Raipur. The concept of witch or sorceress is one of the major superstitions in our country in which a woman is declared a witch (Tonahi) and she is stigmatized by accusing her of spreading diseases and bringing calamities in the village through witchcraft. These women accused as witches are not only publicly humiliated but also physically tortured and ostracized from the society. In such cases, the physical torture is so severe that they suffer for months due to physical injuries and it is not possible for them to get treatment in the village.
The wounds of public insult and humiliation cause lifelong pain, the pressure of influential groups in these places is so high that the information about the incidents of torture does not go outside the village and the tortured woman and her family continue to live a hellish life. In such cases, many times women even commit suicide. Even village public representatives and government employees do not have the courage to come forward in cases of torture on suspicion of witchcraft; in most of such cases, the information does not come out of the villages, thereby establishing the rule of the so-called Baigas.
Image Source : Movie, The Dark secrets of Tonhi (2014)
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By blaming sorcery and witchcraft as the cause of all the calamities in the so-called Baiga village, they not only charge arbitrary amount of money in the name of catching, marking, binding the village, but also declare any poor innocent woman as a witch and remain cursed forever. They give up their lives to live and endure torture. These Baigas take such tests to prove that a woman is not a witch, which is not possible for any woman. In such cases it becomes very difficult to prove oneself innocent, that too when the entire village stands in opposition due to superstition, whereas the reality is that the woman declared as a witch does not have that much power. That one can only protect oneself, it is not possible to harm others.
For the last 28 years, we have been running a campaign to eradicate the superstitions and social evils spread in the society, a major part of which is the eradication of the concept of witchcraft (Tonahi), hence lectures, scientific perception of miraculous events, visiting different villages and explaining them. Seminars and meetings are held to investigate the matters which are synonymous with superstition and to provide information about the truth. At the same time, many cases of evil like social boycott are continuously coming to light, due to which thousands of families are troubled and continuous efforts are also made to bring them back into the society.
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Many times we get to read the views of intellectuals, students, social workers from different places in various newspapers and magazines regarding social reform. I believe that the complete eradication of superstitions and social evils cannot be achieved by any one person, organization or It is not possible for administration. If all the people living and working at different places give us some of their time and valuable thoughts for this work, and work collaboratively, then there is no reason why these evils and superstitions cannot be eradicated. This work can be done in a better way with everyone’s cooperation in the new year. Interested volunteers and enthusiastic workers can contact me at this address.
Dr. Dinesh Mishra (Senior Eye Specialist) Chairman – Andhashradha Nirmulan Samiti, Mobile No. 98274-00859
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