Hardgrove, Sati Worship & Marwari Public Identity (1999)

Sati Worship and Marwari Public Identity in India
Author(s): Anne Hardgrove

Source: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 58, No. 3 (Aug., 1999), pp. 723-752
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2659117 .
Accessed: 02/12/2013 06:17
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Association for Asian Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The
Journal of Asian Studies.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Sati Worshipand Marwari

Public Identityin India
ANNE HARDGROVE
over the worshipand glorification

of sati (widow
burning,previouslyspelled"suttee")standsunresolvedat present.Afterseveralyears
of controversy,
the practiceof worshippingsati was made illegal in 1987 afterthe
death of a young Rajput woman named Roop Kanwar. At that time the Indian
governmentrevisedthe colonial legislationbanningwidow immolationto include
sati glorification
and therebyoutlawed ceremonies,processions,or functionsthat
eulogize any historicalperson who has committedsati. The law furthermore
prohibitedthe creationof trustsor fundraisingto preservethe memoryof such
persons.'This legal debateoversati worshipprovidesthecontextin whichthisessay
examines the cultural politics of how Calcutta Marwaris,a wealthy business
community,
havebeenamongthemostvehementdefenders
ofsatiworshipin thelast
severaldecades.ManyMarwarismaintainthatthe worshipofsati has nothingto do
with actual widow sacrificeand assertthatsati worshipis an essentialpart of their
religion,tradition,and culturalidentity.The Marwaritemplesforthe glorification
oftheir'Rani Sati' lineagegoddessare amongthewealthiesttemplesin India,which
add classand ethniccomponentsto theethicalcontroversy.
Indianfeminists
and social
reformers
contendthatsati worshipgoes againstwomen'sdemocraticrightsbecause
HE LEGAL
DEBATE
IN INDIA
Anne Hardgroveis a VisitingAssistantProfessor

in the HistoryDepartmentat the Universityof Iowa and an AssociateMemberof the Committeeon SouthernAsian Studiesat the
Universityof Chicago.
The researchforthisarticlewas fundedin partbytheAmericanInstituteofIndianStudies
and the writingsupportedby the HarryFrankGuggenheimFoundation.I am gratefulto all
thosecommentingon thiswork,includingSophiaAnninos,Dipesh Chakrabarty,
FredCooper,
Nick Dirks, Wendy Doniger, Saurabh Dube, Jack Hawley, Uday Mehta, StephenPierce,
SumathiRamaswamy,Lloyd and Susan Rudolph,Laxmi Subramanium,LynnThomas,Tom
Trautmann,and EleanorZelliot. Veryspecialthanksare due to CaitrinLynchand Eliza Kent
forreadingand commentingon earlydrafts.This essaydrawsupon my Ph.D. dissertation
in
Anthropologyand Historyentitled"Communityas Public Culture in Modern India: The
Marwarisin Calcuttac. 1897-1997" (UniversityofMichigan,1999).
'The exactwordingofgovernment
legislationagainstsatiand satiglorification
prompted
much debate. In the Rajasthan State legislation,the firstdraftof the legislationproposed
of new sati temples.This clause was objectedto by ArunaAsaf
prohibitingthe construction
Ali, who arguedthatmerelyexcludingexistingsati templesfromthelaw would haveno effect
on the construction
of a templeto venerateRoop Kanwar'ssati in 1987, forwhomthe legislationwas originallypassed. Ali arguedthatthiswentagainstthe legislation'soriginalintention by givingprotectionto olderformsofsati worship.Thus, the legislationoutlawingthe
of sati forany historicalindividualwas passed and is now undercontentionby
glorification
groupswhoseancientsati templeshave been threatened.
TheJournalofAsian Studies58, no. 3 (August 1999):723-752.
C) 1999 by the AssociationforAsian Studies,Inc.
723

724
ANNE HARDGROVE
worshippingsati as a culturalvalue, theyargue,leads to widow murder.The final

legal decisionis stillpendingin the Indian SupremeCourt.
My chiefaim in this essay is to understandhow a practicesuch as sati, long
declaredillegal by the formercolonialgovernment
and denouncedby feminists
and
social reformers,
can be a culturallyvalued ingredientin thewaythatsomeMarwaris
constructtheiridentityand traditions.It is importantto retaina distinctionbetween
sati(actualwidowsacrifice)
and satipuja(theworshipofsati).Eventhoughno Marwari
I met advocatessati in the modernage, manyif not most of themwant to preserve
theirtraditionsofsatipuja.2An analysisoftheMarwari'sbeliefand practicesofsatipuja
providesa means to considerhow sati can be a significant
ingredientin the way a
communitybothpracticeskinshipand definesitspublic boundaries.The questionof
law is alwaysalreadypresenthere.Far fromsimplybeing a passivebackdropto the
practice,competingquestionsof democracy,secularism,tolerance,and the rightsof
communitiesto worship freelyare at the very forefront
of how Marwarishave
understoodthesatipujaissue.
A special issue of the Hindi literaryjournalDharmayug
from1981 was devoted
to a discussionofsatipuja,soon afterthe controversy
createdby the 1980 procession
ofMarwariwomenin Delhi. Mrs.Dinesh NandiniDalmiya,an accomplishednovelist
and poet,expressedherviewsas follows.
education
andother
andlegalaction,thegutfeeling
forsatipractices
custom
Through
relatedtosaticanbe stoppedto a greatextent.
Butinspiteofthis,therewillbe one
ortwocasesofsatiandpeoplewillkeeponworshipping
atsatimandirs.
Glorification
of villagecultureis the normin the country.
Therehas neverbeen a ban on
and norcan therebe any.Alongwithtempleconstruction
comesthe
glorification
withreligious
andfreedom-and
howcanyoustop
questionofourcitizenship
rights
that?
(Dharmayug
1981, 13)
Othersreferto the question of familyand tradition,and defendtheirpracticesof
satipuja, in termsof the languageof communityrights.Mrs. Kalavti Goenka said,
"Rani Sati is our lineage goddess. For 400 yearsshe has been worshippedby our
family.Thepuja occurstwicea year,on twoauspiciousdays.In ourfamily,
weddings,
tonsure,namingceremoniesand otheroccasionswould not be completewithouther
blessing"(Dharmayug1981, 12). Her husband,Mr. NatawarlalGoenka,added: "there
is no questionofanyencouragement
givento thepracticeofsati bybuildinga temple.
Jhunjhunu'sRani Sati was a brave and sacrificingwoman who inspiresus. If
worshippingher is foundto increaseincidentsof sati, then theycould also start
banningthe epic Ramlila's scenesin whichthe sati is shown.This is a questionof
our faith.Steps takenagainstthe Rani Sati templewill be consideredby us to be a
stepagainstourcitizen'srightsand ourfreedomofreligiousbelief' (Dharmayug1981,
12).
In thetwentiethcentury,
thelineagegoddessRani Sati has becomean important
symbolofreligiousdutyand communityidentityfortheMarwaris.The Jalanfamily,
to which the legendaryRani Sati originallybelonged,is one of the manylineages
afterthe pressannouncedRoop Kanwar'sdeath,Marwarisocial clubs organized
2Shortly
theirvehementdisapprovalofthepracticeofsati.Fivehundred
public proteststo demonstrate
membersof the MarwariYuva Manch (Youth Organization)marchedthroughthe streetsof
northCalcutta,withbannersproclaiming"Stop glorifying
sati" and "ban sati. "See "Marwaris
againstsati" CalcuttaTelegraph,
Oct. 11, 1987.

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
725
whichconstitutetheAgarwalsubcasteofthemodernMarwaricommunity.
Rani Sati
was the firstin a successionof thirteensati in theJalanfamily.The precisedate of
her death remainsunclear,thoughyearsas widelydivergentas 1295 and 1595 are
the two mostoftencited dates. In 1996, Rani Sati templesall overIndia celebrated
the 400th anniversary
of Rani Sati on Rani Sati's 'birthday'of December4.3 (This
date maysuggestan oppositionalstanceto the illegalityofsati becauseDecember4
is the same date when the colonial governmentbannedsati in 1829.) In orderto
celebrateRani Sati's four-hundredth
birthanniversary,
the Rani Sati Sarva Sangh
templeboardorganizeda largeyagna(a public fairorganizedarounda vedicsacrificial
ritual)ostensiblyforthe Goddess Durga at the site of the main Rani Sati mandir
(temple)in Jhunjhunu,Rajasthan.Beforethe yagnatook place one memberof the
Calcutta-basedboardof templetrusteestold me in an interviewthathe anticipated
over one hundredthousandpersonsto attend the celebrations,with twenty-five
thousandalone expectedto come fromCalcutta.
Rani Sati's 400th anniversary
celebrationdid not failto attractthe attentionof
Indian feminists.The Mahila AtyacharVirodhiJan Andolan (People's Movement
Againstthe Oppressionof Women), a volunteerorganizationand feministactivist
group,fileda writpetitionwiththeJaipurHigh Court,claimingthattheyagnafair
glorifiedwidow immolationand was againstthe dignityand democraticrightsof
Indianwomen.Their legal counselin theJaipurCourtarguedthatthe organization
of such a grandeventwithinthe premisesof the Rani Sati templeconstitutedthe
ofsomeonewhohad committedsati(Mahalingam1996). The High Court
glorification
respondedby dismissingthe petitionon the groundsthattheyagnawas offered
for
the GoddessDurga. However,the High Courtorderedthe templeauthoritiesnotto
glorifysati and orderedthattheyagnahad to be held faraway fromthe main Rani
Sati image (Wadhwa 1996).
The yagnawas thusheld in a makeshiftthree-story
tenttwo hundredfeetaway
fromthe Rani Sati image installedin the garbhagriha
(the main templehall). The
bannedtheoffering
High Courtfurthermore
ofthekalash(a cup ofwatersymbolizing
the chunari(weddingveil), and the chhappanbhog(a fifty-six-course
meal
fertility),
offeredto the goddess),ritualswhichherewereall seen as constitutingpart of the
legally disputed practiceof satipuja. The followingexcerptfroma contemporary
newspaperaccounttold of the changesthat the templeauthoritieshad to make to
complywiththe orderfromthe High Court.
havenotbeenputto use.
Followingtheorder,theelaborate
lighting
arrangements
Said to havebeenbrought
all thewayfromCalcutta,
wheretheRaniSatijiMandir
Trusthasitsheadoffice,
theuseoflightfittings,
in theformoftowering
gateways,
imagesof SubhashChandraBose and so on, werenotpermitted
by the district
after
thefirst
administration
day.
(Srivastava
1996)
It is notableherethat theJhunjhunuvillagershad almost nothingto do with the
templeboard or the organizationof the fourhundredthbirthdaycelebration.This
was not merelya 'local' event.Even the lightingand decorationswerebroughtfrom
veryfaraway. Rather than encapsulatingthe sentimentsof the local Jhunjhunu
is
3ManydevoteesbelievethattheoriginalRaniSati templein Jhunjhunu,
Rajasthan,
sevenhundred
thelegalcase,however,
makeclaims
actually
yearsold.The devotees
pursuing
thattheoriginal
templeis justfourhundred
yearsoldbecausetemplerecords
areonlyavailable
forthelastfourhundred
years.

726
ANNE HARDGROVE
community,the Rani Sati anniversary

festivalinsteadservedas a focalpoint of a
diasporicgroup, the Marwaris,to celebratethe ties of a geographically-dispersed
imagined communityand its rememberedtraditions.The original plan for the
elaboratelightingwouldhavecommemorated
thebirthcentenary
ofSubhashChandra
Bose, a Bengali nationalistfamed for his militaryheroismin the fightagainst
colonialism.Had it ultimatelybeen allowed,SubhashChandraBose's image would
havecreateda connectionwithBengaland would havealso added a feelingofmilitant
nationalismto the ostensiblyreligiousfestivities.
This senseof militantnationalism
was importantin two respects.First,the image of Subhash Chandra Bose was a
reflection
ofthe nation-widecelebrationof Bose's birthcentenary,
thusemphasizing
thenationalcharacter
ofthesati festival.Second,theinclusionofan imageofa militant
nationalistby Marwarisechoedthe tropesof militantHindu nationalismwhichare
frequently
used bythetraditionally
'warrior'Rajputsin defendingtheirownpractices
ofsati.
Temple authoritiesdefendedtheirreligiousritualsto the press,contendingthat
theworshiphad nothingto do withperpetuating
actualsati. MahavirPrasadSharma,
the managerof the Rani Sati temple,was quoted in a popularmagazineas follows.
I am reallyamazedbythismediaover-reaction.
None ofthesegirlsor anyothers
whomighthavecomeherefortheyagnaareexpected
to burnthemselves
on their
husbands'
pyres.... Theideais togivethemapativrata
(devoutwife)forrolemodel.
To inculcate
valuesthatwillmakethemgoodmothers
andwives.Andyouhysterical
feminists
won'tevenallowus to do that.
(Wadhwa1996)
Sharma'sdefensivestatementraisesan interesting
rangeof tensionsbetweenwomen
in the Marwaricommunityand the predicamentsof modernfeminismsas practiced
in India. As themosteconomically
in all ofIndia,theMarwaris'
powerfulcommunity
deploymentof sati as a valorizedsymbolof women'srolespresentsa challengeto
feministdenunciationsof sati as emblematicof the formsof violenceperpetuated
against Indian women. Rani Sati, I will argue, has symbolizeda community
deploymentof certainthemesof domesticityby which particularsets of gendered
social normsand domesticpracticesbecomeassociatedwith the public performance
of a communityidentity.
The geographicallocationof the Marwari'smajorRani Sati templein Rajasthan
is a criticalelementof the story.The propagationofthe worshipofa Rajasthanisati
betweena migrantgroupand its
goddess reproducesa strongsense of territoriality
imaginaryhomeland.The questionof 'tradition'is paramountto thisanalysis.While
acknowledgingthatMarwaripracticesofsatipuja could conceivablybe contextualized
as a typeof 'inventedtradition'(Hobsbawmand Ranger1983) myresearchindicates
ratherthatthe relationshipbetweensatipuja and Marwariidentityis not simplyan
exampleof 'invention.'Though Marwaristhemselvesstressthe continuityof their
traditionsfroma distantpast in orderto justifysatipuja as a culturaland community
practice,it is notimportant
to mystudyto makea scholarlyjudgmentaboutwhether
or nottheworshipof Rani Sati has continuedforthe last severalcenturies.I wantto
recapturetheaffective
and politicalaspectsarticulatedin experience,
withoutmaking
a judgmentabout whetheror not a particularcustomis actually"handeddown."
In theremainder
ofthisessay,I firstbriefly
outlinehistoricalmomentsand recent
scholarshipwhich have been pivotal in shaping moderndefinitionsof sati, and
elaborate an approach to the study of sati worship which seeks to achieve
ethnographically
groundedunderstandings
of sati withoutabandoninga feminist

