WITCH-HUNTING: Analysis and Indian laws

- Aditya Chauhan (BALLB 9)

ABSTRACT

Witch hunting or witch branding are the social menace, which are very much prevalent in the
State of Assam. Witch doctors are the people, who usually brand a women (in few cases man
also) as witch, in cases where there are issues of draught, flood, illness, death of the people of
particular locality. The reasons of witch-hunting or witch crafting are many, however, it has
been in practice as a part of traditional belief, which is the reason people are reluctant to give
up the practice. Existing laws in India have failed to address the issue. NGOs, Civil Societies,
and Judiciary had expressed several times for need of the special laws for curbing this social
evil. The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015 is a
landmark bill to curb the menace of witch-hunting. However, the bill is pending for
president’s assent.

Key points: women empowerment, witch-crafting, witch-hunting, witch branding,

INTRODUCTION

The concept of witch-hunting has its traces in past, may it be primitive age, medieval age,
modern age and now industrial age, the concept of witchcraft and the incidence of witch-
hunting has been witnessed. Witch hunting is considered as an infectious disease which is
slowly spreading to newer areas. The concept of witch-hunting initially aroused in Europe
and till date it is being continued with tragic consequences. In early Europe the woman who
were against the church were considered as witches, were regarded as one who brings
misfortune and thus to protect the society those women were burnt. Later, women were held
responsible for all the calamities let it be famine, flood, and epidemic diseases which caused
death of livestock. And the only solution of coming out from this dismay was by killing them
who were responsible for it. Further it was seen that incidents which could not be answered
was thought to be the act of women who were having supernatural power and gradually this
concept was bedded in the society and which still has mark able effect in society.
WITCH-HUNTING IN INDIA

India is a land where the women are treated as symbol or are considered as a token of their
community, family, caste and all other diverse divisions. Where people on one hand worship
them in name of Goddesses on the other hand kill them considering them witch. This practice
of killing is not new for Indian society rather it has its deep roots in history. Initially when the
concept of “witch” was discussed people thought of ugly women with a broom who can fly,
who can disappear. Now the concept has changed a bit, “witch” now denotes women who
acquire supernatural powers and are indulged in evil practices which are omen. It is believed
that they are associated to negative energy and for their betterment and for enhancing their
power they kill innocent members of society. They may be called in different names
as ‘Chudail’, ‘Dayan’, Tohni’, etc. but the zest is that they possess supernatural powers which
they use to hamper others. Therefore, Witch Hunting is a process of killing these people in
order to protect the society from being harmed by them. In name of witch-hunting people kill
innocent women, rape them, to acquire their property and some time it is being used as a tool
for vengeance.

Witch hunting is stigmatization of specific groups of people, which mostly contains widowed
women, women who are childless, old couples, women of lower caste. Other than this many
are targeted due to local politics. It has been witnessed in tribal and rural areas that if wild
spread diseases occur or famine occurs which causes death of animals as well as human the
allegation develops on the most vulnerable people of the society for witch craft and then
violence. Witch hunting is more prevalent in 12 states of India which are situated in
like Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Rajasthan and U.P. the governments most recent report
indicates that about 119 people were killed in the year 2012 in name of witch hunting and
around 1,700 women were murdered for witchcraft during 1991-2010. These data show the
recorded cases, there are many instances which have never been recorded as due to the fear.

SOME INSTANCES OF WITCH-HUNTING IN PAST FEW YEARS

Areas which are tribal and rural, where literacy rate is low and where people are guided by
blind faith and superstition, these blind faiths invokes them to subject the victims  accused of
witchcraft to inhuman atrocities ranging from gang rape, mob lynching, naked parades,
blackening of face, shaving of head, beheading and burning alive and coercing to consume
human excreta.  It is ironical on one hand our country being a democratic country talks about
equality, right to life and liberty but on the other hand it takes away the same rights of others.

