Haveri (Karnataka): The child being the most vulnerable of the society is very often the worst victim of atrocities linked to superstitions and thereby religious beliefs too.
In the Hazrat Thokar Shah Wali dargah of Bankapura town in Karnataka's Haveri district, people are still following an uncanny habit.
The people who do not have children, make a vow in the dargah and after getting blessed with a child, the parents use to come here and perform a ritual to fulfil their vow.
Parents used to tie their babies in a cradle and they drop it deep in the well of the dargah till the well's water touch to the baby. If the cradle, tied with the rope, gets snapped and the baby inadvertently falls into the well, the infant drowns and the parents don't get their child back. The people in that area believe that the child as a misfortune for them.
The dargah is frequently visited by women, who wish to have children and unmarried women who want to find a good life partner. Many people get their sick children here. It is said that if one makes a vow at the dargah it comes true. It is also said that people who had problems, used to sleep outside the dargah. They received peace of mind and got solutions to their problems through dreams.
This practice is followed for many years in Bankapur Dargah and recently a video of such an incident is going viral everywhere in social media.
After abolishing of superstitious beliefs by the Indian and also the Karnataka government, the committee of the dargah and the people are still following such kind of uncanny practice. The district administration has also failed to prevent this practice.
Most parents tend to follow this practice too since they’d rather be called superstitious than risk being childless. However, such kind of superstitions can actually do more harm than good.
ALSO READ: Karnataka Minister bins COVID-19 norms at MLA's son's wedding
