Theos-Talk Archives (August 1997 Message tl00058)

Here's something that was sent to me from another list.

Reports of resurgence of ritual child sacrifice 

Taken from:The Sunday Times Magazine, 13 July 1997 

Article "Children of a Lesser God" reported official recognition of
alarming rise in child sacrifice in India, in Assam, West Bengal, Orissa
and Bihar. In October last year a man witnessed the ritual sacrifice of
two-year old Charano Singh. She had been snatched from under a whilst her
mother worked in the fields of her village near Jaipur. Her body was found
a week later, buried in a shallow grave - she had been dressed in silk
robes and made up as a goddess. She had died from shock and blood loss
after the top of her head had been removed. The murder of Charano was
linked to the activities of a tantric guru, Gurdev Singh, who allegedly
told a couple that if they sacrificed one or two infants they would be
blessed with a child of their own. Gurdev Singh was shortly afterwards
arrested but released after it was discovered he was a prominent member of
the BJP, India's main opposition party. A week later the tantrics returned
for Charano's 10-month old brother - who was killed in similar
circumstances. Gurdev Singh was re-arrested and is in prison awaiting
trail. 

2nd case cited: nine-year old Pintu Majhi sacrificed by his uncle Pradip
Samal. After nine days of interrogation by police, Samal told how he had
consulted a tantric who said that to gain prosperity he should kill a child
dear to him and offer it to the goddess on an auspicious day. 

Five days before Pintu & Charano died, members of a youth organization
affiliated to the BJP destroyed hundreds of paintings by MF Husain, widely
regarded as India's greatest living artist, at an art gallery in Ahmedabad.
The extremists, none of whom have been arrested, claimed that Husain had
defiled a Hindu Goddess by depicting her naked.  

In Surendranagar (Gujurat) aid organisations are working with rural
villagers whose communities are under the control of 50 tantrics. One group
told how 10 women were horribly scarred after being made to plunge their
hands into boiling oil to settle a dispute over stolen property - the
tantrics had predicted that only the guilty would be burnt.  

An eminent scientist, Sankarshan Ray, investigated child sacrifice. His
report was ignored by govt officials. After his report was published, he
was ostracised by the scientific community. He has received hate mail both
from devotees of blood rites and those who claimed he has sullied India in
the eyes of the West. 

In 1995, Professor Chandrabanu Pattanayak fled India after receiving death
threats when he uncovered evidence of child sacrifice in Orissa and Assam.
He actually witnessed the ritual sacrifice of a child in a village. Shortly
after reporting his findings to the police, he received his first death
threat.