If they hate her guts, they call her a witch

If they hate her guts, they call her a witch
YOGESH VAJPEYI

RAIPUR, SEPTEMBER 3: July 24, Bijli village, Fingeshwar block, Raipur district. ``She is a tonahi (witch),'' screams Ramesh Yadav and his cronies as they approach Lata Sahu's thatched hut. The ``witch'' is dragged out of the hut, stripped and paraded through the village. And before letting go of the mentally challenged woman, the men have a word for her husband: avoid the police thana, ``nahin to tumko gaon se baahar nikaal denge'' (Otherwise we'll throw you out of the village).

On the surface, it's yet another case of superstition and blind faith. But dig deeper and the actual story emerges, of witch-hunting that's prompted by political vendetta. Where higher castes maintain their hold over lower castes by branding their women as witches.

``My wife contested against the wife of Ramesh Yadav for the post of village sarpanch three months ago. The Yadavs wanted to teach us a lesson for daring to challenge their hegemony,'' says Lata's husband, Daya Ram Sahu (31).

The Yadavs and Patels are the principal landholders in Bijli village even though the lower caste Sahus outnumber them. For the last two terms, Ramesh Yadav's wife had been elected unopposed as village sarpanch. This time round, Lata was fielded and though she lost, she gave Ramesh's wife a very thin margin of victory, and the Yadavs were waiting to strike back.

They got their chance when Lata suffered an epilepsy attack, and accused her sister-in-law Jam Bai of practicing tona tataka (witchcraft) on her during one of her fits. Ramesh and his friend Thakur Yadav went to Daya Ram and suggested that he make an idol of flour and bury it in the river bed to counter the spell that Jam Bai had cast on his wife.

They then went to Jam Bai and convinced her that Lata was herself a tonahi who was planning to kill her. With Jam Bai leading from the front, the Yadavs descended on Lata Sahu's hut to ``punish'' her. Raipur police have registered a case and arrested some of the persons named in the FIR lodged by Daya Ram.

Social scientists concur that the ruling elite exploit blind faith in witchcraft for political and economic gain. ``It is significant that though cases of a woman being punished after being declared a tonahi or dayan are prevalent in parts of tribal Madhya Pradesh, one rarely comes across a woman from the socially and economically affluent sections of the village being punished in this manner,'' commented a social scientist.

``My mother was hacked to death because they wanted to grab our acre of land,'' said Vidya (10), who now lives with her maternal uncle Mangan Nishad in Pawani village of Dharseenwa police circle, Raipur. Her mother Kulwantin was struggling to support her two minor children after the death of her husband Mangloo in the nearby Tarra village. Mangloo's younger brother Manno Nishad accused her of being a tonahi and exhorted the villagers to kill her. Kulwantin's children were driven out of the village and now, Mangloo's family cultivates the land.

Rameshwari Yadu, the sarpanch of Tarra, confirms that Kulwantin was cultivating an acre of land before she was killed and her children driven out. He claims the panchayat wants to return the land to Kulwantin's children. Manno Nishad and 23 other villagers of Tarra are now facing a murder charge, but Mangan doubts if they will be convicted. ``I can't afford to pay the police and lawyers to ensure that justice is done,'' he shrugged.

The powerless villagers dare not oppose the powerful village lords, who take it upon themselves to summarily brand women as witches. Often, local government officials and policemen act as passive spectators, if not active abettors to the crime.

``The tribals and low caste people in these parts have blind faith in witchcraft and every year, cases of women being tortured and even killed on the suspicion of being witches are reported,'' admits a senior police official.

In Bastar, the Hill Marias carry their clan god Angadeo on their shoulders to identify the witch in the village. At the slightest indication from the deity -- whose signs can be interpreted only by the the village Siraha (priest) -- the victim is inflicted severe punishment, which ranges from a fine on the family, public beating and expulsion from the village to instant death.

BOX

Witchcraft as weapon

* Badarwa village, Bilaspur: Komal Prasad (13) killed his paternal uncle and aunt because they were trying to convince villagers that his mother Tara Devi was a witch. ``I killed them because my uncle not only threw us out of our land, but wanted to drive us out of the village by branding my mother a tonahi,'' Komal told the police.

* Mandir Hasaud village: Suirja Bai (45) commited suicide after being forced to attend a panchayat which declared her a witch. Surja Bai had earlier been fined for the same offence. ``When they asked me to bring my wife before the panchayat and I went home to fetch her, I found her dead,'' said her husband Somnath. The meeting was announced to the villagers by the village kotwar (a government functionary).

* Mithora village: Devaki Bai was declared a tonahi and fined Rs 5,000 by the panchayat. She was not allowed to fetch water from the community tubewell. When she went to the local police station, Assistant Sub-Inspector R.S. Sahu told her ``she should be thankful for not being killed''.

Upper castes in Chhattisgarh maintain their hold over lower castes by branding their women as witches