WOMEN ASSAULT: Superstition Responsible To Promote Witchcraft

Case1: Revati Bai of village Tekari, Mandir Hasaud was killed under the fallacy that she being into witchcraft.
Case2: Over nine women were continuously molested for eight days in a village called Jharpara in Ambikapur last year. Stunningly these women were physically abused, beaten up inhumanly, clothes were torned off and they were made to walk and bath naked before the whole village when they didn’t accept about the witchcraft. Additional to this they were made to sleep on thorns and their hair was chopped off mercilessly.
Other States Too..
It is very commonly seen not only in Chhattisgarh but almost in all parts of our country where innocent women are assaulted under the delusion of witchcraft. Whereas most of such cases donot come into light unless the assaultation is horrific or if it is a matter of murder. Only then they approach police, media or social organizations for help while most of incidents remain sealed behind the walls afraid to disrepute themselves.
Alarmingly there exists certain strong group of dominant elements in the society who suppress the whole matter with the help of their self-styled approaches.
Noticiably, most of the assaultation charges belong to Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand which very well reveal the truthfulness of humanity and the so called advanced society.
More Such Cases
There are uncountable incidents persisting in these advance societies where women are treated as worst as animals. Take the cases of Goddha district of Jharkhand where two women were blazed alive, another adult woman’s head was sliced off in village Bajra, Ranchi, poor Motri Bai was also flamed to ashes at Itki Thana, Targadi village. Bihar doesn’t lag in any case, Asha Devi of Jhajhuri village, Kalyanpur was slashed into pieces cruelly. Places like West Bengal, Varshaman district where women are killed under the same delusion. Almost all the states like Punjab, Orrissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra reflects the image of citizens and society who do not leave a single women whom they doubt to be a ‘tonhi’. Those women are ruthlessly molested, battered, insulted, undressed and balded. They are forced to heal up the problems that have been allegedly created by her, which she is definitely unable to do. They are ultimately killed or forced to commit suicide.
Facts
In fact Chhattisgarh alone stands with over 100 such murder cases out of 200 assaultation cases which include girls of 14 years of age to old women of 80 years! Doesn’t this expose the extremism of narrowminded superstition? Ofcourse, it is a strange but true contrast to the society of twenty-first century that claims to be too advanced yet contradicts the same by clutching the roots of superstition. It has obviously become a prominent problem for the country and state as well. With the matter of fact, superstition has not only clasped the illiterate and backward class of people but also the educated ones. It prompts a question in the minds of young citizens about the existence of witchcraft and ‘tonhis’ among the women who powerful enough to mind someone or make others sick? Isn’t it again shameful to provoke something to an extent that at a stage, fiction becomes reality? It’s a big question that how a tonhi could play such miracles that do worst to people in first place and secondly the foolish people have only have one way to get rid of her-MOLEST and ASSAULT! Or is it another weapon to publicize ‘tona-totka’ and create terror in the society?
Going back to pre-independent India, the lack of education and health measures forced the people specially villagers to get treated by ‘Baiga-Guniya’, ‘tantriks’ or ‘tona-totka’. It was the only resort for them in case of sick cattle, child’s fever, insomnia, no rain or too much of rain and everything. It still prevails after 60 years of independence in many places when people waste time and money on such things. And once these ‘baiga-guniya’ points towards witchcraft, it’s all over, whole village is behind that-one-women who’s responsible for excessive rain, cattle’s death and all that stuff. No sooner they zero down on one innocent woman and start assaulting her that leads to cooking up several imaginary stories proving her to be a tonhi.
Children are taught and brought-up under the same superstitious environment which grips their mind leading to useless fear.
What category of women?
Either these women are poor, widow or childless who have less members int the family or are the sole bread earner. They are usually helpless to defense against the blame. I wonder, why doesn’t the news of such incidents couldn’t lighten up the social spirit? No man claims to have seen the supersticious power, they just believe it because they have heard the rumour. It’s the need of hour that a collective and operative step has to be taken against this crime.
Taking an initiative
I have been working on this since years and I have analysed that the reasons behind such acts are illiteracy, lack of health facilities and scientific approach, pressure of ancient customs etc..In fact sensible people are invited in the workshops conducted in villages to expose the reality of Baiga and Ojha. I mean how could they allow some baba to come and decide fate of a woman? And foolish people blindly believing him kill a woman? Which Indian culture allows them to do this? And what remains in the custom if it takes someone’s life?
So, let’s discuss on the effective measures to be taken against witchcraft and black magic superstition. The NGOs, social organizations, gram panchayat, professors, doctors and literates should play an active role in relatively small places where they believe superstition is more. Other can be like:
1. While receiving any information about blackmagic practices, it should be tried to solve immediately without stretching it for too long.
2. In case of health problems, diseases and pregnancy, approach the nearest doctor because superstition can’t treat you in any way.
3. Natural calamities like flood, famine, earthquake etc or pet’s health is absolutely natural and is not at all related to any person individually. Therefore, there’s no point in blaming and assaulting some women calling her tonhi or witch and making her responsible for the calamity.
4. The social workers should visit panchayat and small places to spread awareness about the superstition. In fact media can also play an eminent role here. They can stop telecasting serials and the shows based on horror, blackmagic, births etc..And government should also come forward to take an initiative against the evil.
5. We can also convey the message through theatre and plays to finally prove that the blackmagic has no existence; it’s just a weed in mind that has to be chopped off.
Once the steps are taken, very soon our country would be free from useless superstition.
Add:
Dr. Dinesh Mishra
Ophtamologist,
President-Andh Shraddha Nirmulan Samiti
Raipur Netra Chikitsalaya,
Nayapara, Phool Chowk, Raipur.
Phone-0771-4026101
Mob:9827400859