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
727
critique.The second section,outliningthe creationof sati templesacrossnorthern

is crucialto themin
India, contendsthatthe Marwaripublic identityas migratory
ofloyaltyto theirhomelandin Rajasthan.The thirdsection
elaboratinga performance
ofthemainsati templein Rajasthanin theworshippractices
examinestheimportance
itselfreflects
how templephilanthropy
amongMarwaridevotees.Here I demonstrate
concernswithcommunity
and kinship.In thefourthsection,I turnto an ethnographic
of pro-satisentimentin Calcutta
contextin whichI observeda public performance
and duringwhich hundredsof Marwariwomen marchedto honorthe birthdayof
theirsatigoddess.This sectionelaboratesthestate'sdilemmasin policingsatiworship.
make
The fifth
sectionpresentsmaterialon howMarwariwomenand menthemselves
argumentsbothfor,and against,sati worship,in orderto makethe pointthatsati is
a debatedissue withinthe communityitself.
Locating Sati in Colonial and Postcolonial

Contexts
In the earlynineteenthcentury,the widespreadprevalenceof Hindu widow
sacrifice
challengesfortheBritishcolonialgovernment.
posedone ofthemostdifficult
While missionaries
and variouscolonialofficials
campaignedagainstthe
vehemently
practice,thecolonialstatedelayedthepassageoflegislationuntilDecember4, 1829
for fearof unrestand rebellionamong Indian subjects. The legislationthat was
eventuallypassedincludedpunishmentforwomenwho triedto commitsati,as well
forthosepersonswhowerefoundguiltyofabettinga womanto become
as punishment
a sati. ReformistIndian leaders,headed by Raja RammohanRoy, joined the fight
againstsati,beginninga social reformmovementand the 'Bengal Renaissance.'The
colonialstate'spreoccupationwithsati has been richlydiscussedin termsofcolonial
discoursetheoryand the inventionof 'tradition'undercolonial rule (Mani 1998),
ofwomen'sagencyand consent(Spivak 1985),
problemsin academicrepresentations
and thephenomenology
ofpain (Rajan 1993).
Despite thepassingofthe 1829 legislation,occasionalcases ofsati haveoccurred
up to thepresentday. The mostinfamouscase was in 1987, whenan eighteen-yearold Rajput widow namedRoop Kanwarburnedalive on herhusband'sfuneralpyre
in the village of Deorala, Rajasthan.To those villagershonoringher death, Roop
into a goddess by having
Kanwar was known as a sati, a woman transformed
committeda Hindu ritualof widow immolation.Twelve daysafterthe immolation
Roop Kanwar'ssatibyconducting
tookplace,Deoralavillagerspersistedin glorifying
the ceremonyof the chunarimahotsav
(mahotsavis literallya 'greatfestival')in which
womenoffer
theirchunari(weddingveils)on thesiteofthesati in orderto obtainthe
of
of
sati goddess.The public outcrywhicharose fromthe aftermath
the
blessings
Kanwar'sdeath promptedthe Indian state to revisethe 1829 colonial legislation
governingsati by tougheningthe laws on abetmentto includea specificprohibition
on sati glorification.Hawley (1994) provides an excellent summaryof these
developments.
forRoop Kanwar'sdeathservedas a warningto many
The religiousjustification
Hindu
liberalIndiansofthe erosionofdemocraticrightsforwomenunderresurgent
revivalism,
makingbothsati and satipuja into a matterof urgentpublic debate. As
to be expected,the proliferation
of academicliteratureproducedwithinthe context
of Roop Kanwar'sdeathoverwhelmingly
condemnedthe act ofsati. Yet, unlikethe

728
ANNE HARDGROVE
nuancedscholarship
on sati in thecolonialperiodthatexaminesthecomplexinterplay
betweenthe communityof believers,Indian social reformers
and the legal discourse
of the colonial state, much of the literatureabout the culturalpolitics of Roop
Kanwar'ssati has tendedto framethe issue in termsof a ratherstarktropeof the
sati. Journalists
and academicsalike have
culturalbackwardness
of thoseglorifying
tendedto describeboth Roop Kanwar'sdeath and othercases of widow murderin
the 1980s by usingexpressionssuch as "turningback the clock."4In thisrendering,
the actionsof Roop Kanwarand the Deorala villagerswereoftendepicted-and, it
was claimed, could only be understood-as belongingto a barbaric,bygoneage
Hindu fundamentalism.
enjoyingnew lifeunderright-wing
There are, of course,some notable exceptionsto the "backwardness"tropein
the workof Ashis Nandy
narrativerenderings
of Roop Kanwar'sdeath,particularly
and Veena Das. Nandy (1995) has arguedthat the "progressive"responseto Roop
in Indianpublic
Kanwar'sdeathhad moreto do withthethreatofthe"non-modern"
life,and theattemptofsometo gain politicalpowerbyvirtueofa presumed"superior
of unpopularviewpointsis
knowledgeand morality"throughwhich representation
suppressed.Nandy contendsthatmiddle-classfeminismcannotspeak forall Indian
women,especiallyforthosewho valorizesati, and cannotexplainwhy or how the
figureofthesati comesto be valorized.As such,Nandywrites,theseauthorscontinue
in a colonial traditionof delegitimizingminorityculturesin the name of progress
and democracy.Das (1995) notes that this debate over sati partiallyconcernsthe
rightsofcommunitiesto constructtheirown histories.Das writesas follows:
The secondquestionrelatingto theglorification
ofsati as wellas preventing
the
ofsati matasraisestheentireissueofwhether
a community
hastheright
veneration
to construct
itspastin themythic
orthehistoric
mode,in accordance
withitsown
traditions,
or alternatively
whether
thestatemayexercise
complete
monopoly
over
exercise
ofpowerbythestate,
thepast. . . on theonehandwe havea hegemonic
whenevenitsmostvocal
whichactsas theonlygiverofvalues-andthisis affirmed
constructions
of
criticsturnforhelpto thestate;andon theotherhandwe witness
pasttimeinsucha waythatall newevents
aresoughttobeunderstood
as mechanical
a processwhichoftenleadstohegemonic
analogiesofa limitedstockofpastevents,
controlbeingestablished
overtheindividual
Thisis especially
bythecommunity.
so whenthecommunity
drawsits energyfromthesymbolof a divinesacrificial
as in thecaseofsati.
victim,
(Das 1995, 113-14)
Das contendsthatcritiquesagainstthecultureofsati, whichgrantpowerto thestate
as a value-givinginstitution,
mayno doubtservea veryimmediateand veryimportant
politicalpurpose.At the same time,she is awareof the heavyhand of communities
in establishinghegemony.
Some scholarlyworkin thisvein has alreadybeen done on the Marwaritemples
of Rani Sati. SudeshVaid and Kumkum Sangari's(1991) workon the involvement
oftheMarwaricommunity
in theproductionofthecultureofsati raisesseveralpoints
that are importantformy study.As the followingpassage indicates,Vaid's and
Sangari's approach to the question of sati involves the argumentthat a lethal
combinationofideologies,beliefs,and institutions
(such as sati temples),along with
4"Sati:PuttingtheClock Back." Link,Dec. 14, 1980: 19; C.N.C. "OminousThrowback."
Dec. 20, 1980; P. V. Parakal,"MacabreMiddle-AgesRite Enactedin Rajasthan."
Mainstream,
NewAge,Sep. 20, 1987.

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
729
materialgain,serveto undergirdthemoraland religiousconceptionswhichhelpturn

widow immolationintosati. They write:
The history
of Rani Sati templeindicatesthattheparticipation
ofMarwaris
in a
nationalist
construction
of'sati'withitsaccompanying
patriarchal
valuesandHindu
chauvinism,
beganquiteearlybutacquireda substantial
shapein thisregiononly
afterIndependence.
The commemoration
ofNarayani
Devi,hitherto
as
worshipped
a kuldevi
orfamily
goddesswithintheprivacy
ofAgarwalhomes,wasconverted
into
publicworship
sustained
bymassive
amounts
ofmoney. .. No longera family
deity
oftheJalans,RaniSatiis nowworshipped
bymanycastes.Yearsofpropaganda
in
theformofculturalprogrammes,
commemorative
and eulogisticmeetings. . . have
paiddividends.
(VaidandSangari1991,267-78)
Vaid's and Sangari'saccount has the advantageof connectingsatipuja to a wider

political contextand shows how the different
ideological interestsof the priestly
Brahmans,Rajputs,and Banias (tradingcastes,includingMarwaris)coalesceinto a
patriarchywhich promotesa culture of sati. One way to respond to Marwari
mythologiesabout the goddessof sati, as Vaid and Sangari(1991) have done, is to
see thesestoriesas mere rationalizations
of sati in the modernage and call foran
immediateban of Marwariworshipof Rani Sati. Yet by focusingon aspects of
propaganda,money,and materialadvantagein explainingMarwariinvolvement,
what
Vaid's and Sangari'sanalysisalso demonstrates
arethemethodologicalchallengesthat
feministand materialistepistemologiesfacein describingthe experiencesofwomen
who are not feminists.
Throughthis analyticallens Marwaripracticesof satipuja can only be read as
to Marwariwomen.Even a sophisticated
backward,repugnant,and disempowering
and deliberately
politicalreadingsuchas Vaid's and Sangari'sanalysisis unhelpfulin
suggestinghow we deriveethnographic
insightsinto the lives of thosewith whom
we, as analysts,may disagree. We need to ask whetherthe political stakes in
sati veneration
as a socialpathology(admittedlyas a strategy
representing
to fightfor
and oppression)maytend
Hindu patriarchy
genderjusticein a contextofright-wing
to distortthecomplexityofsatipuja and presenta seriousproblemin anthropological
interpretation.
Instead,beliefin the worshipof sati is relegatedto a willfuland
deliberatepatriarchy
inherentwithina resurgentHindu fundamentalism.
It is true
that Marwarishave begun to shifttheirpolitical supportaway fromthe Congress
Party,and have become more active in right-wingHindu politics in the last few
decades (Shinde 1991). Yet, simply to explain away satipuja as a type of
fundamentalism
does littleto illuminatethe complexityand tenacityofthepractice.
Even if the colonial and postcolonialstates have not always been wrong in
stoppingcruelpracticesfoundin Indiansociety,a fundamental
problemstillremains
unaddressedby Vaid and Sangari'sapproach-which is thattheycannotaccountfor
whyMarwariwomenmightdesireto worshipsati. InsteadofconcludingthatMarwari
womenareeitherlyingor livingin falseconsciousness,
I believethattheproblemlies
in theinadequacyofinterpretive
whichinformworkssuchas Vaid's and
ethnography
Sangari's.My ethnographicresearchrevealscomplexconnectionsbetweenMarwari
identitypoliticsand satipuja, whichmake it difficult
to decide whetheror not the
worshipof Rani Sati necessarilyleads to actual incidentsof sati. InsteadI focuson
howsati has becomebotha valorizedand a contestedidea in thewaythattheMarwaris
in Calcuttaperform,
createand producetheircommunity
identityand theirtraditions.

730
ANNE HARDGROVE
sati as
Recentworkin anthropology
and religionis helpfulherein recapturing
writingon sati, sacrifice,
and
an objectofanthropological
analysis.Paul Courtright's
sati
marriageshowshow two centuriesofcolonialand secularrulehave "undermined
as an uncomplicatedact of religiousheroism,removedit fromits religiouscontext
altogetheras faras the legal systemis concerned,and relegatedit to the categoryof
the criminal. . [Yet,Jthe underlyingreligiousvalues thatsati embodiedhave not
disappearedin contemporary
India ... and have adapted themselvesto changing
circumstances"
(Courtright1995). By positioninghimselfin this way,Courtright's
approachdoes not in itselfjustifythe act of sati, but instead acknowledgesthe
continuation
ofvaluesassociatedwithsati whichhavein someformpersisteddespite
thusopensup the possibilitiesfor
the rapidlychangingpoliticalcontext.Courtright
an analysisof the religiousvalues associatedwith sati, even thoughactual sati has
been sociallyand legally delegitimized.It remindsus that even criminalactivity
containsculturalmeaning in light of-but not limited to-the law and order
questionsof the state.
Part of the problemmay lie in the coexistenceof a multiplicityof meaningsof
sati in thefieldofreligiousstudies.As JohnHawley(1994) has described,in English
the wordsati is used as a verb(i.e., to commitsati). Yet, in India, the termsati has
who is renderedas a
traditionally
referred
not to the deed but to the womanherself,
and strength.
The sati in theIndiancase,therefore
goddessforhersuperhuman
bravery
is nevertherefore
a widow.Insteadshebecomesa "goodwoman"becausesheis faithful
to her husbandand does not sufferthe fateof becominga widow. The sati, notes
Hawley (1994, 14), is thoughtofas a satimata,a sati goddessmotherwho is believed
to be a historicalindividualand whose lifeis mythologizedas a paradigmof wifely
virtue.Otherauthorsconcur.JuliaLeslie (1992) concludesthatsomewomenbelieve
thatthesati is an ideal conclusionof the ideologyofpativrata withthe idea thatthe
sati gives blessingsto bothhusbandand wife.
LindseyHarlan's compellingwork(1992) on popularreligiouspracticesamong
Rajput womenhelpscontextualizethe Marwaris'worshipof Rani Sati as combining
two Rajput traditions-that of the kuldevi(lineage goddess) and the satimata
ofimmolatedwife).HarlanarguesthatwhereasfortheRajputsthekuldevi
(deification
gives protectionto both innerand outerrealmsof Rajput experience(the homeand
the battlefield)
and tendsto be worshippedpublicly,thesatimata relatessolelyto the
innerworld of women and likewiseis worshippedat home. The Marwaris,I will
argue,combineinto one figurea kuldeviwho is also a sati: a goddesswho providesa
ofprotectionto thecommunityas symbolizedby thevirtuesof
public representation
an innerdomesticity.I do use the term"representation"
quite deliberatelyhereto
suggest that the ideal, symbolizedRani Sati embodies an exemplarof Marwari
ratherthan a literal model which
domesticitymeant for public demonstration,
Marwariwomenblindlyfollow.
Comparingthe activistscholarshipof academicslike Vaid and Sangari(1991)
(who emphasizethe waysthatsatipuja constitutesa criminalact, but do not take its
culturalmeaningsveryseriously)with the workof scholarslike Courtright(1995)
and Harlan(1992) (whochoosenotto contextualize
contemporary
practicesofsatipuja
withina changingset of social relationswhichhave bannedand delegitimizedsati)
studiesof sati. I have
allows us to unravelthe tensionsthat attendcontemporary
in the approachused by
ethnography
alreadypointedto the problemof insufficient
Vaid and Sangari.The latterembodymorerelativistpositionswhichleave aside the
questionof a widerand contestedculturalcontext.Courtright'sand Harlan's work
has the danger of representingunchangingportrayalsof religious practiceand

