MUMBO JUMBO: A tantrik with the tricks of his trade

The Maharashtra Black Magic and Aghori Practices Bill, which promises to pull the rug from under the feet of charlatans and godmen, was given the go by once again in the state Assembly’s monsoon session. “The fact that the Bill did not even get a mention in the Budget session (despite the chief minister’s repeated assurances that it would be dealt with) and was introduced on the last day of the monsoon session indicates that the government is not interested in passing it,” says Dr Narendra Dabholkar, president of the Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ANS), a Maharashtra-based organisation that has been working against the machinations of godmen since it was established in 1982.

The government’s reluctance to pass the Bill, sources say, stems from its fear that it would upset the rural vote bank which is often deeply immersed in the occult. Moreover, it is no secret that bureaucrats are some of the biggest patrons of many a godman. Some amount of pressure also appears to be coming from “Hindu fundamentalists, who have been opposing the Bill”, according to Jagedeo Rathod, state deputy secretary of social justice, cultural affairs and special assistance.

Even as the Maharashtra government equivocates over the Bill, godmen and tantriks are up in arms over its stated intent. Says Calcutta-based tantrik Tantrasadhak Yogacharya, “The Bill would deal a body blow to a 6,500-year-old Vedic tradition.”

Though its purpose is to curb practices that exploit superstitious belief, the Bill states: “Nothing in this Act shall apply to acts involving religious rites and rituals that do not adversely affect any person mentally, physically or financially.” It also clarifies that such practices are permissible as long as there is no injury, bloodshed or deceit involved in the process.

The Bill targets those who try and make a quick buck by hoodwinking people through the display of so-called miracles, those who bilk people out of large sums of money on the pretext of performing yagnas for their welfare, and those who indulge in gruesome practices like human sacrifice.

Incidents of human sacrifice are actually quite rampant in rural Maharashtra. “In districts like Chandrapur and Gadchiroli of Vidarbha, at least 20 cases of human sacrifices (mostly of children) come to light every year,” says Prof. Shyam Manav, the founder of ANS.

Manoj Tayade, a farmer in Wardha, talks of villagers kidnapping children born ‘leg first’ because they are believed to have special powers to smell out hidden wealth. “Superstition has it that such a child is able to reveal the location of hidden treasure during a ritual on a full or a new moon night,” says Manav. The kidnapping often gives way to murder because the culprits feel they can then escape being caught by the police.

The Bill also seeks to take punitive action against those claiming to cure maladies by the mere chanting of a few mantras. Manav talks about one such scamster, Aslam Baba, who when chased out of Solapur, fled to Bagalkot in Karnataka, followed by thousands of followers.

Once passed, the new law will basically target all those who use and exploit superstitions to achieve their objectives. Jadhav mentions the case of two women in a village in Sindhudurg district who connived to frighten their in-laws with “ghosts” just so that they could escape to their husbands who were working in Mumbai. In another incident, a woman in Dombivli, a central suburb of Mumbai, fooled her neighbours into believing that her photograph of Kalki Maharaj, a godman, emitted kumkum powder and that a Ganesha idol seeped oil. She thought that this manifestation of divinity in her home would persuade her landlord to renew her apartment’s lease.

Both these cases were exposed by the ANS. Still, Manav feels that there ought to be a law to tackle such practices. “We need a law to bring about prosecution,” he says. Under the Bill, such offences will be deemed cognisable and the offenders will be fined between Rs 5,000 and Rs 50,000 and sentenced to a prison term of between six months and seven years. A vigilance officer will be stationed at each police station to deal with cases of such crimes.

However, even those who support the Bill point out that the law’s implementation will be a tricky affair. Ashimesh Goswami, a lawyer in the Calcutta High Court, says, “No law can tackle the curse of superstition if basic educational efforts are faulty. Social awareness is the key to deal with superstition and any effective implementation of a law depends on how aware people are,” Goswami reasons.

Like the activists, Rathod too hopes that the Bill will be passed in the next session of the Maharashtra Assembly. But what of implementation? Maybe non governmental organisations could help in creating social awareness, offers Rathod tentatively.

Needless to say, Maharashtra’s officialdom will have to do better than that to implement this law effectively.

With additional reporting by Shubhobroto Ghosh in Calcutta