Self-Immolation (suicide by burning alive)

As a result of the reading this week, I learned a new term. I was familiar with the practice of "Sati" or "Self-Immolation," especially for widows burned alive on the funeral pyre of their husbands, and also its use in protests. But I didn't know the words to describe it, so I looked at wikipedia under "self-immolation" and "sati."

The Term "Sati" means a lot of different things actually, and comes from Hindu mythology, relating to a story of a goddess bearing the name "Sita", who went through a "trial by fire" in order to be reaccepted by her husband (who was alive--not dead!). The word "Sati" now also refers to a "chaste" or "good" woman, as well as a widow who has gone through self-immolation.

The wikipedia posting about self-immolation did not mention the practice being used by widows (or widows being forced to undergo this death by burning), and the listing on "Sati" also barely mentioned the definition applying to widows' suicides.

Finally there was a listing called "Sati (Practice)" which provided some details about the practice in Hindu cultures, but pretty definitively implied that it was a problem of the past, which is "rare" nowadays. They mentioned literally a handful of cases in the last 50 years, which I found to be such a disservice to the MANY women who die each year through coerced Sati.

We know from the readings and the presentation offered today that this practice, though illegal, is still practiced commonly in different parts of India. The statistics that were cited were from the 1800s, and it was not clear whether no one had bothered to collect statistics about how many women experience this type of death in modern times or whether no one had bothered to post it to wikipedia yet... One related statistic I found was that the UN reports that 5,000 women per year are killed in India because the husband or husband's family feels that the woman's dowry is insufficient. Often these "dowry deaths" are staged as burnings, especially "accidental" burnings in which the stove explodes, or the woman is lit on fire and pushed out a window.

I found some videos on youtube that I wanted to share, but I want to preface them by saying that they may be quite painful and difficult to watch. The first was made by the "Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan" (RAWA), and it shows the impact of self-immolation on women who attempted suicide to "escape miseries."


Self-immolation may be used in formal protest, and some of the most famous protests utilizing these methods were enacted by Buddhist monks who were against the Vietnam war. This footage may be upsetting to watch, as the monks sit quietly and peacefully while they burn to death.


We talked today about the search for meaning in life (and death) and wondered about what individual people decide is "worth dying for" or "worth killing for." This footage brings up more questions than answers for me... how about you?

Earth, Fire, Water

These three films by Deepa Mehta, explore themes of women's lives in India. "Fire" especially relies on references to Sita's self-immolation (trial by fire) in Hindu mythology, as it relates to the storyline of two women who fall in love despite societal, religious, and family disapproval. "Water" explores the lives of widows, with a focus on a young girl who is widowed while still a child and who inspires others to resist their circumstances and make changes for themselves. "Earth" I have not seen, so I am not familiar with it yet.

1984 Anti Sikh Riots

News came out just a few days ago on the BBC that 11 life sentences were passed to those connected with the Gujarat riots. In an age of reconciliation when governments are being called to task on human rights violations, it seems out of place that the world’s largest democracy would still cover up its recent past of violence. Genocide, in general, is not uncommon. It spreads across time and space from the Native American genocide, the Turkish atrocities on the Armenians to the most well known, the German Holocaust on Jews, the LGBT population, gypsies, and the disabled. Others include the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, East Timor, Guatemala, Papua, Indonesia, Sudan, possibly now Kenya. The list continues. Why, in the context of the 20^th century then would the anti Sikh genocide be worth talking about?

If you have not heard of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 do not be surprised. Books about the topic are impossible to find. Television shows and movies are heavily censored within India. For a government-sponsored genocide, it is chilling how few people are aware that up to 20,000 people died and even more women were raped in roughly a week. Yet as terrible as it may be, why should the world care about the 1984 riots?

First of all we have to take into consideration what were the consequences for the government which inflicted this genocide? Unlike many other governments, leaders in the Congress party of India has never been held accountable for their actions. Many are still in power. For a country with an emerging economy, holds nuclear arms, and an increasing weight in global politics, we must as a global community must examine what kind of values does such a government really hold? While many countries have their own dark spots, India, claims to value multiculturalism, tolerance, secularism, capitalism, and democracy. It has done well in promoting the image of a peaceful, stable nation which has attracted many international investors. However if these values genuine, a democratically elected government has a responsibility to not only the international community but to its own citizens to respect their right to security and freedom in their own country.

The anti-Sikh Riots of 1984, which was followed by 10 years of human rights violation in the northern state of Punjab, is one of the most under examined acts of government-endorsed violence in modern history. The casualties count from 5,000 to 20,000, at the very least, five times as many as the now infamous Gujarat riots. By continuing this silence we also endorse this silencing of the past. We also deny justice and validation of the survivors of these crimes. While we cannot change the past, by simply being aware of the capability of a government that is strikingly similar to our own, we can hope to not only encourage healing but show the world that not even a democratic, secular, multicultural government should get away with this.

Here are a few documentaries that explain the background:

This one is the beginning of a series called 1984 Sikhs' Kristallnacht. It gives a good background on the lead up to the 1984 riots as well as a good description on what had happened.

This one is a second part of the five part series which goes into further detail on the riots.

The second video is a 45 minute documentary called “Storming the Temple” which appeared on the history channel which also explains the lead up to the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, such as the attack on the Golden Temple (the Sikh equivalent to Mecca or the Vatican).