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
731
meaning,withoutaccountingforthe shiftingand now-hostilepolitical and social

in whichsatipujais practiced.Harlan,forexample,writes:"I leave to
environments
othersthe task of addressingthe political,economic,and social implicationsofsati
immolationsand assessingthe extentto which such immolationswere voluntary"
(1992, 113). Evenwhileconcedingthatshefindssati"horrifying"
(1992, 13), Harlan's
relativismmakesherapproachahistorical.The veryfactthatwomenworshipsati in
a legal,intellectual,
and socialclimatewhichoverwhelmingly
condemnsthispractice
is, afterall, of centralimportance.As Asad (1993, 43) has aptlypointedout, it is
problematicto insist"on theprimacyofmeaningwithoutregardto theprocessesby
whichmeaningsare constructed."
The changingset of religiousvaluesabout sati thus needsto be pairedwiththe
changing role of women in twentieth-century
India, especially vis-a-vis the
developmentofmodernideas ofpublic and private.Much has beenwrittenaboutthe
productionof the new woman in colonialIndia, and herambiguousrelationshipto
home and nation. Yet very few studies on women and nationalismactually
how the performance
demonstrate
of religiousritualsbecomepart of the way that
womenhelp defineboundariesbetweenauspiciousnessand inauspicousness,
and the
homeand theworld,to formulate
a new senseofselfrelatedto public ideas offamily
and community.
MaryHancock'swork(1995) is a notableexceptionand showshow
women's religiouspracticesare instrumentalin helping them to createa modern
imaginationof domesticity.Her researchrevealshow womenwho engage in bhakti
(personalizeddevotionalworship)both accommodateand resistideological forms
foundin elitereligiouspractices.FollowingHancock'sexample,I explorehowcultural
formsare both appropriatedand resistedby Marwariwomen'spracticesofsatipuja.
While I do notdisagreewithVaid's and Sangari'sargumentthatsatipujais patriarchal
and partofa widerburgeoningright-wing
Hindu movement,I seekto examinehow
Marwariwomen'spracticesofsatipujamaypurposefully
entailoppositionto thevalues
of feminism,liberalism,and secularism.These tensionsbetweenMarwariwomen's
discourseand Indianfeminismare a underlyingconcernof thisessay.
The factthata prominentsati-worshipping
communitydoes not advocateactual
sati forits womenis a crucialpoint in my analysis.The questionwhethersomesati
areauthenticand somesatiarenotis notat issuehere.All satiis murder.The question
hereis satiworship.My challengein thisessay,then,is to findan alternative
approach
whichdoes notcede a practicalcommitment
to the cause ofsocial justiceand human
rights-but withoutsimplifying
a complicatedissue-satipuja-which raisesmany
difficultquestions about the role of gender in the making of 'community'and
'tradition'in India today.One of my goals is to show whyand how the worshipof
sati functionsas a public performance
of a domestic theme as the markerof a
communalidentity.As manyanthropologists
and historianshave pointed out, the
experienceofcolonialismcreatedan unstablecivilsocietywithinwhichdefinitions
of
the public spheredependedheavilyon the reorganization
and reformof what was
characterized
as thesupposedly"backward"nativedomesticsphere(Cooperand Stoler
1997). Since Europeanpowershad a deliberatepolicyof deferring
the possibilityof
self-ruleto theircolonial subjects,by virtueof the unpreparedness
of the latter,
anticolonialnationalismsembracedideologiesof indigenousdomesticity
as a way of
makingpublic statementsabout theircivilizationalattainmentsand theirdesirefor
nationhood,while creatingsimultaneously
a space of difference
fromthe household
cultureofthe colonizer.
Domesticitythus refersto much morethan the usual portrayalof South Asian
women'ssubordination,
as represented
by ancienttextualrepresentations
ofwomen's

732
ANNE HARDGROVE
rolesfromManu onward.Domesticityaccountsforthe changingpoliticalmeanings

attachedto theIndianhome(and women'splace in relationship
to it) byvirtueofthe
culturalimpactofbourgeoisideologyin thecolonialworld.So-calledritesand rituals
relatedto the home,associatedwithparticularcasteand tribalcommunities,
can no
longer be naively perceivedas located outside the world of politics and selfrepresentation
in civilsociety.Symbolicrepresentations
ofthedomesticrealm,created
ofa muchwiderpublic
by bothcolonizerand colonized,havetherebybeen narrations
ideology-namely,a testamentto supposedlyinnerideologieswhichdefinethe civil
and politicalpotentialof a communityat large. This ideologyhas been especially
importantforMarwaris,a "pariahcapitalist"internaldiasporacommunity
definedby
migrationand trade.
MarwariMigration,Domesticity,
and the Sati Goddess
Over thepast threehundredyears,tradersand small businessmenhavemigrated
thousandsof kilometersfromwesternIndia, fromwhat is now Rajasthan,to cities
and townsall overSouthAsia (Timberg1978). The mostprominentofthesetraders
have settledin Calcuttaand EasternIndia. Since the last decade of the nineteenth
thisemergentcommunity
oftraders,whogenerallybelongto thesamebroad
century,
castegroup,have been identified
outsideofRajasthanby the term"Marwari."There
"Marwari"communityin westernIndia beforethemigrations.It
was no pre-existing
is the factof migration-and theirdiasporiclocationoutsideof Rajasthan-which
makes the migrantRajasthanibusinesscommunityinto Marwaris."Marwari"only
makessensewithinthecontextofdiaspora.The historyoftheCalcuttaMarwarisaptly
illustratesArjun Appadurai's (1997) propositionthat localities are themselves
producedby the migratory
flowsofpeople.
Despitewhattheirnamesuggests,Marwarisdo notliterallycomefrom"Marwar,"
whichis a largeand historically
districtin Rajasthanthatnowencompasses
important
modernJodhpur.Most 'Marwari' familiesoriginallycame fromthe districtsof
ofMarwar,as a former
Jhunjhunuand Shekhawati.The historicalimportance
princely
state and a major player in pre-IndependenceRajputana (the colonial name of
postindependence
Rajasthan),and its presenceas an enduringplace identity,may
accountforthe factthatthis diasporicand expatriatebusinessgroupuses the name
Marwariinsteadof Shekhawati,which is the name of theiractual regionof origin.
However,theidea ofa modernMarwari"Marwar"as a geographicalentityis gradually
being reproducedas an imaginaryhomelandin popular journalsthat chroniclethe
achievementsof Marwari familiesin a varietyof business and professionfields
(Dhanuka 1996). Marwarcan perhapsbe betterdescribedas a subjective-ratherthan
objective-region(Cohn 1987).
In anthropological
literatureMarwarisare typicallydescribedas comprisedof a
large number of extended familylineages from the communitiesof Agarwal,
Maheshwari(Hindu tradingcastes),and Oswal (Jaintradingcastes),all originally
fromRajasthan but now spread out all over India. In the popular imagination,
however,Marwarisare knownacrossIndia fortheirsuccessin businessand industry,
and oftendespisedand severelycriticizedbyotherIndiansfortheirallegedcorruption
and socialconservatism,
especiallywithregardto thestatusand educationofMarwari
womenand theirrelativeabsencefromthe public sphere.It is perhapstruethat,as

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
733
a generalrule,Marwariwomen do not tend to be verywell educatedcomparedto

womenofothercommunities,
evenamongthewealthierfamilies.If Marwariwomen
attend college at all, they are oftenurged to study subjects like home science,
philosophy,or Hindi literature,
subjectswhichwould not necessarily
pave the way
fora careeroutsideof the home. Yet as long as theydo not shirktheirdomestic
responsibilities,
some Marwariwomenhave negotiatedwaysof takingcreativeroles
in thepublic sphere,suchas volunteeror charityworkor runningtheirown business.
Though graduallyincreasingnumbersof Marwariwomenhave soughtmoreactive
roles in public and businesslife, the dominantimage of women in the Marwari
has beenthatofa groupheavilyinvestedin thediscourseofhome,family,
community
lineage,and domesticity.The main dutyforMarwariwomen,it would seem,is to
providea stable householdlifefortheirhusbands,sons,and brothers-in-law-men
who dominatethe headyworldofIndian industry,
business,and trade.
The ManagingCommitteeof Rani Sati Mandirwas formedin Jhunjhunuforthe
firsttimein 1912, and theRani Sati Fairstartedthesameyear.Originally,theshrines
to the sati were simple memorialmounds built on small quadrangularplatforms
(chabutras).In the early twentiethcentury,however,the temple at Jhunjhunu
expandedgreatlywhenAgarwalJalan(a Marwarisubcaste)devoteesdecidedto build
a largertemple.Construction
ofthepresent-day
structure
beganin 1917. The temple
was completedin 1936 when Seth Shiv Chand Rai Jhunjhunuwaladonated forty
thousandrupeesto finishtheseven-story
maingate (Census 1961). In recentdecades
about one hundredthousandpeople have attendedthe faireach year,until it was
temporarilybanned in 1987. The fairwas later revived.There is an interesting
relationshipbetweenthe propagationof the Rani Sati temple in Jhunjhunuand
migrationpatternsof the Marwaricommunityout of Rajasthan.Though it mustbe
pointedout thatMarwarisare not the onlycastecommunitywho honorsati (Noble
and Sankhyan1994), familychronologies
and oralhistoriesshowthatthecultofRani
Sati developedat about the same time that women began to migrateaway from
Rajasthanand permanently
settlein otherpartsof India withtheirhusbands.
Besides the templeat Jhunjhunu,Rajasthan,one findshundredsof templesfor
theworshipofRani Sati acrossIndia today.About twentyfiveexistin Calcuttaalone.
(Temples to Rani Sati can also be foundin international
locationslike Hong Kong
and New York.)One oftheoldesttemplesto Rani Sati,besidestheJhunjhunutemple,
is the Rani Sati Temple in Kankurgachi.This temple is located just outside of
Calcutta,and datesback to 1837, just eightyearsaftersati was bannedin Bengal by
the colonialgovernment.
This poses an interesting
question.Why did this migrant
communitychoose to glorifythe sati of a woman of theirown lineage and caste,
insteadof choosingany one of the thousandsof sati whichhad happenedlocallyin
Calcutta,and whichwere not worshippedby the Bengalis?In orderto answerthis
question,we mustbe cognizantoftheconnections
betweentheworshipofa Rajasthani
sati and thedevelopmentofa migrantcommunity's
identityand its traditions.Even
a sati can have an ethnicand pan-Indianidentity.Traditionally,afterall, Rani Sati
was the lineagegoddessonlyfortheJalankul (lineage),and onlylaterwas adopted
by thewider,emergentMarwaricommunity.
The Rani Sati Temple in Jhunjhunu,Rajasthan,headed by a Marwaritemple
board registeredand administratedfromCalcutta, is said to be India's second
wealthiesttempletrust.Earningsfromthistemple,whichcome fromthe handsome
donationsofvisitorsand devotees,are just below thatof theTirupatiBalaji Temple
in SouthIndia. Thoughone wouldnotwantto reduceHindu templesto theirmaterial
aspects,it cannotbe deniedthattemplesarebig businessin India-especially popular

