SATI: THE ENDLESS SCREAMS!

“Sati”, screamed Mahadeva. The onlookers shocked and stunned, found no words to comfort the great god whose wife lay at his lap, burned…

        Inventions have always played a major role in shaping our society. Whether it be the invention of the wheel or the Google Glass, they have always made our lives better, refining and striving to make it the all-time best. Social reforms too can be termed as inventions. They too make our lives better and shape our society and the way we think.

                                   Sati; the Endless Screams

     Hindustan has always had its set of reformers to boast about. From Raja Rammohun Roy to Savitribai Phule, they have educated, refined and reformed our society and our culture. They are known as reformers because they felt that certain practices must be abolished and such idiotic practices were the upshot of the great Vedas or other holy texts being misinterpreted. Various practices had to be done away with like the caste system, Devadasi sambradayam etc. Among them the most prominent and well-critiqued practice is that of Sati. Yes, it has been decades since it was banned, at the request of the forefront reformers and a set of rational humans. Indeed the echoes of the protests of the orthodox Hindus had been well heard. But, to ban such an entirely barbaric ritual was the need of the hour. This reform can be regarded as a development that changed our society and viewpoints of thousands of Indians.

It cannot be said to what extent Sati was practiced in the Ancient Indian Society. As a matter of fact, it was prominently seen in the Rajput-rulers’ clan during the modern period of the Mughal invaders. It is said to have been committed by the ladies of the Rajputs, who had their husbands killed due to the Rajput-Mughal clash, to safeguard their self-esteem and respect from some of the Mughal court members. Though the practice did not differ much, it was called Jauhar. The first records of Sati, as it is known today, are of 510 CCE in an ancient place in Madhya Pradesh. Way back, before the abolishment of Sati, Akbar too had stated that no widow should be sacrificed without her consent. In 1663, Aurangzeb tried to put an end to it all but to no avail. Before the banning of Sati, thousands of widows died according to the rituals, either willingly or unwillingly.  But this has witnessed considerable decrease to cases reducing to just four from the year 2000 to 2015.

The last reported case of Sati was the immolation of Roop Kanwar who died on September 4,1987 , aged eighteen.

                       What the scriptures have to say about Sati?

The practice of Sati was justified and was practiced by many orthodox Hindus stating that the great goddess, Sati (a incarnation of Shakti and the wife of Lord Shiva) herself suggested by her chosen death that all widows must practice Sati. However, it is nowhere near an excuse or explanation for the vicious ritual of Sati as it is to be remembered that Sati Devi was not a widow at the time of her committing suicide, to uphold the honor of her husband. In fact, it is well described that Lord Shiva came running to find his dear wife dying to save her husband’s honor. Hinduism had never offered support to the brutal practice of Sati. As a matter of fact, Rig Veda contains a famous passage that says to all widows to:

                    ‘Rise up, abandon the dead man and rejoin the living.’

Although Sati was a brutal practice, it is very wrong indeed to state that Sati was supported by the ancient scriptures. In fact, many reformers used the ancient holy texts to show the people that the scriptures offered no sanction to the miserable killing of widows.

                                          The Reformation

There were many who wanted this heinous mistake of killing of helpless widows to be rectified but among all of them there are some who came up and even found themselves brave enough to fight the government and ‘make the deaf hear’ to save thousands of hapless widows. Some personalities and names etched in stone. Contributions such that no mighty wind shall wipe it away.

 From the nineteenth century we find common men debating and discussing the bearing of various social practices, questioning the very existence of such brutality.

Raja Rammohun Roy (1772-1833) was a very prominent social reformer of the nineteenth century. The Brahmo Sabha of Calcutta was founded by him, who was an excellent scholar of the Sanskrit, Persian and English languages. He was a feminist or a ‘humanist’ rather as he constantly issued pamphlets and circulated them to make the public aware of the gender inequalities in the society. There were other key reformers too such as the Serampore Trio which consisted of William Carrey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward, who together wrote an address against the inhumane practice of Sati to then Governor General of Hindustan, Mr. Wellesley. It is to be noted that the Serampore Trio were Christian Missionaries. 

   By the early nineteenth century, we find British officials criticizing many of the practices we Indians indulged in. It seemed that the country they conquered wasn’t sophisticated and refined enough! Therefore, they felt fortunate enough that a reformer like Raja      Rammohun Roy had come up to reform us children of Hindustan. Thus, Sati was banned in 1829 by Mr. William Bentick. But although it was officially banned, many cases of Sati continued to flourish. But continuous awareness and education has prevented any further acts of Sati.

   Hindustan is a holy land of aesthetics; the spiritual mother of the centuries old religion of Hinduism. But we accepted our blemishes and worked towards the betterment of the Indian society. There lies our pride; the nobility of accepting our mistakes and striving towards betterment. Let the noble souls of our nation; spread the fragrance of our culture and ethnicity! Let the stories of bravery and valor of Bharat Mata live on eternally! Let her noble messages be heard even in the far corners of the world!

                     Pray, shout together with patriotism:

                                  Bharat Mata Ki Jai!!!

By Adithri