SATI
Mughal period
Humayun issued a royal fiat against sati, which he later withdrew.
Akbar required that permission be granted by his officials, and these officials were instructed to delay the woman's decision for as long as possible. The reasoning was that she was less likely to choose to die once the emotions of the moment had passed. In the reign of Shah Jahan, widows with children were not allowed to burn under any circumstances . In other cases, governors did not readily give permission, but could be bribed to do so.[19] Later on in the Mughal period, pensions, gifts and rehabilitative help were offered to the potential sati to wean her away from committing the act. Children were strictly forbidden from following the practice. The later Moghul rulers continued to put obstacles in the way but the practice still persisted in areas outside their capitals.
Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the Sikhs spoke out against the practice of sati.
The strongest attempts under the Mughals to control it were made by Aurangzeb. In 1663, he "issued an order that in all lands under Mughal control, never again should the officials allow a woman to be burnt".[20] Despite such attempts however, the practice continued, especially during periods of war and upheaval.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_(practice)