734
ANNE HARDGROVE
ones like theRani Sati temple.While economicexplanationscannotfullyexplainthe

popularityof certaingods and goddesseswithinthe Hindu pantheon,the financial
aspectsof temple-construction
cannotbe underestimated.
The construction
of a sati
templein Deorala, thesite of Rajput Roop Kanwar'sdeath,was understandably
read
forsati. If templesand templeritualsrelated
by manyas providingencouragement
to sati werebanned,neitherRoop Kanwar'sfamilynorDeorala villagerscould profit
fromherdeaththroughcontributions
made fortempleconstruction
on thissite. For
this reason,protestersof Roop Kanwar'ssati called fora generallegal ban on the
in anysatitemple.SinceRoop Kanwar's
ofthechunari
performance
mahotsav
ceremony
deathin September1987, Rani Sati templeauthorities
havemade consciousattempts
to distancethemselvesfromthelegal controversy
surrounding
satipuja.One waythat
Marwarisanswerthe legal chargeabout whethertheirworshipglorifiessati is by
makinga distinctionbetweenauthenticsati,whichhappenedin themedievalperiod,
and inauthenticsati, that might occur in moderntimes. They creativelyproduce
distinctionsbetweenthe ambiguousidentityof theircommunitysati goddess Rani
Sati and thatof Roop Kanwar,whosedeathwidelydelegitimizedpracticesofsati.
Accordingto popularcommunity
legend,on one dayaboutsix hundredyearsago
a fourteen-year-old
Hindu bridenamedNarayaniDevi was cominghomeforthefirst
timewithherhusband(of theJalanlineage) just aftertheirmarriage.Her husband
workedas a merchantin Jhunjhunu.Musliminvaderssuddenlyattackedherhusband
and hiscompanions,brutallykillingthem.OnlyNarayaniDevi and (in someversions)
a loyal Muslim servantnamed "Rana" survivedthe attack.Accordingto the story,
NarayaniDevi thenbravelyburnedherselfto death by spontaneously
burstinginto
flamesto avoid being capturedand kidnappedby theseinvaders.The servantRana,
followingNarayani Devi's instructions,built a temple for her afterher death,
depositingand buryingthe ashes wherethe horsecarryingthemhad stopped.This
formedthe site of the Rani Sati temple.Some versionsof the storyclaim that the
name 'Rani,' which also means "queen," supposedlyrefersto a feminization
of the
servantRana's name in honorof the rolehe playedin helpingto establishthe Rani
Sati temple. Rani was knownas sati because she had sacrificedherselfratherthan
becomea widow and thusvulnerableto attackand violationby the invaders.
The Rani Sati myth appropriatesmany cultural values associated with the
Rajputs,a traditionalwarriorclass, includingthe importanceplaced on the kuldevi
tradition.Some personsmightargue thatRani Sati's death should be referred
to as
the Rajputjohar,by whicha womanwould kill herselfin orderto avoid captureand
rape and therebymaintainthe boundarylines of the community.In fact,Rani is
to as "Dadiji," 'respectedgrandmother'
and the ostensiblematriarchof a
referred
is associatedwith reputedlyancient
longerextendedlineage.5Rani simultaneously
Hindu traditionsof sati, and atteststo Rajput ideals of heroismin warfare.The
burningof a wife-whetherit be on a funeralpyreor in a spontaneousimmolation
such as johar-is considereda manifestation
of truthfulness,
exemplified
by woman's
The Marwaris,in emulatingRajput idioms,combineinto one figurea
self-sacrifice.
kuldeviwho is also a sati, a lineagegoddesswho providesa public representation
of
protectionto the communityas symbolizedby the virtuesof an innerdomesticity.
ofShreeRani Satiji Mandir(1985),
5According
to theMemorandum
and Rulesand Regulations
"AnyBansal Gotradescendantof SethJaliramji[NararyaniDevi's fatherin law) of the 16th
centuryfame ... be eligible to be a memberof the Society."In practice,thereis not any
exclusionof Marwaridevoteesdue to genealogy.It is probablybest not to take the detailsof
foundationalmythologytoo literally.

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
735
This ambiguousqualityof thegoddesshas emergedas sati worshiphas becomesuch

a chargedpoliticaltopic.
A secondwaythatMarwariscreateambiguityin theidentityofthegoddessis to
claim that theyare totallyopposed to the customof sati and that theyare actually
worshippingthe Goddess Durga or shakti.The originallegendofsati,theyclaim,is
a tale of gods and definitely
not a human or historicalphenomenon.The classical
Hindu mythgoes like this.The Goddess Durga, in the incarnation(humanform)of
Sati killedherselfwhenthegreatgod Daksha, herfather,insultedherhusbandShiva
by not invitinghim to the occasionof some religiousrituals.In this way Durga is
seenas thefirst
sati.In his rageafterherdeath,Shivacarriedherbodyacrosstheearth
and startedhis dance of destruction.In orderto save humankind,Vishnu came up
behindShiva and, takinghis discus,cut the bodyof Sati into pieces. Whereverthe
pieces of the corpseof Sati fell,templesforShakti(strength)were established.By
emphasizingthismythMarwarisproducea further
ambiguityin the identityof the
goddess,by creatinga distinctionbetweenhistoricaltime and mythicaltime. This
of the anti-satilegislationbecausethe
distinctionis importantto the interpretation
statehas declaredit illegal to worshipthesatiofanyhistoricalindividual.By at least
publiclydisconnecting
satipuja froma purelyhistoricalNarayaniDevi, and assigning
theirgoddessto mythology,
theyavoid problemswiththe law.
In additionto theambiguitycreatedby theoriginmythsofthesatigoddess,the
symbolofsati foundin templesis also obscure.The representation
of Rani Sati as an
idol in the Jhunjhunutemple is not, as one might expect,an image of a widow
surroundedby flames.Rather,the idol, called a trishul,
Shiva'strident,the
represents
weapon whichShiva used to carrythe body of Sati. The trishilused to depict the
goddesshas twoeyeson eitherside ofthetridenthandleand a pairoflips below.The
depictionalso includesa noseringand a bindi,thereddot whichHindu womenwear
on the foreheadto indicatethat theyare (or will somedaybe) married.The trishul
thusis a multivalentsymbol,makingit unclearwhetheror not it symbolizesactual
sati.In fact,thisambiguousdepictionofthegoddess-as-trishul
has beenan important
defenseused by the Marwarisin distancingthemselvesfromthe legal controversy
Marwarisclaimthattheimagethey
surrounding
satipuja.By usingthisrepresentation
worshiphas absolutelynothingto do with a historicalsati, whichotherwisewould
leave themopen to the legal chargeof glorifying
sati. Many othersati templesin
Rajasthanhave begun to use the same image of the trishul,borrowingthe Marwari
form.The proliferation
and commodification
ofimagesofRoop Kanwar,however,are
ofa verydifferent
nature.The commodification
ofRoop Kanwar'sdeathhas included
the reproduction
and sale of life-sizephotosof Roop decked out as a bride in the
momentsbeforeshe becamea sati.
Thougha fewMarwarifamiliesdo havetemplesto Rani Sati withintheirprivate
in 'public' temples.6The
homes,the worshipof Rani Sati occursoverwhelmingly
popularityof Rani Sati supposedlybegan six hundredyearsago as a familialcult of
a lineagegoddess.Accordingto popularlegend,at firstRani Satiwas onlyworshipped
in the homesof the descendantsof theJalanlineage.Yet as Marwarimigrationout
Rani Satiwas adopted
ofRajasthanincreasedin thefirstpartofthetwentieth
century,
6Thisfactconcurs
withHarlan'sresearch
(1992) on Rajputwomenwhichshowsthatthe
is generally
in temples
kuldevi
foundinpublicspaces.Thisis somewhat
worshipped
surprising
whenthekuldevi
offers
to boththe battlefield
and thehome,which
ostensibly
protection
correspond
tothemalespace(mardana)
andthefemale
space(zenana),
respectively,
suggesting
howpubliclifemediates
private
life.

736
ANNE HARDGROVE
as a kuldeviof the emergingMarwari community.This fact is importantin

in late nineteenththe historicity
of communityformation
and earlyunderstanding
twentieth-century
India. The patriarchallanguage of lineage (as symbolically
represented
by family,business,domesticity,
and kinship)becamea criticalaspectin
the formation
of a widerpublic communityof Marwariswhichset itselfapartfrom
other communities,including the British. During the twentiethcentury,and
especiallyoverthelastthirty
years,Rani Satihas becomea controversial
publicsymbol
of a community-identified
goddesswho reflects
particularideals of domesticityand
This also suggestshow
genderroleswhicharevaluedwithintheMarwaricommunity.
the imaginationof the moderncommunityis tied to naturalizednotionsof fraternal
brotherhood
arisingthroughthe blood bonds of the lineage. A goddess that once
protectedthekul now protectsthe entirecommunity.
The movefromkul to communityis potentiallya criticalsite in understanding
I arguethatMarwaripracticesofsatipuja
the transformation
of lineagein modernity.
cut across the public and privatedivide-suggesting ideals of women's roles in
and a public communalidentity.At firstsightsati might
creatingbothdomesticity
a
appear to be strangerepresentation
of domesticity,
especiallyif we take the word
to referto thehouseholdinteriorand theeveryday
labor("housework")
"domesticity"
associatedwith the maintenanceof the immediatenuclearfamily.Sati, we might
argue,is theone who departsfromtheworldand becomesdivine,notquotidian,and
does notappearto be a partofthedomesticorderofthings.Yet in orderto understand
the meaningsof "domesticity"in Indian contexts,we need to extendour definitions
of "domesticity"to incorporate
the hybridnatureof domesticpracticesin India as a
mixtureof both European and local values (Hansen 1992). In the nationalist
movementIndian domesticitybecame politicizedin the European sense that the
colonizedhouseholdbecame the proverbialyardstickof civilizationthroughwhich
Indian readinessforself-ruleand, indeed,politicalastutenesswould be judged. Yet
the Indian culturalinvestment
made in the conceptofkulplaysa prominentrolein
how Indians create value in maintainingand preservingthe familyline, which
becomes part of Indian appropriationsof domesticityand domesticvalues. The
commonuse of Hindi words such as kuldeviand kuldeepak
(literally,"light of the
ofmeaningattached
lineage;"or in our terms"shiningstar")atteststo constellations
to the importanceof extendedfamilyand lineagelines.
But sati as a symbolgoes beyonddefiningboundaries,even thoughthis aspect
remainsimportant
to myargument.The termalso suggestsidealsofwomanlyconduct
on an individualbasis. As Harlan (1992) has pointedout,sati can referto "a woman
. . . sati as a personis somethingone
who has become capable of self-immolation
becomesgraduallythroughgood behavior... it articulatesways in which those
Rajput women practicegood behaviorby keeping in mind (that is to say, by
thosewho havedied as satis"(Harlan 1992, 79). The figureofthesati,
remembering)
the devotedwidow, reflectsthe self-sacrificing
naturewhich Marwari
representing
women are supposed to embodyin theirmaintenanceof the extendedfamilyand
indeedthe entirekul. Sati, who servesas kuldevi,is the symbolicexemplarby which
Marwariwomenshouldordertheirlives in wayswhichdo not threatenthe stability
of the extendedfamilylineage.A sati,in thissense,servesas a powerfulsymbolofa
womanwho sustainsfamily,lineage,and domesticvirtues.Worshippingthesymbol
of such ultimate devotion to kul creates a strong public identity-through
performances
whichsuggestthe longevity,prosperity,
and auspiciousnessoflineage.
The roleof thekiddeviin how communitiesunderstandtheirwell being is ofcentral

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
737
importanceto this analysis.Marwariinvestmentin sati and kuldevias an index of

wifelyvirtuehas turnedsatipujainto a performance
ofcommunityidentity.
The practiceof conductingsatipujavaries withinthe Marwaricommunityin
Calcutta,reflecting
thewaysthatthiscommunityis internally
differentiated
by class
and otherstatus markers.Worship practicesof Rani Sati generallyvaryby class
position.Middle-classwomen living in Burra Bazaar, the congested"old city" of
northern
Calcutta,mightcomeout fortheyearlyDecemberprocessionto honorRani
Sati's birthday.This occasionmarksthe only time duringthe yearthat morethan
fivehundredMarwariwomenemergefromtheirhomesin an organizedtypeofpublic
and political participation.I did not observe visibly wealthyMarwari women
participating
in the Calcuttamarch,suggestingthatpublic participationand public
advocacyforRani Sati mayincludean elementofclass distinction.Wealthysections
oftheMarwaricommunity
are likelyto travelbyplane to themain Rani Sati temple
in Jhunjhunu,to take darshan(divineviewing)of Rani Sati there.Once inside the
templeMarwariwomendefythe legal ban by offering
theirweddingveil, knownas
chunari,
to be blessedby thegoddessforlong marriedlifeand happiness.
Satipuja also needsto be understoodin lightoftheambiguousidentityand social
rolesoftheMarwaricommunityin Calcutta.The largernationaldebateoverwhether
the Indian stateshouldpracticetolerancetowardthe Marwaricommunity's
worship
ofsati is locatedwithinthe moreimmediatecontextoftheMarwaris'troubledsocial
identitywithin Calcutta and northernIndia generally.The tensionbetweenthe
Marwarisand local populationsresultsprimarilyfromclass
migrant,money-making
conflicts
overthetremendous
expansionofMarwariindigenouscapitalin independent
India. It was only afterthe 1920s and 1930s that manyMarwarifamiliestook up
full-timeresidencein Calcuttaand otherbig cities such as Bombayand Delhi. At
thattimemanyMarwarisamassedlargefortunes
throughwarprofiteering,
gambling,
and speculation,and emergedas the dominantcapitalistclass in twentieth-century
India. The structure
ofMarwaribusinessis predominately
organizedby theextended
family(Piramel and Herdeck 1986). Today, an overwhelmingnumberof the top
businesshouses in India are controlledby membersof the Marwaricommunity.
Businessitselfis one veryimportantreasonwhyMarwariscontinueto make such a
strongculturalinvestmentin the discourseof family.In short,theircontentious
economichistory,whichhas played itselfout in manyareas of northernIndia, sets
the stage forunwelcomereceptionsof controversial
formsof Marwaricultureon
event.
displayin public life.The followingis one such controversial
Under the aegis of the Rani Sati SarvaSangh,Rani Sati devoteesin New Delhi
stageda processionon December1, 1980. This procession,knownas a kalashyatra,
in which 108 Marwariwomencarriedpots of water(in this case a fertility
symbol)
on theirheads to offerto the Rani Sati goddess,markedthe construction
of a new
templeforRani Sati at Jogiwar,nearChandhiChowk.The troublebegan whenthe
Delhi police triedto forcibly
stop theprocessionthroughthestreets,sayingthatthe
Marwariwomen should be carefulof anti-satiactivistswho might disrupttheir
thegroupoffeminist
procession.The womendecidedto marchanywayand confronted
protesterswith a loud exchange of angry words. One Rani Sati Sarva Sangh
thisdescriptionof the clash.
offered
representative
andMuslims
Thosewomen. .. Godknowswhotheywere. .. mostwereChristian
I think... theykepttellingourwomen,"Don'tgo there,
they'llburnyou."When
ourwomentriedto explainto themthatit was onlya puja,theyjustwouldnot
listen.And thenwhentheytriedto stopourpuja,ourwomengotverywildalso,

