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COMMENT: Child sacrifice and Tantric Hinduism — Ishtiaq Ahmed

A local woman had been suffering for some time from nightmares and strange visions. She had consulted a holy man who instructed her to carry out the sacrifice. Akash was lured away by being offered sweets. His grandmother Harpyari told the journalists, “First they cut out his tongue, then they cut off his nose, then his ears. Then they chopped off his fingers”

On April 12, 2006, the BBC World online service published a report filed by their correspondent, Navdip Dhariwal. He is posted in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, and this report focused on a major crime against humanity — child sacrifice in the form of a bestial ritualistic murder.

That the gods want human sacrifice to keep them in good humour is a belief that can be traced to many ancient cults and religions. Even the Abrahamic tradition offers some such incidents. But when God ordered Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) to offer his son to Him as proof of the latter’s total submission to His will and Abraham proceeded to comply with the instructions God sent a sheep instead which was slaughtered by Abraham instead.

Jews, Christians and Muslims are agreed that such an incident took place, although Jews and Christians assert that Abraham chose his son Isaac for the sacrifice while Muslims believe that the other son, Ishmael, was offered to God. However, only Muslims continue with the tradition and millions of goats, sheep, lambs, cows and camels are slaughtered every year to celebrate the sunnah (tradition) of Abraham. I would not be surprised if suicide bombers in particular are told this story to prepare them to offer their lives for Allah.

With regard to India, there is ample proof that sacrificing animals to gods and goddesses was a regular feature in antiquity among the Hindus. They ate meat, including beef. In fact the practice of sacrifices had become so profuse and elaborate that livestock was rapidly depleting. The Brahmins then decided to change policy altogether and declared the cow holy and forbade beef-eating.

How come then that the dreadful practice of human sacrifice exists in the Indian countryside? I would not be in a position to say much except that it certainly does and is associated with Tantric Hinduism. Before writing this article, I checked on the Internet all respectable websites on Tantric Hinduism.

Not surprisingly, they overflow with spiritual phraseology, which tells us that Tantric thought cleanses the soul and mind of all temptation. What I learnt in particular was that it is a cult which teaches techniques of prolonging the sexual act without deriving pleasure out of it. They believe that by controlling pleasure one is able to master the human body and mind. In particular the Tantrics worship the goddess of destruction, Kali.

Kali is the female cohort of Lord Shiva. She is the Divine Mother. Shiva and Kali play out together the cosmic dance of love for all eternity. Where there is love, compassion and mercy, Kali is directly present. She is also a symbol of female power or shakti.

Notwithstanding such explanation, some very revolting, heinous crimes are carried out in contemporary India in the name of Tantric Hinduism. If there is a good version of this cult then it is time for its practitioners to do something to stop its name being used for grotesquely cruel activities. Certainly child sacrifice cannot be condoned under any circumstance.

The case in point, which inspired this article, is the following. Barha is a village in Uttar Pradesh. It is only a three-hour drive from New Delhi. The BBC investigative team had been tipped off that a child had been murdered in a ritualistic manner in accordance with some medieval practice.

The journalists arrived in the village and peeped into the room of the house where the crime had been committed. They found posters of Hindu gods and goddesses all over the wall. They also found blood-splattered walls and stained bricks. A little boy, Akash Singh, had been sacrificed to please Kali. Akash belonged to a very poor family.

A local woman had been suffering for some time from nightmares and strange visions. She had consulted a holy man who instructed her to carry out the sacrifice. The boy’s death would offer her a better life. Akash was lured away by being offered sweets. His grandmother Harpyari told the journalists, “First they cut out his tongue, then they cut off his nose, then his ears. Then they chopped off his fingers. They killed him slowly.”

The grossly mutilated body was discovered by his petrified mother. The woman who abducted Akash lived just a few doors away.

There are temples across India devoted to goddess Kali. Childless couples, destitute and impoverished people and those who are sick pray to her for help. The Tantric Hindus are one extreme group among the various worshippers of Kali. They are notorious for their overwhelming grip on followers.

S Raju, a journalist for Hindustan Times, has been reporting on child sacrifice cases in western Uttar Pradesh since 1997. He has reported at least 38 similar cases. In one case, he says, a Tantric told a young man that if he hanged and killed a small boy and lit a fire at his feet the smoke from the ritual could be used to lure the pretty village girl he had his eye on.

Indian law strictly forbids such activities and the woman who brutally killed Akash Singh and the holy man who advised her and his associates were arrested and imprisoned. Journalists visited that jail. The prison warden told them that over 200 cases of child sacrifice had taken place in those parts over the last seven years. He admitted that many cases go unreported because the police are reluctant to tarnish the image of their state so that such incidents are often covered up. One can only guess how extensive and pervasive is the Tantric type of superstition is in the rest of India, but I am sure its tentacles are in every nook and corner of that vast country.

A few months ago, I saw on the Zee TV some flashes of a programme in which the famous actress Hema Malini performed a dance, either in the role of Kali or a devotee to her. She looked truly frightening with her horrible make-up and her tongue all red to indicate blood. I remember feeling very uneasy at the macabre performance.

The famous Indian feminists, Urvashi Butalia and Ritu Menon, jointly own the publishing company called Kali for Women. The next time I meet them I will urge them to get rid of their symbol of power and struggle against patriarchal oppression of the influence of Tantric superstitions and barbarism.

The author is an associate professor of political science at Stockholm University. He is the author of two books. His email address is Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se

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