'Human Sacrifice' In Kerala: Don't Give It a Religious Angle........We're All Equal

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 14 October 2022 The shuddersome incident of 'human sacrifice' in Kerala in which two women were cut into pieces has shocked the world. One pervert Mohammed Shafi exploited the vulnerabilities of Bhagaval Singh and (his wife) Laila to win their confidence and committed the crime. All three are equally responsible. Shafi is a Muslim and the couple is Hindu. So, don't bring in a specific religion and zero in on that. Healer and masseur Bhagaval Singh (left), his wife Laila (right), and Shafi were arrested Tuesday in connection with the killings of two women who had been missing. (File) Photo: Indian Express ---- This is a case of sex, deviant behaviour, superstitions, black magic and pathological human greed. It's indeed sad and unnerving to know that in these 'modern' times, people can be lured and convinced to sacrifice their fellow humans. This also underlines a sordid saga of superstitions still making inroads into human consciousness. Whether Hindus or Muslims, we're imbued with sacrificial instincts. Had Britishers not intervened, Hindus would still have been decapitating poor humans to placate their blood-thirsty, subaltern deities. Killing a child to pacify a tribal deity or amass wealth is a common occurrence in India. Offering animals in place of humans at Kamakshya (Kamakhya) temple in Assam, Kalighat in Calcutta, Tuljapur Bhavani in Maharashtra, to name but a few goes on unabated till date. Earlier, humans used to be offered! Horrendous, to say the least! Years ago, now defunct The Quest carried an article. I cannot recall the name who wrote it. But I still remember the thrust of the piece. The writer argued that all religions had these sacrificial elements in their system. In fact, a faith sans blood, flesh and sacrifice wasn't considered a faith at all. Even Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic faith, 4, 000 years ago, had the concept of sacrifice. Early Christianity and Judaism (it still follows the custom of sacrifice as a perfunctory ritual) had sacrifice as a sanctified practice. All these faiths began their primitive sacrificial spree with humans but soon had to make do with animals. But subaltern societies and their religious practices continued with human sacrifice as occultism, animism, magic and recondite superstitions all acted as catalysts to forming the core of various quasi-religions. When even an animal is sacrificed to appease an imaginary blood-thirsty Hindu deity and an equally dubious Allah, the question remains whether humans have evolved that much as to part with their ingrained sanguinary instincts? Jerome K Jerome put it beautifully, “Humans have been civilizational fools, further stupified by god and religion." So long as we continue to wallow in this state of stupor, Kerala like incidents will keep happening. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/religious-angle-kerala-human-sacrifice/d/128172 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism