Question

The custom of 'Sati' was banned through legislation in the year
1. 1795
2. 1800
3. 1829
4. 1858

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : 1829

The correct answer is 1829.

• On 4 December 1829, Lord Bentinck issued Regulation XVII declaring Sati to be illegal and punishable in criminal courts.
• Lord William Bentinck served as Governor-General of India between 1828 to 1835.

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the social reformer who worked hard for the abolition of this 'Sati Pratha' ritual.
  • Ram Mohan Roy was given the title of 'Raja' by Akbar II, the Mughal emperor, who sent him to England to represent him.
  • He started India’s first English medium school in 1816 in Kolkata that later came to be known as the Anglo-Hindu school.
  • Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828. This move is often credited with playing an important role in reforming and modernizing Indian society.
  • He is often called the 'Father of Indian Renaissance. Freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale called Roy the 'Father of Modern India'.
• Due to the fierce campaign and lobbying of Raja Rammohan Roy and others, Sati practice was formally banned in all the lands under Bengal Presidency by Lord William Bentinck on 4 December 1829.

• 'Sati pratha' was a Hindu ritual where the widow had to sit on her husband's funeral pyre and burn alive.
  • The Portuguese banned the practice in Goa by 1515.
  • In the 16th century, Humayun was the first to try a royal agreement against the practice. Akbar was next to issue official orders prohibiting Sati and since then it was done voluntarily by women.