TFIPOST हिन्दी
TFIPOST Global
Tfipost.com
Tfipost.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • All
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
    Push for Bharat Ratna for Dalai Lama

    MPs Across Party Lines Push for Bharat Ratna for Dalai Lama, Urge Joint Parliament Address

    Karnataka: Ganesha Idol Vandalised by Muslim Man in Shivamogga; Hindus Honour Muharram in Yadgir Village

    Karnataka: Ganesha Idol Desecrated in Shivamogga by Muslim Man, While Hindu Village Recreates Muharram in Yadgir

    Urdu Sahitya Academy Faces Eviction in Mumbai

    Decades of Appeasement Under Fire as Urdu Sahitya Academy Faces Eviction in Mumbai

    Why the Thackeray Cousins Have Joined Forces to Protect Their Last Stronghold

    Why Thackeray Cousins Have Joined Forces to Protect Their Last Stronghold: The BMC

    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • All
    • Business
    • Economy1
    • Finance
    Indian-Origin Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja Appointed Treasurer of Elon Musk’s 'America Party'

    Indian-Origin Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja Selected Treasurer of Elon Musk’s ‘America Party’

    India’s Forex Reserves Surge Past $700 Billion

    India’s Forex Reserves Surge Past $700 Billion, Close to All-Time Record

    Why GST Search Is Essential For Compliance In Modern Enterprises

    Why GST Search Is Essential For Compliance In Modern Enterprises

    Improving Communication and Collaboration in Distributed Teams: Strategies for Indian Business Analysts

    Improving Communication and Collaboration in Distributed Teams: Strategies for Indian Business Analysts

    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • All
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
    Major Arms Seizure in Manipur Hill Districts

    Amid Ongoing Tensions, Security Operation Yields Major Arms Seizure in Manipur Hill Districts

    military reveals china-pakistan-turkey nexus during operation sindoor

    One Border, Three Adversaries: Indian Army Blasts China-Pakistan-Turkey Axis in Operation Sindoor

    INS Tamal marks the end of import of Indian Warships

    INS Tamal Marks End of Warship Imports as India Sets Sail on Atmanirbhar Bharat Path

    UK’s 5th-Gen F-35B Jet Grounded in Kerala Set to Be Airlifted After Weeks of Uncertainty

    UK’s 5th-Gen F-35B Jet Grounded in Kerala Set to Be Airlifted After Weeks of Uncertainty

    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • All
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
    Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize, Calls It ‘Well Deserved’

    Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize, Calls It ‘Well Deserved’

    Pattern of Targeted Attacks on Hindu Temples

    Rising Hate in Bangladesh: Hindu Temple in Barisal Ravaged, Idols of Deities Broken

    Pahalgam Attack Condemned at BRICS

    Pahalgam Attack Condemned at BRICS: India Demands Zero Tolerance on Terror

    Terror Ties Exposed: Pakistan’s Jihad Network Furious at Bilawal’s Extradition Offer

    Terror Ties Exposed: Pakistan’s Jihad Network Furious at Bilawal’s Extradition Offer

    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • All
    • Culture
    • Education
    • History
    • Indology
    The Beginning of Devotion: History of the First Kanwar Yatra

    The Beginning of Devotion: History of the First Kanwar Yatra 

    Kanwar Yatra: Four Devotional Paths, One Divine Destination

    Kanwar Yatra: Four Devotional Paths, One Divine Destination

    char dham yatra suspended due to bad weather

    Uttarakhand Suspends Char Dham Yatra Due to Adverse Weather, Prioritizes Pilgrim Safety

    Sanatan Mahakumbh Event Scheduled at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan

    Sanatan Mahakumbh Event Scheduled at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on July 6

    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • All
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Games
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Satire
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    say no to alcohol for 6 months

    How Quitting Alcohol for 6 Months Can Transform Your Health

    Mental Wellness Rituals to Stay Calm, Focused, and Balanced

    Mental Wellness Rituals to Stay Calm, Focused, and Balanced

    India's Tour of Bangladesh Likely Postponed Amid Political Unrest

    India’s Tour of Bangladesh Likely Postponed Amid Political Unrest

    What Is The Best Way To Bet On Tennis?