As per the report of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) 2008, in Jharkhand there were
52 witchcraft related murders, in Haryana around 26 cases of witch-hunting was reported,
whereas in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa 23 cases were reported, in Madhya Pradesh 17, in
Chhattisgarh 15, in Maharashtra 11 and in West Bengal and Meghalaya 4 and 3 respectively.
According to NCRB, government of India the instances of witch- hunting has increased when
compared to previous years data.

Also, as per Human Right Committee report in last 15 years approximately 2,500 women in
were killed in name of witch-hunting. Previously it was seen that witch-hunting is only
associated to women but in 2013 in Orissa police reported a case where a boy was killed as
he was accused of practicing witchcraft. Statistics also display a case in Assam were a girl
was raped in name of witch-hunting in 2011.

LEGISLATIVE APPROACH TO WITCH-HUNTING

There is no specific and national level legislation that penalises Witch hunting hence the
provisions under the Indian Penal Code 1860 can be used as an alternative for the victim. The
different sections invoked in such cases are Sec.302 which charge for murder, Sec307
attempt for murder, Sec 323 hurt, Sec 376 which penalises for rape and Sec. 354 which deals
with outraging a woman’s modesty.

Apart from the provisions under Indian Penal Code different states have come up with
different legislation to tackle the problem of witch-hunting.

 Bihar though being most backward was the first state in India to pass a law against
witch-hunting in the year 1999, which was named “Prevention of Witch (Dayan)
Practices Act.”

 Jharkhand followed it and established “Anti Witchcraft Act” in 2001 to protect

women from inhuman treatment as well to provide victim legal recourse to abuse.
Basically Section 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the concerned Act talks about the punishment
 which will be granted if anyone identify someone as “witch”, tries to cure the
witch and any damages caused to them. Whereas Section 7 states the procedure for
trial.

 Chhattisgarh government passed a bill in 2005 named “Chhattisgarh Tonhi

Pratama Bill”, which was established to prevent atrocities on women in name of
Tonhi.

 Rajasthan government has also passed a bill “Rajasthan Women (Prevention and
Protection from Atrocities)” 2006, which makes it illegal as well punishable for
calling any woman as “dayan” or to accuse a woman for practicing witchcraft,
which extends to three years of imprisonment and Rs 5000 fine.

 Till now there is no specific laws enacted in Maharashtra against witch-hunting

and the sole reason behind it is opposition from some religious groups who
believes that the enacted law might take away their ancient rites Now after the
incidents of witch-hunting has increased the state government has planned to pass
a bill to eradicate the social ills and human sacrifice.

 Among the states where witch-hunting is prevalent, some areas of West Bengal
like Purulia, Bankura and Birbhum comes under the ambit of those states. Still the
state government has failed to establish a separate legislation to tackle it. Hence,
there is a need of national legislation which will have a binding effect over all the
states in prohibiting it.
All these acts not only prohibit one from directly hampering a woman but also punishes the
one who instigates other to harm them, to displace her from the house place and property. At
the same time, it is punishable if due to torture a woman commits suicide

Apart from these state legislations there are other bodies established to prevent witch-hunting
and promote protection to women and to ensure those rights necessary for them to live a
peaceful life with dignity.

 Partner for Law in Development (PLD) 1998, which is a group of legal resource
working for social justice and women’s right in India. It considers women’s rights
as an integral part of the society and hence protects women’s right from getting
violated through families, on basis of sexuality, culture, caste, etc.
  Other than this many NGO’s are working for preventing and protecting women
from the social evil of witch-hunting.one among those is Rural Litigation and
Entitlement Kendra, which had also filled a PIL in Supreme Court relating to the
abuse of women in name of witch-hunting on behalf of 1000 rural women in
Jharkhand who were victimised of witch-hunting.

 Apart from these NGO’s and some local bodies working against witch-hunting, a
bill “Prevention and Prohibition of Witch-Hunting” has been drafted by members
of Human Rights Defence International, which is still pending. It aims at
establishing national legislation relating to witch-hunting.
 The Indian government has an obligation to protect women from discrimination
based on gender and provide basic rights and security granted by different
international treaties, covenant and laws.

 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948, which being

international law provides protection against any discrimination and promotes
equality before law. It also confirms right to life and liberty to every human being.

