Witch Hunting: A shameful menace prevalant in India

THE PREVENTION OF WITCH-HUNTING PRACTICES Act 2001, JHARKHAND (also THE PREVENTION OF WITCH (DAAIN) PRACTICES ACT, 1999) By : Siona Siddharth Moharana

“A woman rolls on the floor of her small mud house making vague noises and shaking her head. See her hair disheveled and clothes barely covering her body. She shudders in uncontrolled frenzy and the entire household watches her ” playing” in fear and silence. The village elders are informed and she termed as a “Dayan” witch. All the village folks gather with sticks and stones, beat her to pulp and tear her clothes. Stark naked , wounded both physically and emotionally, she lies like a dead animal at the village square while the villagers gather wood to burn her alive.”

INTRODUCTION :It will not be wrong to say , women are the symbol of any civilization . On whose lap , the civilization cradles, on whose breast the civilization is nourished?????????? Offing from all the mythological scripts , all religions have given women a elited and pivotal position , but the reverse is being faced by women in the male -dominated society , since ages. They are being tortured or killed for one reason or the other , some reasons are like dowry – killing , sexual assault , rape , female infanticide , etc.. . But , it is one of the surprising & nerve –recking issue that , bereft of all these , some women are also being killed , branding them as witches (DAAIN) . Witch-hunting is one of the most brutal forms of violence against women. Most of them are forever ostracised from the society with terrible consequences. Such killings are still ramphant in this 21st centuries in many villages in India . Witch – hunting is essentially a legacy of violence against women in our society . For almost invariably , it is women , especially dalit or adivasi women , who are branded dayans or witches . The accused women are subjected to extreme torture both physical and mental. In majority of cases , the women have to suffer silently as most are unable to reach out for help , given the lack of poverty and education. COMMON PRACTICES FACED BY VICTIMS :The helpless witches are hounded and punished by being stripped naked , paraded around the villages , their hair is burnt off or their heads onsured , their faces blackened , their noses cut off , their teeth pulled out so that they can no longer curse , they are whipped , they are branded , sometimes , they are forced to eat human excreta & finally, they are put to death by hanging , impaled , nacked or buried or burnt alive . Surprisingly , such stomach-churning , toe –curling torture takes place not in dingy , shadowy places , but in vast , open village land

with the cheering crowd can fill a modest stadium . Where these women are left to live , they are considered inauspicious & malevolent,socially ostracized & forced to forgo their livilhood . Where they don‘t end up losing their life , they are made to lose their mental balance . REASONS FOR PREVELANCE OF WITCH-HUNTING :Witch – hunting is like an infectious & is spreading slowly to nearby areas & solutions will have to be found to eradicate this evil practice. Backwardness, ignorance, most of all, superstition - these are the easiest assumptions to fall back on. That superstition is a vital ingredient in these incidents is undeniable. They are encouraged to believe that the misery of their lives - a bad crop, a dry well, an illness or a death in the family - can be relieved by identifying the witch responsible for their misery and by punishing her. But just beneath the easily identifiable surface of superstition lie other motives explaining the accusation of witchcraft. They have shown that property and power - various manifestations of a power tussle - sum up the real reasons for a witch-hunt.1 Generally two methods are adopted to consider the presence of Witch in villages, i.e, One, if there is death of people in the village due to unknown diseases and a woman is suspected she is later accepted by everyone as witch. LAWS PREVAILING FOR PREVENTION OF SUCH PREVELANCE :Some states like Bihar , Rajasthan & Chattisgarh do have specific laws against witch hunts.Chattisgarh‘s Tonahi Pratadna Nivaran Act , 2005 , lays down a three-year prison term for people who causes a woman of being a tonahi or Dayan and five years‘ impirsonment anyone who causes physical harm to a woman by calling her a ―witch ―.The prevention of Witch ( Daain) Practices Act , 1999 2, in Bihar and the Witchcraft prevention Act ,2001 , in jharkhand also lay down similar punishment for people indulging in witch hunts. The Prevention of Witch (DAAIN) Practices Act, 2001, Jharkhand The Prevention of Witch (DAAIN) Practices Act 20013 is an Act to provide for effective measures to prevent the witch practices and identification of a woman as a witch and their oppression mostly prevalent in tribal areas and else-where in the State of Jharkhand and to eliminate the woman's torture, humiliation and killing by the society and for any other matter connected therewith or which are incidental thereto. Sections 3 to 8 of the Act state the following:

