Umesh has sent you an article from the Middle East Times.
Umesh's comments: If they could only implement the current law and increase the
punishment for abettment
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INDIA PLANS TOUGHER LAWS AGAINST ANCIENT WIDOW BURNING PRACTICE
By AFP
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India plans to toughen legislation outlawing the ancient Hindu practice of
sati, where a widow burns herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre, a
report said on Tuesday.
The report came after police in eastern Bihar state said on Monday that
they were probing the death of a woman who allegedly killed herself by jumping
onto her husband's cremation fire.
No one saw Sita Devi, 77, jump into the fire but her charred body was
recovered from the ashes last Friday and villagers hailed the act as sati,
meaning a virtuous woman, and planned a temple dedicated to her.
The proposed legal changes would show leniency toward the widows who are
usually forced to burn themselves, the {italic} Hindustan Times {/italic}
newspaper said.
But those encouraging a widow to commit sati - usually relatives or
neighbors - will be accused of abetting murder, it said, quoting an unnamed
government official.
Under existing law, a person seeking to commit sati is accused of attempted
suicide.
Abetment could include making a woman believe that committing sati "would
result in some spiritual benefit to her ... or the general wellbeing of the
family", the report added.
The legal changes, which are awaiting cabinet approval, are expected to be
passed by parliament next month, the newspaper reported.
The laws could act as a deterrent "and force family members including
children, to worry about the legal implications" the official said.
Sati was first banned by India's British colonial rulers in 1829 and later
by India's Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act of 1987.
According to ancient Hindu texts, Sati is supposed to take place
voluntarily.
The practice largely disappeared from public view until 1987 when a young
woman jumped on to her husband's cremation pyre in the desert state of
Rajasthan watched by thousands of people - many egging her on.
Nineteen-year-old Roop Kanwar's death sparked national outrage and forced
the government to ban glorification of sati, making it an offense punishable
with a maximum sentence of seven years and a fine of up to 30,000 rupees
($660). But the practice still continues in parts of rural India.
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This article was mailed from the Middle East Times
(http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20060425-044711-5519r)
For more great articles, visit us at http://www.metimes.com
Copyright (c) 2006 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
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