Superstition’s tryst with politics and media

India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was an ardent promoter of rationalism and scientific thought, not to mention his penchant for secularism and distaste for dogma. Writing an article titled Remembering Nehru as a ‘Friend of Science’ Professor of orthopaedics and prolific writer Shah Alam says “Nehru’s scientific legacy today is a must, particularly for the upcoming generation of Indians so as to insulate them from the effects of bigotry and jargon of unscientific rhetoric coming from the highest offices of the government.” Unfortunately, such leaders of scientific disposition are more the exception than the rule in today’s politics.

Of course, many politicians are not averse to furthering the teaching of science and technology as subjects in the school curriculum but it is a far cry from nurturing a rational and scientific attitude in the minds of people. While promoting science at secondary and tertiary levels helps catering to the need for specialists in industry, it doesn’t seem to have contributed much towards making people develop a scientific temper. You would be in for a disappointment if you expected even those who teach science subjects- or, probably, many of them- to have a scientific frame of mind in their day to day life. Nobody should be surprised to hear of tutors of science subjects who begin their new classes at ‘auspicious’ times prescribed by astrologers although you may rest assured that they are relentlessly scientific in the classroom. Such fickle intellectuality is not a rare phenomenon. Many of those in executive positions make it a point to go to kovils or places of worship when they get a new car. Their faith in voodoo displayed unashamedly in the way they hang tokens of vows wrapped in rags of red cloth around the steering wheel does not do much credit to the aura of sophistication they show in their dress and deportment.

It seems that science has improved the conditions of our physical existence leaving our obsession with superstitions untouched. The publicity received by Kali Peniya a few moons ago exemplified in no small measure the bizarre alliance of three forces that conspire to manipulate the collective psyche of the Sri Lankans at present- namely, politics, media and superstition. The first two are unanimously considered as necessary evils while the third constitutes the residue of our inherited ignorance conveniently hyped in style as spirituality by the first two- politics and media- particularly, electronic media. If the twosome had been in the hands of enlightened people of Nehru’s fame, the third would have been banished from society many decades ago. But how can we expect the masses to look at charmed cures with the healthy scepticism they warrant when politics and visual media, wittingly or unwittingly, endorse superstition to the hilt?

Obviously, our ancestors took tens of thousands of years to shed their superstitions as the progress of science went at a snail’s pace. However, today when science is making giant strides one would expect it to light up the dark areas of our knowledge with equal pace. However, politics and mass media, which have evolved keeping pace with the development of science, seem to be acting against an unfettered alliance between science and the masses. Scientists are engrossed in their research and have no time for popularising science for the benefit of the layman. This gap has become a haven for propaganda machines. We know how visual media with their immense manipulative power bolster public faith in soothsaying and witchcraft. TV channels that shape public opinion in a big way don’t seem to consider themselves accountable for verifying the ‘truths’ they propagate despite countless instances of them having proved blatantly false.

According to anthropologists, superstitions helped the earth’s early inhabitants to lower their anxiety resulting from persistent feelings of the unknown. Therefore it is no wonder that during famines, plagues and natural disasters they used to cling to superstitions readily. Today we are streets ahead of our ancestors in understanding of the causes of pestilences but we lack proper mechanisms to raise awareness of the masses in countering retrogressive forces at the service of irrational belief. The mass hysteria whipped up by the Kali syrup a few weeks ago emphasizes the need for such people friendly communication methods.

Susantha Hewa