Sati: How the fight to ban burning of women [Mums, widows] in India was fought & won by the British.
In December 1829, Lord William Bentinck, the first governor general of British-ruled India, banned sati, the ancient Hindu practice of a widow immolating herself on her husband's funeral pyre. In December 1829, Lord William Bentinck, the first governor general of British-ruled India, banned sati, the ancient Hindu practice of a widow immolating herself on her husband's funeral pyre. Bentinck, then the governor general of Bengal, sought the views of 49 senior army officers and five judges, and was convinced that the time had come to "wash out a foul stain upon British rule". His regulation said sati was "revolting to the feelings of human nature" and that it shocked many Hindus as well as "unlawful and wicked". The regulation said that those convicted of "aiding and abetting" in the burning of a Hindu widow, "whether the sacrifice be voluntary on her part or not" would be found guilty of culpable homicide. It empowered the courts...
