Damn, that's... phrases like "searing injustice" don't adequately convey the gravity of it.

I can't imagine living in such a situation. One day, you're a fine and valued member of society. And then your (often much older) husband dies, and it is all gone. You have nothing, and you are worth nothing to the rest of society, because you aren't even allowed to earn anything.

That's probably what you were told by India mainstream media(read pro-western). 'Sati'(widow threw herself on to her husband's funeral pyre) was never a part of broadly accepted Hindu culture. It was practiced only in some areas in West Bengal,India.

If you want the read the un-biased facts and stories for pre-British and pre-Mugoul India then I would highly recommended: "India as they Saw" book which is collection of snippets from travel journal from foreign visitors to India during that time period.