Illiteracy Gave Birth to Superstitions

Illiteracy Gave Birth to Superstitions

( by Mehak Datta)

“BLACK CATS ARE EVIL”, “SNEEZING BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME IS BAD”

We often come across phrases like this in our surroundings, and we have inculcated these things in our minds by our near and dear ones but are they coming up from the uneducated? Does Illiteracy play any role in it?

The answer is YES, Illiteracy does not play a fuller role but 7/10 cases of “crime done believing in superstitions” come from the backward and uneducated class which does not have any grounds for it to be proven right. Have you ever come across the phrase “breaking of a glass brings Good luck?” Don’t you think if it would be true, glass companies would be the most profiting from it? Or “walking under the ladder is a bad luck”, “itchy palm brings Good luck” and there are thousands of such unproven superstitions.

What are superstitions? There are numerous meanings of strange notion however I like this one: "A conviction, not founded on human explanation or scientific knowledge, that future occasions might be impacted by one's conduct in some supernatural or otherworldly manner." The Superstition has affected the lower Illiterate sections so much that many lives have to suffer. Women are the biggest to get affected by all these superstitions which has no scientific grounds to be proven right. Sometimes they form the grounds for the utmost crimes. Most of the psychological disorders such as schizophrenia is given the name of “bhooth-badha” by these so called “sadhus and dhongies” and the people have nothing else to do but to trust them as they are given proper knowledge and education by the literates and educated people. Some superstitions have a scientific and valid grounds which has been broadcasted and portrayed in a wrong way for own benefits. The saying that women should not enter a religious place or even go into kitchens to cook food are putted up in a way that it is a sin to do so but for the matter of fact it isn't and it's more like this practise was done so that they could rest and take a break in those painful days. Who takes the responsibility to educate them about all these things Illiteracy is as bad for a nation as downfall in an economy, and coming from such a diverse culture where every person has their own beliefs and notion it becomes even harder goal to achieve.

News popped up on 23rd July 2019 “Illiteracy and superstition prevent Prithvipur women from going to hospitals for birth”. Women prefer to give birth at home as they lack awareness of reproductive health. She also says that only one woman out of whole village has given birth in the community hospital. There are so many examples like these in India which are formed due to lack of awareness and education. 

Let's try to understand this concept of lack of education giving rise to superstitions with an example-: 

I believe when a person in unaware of something they would end up making assumption about it and make their own set of notions for that situation which would eventually lead to a chain of events which somewhat or somewhere relate to the situation even if to the minutest and that would be the time the person would start believing on the way s/he assumed it to be and boom the superstition just got its roots to spread and now the chain would go on and on from his/her generation to another and it would be passed on anyway. 

Another brief to understand this could be:-

We have witnessed so many cases of “black magic” and offering an alive soul in order to save other or in simple words “bali” of a person for our own benefits. Whom we should blame it on? Who has inculcated these things into their heads that killing a person and offering it to god will bring good luck to you? This is the scenario of 9/10 villages of India because they are not well-educated upon these things and no one even cares to help them. The rising no of cases which involves these superstitions indicate how far we have come in developing metropolitan cities but could not provide the basis education needed by the citizens and which is out of the basis amenities which a citizen of a country should have. We are growing and developing with technology but what is it for or should I say whom it is for when people still believe in stupid superstitions like “keeping peacock’s feather (mor-pankh) in notebook brings Vidhya”, “cutting nails after 6 o’clock is bad”. If this was true, I would be a great mathematician.

So who will come forward and take the initiative to stop this chain? You and me, the youth has the power to do it. We are the ones who can spread this awareness and educate people. We are the generation who do not believe in sayings and rather demand a proof for every belief and why not if

something is being taught to us it must have some grounds of reality to it. We have to join our hands and come together to break this chain of superstitions stopping women to study and bringing torture and brutality to the human lives in any way possible. If we truly want to see Our country to be developed, we have to start from the lowest level and these people the ones living in slums with lack of education and awareness are the roots of development. It is such a great saying that “to build a building, its roots should be strong”.

So, in a nutshell Illiteracy does give birth to superstitions but

with a strong will we could educate and spread awareness

and help many lives to nourish its abilities.

Disclaimer:-

The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Light de Literacy and LDL does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.