National Human Rights Commission glares at children being buried 'to cure' deformities

The Commission said the ritual was weird, unethical and cruel towards poor kids, who were being treated with indignity in the name of faith.
It took suo motu cognisance of media reports that children with special needs were buried neck-deep in compost pits in Kalaburagi, Karnataka. (Representational Image)
It took suo motu cognisance of media reports that children with special needs were buried neck-deep in compost pits in Kalaburagi, Karnataka. (Representational Image)

NEW DELHI:  The National Human Rights Commission on Monday directed the Karnataka government to file a detailed response over the “inhuman” practice of burying children neck deep in compost pits to find a cure for their deformities. 

The panel observed that such rituals violated human rights of the children and there was a need to sensitize the authorities as well as the parents of such children to not victimise them in the name of “blind faith.”

It took suo motu cognisance of media reports that children with special needs were buried neck-deep in compost pits in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, under the belief that exposure to sharp rays during a solar eclipse would cure them of their deformities.

The incidents were reported from three villages in the district.  Asking the chief secretary to respond within six weeks, the commission also asked if apart from Kalaburagi, this practice was prevalent in other districts of the state and if that was the case, what action was being taken by the authorities.

“The report must include if the state government has issued any guidelines with regard to the subject and status of its implementation. The chief secretary of the state is expected to look into the matter personally.” 

The Commission said the ritual was weird, unethical and cruel towards poor kids, who were being treated with indignity in the name of faith. Observing that that these were times when medical science was progressing and very complicated surgeries are being conducted in the country, medical care and treatment was what these young children with deformities required. 

Blind faith still prevails

While the celestial event is nothing more than an interplay of shadows of the Sun, the Moon and the Earth, the solar eclipse gives rise to several superstitions

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