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Sati, Dowry Deaths, Green Campaigns...

September 4, 1987: In Deorala, Rajasthan, 18-year-old Rajput bride Roop Kanwar ‘performs’Sati on her husband’s funeral pyre. A decade later, the legal proceedings continue.

In ’86 the Supreme Court orders Shah Bano’s ex-husband to pay alimony. The Court is accused of violating the Shariat and a Bill is passed to protect Muslim personal law.

Grassroots environmental activism grows, inspired by the Chipko movement, in which Garhwal women clung to trees to stop a sports firm from felling them.

1987 sees 1,319 registered dowry deaths. The post-Emergency period sees the mushrooming of women’s groups. In Kanpur, three Sahu sisters commit suicide in ’88 as their father is unable to arrange dowry. They become symbols of women’s oppression.

In 1987, a crusade against big dams is led by Medha Patkar who ropes in a large number of NGOs to oppose the Sardar Sarovar project. The World Bank is forced to review its funding norms for major development projects.

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