LEGISLATION ON ABOLITION OF SATI - AN ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION:

Sati or Suttee or Su-thi literally means a good woman, a good wife, or a virtuous

woman. The status of widows in many societies has been deplorable and Indian society

was among those many societies where a status of a widow was precarious because the

death of the husband had a direct impact on her economic well-being. the commission

of sati (prevention) act, 1987, An Act to provide for the more effective prevention of

the commission of sati and its glorification and for matters connected therewith or

incidental thereto.

History has witnessed the burning or burying of widows with their deceased husbands

in various places of the world including India. However, the Sati system which was

prevalent in India was highly debated time and again as this tradition displayed two

contradictory pictures of a woman’s position under the Hindu tradition.

On one hand, Sati was portrayed as a cultural opportunity given to a woman to pursue

the highest cultural and religious accomplishment within the society. While on the

other hand this tradition portrayed cultural barbarism and oppression of women. In

India the tradition was highly prevalent among the Brahmins of Bengal, the Rajputs of

Rajasthan and the Deorala in the Sikar district.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

contentious tradition: the debate on sati in colonial india

The following work of Lata Mani analyzes on the issues of Sati where the author

strongly debates or opposes the idea of Sati. Mani radically revises colonialist as well

as nationalist historiography on the social reform of women's status in the colonial

period and clarifies the complex and contradictory character of missionary writings on

India.

Mani, Lata. “Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Colonial India.” Cultural

Critique, no. 7, 1987, pp. 119–156. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1354153.

humanitarian achievement or administrative necessity? Lord Williams bentick

and the abolistion of sati in 1829.

The following work of Lord William's Bentick conveys the steps taken by him to

abolish Sati in Calcutta which was banned in 1793. His work tells about the struggles

that he covered to abolish the sati. When the following was challenged in the court he

mentions with the help of Veda which nowhere encourages Sati. By this it is clear

that Lord William's Bentick made an extensive research on the culture of India and

nowhere hurted or degraded the culture. Rather than an administrative achievement

the following thing set an example for other states to impose the ban on Sati.

FISCH, JÖRG. “HUMANITARIAN ACHIEVEMENT OR ADMINISTRATIVE NECESSITY?

LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK AND THE ABOLITION OF SATI IN 1829.” Journal of Asian

History, vol. 34, no. 2, 2000, pp. 109–134. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41933234.

NEED FOR THE STUDY:

To understand and analyse about the legislation regarding the abolition of sati and to

help me in understanding the historical backdrop for the formation of the same.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The following study signifies the struggles of different people in achieving the

abolition of Sati throughout India. With the help for the judgement passed in the

Courts of India in 1789 with the help of Lord Willliam Benetick, the following study

clearly helps me to understand the difficulties faced by different jurist as the following

thing involves a matter on the cultural aspect and it shouldn’t affect the sentiments of

the people.

RESEARCH QUESTION:

Why was sati abolished in india?

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

The Objectives of the study is ,

1) The study the evolution of sati practice

2) The study the history of abolition of sati practice

3) To study legislation passed in india on sati abolition

SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

This project work entitled legislation on abolition of sati- an analysis –a descriptive

study using secondary data such as articles, journals, books. In this study no primary

source of information are used.

METHODOLOGY:

This project is work entitled legislation on abolition of sati-an analysis,is a

comparative study done by using descriptive, interpretive, analytical and comparative

method for the purpose of this study.

CHAPTERIZATION:

1) Introduction

2) To study the evolution of sati practice

3) To study the history on the legislations passed in india on sati abolition

4) Conclusion

CONCLUSION:

the following synopsis i conclude the following topic helped in the betterment of our

nation. It also helps in understanding the historical background in india and helped

towards me understanding the topic in detail.

BIBILIOGRAPHY:

1) https://www.jstor.org/stable/41933234?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=sati

&searchText=abolition&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dsati%2Babolit

ion&ab_segments=0%2Fl2b_100k_with_tbsub%2Fcontrol&refreqid=search%3Afaefbd1845c

994b8d02df9527b068592

2) https://www.jstor.org/stable/1354153?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=sati&

searchText=abolition&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dsati%2Babolitio

n&ab_segments=0%2Fl2b_100k_with_tbsub%2Fcontrol&refreqid=search%3Ad101f87fe5bb

1bedd7c6a0b63628a2e4&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

3) https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/sati-pratha-facts-

275586-2015-12-04

4) https://www.gktoday.in/gk/abolition-of-sati-by-lord-william-bentinck/

5) https://medium.com/@marketing_13585/history-behind-the-origin-and-abolition-of-sati-

system-in-india-dc969dee7591

E.THARUN ROSHAN

BC0180053