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.Rakesh .k Singhwitch-hunting Alive and Kicking!, Jan www.scribd.com/doc/47055924/Witch-Hunting-Alive-and-Kicking, (12.3.2013) 2 3

The prevention of Witch ( Daain) Practices Act , 1999 The Prevention of Witch (DAAIN) Practices Act, 2001, Jharkhand

17,2011,

Section 3: Identification of Witch (Daain): Whoever identifies any person as Witch (Daain) and does any act towards identification either by words, actions or manner shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 months or with fine of Rs. 1000 or with both. Section 4: Damages for Causing Harm: Any person who causes any kind of physical or mental torture to any person by identifying her as a Witch (Daain) whether deliberately or otherwise shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months or fine of Rs 2,000 or both. Section 5: Abetment in the Identification of Witch (Daain):Any person who persons or persons of the society whether in identification of any women as a Witch (Daain) with an intention to cause by anyone to that person shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 months or with a fine of Rs 1,000/-or with both. Section 6: Witch (Daain) Curing: Whoever does any act of so healing allegedly or purportedly and of curing any woman said to be Witch (Daain) by doing any act of 'jhadphook' or 'totka' and thereby causing any kind of physical or mental harm and torture to that person identified as a Witch (Daain) in any manner shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year with a fine of Rs. 2,000/-or with both. Section 7: Procedure for Trial: All offences of this Act shall be cognizable and non-bailable. Section 8: Power to Make the Rule: The State Government may by notification in the official gazette, make such rules as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Clearly, sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 comprising the penal provisions of the Act are woefully inadequate for deterring or punishing those responsible for branding and persecuting women as witches. Fines range from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000 and prison terms range from 3 months to 1 year, depending on the nature of the crime. The penal provisions of the Act do not adequately punish the instigators of these crimes or prevent others from engaging in these crimes. Every year, hundreds of people, often older women, are accused as witches or 'daains', often abused, cast out of their families and communities and are, in many cases, murdered. On the whole, the passage of the Prevention of Witch Practices Act in 2001 has not adequately prevented the identification and murder of women labelled as witches. ― Witch under these Act is defined a woman who has been identified as a witch by some one else having the power of intention of harming any person through the art of black magic, evil eyes, or "Mantras" and it is deemed that she will harm alleged harm any way to other person/persons or the community at large, in any manner.‖ Such incidents are not confined to Jharkhand or Bihar alone. At least 12 states - Jharkhand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh,

Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam and Bihar — are recognised as areas where witch hunts are rampant even today.4 In a move to tackle the problem, the Rajasthan government recently came up with draft legislation that lays down stringent penalties for those who harass or assault women by branding them ―witches‖. Section 4 of the draft Rajasthan Women (Prevention & Protection from Atrocities) Bill, 2011, says that whoever maligns or accuses a woman of being a ―Dayan or Dakan or Dakin, Chudail or Bhootni or Bhootdi or Chilavan or Opri or Randkadi‖ (all terms denoting a woman who practices witchery) will be punished with a prison term extending up to three years, along with a fine that can go up to Rs 5,000. It further says that whoever uses ―criminal force against a woman and/or instigates or provokes others in doing so with intent to harm and/or to displace her from the house, place or the property, lawfully occupied or owned by her…‖ in the name of stopping ―Witchcraft‖ or ―possession‖ will be punished with imprisonment extending up to seven years and a maximum fine of Rs 20,000.5 The draft bill also states that if a person intimidates or tortures a woman by calling her a ―witch‖ and such harassment results in her suicide, then he or she can face a 10-year prison term along with a fine of Rs 50,000. But , it is unclear how the proposed legislation — Rajasthan Women (Prevention and Protection from Atrocities) Bill — will help in reducing the number of incidents, if not eliminate them altogether. INCIDENTS AND CASES OF VICTIMIZATION OF WITCH-HUNTING :Several women have been persecuted, tortured and killed in the garb of witchcraft in the past few decades in the State of Jharkhand. The social evil of witch hunting still continues unabated here. While most of the women do not have the courage to protest against the harassment they are subjected to, some of them have not only been able to overcome the fear and trauma of being branded as witches, they have emerged as pathfinders for the victims.6 According to the data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), as many as 250 women have been killed after being branded witches in the state in the past one decade. Since January to October 2012, as many as 31 women have been killed in the state. The Prevention of Witch (DAAIN) Practices Act, 2001, is not very effective as the punishment for killing a

