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In Nizamabad district, an entire village was vacated
because of a belief that the village was inhabited by ghosts
Tv9 is presenting a discussion on this topic
and we have with us rationalist and science popularizer Gogineni Babu
Welcome to Tv9 studios
Mr. Babu, we seen in these visuals that an entire village was vacated
This is not the first time it happened
Recently a school was also vacated on the same belief.
This shows that even teachers, well educated people believe that ghosts exist and are afraid of them.
Where will such things take us?
This is a very troubling issue.
Today, India has become trapped in a vicious circle of superstitious beliefs.
Everyday from morning to night
every time we look at if it is Rahu Kaalam (inauspicious time), or a good time or is today a good day
and at night when we switch off the lights, we worry ourselves by a fear of ghosts.
And then there is the belief in Chetabadi (black magic)
In our country, in the past 10 years, 2500 women were killed on the suspicion that they are witches and are performing black magic.
.. in our country.. 2500 people.. in a period of 10 years
That too when we are living in the 21st century.
Yes. In this century.
And we if you look closely, you'll see that Andhra Pradesh ranks at 2nd position in these statistics.
Chattisgarh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, all these are problem spots.
It's happening not just in this mandal, but also in neighboring districts like Chittor, Anantapur
and in surrounding areas of Hyderabad, in Medak
Just the day before/day before yesterday in Neredmet (in Hyderabad), we saw that a kid was taken for a human sacrifice
His throat was slit during the night, and on the next day we found the kid in a pool of blood
Right now he is in coma.
It's like.. if you take the life of a fellow human or if you kill a hen, good things will happen to you
These human and animal sacrifices are linked to a mindset
If I take a life, I will be able to do good
that I will be able to do something on my own
if I break a coconut, or cut a lemon
If you see in areas around Hyderabad, a lot of atrocities are committed in the name of black magic
on junctions of roads, highways if someone sees a lemon, red chilli, some turmeric powder and a dead black hen
they believe that someone has harmed them
Look, we cut lemons and make a juice out of them
we use red chillies for cooking
turmeric is also used by everyone
this means, we don't properly understand the items we use in our day to day lives
we believe that just because someone has bad intentions, our lives will get ruined
that there are supernatural powers
that there are souls, ghosts
and believe that colored gem stones, colored threads will protect us from such things. Yagas will protect.
This way of thinking is prevalent all over India.
When there is no scientific temper
when the Universe and nature is not viewed as being entirely physical
everything is seen as being spiritual, paranormal
and involving spirits, souls, ghosts.
If we don't educate people on this, things like this will keep happening or even worse things will happen.
In the cities of Hyderabad-Secunderabad, in Neredemet region
if a small kid is taken, and if his throat is slit, good will happen
that is the kind of mindset some people in India have.
Those people do not yet understand how the law works.
Take the police system. They are putting a lot of effort on issues like this
Even when things like this are happening, the police are able to investigate only a few cases and conclude them.
But most cases are just are in files and records.
One thing is our police system and its efficiency.
As far as I know, the police are definitely observing cases like this with care.
But there is no empowering legislation.
Now, if someone tells that he is a wizard and scares an entire village into running away
there are no laws which allow us to take action on him, as far as I know.
Such laws are there in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Bihar.
That is if someone says that another person is a wizard or if they tell that they are a wizard
there is an option of providing counseling for such people and jailing them in those states.
It will be good if we too can do such things.
Even if the police department has good intentions and wants to educate people
we should take people who are scaring others
and give them counseling first
because some people believe such stuff
they truly believe.
If a lemon is cut, something will happen. If you were a colored thread something will happen.
Taking similar beliefs, using scientific terminology
using crystal balls, people are selling Nazar Raksha Kavach (Shield to protect against bad glances)
That is how the cultural environment is in the country.
Now, all the people in this village have run away
I'll tell one thing
Be it me, or my friends, or people enthusiastic about science
or members of Jana Vignana Vedika, or people from rationalist associations
4 or 5 of us will go to that village and stay there for 3 days.
But in the past even when rationalist associations did such things, it looks like people still keep believing such things.
As far as that village is concerned, they have stopped believing such things
If I treat here, it is not like another place will get cured
Now, people in this village are scared and have run away
We will go to that village, stay there for 2-3 or 4 nights
With police protection
because other than fear, there may be other malicious intents behind getting a village to vacate.