Rights activists lashed out yesterday at local officials who allowed hundreds of infants to be dropped from the roof of a mosque in western India in the belief that the fall — which ends when the babies are caught in a bedsheet — would ensure good health and prosperity for their families.
The ritual at the Baba Umer Durga, a Muslim shrine, is believed to have been followed for nearly 700 years, and each year hundreds of people, both Hindus and Muslims, take part in the ritual.
The infants, mostly under two years old, were dangled Thursday from the roof of the shrine near Sholapur, about 280 miles south of Mumbai, before being dropped about 50 feet onto a bedsheet held aloft by parents and other believers.
With high child mortality rates, especially in India's rural areas, many people resort to rituals which they believe can ensure their children's health.
Child rights activists expressed outrage about the babies being dropped. "This shows the complete failure of the local administration to prevent this practice and to create awareness about children's health," said Ranjana Kumari, a civil rights activist in New Delhi.
"It is also a reflection of the lack of access to health services, that forces people to behave in this irrational manner," Kumari said.
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