738
ANNE HARDGROVE
andstarted
sayingall kindsofthingsto them-youknow,thingslike'You women
areusedto havingseven,eightmenat a time,whatdo youunderstand
aboutpiety
and fidelity?'.. . . They too were annoyed.Afterall, how can you interfere
with
anybody's
ofworship
guaranteed
to us?
pujalikethat?Don'twe havethefreedom
(Salvi1981)
The procession,and the views expressedin the quotation,help explainhow the

marchconstituteda performance
of communityfortheMarwaris.(I mightnotethat
a man'sperspective.What thewomenactuallydid or said may
thisquotationreflects
have been different,
but the basic sentimentis consistentwithwhatMarwariwomen
have said in othercircumstances.)
Throughtheprocession,and in theirclasheswith
Marwari
mark
feminists,
women
symbolicboundariesof communitythroughan
in familyrelationships.In this case, the Marwariwomen
emphasison difference
referred
and pietytowardstheir
to theirsense of devotion,faithfulness,
specifically
husbands,comparedto otherwomenwho would have "seven,eightmen at a time."
This quote marksa commontensionon thequestionofsatipuja betweenthediscourse
of feminists-whoarguedthatthe womenin the processionwerein dangerof being
burned-and the discourseof Marwariwomen.While feministactivistsfocustheir
attentionon thelegal dimensionoforganizinga ban on thesatipuja practice,because
of theway it would lead to illegalsati, Marwariwomenexpresstheirconcernsabout
thecreationofdomesticideologyfocusedon thevaluesofpietyand fidelity,
and their
Rani
to
those
The
Sati
Sarva
commitment
values.
Sangh representative
even located
theprotestingfeministwomenas generallyoutsideof Hinduism,by claiming"most
whichplacesemphasison an imagined
wereChristianand Muslims."This statement,
essentialHindu-nessof Indian civilization,suggeststhatthereis a linkagebetween
values of femaleautonomyand foreigninfluencethroughChristianity
and Islam,
which createsa continuumof othernessthat Marwarisallegedlyare committedto
resisting.
The questionofthisMarwariwomen'sprocessionforsatipuja in 1980 cameunder

the purviewof the nationalgovernmentand was discussedin both the upper and
lower houses of the Indian parliament.In the Lok Sabha (the lower house of
parliament),PramilaDandavateofBombayNorthCentralarguedthattheprocession
of Marwariwomen in honorof sati was a dangerousrevivalof the cultureof sati,
threateningthe status of Indian women. Dandavate contendedthat the Marwari
a recentsati in the neighboringdistrict
women'sprocessionwas actuallyglorifying
Hissar. Addressingherremarksto the speaker,she stated,"We imploreyou to take
steps to see that the capital of our countrydoes not become a centreforillegal,
retrograde
stepsleadingto the denial of the rightto lifeforour women."7Yogendra
Makwana,MinisterofStatefortheHome Department,statedin theRajya Sabha,the
upperParliamenthouse,thattheRani Sati templewouldbe bannedbecausetheSarva
Sanghhas causeda law and orderproblem(Kaul 1981). IndiraGandhi,India's Prime
Ministerat the time,ultimatelytooka hardstandagainstthe developmentofa new
Rani Sati in Delhi, declaringthat satipuja was a "barbaric,medieval,and illegal"
practice(Bidwai 1987).
Payingattentionto the timingand contextofthisinitialpublic reactionagainst
Rani Sati helps us to situatethatset of eventswithina framework
of moregeneral
anti-Marwarisentiment.The firsttime in recentmemorythat Marwarisatipuja
attracted
publicattentionwas in 1980, ostensiblyin responseto a Rani Satiprocession
7LokSabba Debates.SeventhSeries.Vol 9. No. 10, Dec. 1, 1980, 337-38.

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
739
in Delhi. This was thesame timethatmassiveanti-Marwari

riotsbrokeout in Orissa
(Misra 1980). One Marwariman, commentingin the Hindi journalRavivaron the
relationship
betweentheOrissanriotsand theDelhi procession,askedas follows:"is
it a coincidencethatwe had thisattackon Marwarisin Orissawhenat thesametime
in Delhi therewas also an attack.The difference
betweenthe two is that in Delhi
businesswas notthetarget,but thecenteroftheattackwas on religiousbeliefs.Both
religionand tradeare part of the soul of the Marwaricommunity,so naturallythe
attacksexcitethem"(Ravivar1981,7).
Marwaripromotionof sati temples representsan effortto elaboratea public
of 'community'which at the same time is a statementabout the
performance
community'sinternallife.This internallife,I argue,is modeledon the idea of the
primordiality
of the familylineage.By worshippingtheirlineagegoddessRani Sati,
Marwarisare assertingan ideal of wifelyvirtuein thepublic spherethatemphasizes
the values of women'sfidelity,self-sacrifice,
and serviceto family.This ideal then
standsin forthe identityof the community.The otherpartof the narrativeenacted
hereis a public assertionof the community'sloyaltyand attachmentto Rajasthan.
The Rani Sati festivalhas nevertriedto adoptanylocal,Bengalitemplesto Rani Sati.
ThoughMarwarifamiliesmayonlyvisitRajasthana fewtimesin theirlifetimes,
and
sometimesnot at all, they still retaina very strongculturalidentification
with
Rajasthan.
This migratory
and diasporiccomponentto Marwarireligiousritualsenactedin
Rajasthan is critical to the Rani Sati story.Several traditionalMarwari rituals
associatedwith marriageand childbirthdepend heavilyon the re-imagination
of
and place. New bridesmarryinginto Marwarifamiliesare oftentakenon
territory
pilgrimagetoursof the major Rajasthanitemples,includingJhunjhunu'sRani Sati
temple,to receivereligiousblessingsfora long and happymarriedlife. This is a
grand-scaleimitationof the way that rural Rajasthani brides visit each of their
husband'svillage shrinesand prayat each one. When a son is borninto a Marwari
family,the familywill customarilybringthe infantback to Rajasthanforhis first
haircutso thatthebabyboy'slocksofhaircan be offered
to thegoddessin thenative
betweendiasporaand homelandis trueoftheRani Sati
village.The samerelationship
temple.Though the major worshipand celebratory
ritualsare centeredaroundthe
Rani Sati templeinJhunjhunu,theoverwhelming
amountofsupportand enthusiasm
fortempleactivitiescomesfromoutsideof Rajasthan.While the two hundredRani
Sati templesscatteredaroundIndia and in foreigncountriesservethe local needsof
the diasporicMarwaricommunity,the main Rani Sati templein Jhunjhunuhas a
specialplace in thediasporicreligiouslandscape.
Rani Sati in Jhunjhunu,Rajasthan

The main Rani Sati templeis in Jhunjhunu,Rajasthan,about fivehours'drive
fromeitherNew Delhi or Jaipur.Jhunjhunuis part of the Shekhawatiarea, from
wheremost Marwarishave migrated,and encompassesthe districtsof Sikar and
Jhunjhunu.The templecomplexitselfis located on the outerreachesof the dusty
deserttown ofJhunjhunu.Scooterrickshawsferrypilgrims,devotees,tourists,and
scholarsfromthe centralmarketplaceof Jhunjhunuto the temple site. Similarto
mostlargeHindu temples,therearesmall shopsoutsideand in frontoftheRani Sati
templethatsell coconutsand otherofferings
meantforcustomersto give directlyto

740
ANNE HARDGROVE
the deity,along with postcards,pictures,prayer-books,

images, icons, and other
"religious"commoditiesto be takenhome,whichblursthe line betweensacredand
secular.The templeis open fordarshan(being in thepresenceofthe god) from4:00
A.M. to 11:00 P.M., with a shortbreak for lunch. There are fivemajor worship
ceremoniesperformed
each day. Generally,when thereis no special festival,about
two hundredpersonsvisitthe Rani Sati templeeach day.
Like all Hindu temples,the Rani Sati templeis organizedhierarchically.
Minor
deitiesare arrangedtowardsthe front,and the main god or goddess is positioned
towardsthe back. When walkingtowardsthe main Rani Sati image (locatedin the
rearportionof the templecomplexto signifyits relativeimportance)one passes by
enormouswalls whichlist the names,addresses,dates,and monetary
amountsof the
is a centralpartofthe temple
donationsgivenforthe templecomplex.Philanthropy
In the back portionof the templecomplex,photography
is not allowed
community.
and the armed guards enforcethis rule very strictly.The guards even objected
when I began to writedown names of donorsin my notebook.I then
vehemently
wentintothelargeprayerhalland watchedas threeorfourMarwariwomenperformed
puja beforetheshrine.The womenstoodquietly,bowingtheirheadsand foldingtheir
handsin namaskar
(prayer).An aarti(worship)ceremony
was starting,and thepriests
chantedprayersand offeredincenseand flowersto the deity.Temple musicianson
the sides of the prayerhall beat drumsand rangbells. The sound was deafening.A
and
chalkboardlistedthenamesofdonorswho had givenmoneyfortheday'sflowers
puja items.
The Marwarifamilieswhom I met at the templecomplexspannedover three
and includedgrandparents,
SometimesI observed
generations
parents,and children.8
thatsinglemenhad comeon theirown,withouttheirfamilies.Severalmarriedwomen
had broughttheirweddingveils (chunaris)
to the templeto be blessed,in defianceof
the legal ban on the chunarimahotsavceremonysince 1987. Aftertaking some
of thewomenwho posed forme as theyheld theirchunaris,
one woman
photographs
and herfamilyinsistedon wrappingthechunariaroundmyshouldersand takingmy
photographso thatmy marriagecould also be blessedby Rani Sati. Obtainingthe
blessingsof Rani Sati was a criticalpart of the Marwariexperienceof visitingthe
temple,throughwhich visit familiesspirituallyrenewedthemselvesthroughthe
blessingof theveil.
The Rani Sati templehas developeda nationalreputation.The Rani Sati temple,
officiallyknown as the Shree Rani Sati Mandir, was registeredin Calcutta as a
charitabletrustin 1956-57. This firstmanagingboardof the societywas comprised
withtencomingfromCalcutta,five
oftwenty-one
men,all describedas "merchants,"
and one eachfromKanpur,Gorakhpur,
fromBombay,twofromJhunjhunu,
Nagpur,
and Ahmedabad.9Accordingto writtendocumentation,
the registeredofficeof the
carriedon fromCalcutta.
Societyis locatedin Calcuttawiththeprincipalmanagement
The name of the managingbody of the templeis the Rani Sati Seva Sangh,which
has establishedhundredsof templesacrossIndia and even abroad.Temples also are
foundin New York,Nepal, Singapore,and Rangoon.The factthattheheadquarters
8Templeauthoritiesassuredme thatthe templewas open to all religionsand castes,and
was regularlyvisitedby Muslims,Christians,Buddhists,and all othercastesand creeds.Deduringmy threeday visit to the templeI observed
spite theseclaims to multiculturalism,
onlyMarwarifamilieswho mostlycame fromCalcuttaand Bombay
ofShreeRani Satiji Mandir.
9S. R. Jhunjhunwala,Memorandum
1985. 2-3.

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
741
to theculturalidentification
oftheRani Sati trustis locatedin Calcuttais significant
withits imaginaryhomeland.
of a diasporiccommunity
recognizedby the Sanghmustfulfillcertain
The satitempleswhichare officially
For one thing,theymust includea brickfromthe originalRani Sati
requirements.
(trident)which
templein Jhunjhunu.Second,theymusthavean imageofthetri.shul
has been made to orderby theJhunjhunutemple.Besides theirreligiouspurposes,
in public life.
thetemplesplayimportantrolesin providingcharityand philanthropy
Accordingto a 1957 brochureentitled"The Memorandumand Rulesand Regulations
ofShreeRani Satiji Mandir,"thefollowingarepartoftheobjectivesofthe Rani Sati
Temple Society.
known
society
ofthecharitable
onandmanagetheaffairs
(a) To takeover,carry
and
in thestateofRajasthan
atJhunjhunu
as "ShreeRaniSatijiMandir"established
other
deities
Rani
Mataji
and
all
Satiji
and
seva
Shree
of
worship,
to conduct
puja,
atJhunjhunu
andother
in thetemplepremises
to theSociety
belonging
established
placeandplacesin India.
orsuchotherdeity
andconstruct
suchothertempleortemples
(b) To establish
as theSocietymaythinkfitandproper."
ordeitiesandotherplacesofworship
(c) To startand maintainat any place in India Alms houses,hospitals,
andmedicalstoresforgivingreliefto thepoorand needypeopleand
dispensaries,
belonging
and lodgingsto thesojourners
accommodation
Dhuramshalas
according
to theAgarwalCommunity.
inconformity
andreligious
institutions
andmaintain
Charitable
(d) To establish
withtheidealsoftheHindureligion.
and maintainHospitals,Schools,Colleges,
establish,
(e) To start,construct,
andto render
WidowAshrams
helpto thewidowsand
NariAshrams,
Orphanages,
andneedypeople.
almsamongst
thewidows,destitutes,
anddistribute
destitutes
ofShreeRaniSati
findout,investigate,
andtraceoutthehistory
(f)To search,
thepublictheidealsandteachings
of
Mataandotherdeitiesandtopreachamongst
theMemorials
ofthesaiddeities.
thesaiddeitiesandto collectandpreserve
This list goes on to describeplans to create libraries,educationalfacilities,and
exhibitions.The importantthingis thatgoals A throughF mightbe seenas modern
goals fora templebecausetheymakeclaimsto a secularmorallegitimacyand in other
be called "social work."These goals have the effectof
contextsmightalternatively
and humanitarianism
to modernidealsofphilanthropy
redefining
religionto conform
by combiningthe worshipof a deitywith the constructionof public institutions
whichcontributeto civil society.
This developmentof a sense of religioushumanismthroughreligiousworksin
public life is importantto how traditionsof communityand kinshipcan be reenergizedwith new symbols and reproducedin changing historicaland social
Here one could easilymake the argumentthatVictorianideas about
circumstances.
influencedthe developmentof Marwari(and Indian) humanismunder
philanthropy
have
colonialism.Yet, at the same time,the culturalformsofMarwariphilanthropy
a moreindigenouscharacter.
qualitieswhichmake themuniquelyIndian,reflecting
of the Marwaricommunitythroughthese 'good works,'depends
The reproduction
which
and domesticity
tradition,
ofcommunity,
heavilyon verygendereddefinitions
goals help
thesepublic-oriented
areepitomizedby thefigureofthesati.Furthermore,
of
the community Rani Sati devoteesdevelopa social networkthroughwhichboth
religiousgood worksand businessinterestscan be carriedout at the same time.The
compatibilityof the mutual interestsbetweeneconomicand symboliccapital (to
borrow Bourdieu's terminology) becomes a fertile site where community kinship

