Death by Fire: Sati, Dowry Death, and Female Infanticide in Modern India [Hardcover]

Mala Sen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2002

Although banned by the British in 1929, sati cases have reappeared recently, most notably the incident involving Roop Kanwar in 1987. A careful study of Roop Kanwar, Indian society and values, and the role of politics in positioning women in modern India.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fascinating journey in the broadest sense through a particular landscape of modern India -- Publishing News

Engrossing, horrifying and beautifully written -- The Mail on Sunday

From the Back Cover

The Indian village of Deorala in Rajasthan, the northwestern Indian state that borders Pakistan, is neither remote nor feudal in the strictest sense. A tarmac road links the population of 10,000 to neighboring villages and towns, there is running water and electricity, and the villagers have had television for more than twenty years. On September 4, 1987, Deorala found itself in the center of a furor that awoke age-old conflicts in Indian society. Before a crowd of several thousand people, mostly men, a young woman dressed in her bridal finery was burned alive on her husband's funeral pyre. The apparent revival of an ancient tradition opened old wounds in Indian society and focused world attention on the status and treatment of women in modern India.

The ancient practice of sati-the self-immolation of a woman on her husband's funeral pyre-was outlawed by the British administration in India in 1829, and sati was widely believed to have died out. The fate of 18-year-old Roop Kanwar changed that perception. Mala Sen explores the reality of life and death for women in modern India in a study that is both illuminating and terrifying. The book is part journey through the India that the author knows and loves, and part exploration of the enigma that India still remains in the minds of many. Starting with Kanwar, Sen enters the worlds of three women: a goddess, a burned bride, and a woman accused of killing her daughter, and shows how, in this society in which ancient and modern apparently co-exist comfortably, there is increasingly cause for real alarm. She creates an image of a state in which political turmoil is constantly at the surface, and in which the role of women is constantly being redefined.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (March 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813531020
• ISBN-13: 978-0813531021
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #834,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Spam, January 12, 2003

By 

Aldo Matteucci (hikurangi) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death by Fire: Sati, Dowry Death and Female Infanticide in Modern India (Paperback)

The book follows the involvement of Mala Sen with three `case stories' - one of attempted uxoricide, one of sati, and one of female infanticide - events that all took place in rural or small-town India. The title is thus doubly misleading - the book contains neither an in-depth nor more than anecdotal treatment of the hyped subjects, nor does the narrative establish a clear context to `modern' India.

Little is new in the facts related in the book, even for someone who has no more than cursory knowledge of India. Mark Tully or William Dalrymple presents e.g. the same material more concisely and clearly. What analysis there is, tends to be superficial - as with the treatment of `widow burning', where the existence of regional differences between Bengal and Rajasthan is noted, but not pursued further. Mala Sen's methodology seems to be to read files of paper clippings, then meet briefly with just about anyone somehow connected with the topic, and depart.

Most of the book is taken up by the author's états d'âme (e.g. at p. 203, and then p. 208), her difficulties in coming to grips with India's daily reality, her idiosyncrasies with tea, coffee and cigarettes, and general despondency about her ability to find funds to write the book. While this `human touch' is useful as a filler for TV programs, it is frustrating in a book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well documented & researched book, May 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Death by Fire: Sati, Dowry Death, and Female Infanticide in Modern India (Hardcover)

An incredible read with horrifying facts. Is this really taking place in today's day and age? Sati has been outlawed since 1829, during the British Rule in India and yet over a hundred years later we have the case of 18 year old Roop Kanwar, a relatively educated woman, 'murdered' by being burnt on her husband's pyre. And this event being glorified and she given almost Goddess status! It scared me to believe that the largest democracy in the world - India, is still a man-dominated country in which dowry burnings, female infanticide and ancient rituals of Sati are still practiced.
Mala Sen's has done some great work in researching and documentation for this book. I appreciated her quoting the various Indian publications and statistics surrounding these horrifying stories.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful study of humanity & very informative! Recommended!, April 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Death by Fire: Sati, Dowry Death and Female Infanticide in Modern India (Paperback)

Excellent read!!! Very informative and a little something that everybody should know about. I couldn't put it down and I wish the book was published worldwide! Humane, sad, and upseting.