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. India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices, 22nd june ,2011, http://www.sacw.net/article2156.html(6.3.2013) 5

. India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices, The Telegraph, 22 June 2011(6.3.2013) 6

Witch hunting menace haunts Jharkhand, The Times of India, Dec 12,2012 ( 5.3.2013)

woman branded as witch is imprisonment between three and six months and fine of upto Rs 1000 or Rs 2000.7 Killing people suspected of practicing black magic is common in Jharkhand. In the past 10 years , more than 600 persons , mostly women , have been killed in Jharkhand after they were branded witches.8In many instances, the cases goes unreported & remain veil from the eyes for judiciary in case of victims seeking justice because the victims consider it as their fate & donot dare to go against the society. At best, they dismiss it as a social evil to be resolved within the community. The crime enjoys the social and political patronage in the states of Jharkhand and several parts of Bihar etc as there is as much faith in witch-hunt as there is belief in gods. There are no real statistics because mostly the crimes go unreported.  Cases : State of Jharkhand Vs Janeshwar Paswan and ors & Rajendra Paswan Vs State of Jharkhand, 9 In this case , Lalan paswan , son of janeshwar paswan alongwith 6 unknown persons entered in hishouse armed with pisol & farsa , and took informant and his family members on the bank of river Sone river situated at Budwa – Bar . It further alleged that at that place , the culprits cut the family members into pieces and thried to kill him. The animosity was due to mother of Lalan paswan death which they suspect was due to witch-craft played by informant‘s father.  Chango Bodra & ors Vs The state of Jharkhand , 10 In this case , the appellants have been convicted for the offence under 148/302/149 of IPC & also under sec 3/4/5 of the Prevention of Witch (Daain) Practices Act , 2001 & each of them were sentenced to 3yrs RI for life.  Kishore Modi Vs State of Jharkhand ,11 In this case , the accused person was convicted under section 302 , 307 , 324, 325, 326/34 of the IPC, 1860 & section ¾ of the prevention of witch (Daain )Practices Act, 1999.

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Kelly kislaya- Witch hunting menace haunts Jharkhand – (5.3.2013)http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-14/ranchi/35819589_1_witchvillagers-drink-urine 8 http://news.jharkhand.org.in/2009/04/adivasi-tribal-witchcraft-news-reports.html 9

2012 (4)J.L.J.R.337 Decided on 20.9.2012(Manu/JH/1141/2012) 11 2008(2)JCR551(Jhr) 10

 Mrs Sashiprava Bindhani Vs State of Orissa & others ,12 In the application made by Odisha Rationalist Society , due to several instances of murders on allegation of practicing witch-craft in the state of Orissa .It was prayed to direct the state Government for framing of guidelines to deal with the cases of witchhunting & to protect women from such hunting till legislation is framed in this regard. The Hon‘ble High court passed certain guidelines to be followed till the state government introduces appropriate bill in state legislation.  Samsul & ors Vs State of Jharkhand & Anr, 13 In this case , the complainant‘s mother was forcibly taken out by the petitioners towards southern Bahiyar & was killed & her dead body was buried on the allegation that she was playing witch.  Jamshedpur/ telegraph / July 05, 2005 : A 35-year-old woman was was axed to death in Lodhanbani village under Barsole Police station for allegedly practising witchcraft. The Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a Dehradun-based voluntary organisation committed to putting an end to witch hunting crimes, has reported that such crimes are on the rise in tribal-dominated villages. Witch-hunting is common among the Santhal, Ho, Munda, Oraon and Kharia tribes in the state. RLEK presented the case of Pinky Khaka, 15, whose mother was branded a witch and killed. The assailants also killed her father and sister. Pinky who belongs to the Oraon tribe, recalls the day when three youth came to her house in Sudag village, barely six kilometres from Ranchi and mercilessly beat up her parents and stabbed them to death. STATISTICS OF WITCH- HUNTING IN VARIOUS PARTS OF INDIA:Women‘s Rights Groups have been raising public awareness of the problem in India and several monographs have documented the problem in villages in ―tribal‖ areas of several Indian states. In fact, a search of newspapers and internet reports reveal that there are at least twelve (12) states in India that are recognized as breeding grounds for witch hunts (Jharkhand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat ,Maharashtra, Assam, and Bihar). Of late, three studies have addressed witch hunts in India and have provided some data relevant to surges and fluctuations over time as well as details on witch killings and police interventions among tribal communities from the 1950s through the early 1980s.14-15