742
ANNE HARDGROVE
patternscan be reproducedthroughthe Marwari'sconstruction

of tradition,gender,
domesticity,and communityin public life. The performativeproduction of
tied to the
domesticity,
throughthepublic activitiesofthetemple,is simultaneously
makingofsentimentalattachments
to ancestraland sacredhomelands.
One waythattheRani Sati templepurportsto do good in public lifecan be seen
in the followingexample.One of the trusteestold me in an interviewthatthe Rani
Sati temple promoteswidow remarriage.On two separateoccasions,the trustee
sati
claimed,templeauthorities
actuallypreventedwomendevoteesfromcommitting
on thetemplepremises.In eachcase,a womanhad cometo theRani Sati templewith
her ailing husband,who then had died duringthe visit. The two women,it was
claimed,had bothproclaimedtheirintentionsto commitsati on thefuneralpyresof
their deceased husbands. Temple authoritiessolved the problem by locking the
womenup in theirdharmasalaroomsuntil aftertheirhusbandshad been cremated,
thus preventingthem frombecomingsati. AlthoughI make no claims about the
the idea that
truthfulness
of theseexamples,this storywas told to me to reinforce
therewas no connectionbetweenthesatitempleand actualsati.While theJhunjhunu
templeno doubt holds a centralplace in the imaginationof Rani Sati devotees,the
regional temples also provide local (though regionalized) religious space for
to do publicpuja. The nextsectionaddressestheculturallocationofsome
worshippers
of the local Rani Sati templesin Calcutta.
Rani Sati in Calcutta

Since the Roop Kanwarsati in 1987, Marwaripublic practicesof satipujahave
been a contentiousissue in Calcuttaand West Bengal due to the economicstrength
of the Marwaricommunityresidingthere.Calcutta,even morethan Rajasthan,has
fora long time been seen as the hub of the Marwaricommunity.Until the Roop
unnoticed
Kanwarsati,however,thelargenumberofRani Satitempleswentrelatively
by the culturallydominantBengali community.In October1987-following in the
wake of the Roop Kanwarsati-the Bengali newspaperAajkal carrieda storyabout
the oldest Rani Sati temple in Calcutta, the 1837 temple near VIP Road at
who weresurprisedto finda sati templein the
Kankurgachi.FourBengalihistorians,
middle of Calcutta,wrotein the articleas follows:
. . . In thisarea,thesatitemple...
livein theneighborhood.
Manynon-Bengalis
ofsatilaw waspassedin 1829,
is one hundred
and fifty
yearsold. The prevention
and thistemplewas foundedjust eightyearslater.Now, withinone monthof
fairis
a religious
thePrevention
ofSatibillin Bidhansabha
accepting
[parliamenti,
going to be held forthe propagandaofsati ...
We thought
thatthetemplewouldbe smallandmanypeoplewouldnotknow
ofit. Butwe werewrong.Localpeoplehelpedus go to thetemple.Seeingthisbig
is verysuccessful
here... It is saidthat
business
temple,it seemsthatthereligious
theashofthesati is buriedunderthealtar. . . Thistempleis a branchofthesati
ofRajasthan.
templeinJhunjhunu
a satiimagefrom
Butthequestionis-why didtheyhaveto borrow
Rajasthan?
In Bengalespecially,
manywomenhad becomesati.Mohantas[oneofthepriests)
couldnotanswerthisquestion.After
Bengalisarenot
all,in thisareaofBeliaghata,
Is thistemplea partoftheplan ofexpanding
a majority.
businessby Rajasthani
businessmen?
Thereis a pictureon thewall ofa sagtiwho is burningon herhusband's
pyre,and a goddess(Durga) is standingbeside her.

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
743
On thewayoutofthetemple,thefourscholars
wereinvitedtocometothesati
fair.Worshipwill be performed
throughout
the day.A booklet,describing
the
greatness
ofsati,willbe distributed
freeofcost.
(Aajkal1987, 13)
The questionabout regionalidentitythat the fourBengali historiansraise,of why
the Marwarischosea goddessof theirown regionand communityto commemorate
satiis an important
one in understanding
theimportance
to thecommunity
ofworship
of Rani Sati. This is especiallyso, as theauthorsoftheAajkal articlepointout,when
Bengal was itselfhome to hundredsof local sati and had a strongsati tradition.By
using a goddess of theJalan family,a lineage which ultimatelybecame one of the
maingenealogicalbranchesoftheircommunity,
theMarwarishaveone oftheir'own'
womenas sati and therebyconstructthesati as internalto the community.
This passage also gives us insightinto Bengal perceptionsof Marwariidentity.
The fourBengali historianstwicepoint out the predominanceof 'non-Bengalis'in
the neighborhood,marking a sense of differencebetween themselvesand the
who worshipssati.The contextofthisstatementis a citythathas prided
community
itselfon its intellectualcultureand has had a progressiveMarxistgovernmentfor
abouttwentyyears.The presenceoftemplesfortheworshipofsatiis an embarrassment
thatmostBengaliswould not careto acknowledge,especiallyin lightof continuing
Bengali pride about the "Bengal Renaissance"since the earlynineteenthcentury.
Even thoughtheMarwarifamilieshavelived in Bengal forgenerations,
Bengalisstill
culturallylocate the Marwaris (and their sati temple traditions)as living and
belongingoutsideof Bengal. Bengalis believethat the Marwarisstayonly to make
moneyand see themas outsideof an imaginedBengali public spheredefinedby a
and culture.
commonlanguage,literature,
The publicationof the Rani Sati articlein Aajkal led to controversy,
focusing
mediaattentionon thedozensofsatitempleswhichexistin Calcutta.Havingrecently
declaredto theWest Bengal LegislativeAssemblythatthestatewas notpartyto the
practiceofsati,ChiefMinisterJyotiBasu was forcedto takeactionwhenconfronted
withtheglorification
ofsati occurring"rightunderhis nose" as his criticssuggested.
The West Bengal Governmentbannedthe sati melawhichhad been held each year
on November 15. They also outlawed loudspeakers,fairs,and the processions
associatedwith sati temples (Das Gupta 1987). Afterall, personswho publicly
defendedRoop Kanwar'sdeathclaimedthatshe had been a lifelongdevoteeof Rani
Sati and had even visitedRani Sati templesduringher childhoodin Ranchi,Bihar
(Sharan1987). In Rajasthan,the Rani Sati templewas shut down and preparations
fortheAugustfestivalon BhadraAmavasya(a Hindu month)werehalted.
Owners,devotees,and patronsoftheCalcuttaRani Sati temples,all comingfrom
the Marwaricommunity,
protestedthe decisionto ban thesati mela.A twelve-hour
bundh(strike)was called in the old cityof BurraBazaar to protestthe government
The Rani Sati MandirTrustraisedtheissue
ban on sati templesand satiglorification.
in the CalcuttaHigh Court,claimingthat the legal rulingviolatedtheirreligious
freedoms.Eventuallythe Calcutta High Court ruledthat individualshad the right
to worshipin the Rani Sati temple,and said that the templeshould be protected
fromprotesterswho might tryto interfere
with the dailypuja offerings.
Despite
ofindividualworship,thecourtruledthattheannualpublic
grantingthesefreedoms
festivalwas subject to regulationby the state.It should be noted that therewas a
distinctionbetweenthewaythatMarwarisprotestedthebanningofthemela and the
waythattheyreactedto Roop Kanwar'sdeath.While manyMarwarisfoughtfortheir

744
ANNE HARDGROVE
communityrightsin worshippingsati, as notedby the press,some Marwaripublic

organizationsprotestedagainst the Roop Kanwar sati. The presidentof the West
Bengal ProvincialMarwariFederation,BishambharNewar,publiclyannouncedthat
the Marwaricommunitydid not supportthepracticeofsati.10
Althoughthepublic outrageoverthe deathof Roop Kanwarcaused manyRani
Sati templesto canceltheirpublic festivalsin 1987, withina fewyearsthesetemples
resumedtheirusual activities.For nearlythe last thirtyyears,each December4 an
annualprocessionis held in BurraBazaar,Calcutta,to honorRani Sati's birthday.At
theprocessionI attendedon December4, 1996, I saw a largecrowdof some fouror
fivehundredMarwariwomen,rangingin age fromabout twentyto sixty,waiting
restlesslyin the streets.All of the womenwere elaboratelydressedin red sarisand
chunaris(veils) like Hindu brides,and woreelaboratejewelryand lipstick.This was
an unusualsightin the lanes of the congestedbusinessdistrictof BurraBazaar (Big
Bazaar),wherethepublic spacesofstreetsand bylanesare normallyoccupiedbymen.
All thewomenwerebarefoot.Most of themheld cups (lotas)ofwateron theirheads,
notablythesame fertility
symbolused in thekalashsati marchin 1980. Yet, instead
of marchingdown the streetsin a procession,when I arrivedtherethe entiregroup
of women was waiting restlesslyin a group on the street.Police had temporarily
halted the march,becausean officialpermithad not been issued. Marwaridevotees
whoorganizedand participatedin theprocessionsaid thattheBurraBazaarprocession
had startedin 1967, somethirtyyearsago, and therehad neverbeenanytroublewith
thepolice beforethis.
Teenage boysheld up dividingropes,markingoffthegroupofMarwariwomen.
The boysworedecorativepins withthe Rani Sati symbol,thetrishul
(Shiva'strident).
I walkedaroundthe dividingropeschattingwiththewomen.The womenexcitedly
told me that todaywas Rani Sati's birthday.However,the womenweresomewhat
impatientas thepolice would notallow themto begintheirmarch.Accordingto one
temple committeemember,the templeauthoritieshad originallyreceivedan oral
agreementfromthepolice to allow theprocession.Yet, on theactualday,somepolice
The women
cameand stoppedthem,sayingthatthegroupneededwrittenpermission.
stood and waitedforat least one hour.The sun was scorching,even in "winter."A
big watertankerfromthe Kashi VishwanathSeva Samiti,a Marwarisocial service
Volunteersrushedcool glassesof
organization,was slowlyrollingdown the street."1
waterfromthetruckto thetiredand heat-struck
women.Aftersometimethewomen
sat down on the street,as negotiationsbetweenthe police and templeauthorities
continued.Fromtime to time the womensang bhajans(hymns)to Rani Sati, often
joyfullyproclaiming"Rani Sati ki Jai" (Victoryto Rani Sati).
Anothersmallergroupof twentyor so people assembledin frontoftheMarwari
women.Most in thegroupweremen,in theirfifties,
sixties,and seventies,and a few
elderlywomenwerealso present.The womenwerenotwearingbindis(theornamental
dot wornon eithera marriagableor marriedwoman'sforehead)so theywereprobably
widowed.Though this small group was excludedfrompartakingin the procession,
theyloudly sang bhajansand clapped theirhands,dancing and tauntingthe two
policemenwho stood at the frontof the crowdand preventedthe processionfrom
0'"Statebans 'Sati' Processions."AmritaBazaar Patrika,Nov. 15, 1987.
organization
whichdistributes
11TheKashi VishwanathSeva Samitiis a Marwarivoluntary
freedrinkingwater around the city wheneverthereis a special need. The distributionof
drinkingwateris said to be part of the Marwaricommunity'sheritageof desertlife,where
act ofgreatimportance.
the distributionof waterwas a humanitarian

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
745
takingplace. The two policemenwatched,expressionless.

