When we think of Rajasthan, the things that come to mind are the majesty of the Thar desert , camels, forts, valiant warriors and beautiful princesses, men in colourful turbans with big moustaches and smiling women that peep out from behind their veils.

But Rajasthan has been in the news lately for another reason. The State Tourism Department has recently published a small pamphlet about the gods and goddesses of the State. There's no problem with that, is there? Except that the pamphlet also lists local sati temples, temples to women who jumped into the flames of their husbands' funeral pyres and burned to death. It is believed that women who do this become goddesses immediately, and so the places where women have died in this way quickly become small temples where people come to be blessed.

Is there a story behind this ancient Hindu practice? Why is it a problem if the Tourism Department publishes a list of these places that have become sites of worship?

Sati literally means "good woman," in Sanskrit and in many Indian languages. There is also an ancient story, a myth, about a woman named Sati who jumped into a fire and killed herself. Let's take a quick look at the myth and see if there is any connection between the Sati of the myth and the practice of women being burned to death when they become widows.

As you know, India has a rich tradition of telling stories and of telling them over and over again and telling them in many different ways. The Sati story is told in several Puranas and also in the Mahabharata. Sati was married to Shiva. Her father, Daksa, was an important person among gods and men and one day, he decided to perform a sacrifice. He invited all the gods and all the important people. He also invited his many daughters and his sons-in-law. Unfortunately, he did not invite Sati and her husband Shiva - he didn't quite approve of Shiva, who spent time away from home, meditating and doing tapas as well as spending time with various undesirable creatures. Daksa felt that the splendour of his magnificent sacrifice would be spoiled if Shiva, with his long hair and his skin smeared with ash, his garland of skulls and his rough friends, mingled with the shining gods and their beautiful wives.

But a sacrifice as large and important as this can hardly be kept a secret, especially if everyone has been invited. Sati got to hear about the great celebration and she was very angry that she and her mighty husband had been left out. She told Shiva to destroy the sacrifice and make sure that Daksa would not get whatever it was that he was asking for. She herself went to the sacrifice, but when she got there, she was not greeted with much enthusiasm. She asked her father why he had ignored her and her powerful husband and her father replied that his other daughters were finer and their husbands more worthy of honour than the proud and difficult Shiva.

Sati was enraged at the insult to her husband and after strong words to her father, she threw herself into the fire. When Shiva realised what his beloved wife had done, he destroyed Daksa's sacrifice, but Sati was dead. She would not be reunited with Shiva until another life.

In all the many versions of this story, Shiva is alive and well when Sati kills herself by jumping into the flames. She does this because she is angry with her father and hurt on behalf of her husband who had not been given the same importance as the other gods and the other sons-in-law. How did this story become the basis for a woman to be burned to death on her husband's pyre? Are the myth of Sati and the practice of sati connected in any way? Or, are we just saying that a "good woman" is one who does not want to live after her husband is dead or has been insulted?

Sati was banned as early as 1829, by the British Governor-General of India, Lord William Bentinck. But the practice continued, and even now, satis are occasionally reported from places like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The case that drew the most attention in recent times was in 1987, when 18 year old Roop Kanwar was burned alive in public as a sati on her husband's funeral pyre in Deorala, Rajasthan. Women's groups all over the country launched massive protests, arguing that Roop Kanwar had been drugged and forced into the flames. They saw this as a case of murder. Her husband's family (and her own brothers) claimed that Roop Kanwar had done this by on her own. Within a week of her death, the place where she had died became a sati shrine and people came from all over the state to get the blessings of sati mata . The Government of India passed the Prevention of Sati Act in the same year. The Act also prevents "supporting, justifying and glorifying" this banned practice and it is under this Act that Rajasthan's Tourism Department is being questioned and criticised for bringing out their pamphlet. Critics say that by listing sati temples, the Rajasthan government is supporting the practice and giving it importance.

Those who believe that satis are transformed into goddesses argue that sati is an ancient religious custom and that, in India , we all have the right to choose our religious practice and worship. They say that all satis are voluntary, that these "good women" choose to become sati and by doing so, bring honour to their families and their village.

You can see that there are many complicated issues involved here. But without a doubt, whichever way you look at it, the practice of sati is an act of violence against a woman, it is a violation of basic human rights and if the woman is forced to join her dead husband's body in the flames, sati is murder.

-- Arshia Sattar

June 2005