By D N Singh
The incidents of human sacrifices in Kerala has come up a huge national shocker. That too in a state which has the highest literary rate in India besides being a very progressive state.
It is not the incident of very recent one but, it has been going on for last few years. To recall one, four years back bodies of four people were found buried in their backyard. Which included the man, who was an astrologer and his family including two children allegedly murdered for gaining the supernatural powers.
Odisha 2nd highest
The incident in Kerala is obviously a wake up call and a call for quick action not merely through laws but eradication of such mind-sets.
When we look back at a state like Odisha, the state with a large population in need of good lives and education, has come out as the second highest incidents of such black magic or sorcery which includes human sacrifices.
National Human Rights Commission had shown serious concern over effective implementation of Odisha Prevention of Witch-hunting Act, 2013 and state’s efforts at curbing the witch hunting.
Buying humans to kill!
The first one is killing humans in the name of human sacrifice to appease god. This killing, shockingly, varies from personal to community interest. “Meria Bali” is a form of practice where people used to purchase human beings from market for sacrifice.
Second one is a very widespread practice. In this form, humans are being killed on the suspicions of witch or practising black magic. Attributes of witches can be described as possession of supernatural power, fearful, destructive and negative. Such attributions draw upon what may be treated as superstition but it does not necessarily arrive from superstitions.
It is reported that Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh are the States reporting more witch related deaths and may be a coincidence that, all the above states are weighed by a large population being backward and illiterate.
Selective plucking of victims
What is more worrisome is, besides those in vogue, some soft targets in Odsiha and in other states; are isolated and deprived women, lone parents, mentally distorted persons, arrogant and stubborn women and lone family belonging to a particular caste or community leaving among majority, are prone to be stigmatized as witch or the victims of witch hunting.
A very fatal notional prevalence leading to gruesome deaths of such persons.
The exposes in Kerala speak one thing that, people involved in such dirty practices are often literate yet victims of a serious bigotry syndrome.
Laws apart what is equally important is awareness.