I asked a Marwariman,
SureshAgarwal,why the police had objected to the march.Sureshappearedto be
part of the temple committeebecause he wore the trishulpin. In responseto my
question,Sureshsaid, "youknow,thisis sati.Theyare thinkingtoo much,beingtoo
brainy.But theycannotstopus. If theyshouldban ourmarch,we cannotsimplystop
our feelingsbecausetheytell us to. We cannotstop our feelings."
The police stoodat thefrontofthecrowdofwomen,makingsurethatthemarch
did not go forward.Acrossthe streeta large crowd had gatheredin the Standard
CharteredBank. One youngwoman,Alka Jalan,wearinga templebadge, came to
talk to me and said that the police were meetingin the bank to decide about the
procession.Speakingto me in fluentEnglish,Alka informedme that she had just
graduatedfromcollege.Since she was not marriedyet,Alka could not marchin the
procession.But her mother,aunt, and older sisterwere all marchingtogether,and
Alka tookme overto meetthem.At one pointAlka handedme a pin to wear,which
bore the image of the Rani Sati trishul,the same pin that she and the temple
administrators
werewearing.I feltthatshewasperhapstryingto showtheimportance
a foreigner
of the eventby incorporating
into the rituals.I was also confronted
by
in feminism
thoughtsabouthowmyown investments
werenowdirectlyat oddswith
thatclassicanthropological
imperative
for"participant-observation."
In myhesitation
overwhetheror notto wearthepin and whattheimplicationsmightbe, Alka smiled
and pinnedthebadgeontotheshoulderofmysalwaarkameez
(a tunicshirtwornover
baggypants).
At last,thepolice gave permissionfortheprocessionto proceed.The womenall
stood up, rearrangedtheirsaris and the cups of wateron theirheads, while men
shoutedinstructions
abouthow to organizethemselvesin lines.The processionslowly
starteddown the street.A fewdecoratedtemplefloatsaccompaniedthem,carrying
imagesofRani Sati.Men performed
aarti(worship)to theimagebeforethemotorized
chariotsset out. Anotherprocession,of men carryingflags,was coming down the
street,and thiswas followedby a groupofa dozen or so youngerteenagegirls-also
dressedup in redlike thewomenin themainpartoftheprocession.A silverchariot,
carryingthe abstractimage of the trishul,followedclose behind and the entire
processionslowlymade its way throughthe narrowand windingstreetsof Burra
Bazaar.
This vignetteilluminateshow 'community'is re-imaginedand rearticulated
throughthe assertionof 'private'normsof wifelyvirtuewithinthat quintessential
public space of the moderncity,the street.The occasionmarksthe onlytimein the
yearwhen thesemiddle class Marwariwomenuse a processionas a public formfor
political participationin order to mark their traditionsof communityidentified
At thesame timethisstoryalso pointsto the exclusionary
natureofthe
domesticity.
of community.Both widows and unmarriedgirls were excludedfrom
performance
in themainpartofthemarch.Only marriedwomentooka leadingpart
participation
in theprocession.Ratherthanencouragingthepracticeofactualsati,Marwarisatipuja
ofa patriarchal,
The ritual
contributes
to theformation
moral,and ritualcommunity.
in the sensethatit createssocial meaningand servesas an expression
is performative
ofparticularsocial values.It would seem thatsati servesas an image oftheidealized
relationshipof the wifeto the husband.These values include the propagationof a
particulargenderroleformarriedwomenwhichreproducesthe familyin a waythat
preserves
patrilinealdescentand drawson connectionsto Rajasthan.
The media coverageof the Burra Bazaar procession-or ratherlack of itand the
surprisedme. Leading English newspaperssuch as the Statesman,
Telegraph,

746
ANNE HARDGROVE
AsianAgecontainedno mentionof it. Only the Hindi newspapersthatthe Marwari

communitywould regularlyread,such as Dainik Vishwamitra,
Jansatta,Mahanagar,
Parakh, Sevasansar,and ChhaptayChhaptay,carried news of this unusual and
controversialevent. There was virtuallyno coverage of the processionand the
controversy
by the English-speaking
media,suggestingthatin Calcuttasatipujais a
practicewhichis fullyinternalto the Hindi-speakingand Marwaricommunities.I
had once been told by a Rajasthanijournalistthatthe media had been discouraged
fromreportingon the sati melasby templeauthoritiesin Jhunjhunu,because these
templeleaderswereloathto attractunwelcomenoticeand criticismoftheevent.Was
thesametrueofCalcutta?Anothersurprising
aspectoftheCalcuttaprocessionis that
some Marwari-run
Calcuttaschoolsclosed down forthe occasion.Nopani school in
GirishPark had been closed thatday on accountof Rani Sati's birthday.A special
puja was held in the Sati templelocatedinsidethe schoolpremises.
MarwariWomen Debate the Valorization

of Sati
In orderto understandthe culturalmeaningsof satipujaby the Marwaris,it is
importantto look at thesocial statusand practicesofMarwariwomeninsidekinship
structures
and in thecommunity
generally.Most Marwariwomenarehousewivesand
do not pursue a careeroutside of the home. Increasingly,Marwariwomen have
obtainedhigherlevelsofeducation.Theyalso haveassumedmoreactiverolesinpublic
in charitywork.The
life,throughrunningtheirown businessesand or involvement
smallpercentageofMarwariwomenwho do workoutsideofthehomearealso likely
to eitherworkforthefamilybusiness(especiallyiftheyare widowsand runningthe
deceasedhusband'sfirm)or else take up entrepreneurial
businessventureson their
own and thus elide the negativestigmaattachedto what Indians termas "service"
In thisway,theydo not compromisethefamily'sreputationby working
professions.
forothers,whichwould suggestthatthe familysuffers
fromfinancialhardship.
Evenamongthesewomenentrepreneurs,
one would be hardpressedto findmany
Marwariwomen who call themselvesfeminists-as is the case with many Indian
women in general.Many Marwariwomen hold beliefswhich are at odds with the
Indianfeminist
movement,
includingthosebeliefsconcerning
satipuja.In an interview
given to the Hindi newspaperRashtriyaSahara, on October 12, 1993, Dr. (Mrs.)
Kesum Khemani,well knownin Calcuttaforherworkin developingHindi literary
asked
culture,presentedherviewson women'srightsin modernsociety.The reporter
her "What do you think about women and men both having rights?"and Mrs.
Khemani'sanswerprovidesinsightinto herattitudetowardsati.
thegovernment
aboutthelawagainstsati as an example,
Now,takingthesituation
thisharsh(practice)
in orderto stopit. Previously
therewasa customof
destroyed
voluntary
sati, becausewhen the king (ruler)attacked,the wiveswould save
in thismanner.
themselves
To be a sati wastheknowledge
ofunrestrained
love,but
madeup this
madea customofturning
widowsintoservants.
society
forcibly
Society
ruleso widowsareforced
to becomeworkers.
Khemanigoes as faras to say thatsati was bannedso thatwidowscould be forcedto
labor. However,the majorityof the middle-agedand elderlywomenwhom I have
metdefendthepracticeofsatzpuja,and makea sharpdistinctionbetweenthemedieval

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
747
and modernphenomena.They speak proudlyof Rajput traditionsofjohar,when a

herselfon a fireratherthan giving in to invaderswho attackand
woman sacrifices
kill the men-folk.In this way,thesewomen createa distinctionbetweenmedieval
and modernsati.
Marwari women oftendistinguishbetween what they see as authenticand
inauthenticsati. These categoriesof authenticand inauthenticare oftentranslated
of medieval(authentic)and modern(inauthentic).One
into a historicalframework
Marwariwoman,Mrs. Kusum Kanoria,explainedto me thata womanwho is a true
such as lightinga matchor
sati will burstinto flameswithoutexternalintervention
a forcedburning
pushingsomeoneinto the fire.Roop Kanwar,she argued,suffered
and thusshe is not a truesati. AnotherMarwariwoman,SushmaGoenka,a novelist
she was to hearof Roop Kanwar'ssati in
and industrialist,
explainedhow horrified
1987. This does not,however,affectherinnerbeliefsaboutsatipuja.She told me that
in momentsof dangeror fear,whenshe turnsto prayer,she findsherselfprayingto
hercourageousact.
Rani Sati,and findsstrengthin remembering
Inside theirhomes manyMarwariwomen and men also worshipancientand
otherthan Rani Sati. These sati are in theirimmediatefamily
medievalsatilkuldevi
lineages,have a closerrelationshipwith the family,and therebyare less public and
probablynotevenknownto nonkinoutsiders.Worshippingtheselineagesati,along
withotherhouseholddeities,formsa partofdailypuja activities.Theseritualpractices
of sati worship,along with certainformsof vrata("vow," usuallyin the formof a
and songs are part of a large continuumof auspiciouspractices
fast),story-telling
thatare commonto manyHindu women,to whom the
associatedwithdomesticity
maintenanceofenduringfamilyties remainsa strongvalue. But theworshipofRani
nature,comesin additionto these
Sati,outsidetheJalanclan,is ofa slightlydifferent
othersati,and remainsformosta public and communityevent.
The worshipofRani Sati in publiclifeallowsMarwaristo makea publicstatement
about the internalvaluesof the community.Though it can be arguedthatvalues of
and devotionto the domesticsphereare pan-Indianthemes,as
women'sself-sacrifice
a lineage goddess identifiedwith a particularkul, Rani Sati expressesthe domestic
side of a particularcommunityidentity.Perhaps,as well, this identityis combined
withan overtlyoppositionalflavorin thewidercontextwhichdefinessatias criminal.
Rajesh Kanoria, whom I interviewedat the Calcutta procession,gave me this
explanationof why the Marwarispracticesatipuja:"In our community,we value a
to her husband,which is extremelyimportantforthe family.
woman'sfaithfulness
That is whywe worshipsati." When I askedhim ifMarwarishad anyconceptofmale
himselfon his wife'sfuneralpyre),at firstRajesh
sata (in whicha manwould sacrifice
looked puzzled and then he burstout laughing. "No, no, nothinglike that," he
how Marwariwomen
replied.This dismissalof the possibilityof sata demonstrates
are criticalto the maintenanceof familyloyaltyand cohesion.It is a woman'swifely
virtuethat-the festivalclaims-makes the communityvirtuousin thepublic eye.
Besidesvisitingpublicsatitemples,someMarwarifamilieshaveRani Satitemples
inside their own homes. One of the Rani Sati Temple Trustees, who I call
Toontoonwala,offeredto show me the Rani Sati temple which is located in his
backyard,just adjacentto his house.The main idol was a photographoftheRani Sati
image at Jhunjhunu.On the sides of the temple,therewereotherphotographsand
images. What reallydrew my attention,however,was a garishlypainted picture
realistpicturefeatureda youngwoman,smiling
hangingon thewall. The relentlessly
as she held herdead husband'sbodyin herlap, sittingin the midstofa largefire.I
feltratherstunnedto see sucha graphicimageand mumbledsomethingto himabout

748
ANNE HARDGROVE
how realisticthe portrayalwas. "Yes," Mr. Toontoonwalasaid proudly,"my own

daughter-in-law
made it herselfforour familytemple.But we cannotallow pictures
like this in Jhunjhunu,we can only have this one in our private temple." Mr.
Toontoonwala'scommentreferred
to the 1988 SupremeCourtrulingwhichexplicitly
said that the temple image of Shri NayaraniDevi could not be associatedwith a
historicalsati. As a result,puja to the trishul(trident)image could not be considered
to be satipuja.The public natureof the templeand the legal limitsofpublic lifeare
recognizedin Toontoonwala'sstatement:hence the real and pressinglegal need for
ambiguityin thepublic and officialimage of the Rani Sati goddess.But in a temple
of
housedin a privatehouse,such as thatofMr. Toontoonwala,graphicillustrations
sati are sometimesdisplayed.
it would be
Despite thepopularityofRani Sati amongtheMarwaricommunity,
wrongto say thatall Marwarisare in favorof satipuja.A fewMarwariwomenand
men havespokenpubliclyagainstthepracticeon thegroundsthatit is degradingto
B. M. Singhi,expressedhis views
women.One prominentMarwarisocial reformer,
on thesubjectin an interviewin theHindi magazineRavivarin 1981, whichfocused
on satiworshipin responseto the 1980 Delhi procession.Singhimaintainedas follows.
It is wrongto saythatsatipuaja
hasnothing
to do withsati-pratha
[satias a cultural
Ifyoudo satipuaj,
thenit is obviousthatyouwilladmireandwantto do
system].
thatSatihasdone.It doesn'tmatter
thatyousayyouhaveno intention
everything
thatwomenshouldbecomesati.
heryou
RaniSatiis todayso popularthatthereis thebeliefthatifyouworship
will accumulate
a lot ofmoney.Marwaris
therefore
don'tworship
herbecauseshe
Thatis onlywhattheysay.The realmatter
wasso courageous.
is money.
If
situation.
FromwaybackI wasagainstsatipuja.But todaythereis a critical
is
whofeelthatthispractice
youwantto curbsatithepeoplein theMarwari
society
andwrongshouldnotsitquietly.Theyshouldstandagainstit.Ifpeople
disgraceful
will realizethat
standagainstit, theresultis thatotherpeopleand government
ofsatiandare
Marwari
society
consists
ofmanypeoplewhoareagainstthepractice
satipujaare
standing
up againstit. It will becomeclearthatthepeoplepracticing
Ifthisis madeclear,thengovernment
willfeelassured
notthemajority
ofthesociety.
thatstepsto curbsatipuj'a
are not hurtingthe sentiment
of the entireMarwari
andbackward
Marwaris.
butareonlyagainstsomeorthodox
community
(Gupta1981,8)
Singhi'sresponsegives us a criticalinsightinto theproblemofsatipuja fromwithin
for
the Marwaricommunityitself.Both Singhiand his wifeSushila are noteworthy
theirlong-standing
efforts
to encourageMarwarisocialreform
on issuessuchas female
education, widow and child marriage.Though Singhi's argumentalso takes a
standby considering
developmentalist
satipujato be backward,his critiqueofsatipuja
skimslightlyoverthe potentialproblemthatMarwariwomenare likelyto commit
of a ban on satipuja
sati. Instead,Singhi'sappeal forgovernmental
implementation
the
influence
of
arises fromhis concernsover
moneyon Marwari
overlypowerful
in
he
are
and
interested
making
moneyand really
society.Marwaris, asserts, only
truly
have no deep connectionwithRani Sati whichwould justifytheirworshippractices.
Singhi'scommentwas a call to action to thosewho disagreewithsatipujato come
forwardand voice theirobjections.His wordsremindus of thedivisionswhichexist
within"the" Marwaricommunity.Furthermore,
thisquote helpsme to clarifythatI
am not making an argumentfor a Marwaripoint of view in understandingthe
complexities of satipuaj. Afterall, Singhi himself-though ostensibly an "insider"representsthe kind of reductionism that I avoid.

