Less than 10 days after a special court restarted cases against people accused of glorifying Sati after the 1987 Roop Kanwar case, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot reinforced the idea by inaugurating the Shri Bala Sati Mata Rajkiya Chikitsalay in Jodhpur on Monday.Even as the Jaipur court set the ball rolling for the trial of people accused of glorifying the death of Roop Kanwar in Deorala village, the Gehlot government on Monday restored the faith of people and gave its ‘approval’ to the concept of Sati.In 1987, the educated Roop Kanwar was allegedly burnt alive on her husband’s pyre. While the government registered a case, a temple sprung up in Deorala and thousands came to pray, prompting the Rajasthan government to pass the Prevention of Sati Act.An ordinance also banned the glorification of Sati and based on it, 21 cases were initiated. The accused, including BJP MLA Rajendra Singh Rathod and Pratap Singh Kachariwas, were charged with organising rallies and giving speeches that glorified Roop Kanwar’s death.The ordinance banned people from constructing temples in the name of Sati, besides glorifying and praying to them. ‘‘But this is not like that,’’ defends Hanuman Singh Raj Purohit, president of the Ratanada Jan Kalyan Samiti, which coordinated between residents and the government to build the hospital. ‘‘The mata there was more like a saint who just happened to be called Sati Mata. She didn’t commit Sati.’’And that’s not all. Gehlot’s ribbon-cutting has resulted in new converts who have started believing in the whole thing. According to Purohit, the construction of the hospital was a miracle that has reinforced his faith in the Sati Mata. ‘‘I was skeptical about these things,’’ Purohit admits. ‘‘But the way this hospital was constructed, with so much public participation, it is nothing short of a miracle by the Sati Mata.’’Constructed at a cost of Rs 16 lakh, of which Rs 5 lakh came from Gehlot’s MLA fund, the hospital boasts of a public-government partnership the CM praised during his inaugural speech.But the BJP’s state Yuva Morcha president doesn’t buy ‘‘Gehlot’s glorified speech’’. ‘‘Gehlot is not above the law,’’ says Kachariwas. ‘‘False cases were made against us. Somebody should now ask the Chief Minister what he is up to. What he has done is 100 per cent violation of the ordinance.’’Kachariwas is among the 21 accused whose appeals were rejected by the Supreme Court in April this year. Subsequently, the stay imposed on the hearings by the special court, formed for quick disposal of the cases, was also lifted. A.K. Vyas, joint director, Health, Jodhpur, says: ‘‘I’m not aware of the law on Sati. And, therefore, I cannot comment on the naming of the hospital.’’
