Dayan Pratha

(witch hunting)

Presented by-

Shreya Kumari

(1882088)

KIIT School of Law, Bhubaneswar Odisha

 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Miss. Shreya Kumari (1882088) student of KIIT School of Law,
Bhubaneswar Odisha has completed her project work on titled as “Dayan Pratha”
under my supervision and guidance.

This is also to certify that no research work has, to the best of my

knowledge, been done on this topic and that work has been done by the Researcher
herself.

Date: Kalyani Sharan

(Chairperson, JSCW)

Place: Ranchi Jharkhand

 DECLARATION

I, Shreya Kumari student of KIIT School of Law, Bhubaneswar Odisha do hereby

declare that this project titled as, “Dayan Pratha” is the bona fide research taken by
me for the internship period for 6thJune 2019 to 6thJuly 2019. This project is originally
made by me, except for the help taken from such authorities of STATE
COMMISSION FOR WOMEN JHARKHAND.

It is further declared by me that this project work is either in part or in whole has not
been submitted in any institution or any commission.

Date: Shreya Kumari

(1882088)

Place: Ranchi Jharkhand

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project work could not have been possible without the able guidance and
encouragement of my supervisor. I express my heartfelt respect and gratitude to
my guide Mrs. KalyaniSharan, chairperson of STATE COMMISSION FOR
WOMEN JHARKHAND for his untiring supervision and good guidance in
writing and presenting this project. I also express heartfelt thanks to all the other
members of JSCW for their moral support. I would also like to thank my friends
and family members for imbedding positive energy in me.

(Shreya
Kumari)
 About State Commission for Women Jharkhand

The setting-up of the state commission for women in Jharkhand was the
fulfillment of a long-cherished desire of the people, especially the women of
the state, to have an authoritative yet sympathetic forum for listening to and
addressing grievances exclusively for women.

The Bill, pertaining to the establishment of the commission, was passed by the
Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha, thereby making it an Act in 2005. Subsequently, vide
notification number 1221 dated September 16, 2006, of the Social Welfare,
Women and Child Development Department, Jharkhand.

The state commission for women has been entrusted with varied
responsibilities, which include hearing complaints and arranging for their
redressals, studying all enactments concerned with women and their rights and
giving creative suggestions, visiting jails and other detention centres or shelter
homes and monitoring their improvement, seeing that the different government
schemes for women, especially regarding social welfare, health, education,
labour, among others, are properly implemented.

Coordinating with the government authorities and non-government

organizations for starting various projects for the welfare of women, all come
under the responsibilities given to the commission. It is, therefore, a very
interesting scenario for the commission, full of challenges on the road ahead.
The setting up of the Jharkhand state women’s commission is definitely a step
in the right direction. Ever since, it has seen a steady stream of complainants
coming in. They belong to different streams and strata of the Jharkhand
society, but their complaints all tell stories of suffering, anguish and
deprivation of basic rights.

Most of the cases pertain to dowry, domestic violence and trafficking of

women and children, while some relate to sexual harassment at the work place.
Trafficking of women and children is a core issue which women commission
plans to take up as one of the major challenges. Joining hands with NGOs the
issues will be strongly dealt. The state Commission For Women has started
reaching out to these women, despite its still negligible financial and logistical
support.

In certain cases, as soon as the respondents get notices from the commission,
they become anxious for compromise. No doubt, this is too early a stage to
assess the impact of the work of the state women’s commission, but if the
increasing number of complaints is any indicator, one can conclude that the
setting up of the commission was a necessity long overdue.
 Aim of the Project

The aim of this project is to spread awareness about WITCH HUNTING and to throw
light in this topic under which the torture and violence against women is being carried
on.

The incidents of Witch Hunting in India are quite a common phenomenon mostly in
rural and backward areas. Due to illiteracy and lack of awareness people living in
those areas are still having beliefs in immaterial and superstitious world of black
magic and ghosts.

The primary aim of my project work is to spread awareness among people living in
economically and educationally backward rural areas. So that, the people can improve
and correct their view towards Witch Hunting under the name of which innocent
people, mostly women are being targeted.
 Introduction

Witch Hunting, also known as Dayan Pratha (डायनप्रथा) is a practice in India, where
women are treated as symbols and are considered as a token of their community. On
one hand, people worship them as Goddesses, and on the other, kill them thinking
them to be a witch. This practice of killing is not new for Indian society. Rather, it’s
deep rooted in history.

