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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 17015
[Society]
Date Posted:
1/7/2007
7:57:41 am EST
Wvox Stats
Views: 8,281
RSS: 21,105
Comments: 11
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India: Atheists Association Seeks Law Against Witchcraft
Author: UNIversity of Leicester Source: newindpress.com (India)
Title: ATHEISTS ASSOCIATION SEEKS LAW AGAINST WITCHCRAFT
Former Indian Medical Association (IMA) vice-president and noted medical science writer Samaram on Saturday stressed there should be a collective effort from all quarters to address the issue of 'Banamathi' (sorcery).
Speaking at the three-day world atheist conference, he said 'banamathi' was claiming lives of scores of people across the country.
Andhra Shradha Nirmulam Samithi Pune president Dr Rajendra Kankariya said legal action was needed to protect the common people against customs thriving on ignorance, such as black magic, witchcraft and sorcery.
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Community Thoughts: There are 11 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Things That Go Together... | Jan 9th. at 10:08:07 am EST
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karrie9 (Kenosha, Wisconsin) - Email Me - Web
Ignorance-based (blame mode) rage aimed towards old women and other vulnerable people.
Justification of the above in the form of increased efforts to marginalize and criminalize alternative practices.
Nuts who act out whatever stupid harmful/hateful things they are told (in **their** culture at large) are "the dark side."
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| Good Point | Jan 9th. at 4:22:00 am EST
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R. Cicero (Seattle, Washington) - Email Me
Magical thinking is magical thinking, no matter what color or stripe or flavor. I should add, however, that if I lived in a teeming slum on the outskirts of a huge metropolis in India, and I had a very bad leg infection, it wouldn't matter how pure the heart of the magician or faith healer was. If you can't stop the infection, your leg turns black, and you'll die hard before it rots off. Healing hands, incantations or spellcrafting of any caliber is a poor substitute for penicillin sometimes. But it's nice to know somebody cares, right? That might be worth your last dollar.
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| I Understand The Motivation | Jan 7th. at 3:58:44 pm EST
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R. Cicero (Seattle, Washington) - Email Me
. . . although the application of such a law might be ripe for abuse. However, try to understand that the world of witchcraft in a third world or developing nation is contextually much different than it is in a developed nation, like the U.S., Britain or France. Here, we generally have access to the best that modern heatlhcare can offer. Now many may scoff at the unholistic silver bullet approach to Western medicine, and its imperfect distribution, but if your appendix bursts or the early stages of cancer are detected, the resources are there. Your Yoga and herbs and stones are not going to cut it, and let's face it, your High Priest is not a board-certified surgeon. Where witchcraft or herbalism or conscious living and the like come in handy are as 'preventative' medicine. But in India, where there are much starker disparities between rich and poor, your entire life may pass in the hearts of a massive slum. Your first line of defense against a major medical illness may ONLY be the unscrupulous work of a local shaman or magician. It's not like an ambulance will be right around the corner. I believe this atheist some of you are so fond of vilifying is speaking to that problem. But again, trying to prop up the Indian medical establishment by publicly attacking witchcraft sounds like a perfect vehicle for abusing the rights of others, instead of helping as intended.
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| Funny Stuff! | Jan 7th. at 2:36:51 pm EST
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Finn (San Marcos, Texas) - Email Me
I'm always amused when an article goes up on Witchvox wherein some Atheist Organization is fighting with a Christian group. Locals here go wild cheering on the Atheists. Apparently anyone "sticking it" to Christians is popular. Of course, it should be said that Atheists think you are an idiot too, in fact more of an idiot because they don't even see a social benefit to being part of our so-called community.
I've said it before but it bears repeating. Christians, on the whole, don't care about us. They aren't our enemy. They never persecuted us in any manner consistent with the popular mythology. In fact, we have gotten off lighter than any other group when it comes to persecution. Think critically next time you read an article where an Atheist or a Satanist battles mainstream faiths. Atheists and Satanists think you are morons.
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| Dangerous Laws... | Jan 7th. at 11:32:19 am EST
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DodiaFae (Rhode Island, Rhode Island) - Email Me
"Some quick looking into the term 'Banamathi' shows me citations of people developing physical or mental illnesses or dying unexpectedly blaming it on random neighbors who are then persecuted, tortured, or even killed - sometimes burned alive in the village square. Sound familiar?
This has more to do with burning your neighbor for sour milk than it does with what WItchVox visitors call 'witchcraft'."
Then maybe *that* is what they should be banning, not the witchcraft. If they ban witchcraft, then people will just believe, on top of everything else, that they are upholding the law when they burn their neighbor at the stake.
I did a search on Banamathi, and came up with scores of articles, including this:
[Web LINK]
It's an article about 7 victims who were burned to death. Apparently the villagers paid a man to tell them who worked black magic to cause the deaths of 2 other villagers. While I agree that this man should also be held accountable, it should be as a person who incited the villagers to violence and murder, not as a practitioner of magic. Because anyone who has ever done magic will know that what he did is not magic at all. (I wouldn't be surprised if he picked names out of a hat! Or maybe he asked questions of people and found out who might have had a grudge against one or both of the villagers who died, or owed them money, etc.)
However, it should be pointed out that this is not necessarily the government doing this. "Atheists association seeks law against witchcraft" This is something that was brought up at a 3-day world athiest conference. While I've known athiests who believe that all spiritual beliefs and religious beliefs are superstitious, I've also known many who believe that people should believe what works for them as individuals.
The thing that worries me is that many people have trouble distinguishing "superstion" from spiritual/religious beliefs. A law like this, if not written properly, could very well make it all illegal. Instead, they should make acting on the belief with violence, or inciting people to do so, illegal. Do an autopsy on people when they die. If someone commits suicide, look at the *real* reasons for it, poor homelife, severe depression, etc.
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| Not Us | Jan 7th. at 10:24:01 am EST
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Greybird (Sullivan, Indiana) - Email Me
We can look at this on its own merits, about a government looking to regulate its peoples' culture (and there isn't enough info here to really say much) , but I didn't see anything in the article to suggest that any of it had anything to do with Wicca or modern paganism.
Some quick looking into the term 'Banamathi' shows me citations of people developing physical or mental illnesses or dying unexpectedly blaming it on random neighbors who are then persecuted, tortured, or even killed - sometimes burned alive in the village square. Sound familiar?
This has more to do with burning your neighbor for sour milk than it does with what WItchVox visitors call 'witchcraft'.
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| SOUNDS LIKE.... | Jan 7th. at 8:44:32 am EST
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Whitewolf (Schenectady, New York) - Email Me
these bonebrains need some EDUCATION about what Wicca / Witchcraft / Paganism is really like and what our morals / codes are!!
Love to all
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| Scores? | Jan 7th. at 8:29:56 am EST
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Ahr-Ohn (Bridgeport, Connecticut) - Email Me
"Speaking at the three-day world atheist conference, he said 'banamathi' was claiming lives of scores of people across the country."
Scores a day, out of a country of a billion people? They should see what hospitals can do in this country.
"Andhra Shradha Nirmulam Samithi Pune president Dr Rajendra Kankariya said legal action was needed to protect the common people against customs thriving on ignorance, such as black magic, witchcraft and sorcery."
Yes, let's protect the World's Peoples against their own traditions!
Arawn
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