---
title: "Superstition in India"
chunk: 1/5
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"
---

Superstitions in India are prevalent and are based on myths, legends, fables, traditions and stories. 
People stop if a black cat crosses their path, or if someone sneezes, auspicious work is postponed. Common superstitions in India today include a black cat crossing the road being bad luck, cutting fingernails/toenails at nighttime is considered to give bad luck, a crow calling meaning that guests are arriving, drinking milk after eating fish causing skin diseases, and itchy palms signaling the arrival of money.

== Overview ==
Superstitions are usually attributed to lack of education; however, this has not always been the case in India, as there are many educated people with beliefs considered superstitious by the public. Superstitious beliefs and practices vary from one region to another, ranging from harmless practices such as lemon-and-chili to terms in order to ward off the evil eye, to harmful acts like witch-burning.
Being part of tradition and religion, these beliefs and practices have been passed down from one generation to another for centuries. The Indian government has tried to put new laws prohibiting such practices into effect. Due to the rich history of superstition, these laws often face a lot of opposition from the general public. In 2013, Narendra Dabholkar, an anti-superstition specialist, who was also the founder of the Committee for the Eradication of Blind Faith, was fatally shot by two bikers for requesting the enactment of a law that prohibits black magic. Critics argued that the Indian constitution does not prohibit such acts.

== Past ==

=== Sati ===

Sati is the act or custom of a Hindu widow burning herself or being burned to death on the funeral pyre of her husband. After watching the Sati of his own sister-in-law, Ram Mohan Roy began campaigning for abolition of the practice in 1811. The practice of Sati was abolished by Governor General Lord William Bentinck in British India in 1829.
On 4 September 1987, 18-year-old Roop Kanwar, from Deorala, Rajasthan, who had been married for 7 months, was burned to death on her husband's pyre. It was alleged the victim had tried to escape, but she was drugged and forced on to the pyre. On 1 October 1987, the legislative assembly of Rajasthan passed an ordinance against Sati, which was later turned into an Act. It was followed by pro-Sati rallies and protests in Jaipur. On 3 January 1988, the Indian parliament passed a new law (Commission (Prevention) of Sati Act 1987) based on Rajasthan's legislation of 1987, which also criminalized the glorification of Sati. Police charged Kanwar's father-in-law and brother-in-law of allegedly forcing her to commit the act, but they were acquitted in October 1996.

=== Human sacrifice ===

Although human sacrifices are not prevalent in India, rare isolated incidents do happen, especially in rural areas. In some cases, humans have been replaced by animals and birds. This has caused backlash from animal rights groups, so in some places they have again been replaced by human effigies. The motives behind these sacrifices include inducing rainfall and helping childless women conceive. It is alleged that cases often go unreported or are covered up. Between 1999 and 2006, about 200 cases of child sacrifices were reported from Uttar Pradesh.

== Prevalent ==

=== Auspicious days ===
In Hinduism, people are believed to have auspicious or favourable days on which they will have a high probability of success in any task they do. Such days with a certain time are calculated based on the individual's birth star, moon, and planetary phases according to Hindu astrology. Starting a business or businesses signing new deals or starting new ventures is mostly conducted on auspicious days of persons involved in the business. Hindu marriages are also done in a matching auspicious time and date of a bride and groom according to Hindu astrology and horoscope of the bride and groom.

=== Fortune telling ===
Fortune telling is a common practice in India. Fortune tellers have a variety of ways of predicting the future like palmistry, consulting horoscope, numerology, parrot astrology, boom boom mattukaran etc.

=== Godmen and faith healers ===

The word godman in modern usage is a colloquial blanket term used for charismatic spiritual leaders in India. Locally, they may be referred to as baba, swami, guru, shastri, bapu or bhagat. Many of them claim to have magic or psychic powers and perform miracles. On the other hand, some only provide spiritual advice. There are also female gurus. Many of them are worshiped by their followers as avatars or living gods. Many of them belong to ancient ascetic lineages or claim to be successor to some previous spiritual predecessor. Some of them have built large pan-Indian or international networks. Their recent success has been attributed to the use of mass media and public relations techniques.