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Sanal Edamaruku: still alive and well at the Delhi Bureau
India is a country where superstition and magic powers have a great hold over people.
One of the most powerful mystics is Pandit Surinder Sharma. He claims to be guru of choice to the country's top politicians, who sometimes get out of a tight spot by suggesting their troubles have been caused by black magic.
Recently a former chief minister claimed that her political opponents were using tantric powers against her. After these accusations, India TV broadcast a discussion about tantric power versus science. In one corner was the guru - in the other Sanal Edamaruku, President of the Indian Rationalist Association.
Listen Hear Sanal Edamaruku on Outlook
The tantric demonstrated how he tortures little dolls made from wheat flour. He boasted he could harm people without touching them, at which point Sanal Edamaruku challenged him to prove it - by killing him on live TV. Pandit Surinder Sharma said it would only take 3 minutes but Sanal survived and told his story to Lucy Ash.
