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Month-long drive against superstition in State from today

By STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, June 26 - Challenging the godmen who claim to perform miracles and in order to make people aware about the truth behind such superstitious claims, voluntary social organisation Brothers along with Shahaji Bhosale of Maharashtra Andhashradhdha Nirmoolan Samity will conduct a month-long anti-superstition campaign throughout the State from tomorrow.

With an urgent need for mass awareness against superstitious practices being felt across the State, the initiative has been designed to train the first responders in superstition-related cases and make them prepared to counter false claims and harmful superstitious practices.

Andhashradhdha Nirmoolan Samity, dedicated to eradication of superstitious practices in India, was founded by Narendra Dabholkar, who was assassinated in 2013.

�For the past 23 years, I have been fighting superstition and touring the rural areas debunking godmen who claim to perform miracles like tongue piercing without a drop of blood, walking on hot coals or water, eating burning camphor, etc. There is either science or some trick behind every such act and such babas cheat gullible people by performing such tricks in public. Many a time such acts go a long way in spreading rumours and superstition among people,� Bhosale told mediapersons here.

He also performed some such tricks in front of the media, explaining the science behind them.

Brothers has been instrumental in spreading awareness among people against the existing superstitious practices like witch-hunting, child lifters, pisol-manuh (mysterious beings with slippery bodies surface), etc.

General secretary of the organisation Dibyajyoti Saikia said that it was high time the people of Assam demanded enactment of the anti-witch hunting Act passed by the State government in 2015.

�Cases of superstition-induced mob lynching are on the rise, be it in the name of witch hunting or incidents of killing people in the name of hopadhora (child lifters). Our drive will include streetplays, songs and interactive sessions.

�We will train the village defence parties, OCs and second officers in-charge of police stations as well as village headmen against superstition and on the right arguments to counter the claims of miracles. The trained people will again spread awareness at their levels in their respective villages,� Saikia said.

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