Karnataka Anti-Superstition Bill-Tackling the Evil Within
Are laws enough?
Superstition is an evil that widely plagues our country. For years, many superstitious beliefs have been debunked and tackled by rationalists across the nation. Organisations like The Science and Rationalists’ Association of India, The Federation of Indian Rationalist Association (FIRA), are committed to eradicating superstition and promoting rationality among the people of the nation. Many rationalists and activists like Narendra Dabholkar, M.M. Kalburgi and Govind Pansare have even lost their lives in this fight against superstition. “They were not powerful in the usual sense of the word, but their ability to understand what passed off as tradition, decide what it does to a society, especially to those who could be browbeaten, and then question it sharply and loudly made false prophets run for cover.” (The Indian Express)
Lack of education also makes people prone to superstitious beliefs. In turn, they become easy targets of conmen and godmen. This doesn’t mean that literate individuals do not hold such beliefs. But awareness and education is an effective way to rid people of such superstitious beliefs.