'Diluted' anti-superstition bill gets State Cabinet nod

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.