Witch denotes women who acquire supernatural powers and are indulged in evil
practices. They are believed to be associated with negative energy. It is said that they
kill innocent people for their betterment and for enhancing their powers. The different
names they are referred as, are ‘Chudail’, ‘Dayan’, Tohni’, etc. but the belief is that
they possess supernatural powers which are used to hamper other lives. Therefore,
Witch Hunting is a process of killing these people in order to protect the society from
being harmed by them. In the name of ‘Witch hunting’, people kill or rape innocent
women to acquire their property. Sometimes it is used as a tool for vengeance and to
target others in local politics.

Victims are mostly widowed women, women who don’t have children, and old
women of lower caste. It has been witnessed in rural and tribal areas that if wide-
spread diseases or famine occurs, it leads to death of animals as well as human
beings. The most vulnerable people of the society are chosen for witch craft.
Jharkhand leads in the number of witch-hunt murders, at 523 women who were
lynched between 2001-2016.

Why a Woman is declared a Dayan?

Most of these women come from backward areas. They are either adivasees or belong
to the Dalit community. There are many reasons why she could be declared a Dayan,
including if the cow or buffalo stops giving milk, if the well dries up, if there is
scarcity of water or at times even bigger reasons like if a child dies while giving birth.
All in all, if any kind of bad fate falls upon a family, the women who had come there
from a different family, are considered evil and a symbol of bad luck. Hence, they are
perceived as someone with evil powers. In most of the cases that I’ve personally
come across, the main reasons are land and property disputes.
Witch doctors known as Ojhas, usually men, are called upon to undo the supposedly
evil influences of a witch. Unable to cure or heal people, Ojhas evade responsibility
by claiming the existence of a witch somewhere in the vicinity. One word from
an Ojha is enough to turn local residents into a frenzied mob out to seek blood-thirsty
vengeance and hunt a witch who is usually a weak, lower-caste woman. They claim
to do ‘justice’ with her. Many a times, victims and survivors of witch hunting are also
the ones suffering from mental illnesses.

Here are some of the cases:

1. In 2015, five women were brutally murdered after a death of a young boy. An
entire mob of villagers attacked them because an Ojha had accused them of
practicing witchcraft and causing child’s death. The women were jolted awake
from their sleep, dragged out of their home and bludgeoned to death. It would
be wrong to say that only men victimize them because women can be just as
brutal.

2. 50-year-old Phoolbani was branded as a witch by people of NuwaGaon village

in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. This was in 2005, and it continued for
almost 6 months. One morning when her husband was in the washroom, and
her son out at school, a group of villagers including 3 people from her in-law’s
family barged in her house and dragged her out by her hair. She was forced to
drink urine and animal excreta. Her husband, who was an Ojha, was also called
a witch. The couple, along with their teenage daughter, were paraded and taken
forcibly to another Ojha in a village close to Jamshedpur. On the way, the
husband was pushed from a moving train, which was later called an accident
by the accused. Phoolbani and her two children were taken out of their village
and they now live in an adjoining village close to Chaibasa.

3. In September 2009, an unmarried 37-year-old woman and her 60-year-old

mother were killed by a mob of villagers on suspicion that they were dayans, or
 witches. The mother’s body was discovered with ligature marks on her neck,
indicating she had been hanged. The daughter’s body hasn’t been found till
date. These are women who are seen as unsupported, either because they are
single or widows, and the story is primarily connected to land that belongs to
women who are economically well-off or self-sustaining.

Factors that lead to Witch-hunting: -

Given that India has a shortage of 83% specialist medical professionals in community
health centers and that the levels of education are relatively low in all these areas,
people’s belief in Ojhas, the medicine-men, is strong. The lack of such infrastructure
is partly responsible for the myriad atrocities, including physical and psychological
torture, inflicted on vulnerable women across remote areas of the country. The
‘punishment’ ranges from banishment to death. More often than not, these conflicts
arise out of jealousy or conflict, and a tension between the victim and their relatives,
friends or acquaintances.

