News Highlight
The murder of two women in Kerala as part of ritualistic human sacrifice called for a strict anti-superstition law.
Key Takeaway
- As per the 2021 report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), six deaths were linked to human sacrifices, while witchcraft was the motive for 68 killings.
- The maximum number of witchcraft cases were reported from Chhattisgarh (20), followed by Madhya Pradesh (18) and Telangana (11).
- In 2020, India saw 88 deaths due to witchcraft, and 11 died as part of ‘human sacrifices, the NCRB report states.
Superstition.
- It is a false belief, idea, or fear of something lacking any rational substance. It may include beliefs, ideas and fear, regarded as good and ominous.
Causes of superstitions in India
- Lack of value-based education
- India being a developing country is yet to have a 100% literacy rate, and the imparting education is mostly not value-based.
- Lack of uniform law
- In India, no central law exclusively deals with crimes related to witchcraft, superstition, or occultinspired activities.
- Culture
- One’s culture plays a major role in developing habits and beliefs. In Indian culture, people are brought up in such a way that various superstitious rituals and practices surround their lives. In this situation, people grow up inheriting such beliefs and practices.
- Society
- Society plays an important role in shaping people’s thoughts and behaviour.
- In Indian society, there are ample practices that have the potential to affect one’s way of thinking, and thus they affect the individual in one or various ways.
- Local practices
- In many parts of India, mostly in tribal areas, superstition is inherent in local practices, and thus it is difficult to avoid them in some way or another.
Consequences of superstition
- Exploitation
- The superstition leads to the exploitation of people by superstition practitioners etc. and hinders social development.
- Violence against women and children
- Many women were sexually assaulted, raped and killed because they practised witch-hunts.
- Economic loss
- Superstitious beliefs can negatively impact people’s economic well-being because they are highly associated with financial risk-taking and gambling.
Government initiatives
- The Prevention of Witch (Daain) Practices Act 1999
- Bihar was the first State to enact a law to prevent witchcraft, identify a woman as a witch and“eliminate torture, humiliation and killing of women.” The Prevention of Witch (Daain) Practices Act came into force in 1999.
- Chhattisgarh Tonahi (witch) Pratadna Nivaran Act 2005
- As per the law, a person convicted for identifying someone as a witch can be sentenced to up to three years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine.
- The Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, 2017
- It came into effect in 2020.
- The law bans several practices related to black magic and superstition, like forcing a person to walk on fire at religious festivals and the practice of piercing rods from one side of the jaw to the other.
Way forward
- Uniform law
- There should be a uniform law prohibiting and eradicating superstition practices.
- Encourage value-based education
- Improving the literacy rate in India and providing quality education to all may prove to be a game-changer in such a grim situation of superstitions.
- Focus on science and technology
- People need to get introduced to science and technology, find reasons behind doing everything and not the following something blindly.
- Separating belief and religion
- People should understand the difference between religion and blind rituals in the name of religion.
Content Source: The Hindu