Our class discussion about self-immolation involving the Buddhist monk and David Buckel reminded me of an Indian practice called Jauhar that is seen in Indian history. Jauhar is a historical practice where women and sometimes children would self-immolate when they knew their kingdom would be defeated by their enemies.

Learning about these incidents reminded me of a particular scene from an Indian movie called Padmaavat. In this movie, the Queen and the women of their kingdom walk into a massive fire and end their lives, believing that they would rather die than be captured by the army invading them. This movie and the story may be fictional, but the practice of Jauhar is real and a part of Indian history.

A historical example of Jauhar was during the siege of Chittorgarh in 1568. Mughal Emperor Akbar’s forces attacked Chittor. According to a court historian, Abu’l Fazl, around 300 women in the fort performed Jauhar after they realized their defeat was approaching. Jauhar was performed because if they were caught, they feared the possibility of being captured, enslaved, and sexually assaulted by enemy forces.

When I first saw the image of the self-immolation of a Buddhist monk in Vietnam in 1963, a lot of emotions stirred up in me at first. I was terrified seeing his charred body; it made me deeply uncomfortable. After that, all I could think about was the pain he must have felt and how strongly he must’ve believed in his cause to take such a drastic action.Both the Buddhist monk and David Buckel used public self-immolation to make a clear statement and raise awareness for causes they believe in.

The incidents have their differences, but they share similarities in people using fire and their deaths to communicate their values.

In the movie Padmaavat, Jauhar is almost glamorized; it has a strong background score that highlights the bravery of these women and children, and it highlights how these women would rather die in the cruelest form than let enemy forces lay hands on their bodies. But it is important not to romanticize this practice; it is an act of immense courage, but it was done out of desperation, and the women and children were stuck in a situation where both options led to pain and suffering.

Jauhar is different from the self-immolation of the monk and David Buckel; they did it out of their own choice. They were not coerced into a situation; they did it to take a stand for a cause they believed in and to bring awareness. The women who performed Jauhar didn’t do it to bring awareness but out of fear for their children and their autonomy.

Fire is the common ground between both these incidents; one fire represented fighting for a cause they believed in, while the other was protecting yourself and your family’s honor from violence. Both acts require an immense amount of bravery and courage.

Source: https://ethicsofsuicide.lib.utah.edu/category/author/abul-fazl-ibn-mubarak/