'Diluted' anti-superstition bill gets State Cabinet nod

DHNS
September 28, 2017

Bengaluru, Sept 28: After much ado, the State Cabinet on Wednesday approved a diluted anti-superstition bill that seeks to ban 16 practices, including human torture in the name of rituals and creating panic by threatening to invoke ghosts.

The Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017 is a watered down version of the Karnataka Prevention of Superstitious Practices Bill, 2013 which had proposed to ban numerology and astrology too.

However, the 2013 bill had met with resistance from various quarters, including religious institutions, and was referred to a scrutiny committee for review. Numerology, astrology and vaastu have now been spared from the purview of the bill.

The words “aghori” and “narabali” (cannibalism and human sacrifice) have also been deleted in the revised bill as these practices are not found in the State.

Briefing reporters, Law Minister T?B?Jayachandra said the bill will be tabled in the winter session of the State legislature, likely to be held in November in Belagavi.

The bill is modelled after a similar legislation in force in Maharashtra. It seeks to ban practices such as exorcism, black magic, witchcraft, rituals promoting self-injury, throwing of infants from a height on a bed of thorns, parading women in the naked and sexual exploitation by invoking supernatural powers.

Made snana out

The bill also bans the controversial “made snana” practised in some temples. Without naming the practise, the bill states that facilitating any person to roll over leaves with leftover food by others, in public or religious places, is banned.

The bill does not cover worship, teaching of ancient and traditional learning, holding prayers, religious celebrations, piercing of ears, nose in accordance with rituals, vaastushastra, astrology and advice on sourcing groundwater.

The bill contains penal provisions and designates police inspectors as vigilance officers for detection and prevention of violations of the provisions of the bill.

Comments

Unknown
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

This is good , we will keep Yeddi's people away from performing such stupid act

Vijay
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

irrelevant to this article.

Shiva
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

Going by superstitious practices of Congis,worship of Gandhis to be abolished?!!!.stop glorification of progressive thinkers,gauri lankesh.......etc!!!!

Gopalkrishna
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

I think , i need clarify what education means in my comment, many times most of get misled. I don't mean schooling and getting degrees is education. thats only earning a degree not getting educated. Hope i made my stand clear

Kumar
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

Education is has no bearing on superstitions. Many well educated Pundits' superstitions are in fact make others to believe too. I have seen many believe in astrology, vastu, puranas, and so on. Many uneducated are atheists too.

Gopalkrishna
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

Wonder any rule can stop practices, but education can.. can government spend time and money in spreading awareness. Just law does not help in any fashion. Unless we change the minds of the ppl. This will be a defunct law as even enforcers do not believe in this the law enacted...

Gopalkrishna
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

Wonder any rule can stop practices, but education can.. can government spend time and money in spreading awareness. Just law does not help in any fashion. Unless we change the minds of the ppl. This will be a defunct law as even enforcers do not believe in this the law enacted...

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coastaldiget.com web desk
June 18,2020

Amidst heightened border tensions between Indian and China, senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's two year old tweet comparing his party with Communist Party of China started going viral. 

The tweet, dated 26 June, 2016 reads: "Communist Party of China & BJP have done numerous works in social field. This way, there is tremendous similarities between the two parties." (sic)

Twitterati dug up this tweet after over 20 Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh earlier this week.

Soon after Chouhan's tweet went viral, netizens took to the micro-blogging site and slammed BJP. One user said, "Interesting comment by Hindutva ITSELF to recognise how similar they are with China. No doubt. Both believe in Dragon Throne .... and brutal absolute control." Another user said, "No wonder the BJP & China both agree that PLA never crossed into Indian territory."

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News Network
June 12,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 12: The Karnataka government is mulling to issue caste and income certificates to Brahmins though they are in a minority, accounting a mere three per cent of the southern state''s seven crore population, an official said on Thursday.

"Though Brahmins are in a ''minority'' in terms of their population across the state, they need caste and income certificates to benefit from the welfare schemes as in the case of the SC, ST and OBC groups," an official said here.

The Karnataka State Brahmin Development Board was set up in March 2019 as a state-run company with Rs five crore authorized capital and Rs five crore equity and is registered with the Registrar of Companies.

"The Board has petitioned the state government to implement the 10 per cent quota for the economically weaker sections, as its benefit is being given by the central government jobs and in admissions to the national educational institutions," said its chairman H.S. Sachidananda Murthy.

Responding to the demand, state Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said the state government would consider issuing caste certificates to the Brahmins so that they too can benefit from the state''s various welfare schemes.

"Though Brahmins belong to the forward community, they are economically weaker and need financial support," said Yediyurappa on Wednesday after unveiling the Board''s official website for all its stakeholders here.

Brahmins whose gross annual family income is less than Rs eight lakh per annum will be eligible for the benefit schemes.

"The Board will soon be authorised to issue caste and income certificates to the members of the Brahmin community so that they can also benefit from the schemes," said the chief minister on the occasion.

Noting that every community has people who are forward and backward economically for various, including historical reasons, Yediyurappa said the Board would be empowered to serve the Brahmins.

"The Board also proposes to provide interest-free loans to the financially weaker sections of the people in the Brahmin community," added Murthy.

The community members urged the Chief Minister to provide 10 per cent of the state government jobs and seats in state-run educational institutions, including professional collages.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Thrissur, Mar 7: A local temple in Kerala is at the centre of a social media storm after the picture of a ''Brahmins-only toilet'' outside its main campus went viral on online platforms, prompting the management to remove the signboard.

The picture of three toilets, with signboards showing "Men", "Women" and "Brahmins", at the Kuttumukku Mahadeva Temple in Thrissur, has gone viral with many social media users viewing it as an unethical practise that can portray the progressive state in a bad light.

However, temple officials said the toilets were located outside the main campus and the board was brought to their notice only now.

Kannan, an official of the temple committee, said the board was placed nearly two decades ago and nobody raised any complaint against it so far.

"That particular toilet was being used by priests and other temple employees. We didn't even notice that board... As soon as we came to know about it, we removed it and affixed a staff-only board," he told PTI.

Also a CPI-M functionary and ward councillor, Kannan said the shrine and it's management was against all kinds of unethical customs.

The temple official said they were planning to pursue legal measures against the man who posted the photo of the toilets on social media.

"We suspect that he did it deliberately to create issues during the time of the festival and to tarnish the shrine's reputation. Not only that, the photo he shared was an old one though he claimed that it was taken during the time of the festival, " he said.

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