Incredible Rajasthan

There has always been a curious inertia on the part of the Vasundhara Raje government when it came to addressing the issue of Sati with the ...

There has always been a curious inertia on the part of the Vasundhara Raje government when it came to addressing the issue of Sati with the rigour that the law demanded. Whether this was prompted by political expediency or the personal belief of its chief minister is difficult to say. In January 2004, when a lower court acquitted all the accused for glorifying the Roop Kanwar Sati in 1987, the state government was expected to challenge the verdict. It responded with silence. More recently, the Jaipur Development Authority actually named a new township as Shree Rani Sati Nagar, right under the nose of the government. Nobody in Jaipur8217;s corridors of power discerned anything amiss. Now comes the brainwave from the Rajasthan Tourism Development authority 8212; apparently with the full encouragement of the state8217;s tourism ministry 8212; of packaging Rajasthan8217;s Sati sites as tourist destinations.

As the chief minister of the state 8212; and the first woman in this post 8212; it was Vasundhara Raje8217;s responsibility to signal her government8217;s adherence not just to the letter, but the spirit of the law. The Commission of Sati Prevention Act, 1987, is unambiguous in recognising as a crime not just Sati, but the glorification of it. It bans 8220;the supporting, justifying or propagating8221; of the practice of Sati 8220;in any manner8221;. Against this legal backdrop, you have a publication brought out by a Rajasthan state government authority gushing: 8220;There is not a spot in the state where women had not committed Sati8221;. This actually amounts to the state-sponsored promotion of the cult.

One of the insights gained from the Roop Kanwar tragedy is the link between the public veneration and celebration of Sati and its actual commission. The public approbation helps to create an enabling 8212; often encouraging 8212; ambience for such a crime. This is precisely why we have cases of Sati surfacing in various remote pockets of the country some 176 years after it was abolished. A few days ago a 70-year-old woman was found dead on the funeral pyre of her husband in Banda, Uttar Pradesh, in a half burnt state. Within a few days her death was venerated by the local people as a Sati. Incidents like this will continue to occur unless those who govern the state come down hard 8212; and with the utmost urgency 8212; against such practices. But is Vasundhara Raje even interested in this discussion?