muslims focussed on issues and problems that we face at the present time. (Shirk,extremism,etc)......

Let us not fall into the trap of doing exactly what the hatemongers are doing, for if we begin to criticise hindu's and their religion it will only harden their hatred towards Islam and Pakistan.

Rather let us look at Islam itself, and what we as Muslims are doing or are not doing.

11

Alpha: Excellent suggestions. The newsflash is that Sati is not a common practice in hinduism. In fact it is a cultural trait localized to the Rajasthani people. If it was as popular as Moona would have you believe the ratio of men to women in India would be gravely in favor of men. And considering the number of cases since independence in a country of 1 billion people. I think intelligent folk can make their own assumptions.

12

Aight Chal, its cool.

Tyson's making a comeback man! :)

13

mo_best, you go buddy! :k:

14

these are the male : female ratio for pakistan and india

for pakistan
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est

for india

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2002 est.)