Sanjib Kumar Sarma
sanjibsarmabajali@gmail.com
Witch-hunting is a superstitious practice prevalent all over the world from time immemorial. It leads to the persecution and death of many men and women. Brian A Pavlac of Pennsylvania King's College opines that from about 1400 to 1800 AD 50,000 and 2,00,000 people in Europe and British Colonies, such as Salem, Massachusets were executed as 'witches'. In India, in the period between 1995 and 2009 about 2,500 people were put to death on the charge of practising witchcraft. In the period between January 2000 and September 2008, 53 witch-hunting cases were registered in different police stations. Out of them, a maximum of 22 cases were registered in the Kokrajhar district. Among these incidents, we even find patricidal cases that reflect the intensity of the problem. On 22nd November 2001, Basistha Basumatari (18) killed his father Kalai Basumatary at the age of 50 suspecting him to be a wizard in the Khairabari area of the Darrang district. On 5th December of the same year, Tinu Basumatary killed his father Dharmeswar Basumatary attributing him as a wizard. On 15th October 2014, an international athlete Devjani Bora living in Chereia Village, Howraghat, Karbi Anglong was accused and tortured in a Namghar blaming her as a witch.
A good deal of controversy prevails and various theories have been evolved by scientists regarding the causes of witch-hunting. The supporters of 'Social Accusation Theory' argue that the accusers had the psychological tendency to blame others for their own problems. In some places of the state of Maharastra, there is a tradition of witch-hunting which they called 'Batali'. It occurs during the monsoon season. Because during the monsoon season the aggravation of the scarcity of food and disease increases. Due to deteriorated road conditions created by rains, it becomes difficult for the villagers to go to the health centres and take medical facilities. In this situation, the 'Bhagat' or the local untrained physicians with the help of herbal medicines try to cure the sick. And when failed he attempts to escape from the situation blaming and accusing others as 'Bhutali' or witch. However, the 'Social Accusation Theory', does not include all the aspects of witch-hunting, such as political and religious contexts and personal envy or grudges etc.
The advocates of 'Illness Theory' explain it as a panic caused by mass hysteria or delusions. A number of witch-hunting cases of recent years occurred in the Bodo and Chaotal-inhabiting areas of Assam and Naxal-affected areas of West Bengal were the result of mass hysteria. During the pick hours of Nauxalism in West Bengal, a number of innocent people were killed by creating mass hysteria.
Another theory argues that they were caused by ergot, a fungus found on rye. Ergot poisoning can cause symptoms that might be interpreted as a witch curse such as pain, convulsion, trembling and hallucination.
Some feminists opine that witch-hunts occur due to misogyny, or hatred of women. Some witch-hunters such as the 15th-century German priest Henrich Kramer and James Sprenger, the author of the witch-hunting manual "Malleus Maleficarum" specifically targeted women, because they were considered easily tempted by the devil. Except for a few men, the majority of the victims were women.
Assam is generally rich in horticulture, expressions and specialities. Moreover, the women society of the tribal belts is lovely persevering. In this manner receiving present-day techniques for farming, including more women in the field of painstaking work and weaving might be a portion of the measures that can be taken up as the underlying group administration programme. That is the manner by which maybe we could respect our convention even as we receive the methods for science and innovation. By medieval standard, it didn't take much to be a witch. Having a female body was the factor well on the way to render one powerless against being known as a witch (Barstow, 1995:16). Malleus Maleficarum, composed by two Dominicans in 1486, recorded that witch-chasing is expressly connected to the second rate view of women nature. Sprenger and Krammer (1948), the creators of the well-known Malleus Maleficarum, explained on the above suspicion in this way: Since women are feebler in both personality and body, it isn't shocking that they ought to go under the spell of witchcraft. For as respects astuteness or comprehension of profound things, they appear to be of changed nature from men. In any case, the normal reason is that she is bodily weaker than man as it is clear from her numerous lustful anathemas. What's more, it ought to be noticed that there was a deformity in the arrangement of the principal lady since she was framed from the bowed rib, that is a rib of the bosom which is twisted in a manner of speaking opposite heading to man.
A 'witch' or its Assamese vocabulary 'daini' in Assam is used to capture a male or young lady is confirmed to have exceptional forces that it used to sidestep quickly into the social occasion. "Witches" are, for a long time, young women who are insisted on using their abhorrent powers to harm others. The truth to be exhorted, whatever it may be, is that the major assortment of those accused of black magic is simply defenceless ladies and young people, the elderly or the sick and, at some point or other, the loss of a source's close and personal hatred. Regularly speaking they are killed with avoidance. Witch seeking is butchering a 'witch', superstitious shrewdness practising a big part of the social affairs of Rabha, Hajong, Mising, Bodo, Adivasi, and many others. Moreover, some of the Nepalis are washed off. A witch in the limit of the event is a young lady who is proclaimed an expert of dull attraction and makes the residents where she lives to destroy.
Media has declared occasions of seeking witch after having been spoken so remote from multiple circumstances of India viz Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Assam detached Orissa. It has been said that 2,556 females were consigned as witches and killed inside India in 1987 and 2003. In Bihar, without anyone else's input cycle, 522 cases of seeking witches were enlisted from 1991 to 2000. While it is kilometres of confidence that uneasiness was included because of the 'witch make' refined by means of the anticipated witch, individuals are trying to dispose of the witch or the affirmed 'daini' through supplications and obligations.
The vested interests in the field of politics, socio-economic dominance bolster the problem of witch-hunting. The Social Control Theory which can also be regarded as 'Political Control Theory' also argues that European Government exploited the fear of witches as a way of increasing bureaucracy and centralizing Governmental authority. On 16th October 2014, DY365 a regional TV Channel of Assam telecast the news that in the district of Karbi Anglong some people were killed in the recent past on the pretext of witches or wizards for raising their voice for the removal of a political leader.
However, it can be summed up that infrastructural and educational backwardness, terrorism, internal conflict among the tribes, communal conflict and mafias have been providing impetus to this social crime. While discussing the causes of witch-hunting it is also important to take some measures to root out this burning social problem. It can be summed as follows.
Root out literacy and transplantation of scientific attitude through the establishment of educational institutions in the backward areas.
Development of infrastructure in the problem centred areas.
Organizing rallies, seminars, workshops and giving priority to the participation of the marginalized class.
Till and except if there are strict legal guidelines formulated on the wrongdoing of witch-chasing, the condition would maintain as before.