Witchcraft convenient cover for murder in TS
The burning of a couple accused of indulging in black magic in Siddipet district was not an isolated incident. Telangana is among the top three states in India when it comes to killings in the name of sorcery and witchcraft. The state has witnessed 39 such cases in the last three years – the third highest number in the country and just behind Odisha and Jharkhand, according to NCRB data.
Activists say women who behave differently due to their mental health or hormonal changes are often mistaken to be witches in the villages of Telangana state even now. Violence against these women is often organised by the entire village, with most people driven by vengeance or fear.
Experts who studied the issue with a historical perspective say the fear of witchcraft and sorcery (known as banamati) is deeply rooted in psyche of the common people in the Telangana area of the erstwhile native state of Hyderabad. Surrounding districts of Karnataka and Maharashtra have the same problem.
Dr Vijayam, executive director of the Atheist Centre in India, explained: “The fear of witchcraft and sorcery has been there since several hundred years in this region. When ruled by Nizams, erstwhile Hyderabad had witnessed little progress when it came to education as compared to other places like Andhra. This is one reason why Telangana state still has the highest number of witchhunting cases.”
Dr Vijayam has been travelling across the region for 20 years to fight these superstitious beliefs. The governments, he believes, have done little to eradicate this issue over the years.
Experts say that the belief system in villages makes people react extremely strongly towards anyone accused of witchcraft.
“If a woman is accused of doing witchcraft in a village, the first reaction of angry villagers is to tie her down. They also pull her teeth and tongue out to stop her chanting the mantras. In some cases the persons are beaten, burned or beheaded,” Dr Vijayam said. The villagers strongly believe that eliminating the sorcerer is the only way to escape any possible harm from sorcery.
The men and women who fall victim to the witch hunt are all from the lower caste and are often wrongly accused.
“Landlords in the preIndependence era started this trend and it still continues,” said another member of the Atheist Centre in India.
Social action committees set up by the state governments to fight these superstitious beliefs in villages are not fully functional. A few organisations like Atheist Centre in India have been running awareness campaigns with the help of medical doctors, teachers, magicians and psychiatrists to bring change in the villages.
“Once you explain to them by demonstrating that no ‘witches’ have magical powers, the change comes soon,” Dr Vijayam said.