Is Maharashtra Still the Land of Reformers?

Weak anti-superstition law remains a showpiece; fake ‘babas’ flourish, women exploited, crores swindled. Twelve years after Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s murder, his fight for a strong law remains unfinished.

Maharashtra has long prided itself on being the land of saints, warriors and pioneering social reformers. It is this legacy that shaped the State’s progressive identity. But today, that very land stands overshadowed by a rising empire of tantriks, occult practitioners and self-styled godmen thriving on fear, superstition and human vulnerability.

Across towns and villages, these godmen have turned into quasi-feudal chieftains—extracting crores from desperate citizens, abusing women, and preying on the socio-economic distress of families. Maharashtra passed an anti–black magic law a decade ago, but on the ground, it remains toothless. If women and ordinary citizens are still falling prey every other day, the question becomes inevitable: Whose Maharashtra is this — the land of saints or the playground of tantriks and fraudsters?

A fortnight of exposes

In Kolhapur, a fake healer known as ‘Chutkewala Baba’ was exposed through a sting operation. His tricks? Snapping fingers to “cure” ailments, collecting money, and sexually exploiting women. Once caught, he fled — but was arrested in Mumbai and paraded by Kolhapur Police.

Barely a week earlier, Pune Police unearthed a shocking case: an IT engineer and his teacher-wife were duped of ₹14 crore by another godman. In Nashik, a baba was found sexually assaulting women and conning them of ₹50 lakh. One Pune-based godman even created a mobile app to steal devotees’ photos and personal data — using it to blackmail them.

These are not isolated incidents. Every corner of Maharashtra sees a market for superstition flourishing openly — and it cuts across religions and castes. The poor fall for it, the educated succumb too. And the State watches.

The law gathers dust; the godmen gather crowds.

State’s betrayal

In 1983, Dr Narendra Dabholkar launched a campaign against superstition, relentlessly demanding a strong law to curb black magic, occult rituals and exploitative practices. He backed it with scientific reasoning and unwavering commitment. But the law he fought for came only after his assassination — a sacrifice that should have shamed Maharashtra into decisive action.

Instead, what emerged was a diluted Act.

Twelve years later, Dabholkar’s murder case remains unsolved. The message is chilling — a State that cannot protect its reformers cannot protect its citizens either.

The numbers reveal the failure starkly:

From 2013 to August 2023, only 58 cases were registered under the Anti-Superstition Act.

Not a single prominent godman has been convicted.

This, in a decade when godmen’s “darbars” have multiplied across Maharashtra.

Why so few cases?

Who protects these babas?

Which politicians seek their blessings before elections?

How many candidates rely on ‘rituals’ for votes?

If superstition spreads with political patronage, the law becomes a farce.

Time is running out — strengthen the law or lose Maharashtra’s progressive identity

Maharashtra today stands at a crossroads. Either the State strengthens the Anti–Black Magic Act, empowers enforcement agencies, and cracks down on predatory godmen without political compromise, or it risks losing the very legacy its saints and reformers built.

If urgent steps are not taken, the progressive tilak on Maharashtra’s forehead will fade — replaced by a stain of blind belief and exploitation.

The choice is clear. The question is: will the State act, or will the godmen continue to rule the gullible, unchecked? 

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Kolhapur. Views personal.)