Burying Children to Cure Polio

(Uttar Pradesh, India) In the town of Meerut, the local population is caught in a minor controversy regarding the healing powers of solar eclipses.

A traditional cure for polio practiced by local families is to bury their children's body parts in the local cemetery. It's believed that the combination of a solar eclipse and graveyard dirt cures polio.

According to Manzoor Ahmed, one of the parents at the scene, “Solar eclipse affects everything. It has been scientifically proven.”

Shaheen Fatima, who buried her son’s leg in the dirt, further clarifies this strange behavior, saying, “We believe that the solar eclipse affects the soil also…the soil undergoes some changes during the eclipse and hence it may correct the deformity in the children.”

In disagreement, a local astrologer has denounced the healing powers of solar eclipses.

So the local population is conflicted. Do they bury their children or listen to the local astrologer? You make the call.