| Description |
These are strange times in India to discuss and evolve strategies for safeguarding the genuine shamanistic heritage of India. Let me begin by narrating two isolated but weird incidents, which generated a great media backlash against shamanistic traditions and the practices in the Indian public sphere in the last two months. Describing them would outline the cultural struggles, shamanistic healing traditions face in India today. It is only a coincidence that the assassination of anti- superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar1 was followed within a fortnight by the arrest of a self styled god-man Asaram Bapu2 on charges of sexual assault on a 16-year-old schoolgirl. But both the incidents were earily connected a s if they were episodes in a novel o f Haruk i Murak ami because Asaram Bapu’s criminal misconduct closely fits some of the offences defined under anti-superstition and anti shamanistic ordinance Dabholkar was campaigning for. |
