Anti-superstition ordinance cleared by M’rashtra Cabinet
A day after anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to promulgate an ordinance to enact a long-pending bill to eradicate black magic, blind faith and superstitious beliefs.
Mumbai, Aug 21 (IANS): A day after anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to promulgate an ordinance to enact a long-pending bill to eradicate black magic, blind faith and superstitious beliefs.
The law will be the first such in the country. Dabholkar spearheaded a campaign against supersititions, black magic and witchcraft for the past three decades. He was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants near the Omkareshwar Temple in Pune on Tuesday morning, sparking outrage across the state. Sanatan Sanstha, the Hindu right-wing group often at loggerheads with Narendra Dabholkar, sought to distance itself from the killing. "We are shocked by Dabholkar's murder...We don't have anything to do with the killing," Sanatan spokesperson Abhay Vartak said. Conceding that Dabholkar did "commendable" work, Vartak said, "We had differences with his ideology, not with him as an individual."
