On Wednesday, Assam’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, issued a warning to Badruddin Ajmal, the leader of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), prohibiting the practice of “magical healing” and threatening to arrest him if discovered breaking the law. The Assam assembly last month approved the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024, which outlaws non-scientific healing techniques in the area.
The legislation seeks to safeguard human health against “evil and sinister practices thriving on ignorance and the ill-health of people” by educating the public about healthy, scientifically based knowledge. With “ulterior motives for exploiting innocent people and thereby destroying the fibre of public health in society,” the bill aims to outlaw non-scientific treatment methods.
Legislators from the AIUDF have been emphasising that their party’s leader is a spiritual guide as well, and people willingly seek out his “healing.” Muslims frequently ask Ajmal to blow into their water bottles in the hopes that the water will become medicinal.
“Badruddin Ajmal will be arrested if he engages in therapeutic activities. What I’m going to say will occur. Sarma remarked, “I am speaking about the Assembly, not about me.
You must pay attention to what the Assembly has to say rather than Himanta Biswa Sarma. He said, “The therapeutic procedures have been discontinued by the assembly.
Crimes committed under the bill’s provisions would be punishable by law and not subject to bail. For a first offence, a person may be imprisoned for up to three years, with a fine of ₹50,000 or both, and for a second offence, they may be sentenced to up to five years in prison, with a fine of ₹1 lakh or both.