    What Is The Best Way To Bet On Tennis?

    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
Tfipost.com
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • All
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
    Push for Bharat Ratna for Dalai Lama

    MPs Across Party Lines Push for Bharat Ratna for Dalai Lama, Urge Joint Parliament Address

    Karnataka: Ganesha Idol Vandalised by Muslim Man in Shivamogga; Hindus Honour Muharram in Yadgir Village

    Karnataka: Ganesha Idol Desecrated in Shivamogga by Muslim Man, While Hindu Village Recreates Muharram in Yadgir

    Urdu Sahitya Academy Faces Eviction in Mumbai

    Decades of Appeasement Under Fire as Urdu Sahitya Academy Faces Eviction in Mumbai

    Why the Thackeray Cousins Have Joined Forces to Protect Their Last Stronghold

    Why Thackeray Cousins Have Joined Forces to Protect Their Last Stronghold: The BMC

    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • All
    • Business
    • Economy1
    • Finance
    Indian-Origin Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja Appointed Treasurer of Elon Musk’s 'America Party'

    Indian-Origin Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja Selected Treasurer of Elon Musk’s ‘America Party’

    India’s Forex Reserves Surge Past $700 Billion

    India’s Forex Reserves Surge Past $700 Billion, Close to All-Time Record

    Why GST Search Is Essential For Compliance In Modern Enterprises

    Why GST Search Is Essential For Compliance In Modern Enterprises

    Improving Communication and Collaboration in Distributed Teams: Strategies for Indian Business Analysts

    Improving Communication and Collaboration in Distributed Teams: Strategies for Indian Business Analysts

    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • All
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
    Major Arms Seizure in Manipur Hill Districts

    Amid Ongoing Tensions, Security Operation Yields Major Arms Seizure in Manipur Hill Districts

    military reveals china-pakistan-turkey nexus during operation sindoor

    One Border, Three Adversaries: Indian Army Blasts China-Pakistan-Turkey Axis in Operation Sindoor

    INS Tamal marks the end of import of Indian Warships

    INS Tamal Marks End of Warship Imports as India Sets Sail on Atmanirbhar Bharat Path

    UK’s 5th-Gen F-35B Jet Grounded in Kerala Set to Be Airlifted After Weeks of Uncertainty

    UK’s 5th-Gen F-35B Jet Grounded in Kerala Set to Be Airlifted After Weeks of Uncertainty

    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • All
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
    Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize, Calls It ‘Well Deserved’

    Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize, Calls It ‘Well Deserved’

    Pattern of Targeted Attacks on Hindu Temples

    Rising Hate in Bangladesh: Hindu Temple in Barisal Ravaged, Idols of Deities Broken

    Pahalgam Attack Condemned at BRICS

    Pahalgam Attack Condemned at BRICS: India Demands Zero Tolerance on Terror

    Terror Ties Exposed: Pakistan’s Jihad Network Furious at Bilawal’s Extradition Offer

    Terror Ties Exposed: Pakistan’s Jihad Network Furious at Bilawal’s Extradition Offer

    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • All
    • Culture
    • Education
    • History
    • Indology
    The Beginning of Devotion: History of the First Kanwar Yatra

    The Beginning of Devotion: History of the First Kanwar Yatra 

    Kanwar Yatra: Four Devotional Paths, One Divine Destination

    Kanwar Yatra: Four Devotional Paths, One Divine Destination

    char dham yatra suspended due to bad weather

    Uttarakhand Suspends Char Dham Yatra Due to Adverse Weather, Prioritizes Pilgrim Safety

    Sanatan Mahakumbh Event Scheduled at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan

    Sanatan Mahakumbh Event Scheduled at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on July 6

    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • All
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Games
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Satire
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    say no to alcohol for 6 months

    How Quitting Alcohol for 6 Months Can Transform Your Health

    Mental Wellness Rituals to Stay Calm, Focused, and Balanced

    Mental Wellness Rituals to Stay Calm, Focused, and Balanced

    India's Tour of Bangladesh Likely Postponed Amid Political Unrest

    India’s Tour of Bangladesh Likely Postponed Amid Political Unrest

    What Is The Best Way To Bet On Tennis?

