Suttee

Suttee is epistemologically the feminine of sat, or true, and hence it is a generic term for a chaste woman; sati is the more popular spelling. The term has come to denote the custom of widow immolation on her husband's funeral pyre, by force or by her own volition. The custom was begun by the Aryans when they settled in northern India. With the advent of the Mughals, the custom became more popular when, in order to save their honor, the war widows of the Rajput families performed collective immolation-suttee (also known as jauhar).

There were norms laid down for the ritual, and in Yallajeeyam, one finds instructions about the methods and practitioners of the custom. What began as a means to save their honor came to be used as an instrument by the patriarchs to get rid of the possible claimants of the property left behind by their husbands. It is notable that this ritual was performed more frequently in the royal and elite families than by the poor. Property, social honor, and acute apathy to widows were considerations that seem to have played an important role in instigating the suttee incidences. These issues were more relevant among the landed gentry, as the poor had nothing to safeguard. Also, since submission and surrender have been hailed as women's virtues in these patriarchal societies, the women who performed suttee were deified by the community. Devlis, or honor stones, were inscribed to mark their glory.

Medhatithi and Banabhatta criticized this custom severely and likened it to suicide, which is considered a sin and hence forbidden by the Vedas. In 1812, after the self-immolation of his sister-in-law, Raja Ram Mohan Roy started agitation against this custom. In 1829, the practice came to be formally banned in William Bentinck's regime in the Bengal Presidency lands. Rajasthan followed suit when in 1846 Jaipur banned the practice. Nepal continued to practice suttee until the 20th century, and the Indonesian island of Bali entertained this practice until the beginning of 20th century, when eventually the Dutch colonial rule banned it.

Stray incidents of suttee have been reported even after the 1987 commission of the Sati (prevention) Act, when Roop Kanwar's immolation invited a lot of hue and cry. As late as 2008, a 75-year-old woman performed suttee in Chattisgarh in Raipur district. It takes a long time to change mindsets, and these rare incidents, despite strong legislation, are a result of engendered beliefs. However, it needs to be mentioned that Manusmriti, which is the ancient law book of the Aryans, does not propagate suttee at all. It was because of the various distorted situations that such distortions crept into the tradition. Selfishness, lust, and the desire to control seem to be the reasons behind suttee.