Brain malaria, TB (tuberculosis), diarrhoea, malnutrition and anaemia are common in

the villages here. Whenever someone dies because of an illness or lack of healthcare
centers or for inability to reach the hospital because of distance or bad roads,
someone somewhere is branded as a witch and held responsible for the death.

Although the practice is prevalent in 12 states of India, only 7 state laws have
criminalized it. Jharkhand is one of them. However, a large number of perpetrators
are still let out on bail, and there is no system to re-arrest them. After talking to a little
girl in my village, she told me “I still see my mother’s murderers roaming freely in
front of me. I feel scared while going to school.” Her mother was murdered after
being branded a witch. There is no guarantee that the girl will not suffer the same fate
as her mother. If the perpetrators escaped once, will the second time be any different?

Condition of Jharkhand

Jharkhand ranks highest in “witchcraft” crimes against women (and in certain cases,
also men and children).  An analysis of NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data
between 2010 and 2012 reveals that while there were 77 instances of death here, only
9 cases were registered in Jharkhand. The numbers don’t take into account instances
like forcing the victim to parade naked in the village square, to eat faeces, banishment
and ostracisation; none of which results in a police warrant.

In most cases, the reason is not only superstition. It’s can be a land or financial
dispute, a personal grudge or just caste discrimination. A victim’s husband tells that
jealousy can be an important factor contributing to lynching. When immediate family
members protect the victims, they do so at great danger to themselves.

Legislative Approach to Witch-hunting 

There is no specific national level legislation that penalizes witch hunting. The
provisions under Indian Penal Code 1860 can be used as an alternative, and the other
sections invoked in such cases are Sec 302 – charge for murder, Sec 307 – attempt for
murder, Sec 323 – hurt, Sec 376 – rape and Sec 354 – outraging a woman’s modesty.
It is also punishable if due to torture, a woman commits suicide.

Other than that, Partner for Law in Development (PLD) 1998 is a group of legal
resource working for social justice and women’s right in India. Many NGOs are
working for preventing and protecting women from social evil of witch-hunting. One
of them is Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, which had also filled a PIL in
Supreme Court relating to abuse in the name of witch hunting, on behalf of 1000
women in rural Jharkhand.

In addition to UDHR and ICCPR, India has signed Convention on the Elimination of

All Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) in 1993 and had agreed to
eliminate discrimination as well as social cruelty against women.

Why is Witch Hunting still being continue?

Evidence – In order to punish one for practicing witch hunting, the court needs proof.
In case of a socially manifested crime, people remain silent either out of fear or
acknowledgement of the practice, which becomes a hurdle in collecting evidences.
Hence, justice is not achieved. Apart from that, usually people who indulge in witch-
hunting are influential people and due to fear or threat, no one speaks against them. A
case in Jharkhand High Court was dismissed on the basis that the victim failed to
prove that she was accused of being a witch and was harmed on that basis.

Delay in reporting –

Due to geographical reasons and societal pressure, only a few incidents are reported,
that too after a long gap. Hence, it makes the witness testimony unreliable, a ground
for not convicting the accused. The ineffectiveness of state legislation is seen through
increasing number of witch-hunting incidents after its implementation across states.
Also, the quantum of punishment granted to accused is lesser than the gravity of
crime they have committed, as the punishment extends merely up to one year with a
fine of Rs. 1000, which fails to set deterrence in society.

