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| India-Pakistan |
| Gods still need human sacrifices |
| 2006-02-16 |
| MUMBAI: An Indian woman died after being pushed into a flaming pit as a human sacrifice during a religious ritual aimed at placating 'angry gods' blamed for a chicken pox outbreak, media reports said on Wednesday. Jyotsna Tanel, 22, had been suffering from chicken pox when she travelled to Tembi village, near Mumbai, where the ceremony was being held on February 10, indian newspaper the Times of India said. Tanel suffered burns to more than 60 percent of her body after being pushed into a six-foot-deep pit by others at the ceremony, it said. Hearing her cries, some people barged into the homestead and rescued her from the flames, police told the Press Trust of India. She died last Tuesday after being denied medical treatment for five hours by the ceremony's organisers. Police have arrested 15 people. The sacred fire ceremony has long been an important part of Hindu rituals but cases of attempted human sacrifice are rare. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 The kitchen fires are typically new brides and the issue is one of dowry. The in laws are gnerally to blame so now when Indian police (in cities) investigate these "accident" cases they routinely ock up all the husband's relatives - aunts uncles, parents. Bail is typically not granted. Sati was the custom of a widow mounting the funeral pyre of her husband. Nothing to do with kitchen fires. |
| Posted by: john 2006-02-16 20:36 |
| #8 I'll take anything about India in a Pak newspaper with a grain of salt. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-02-16 20:21 |
| #7 That's becasue it's not called Sati anymore. It's a kitchen fire. |
| Posted by: Hupomoger Clans9827 2006-02-16 20:11 |
| #6 Bear in mind that the Indian population is greater than one billion. So assume one case of sati in ten years among a billion people. Hardly worth the publicity given to it. |
| Posted by: john 2006-02-16 19:29 |
| #5 Sati is not common. There have been TWO clearly documented cases of sati since 1947. There are allegations of about 40 cases in rural areas (of Rajastan state) since 1947. Dowry burning (new bride who "mysteriously" suffers accident in kitchen) is however quite common (estimated about 5000 cases per year). |
| Posted by: john 2006-02-16 19:18 |
| #4 When I was in India a woman was burned alive. Kitchen accident the paper said but something about the article made me doubt it. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-02-16 11:51 |
| #3 100% effective cure. I'm glad that when I got chicken pox (I was 33) they just hooked me up to an IV for a few days. Side note: if you have to go to a hospital, it's good to have a contagious disease - you get a private room. |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2006-02-16 11:49 |
| #2 Actually, cases of human sacrifice in India are pretty damn common. Female infanticide because of ultrasound is #1. Bride burnings are frequent, cause by the family of the groom getting greedy. Then there is the ever popular Suttee, or widow burning. It used to be voluntary, but more and more it's like this woman in the story. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-02-16 00:24 |
| #1 Wow...just wow. |
| Posted by: DragonFly 2006-02-16 00:16 |