WUNRN
India - Contemporary Practices of Witch-Hunting:
Reports on Social Trends and Interface with Law
Partners
for Law in Development
Partners for Law in Development (PLD) presents its critical three-state
study on witch-hunting in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Bihar and
Chhatisgarh, Contemporary Practices of Witch-hunting: A Report on Social
Trends and the Interface with Law. This along with
its study of the practice in North-Eastern state, Witch-hunting
in Assam: Individual, Structural and Legal Dimensions, are based on
action research and primary data from the field. These two studies mark the
culmination of a longer engagement by PLD with the targeting of
women (and men) as 'witches', through literature review and regional
consultations across India (see list of publications below).
The socio-legal studies, which are the first of its kind in India,
provide evidence of contemporary social trends of witch-hunting, the
continuum of violations connected with it, and their interface with law. The
studies draw from a variety of sources: case studies from select blocks in the
districts, police records, and High Court and Supreme Court
judgments. Using the ethnographic data, the reports bring into focus
structural causes that make it possible to rationalize conflicts and losses
through witch-hunting.
The findings suggest that that witch-hunting targets middle aged
and older, mostly married women, across social groups. Although significantly
fewer, there are male victims too. The data shows that the most violent acts,
including murder, are one end of a continuum of violence which accompanies
witch-hunting. Social stigma and ostracism, temporary or long term dislocation
and resultant impoverishment are more common consequences of witch-hunting in
the regions of the study. Threads of counter narratives challenge the flat
discourse that conflates witch hunting with superstition and also highlight the
relevance of structural contexts in which witch hunting occurs, bringing
administrative neglect and governance concerns to the fore.
The studies
caution against viewing witch hunting across regions and continents in broad
brush strokes, mystifying it by overplaying superstition when in
fact, a complex factors are at play. The findings suggest that narratives that
'other' witch hunting, tend to obfuscate rather than enable constructive state
intervention and accountability.
In relation to law and policy, the data and findings speak to the
growing trend of enacting special laws at the state level in India. Though the
four states where the field work was undertaken have special laws on
witch-hunting- these are rarely, if at all, invoked on their own. Rather,
action is likely to be taken under the Indian Penal Code when violence
escalates. Preventive action is unlikely. Issues of reparative/ rehabilitation
components of justice remain missing in the current legal responses including
the special laws. The study thus offers an evidence based critique of current
trends in law and policy making in response to incidences of witch-hunting.
Contemporary Practices of Witch-Hunting: Report on Social Trends
and the Interface with Law (2014)
Witch-hunting in Assam: Individual, Structural and Legal
Dimensions (2014)
Piecing Together Perspectives on Witch Hunting: A Review of
Literature (2013)
Targeting of Women as Witches: Trends, Prevalence and the Law
(2012)
All four publications are available in a set, and also
individually, on order. To place an order, please write to resources@pldindia.org.
Madhu Mehra - Executive Director
Partners for Law in Development
New Delhi, India
Email: pldindia@gmail.com
Website: http://www.pldindia.org