BLACK MAGIC MONEY

Breaking the spell of black magic

The fear of black magic has cast its spell and held several people in its grip. Hounding people out of their homes and villages for practising black magic or beating someone to exorcise the spirit that is believed to have possessed him is common in several parts of India.

But Maharashtra is set to exorcise its ghosts through a proposed law, which makes it punishable to practise, promote or propagate black magic and other such acts of superstition. It seeks to bring under its ambit "sinister practices" done with the intention of exploiting people or harming them physically, mentally or financially.

It is a practice in rural Maharashtra to make a mentally-challenged child a `baba' and claim that the child has supernatural powers. Soon, people believe this and make contributions in cash and kind, says Shyam Manav of Andha Shradda Samiti, a pan-India organisation that opposes blind faith and superstitions. "Over the last several years of working on such issues, we have exposed about 200 such babas," he claims.

The Maharashtra Eradication of Black Magic and Evil and Aghori Practices Bill, 2005, introduced in the State Assembly late last year, sought to nip such practices. But its sweeping implications, brought with it much opposition. The draft bill was subsequently watered down and specific instances were identified that would trigger the proposed law.

Concerns and issues
Despite reducing the scope of the bill, the proposed anti-superstition legislation still raises several concerns, with citizens stressing the need to tread cautiously on what could become a minefield of sorts. Questions are being raised on how the proposed law would deal with spiritual saints and self-proclaimed godmen and women. What happens to faith healings, pranic healing, reiki etc?

When there is the Indian Penal Code and the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, operational in the country, is another law really required, asks Ramesh Shinde of the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti. "Through the Right to Information Act we found that the police are adequately equipped to deal with such issues using the existing laws. How will the proposed law deal with, say, astrology? It should not cram religious freedom and there is scope for misuse," he says, adding that there is no need for one more law to deal with such practices.

Theologian Josantony Joseph agrees that there are instances where people are taken advantage of, but says one needs to be careful about the sweep of the proposed law. The law, if indeed required, should be "minimalistic" and well defined to avoid misuse, he says.
Defining magic and miracle
How would one define magic? Can anything that is not explained by science be termed magic? There are several things, like ESP (extra-sensory perception), that are not scientifically explained; so is ESP magic, he asks. "One should not jump on to it with a mentality that supports only what is substantiated by science," he says.

In cases of faith healing, is it faith in the divinity that heals? Or does faith trigger the release of some chemicals in the brain that eventually helps healing, he asks, outlining the tricky ground that Maharashtra has ventured on to with this proposed law.

But Manav points out that the scope of the proposed law is narrow and restricted to specific instances to minimise abuse or misuse. While the so-called acts of miracle would not be punishable, making it a money-spinner would invoke the law. Miracles, he says, are acts that are not defined by science.

Existing laws do not punish the identified practices, he says. The proposed law makes the listed offences cognisable and non-bailable. And a person convicted of an offence under the proposed law can be imprisoned for about six months to seven years, besides being fined upwards of Rs 5,000. Further, he says that only a high-level police official, specified as the vigilance officer, would be equipped to follow through with specific cases.

Anand Grover with the Lawyers Collective feels that the proposed legislation deals with only a fraction of the quackery that exists. The legislation needs to be holistic in its scope and should be brought at a national level, he says, cautioning that any vagueness will result in it being misused.
What the proposed law prohibits
Assaulting a person under the pretext of expelling a ghost, and forcing him/her to commit acts like drinking shoe-soaked water
Displaying the so-called miracles to deceive, defraud or terrorise people into giving money
Provoking people to follow evil and `aghori' (or cannibalistic) practices to be blessed by supernatural powers
Doing "inhuman" acts to search for precious things Creating an impression of being possessed by divine spirits and using it to create fear in the minds of others
Propagating tales that someone practises black magic etc and is responsible for death and disease etc
Branding someone as a person practising witch-craft and parading the person naked or putting curbs on the person's daily activities
Scaring people by claiming to invoke ghosts or mantras to heal or cause harm
Prohibiting a person from taking treatment for a dog or snake bite and instead treating the person through mantras
Claiming to change the sex of the foetus, through a demonstration of surgical acts by the finger
Making past-life connections and forcing people to indulge in sexual activity
Creating an impression that a mentally-challenged person has super-natural powers and utilising the same for business.

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