Indian court bans 'grisly' ritual dance

India's Supreme Court has banned public performances of the ritual tandav, or dance of destruction, by a controversial Hindu religious cult.

Followers of Ananda Marga (Path of Bliss) have been staging the grisly ritual dance brandishing snakes, daggers and skulls - which they say helps them to overcome the fear of death - on the streets of India since 1966.

According to Hindu mythology, tandav was first performed by a grief-stricken god Shiva after the death of his wife, Parvati, shaking the universe.

The court's Justice S. Rajendra Babu and Justice G.P. Mathur last week upheld a 1987 notification by Calcutta police curbing the practice as it was 'repulsive to public taste and morality' and 'bound to cause fear in the minds of the people'.

But the notification was quashed by Calcutta High Court on the ground of religious freedom. In 1990, the Calcutta police commissioner appealed to the Supreme Court against the verdict legalising tandav in public processions.

The judges ruled that tandav is not an essential part of the Marg faith as it was made compulsory only in 1966 whereas the cult was founded by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar in 1955.