    What Is The Best Way To Bet On Tennis?

    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
No Result
View All Result
Tfipost.com
Tfipost.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Defense
  • Geopolitics
  • Knowledge
  • Law
  • Lounge

Witch Hunting: a taboo introduced by the west, adopted by India

Tanya Trivedi by Tanya Trivedi
24 December 2021
in Opinions
Witch hunting India
Share on FacebookShare on X

India, for a long time, has been accused of practising vicious acts such as witch-hunting. Though there have been pseudo-intellectuals and anti-India propaganda forums claiming the dramatic increase in the numbers of witch hunts in India, no one even thought about from where did the malpractice actually originate? Well, one will be surprised to know that it was not India that supported such practices but the west that came up with atrocious thoughts to kill women by branding them as witches.

Witch-hunt has its root at the west

In what can be seen as a shameful reality, Witch hunts are prevalent in the world even in the 21st century. While it is hard to imagine the agony of women who become victims of the practice, it needs to be noted that thousands of women are killed every year around the world under the garb of witch-hunting.

RelatedPosts

Congress Ends Up in the Hot Seat Over Manmohan Singh Memorial Demand

Crusade, Conversion, Colonialism have shaped Christianity’s spread

The Konyak Tribe: A Vanishing Heritage Destroyed by Christian Missionaries

Load More

Interestingly, the epicentre of the witch hunts was Europe’s Germany in between the 15th century and 18th century. In medieval and early modern Europe from where witchcraft originated claimed that witches were usually women who were accused of attacking their own community or people. By the mid-1590s, a territory in Germany that had only 2,200 residents, to begin with, had burned 500 people portraying them as witches. According to reports, approximately 40,000 to 60,000 women in Europe were intimidated, banished, attacked or killed for supposedly being witches.

However, several confessions for being involved in the activities that brands these women as witches were forced out of them through torture.

Ironically, there were certain similarities between being the women branded as witches in Europe and other parts of the world such as in Africa, Latin America, or South-East Asia. The suspected women were mostly old-aged and without relatives who could protect them. Apart from old women, women with odd ideologies and features were targeted.

Christianity and Witch hunt

Reportedly, the predominant concept of witchcraft entered the mainstream when belief in witchcraft gained Church approval in the Early Modern Period. This led to multiple deaths, torture and scapegoating and many years of large-scale witch trials and witch hunts. Antagonistic churchmen began branding magicians as “witches”. Folk magicians throughout Europe were often doubted by communities, and that led them to be branded as “witches”.

The developments in Christian doctrine led to a return to belief in witches, changes in the doctrine of Satan and the identification of witchcraft as heresy. The legal codes of Europe punished witchcraft as a crime.

Various forms of witchcraft and divination are cited in the Hebrew Bible, generally in a disapproving tone. Laws prohibiting various forms of witchcraft and divination can be found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

Exodus 22:18 – Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Leviticus 19:26 – Ye shall not … use enchantment, nor observe times.

Leviticus 20:27 – A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Deuteronomy 18:10-11 – There shall not be found among you any … that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

Witch-hunting in India

Later, the practice entered India. Assam was famously called ‘The Indian capital of black magic’. The practice is prevalent in rural isolated areas especially among the tribal population and is prominent in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

The victims in most cases are elderly women and widows who had different physical features-hunchback, weird hair, or skin colour. In a few of the cases, even men have been accused of involving in black magic and are made to suffer the consequences. The family and children of a woman who is branded as a witch also have to suffer as they are usually socially boycotted. They are forced to leave the village or in worse cases killed.

