Altruistic suicide in India.
Altruistic suicide has a long history in India, even being noted in the Dharmashastras, an ancient religious text. In ancient India, two forms of altruistic suicide were practiced. One was Jauhar, a kind of mass suicide by women of a community when their menfolk suffered defeat in battle; the other was Sati, a suicide of a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband or after the cremation. The practice of Jauhar ended with the fall of the Muslim rule and the practice of Sati is against the law, but cases of Sati still occur. The act of Sati is now seen as suicide, not as altruistic, and there are laws against abetment and glorification. Specific ancient cases and more modern ones are presented to illustrate this type of suicide.
Vijayakumar
Lakshmi
L
Voluntary Health Services, Chennai, India. mdsaab01@giasmd01.vsnl.net.in