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Decided On 25th April , 2012 2008(56)BLJR 2193 14 Rakesh .k Singh- witch-hunting Alive and Kicking!- (12.3.2013) www.scribd.com/doc/47055924/Witch-Hunting-Alive-and-Kicking 13

According to survey by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 368,379 people killed,306,096injured and over $ 2,815,931,000 (approx.)in economic damages has occurred due to witch – hunting since our India attained independence. The Jharkhand criminal Investigation Department figures maintain that as many as 1,200 witches managed to survive torture and attacks between 2001 and 2009 . The figures suggest that there has been a rise in the number of attacks on women accused of being a ‗witch‘. A 2010 estimate places the number of women killed as witches in India at between 150 and 200 per year, or a total of 2,500 in the period of 1995 to 2009. The lynchings are particularly common in the poor northern states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Chattisgarh. A Jharkhand case publicized in international media in 2009 concerned five Muslim women. The under-mentioned monogram will give a splash a better picture of the rise of witch – hunting in different States of our country.

CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS :Witch-hunting is a huge issue in many Indian States . Jharkhand is one of the biggest prone state to this malady as more than 500 or more cases of witch-hunting reported there in the 90‘s . Now , the biggest question to tickle our mind is ― What is the most root cause of this witch-hunting???‖ In my opinion , after going through 15

Macabre statistcs of witch-hunting(The Hindu)July 26, 2010

many instances & cases , my derivation is , im most of the cases , the brutal acts were the fall out of property disputes & were instigated by so – called ―witch doctors‖or‖ OJHA‖, who intheir bare eyes can detect who is a ―witch‖ & can cure them with their ―JHAD- PHOONK‖. Unlike other issues like dowry , child-marriage ,caste-wars , etc , which are being eyed by government of levels as a firing issue , witch- hunting seem to be a problem that is not on the national radar till now & many of us even dont‘t have idea, ‖What witch-hunting is?‖ Witch-hunting is a picture of grue-some & even scarier scenario of act of humanity . Branding a woman as a witch not only exploits her economically, but also erodes her sense of confidence and self-esteem Further , the laws relating to prevention of witch – hunting , identification of witch , causing harm to person branding witches are very minimal. For example-In case of identification as witch , the punishment extends to imprisonment which may extend to 3 months or with fine if Rs 1000 or with both . All the punishment , in the present enactment of witch-hunting , is so minimum that it does not have any deterrent effect because usually culprits go un-convicted either because of lack of witnesses or the reason may be because a large number of people ( almost the whole village or locality is involved in this), but the main reason may be due to light punishment . Though , it is considered as non- bailable & cognizable offence , but these are , in reality , not followed so strictly .The sentences prescribed and the paltry fines recommended in the state laws have so far proved ineffective in curbing this social menace.‖16 Furthermore, In some states though witch hunts are prevalent in some districts of West Bengal, Mumbai, the state has not taken any legal action to try and curb the practice. Maharashtra is one state that tried to enact a law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices some years ago. It failed primarily because of opposition from some religious groups that felt that the law might do away with certain ancient rites altogether. However, the Maharashtra government is apparently planning to introduce a bill to combat the social ills of witch craft and human sacrifice once again.17 The one legislation that is available to punish the charlatans who deceive people is The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. If this act is properly implemented, most Babas, Swamijees, fake hermits would end up behind the bars. But some people in the government are encouraging such Babas and Swamijees and this act is not sufficient to solve all the problems. So there is need for a special legislation at the national level. In One of the landmark case, The High Court of Andhra Pradesh delivered a sensational judgment on 3rd October 2007. The details of the case: 16

India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices, 22nd June 2011, http://www.sacw.net/article2156.html(6.3.2013) 17

