The Raj and the Practice of Sati
The Raj is a period in Indian History which will be written objectively after another 100 years as the trend now a days is to revile the Raj as a period when India was bled to serve as raw material for the colonizers.
In contrast the periods of Muslim rule are given greater prominence as a part of Indian ethos and culture.
However all the Indian Kings Muslim or Hindu never put a stop to sati.
This is a practice where a woman was immolated on her husband's pyre after his death.
Perhaps once in a way it was voluntary but generally it was a forced affair.
This practice existed from the time of the invasion of Alexander as the Greek writer Aristabolus has recorded a sati in Taxila.
Sati continued well into the nineteenth century and perhaps a lot many Sikhs may not be aware that the 5 queens of Maharaja Ranjit Singh were put on the funeral pyre after the 'Lion of Punjab' died.
Only the youngest queen Rani Jindan was spared as she was with child.
Sikhism does not condone sati but Sikhs in general as well as the temporal priests will be hard to explain why the queens were forced to immolate themselves on the pyre of Ranjit Singh.
This evil practice needed to be stopped and the Bengal Governor William Bentinck did something which women in India will always cherish.
He outlawed sati and in 1827 passed an act that equated sati with murder.
Lord William Bentinck passed the Sati Regulation, XVII of 1827 on 4 December after assuming the governorship of Bengal.
The act condemned the practice of sati as illegal and punishable by the criminal courts.
To give teeth to the regulation Bentinck incorporated Zamindars (landlords), petty land owners, local agents and officers in charge of revenue collection accountable for immediate communication to the nearest police station of any intended sacrifice.
In case of default or neglect the punishment was a fine of Rs.
200 or 6 months in jail.
Thus the ball to ban sati was set in motion.
However high caste Hindus formed a group and appealed to the Privy Council against the law enacted by Bentinct.
The case was heard in the Privy Council and though 3 out of the 7 judges concurred with the petition yet the law was upheld.
This was the signal for the law to spread all parts of India.
It is a moot point that a practice in vogue for over 2000 years was brought to an end during the Raj.
It is in the fitness of things that when now the Indian parliament is debating to give 33% representation to women in the legislature, we do not lose sight of the contribution of the Raj in emancipation of women.
The Raj and the English rule thus must be seen in the proper perspective and we must appreciate all the good the Raj brought to India.
In contrast the periods of Muslim rule are given greater prominence as a part of Indian ethos and culture.
However all the Indian Kings Muslim or Hindu never put a stop to sati.
This is a practice where a woman was immolated on her husband's pyre after his death.
Perhaps once in a way it was voluntary but generally it was a forced affair.
This practice existed from the time of the invasion of Alexander as the Greek writer Aristabolus has recorded a sati in Taxila.
Sati continued well into the nineteenth century and perhaps a lot many Sikhs may not be aware that the 5 queens of Maharaja Ranjit Singh were put on the funeral pyre after the 'Lion of Punjab' died.
Only the youngest queen Rani Jindan was spared as she was with child.
Sikhism does not condone sati but Sikhs in general as well as the temporal priests will be hard to explain why the queens were forced to immolate themselves on the pyre of Ranjit Singh.
This evil practice needed to be stopped and the Bengal Governor William Bentinck did something which women in India will always cherish.
He outlawed sati and in 1827 passed an act that equated sati with murder.
Lord William Bentinck passed the Sati Regulation, XVII of 1827 on 4 December after assuming the governorship of Bengal.
The act condemned the practice of sati as illegal and punishable by the criminal courts.
To give teeth to the regulation Bentinck incorporated Zamindars (landlords), petty land owners, local agents and officers in charge of revenue collection accountable for immediate communication to the nearest police station of any intended sacrifice.
In case of default or neglect the punishment was a fine of Rs.
200 or 6 months in jail.
Thus the ball to ban sati was set in motion.
However high caste Hindus formed a group and appealed to the Privy Council against the law enacted by Bentinct.
The case was heard in the Privy Council and though 3 out of the 7 judges concurred with the petition yet the law was upheld.
This was the signal for the law to spread all parts of India.
It is a moot point that a practice in vogue for over 2000 years was brought to an end during the Raj.
It is in the fitness of things that when now the Indian parliament is debating to give 33% representation to women in the legislature, we do not lose sight of the contribution of the Raj in emancipation of women.
The Raj and the English rule thus must be seen in the proper perspective and we must appreciate all the good the Raj brought to India.
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