The 'Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice, other Inhuman and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013' is a piece of Indian legislation aimed at tackling the problem of religious human sacrifice and other similar activities 👇🧵 x.com
The specific clauses of the act cover a range of magical and religious acts that could lead to harm, death or manipulation - eg coercive sex or theft of money. The list is so specific you have to imagine each of these things has been reported before. x.com
The origins of the bill go back to 2003 and every step of the legislative process has faced fierce opposition. One of its greatest advocates, Dr Narendra Dabholkar, was shot dead in 2013 by Hindu nationalists. x.com
Despite the bill being passed in Maharashtra, India has a huge problem with human sacrifice and religiously motivated murder and mutilation. x.com
To take a few examples from just the last few years - in Sept 2024 a seven year old boy in Uttar Pradesh was ritually killed, in order to bring greater fortunes to his school. x.com
In 2023 five men were arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman in a temple in Guwahati, they allegedly used machetes to behead her as part of a religious rite to mark the anniversary of one of the killers' brother’s death. x.com
In 2022 two women were lured into a house in Kerala and tortured, before being killed and dismembered. The perpetrators were said to be occultists attempting to receive divine fortune through the ritual murders. x.com
In Oct 2024 a man killed his grandmother with a trident and offered up her blood at a nearby temple, before attempting suicide himself. x.com
Implementation of the bill continues to slowly roll on from state to state, but how effective it will be remains to be seen. x.com
It is difficult to get a handle on exact numbers for these types of crimes, but it looks like the Maharashtra Act has been useful for law enforcement and the crime figures have increased in that state, reflecting better reporting and sentencing. x.com
It's worth pointing out that this Indian legislative initiative had a direct impact in Uganda, who have modelled their own 'anti human sacrifice' bill based on the Maharashtra example
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