India is a home to many cultures and religions. Indias ethnicity and culturalism is what makes it so unique and diverse. From these various cultures and religions crops up the problem of beliefs and superstitions. Everyone is entitled to have their own beliefs but it should be rational and not based on false or improper knowledge.  

Superstition is defined as a widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences, especially as leading to good or bad luck, or a practice based on such a belief. 

Superstitions should not be confused with ‘traditions and customs’ that reflect the ethos of a country and often lead to the upliftment of the society. On the other hand, superstition is a blind belief which is totally baseless.  

Illiteracy and lack of awareness is the major cause of superstitions. It is not an easy task to completely eradicate superstitions from society. Superstitions go way back in time and have made place in peoples mind from generations to generation in form of folklore, stories and customs. Many a times people tend to cling on to their superstitious beliefs and practices just because it is connected to their religious inclinations and maybe not following these superstitions could oust them from their religious groups. 

It is not uncommon to see and hear disturbing reports about how people sacrifice animals and even humans so that their prays are answered. There are posters in all public places of some self-proclaimed priest or baba who claims to solve all of your problems through black magic and other odd means. Even in our daily life’s we encounter numerous superstitious acts like when someone says that if a black cat crosses your path while walking is a bad omen or when someone prohibits you from cutting your nails at night because that is considered as a bad thing. Right from mirrors cracking to so someone sneezing we humans have managed to link these activities to good and bad omen and in general add a superstitious touch to all common activities. 

The Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act (RPT Act) 2017, that intends to protect the common people against “evil” and “sinister” practices. This Act is one such attempt by the government to throw light on the issue of superstitions. Mere legislation is not enough to eradicate superstition from society, but laws do have the utility value of curbing the prevalence of inhuman rituals and practices. 

According to Article 51 (A) sub-section-H of the Indian Constitution, every citizen is obligated to develop scientific temper. Scientific temper refers to an attitude of logical, rational and scientific thinking. An individual is considered to have a scientific temper if he employs a scientific method of decision-making in everyday life. This involves repeatedly observing and verifying a fact before forming a hypothesis. 

The issue of irrational superstitions needs to be dealt with at grass root level. Students in schools and colleges must be encouraged to learn beyond what they see in society and think for themselves as to what is right and wrong and how to come to rational conclusions. The media must play an important role in spreading awareness about wrong and harmful practices which take place under the grab of religion. We as citizens need to keep an open mind and learn to change our ways when we learn about the irrationality of superstitions. Not all superstitions are wrong some of them have scientific meanings to it, therefore it is important to differentiate between good ones and bad ones here. Citizens of India need to have a scientific mindset so that India progresses further in its journey to be a well-developed country. 

References, 

https://www.parentcircle.com/towards-a-logical-rational-generation/article

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