India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices, 22nd June,2011, http://www.sacw.net/article2156.html(6.3.2013)

in Timmapur village, Sangem mandal, Warangal district on 2nd August 2000, all the villagers caught Kolkanuri Yellaiah, Kolkanuri Rajamma, Merolla Upakantha, Velpula Narsamma, and Settiboina Ilumallu. All the five were beaten brutally and later burnt alive alleging that all of them were practicing witchcraft. Warangal district court dismissed this case on 9th June 2003 stating that there were no proper evidences. Police appealed to the High Court. The Division bench consisting of Justice K.C.Banu and D.S.R Verma gave their verdict: life sentence to 19 accused, leaving others as innocent. At least 19 killers were punished18.We have to appreciate the efforts of the police in this case. If they show the same enthusiasm in each and every case, more such incidents can be prevented. If government really has the political will and commitment to prevent killings in the name of sorcery, it should launch a continuous campaign against this superstition. It is well and good if it creates a permanent mechanism for that at state level. The Departments like police, revenue, education and health should organize special programmes against these practices. Every Panchayat should take up special programs. The government should take up preventive measures and allocate adequate funds. All the killings in the name of sorcery have happened due to the negligent attitude of the government. The Women and Girls (Prevention of Stripping, Teasing, Molestation, Branding as Witches and Offering as Devadasis) Bill, 2003 is still pending-- if this bill is discussed and accepted as an act, it would be more useful because it lays down the death penalty as the punishment. Some rights organizations who oppose death penalty are opposing this bill. People have been suffering from this so called witchcraft i.e. Banamathi due to various causes. Some of the prominent causes have been fear, ignorance, superstition, personal and family problems, poverty, religious feuds, and village politics. It reflects serious concern about the persistence of harmful norms, practices and traditions, patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes, regarding the roles, responsibilities and identities of women and men in all spheres of life, as well as the State party's limited efforts to address such discriminatory practices. Based on a careful analysis of all the available data and statistical examination of various agencies ( both Govt. & non-Govt.), I ,have come to the unanimous and firm conclusion that the so called black-magic is not due to any supernatural cause as usually been considered. It is also a fact that vested interests have been using witch-craft as a means of exploitation. Attributing these phenomena to supernatural causes they have been reaping a rich harvest. Some of the families are ruined on account of spending large amounts of money in the hope of getting a cure of the ill-effects. Poor villagers and gullible people are being cheated. It will not be wrong if it is pointed that, certain strong supporting factors which have lent credence to belief in black magic & witch craft. The fact that many educated people, officials and men of public importance implicitly believing in it has also been responsible for its 18

Karthik Navayan, Killings in the name of witch craft , 19thDecember,2011,http://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=articl e&id=4332:killings-in-the-name-of-witchcraft-&catid=119:feature&Itemid=132(13.3.2013)

continued widespread belief among large sections of villagers. As we know superstitions are widely prevalent in our country. All of us know that an educated superstitious person is more harmful to society than his uneducated counterpart. Besides, occasional, nay, frequent dubious and unscientific reports, articles, and statements in some newspapers tend to give a final seal of confirmation to the existence of some kind of witchcraft. In fact the phenomena attributed to Jharkhand , Bihar only, they are widespread in all parts of the state and the country. But they are called by different names. All these can be attributed to the same root causes excluding any supernatural force. People are so superstitious in believing in witchcraft and black magic that lets take an example on a case as published in India Today Reports, On October 9 , 2011 , Akkas Ali from Juria in Nagaon district was declared dead by doctors of snake bite. His family invited several ojhas (witch doctors) who claimed they could revive him . In a similar case in Guwahati on September 20,2011 , ojhas attempted over 3 days to revive a 45–year-old woman , Sarala Devi , by placing her body in a raft and set afloat on Brahmaputra ,by believing someday her life will be back.19 Another important reason for the spread of witchcraft is that the Police Department under its existing laws are helpless and cannot take notice of cases coming under the purview of witch craft. This has indirectly given a free hand and also encouragement to persons who in the name of witch-craft scare innocent people and exploit them. A basic problem of implementing laws against witch hunts is that since the crime is usually committed by a group of people, it‘s difficult to pinpoint blame. Also, if the police take action , the victim cannot go back to the community which has stigmatised her. So rehabilitating her is a challenge . Apart from all these, as there is no national laws against witch hunting ,curbing it from the deep-rooted ethics of villagers is not easy , though not probably impossible . If we look at national laws, most witch hunt cases are dealt with by Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which prescribes one year‘s imprisonment and a Rs 1,000 fine to anyone who causes harm voluntarily. In otherwords, the punishment for brutalising a woman by calling her a witch could be the same as that for slapping a person. Other sections like 302 (murder) of other IPC are invoked in witch hunt cases that lead to a woman‘s death. In fact when a law suit was filed by the NGO Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra on behalf of nearly 1,000 rural women in Jharkhand who were victims of witch hunts last year, the Supreme Court refused to even entertain it asking the petitioner to approach the High Court of the State. However, there are instances when the Supreme Court has called for an effective enforcement of state laws against witch hunts. For instance, while deciding on a case in 1991, the apex court asked the Bihar government to form special cells to deal

