“Why is it that Hindu women have to burn themselves when their husbands die?”

This question was relayed to the Hindu speaker at an event in Brighton University. The speaker smiled and asked the largely Hindu audience whether they had actually heard of any woman amongst their family or friends who had burnt herself when her husband died, or had even been encouraged to do so. The crowd, of course, answered in the negative.

The speaker then explained that this practice, called Sati, was always very rare, and to associate it with Hinduism is a serious misconception. Did the wives of Dashratha (Rama’s father) commit suicide when he died? Were they encouraged to do so by Vashista or Vishwamitra? NO. Did Uttara (the wife of Abhimanyu) burn herself when her husband died? Did Krishna who was there at the funeral encourage her to do so? NO. Furthermore, the practice is explicitly prohibited in several ancient texts, including the Rig-Veda.

In fact, the practice of self-immolation of women only became somewhat common in the medieval period of Indian history and only in a very specific context - when hostile armies successfully invaded an Indian town or city. Soldiers of plundering armies used to kidnap women and keep them as slaves to their lust. As a result Hindu women (with their children) often entered a huge fire to escape a life of captivity and degradation. This practice was called Jauhar, and the Greeks, Arabs, Turks and all other invading armies who entered India during this period have described it in their diaries. It was not a religious practice in any way.

The question may arise that if Sati is not actually part of Hinduism, then how has this misconception become so popular? The answer lies relates to the British rule of India. In the colonial era, the British media used to widely highlight Sati. The aim was to paint Indians as a barbaric people who were incapable of self-rule, and therefore needed to be ruled by foreigners. This justified British rule of India in British public opinion. Cambridge historian Mike Dash explains this as follows:

Furthermore, religious propagandists have always tried to defame other religions, painting a negative image of them so as to make their own religion look like the ‘logical choice’. Hinduism has been on the receiving end of this treatment for a long time.

There are too many misconceptions about Hinduism? There are many malpractices associated with Hinduism that are simply not sanctioned by Hinduism, for which the world tends to blame Hinduism. The least we can do is ourselves not be taken in by them. So when we hear that that Hindu widows are supposed to burn themselves in the funeral pyre of their dead husbands, it should be recognised that what we are listening to is a piece of quasi-Imperialistic propaganda that should be rejected outright.