r/IndianHistoryMemes

On 4 September 1987 Roop Kanwar was burnt alive on the funeral pyre of her husband. Several thousand people attended. After her death, Roop Kanwar was hailed as a sati mata – a sati mother, or pure mother. The death quickly produced a public outcry across various parts of the country. It led first to state level laws to prevent the practice and glorification of sati, then the central government's Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act k in 1988, and banning, for the first time, also the glorification of the practice.

The incident came to the notice of authorities following a shortage of coconuts. The villagers glorified the sati and started offering coconuts to her at her place of death; this caused a shortage which raised a red flag to revenue officials.