In Karnataka, people perform ‘half burials’ of children during solar eclipse

Karnataka, solar eclipse rituals
Solar eclipse rituals were performed by local people of some villages in Karnataka
Karnataka, solar eclipse rituals
Solar eclipse rituals were performed by local people of some villages in Karnataka

Science has become a major part of everyone’s life in today’s world and it can be seen as a way to clear misconceptions and rituals among people. But even science can’t erase the misconceptions completely from every part of the world and Karnataka is one such example.

Among one of the most bizarre rituals children with disabilities being buried neck deep in compost pits during the eclipse in Kalaburagi, Vijayapura and Tumakuru districts, with the belief that it would cure them completely.

In one of the case three children were buried neck deep in Taj Sultanpur village on the outskirts of Kalaburagi by their parents till the solar eclipse ended.

A team of rationalists including Shrishail Ghooli, Ravindra Shahabadi and Sarangdhar Deshikendra Swami of Sarang Mutt in Srisailam reached the spot and told the parents that such practices would only cause further health problems. Some time later, a team from the Woman and Child Development Department and members of the Child Welfare Committee also counselled the families of the disabled children.

State president of the Indian Orthopaedic Association, S.B. Kamareddy, who visited the spot, said that as the children suffered from congenital deformity surgery was needed. He offered to perform free of cost surgeries to cure the actual problem in the child’s body.

Some other similar cases were seen in Vijayapura district where a five-year-old boy of Ainoli village and six-year-old girl of Gadilingadahalli village were buried two hours in compost pits during the solar eclipse. In Indi taluk, a 24-year-old physically challenged person was buried neck deep in compost.

Many locals gathered to see this ritual but none of them tried to educate the family members about the side effects it will bring along.

While a similar incident was reported from Ballappanahatti in Tumakuru district, it turned out that parents had decided to imitate the ritual to “cure” their seven-year daughter after watching a television programme on it. The mother told Child Development and Protection Officer Thippaiah, who rushed to the village, that she was desperate to cure her child.

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