[Assam] Religion & Faith

[Ram Sarangapani]

Here is this story of a child born with two faces. In India she is now being
worshipped as a reincarnation.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/08/baby.heads.ap/index.html

As soon as the story broke out the other day, I knew this is where it would
lead to. This is extending faith to an extreme, an illogical extreme, and
then there are opportunists all around. The poor child is, of course,
suffering from a birth defect, the child's face is grotesque, but there are
zealots and opportunists who apparently see yet another way to make a fast
buck. I seriously doubt if the country and community will come together and
get the child some medical treatment.

I have nothing against people professing or having faith, but this sort of
thing, IMHO, is going to the extremes.

On the flip side, its probably good for the poor farmer, he might make make
some money out of this, and the child will not at least be cast aside like a
leper by the family and community because of the abnormality.

This kind of thing is a tiny window through which one can see yet another
facet of India. The country is a dichotomy of sorts. While there are vast
advancements in many areas in urban India, the same is not true in rural and
also in states that are obviously not in the Center's radar screen.

"Thinking" in India is what needs changing. The 'present-day thinking' is it
seems burdened with centuries of unecessary baggage, mingled & confused with
an unhealthy mixture of some of the worst 'thinking from the West'.

Just my 2 cents.

--Ram