Witchcraft wizardry and witch-hunting in India.

Volume 12 Issues 7 July, 2022

We all must have come through these terms at least once, have read it in some news or article and would have casually moved on from it because probably it’s no new occurrence. In history, diseases and devastations were considered acts of supernatural powers or angry gods or malignant spirits. Gradually, all tragedies and calamities of humanity were considered the fault of witches and possessions as no one under the devil’s power could do such things. People thought that these perpetrators deserved to be punished and should rot in hell. It usually finds no mention in prominent psychiatric literature to raise awareness as it has been curtailed in the west and so less heed paid to it, but in our country, especially in regions like Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam etc. hundreds of cases of Witch crafting and witch-hunting occur though significantly less registered officially. It has its roots in patriarchy, financial disputes, poverty, superstition and many other personal and social conflicts. The wide gap in healthcare needs and availability of specialists at the community level, prevailing superstitions, low education levels and lack of resources strengthen the beliefs of the common public upon others/bhagats/Chakri/Tantrik or shamans. Hysteria(dissociation disorders) and epilepsy are frequently confused with witchcraft and possessions. The symptoms of people condemned as witches can often be matched with neurological or psychiatric illnesses as the symptoms can be various abnormal behaviours. There is tiny but sufficient literature mentioning that symptoms of witchcraft or possessions are manifestations of psychopathology. Women are, to date, still condemned as witches more frequently than men as they are physically weaker and easy targets and blamed for all the wrongs done to a village/society or if the ojha wants to transfer blame to someone vulnerable. All these women have to go through a myriad of atrocities, including psychological and physical torture. Unless the common public is made aware of the mental illnesses and the damage these local healers are doing to society, there isn’t much hope for such women who endure these inhuman experiences. Many wouldn’t even live to tell the tale.