What Is Astrology and Why Does It Remain Popular?
- Astrology vs Astronomy: Understanding the Difference
- The Role of Indian Media in Promoting Astrological Beliefs
- Why Educated People Continue to Believe in Astrology
- Astrology, Palmistry, and the Psychology of Uncertainty
- The Business of Astrology in India and Around the World
- Astrology in Politics, Government, and Public Life
- UGC, Universities, and the Debate Over Astrology as a Science
- Scientific Temper and the Challenge of Superstition in India
- How Superstitions Divert Attention from Real Socio-Economic Issues
- Poverty, Unemployment, and Public Welfare: The Issues That Matter
- Justice Katju’s Call for Rational Thinking and Scientific Outlook
- Can Science Eventually Replace Belief in Astrology?
- The Future of Scientific Thinking in Indian Society
Moving from Superstition to Rational Inquiry
Justice Markandey Katju examines the widespread belief in astrology and palmistry in India, arguing that they are unscientific superstitions that distract society from addressing poverty, unemployment, healthcare, education, and other pressing socio-economic challenges.
Astrology
By Justice Markandey Katju
These days, the Indian media is full of horoscopes and astrological forecasts, and evidently, a large section of the Indian people willingly lap up this humbug and nonsense. A few examples are given below :
TV channels that beam programmes on astrology have high viewership ratings. The Indian media promotes superstitions and backward ideas to divert people's attention from the real issues facing the nation. The media owners regard the media as only a means of making money, and consequently, in India, recent tendencies show the media playing an extremely reactionary role. by promoting superstitions like astrology and backward ideas, and diverting attention of the people from the huge real issues facing India, which are socio-economic, such as widespread poverty, massive unemployment, appalling level of child malnutrition ( every second Indian child is malnourished, according to Global Hunger Index ), almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for our masses, skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, etc.
Most businessmen, politicians, lawyers, professors, students, unemployed youth, etc believe in astrology, and often visit astrologers ( who make a lot of money from their spurious vocation ), wanting to know their future and opportunities.
There is widespread belief in astrology and palmistry among a large number of Indians, which reflects their backward mindsets. Every day, one sees horoscope forecasts in the Indian media, which indicates that many people believe in them. People are advised to wear clothes of certain colours, or certain precious stones, depending on their ‘raashi’, for success in some activity or to avoid a mishap. They often go to astrologers or palmists to know about their future and how to avoid a calamity and be successful
Astrology is the prediction of future human affairs by the study of the movements of the celestial bodies ( the sun, stars, planets, etc ).
Palmistry is future prediction by studying the palm.
Astrology is not to be confused with astronomy. While astronomy is a science, astrology and palmistry are pure superstition, humbug, and poppycock. Even a little common sense can tell us that there is no rational connection between our future lives and the movement of stars and planets, or the lines on one’s palm. How can the movement of celestial bodies, or a look at one’s palm, determine whether one will succeed in a business, or become a doctor, teacher, lawyer, scientist or artist, or get a job ( if unemployed ), or die at 50 or 80? And how can that tell us how to avoid a misfortune or be successful in some activity ? Yet the vast majority of Indians believe in them, and it is believed that 30% of the citizens of the USA, the most technically advanced country in the world, believe in astrology.
Astrology apps became popular in late 2010s in America, receiving millions of dollars in Silicon Valley venture capital.
After the attempted assassination of former US President Ronald Reagan, his wife, Nancy, commissioned a person as a secret White House astrologer.
In Japan, women born in a ‘hinoeuma’ year are believed to bring bad luck and have difficulty getting married ( like ‘mangali’ girls in India ).
When I was appointed Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, I was advised not to take the oath of office at ‘rahukaalam’ time, which is regarded as inauspicious. Many Ministers, Judges, and others take the oath of office only at the time advised by their astrologer.
A very senior lawyer of the Indian Supreme Court, who had been Attorney General of India, told me that many of his clients from South India ( who were all educated and well-to-do) would tell him not to start reading his brief at ‘rahukaalam’ time.
The University Grants Commission of India decided to give grants to Indian Universities for teaching astrology, and consequently, many Indian Universities opened astrology departments, or made astrology as a subject for getting a degree.
Astrology as a subject of study in degree courses in India was introduced by the University Grants Commission ( UGC ) in 2000 on the order of the then BJP HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi ( who had been a Professor of Physics in Allahabad University, and therefore, being a scientist, was expected to be against an unscientific thing and superstition like astrology ). This order was upheld by the Indian Supreme Court, which said that astrology was a science.
Following this decision, the Bombay High Court also held that astrology is a science
Why do most Indians ( and people elsewhere ) believe in astrology, which is pure superstition, unscientific, humbug and nonsense ? After all, many of such believers are otherwise educated, many even highly educated scientists, doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc
The reason is that in view of the low development of science in the world as yet, compared to what it will be in, say, a hundred years from now, the chance factor is still very powerful in our lives. We plan something, but something else happens. For instance, in my youth I intended to be a doctor, but ended up being a lawyer, and then a judge. A businessman plans on making his business successful, but it often fails. So people believe that there are certain forces which control their lives, and seek to discover them. Due to the low level of scientific knowledge as yet, we are often unable to know these forces, or how they operate. Hence arose the belief since ancient times that it is the celestial bodies ( or the lines on one's palm ) which control our lives and determine our future. If we act in a certain way by studying the movements of these celestial bodies ( or one's palm ) we can avoid a calamity and be successful in our lives.
All this is of course superstition, poppycock, and baloney, but a lot of people ( maybe upto 90% Indians ) believe in it.
It is only when science has progressed to a very advanced level ( which may take another hundred years or so ) that we will be able to control our lives, and then what we plan will happen. Till then many people will keep believing in astrology or palmistry, which, as mentioned before, are pure crap and unscientific superstitions.
For progress Indians must adopt the scientific attitude and scientific outlook. In other words, they must develop rational and questioning minds for solving the country's massive problems of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, lack of proper healthcare and good education, etc. and give up superstitions like belief in astrology or palmistry. But this will take a very long time
(Justice Katju is a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former Chairman of the Press Council of India. These are his personal views.)
