It is not for us mere journalists to decide whether astrology is a science, or an art, or a kind of psychotherapy, or plain fraud on the gullible. Many of us publish weekly forecasts by astrologers mainly because our readers want them, indeed insist on them. Clearly no newspaper would suffer a loss of readers if the major ones decide to keep out the forecasts. But no organisation of journalists or public spirited individuals has ever attempted to produce such an agreement. The second press commission discussed this issue and took the view that since we were committed to promoting a scientific temper among our people, we should not carry astrological forecasts. No action has, however, followed. So newspapers continue to carry the forecasts. But essentially they are harmless. They are not precise; they dole out generalities; they do not deal with specific individuals. All in all they are a form of entertainment or titillation. But the same cannot be said about the forecasts relating to specific public figures or political parties. They are harmful, in fact dangerous, precisely because they deal with the future of specific individuals or parties. Such predictions are not altogether new. Magazines wholly or largely devoted to astrology have carried such forecasts for years. But their reach has been small and, therefore, the impact limited. Now popular magazines of general interest with wide circulations and even newspapers have begun to do the same. This is an extremely unhealthy trend and should be discouraged.
When the second press commission was at work, astrological predictions indicating an end of Mrs. Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister and even of her life towards the end of 1982 or early 1983 were circulating. It would have been rather far-fetched for one, however well disposed towards her, to conclude that some organisation, domestic or foreign, was deliberately waging a war of nerves on her. But imagine the impact on those among her aides and admirers who do believe in astrology! Since her brutal assassination on October 31, the impression has spread, thanks to some journals and newspapers, that some astrologers had in fact predicted such an end for her around that time. This has given a boost to belief in astrology and encouraged astrologers to make predictions about the new Prime Minister. We do not know whether Mr. Rajiv Gandhi believes in astrology. But that is immaterial. What is material is that a selective use can be made of predictions to create a certain kind of atmosphere in certain quarters. This is not an imaginary fear. This is already happening.