---
title: "Superstition in India"
chunk: 3/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition_in_India"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:09:44.122700+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

==== Notable persons and incidents ====
Originally from Sri Lanka, Swami Premananda moved to India in 1984 and founded an ashram in Pudukkotai, Tamil Nadu, in 1989. In 1996, one of the girls living the ashram escaped and reported that she was raped and was pregnant. In view of the so-called spiritual powers of the accused, which included doing miracles like materializing vibhuti and regurgitating small Shiva lingams, an illusionist was invited to the court and he performed both the miracles in the open court. In 1997, the Swami was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined ₹60 lakh for 13 counts of rape and a murder.
Chandraswami, astrologer and spiritual guru, was a close associate of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. He was indicted in several lawsuits including in the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. In 2011, the Supreme Court of India fined him ₹9 crore (US$1.4 million) for multiple violations of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).
In December 2002, Santosh Madhavan defrauded an Indian expatriate woman living in Dubai of DH 400,000 (₹50 lakh) by claiming he had supernatural powers, and disappeared. The Interpol issued an alert for his arrest on the advice of Dubai police. Later in 2008, his photograph was recognized by the woman in a magazine and she realized that the person was living in Kochin pretending to be a godman called Swami Amritha Chaitanya. On learning of the Interpol alert, he denied the allegations, but the local police were suspicious and decided to search his properties. The police discovered CDs containing child porn from the premises. He was convicted of raping under-aged children and sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment in May 2009.
In August 2002, when psychic surgeon Reverend Alex Orbito visited Bangalore from Philippines, some rationalists filed a case in the city court. The city court declared psychic surgery to be a trick and ordered the organizers to stop the event. The organizers ignored the order and decided to go ahead. The court ordered arrests for contempt of court but Alex Orbito evaded arrest and escaped from the country. Bangalore police has stated that there are no plans to extradite him but he will be arrested if he tries to return to Bangalore.
In September 2013, when the large and influential guru Asaram Bapu was acquitted for the rape of one of his devotees living at his ashram, his blindly trusting devotees learned about the true nature and practices at the ashram. In his ashrams, there were many types of abuses occurring in the name of being a true devotee. Underage girls were sexually abused. After being caught, he was sentenced to life.
Chintaharan Chauhan, an Indian man, dressed as a bride for 30 years in order to ward off illness and death from his family. He claimed that several people from his family started dying after his wife committed suicide when he left her. He thought that his wife's death was the reason behind the deaths in his family; therefore, he decided to dress as a bride in order to keep his wife alive within him, and stop the continuous series of deaths.

==== Criticism ====
Sanal Edamaruku, president of the Indian Rationalist Association, has criticized TV channels for broadcasting shows featuring godmen. Narendra Nayak, president of Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, has stated that politicians patronizing godmen serves to sanction superstitions of the general public. Nayak has also debunked several so-called miracles of godmen like psychic surgery, materializing vibhuti, money, jewelry, and fire eating. He travels through villages demonstrating the tricks behind these miracles.

=== Witch-hunts ===
Some people, mostly in villages, have the belief that witchcraft and black magic (kala-jaadu) are effective. This prompts some to seek advice from witch doctors for health, financial or marital problems. Unfortunately, others, especially women, are accused of witchcraft, attacked, and occasionally killed. According to reports, widows or divorcees tend to be targeted to rob them of their property. Revered village witch-doctors are paid to brand specific persons as witches, so that they can be killed without repercussions. The existing laws have been ineffective in curbing the murders. In June 2013, the National Commission for Women (NCW) reported that according to National Crime Records Bureau statistics, 768 women had been murdered for allegedly practicing witchcraft since 2008. Alongside this, they announced plans for newer, more stringent laws.

==== Recent cases ====
Between 2001 and 2006, an estimated 300 people were killed in the state of Assam. In October 2003, three women were branded as witches and humiliated, afterwards they all committed suicide in Kamalpura village in Muzaffarpur district in Bihar. Between 2005 and 2010, about 35 witchcraft related murders reportedly took place in Odisha's Sundergarh district. In August 2013, a couple were hacked to death by a group of people in Kokrajhar district in Assam. In September 2013, in the Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, a woman was murdered and her daughter was raped on the allegation that they were practicing black magic.

== Incidents ==

=== 1995 Hindu milk miracle ===

On 21 September 1995, a Ganesha idol in Delhi was reported to have drunk the milk offered to it. Soon, as the news spread, similar phenomenon were reported from all over India and a few from abroad. Other idols, like those of Nandi and Shiva, were also reported drinking milk. The price of milk soared due to shortage and policemen had to be placed at temples to maintain order. Yash Pal, scientist and educator, called it an illusion. National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) scientists demonstrated that it was caused by capillary action by mixing red dye with the milk.

=== 2012 Sanal Edamaruku and the Jesus statue incident ===