Shooting the Messenger
The daylight assassination of Narendra Dabholkar the founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti and the editor of Sadhana magazine, exposes the newer lows of intolerance that India as a society is increasingly touching. No doubt Maharashtra’s leading anti-superstition activist had evoked intense controversy over some of his rationalist writings. Immediately, the reason for this murderous rage is suspected to be his campaign for a law that would ban exploitative religious practices. The massive outpouring of grief prompted the Maharashtra government to push through the Anti Superstition and Black Magic Ordinance Wednesday.
The tireless rationalist warrior, who held an MBBS degree, represented India against Bangladesh in a Kabaddi tournament and even won the prestigious Chatrapati Shivaji Krida Puraskar for Kabaddi from the government of Maharashtra. He practiced medicine for 12 years before taking up social work. Though he belonged to Satara district he trudged to visit Pune twice a week for his work.
In the past 20 years he has confronted many Babas, Buas, Tantriks and Mantriks and has led many agitations against many forms of superstitions, water pollution and animal sacrifice etc. He is also the founder member of a de-addiction Centre, Parivartan, Satara. In his zeal to persuade people for the need to think with an open mind and to lead a rational life, it is obvious that Dabholkar ruffled not only many feathers but shook the vested interests of right wingers who thrive on keeping the masses ignorant and in fetters.
Maharashtra has an admirable legacy of rationalist social reformers who were influenced either by indigenous traditions or Western education and who invariably contested superstitions.
The almost missionary commitment of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti or (Maharashtra Blind Faith Eradication Committee) a voluntary organization working through 200 branches located in Goa (Mapusa, Bicholim and Pernem), rural and urban Maharashtra and in Belgaum, Karnataka, showed that it was gaining legitimacy as a people’s movement.
Moreover, all those who swear by patriotism and draw swords at the drop of a hat should hang their heads in shame that a person like Dabholkar who was merely espousing scientific temper as stipulated by the Constitution was eliminated. He sought to cultivate critical thinking, oppose harmful superstitions which had adverse repercussions on the health of women and children and those religious traditions and rituals that sought to reinforce patriarchy and exploited the downtrodden. Dabholkar and his samiti were fearless in their take on religious beliefs with posts of Albert Einstein’s letter to Eric Gutkind written in 1954 on the Bible and the belief of Jews as a chosen race, and posts by Lawrence Krauss on the need to dissociate God and Science. There is also the article of P Radhakrishnan ‘Faith in time of Rationality’ which argues that the centrality of miracles (in the sense of magic) in religions (what may be called “magico-religions”), and especially in “founded religion” is common knowledge. In place of miracles, and often in addition to them, religions such as Hinduism, which have no founders, have legitimating myths. Miracles and myths are in fact the life-blood and lifeboat of religions without which they will languish and sink.
It is this kind of challenge to firmly held archaic religious and cultural beliefs that the orthodox India does not wish to let go, even in 21st century, even as it prides itself on its Wi-Fi and cellphone revolutions and space explorations, because it rattles the very foundation of their existence, steeped in barbarism and religious fundamentalism.
Though in the case of Dabholkar, the fingers are been pointed to a rightwing organization, the disease of intolerance is all pervasive ~ within and across religions, in the social media and even in print and television journalism. Increasingly, governments, parties, social groups, religions and media have no space left for divergence or difference, because this is necessarily seen as antithetical. And social and religious reform started by the great reformers still remains the scariest minefield to effect change as shown by the despicable assassination of Dabholkar. The thought police are out to get anyone who is out to enlighten, empower and liberate.