Very oen we are seeing headline in newspaper about ‘witch

hunting’ which reports numerous forms of torture, beatings,
burns, paraded naked through the village, forced to eat human
excrement, and sometimes even raped. In some cases, their
hair is cut o and the victim and their children are socially
ostracised and even put to death; even sometimes their family
also has tosuer from the same forms of torture. Generally,
the labelling of a victim (‘dayans’, ‘bishahi’, ‘bishaha’ in case
of men), especially women are easy targets or scapegoats as
witches, either aer an observation made by an ‘ojha’ or ‘bej’
or ‘bhagat’, a traditional healer or witch doctor. e victim
who is labelled as a witch is subjected to these torments.
As per the National Crime Records Bureau report,
2,097 were murdered with witch hunting motive between
2000 and 2012. Among these, Jharkhand state has national
records of 363 murders and this gure does not include the
murders in 2000 when Jharkhand was a part of Bihar. e
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Jharkhandoce has
a total number of 414 such murders from 2001 to October
2013 and cases registered for witchcra is 2,854.[1] Roy[2]
reported, “Victimizing women as witches are prevalent in
the tribal regions of South Bihar (present Jharkhand). As
a result, from 1991 to 1994, over 60 women are known to
have been killed in West Singhbhum district alone”. Shiva[3]
reported, “e branding and subsequent killing of more than
500 helpless women as “dayans” (witches) in the past seven
years”, i.e. the 1990s. ere were mass witch hunts in 50s
among tribal communities in the Singhbhum and Santhal
Parganas regions. Sinha[4] reported, in the late 19th century
and early 20th, women branded as witches were banished
from their communities, ned, and in extreme cases, killed.
“From 1933 to the 1970s, there was a decline in the number
Very oen we are seeing headline in newspaper about ‘witch
hunting’ which reports numerous forms of torture, beatings,
burns, paraded naked through the village, forced to eat human
excrement, and sometimes even raped. In some cases, their
hair is cut o and the victim and their children are socially
ostracised and even put to death; even sometimes their family
also has tosuer from the same forms of torture. Generally,
the labelling of a victim (‘dayans’, ‘bishahi’, ‘bishaha’ in case
of men), especially women are easy targets or scapegoats as
witches, either aer an observation made by an ‘ojha’ or ‘bej’
or ‘bhagat’, a traditional healer or witch doctor. e victim
who is labelled as a witch is subjected to these torments.
As per the National Crime Records Bureau report,
2,097 were murdered with witch hunting motive between
2000 and 2012. Among these, Jharkhand state has national
records of 363 murders and this gure does not include the
murders in 2000 when Jharkhand was a part of Bihar. e
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Jharkhandoce has
a total number of 414 such murders from 2001 to October
2013 and cases registered for witchcra is 2,854.[1] Roy[2]
reported, “Victimizing women as witches are prevalent in
the tribal regions of South Bihar (present Jharkhand). As
a result, from 1991 to 1994, over 60 women are known to
have been killed in West Singhbhum district alone”. Shiva[3]
reported, “e branding and subsequent killing of more than
500 helpless women as “dayans” (witches) in the past seven
years”, i.e. the 1990s. ere were mass witch hunts in 50s
among tribal communities in the Singhbhum and Santhal
Parganas regions. Sinha[4] reported, in the late 19th century
and early 20th, women branded as witches were banished
from their communities, ned, and in extreme cases, killed.
“From 1933 to the 1970s, there was a decline in the number
Very oen we are seeing headline in newspaper about ‘witch
hunting’ which reports numerous forms of torture, beatings,
burns, paraded naked through the village, forced to eat human
excrement, and sometimes even raped. In some cases, their
hair is cut o and the victim and their children are socially
ostracised and even put to death; even sometimes their family
also has tosuer from the same forms of torture. Generally,
the labelling of a victim (‘dayans’, ‘bishahi’, ‘bishaha’ in case
of men), especially women are easy targets or scapegoats as
witches, either aer an observation made by an ‘ojha’ or ‘bej’
or ‘bhagat’, a traditional healer or witch doctor. e victim
who is labelled as a witch is subjected to these torments.
As per the National Crime Records Bureau report,
2,097 were murdered with witch hunting motive between
2000 and 2012. Among these, Jharkhand state has national
records of 363 murders and this gure does not include the
murders in 2000 when Jharkhand was a part of Bihar. e
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Jharkhandoce has
a total number of 414 such murders from 2001 to October
2013 and cases registered for witchcra is 2,854.[1] Roy[2]
reported, “Victimizing women as witches are prevalent in
the tribal regions of South Bihar (present Jharkhand). As
a result, from 1991 to 1994, over 60 women are known to
have been killed in West Singhbhum district alone”. Shiva[3]
reported, “e branding and subsequent killing of more than
500 helpless women as “dayans” (witches) in the past seven
years”, i.e. the 1990s. ere were mass witch hunts in 50s
among tribal communities in the Singhbhum and Santhal
Parganas regions. Sinha[4] reported, in the late 19th century
