A Full-fledged Campaign against Superstition, Animal Sacrifice

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

A Full-fledged Campaign against Superstition, Animal Sacrifice

By Express News Service

Published: 20th October 2014 06:07 AM

Last Updated: 20th October 2014 06:07 AM

KOCHI: The World Council of Arya Samaj, together with prominent religious leaders, will demand the United Nations (UN) that the day of Narendra Dhabolkar’s martyrdom be declared as the ‘International Day against Superstitions’, said Swami Agnivesh.

According to him, Dhabolkar, the founder-president of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was killed in Mumbai last year by people who were irked by his anti-superstition activism.

Swami Agnivesh, who was in Kochi the other day, told ‘Express’ that people from all parts of the world should join the global movement against superstition launched recently by the World Council of Arya Samaj.

On Sunday, he met noted jurist Justice V R Krishna Iyer and sought his support for the movement.

Quoting Article-15(A) of the Constitution, he said that it was the fundamental duty of an Indian citizen to promote scientific temper and work against superstitions.

“In the coming days, we will intensify our fight against animal slaughter of every kind, including those performed in the name of religion.

“No God, Allah or Ishwar wants the blood of his own creation,” he said, and added that he was planning to travel to Nepal in November, along with a team of religious and political leaders, to campaign against the animal slaughter performed there as part of the annual ‘Gadai Maai’ festival.

 “Around five lakh animals are sacrificed along the Nepal-Bihar border every year as part of the festival. This year, the festival is slated for November 28 and 29. We will go there and conduct awareness programmes in this regard,” he said.

He said that Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and Opposition Leader Susheel Modi had promised to take steps to ban the animal sacrifice being performed as part of the festival.

“We will urge the Nepal Government to bring in a provision in the country’s Constitution to ban animal sacrifice,” Swami Agnivesh said.

 He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should honour the promise, made during the election campaign, of banning the export of meat.

“Though we had submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister, demanding a ban on meat export and animal slaughter we have not received any reply yet,” he added.

Source - http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/A-Full-fledged-Campaign-against-Superstition-Animal-Sacrifice/2014/10/20/article2486511.ece