 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), India associated

with it in 1979, which being an international body promotes equality between men
and women by ensuring equal rights to men and women in civil as well as political
sphere and prohibits others from subsuming anyone’s basic rights. Article 7
explicitly mentions prohibition of cruelty, inhuman or degrading treatment and by
associating with the covenant it is obligatory for Indian government to implement
these rules.

 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 and social cruelty against women. In addition to it
Sec.5 (a) of the concerned convention explicitly provides that the states should
take appropriate measures to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of
men and women.
Hence, not only protection of women is obligatory but also it is obligatory to affirm different
actions which have been designed for ensuring the enjoyment of rights in a positive manner.

WHY WITCH HUNTING IS STILL BEING CONTINUED?

  The question of evidence – In order to punish one for practicing witch hunting, the
court needs proof. In case of witch-hunting, it is a crime which is socially
manifested hence out of either fear or acceptance of the practice people remain
silent, which becomes huddle in collecting evidence. Hence due to lack of
evidence proper justice is not achieved. Apart from it generally it is seen that the
person who commits witch hunting are influential people and due to the fear and
threat of those people no speaks against them. As in a case of Tula Devi& Ors. v.
State of Jharkhand, a case of brought in Jharkhand High Court were the court
dismissed the case on the basis that the victim has failed to prove that the accused
her of being witch and harmed her and there was lack of eyewitness.
Another reason behind lack of evidence is delay in reporting the incident. Due to the
geographical reason and societal pressure very few incidents are reported and that too after a
long gap, hence it makes the witness testimony unreliable, which was a ground for not
convicting the accused in Madhu Munda v. State of Bihar.

 Absence  of National Legislation  – As it has been mentioned earlier India does not
have any specific national legislation or laws for preventing witch hunting. It is
being covered under the sections of Indian Penal Code and according to it
punishment is being granted. Therefore, there is a need of proper legislation to
eradicate this heinous practice from the society.
This failure to establish a specific law relating to witch-hunting violates several core rights
provided by different international treaties and conventions, which includes the right to non-
discrimination, the right to security, the right to life, right to access national tribunals and the
most important right to live a decent life free from cruel and inhuman treatment.

 Poor implementation of prevalent laws  – as mentioned above few states still does
not have a separate law to tackle with the societal wrong of witch-hunting, though
the rate of witch-hunting is high there. And the states which have enacted laws and
not effective as it lacks legal backing due to lack of national legislation. The
ineffectiveness of states legislation is witnessed through the increasing incidents of
witch-hunting after its implementation over states.
Also due to the quantum of punishment which is granted to the accused is lesser than the
gravity of crime they have committed, as the punishment merely extends upto 1 year with a
fine of Rs.1000, which lack to set deterrence in society. Hence, this adds to the poor
implementation of the existing laws.

CONCLUSION

Till date the practice of witch-hunting is still prevalent in India. The reasons behind it are
lack of national legislation, lack of evidence and issuing of report, ineffective implementation
of established rules. Hence the problem can be solved by strict enforcement as well as
implementation of Anti-witchcraft law which will also prevent witch-hunting practices, also
by sensitizing of police and welfare department and establishment of NGO’s who will work
for sensitization purpose. As witch-hunting are more prevalent in backward areas to raise
awareness witchcraft can be added as a subject in school as it is necessary to change the
perspective of society and believe over superstition. However, it is very difficult to eliminate
believes prevalent from centuries in the society, but we can try to eliminate by taking above
mentioned steps.

 
REFERENCES: -

1. Crime in India 2012 Statistics, National Crime Records Bureau. Online at

http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-CII2012/Statistics2012.pdf
2. Rakesh k. Singh, “Witch-Hunting: Alive and Kicking”
3. International Law Memorandum: Jharkhand’s Obligation to Prevent Witch-Hunting.
4. “India needs national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices”,
22nd June 2011, The Telegraph.
5. Contemporary Practices of Witch-Hunting-a report on Social Trend & the Interface
with Law, 2013.
6.  2006 (3) JCR 222
7.  2003 (3) JCR 156