what religion culture is this - woman has to jump in her husband's flaming burial?

This is a hindu practise called sati. The widow was expected to burn herself on her husband's funeral pyre, as a display of devotion. Conveniently, this also meant she was not a burden on the family, now the son would be taking over as head of the household.

It is now illegal, but it does happen in some areas- forced sati is still a real problem.

The 'Sati Pratha' did existed in medieval India. The true reason for this inhuman practices lied in the teachings of orthodox Hindu literature. It stated that the only reason a woman existed was to serve her husband (what a bullshit!). And after her husbands death, the meaning of a woman's life was nothing. So the in-laws of the woman used to force the woman into burning pyres (although some foolish damsels used to choose them itself).

In a country with over a billion people, around 25% are still illiterate. These people still follow age old customs and are indifferent to the outside world. And in such conditions the things like this do occur.

The last case I heard of this practice was around 2004 in the remotest part of eastern India. Needless to say all culprits including the in-laws and the local priests are behind bars. As a matter of fact the Indian women are now educated and in some way westernized. In cities, the educated classes of the Indian society are free from religious bondage.

Hello,

Yep, Onion above is correct.

Cheers,

Michael Kelly