[Reader-list] Maharashtra assembly passes landmark anti-superstition act

[Asit Das]

Maharashtra assembly passes landmark anti-superstition act

Last updated on: December 13, 2013 23:13 IST
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/maharashtra--assembly-passes-landmark-anti-superstition-act/20131213.htm
The Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other
Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Bill, which faced
immense opposition for over seven years, was passed in the Maharashtra
Vidhan Sabha (lower house) on Friday.
Dr Narendra Dabholkar, a rationalist having spearheaded the
anti-superstition movement for many years, had worked for the passage of
this act. Dabholkar was shot dead in August allegedly by people opposed to
his ideology.
Dr Dabholkar’s son Hamid told *rediff.com <http://rediff.com/>* that he was
happy with the bill’s passage in the lower house.
“This is just the beginning. I hope it is passed soon in the upper house
and is made a law. It will help in preventing more innocent people falling
prey to such inhuman ills that allow human sacrifices,” said Hamid
Dabholkar. “Sadly doctor (Narendra Dabholkar) had to pay a heavy price for
it,” he added.
The bill was tabled on the first day of the winter session for discussions.
The opposition -- mainly the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party -- had
opposed the bill since 2004, when it was first passed by social justice
minister Chandrakant Handore during (former chief minister) Vilasrao
Deshmukh’s tenure. The Shiv Sena had opposed it vociferously.
After a presentation on Friday, BJP and Sena leaders demanded inclusion of
a ‘savings clause’ which they said should specify removal of ambiguous
words like  ‘kirtans’, ‘vari’, ‘satsangh’, ‘dindya’, ‘satyanarayan pujas’,
‘varyas’,  and other issues raised by various Hindu groups and Vaarkari
leaders.
“We are satisfied and now support the bill. We never opposed a law that
prevents human sacrifice but we were unhappy because it was ambiguous,"
said Girish Bapat, the BJP-Sena MLA from Pune's Kasba Peth.
Bhai Jagtap, a Congress leader, told *Rediff.com <http://rediff.com/>* that
the Sena leaders’ stand was contradictory to that of their party founder,
Prabodhankar Thackeray.
Thackeray was against religion, blind faith and other such
practices. “Prabodhankar Thackeray himself had criticised in strong words
religion and religious practices in his book ‘*Devlacha Dharma Aani
Dharmaachi Devale*’ (Religion of temples and temples of religion). Are Sena
leaders saying he was wrong? It is ridiculous to oppose such a
revolutionary act,” said Jagtap.
Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil has issued a notice to appoint senior
police inspectors as vigilance officers for implementing the act.
Patil cautioned that the act was not against any religious group.
“I have already issued notices to vigilance officers to take complaints
under this act and register offences. We will be conducting workshops to
train them to tackle offences under this act,” Patil said.
Neeta Kolhatkar in Mumbai