Witch-hunts are still prevalent in India in the twenty-first century. Those who are labelled as witches are usually elderly or single women accused of manipulating supernatural forces with malicious intent. Witch branding occurs predominantly in rural, poorer areas of the country where there is often a higher concentration of tribal communities.
Multiple factors can lead to a witchcraft accusation, ranging from crop failure, financial hardship, and the loss of livestock to the illness or death of family members. Accusations are often instigated to serve ulterior motives like grabbing the land and property of a 'witch', settling personal grudges or even as a punishment for turning down sexual advances. There are also deeper underlying causes of witch hunting, primarily a lack of education and basic social benefits, particularly healthcare.
The vast majority of witch-hunting victims are women, especially older, single women of a lower caste, who because of their background are socially marginalised and are thus more vulnerable to becoming scapegoats for the misfortunes of their neighbours. Whilst not as common, men can be subjected to witchcraft accusations especially if they are relatives or family members of an accused witch.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, since 2000 more than 2,500 women have been killed after being branded as a witch. This number is estimated to be even higher, as many cases go unreported. Women accused of practising witchcraft face various forms of physical and mental torture as well as execution. Severe violence is commonly used to punish accused witches and can include rape, beating, flogging and severing of limbs. Furthermore, 'witches' can be mentally and emotionally abused through ostracism, banishment, hounding and public humiliation.
History
Witch-hunting in India is an ancient practice spanning back many centuries with references to 'Daayan' (witches) being found in several early Sanskrit works. However, unlike the witch trials in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America, where victims were tried and recorded by state-run judiciaries, detailed records of witch hunts in India are difficult to find as many hunts were mob-instigated, unofficial incidents that were publicly tried. For this reason, there is no concrete documented evidence of witch-hunting in India before the Santhal witch trials of 1792 and the majority of witch-hunting cases are found in information from the colonial period.
Witch hunting in colonial India
In 19th-century Colonial India, many cases of witch hunting were recorded and officials speculated that during this period over a thousand women were killed on the grounds of witchcraft in India's central plains alone. It was also believed that more women were killed as witches than those who died through the practice of Sati. Witches (also known as dakans or dayans), were usually identified by male practitioners of magic and spiritual leaders. These witch hunters known as 'Bohpas', 'Bahgats' and other names, were consulted after members of the community, their relatives or the leaders of villages complained of suffering misfortunes caused by witchcraft. Once a 'witch' was identified, Bohpas would attempt to 'free' the victim from her power, by using magic, exorcism, torture and execution. For example, a popular method of torture in Western India was 'witch-swinging', where an accused witch would have chilli paste rubbed into her eyes, was hung upside-down from a tree and swung over an open fire until she confessed to her crimes or promised to release her victim(s). In one case in 1886 an elderly woman called Kunkoo was accused of inflicting illness on a soldier's wife, she was made to put her hands in boiling oil and swung for days before being released and eventually murdered.
Bans on witch-hunting
British authorities implemented several bans on witch-killing between the 1840s and 60s throughout Eastern India. The bans targeted spiritual leaders and holy men who named and accused witches in their villages. In serious cases punishments for hunters could even lead to a death sentence.