Chronos
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A melodramatic title I know but:
"In Kolhapur Dr Dabholkar exposed “Cowfly Baba”, who gave false comfort to people for ten rupees a time by pretending to remove dirt and cowflies from their ears with a glass tube. He poured public scorn on Sathya Sai Baba, a millionaire godman who appeared to make holy ash, gold chains and Swiss watches appear from thin air. Dr Dabholkar also offered 21 lakh rupees (about $33,000) to any sorcerer who, under strict scientific conditions, could stay on fire for a minute without moving, duplicate a currency note, grow a severed limb two centimetres by the application of powder, or turn water into petrol. The sum remains unclaimed.
Much of the “black magic” he dealt with had simple, sad causes behind it. The wild, convulsing women in the temples of Ambabai and Dattatreya were not possessed, but were mentally ill, hysterical after years of poor food, risky births and mistreatment by their families. One case, where a family was petrified by halved lemons strewn outside the house, clothes torn and the milk spoilt with salt, was traced to a daughter-in-law whose husband would not take her to the movies. When the poor came to his “mobile science” vans, bringing their stories of terrifying horoscopes, Dr Dabholkar would hand them a telescope and patiently explain the profound indifference of the stars.
The only inexplicable thing, he would say (all other “inexplicable” things being rationally explained by natural laws) was that India in the 21st century was still so full of superstition. It launched its own satellites, but before a launch the gods would be invoked with flowers and sandalwood paste; its IT was the envy of the world, but even middle-class people would not start a new project on “inauspicious” Saturdays. The cult of the individual was gathering pace, but people still believed that their fates were in the hands of the gods, not themselves. They clung blindly to karma, which was a law for “sheep” and “slaves”.
It has been 4 months since Narendra Dabolkar's murder. We need more rationalists to campaign against superstiions that curtail's a person's right to life, or causes physically injurious
Slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar had waged a long battle to pressurise the Maharashtra Government to pass this Bill. It took his murder in Pune on August 20 this year to galvanise the government which then promulgated an Ordinance on black magic, blind faith and superstition. The Bill was opposed by right wing organizations and opposition Shiv Sena-BJP. The Maharashtra BJP president Devendra Fadnavis had raised concerns about the Bill during the debate in the assembly saying, "This will be misused. The draft needs some changes".
The Bill recommends:
--Strong punishment for beating up someone, issuing threats or inflicting physical injury on anyone over ghosts or black magic.
--Punishment for mental, physical and sexual harassment by making false claims or proclaiming self as godman.
The Opposition fears that these points in the Bill will be used only against certain religions. But the CM has assured that the Bill is aimed at preventing human sacrifice.
The Bill has long history. It was earlier introduced in 2003 as the Maharashtra Eradication of Black Magic, Evil and Aghori Practices Bill and was passed by the state assembly in 2005 after many amendments. It then got stuck in the Legislative Council.
Read more at: Four months after Narendra Dabholkar's murder, Maharashtra passes Anti-Black Magic Bill : West, News - India Today
It is a darn shame that this man's murderers hasn't been found.
"In Kolhapur Dr Dabholkar exposed “Cowfly Baba”, who gave false comfort to people for ten rupees a time by pretending to remove dirt and cowflies from their ears with a glass tube. He poured public scorn on Sathya Sai Baba, a millionaire godman who appeared to make holy ash, gold chains and Swiss watches appear from thin air. Dr Dabholkar also offered 21 lakh rupees (about $33,000) to any sorcerer who, under strict scientific conditions, could stay on fire for a minute without moving, duplicate a currency note, grow a severed limb two centimetres by the application of powder, or turn water into petrol. The sum remains unclaimed.
Much of the “black magic” he dealt with had simple, sad causes behind it. The wild, convulsing women in the temples of Ambabai and Dattatreya were not possessed, but were mentally ill, hysterical after years of poor food, risky births and mistreatment by their families. One case, where a family was petrified by halved lemons strewn outside the house, clothes torn and the milk spoilt with salt, was traced to a daughter-in-law whose husband would not take her to the movies. When the poor came to his “mobile science” vans, bringing their stories of terrifying horoscopes, Dr Dabholkar would hand them a telescope and patiently explain the profound indifference of the stars.
The only inexplicable thing, he would say (all other “inexplicable” things being rationally explained by natural laws) was that India in the 21st century was still so full of superstition. It launched its own satellites, but before a launch the gods would be invoked with flowers and sandalwood paste; its IT was the envy of the world, but even middle-class people would not start a new project on “inauspicious” Saturdays. The cult of the individual was gathering pace, but people still believed that their fates were in the hands of the gods, not themselves. They clung blindly to karma, which was a law for “sheep” and “slaves”.
It has been 4 months since Narendra Dabolkar's murder. We need more rationalists to campaign against superstiions that curtail's a person's right to life, or causes physically injurious
Slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar had waged a long battle to pressurise the Maharashtra Government to pass this Bill. It took his murder in Pune on August 20 this year to galvanise the government which then promulgated an Ordinance on black magic, blind faith and superstition. The Bill was opposed by right wing organizations and opposition Shiv Sena-BJP. The Maharashtra BJP president Devendra Fadnavis had raised concerns about the Bill during the debate in the assembly saying, "This will be misused. The draft needs some changes".
The Bill recommends:
--Strong punishment for beating up someone, issuing threats or inflicting physical injury on anyone over ghosts or black magic.
--Punishment for mental, physical and sexual harassment by making false claims or proclaiming self as godman.
The Opposition fears that these points in the Bill will be used only against certain religions. But the CM has assured that the Bill is aimed at preventing human sacrifice.
The Bill has long history. It was earlier introduced in 2003 as the Maharashtra Eradication of Black Magic, Evil and Aghori Practices Bill and was passed by the state assembly in 2005 after many amendments. It then got stuck in the Legislative Council.
Read more at: Four months after Narendra Dabholkar's murder, Maharashtra passes Anti-Black Magic Bill : West, News - India Today
It is a darn shame that this man's murderers hasn't been found.