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
749
To conclude,I will returnto the questionI raisedearlyin this essay.How can

the worshipof sati be a valorizedingredientin the way the Marwaricommunity
constructsits public identity,even thoughthereis widespreaddisapprovalof the
practice?I maintainthatthepublic controversy
overMarwarisati worshipcannotbe
understoodwithoutacknowledgingthe transregional
historyof the Marwarisas a
migratory
group.Insteadof dismissingMarwariwomen'sworshipas eithercriminal
or backward-or else as part of an eternal,static tradition-I have attemptedto
understand
thesecontroversial
practicesas partofan internaldiasporicformation
with
importantlinks to the advent of right-wingHindu fundamentalism.Marwari
practicesof worshippingRani Sati, I argue, create emotionallyimportantlinks
betweena diasporiccommunityand Rajasthan.Thoughsati cannotbe justifiedas an
act, the Marwarisextractfromthe figureof the sati a valorizedethics of wifely
devotion.A parallelcould be made herewithChristianswho veneratemartyrs
but do
notpromotemartyrdom
as a religiouspractice.
While othersread Marwari practicesof sati worshipas a rationalizationor
of widow immolation,forthe Marwarissati has become a prescriptive
justification
metaphorofwifelydevotionto husband,family,and thekul.A Marwariwomancan
be sati-like,some Marwariscontend,withoutactuallybecominga sati. The factthat
theritualsofsatipuja areundoubtedlypatriarchal,
and confining
to thesewomen,may
be a matterofdebatebut not one of legality.The Indian SupremeCourthas notyet
made a finaldecisionabout whetheror not the worshipof Rani Sati amountsto the
glorification
ofsati. In the meantime,thislegal delayallows fora legal and cultural
space in whichMarwariscan practicetheirpublic worshipof Rani Sati.
Select Bibliography
Manuscripts
NationalArchives
ofIndia
Proceedingsof the Home Departmentand ForeignDepartment
HighCourt,
JaipurBench,
Jaipur
D.B. Civil WritPetitions,D.B. Habeas CorpusWritPetitions,S.B. CriminalMisc.
Petitions,Judgementon OnkarSinghvs. Stateof Rajasthanand Others.Dec. 1,
1987.
Secretariat
Library,
Delhi
Parliamentary
Debates in theLok Sabha Proceedings& Rajya Sabha Proceedings
Newspapers
Aajkal (Bengali), AmritaBazaar Patrika, Asian Age, ChhapteChhapte,Danik
Vishwamitra
(Hindi), HindustanTimes,Jansatta(Hindi), Mahanagar (Hindi),
Parakh(Hindi), Rashtriya
Sahara(Hindi), Sevasansar
(Hindi), Statesman,
Telegraph,
TimesofIndia.
List of References
ARJUN. 1997. Modernity
at Large:CulturalDimensions
ofGlobalization.
New Delhi: OxfordUniversityPress.
ASAD, TALAL. 1993. Genealogies
of Religion:Disciplineand Reasonsof Powerin
Christianity
and Islam.Baltimore,Md.: JohnsHopkins UniversityPress.
APPADURAI,

750
ANNE HARDGROVE
BIDWAI, PRAFUL. 1987. "DisgracefulSati Episode: High Social Price of State
Interaction."TimesofIndia. 28 September.
20 December,4-5.
C.N.C. 1980. "OminousThrowback."Mainstream.
CensusofIndia. 1961. "Rani Sati Fair" in Rajasthan:Fairsand Festivals.
Government
of India Publications.pp. 85-91.
CHAKRABARTY,
DIPESH.
1997. "Differenceand Deferral of (A) Colonial
ColonialCultures
in a Bourgeois
Modernity."In Tensions
ofEmpire:
World,editedby
Fred Cooperand Ann Laura Stoler.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.
CHATTERJEE, PARTHA. 1993. The Nation and Its Fragments.Princeton: Princeton
UniversityPress.
COHN, BERNARD. 1987. "RegionsSubjectiveand Objective:Their Relationto the
Study of Modern Indian Historyand Society."In An Anthropologist
amongthe
Historians
and OtherEssays.Delhi: OxfordUniversityPress.
Commission of Sati (Prevention)Act. 1987. Along with Commission of Sati
(Prevention)Rules. Delhi: Delhi Law House, 1988.
CommissionofSati (Prevention)Act, 1987. BareAct,1989. Delhi: Delhi Law House.
COOPER,
FRED, and ANN LAURA STOLER, eds. 1997. Tensionsof Empire:Colonial
Cultures
in a Bourgeois
World.Berkeley:University
of CaliforniaPress.
COURTRIGHT, PAUL. 1995. "Sati, sacrificeand marriage:The Modernityof
and
Tradition."In FromtheMarginsofHinduMarriage:EssaysonGender,
Religion
Culture.New York: OxfordUniversityPress.
DAs GUPTA, BARUN. 1987. "Sati Controversy
in Calcutta."Mainstream,
9 Dec., 2223.
DAS, VEENA. 1988. "StrangeResponse."Illustrated
Weekly
ofIndia. 28 Feb., 30-32.
An Anthropological
. 1995. CriticalEvents:
onContemporary
India.New
Perspective
Delhi: OxfordUniversityPress.
DESHPANDE, ANJALI. 1987. "Bill BanningSati: A Critique."Mainstream.
26 Dec.,
4-6.
DHANUKA, AMISHI, ed. 1996. Marwar A Chronicleof Marwari Historyand
Vol. 1. Bombay:ArpanPublishing.
Achievement,
GUPTA, SHISHIR. 1981. "Aaj bhi sati pratha ka samarthankyon?Yeh hamari
dharmikswatantrapar hastskephey.Satipujangulami ka pratikhey." [Why is
in our
therestilladvocationofthesati-customeventoday?This is an interference
religiousfreedom.Satipuja is a symbolofSlavery.]Raviwar,25 January,12-17.
HANCOCK, MARY. 1995. "The DilemmasofDomesticity:PossessionandDevotional
ExperienceAmong Urban Smarta Women." In Fromthe Marginsof Hindu
Marriage,edited by LindseyHarlan and Paul Courtright.New York: Oxford
UniversityPress.
withDomesticity.
HANSEN, KAREN, ed. 1992. AfricanEncounters
New Brunswick,
N.J.: RutgersUniversityPress.
HARLAN, LINDSEY.
1992. Religion and Rajput Women: The Ethic of Protectionin
Narratives.
Contemporary
Berkeley:Universityof CaliforniaPress.
HAWLEY, JOHN STRATTON, ed. 1994. Fundamentalismand Gender. New York:
OxfordUniversityPress.
and theCurse.New York: OxfordUniversityPress.
. 1994. Sati: TheBlessing
HOBSBAWM,
ERIC,
and TERENCE RANGER, eds. 1983. The Inventionof Tradition.
Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.
S. R. 1985. Memorandum
JHUNJHUNWALA,
ofShreeRani
Satiji Mandir.

SATI WORSHIP
AND MARWARI
PUBLIC
IDENTITY
IN INDIA
751
KAUL, IKBAL. 1981. "The Origin of Sati." The Illustrated

WeeklyofIndia. 18 Jan.,
28-29.
KENORIA, BHIMSEN. 1947. BharatmayMarwariSamaj [Marwarisocietyin India].
Calcutta:National India Publication.

LESLIE,JULIA.1992."Sutteeor Sati: VictimorVictor."In RolesandRitualsforHindu
Women.
Delhi: Motilal BanarasidassPublishersPvt. Ltd.
MAHALINGAM, S. 1996. "GlorifyingSati: A Maha yagna under police gaze."
Frontline.
27 Dec.
MANI, LATA. 1998. Contentious
Traditions:The Debate on Sati in ColonialIndia.
Berkeley:Universityof California.
MISRA, PATIT PABAN. 1980. "WhyAnti-Marwari
Agitationin Orissa?"Mainstream,
1 Nov., 6, 9.
NANDY, ASHIS. 1995. "Sati in Kali Yuga: The Public Debate on Roop Kanwar's
Death." TheSavageFreudand Other
Essays.Princeton:PrincetonUniversity
Press.
NARAD, KAILASH. 1981. "Sati-Silsila aab tak kyon?[Sati-why does it continue
even today}"Dharmayug.
17-23 May, 6-11.
NARASIMHAN, SAKUNTALA. 1990. Sati: WidowBurningin India. New York: Anchor
Books.
WorksofSister
NOBLE, MARGARET. 1967. CradleTales ofHinduismin The Complete
Nivedita,editedbyAdvaitaAshrama.Calcutta:AnandaPublications.Vol 3. 16671.
NOBLE, WILLIAM, and RAM SANKHYAN.
1994. "Signs of the Divine: Sati
Memorialsand Sati Worshipin Rajasthan."In TheIdea ofRajasthan:Explorations

in RegionalIdentity:
Volume 1: Constructions,
edited by Karine Schomer,Joan
Erdman,DeryckLodrick,and LloydRudolph.New Delhi: ManoharPublications,
341-89.
PARAKAL, PAULY. 1987. "MacabreMiddle-AgesRite Enactedin Rajasthan,"New
Age. 20 Sept., 1, 15.
PINTAR, JUDITH ANNA-MARGARET. 1995. "Negotiating Sati: Sacrifice,Power and
ofIllinois
Widowburningin Rajasthan,"M.A. thesis,Anthropology,
University
at Urbana-Champaign.
PIRAMAL, G. and M. HERDOCK.
ContinentsPress.
1986. India's Industrialists.Washington: Three
QADEER, IMRANA, and ZOYA HASAN. 1987. "Deadly Politics of the State and Its
and PoliticalWeekly.14 Nov., 1946-49.

Apologists."Economic
RAJAN, RAJESWARI SUNDER.
1993. Real and Imagined Women. New York:
Routledge.
SALVI,GOURI. 1981. "Sati: a DisturbingRevival."Eve'sWeekly,
7-13 Feb., 17, 49.
the Myth."Seminar342. 24-30.
SANGARI, KUMKUM. 1988. "Perpetuating
"Sati: Puttingthe Clock Back." Link,14 Dec., 1980. 19.
14 Oct.
SHARAN,V. P. 1987. "Roop was a devoteeof Rani Sati." Statesman,
SHARMA,G. D. 1984. "The Marwaris:EconomicFoundationsofan IndianCapitalist
Class." In Business
Communities
ofIndia,editedbyDwijendraTripathi.New Delhi:
MonoharPublications,185-207.
SHEKHAWAT, PRAHLAD SINGH. 1987. "The CultureofSati in Rajasthan."Manushi,
Sept.-Dec., 30-34.
SHINDE, PRADEEP. 1991. "ShivSena Woos theMarwaris."Bombay,
7-21 Mar.,2427.
ShreeRani Sati Temple Trustees.n.d. "In the Mannerof the State of Rajasthanvs.
ShriRani Sati SatyiMandirin the SupremeCourtofIndia."

752
ANNE HARDGROVE
ShreeRani Satiji Mandir.n.d. "Synopsisof ShreeRani Satiji." Jhunjhunu.Temple

Pamphlet.
. n.d. "ShreeRani Satiji and Her Mandir."Unpublishedmanuscript.
. n.d. "Itihas ke ShrokhaySe" [A Window on History].Calcutta:Devendra
KumarJhoonjhoonu.
. n.d. "SynopsisofShreeRani Satiji." Unpublishedmanuscript.
SPIVAK, GAYATRI. 1985. "Can the SubalternSpeak?" Wedge7/8: 120-30.
SRIVASTAVA,ANAPAM. 1996. "Women Activistsstay away from'yagna' site in
Rajasthan."TimesofIndia, 5 Dec.
TIMBERG, THOMAS. 1978. TheMarwaris:FromTraderstoIndustrialists.
New Delhi:
Vikas PublishingHouse.
UPRETI, H. C., and NANDINI UPRETI. 1991. "Sati in Rajasthanand the Rajput
Revival."In TheMythofSati. Bombay:HimalayaPublishingHouse, 30-45.
VAID, SUDESH. 1988. "Politicsof Widow Immolation."Seminar,
342: 20-23.
VAID, SUDESH, and KUMKUM SANGARI. 1991. "Institutions,
Beliefs,Ideologies:
Widow Immolationin Contemporary
and PoliticalWeekly,
Rajasthan."Economic
27 Apr.,WS 2-18.
a GoryTradition."Outlook,
11 Dec., 20-24.
WADHWA, SOMA. 1996. "Glorifying


Hardgrove, Sati Worship &amp; Marwari Public Identity (1999)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hardgrove, Sati Worship &amp; Marwari Public Identity (1999)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sati Worship and Marwari Public Identity in India

Author(s): Anne Hardgrove

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

Sati Worshipand Marwari

over the worshipand glorification

Anne Hardgroveis a VisitingAssistantProfessor

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

worshippingsati as a culturalvalue, theyargue,leads to widow murder.The final

satipuja, in termsof the languageof communityrights.Mrs. Kalavti Goenka said,

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

community,the Rani Sati anniversary

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

critique.The second section,outliningthe creationof sati templesacrossnorthern

Locating Sati in Colonial and Postcolonial

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

materialgain,serveto undergirdthemoraland religiousconceptionswhichhelpturn

Vaid's and Sangari'saccount has the advantageof connectingsatipuja to a wider

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

meaning,withoutaccountingforthe shiftingand now-hostilepolitical and social

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

rolesfromManu onward.Domesticityaccountsforthe changingpoliticalmeanings

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

a generalrule,Marwariwomen do not tend to be verywell educatedcomparedto

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

ones like theRani Sati temple.While economicexplanationscannotfullyexplainthe

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

This ambiguousqualityof thegoddesshas emergedas sati worshiphas becomesuch

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

as a kuldeviof the emergingMarwari community.This fact is importantin

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

importanceto this analysis.Marwariinvestmentin sati and kuldevias an index of

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

The procession,and the views expressedin the quotation,help explainhow the

The questionofthisMarwariwomen'sprocessionforsatipuja in 1980 cameunder

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

in Delhi. This was thesame timethatmassiveanti-Marwari

Rani Sati in Jhunjhunu,Rajasthan

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

the deity,along with postcards,pictures,prayer-books,

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

patternscan be reproducedthroughthe Marwari'sconstruction

Rani Sati in Calcutta

going to be held forthe propagandaofsati ...

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

communityrightsin worshippingsati, as notedby the press,some Marwaripublic

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

takingplace. The two policemenwatched,expressionless.

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

AsianAgecontainedno mentionof it. Only the Hindi newspapersthatthe Marwari

MarwariWomen Debate the Valorization

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

and modernphenomena.They speak proudlyof Rajput traditionsofjohar,when a

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

how realisticthe portrayalwas. "Yes," Mr. Toontoonwalasaid proudly,"my own

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

To conclude,I will returnto the questionI raisedearlyin this essay.How can

This content downloaded from 145.118.93.222 on Mon, 2 Dec 2013 06:17:23 AM

BIDWAI, PRAFUL. 1987. "DisgracefulSati Episode: High Social Price of State

FRED, and ANN LAURA STOLER, eds. 1997. Tensionsof Empire:Colonial

Hardgrove, Sati Worship & Marwari Public Identity (1999)

Hardgrove, Sati Worship & Marwari Public Identity (1999)