Roop Kanwar's Death: A Look At India's Last Sati Case As Court Acquits 8 After 37 Years

Roop Kanwar's death, the last reported case of Sati in India, led to the enactment of The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act of 1987 which penalised glorification. However, the village where Roop died, has a temple in her name.

Police charged Roop Kanwar's father-in-law and brother-in-law with forcing her to sit on the pyre with her husband's body.

Source : Wikipedia

A Rajasthan court has acquitted the remaining eight persons in the case of alleged glorification of death of Roop Kanwar around the first anniversary of her Sati act after nearly 37 years. Roop Kanwar, is India’s last known case of sati, a practice where a widow immolates herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.

A Sati Niwaran court special judge Akshi Kansal acquitted Mahendra Singh, Shrawan Singh, Nihal Singh, Jitendra Singh, Uday Singh, Dasrath Singh, Laxman Singh and Bhanwar Singh, who were out on bail in a case that dates back to 1988. According to an Indian Express report, the court has acquitted the last eight of the 45 accused by giving them a benefit of doubt on lack of evidence.

What Was The Roop Kanwar case?

According to reports, Villagers in Divrala, who also offer prayers to Roop Kanwar at the site where she committed Sati, the 18-year-old, on September 4, 1987, after her husband’s death, dressed up in as a bride with “solah shringar (16 adornments)”. They say that Roop Kanwar, after walking in a "Shobha Yatra" accompanied by thousands of villagers, sat on her husband's funeral pyre while reciting the Gayatri Mantra, and committed Sati. 

However, when the case happened, it was widely reported as a case of forced Sati. Media reports as well as Police had alleged that Roop Kanwar was forced into Sati. 

A matriculate, Roop Kanwar who originally hailed from Jaipur, was married to 24-year-old Mal Singh Shekhawat, a B.Sc student of Deorala in Rajasthan's Sikar. After mere seven months into their marriage, Mal Singh fell seriously ill and passed away. Following his death, it was claimed that 18-year-old, Roop Kanwar expressed a desire to commit Sati. It was also said that her parents came across the news of her death through a local paper.

Police investigations later revealed that this claim was false. Police charged Roop Kanwar's father-in-law and brother-in-law with forcing her to sit on the pyre with her husband's body. But both of them were acquitted by court in October 1996. The inlaws have over the years maintained that it was her own choice and they tried to convince her to not go ahead.

The case had triggered massive outrage throughout the country and is also said to have led to outster of the then Rajasthan Chief Minister Hari Dev Joshi. The last reported case of Sati in India, led to the enactment of The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act of 1987. Centre enacted the said Act to prevent the practice of sati and its glorification.

The Act made glorification of Sati, an offence punishable by a minimum of one year and a maximum of seven years. Along with imprisonment, a person found guilty of glorifying Sati can also be fined with a minimum of five thousand rupees and a maximum of thirty thousand rupees. A person who abets Sati can be punished with death, life imprisonment, or a fine.

After Roop Kanwar's death, locals deified her as "Sati Maa" and built a temple in her memory, organising an annual "Chunri Mahotsav" in her honor. This glorification of the incident prompted the then Chief Minister, Haridev Joshi, to file cases against people involved in promoting the act.

Initially, 45 persons were accused in the case of glorifying Roop Kanwar's death. Over the years, several have been acquitted. On Wednesday, the Rajasthan court acquitted the last eight accused persons.

 

While the case for glorification of Sati committed by Roop Kawar has closed, the village has a temple built in her name.