At Our Lady of Velankanni church in Mumbai water began dripping from the feet of a statue of Jesus. The locals thought it was a sign from God. Hundreds of believers flocked to the dripping cross, collecting and consuming the “holy” water that they believed would cure all ailments.
The Delhi studio of TV9 invited Indian rationalist Sanal Edamaruku to comment. He investigated …
I had a close look at a nearby washroom and the connected drainage system that passed underneath the concrete base of the cross. I removed some stones from the drain and found it was blocked. I touched the walls, the base and the cross and took some photographs for documentation. It was very simple: water from the washroom, which had been blocked in the clogged drainage system, had been transmitted via capillary action into the adjacent walls and the base of the cross as well as into the wooden cross itself. The water came out through a nail hole and ran down over the statue’s feet.
It all seems so silly when people far away and different from us do it, doesn’t it? But wait this seems familiar …
TV9. You now face possible arrest. Why?
Sanal Edamaruku. Leaders of two Catholic laity organisations have launched charges against me under section 295A of the Indian penal code. This charges a person with “deliberately hurting religious feelings and attempting malicious acts intended to outrage the religious sentiments of any class or community”. It is absurd to claim that I did anything of the sort.
Call it Section 295A or 18C … stupidity is the one thing humanity everywhere has in common.
bobmcgee 