The Hunted

Hundreds of women in rural Bihar have been branded witches and killed by their families, friends or neighbours

- Pragya Singh

WORDS fail to capture *Reema Devi's plight. This middle-aged woman from Bihar’s Kajra village is distraught and terrified.

Just about a week ago, one of her neighbours branded her a witch. Half-a-dozen men and women then came to her doorstep and attacked her front door at night. Their weapons left a deep gash in it. Desperate and fearing for her life, she phoned two locals—a ration dealer and his son—but neither helped. With the attackers growing ferocious, she dialled 112, the police helpline. Men from the local Mirganj thana in Purnea district arrived. That's when everything turned murky.

Reema wants her attackers arrested—but the police and the mukhiya suggest both sides should settle their “animosity”. This isn't an exception: in many parts of rural India, disputes are expected to be resolved within communities. Taking a matter to the thana can be seen as undermining the village's authority and order—especially if a woman does it. Because of this, Reema has lost not just her neighbours' affection, but also their sympathy.

On the street corner leading to her house, a group of men have gathered. An elderly man proclaims, “Dayan hoti hai! Dayan hoti hai!” (There are witches, they exist). He believes he has suffered from their spells. His bones hurt, his body aches—not due to old age, he insists, but due to a dayan. A younger man explains how a leaf, crushed and powdered, can kill a man.

A third one speaks of how a dayan can break a man into seven pieces, then stitch him back together. Women stand nearby, listening intently.