India: Witch hunting
Written byNeha Viswanathan
Megha writes on witch hunting in India. “While witch hunting has become a thing of the past in the western world, certain states in India still revel in this appalling practice. The folks in the rural areas of Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh (specifically the Telengana district), Tripura, Assam, Orissa and Bihar still hold on to a pathetically ludicrous fear of alleged witches or ‘Dains’.”
Written byNeha Viswanathan
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The main reason for this appalling situation is lack of primary education.
People in rural villages, without proper health care centers, approach these so called witches. The witches give them medicines and sometimes it works – mostly through the immune power of human body. When the medicines do not work they are scoffed at and attacked leading to witch hunting.
Villagers also believe that these so called witches have supernatural power. When anything untoward happens in a village, a section of the village blames it on the witches. They are mercilessly attacked and killed.
The only way to stop witch hunting is through educating the younger generation. They can bring in change to these villages.