{"id":47270,"date":"2025-07-08T21:04:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T15:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=47270"},"modified":"2025-07-09T18:28:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T12:58:13","slug":"india-practice-of-witchcraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-07-2025\/india-practice-of-witchcraft","title":{"rendered":"Practice of Witchcraft in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/ Social Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Five members of a family were killed on suspicion of practising witchcraft in Purnea district of Bihar.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Witchcraft?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Witchcraft refers to the<strong> belief in or alleged use of supernatural or magical powers,<\/strong> especially to cause harm, misfortune, or illness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the Indian context, witchcraft is:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Deeply tied to superstition and patriarchal norms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Often used as a tool to settle personal disputes, grab land, or suppress women\u2019s agency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>More prevalent in <strong>Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan<\/strong>, and parts of Assam and West Bengal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Witch-hunting<\/strong> is the act of accusing someone (mostly women) of being a \u2018witch\u2019 and subjecting them to <strong>violence, ostracization, torture, and even murder.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), <\/strong>Over 800 people (mostly women) were killed in witchcraft-related murders across India between <strong>2016 to 2022.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Causes of Witch-Hunting in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Superstition and Illiteracy:<\/strong> Especially in tribal and rural belts, unexplained diseases or deaths are attributed to \u2018witches\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gender and Patriarchy:<\/strong> Over 75% of victims are women, particularly widows, old, mentally ill, or childless women.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Land and Property Grab:<\/strong> Accusations are often made to drive women off their property or settle family and community disputes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Marginalisation:<\/strong> Witch-hunting is more prevalent among Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, who face long-standing social exclusion and lack of legal awareness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges of Witchcraft<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Violation of Fundamental Rights: <\/strong>Witch-hunting violates <strong>Article 21<\/strong> of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and dignity. It also infringes upon <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/right-to-equality\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/right-to-equality\/\">Articles 14 (Right to Equality)<\/a> <\/strong>and <strong>Articles 15 (Protection against discrimination).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Failure of State Institutions: <\/strong>The continuation of this practice highlights the ineffectiveness of law enforcement, the judiciary, and health services in remote areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Denial of Constitutional Values: Article 51A(h) <\/strong>of the Constitution emphasizes the duty of every citizen to promote scientific temper and humanism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legal Framework to Address the Issue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>State-Specific Legislations:<\/strong> In the absence of a central law, several states have enacted their own laws;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bihar:<\/strong> Prevention of Witch (Daain) Practices Act, 1999<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jharkhand:<\/strong> Prevention of Witch Practices Act, 2001<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chhattisgarh:<\/strong> Tonahi Pratadna Nivaran Act, 2005<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Odisha: <\/strong>Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act, 2013<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Civil Initiatives:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Project Garima (Jharkhand): <\/strong>The initiative works to restore the dignity of women branded as witches, by offering legal aid, counselling, community support, and rehabilitation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Project Prahari (Assam): <\/strong>A community-policing model that aims to build trust between police and tribal communities, focusing on crime prevention through early warning, awareness campaigns, and timely legal intervention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>UN Human Rights Council Resolution, 2021:<\/strong> It urges countries to eliminate harmful practices associated with witchcraft accusations.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It emphasizes protection of vulnerable groups, documentation of attacks, and victim rehabilitation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in Addressing the Issue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Absence of Central Legislation: The Prevention of Witch-Hunting Bill, 2016<\/strong> was introduced in the Lok Sabha to <strong>provide a national framework for prevention and rehabilitation. <\/strong>However, it failed to pass and eventually lapsed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data Gaps:<\/strong> NCRB currently classifies witch-hunting deaths under general murder, making it difficult to track trends or evaluate impact of interventions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Acceptance and Stigma:<\/strong> Many communities still accept witch-branding as a legitimate act. Victims often face lifelong exclusion and are unwilling to report cases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Comprehensive Central Law:<\/strong> India must urgently enact a national law against witch-hunting that:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Defines the crime clearly,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Punishes perpetrators appropriately,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Offers support and rehabilitation to victims,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mandates awareness and education initiatives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Community Engagement and Scientific Temper:<\/strong> Awareness campaigns should target panchayats, SHGs, and tribal leaders to challenge harmful practices and promote constitutional values.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rehabilitation Framework: <\/strong>Victims must be offered safe shelter, legal protection, counselling, economic assistance, and opportunities for reintegration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/5-of-family-killed-burnt-in-bihar-over-witchcraft-suspicion-10112482\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Five members of a family were killed on suspicion of practising witchcraft in Purnea district of Bihar.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Causes of Witch-Hunting in India<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Superstition and Illiteracy: Especially in tribal and rural belts, unexplained diseases or deaths are attributed to \u2018witches\u2019.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Gender and Patriarchy: Over 75% of victims are women, particularly widows, old, mentally ill, or childless women.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Land and Property Grab: Accusations are often made to drive women off their property or settle family and community disputes.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Social Marginalisation: Witch-hunting is more prevalent among Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, who face long-standing social exclusion and lack of legal awareness.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-07-2025\/india-practice-of-witchcraft\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47270"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47410,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47270\/revisions\/47410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}