About 80% of India’s population lives in the rural area among which half of them are illiterates. A large section of that society is superstitious and so they easily fall prey to god-man and conman. Don’t you agree to this point that superstitions make a mockery of ‘development’? Our Social and Human development? Our task is to differentiate between superstitions and our very own tradition and culture.

I was taken aback while reading a news item a while ago. A Rajasthani girl was buried alive claiming her to be the goddess and that it’s time for her to attain ‘Samadhi’. She was just a two- and- a- half year old toddler, Khushboo. It was too late by the time the police had got the news and reached the destination to a village named – Kumher. The people from and around this village were offering fruits, money and flowers at the site where she was graved. Media was covering this live.

Later, when police exhumed the girl’s body and sent it for post- mortem the report indicated that the child was suffering from acute diarrhea. The shocking fact which came out was that of her parents reaction and spread of their word that their daughter was a supernatural being and it’s time for her ‘Samadhi’.

Since ages, superstitious beliefs have prevailed in the Indian society. The regular practices of such irrational beliefs have reserved its strong hold on society and that it is not considered as an evil to some of them. They have conditioned themselves eventually to live with it and accept it. You know what is the common culture of India? Remain idle and leave everything to god. If that is true, then imagine, what is the reason for your existence in society!

A path to a healthy society does not go to this way people! In fact, such superstitious beliefs would only act as hurdles to your smooth road.

Pleading government to work over it and be the agency to remove such social evils is pointless. The hope lies in the ‘youth’. If they are given a proper education then, the desirable change might take place and will help India ‘modernize’ in a true sense. Also the role of media and movies is crucial in addressing such issues to the mass.

If you really have belief in god, then it’s ironical of you to be superstitious as superstition is an unreasoning fear of god.

Image Courtesy: TheHindu