This article appeared in The Sentinel on September 20, 2013
“A dark Cave. In the middle,
a Cauldron boiling. Thunder.
Enter the three Witches.”
When William Shakespeare portrayed the three witches in Macbeth as macabre hags foretelling the future, little did he imagine that 500 years later, women would still be labeled witches, pursued and persecuted no end.
Throughout history, witches have been visualised as performing animal and human sacrifices, possessing people, making them sick or even killing them and bringing flood or famine to the lands. In most cultures, they are likened to the devil worshippers and black magic practitioners, which gives them the image of evil entities, bent on causing harm to people.
Though incidents like the Salem Witch Hunt do not happen anymore, the evil of witch hunting persists in India, which claims the lives of hundreds of people, especially w omen, across the country every year.
At this point I would like to share the harrowing experiences of a woman, Manomaya, who lives in a village in Assam. She was branded a witch and driven out of her village.
Her fault—she bought some tapioca root used as food item at the same time when another woman was buying it. That woman fell sick after eating the roots and accused Manomaya of witch craft. She was driven out of the village immediately. When the headman tried to intervene on her behalf, he was threatened by villagers. Finally, an NGO working for the cause of witch hunt victims, Assam Mahila Samata Society (AMSS) successfully interceded on her behalf and she could return to her village.
But Manomaya was lucky. In 2011, four women were hacked to death in Kokrajhar district within a span of one week on suspicion of being witches. While Purni Basumatari, 57 and Modani Basumatari, 55 were beaten to death in Belguri Guwabari village on April 15, Bifula Narzary, 49, was killed in Bosabeel village the next day. Another woman was killed in Samthaibari village on Sunday. On January 1, 2011 a couple — Sarat Bindo Hazowary, 65, and Tapashree Hazowary, 52, w ere killed in Habrubeel village.
Cases of torturing women in the name of witch hunting are most rampant in the states of Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 768 women have been murdered for practising witch craft since 2008.
In Assam, around 105 cases of witch–hunting cases have been reported from 2006–2012. According to a CID report, in 2006 at least 21 cases of witch–hunting were registered, seven cases in 2007, 10 cases in 2008, four cases in 2009 and 11 cases in 2010 across the state. A maximum number of 29 cases were reported in 2011. In 2012, 14 such cases such cases were registered in various police stations across the state.
The problem has both social and economic dimensions—cases of women being branded as witches by persons with vested interests to grab their property – or to extract revenge for refusing advances in case of many women — are not uncommon. The deep rooted superstition of holding a particular individual responsible for all evil happenings in a family or village is the underlying reason for most of such incidents. Black magic and witch hunting are deeply etched in the psyche of superstitious individuals, who flounder in their quest for tangible explanations of phenomena beyond their understanding.
Most incidents of witch hunting take place in very remote areas where there is hardly any presence of police administration and illiteracy and superstitions reign. In the absence of proper health care facilities in such areas, villagers often depend on quacks who try to cover up their incompetence by putting the blame on a ‘witch’ in the village. This often leads to murder of innocent women and their family members.
What, one may ask, can be the solution? Activists working in the field say they often fight a losing battle because very often entire villages are involved in such acts and they fail to rescue the victims on time.
At present, most witch hunting cases are dealt with under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, which entails a year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000 for those guilty of causing harm voluntarily.
The need of the hour is a stringent law which deals with witch hunting exclusively in all its dimensions. It should not only protect the victims and punish wrong doers, but also act as a deterrent for all who seek personal gains through such acts. A strong legislation, coupled with awareness programmes and other initiatives, will be able to prevent such crimes in the future.
Although ASCW had urged the state government to formulate a law to combat the menace and had even submitted a draft proposal to the government on the formation of a law to deal with witch–hunting in 2011, yet the law has been delayed citing number of excuses.
The Chief Minister has recently again reiterated his government will bring in an act to prevent witch hunting.
In this context, it is pertinent to mention the initiative of the Maharastra government. The state, which has also been grappling with the issue of witch hunting for long, promulgated the 'Anti Black Magic And Superstition Ordinance' on August 24 last. The Bill proposes that those indulging in black magic or preying on peoples’ superstitions be jailed for up to seven years. The bill also bans a range of practices including black magic, animal sacrifice and magical remedies to cure ailments.
It is imperative that the government of Assam expedite the process of formulating the bill as soon as possible. The public too should demand such a law be passed at the earliest so that more innocent lives are not lost to superstition and disbelief.
Apart from the law, the government will also have to be resolute to take on forces which might seek to propagate superstitions for their personal gains.