In India, 2097 murders were committed under the garb of witch-hunting between 2000-2012. Even though the anti-witch hunting law was passed in 2001 in Jharkhand, 5 women were brutally murdered for being accused of being involved in witchcraft in 2015. Moreover, in Orissa, 99 cases of witch-hunting were reported in 2017, 58 in 2015 and 83 in 2016. In Assam, 114 women and 79 men were branded as witches who were later killed. 202 such cases have been registered between 2001-2017.

Anti-Superstition Laws in India

Though witch-hunting is prevalent in various countries across the world, it is only India that has become an easy target for the propaganda portals. India is keen on progressing in every way possible and people are open to a good change. The Maharashtra State Legislature, in 2013, passed the much-publicized Anti-Superstition Bill and became the first state in the country to pass a bill to combat practices like black magic.

The act aimed at preventing superstitious beliefs from causing financial loss and physical injury. The offender would be accountable to punishment ranging from six months to seven years and a fine between Rs.5,000 and Rs. 50,000.

Rajasthan enacted the Rajasthan Prevention of Witch Hunting Act in 2015 and became the fifth state after Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha to legislate on the matter

In 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind had approved the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015, converting it to an Act. He had said, “This is a positive step for the society to tackle the witch-hunting menace. If all stakeholders work together, we will be able (to) control the problem, based on superstition, to a large extent.”

Witch-hunting, an unwanted present to India by the west, has corrupted society by various means. It is high time people understand that a person behaving inappropriately or demonstrating signs of psychological disorders or diseases is suffering from bad mental health. What is required for him or her is Psychiatric help and not social ostracization in the name of combating witchcraft.

Tags: ChristianitySuperstitionsTabooWestern ConceptsWitch Hunt
Share1TweetSend
Previous Post

Rogue IAS and TMC MP Jawhar Sircar shares fake video of PM Modi, gets flagged by Twitter

Next Post

What happened at Kapurthala Gurudwara was not sacrilege-related lynching, but a cold-blooded murder

Related Posts

way ahead of G7 summit
Opinions

When The Summit Became A Stage: The G7, Trump’s Exit, And Fractured World

17 June 2025

In the crisp alpine air of Kananaskis, nestled amidst the brooding Rockies of Alberta, world leaders gathered to forge...

The Tale of how Operation Sindoor Silenced Satyapal Malik and His Echo Chamber
Opinions

Operation Sindoor Success: Satyapal Malik and ilks disappears into abyss of silence

8 May 2025

On May 6, former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik appeared in a much-publicised interview with controversial journalist Karan...

Operation Sindoor
Defense

Why Operation Sindoor? Because No One Touches the Sindoor of an Indian Woman Without Consequence

7 May 2025

In a rapid and decisive response to the Pahalgam Islamist attack that claimed the lives of 26 innocent tourists...

Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Currently Playing

Siddaramaiah Sparks Vaccine Theory to Hide Congress Chaos?

Siddaramaiah Sparks Vaccine Theory to Hide Congress Chaos?

00:09:21

Murugan Wave Rattles INDIA Bloc, Triggers Reactionary Meet in Madurai

00:08:10

Rage on stage: why a police officer resigned quit after CM's outburst

00:03:40

Right to religion vs duty to identify: where should India draw the line?

00:04:34

Junior Kharge Calls to Ban RSS Amid Karnataka Congress Civil War!

00:10:02
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
tfipostTfipost.com
Right Wing | News Analysis | Indian Opinion
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap

©2025 TFI Media Private Limited

No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Politics
    • Analysis
    • Opinions
    • Trending
  • Economy
    • Business
    • Finance
  • Defense
    • Defence
    • Strategy
    • Weaponry
  • Geopolitics
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • South Asia
    • West Asia
  • Knowledge
    • Culture
    • History
    • Indology
  • Law
  • Lounge
    • Books
    • Cinema
    • Food
    • Health
    • Sports
    • technology
    • Travel
    • Satire
TFIPOST हिन्दी
TFIPOST Global

©2025 TFI Media Private Limited