This Course provides a detailed history of Sati in India. Sati is one of the most controversial topics when it comes to discussing social issues in India. During the British Raj, many harrowing tales of burning widows on pyres of their husbands became common in the West. Were these tales mere concoction of the British? Or was there any truth in them? How much of these legends are true?

Dr. Meenakshi Jain, for the first time, makes a detailed and comprehensive study of the issue and gives answers to many questions about Sati. Was it a religious obligation? Was Sati as an individual any different from what was understood of Sati Pratha? And just how common were the incidences of Sati. This Course will answer all of this and more.

Important note: This is a self paced course. Here, you can access the videos as per your convenience, from anywhere, any time. No regular live sessions by the instructor will be happening that you have to attend in allotted time and date.

What You’ll Learn

• You will learn whether Sati was a religious obligation in India, whether Sati was forced or voluntary and what was its place in Indian tradition? You will also learn the number of incidences of Sati across various regions of India.
• You will learn the early, medieval and modern accounts about Sati. You will learn the accounts of the missionaries and orientalists about Sati.
• You will learn what the Early British historians, administrators and thinkers thought about Sati, like John Grose, John Howell, Alexander Dow and Warren Hastings.
• You will learn how the Evangelical Movement in India was the primary culprit in creating the myth about Sati as the greatest horror story of India.
• You will learn about the relationship of Sati as a concept and the role of missionaries in them, through case studies of places like Bengal.