Category Archives: Papers

When the British legalized widow remarriage, it caused chaos in communities where it was already practiced. The major courts of India added to the confusion with contradictory judgements.

In the early decades of the 19th century, British India witnessed a heated debate over the question of whether the practice of sati should be legally permitted. The debate had little to do with modern concepts such as human rights. Its real point was discovering and restoring “true Hindu tradition.”