Posted on 08/23/2013 8:03:26 PM PDT by Kip Russell
Campaigner who urged state of Maharashtra to pass anti-black magic bill killed by motorbike assailants in Pune
A prominent campaigner against religious superstition has been shot and killed while out for a morning walk in the western Indian city of Pune.
Narendra Dabholkar was at the forefront of a long-running campaign to ban superstitious religious practices by getting the state of Maharashtra to pass an anti black-magic bill. He died on Tuesday after being shot by two gunmen riding a motorcycle.
Police said four shots were fired at Dabholkar from close range as the rider slowed behind him on a bridge near the Omkareshwar temple. A passerby noted the vehicle's number, but the killers have not yet been identified.
Dabholkar, who was 67, had infuriated some extremist Hindus with his campaign to outlaw the religious practices of some ascetics.
Many "godmen" claim to perform miracles so as to impress their devotees. They summon spirits, conjure up objects, provide talismans for curing ailments, walk on fire and pierce their tongues with steel skewers.
Dabholkar's anti-superstition organisation, the Maharashtra Blind Faith Eradication Committee, had offered a reward of 500,000 rupees (£5,035) to anyone claiming to be a spiritual diviner who could successfully summon spirits.
"What has happened is shocking. It is really shameful," said Vijaya Chauhan, an associate of Dabholkar. "The best way to pay homage to a man who had been campaigning relentlessly for the last 18 years for a law against superstitious religious practices is to immediately pass the bill in the state legislative assembly."
Rightwing Hindu politicians in the state were strongly opposed to the bill and even the ruling Congress party seemed to lack the political will to push ahead with the legislation, Chauhan said.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Must. Outlaw. Motorbikes.
Bad luck.
7 years of bad luck for someone.
I just thank my lucky stars that I am not superstitious.
Ok he is anti-superstition and he wants to ban black magic.
If you are not superstitious you don't believe in black magic or in any magic.
“It might be best not to travel today as it could be dangerous” - his horoscope
It happened right after a black cat ran in front of him.
It’s easy to orchestrate a cover up when you have six arms.
There are two ways to view “superstition,” either as contrasted to a monotheistic faith, or as contrasted to an atheistic world view.
There might or might not be a humanly discernable supernatural power behind the superstition, though viewed in the light of Judeo-Christianity, any supernatural fealty that isn’t to God is to the serpent of the garden.
Some atheists call belief in God a superstition. God returns the compliment to their beliefs, of course....
If this is the guy who I think it is, then this is a tragedy. This guy was awesome, sort of a skeptic in India, constantly challenging the magic men to magically kill him.. Even with this death, he wins, a plain old hit job..
And some modern skeptics have offered similar awards to those who could display any paranormal phenomena.
The spirit world laughs. Both God and the devil are jealous for their own exaltation in the world. For that reason they typically don't want to do miraculous stuff on request for a bunch of guys who are waffling. Now someone who is willing to believe, they will knock themselves out for that person.
RIP.
If those who wanted him dead are practitioners of the foul arts -- why didn't they just cast a spell?
It's ironic that they used firearms, because by doing so his murderers tacitly admitted that a gun is far deadlier than any spell, curse, or other mumbo-jumbo.
Very close to a martyrs death to me imo.
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