Of late, the increasing attacks on innocents dubbing them as practising witchcraft in the villages has become a cause of worry for the police and rationalists as their efforts to educate people who are believing the superstition over a period of time could not achieve desired results.
This myth raised its ugly head again after several years after an innocent middle-aged woman was tortured resulting in her death in hospital at Jawahar Colony in Rudrur of Varni mandal recently. The unidentified woman who arrived from nowhere, later, was diagnosed to be mentally unsound.
This was followed by the attack on one Bhoomaiah at Abangapatnam under Navipet police station limits. He was severely beaten up by certain residents in the name of voodoo practice. He struggled for life in the hospital and at last survived. Similarly, a tribal woman Peerubai was attacked at Yellammakunta in this mandal on Sunday . She approached police requesting for protection.
Still many are going unnoticed with the socially disadvantaged sections silently bearing the humiliation. Two major inhuman incidents that occurred in the name of black-magic are still alive in the memory of people in the district. Five persons of a single family were burnt alive at Dharmaram in Yedapally mandal a decade ago and three persons were done to death in Chinnapur of Makloor mandal a few years back.
Killing innocents in the name of age old superstition has socio, economic, political and Dalit aspects also. In the villages where feudalism is high if the Dalits or other oppressed sections voted against local satraps in elections, they settled scores annihilating them by dubbing as sorcerers. Casteism is said to be another major reason for such offences.
Being alert to the danger the police machinery in association with the Jana Vignana Vedika organised certain magic shows at places where the superstition has been prevalent to educate the gullible people.
The shows the rationalists performed were almost similar to that of godmen, who did them posing as if they were witchcraft practitioners. “Belief of witchcraft is trance disorder. Persons suffering from hysteria, schizophrenia and stress behave weirdly, which the villagers believe the patient is influenced by chetabadi (witchcraft). Their hallucinations look like result of voodoo practice to opposite persons. Some mischief mongers don the role of godmen to deceive innocents,” said Dr. A. Vishal, Head, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College.
“If this baseless belief is to be rooted out totally, lessons should be incorporated in school curriculum and an Act on the lines of one enacted in Maharashtra be brought about. Core groups with local government employees, teachers and students need to be formed and all the more important is role of media,” according to Dr. P. Ram Mohan Rao, honorary president, State Jana Vignana Vedika.
