Superstition still prevails

 

 

Joseph Joubert, the 18th century essayist, once said, “Superstition is the only religion of which base souls are capable of”. Well, the statement is not completely deniable. What use is superstition especially when it perturbs the life of the innocent?

It is not really so bad if superstitions are confined within the realm of not using the number 'Six' (as in Thailand), not sleeping with your head towards the north (as in Japan) or for that matter not looking into a broken mirror (as in Russia). But superstitions can metamorphose into a menace if the tentacles of the primitive and the unreal world have its grips over superstitious beliefs. Back home, India is heir to numerous superstitious beliefs and the biggest was the practice of Sati, which obviously is a thing of the past. But as outrageous as it may sound, such forms of inhuman behaviour still exist. What with a 12 year being hoisted from his house’s rafters after his hands and legs are tied with a rope…and as if that’s not enough, a crowd of people even beat and punch the puny life. However, this 12 year old is not an exception. There are 432 more children in Angola who are living on streets because they have been disowned by their family members. And why this misfortune…to the shock of everyone it is because these innocuous little things have been labelled as ‘witches’ and are blamed for any death in the family. Like every other form of superstition, obviously this superstition too reaps benefits for those who implement it. And no prizes for guessing when a family is unable to afford a child, that they use the superstition of ‘Witch Child’ to do away with the burden.

There are so many such superstitions which are being practised in nooks and corners of this world which we are all ignorant of. Such malpractices are not just detrimental to the country but are detrimental to the entire human civilisation….and they talk of educating the world by 2015…intriguing!!!