and early 20th, women branded as witches were banished
from their communities, ned, and in extreme cases, killed.
“From 1933 to the 1970s, there was a decline in the number
Very often we are seeing headline in newspaper about ‘witch hunting’ which reports
numerous forms of torture, beatings, burns, paraded naked through the village, forced
to eat human excrement, and sometimes even raped. In some cases, their hair is cut
offand the victim and their children are socially ostracised and even put to death;
even sometimes their family also has to suffer from the same forms of torture.
Generally, the labelling of a victim (‘dayans’, ‘bishahi’, ‘bishaha’ in case of men),
especially women are easy targets or scapegoats as witches, either after an
observation made by an ‘ojha’ or ‘bej’ or ‘bhagat’, a traditional healer or witch
doctor. The victim who is labelled as a witch is subjected to these torments.As per the
National Crime Records Bureau report, 2,097 were murdered with witch hunting
motive between2000 and 2012. Among these, Jharkhandstate has national records of
363 murders and this figure does not include the murders in 2000 whenJharkhand was
apart of Bihar. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Jharkhand once has a total
number of 414such murders from 2001 to October2013 and casesregistered for
witchcraft is2,854. Royreported, “Victimizing women as witches are prevalent inthe
tribal regions of South Bihar (present Jharkhand). As a result, from1991 to 1994,
over 60 womenare known to have been killed in West Singhbhum district alone”.
Shiva reported, “The branding and subsequent killing of more than 500 helpless
women as “dayans” (witches) in the past seven years”, i.e., the 1990s. Therewere
mass witch hunts in 50s among tribal communities in the Singhbhum and
SanthalParganas regions. Sinha reported, in the late 19th century and early 20th,
women branded as witches were banished from their communities, and in extreme
cases, killed. “From 1933 to the 1970s, there was a decline in the number of such
murders. It was a time when Adivasi movements were coming up and attempts were
made to tone down any internal tensions since the 1980s there has been a resurgence
in the practice”. Jharkhand is not the only state, other states of Bihar, Assam, West
Bengal, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh,
Gujarat, and Maharashtra have also reported cases of witch hunting. In fact, the
practice of witch hunts has been seen in a wide distribution of geographically and
culturally separated societies across the globe. Witch hunting has been practised for
decades in early modern Europe and colonial North America from about 1450 to
1750. Ben-Yehuda reported, from the early decades of the 14th century until 1650,
continental Europeans executed between 200,000 and500,000 witches; 85% or more
of whom were women. Levack reported that the number of known European witch
trials by the average rate of conviction and execution was around 60,000 deaths.
Barstow estimated 100,000 deaths, many other scholarsreported even more deaths,
i.e., 200,000 or more so-called ‘witches’ who were tortured, burnt, or hanged in the
Western world. Which was not limited to the Western world, in other regions of the
world also witch hunts have been reported, like Asia and Africa from Sub-Saharan
Africa and Papua New Guinea. Conventionally, witch hunting was practised onlyby
tribal communities, is now becoming common amongDalits and otherminority
communities. Sometimes, it can be viewed in forward class as well. Perhaps,
cohabitation and cultural assimilation is the answer to this. Belief in spirits and
witches has long dominated an innermost place in tribal culture. It derived social
legitimacy from religion, folklore, and customs as well as are significantly embedded
and reflected of gender tensions. Sinha reported, “In fact, he Santhal theory of the
origin of witchcraft attributes gender tensions as the reason for witch hunting. Kharia
women were excluded from religiousfestivities andrituals because the tribals feared
that menstrual blood attracted evil spirits. Women in tribal communities were let out
of Adivasi rituals and religion because of a fear and suspicion of their sexuality”.
Witchcraft or witchery (‘dayanpratha’) broadly means the practice of and belief in
magicalskills and abilitiesexercised by solitary practitioners and groups known as
‘covens’ referring to a gathering of witches. Where is the idea or beliefsin the
community that witch is thought topossess anevil eye or mouth, they eat humans, kill
cattle, destroy crops, and cause illness. Sometimes they are accused of changing the
mind of individuals who are not going either along with family or community. For
example, if a girl was not ready to marry to an alliance who is axed by her family;
instead, shewanted to marry a boy of her own choice so any witch can be blamed for
this. For all kind of unpleasant happenings, they are blamed andthat isthe reason
behind the witch hunting, e.g. less milk given by a cow, less or no fruit from a tree or
plant, small health issue like cold to severe one like asthma, less or over rainfall, etc.
Even if reasons are quite obvious then also some time witch can be blamed for. Many
a time appropriate interventions particularly for mental health conditions are delayed;
people already has inadequate knowledge about such illness. Some mental health
