First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, with his modern outlook and western education, had laid stress on developing a scientific temper among Indians. Developing such a mindset also meant rising above superstitious beliefs and challenging such practices.
All these would seem to be a thing of the past, if one goes by what has been happening in recent times. In a new development, the BJP led Madhya Pradesh government has decided to open Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) for patients to consult astrologers in hospitals, to know more about the diagnosis and depth of diseases afflicting them.
Soothsayers will provide guidance to patients facing diverse problems. These consultants will be staffed by qualified astrologers under the aegis of the Maharshi Patanjali Sanskrit Sansthan (MPSS), a state government institution. In these OPDs, experts will study planetary combinations in horoscopes of patients and offer solutions. This, by way of an initial guidance for doctors to follow and act upon.
At a time when advances in science and technology are rapidly taking over the world, India seems to be regressing into the dark ages of superstition and religious fanaticism. From astrologers coming in before doctors and gau rakshaks openly brandishing weapons, the message from Hindu fundamentalists is clear. Fall in line with the hardline or clear out.
Rightly or wrongly, many superstitious beliefs formed part of the Indian way of life. Much of these have been progressively losing steam, but these are revival times for such beliefs, as is seen from the MP government’s new decision.
As reports say, astrologers will now be in place at hospitals, while emphasis is also laid on Vastu, the traditional Indian system of architecture. The government plans to produce a set of experienced Vastu experts, apart from astrologers and ‘purohits’. Vastu is believed to have a scientific basis, and is seen by many as more of a science than a religious belief.
Even so, the MP government’s decision to set up Astrology OPDs at hospitals from September seems to be a political move, going against scientific and modern thoughts in the world of medicine. The decision is also being seen as a move to create and strengthen a pool of qualified astrologers and vastu experts across the state. At the same time, many will likely see this as an act bordering on religious lunaticism.
Curiously, it is not the BJP government alone that is taking a fancy to such beliefs. Congress party followers in Madhya Pradesh, too, are seen to be acting in tandem with the MP government’s attitude. These worthies, according to reports, have surmised that the bad times for the Congress in the state — where power has been eluding it for the past nearly 15 years — is due to the fact that “toilets” on the third floor of the party headquarters in Bhopal are facing the “wrong” direction.
Whether the Congress party’s present plight, not just in MP but across the country too, has anything to do with Vastu is a debatable point.
Chances are that even Vastu will not be able to retrieve the Grand Old Party from the depths to which it has sunk due to its utter neglect in recent years.
