GK: How Superstition became illegal in Maharashtra
Superstition becomes illegal in Maharashtra
The murder of rationalist and anti-black magic campaigner Narendra Dabholkar pushed the government of Maharashtra into action. The angry protests sparked by Dabholkar’s killing prompted the Maharashtra government to clear an ordinance to enforce the anti-superstition bill he had championed for years. The so called “anti-superstition” bill has been pushed through as an ordinance, short-circuiting the formal process of discussion and voting which has infuriated those who were against the bill. They find the new law illegal and arbitrary because it is not for the government to decide whether someone’s belief is a superstition or not. So long as the beliefs and resultant actions do not violate the law of the land, it is the Fundamental Right of every citizen of India to believe in and practice his/her faith. However, the supporters and the government say that the law does not go into defining ‘faith’ or ‘god’ – it only makes certain irrational practices illegal. India is a country of diverse faiths and practices. Does it need a bill which bans many age-old practices in the name of rationality? What is rationality actually? Believing in God without there being any proof of his existence can also be deemed irrational by many. What should be the limits of such a law? Let us look into the issue which has occupied the minds of many great Philosophers over thousands of years.
About Superstition
Superstition is a term for belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any natural process linking the two events, such as astrology, religion, omens, witchcraft, black magic, that contradicts natural science. It refers to the blind faith in an idea without giving any consideration to reason, logic and evidence. It is also commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events. Many superstitions have originated in human society on account of ignorance and fear of the unknown and incomprehensible.
* Opposition to superstition was a central concern of the intellectuals during the 18th century Age of Enlightenment. The philosophies at that time ridiculed any belief in miracles, revelation, magic, or the supernatural, as “superstition,” and typically included as well much of Christian doctrine.
* The Age of Enlightenment was a cultural movement of intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries, which began first in Europe and later in the American colonies. Its purpose was to reform society away from irrationality; specifically, away from superstition, dogmatism of all kinds, unfounded intolerance of all kinds; and, gross abuses of power by both the Catholic Church and by despotic kings.
About Rationalism
Belief vs Knowledge
Fundamental Right to Freedom of Religion
Quick Questions: Which country has recently banned its witches from flying above 150 m? !!
When was the practice of Sati banned in India?