conditions like acute psychosis, dissociation which has at time very peculiar
behaviour (symptoms) manifestation are very often blamed for witchcraft because of
superstitious or magico-religious attributions by the community. In various
investigation and research, various reasonshave been reported. Roy reported, “The
main reasons behind this persecution are to maintain women in economic and social
subjugation, to exploit them sexually, and to wrest property from their families”.
Family disputes over property, land rights of women, village-level conflicts, and
gender conflicts are some of the other reasons for witch hunts. There are certain
attributes of witches believed or reported by the community members. Shiva
reported, “Usually poor old, widowed, unprotected, infertile, ugly looking, low-caste
orare socially ostracizedwomen are blamed, attributes given by local people havered
eyes, feet aligned backwards, are jealous/envious and do not socially mix up with
people”. Many times, some mental health condition of an individualmentioned above
are attributed as a witch because of the presentation of symptomatology,
especiallyless interaction, over religiosity, trans and possession, and dissociation, etc.
Russell says witchcraft often presents within societies and groups whose cultural
framework includes a magicalworldview. Jharkhand certainly it’s in easily. India’s
29th state with different culture and civilizations, and one of the most populated
countries in the world. On 15 November 2000, Jharkhand (“Bushland” or the land of
the forest), a new state of eastern India was emerged by partition from southernpart of
Bihar state. Jharkhand accountsfor 40% of themineral resources of India, but it
suffers widespread poverty as 39.1 percent of the population is below the poverty line
and 19.6 percent of the children under years of age are malnourished. The state is
primarily a rural stateas only 24 percent of the population resides in cities. Jharkhand
has its own unique cultural diversity. It has thirty-two tribal groups, 26% oftotal
population of thestate;the majority of them has their own language and cultural
practices. Agarwal reported, “Low literacy rate, prevalent superstitions, economic
instability or insecurity, poor health and communication facilities, diseases are
widespread, often taking form of epidemic, ethno healing system revolvesaround
supernatural beliefs and practices where witchcraft sought as cause of the
disease/epidemic/personal tragedy & natural disasters”. Since the tribal communities
are known for its unique megico-religious practices or way of life, Jharkhand
inherently has those which could be an explanation of amplified practices of
witchcraft over there. Culture can be viewed as the values the members of a given
group hold, the norms they follow, andthe material goodsthey create and consume. It
isa dynamic multi-layered entity and may be influenced by diverse aspects including
national, regional, religious, gender, class, and variousother issues which has major
implications in allaspect ofour life including health or mental health. Gopal krishnan
further explained that culture influences ourunderstanding of healthand illness, modes
of treatment as well as health-seeking behaviour, such as attitudes to preventativeand
curative care, attitudes to providers, and expectations of the healthcare system.
Tribeenlightens, “Culture is the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular
people or society”.To ghost with this evil, Jharkhand government included this topic
in school textbook and passed Witchcraft Prevention Act, 2001 alike Bihar’s
Prevention of Witch (Dayan) Practices Act (1999) and Chhattisgarh’s
TonahiPratadnaNivaran Act of 2005. There is no national law or legislation against
witch hunting but a bill, The Prevention of Witch-Hunting Bill, 2016 is on the way.
Various other states like Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Odisha are on the
same way of making legislation. However, physical violence appears tobe a
precondition for any case wiling in thecriminal justice system but “the issue of mental
or psychological violence isn’t even talked about” which need to take care. Victims
and their familyhave to undergotremendous forms of torture which obviously affect
negatively theirmental health apart from physical health and socioeconomic loss.
Centre for Alternative Dalit Media (CADAM), New Delhi reported in their empirical
study in four states that belief in witchcraft still prevailing among the socially and
educationally backwards and excluded communities of rural India. A vastmajority
(70%) of the households has a strong belief in the existence of witch and witch
practices the people of Bihar (75.5%), followedby Jharkhand (75%) and Odisha
(55.3%). Moreover, it is apparent that the people of Giridih (98.2%) and Hazaribagh
(100%) district of Jharkhand havebelievers of the existence of witch and witch
practices. So, the community is guided by such strong belief in the existence of witch
and witch practices which is blamed for all kind of unpleasant happenings including
ill health and poor mental health and that is the reason behind the witch hunting. This
is need to be deal with caution since mass belief system and behaviour is attached to
it which is a big question to our so-called modern and scientigic society. There is
some research related to megico-religious belief and various aspects of mental health.
 Recommendation

