Dr. Narendra Dabholkar murder, a contract killing?

Dr. Narendra Dabholkar
Click on image to read about him

The well-known Indian rationalist Narendra Dabholkar was murdered, shot dead on August 20 by two unidentified men on a motorcycle. Dabholkar was one of the leading advocates of an anti-superstition bill that was gaining momentum amongst progressives in Maharashtra. It is now suspected that he was killed on contract, no doubt by some bogus claimants of so-called ‘Indian spirituality’!

It is reported that conservatives and some religious sects opposed the bill as anti-Hindu, but despite that, the government announced recently that it planned to table the bill. The bill included, among numerous other restrictions on superstitious and bogus religious or ‘spiritual’ practices including 1) to claim possession of supernatural powers and to advertise this claim, 2. to offer ash, talisman, charms etc. for the purpose of exorcism and to drive out evil spirits or ghosts, 3) to claim to be possessed by divine power and then perform miracles in the name of such powers.

Note well that all of these scams were done on a daily basis through decades by Sathya Sai Baba (who was protected and worshipped by a series of Indian Presidents, Prime Ministers, Supreme and High Court judges and other elite figures too numerous to list). What will become of this bill now is anyone’s guess… mine being that the majority Hindu nationalists who still rule Indian will suppress it. Alas for India and human progress!

An Open Letter from Dabholkar, regarding Kalam’s visit to Sathya Sai Baba

As mentioned earlier the most Honorable President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam recently graced the inauguration ceremony of an educational Institution run by Satyasaibaba. The presence of the president at a function organized by a Baba of dubious repute gives a wrong message to people. Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, President of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (ANS) wrote a letter to the President to express the grief caused by his wrong message. The gist of the letter follows:

An Open Letter  “… We are an organization struggling to propagate Scientific Outlook for the last 15 years. This letter is to express the deep anguish caused by your presence at Satyasaibaba’s function. You are a great scientist and well aware that nurturing scientific outlook is the duty of every citizen of this country as per the constitution of India. Inculcating Scientific Outlook is an important core constituent of education and is included in the ‘value education’ content of the schools in Maharashtra. Again, you are well aware, that Scientific Outlook and miracle relate to each other in the same way that light and darkness do.

“… Saibaba of Puttaparthi has been performing miracles continuously for the last 50 years. He explicitly declares that god has bestowed this power of making miracles on him. However he never allows any scientific investigation of his claim. Since miracles are
impossible according to Scientific Outlook, miracle mongering of Satya Saibaba is a fraud and moral degradation. The presence of an eminent scientist like you, at the convocation ceremony of Satyasaibaba’s Institution not only gives a wrong message to the public but also boosts up Buvabaji (the con business of Baba-Buvas). It is publicly known that Satyasaibaba has been accused of homo-sexual misbehavior by many of his long time devotees, just two years back. Awakened by this scandal the UNESCO has withdrawn its co-sponsorship for many educational programmes organized by Saibaba’s institutions. Saibaba Ashram has not bothered to give any explanation for it. Again, a few years back five very steadfast devotees of Baba made an attempt on his life. Four of them were locked in a room, shot at point blank range and killed by the police. This created a lot of public anger and the news papers made a loud clamor about it. But the matter seems to have been hushed up, for, even the initial inquiry report has not come out so far. The meeting of the eminent scientist and the honorable President of this cultured Indian Nation with a person of such dubious reputation has caused much pain to all of us in the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti. In the name of the Social Reformists of Maharashtra, may we request you to refrain from attending any Buvabaji boosting functions in the future?
“Yours faithfully,
Narendra Dabholkar.”
24 Feb, 2004