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Janson Overdorf, Secret Circle? Witch hunts still routine in parts of India,October 31st,2011, http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/the-rice-bowl/secretcircle-witch-hunts-still-routine-parts-india-update (6.3.2013)

with issue and draw up a census of widows owning property as they were believed to be particularly vulnerable to being derided as witches.20 Further ,Non Governmental Organizations like Free Legal Aid Committee have done a lot in order to bring about an end to the practice of witch hunting. However, until and unless there are strict laws devised that aim directly at the crime of witch hunting, even they will not be able to do much. Another very shocking fact related to this practice is that even after the media coverage of incidents of witch hunting, and the growing awareness of such practices in the ‗more developed‘ part of the society, the conviction rate for crimes related with witch hunting is below 2 per cent, according to a study by a source. Above of all ,The only solution to this problem would be to educate the people and also to frame laws for the protection of women and people belonging to the ‗lower‘ classes of the society who also constitute another target group of such witch hunts. Witch hunts, are fueled by belief in the existence of witches in case of diseases & death caused due to it in villages with no doctors or medical facilities, they are forced to assume it as an act of witch. There are some 84 million tribal people in India, representing about 8 percent of the country's population,& it is prevelant among them more. Superstitious beliefs in the existence of black magic and ‗dians‘ will prevail along with the prevalence of tribal doctors or ‗ojhas‘ who have a very big influence in village life, and more often than not take advantage of or hoodwink the gullible villagers. Lastly, for complete eradication of this malady from our society is counciousness of young generation.21 BIBILIOGRAPHY:1) Rakesh .k Singh- witch-hunting Alive and Kicking!, Jan 17,2011, www.scribd.com/doc/47055924/Witch-Hunting-Alive-and-Kicking, (12.3.2013) 2) The prevention of Witch ( Daain) Practices Act , 1999 3) The Prevention of Witch (DAAIN) Practices Act, 2001, Jharkhand 4) India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices, 22nd june ,2011, http://www.sacw.net/article2156.html(6.3.2013)

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India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices,22nd June, 2011, http://www.sacw.net/article2156.html, (6.3.2013)

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Pronoti Baglary, Witch Hunting in India, july 3rd , 2008 ,http://theviewspaper.net/witchhunting-in-india/(13.3.2013)

5) India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices, The Telegraph, 22 June 2011(6.3.2013)

6) Witch hunting menace haunts Jharkhand, The Times of India, Dec 12,2012 ( 5.3.2013) 7) Kelly kislayaWitch hunting menace haunts Jharkhand – (5.3.2013)http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-1214/ranchi/35819589_1_witch-villagers-drink-urine 8) http://news.jharkhand.org.in/2009/04/adivasi-tribal-witchcraft-news-reports.html 9) 2012 (4)J.L.J.R.337 10) Decided on 20.9.2012(Manu/JH/1141/2012) 11) 2008(2)JCR551(Jhr) 12) Decided On 25th April , 2012 13) 2008(56)BLJR 2193 14) Rakesh .k Singh- witch-hunting Alive and Kicking!- (12.3.2013) www.scribd.com/doc/47055924/Witch-Hunting-Alive-and-Kicking 15) Macabre statistics of witch-hunting(The Hindu)July 26, 2010 16) India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices, 22nd June 2011, http://www.sacw.net/article2156.html(6.3.2013) 17) India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices, 22nd June,2011, http://www.sacw.net/article2156.html(6.3.2013) 18) Janson Overdorf, Secret Circle? Witch hunts still routine in parts of India,October 31st,2011, http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/the-ricebowl/secret-circle-witch-hunts-still-routine-parts-india-update (6.3.2013) 19) India needs a national law against witch hunts and other superstitious practices,22nd June, 2011, http://www.sacw.net/article2156.html, (6.3.2013) 20) Pronoti Baglary, Witch Hunting in India, July 3rd , 2008 ,http://theviewspaper.net/witch-hunting-in-india/(13.3.2013)