The major recommendation coming out in witch hunting cases are as follows:

1. Education and awareness

1.1 The school curriculum needs to scale up scientific and rational attitude
and may include reading material on health, superstition, and witch craft.
This would help children who have access to school understand scientific
reasons for illness, disease etc. which will help them wean away from
superstitions.

1.2 Children and adult audience should be also shown the films which
exposes superstition and shows the scientific aspects of magic, occult, witch
craft etc.

1.3 A series of workshops could be held with Traditional/opinion leaders as

they are widely respected in the tribal societies, particularly in the areas
where more number of cases are reported. They need to be taken in
confidence and involved in the process.
 1.4 Improved access to health care services in remote areas can decrease the
prevalence of ojhas, bhagats and other practitioners, who are responsible for
identifying witches and branding them. However, traditional healers and
health care practitioners should be recognized and provided further training
to improve traditional and community medicine and health care systems.

1.5 Civil society and department of social welfare, and women and child
development along with PRIs should organize camps, fairs, medical camps
for children and women which can also be used as a forum to make them
increasingly aware against witch hunting.

1.6 Women should be provided legal education so that they can understand
their rights and approach justice systems in case of violation of their rights.

2. Witch Hunting Act

2.1 The Act must be redrafted incorporating the experience of the implementation of
the Act in the state and other states. The Rules or guidelines must be laid down
simultaneously for the adequate implementation of the Act.

2.2 The punishment provided in the Act is less than that provided in the Sec.323 IPC,
which is invoked in states where legislation against witch hunting does not exist. This
not only is contradictory with the IPC but also weak restraint against the crime.

2.3. The discrepancy brought in by the decision in Tulsa Devi vs. State of Jharkhand,
with regard to the burden of proof needs to be reversed. The case which laid down
that the victim must prove that the accused identified her as witch/daain frustrates the
purpose of the Act, as identification is done extremely surreptitiously, and weak
women victims can hardly prove the accusation in the court of law.

2.4 The punishment provided by the Act should be increased.

2.5 The word “identifier” needs to be replaced by “brander”, as identification means

identifying something that already exists.
2.6 The experience of the implementation of the Act suggests that in most of the
cases only the persons accusing women of being witch/daain is apprehended. The
tantric, ojha, gunietc generally go scot free. Specific provisions for these people must
be included in the Act.

2.7 A minimum mandatory punishment must be provided so that judiciary does not
use its discretion in reducing the punishment.

2.8 Expansive definition of “witch/daain” is also required as the current Act provides
protection only to women.

2.9 The Acts must incorporate the clause that in the case of witch killing, the
property will not have got to the nearest male agnate but will be taken over by the
community /State.

3. Implementation of the Act and administrative changes

3.1 The Department of social welfare/women and child development along with state
women commission should form special cell and it should be made mandatory to
report and investigate all such cases by the cell and provide expeditious remedy to
victims. The special cell should also hold camps Gram Panchayat level to make
women more aware of their rights, to approach police and judiciary, other helpful
institutions.

3.2 The Act should be widely publicized in the campaign mode. Market days /
traditional fairs/jatras etc., Community radios particularly in the areas with high
incidences could be used for the purpose.

3.3 The state should conduct a census of single/widows owning landed property as
these women are more likely to be the victims.

3.4 Ojhas, gunis, tantriks should be identified and tradition healers from amongst
them should be provided training in community and traditional healing systems. The
fake witch doctors/ojhas, gunis should also be brought into mainstream and efforts
must be made to engage with them.

3.5 To avoid the cases of victims turning hostile their statement should be recorded
under S.164 of the Cr. PC.

3.5 The State must enact such Acts that uphold resource rights and right to
participation in the decision making of women, such as Forest rights Act, 2006 and
Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996.

3.6. All cases of witch hunting where the victim happens to be SC/ST and the accused
non SC/ST should be tried under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989.

3.6 The SHRC should take the cases of witch hunting on a priority basis; it should
also frame a guideline, which helps expeditious disposal of the cases of the witch
hunting, and provides protection to the victims.