“A dark Cave. In the middle,
a Cauldron boiling. Thunder.
Enter the three Witches.”
When William Shakespeare portrayed the three witches in Macbeth as macabre hags foretelling the future, little did he imagine that 500 years later, women would still be labeled witches, pursued and persecuted no end.
Throughout history, witches have been visualised as performing animal and human sacrifices, possessing people, making them sick or even killing them and bringing flood or famine to the lands. In most cultures, they are likened to the devil worshippers and black magic practitioners, which gives them the image of evil entities, bent on causing harm to people.
Though incidents like the Salem Witch Hunt do not happen anymore, the evil of witch hunting persists in India, which claims the lives of hundreds of people, especially w omen, across the country every year.
At this point I would like to share the harrowing experiences of a woman, Manomaya, who lives in a village in Assam. She was branded a witch and driven out of her village.
Her fault—she bought some tapioca root used as food item at the same time when another woman was buying it. That woman fell sick after eating the roots and accused Manomaya of witch craft. She was driven out of the village immediately. When the headman tried to intervene on her behalf, he was threatened by villagers. Finally, an NGO working for the cause of witch hunt victims, Assam Mahila Samata Society (AMSS) successfully interceded on her behalf and she could return to her village.
But Manomaya was lucky. In 2011, four women were hacked to death in Kokrajhar district within a span of one week on suspicion of being witches. While Purni Basumatari, 57 and Modani Basumatari, 55 were beaten to death in Belguri Guwabari village on April 15, Bifula Narzary, 49, was killed in Bosabeel village the next day. Another woman was killed in Samthaibari village on Sunday. On January 1, 2011 a couple — Sarat Bindo Hazowary, 65, and Tapashree Hazowary, 52, w ere killed in Habrubeel village.
Cases of torturing women in the name of witch hunting are most rampant in the states of Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 768 women have been murdered for practising witch craft since 2008.
In Assam, around 105 cases of witch–hunting cases have been reported from 2006–2012. According to a CID report, in 2006 at least 21 cases of witch–hunting were registered, seven cases in 2007, 10 cases in 2008, four cases in 2009 and 11 cases in 2010 across the state. A maximum number of 29 cases were reported in 2011. In 2012, 14 such cases such cases were registered in various police stations across the state.
The problem has both social and economic dimensions—cases of women being branded as witches by persons with vested interests to grab their property – or to extract revenge for refusing advances in case of many women — are not uncommon. The deep rooted superstition of holding a particular individual responsible for all evil happenings in a family or village is the underlying reason for most of such incidents. Black magic and witch hunting are deeply etched in the psyche of superstitious individuals, who flounder in their quest for tangible explanations of phenomena beyond their understanding.
Most incidents of witch hunting take place in very remote areas where there is hardly any presence of police administration and illiteracy and superstitions reign. In the absence of proper health care facilities in such areas, villagers often depend on quacks who try to cover up their incompetence by putting the blame on a ‘witch’ in the village. This often leads to murder of innocent women and their family members.
What, one may ask, can be the solution? Activists working in the field say they often fight a losing battle because very often entire villages are involved in such acts and they fail to rescue the victims on time.
At present, most witch hunting cases are dealt with under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, which entails a year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000 for those guilty of causing harm voluntarily.
The need of the hour is a stringent law which deals with witch hunting exclusively in all its dimensions. It should not only protect the victims and punish wrong doers, but also act as a deterrent for all who seek personal gains through such acts. A strong legislation, coupled with awareness programmes and other initiatives, will be able to prevent such crimes in the future.
Although ASCW had urged the state government to formulate a law to combat the menace and had even submitted a draft proposal to the government on the formation of a law to deal with witch–hunting in 2011, yet the law has been delayed citing number of excuses.
The Chief Minister has recently again reiterated his government will bring in an act to prevent witch hunting.
In this context, it is pertinent to mention the initiative of the Maharastra government. The state, which has also been grappling with the issue of witch hunting for long, promulgated the 'Anti Black Magic And Superstition Ordinance' on August 24 last. The Bill proposes that those indulging in black magic or preying on peoples’ superstitions be jailed for up to seven years. The bill also bans a range of practices including black magic, animal sacrifice and magical remedies to cure ailments.
It is imperative that the government of Assam expedite the process of formulating the bill as soon as possible. The public too should demand such a law be passed at the earliest so that more innocent lives are not lost to superstition and disbelief.
Apart from the law, the government will also have to be resolute to take on forces which might seek to propagate superstitions for their personal gains.
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