Roopkuvarba Kanwar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | c. 1969 |
| Died | 4 September 1987 (aged 18) |
| Known for | Sati |
| Spouse | Maal Singh |
Roopkuvarba Kanwar (c. 1969 – 4 September 1987) was a teenage Hindu Rajput widow in India who was burned on her husband's funeral pyre in an act of Sati[1][2][3] at Deorala village in Rajasthan, India. At the time, she was 18 years old and had been married for eight months to Maal Singh Shekhawat, who had died a day earlier at the age of 24.[4] They had no children. The crowd which witnessed her death approved of the act and regarded it as entirely voluntary. Her death prompted public debate in India over the practice of Sati.[5] Roop Kanwar's death led to changes in both state and national laws to prevent sati. 45 people were charged in relation to her death, by 2024, all had been acquitted.[6]
Death
On 4 September 1987 Roop Kanwar was burnt alive on the funeral pyre of her husband.[7] Several thousand people attended. After her death, Roop Kanwar was hailed as a sati mata – a sati mother, or pure mother. The death quickly produced a public outcry across various parts of the country. It led first to state level laws to prevent the practice and glorification of sati, then the central government's Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act[8] in 1988, and banning, for the first time, also the glorification of the practice.[6]
News reports
The incident came to the notice of authorities following a shortage of coconuts. The villagers glorified this act (of sati) and started offering coconuts to her at her place of death; this caused a shortage which raised a red flag to revenue officials.[9]
Initial official records and eyewitness accounts provided by friends, family and villagers testified that Roop Kanwar's act of sati was a voluntary choice.[10][11] Some news reports claim Kanwar was forced to her death by other attendees present.[4]
Charge sheet
The original inquiries resulted in 45 people being charged with her death. As of 2019, 25 of these people were acquitted in November 2004, six are no longer alive, five were declared as absconders and nine are facing trial.[2] A much-publicised later investigation led to the arrest of a large number of people from Deorala, said to have been present in the ceremony including Roop’s father-in-law Sumer Singh, and three other relatives on charges of murder and abetting suicide.[1]
Eventually, 11 people, including state politicians, were charged with glorification of sati. On 31 January 2004 a special court in Jaipur acquitted all of the 11 accused in the case.[12] On 10 October 2024, the remaining 8 people were acquitted.[13]
References
- ^ a b "Rajasthan: Roop Kanwar forced Sati case in final stage". The New India Express. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ a b "In Rajasthan's sati village, Roop Kanwar still burns bright". Times of India. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Sati: Why India widow-burning case is back in news after 37 years". bbc.com. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ a b "India Seizes Four After Immolation". New York Times. 20 September 1987. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
- ^ Vozzola, Elizabeth C. (23 January 2014). Moral Development: Theory and Applications. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-97507-6.
- ^ a b "Sati as a Religious Rite:", Hindu Pasts, State University of New York Press, pp. 66–90, 31 July 2017, ISBN 978-1-4384-6807-5, retrieved 15 June 2025
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ Kishwar, Madhu; Vanita, Ruth (1 July 1988). "The burning of Roop Kanwar". Race & Class. 30 (1): 59–67. doi:10.1177/030639688803000104. ISSN 0306-3968.
Updated 1998
- ^ "The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987". Ministry of Women and Child Development. Archived from the original on 21 November 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
- ^ "Death By Fire by Mala Sen: The story of Roop Kanwar and other victims". India Today. 26 March 2001. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ "Roop Kanwar's sati greeted with shock across India, Deorala became a place of worship". India Today. 15 October 1987. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ Barton, Stephen (1 April 2003). Holiness: Past and Present. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 425. ISBN 978-0-567-54540-4.
- ^ "Frontline, 2004". Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
- ^ "37 years ago, Roop Kanwar's death marked India's last sati case. Now, 8 accused of glorifying the act are acquitted". The Indian Express. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
Further reading
- Kannabiran, Kalpana (2004). "Voices of Dissent: Gender and Changing Social Values in Hinduism". In Rinehart, Robin (ed.). Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice. ABC-CLIO. pp. 284–285. ISBN 978-1576079058.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