3.7 The SHRC should direct SPs of all districts to expedite disposal of cases of witch
hunting. 3.8 Non registration of FIRs in cases of witch hunting should be taken
seriously.

4. Rehabilitation of the victims

4.1 The state must create a fund for the rehabilitation of the victims.

4.2 The Women Commission and the department of women and child
development/social welfare should provide accompaniment to the victims in their
rehabilitation.
 Conclusion

Witch-hunting is not merely a dark chapter in the annals of history, but is still a
happening reality. Although the core concept remained the same, the versions and
editions have changed over the years. Witch-hunting is mostly restricted to the poor
and illiterate section of the rural tribal communities. But the fact that the phenomenon
has been observed amongst different non-tribal communities is a matter of concern.
Another matter of concern is about the persistence of beliefs amongst a few literate
class of our society. Even during the period outside the purview of the present
research, a number of witch-hunt cases might have taken place in Assam in general
and amongst the Rabha community in particular, but the cases that have been
reported in this work have come to light not only because of NGO activism and
media coverage, but also that people might have become more assertive and aware
about their rights, for which the victims come forward to report about the injustice
meted out to them. Instances where the victims are threatened, mentally harassed,
fines imposed and forced to leave their native villages, rarely comes to light. Thus,
witch-hunts have been appropriately compared with the proverbial tip of the iceberg,
and the propensity of the incidents and victims might be much more than it is actually
thought. It is indeed ironical that, the tribal segment of people who are mostly a God-
fearing lot, don’t even repents after committing the serious witch-hunt crimes. It is
also ironical that several victims themselves believe in the existence of witches.
Whatever may be the reason or circumstance, the bottom-line remains that a woman’s
right to live with dignity is still not recognized by the society at large. Our twenty-
first century civilization is marked by glittering cities and towns, dotted with swanky
malls and apartments and barely within a radius of hundred kilometers or so, innocent
women are silently leading lives of hopelessness and despair, being tortured
mercilessly, banished from their villages and forced to live away from their near and
dear ones. Unless and until people realizes the role of women in the civilized society,
mere framing and implementation of laws, in whatever harsher way it might be,
witch-hunts will continue to make the lives of a section of innocent women of our
society miserable. To counteract this situation, the energy of the community needs to
be channelized for meaningful and creative pursuits. Most importantly, the thought
process of the educated ones has to change. For achieving this, synergetic partnership
between civil societies, medical and educational bodies, professionals, the police and
civil administration and policy makers is a must to root out the problem. It also needs
to be remembered that witch-craft and magic cannot be totally eradicated from any
society where it exists. There will always be some individuals or groups of
individuals who would nurture and propagate these beliefs. Hence, the entire gamut
of the strategy that needs to be adopted is about controlling the ramifications of such
beliefs and setting the limits of social approval or disapproval. Witch-hunting itself is
a gross violation of human rights when considered in the context of the wide range of
human rights legal instruments. It tends to choke human rights, curtails human
developments and undermines all four core values viz. Justice. Liberty, Equality and
Fraternity adopted in the Preambular vision. The solution to this burning problem
cannot be simply worked out in the context of lack of education, appropriate legal
apparatus and lack of health services alone. Such measures are capable of creating
only insignificant ripples, incapable of shaking off the age-old beliefs and perceptions
that had been consolidated over centuries and generations. It is much more than that.
The entire gamut of the issue needs to be studied in socio-cultural, socioeconomic,
socio-psychological and even socio-political contexts. Social changes, change in
religious views, liberal outlook brought about through the education system,
economic well-being and the absence of superstitious fear, all have their individual
potentialities to bring about a paradigm shift to the phenomenon in general. As far as
the Rabha community is concerned, it may be fairly well concluded that the ground
situation till now is still outside the red alarming zone, but the matter is indeed of
prime concern, which needs focused attention as well as action. The various
parameters that provide a fertile breeding ground for witch-hunting needs to be
understood in the context of ground realities, so that it can be effectively tackled with
a scientific and focused approach, instead of dealing it with a myopic vision.
 Bibliography

Sources:

 Google.com
 Wikipedia.org
 https://www.indiafellow.org
 https://indiankanoon.org
 https://www.india.gov.in
 Indian witchcraft book