Date 10th Oct 2008 Source: Times of India
Rajasthan Panchayat Forces Woman To Put Her Hands In Boiling Oil To Prove She Wasn’t A Witch
Jaipur: A tribal woman in Rajasthan’s Sirohi district was forced by a village panchayat to face a ‘pariksha’ to prove that she was not a witch. The 32-year-old not only burnt her fingers when she was asked to pick up silver coins from a vessel filled with boiling oil but was also beaten black and blue for failing the ‘traditional test’. Her ordeal didn’t end here. Her family members didn’t let her in the house and instead dumped her in a hospital. The police have arrested five of the 23 accused for the incident that took place on Sunday.
It all started when two members of the Gharasiya tribe in Khara village died in a month. The family held 32-year-old Gujriya, resident of the same village, responsible for the deaths. The matter was taken to the village panchayat, which after hearing the complaint of Gharasiyas, told the woman to face the test to prove that she was not a witch. A group of villagers took Gujriya to a deserted place and forced her to put her hands in the boiling oil container. She sustained severe burns on both hands. But her torture didn’t end there. She was singed and thrashed for failing the test. She was then taken to the Gharasiya family and asked to ward off the evils with magic words.
Later, a few villagers reported the incident to the Abu Road police, which registered a case against 23 persons, including the Gharasiyas. Informing about the traditional test, a villager said, “If a woman is labelled a witch, she has to pick up a silver coin from a tank containing boiling oil. If her hands are burnt, her witchhood is confirmed, otherwise she is declared innocent.” He said if the woman is labelled a witch, she is forced to free the victim’s family from her curse and ostracized. Sirohi SP Vijendra Jhala said strict action would be taken against the guilty. He also said that the adminstration is taking care of her medical expenses. Sho Deva Ram Chaudhary said the incident occurred on Sunday but the villagers reported the case quite late. He also said that five accused have been arrested and a manhunt launched to nab the remaining villagers. Her condition is said to be stable, he said.
Jaipur: A tribal woman in Rajasthan’s Sirohi district was forced by a village panchayat to face a ‘pariksha’ to prove that she was not a witch. The 32-year-old not only burnt her fingers when she was asked to pick up silver coins from a vessel filled with boiling oil but was also beaten black and blue for failing the ‘traditional test’. Her ordeal didn’t end here. Her family members didn’t let her in the house and instead dumped her in a hospital. The police have arrested five of the 23 accused for the incident that took place on Sunday.
It all started when two members of the Gharasiya tribe in Khara village died in a month. The family held 32-year-old Gujriya, resident of the same village, responsible for the deaths. The matter was taken to the village panchayat, which after hearing the complaint of Gharasiyas, told the woman to face the test to prove that she was not a witch. A group of villagers took Gujriya to a deserted place and forced her to put her hands in the boiling oil container. She sustained severe burns on both hands. But her torture didn’t end there. She was singed and thrashed for failing the test. She was then taken to the Gharasiya family and asked to ward off the evils with magic words.
Later, a few villagers reported the incident to the Abu Road police, which registered a case against 23 persons, including the Gharasiyas. Informing about the traditional test, a villager said, “If a woman is labelled a witch, she has to pick up a silver coin from a tank containing boiling oil. If her hands are burnt, her witchhood is confirmed, otherwise she is declared innocent.” He said if the woman is labelled a witch, she is forced to free the victim’s family from her curse and ostracized. Sirohi SP Vijendra Jhala said strict action would be taken against the guilty. He also said that the adminstration is taking care of her medical expenses. Sho Deva Ram Chaudhary said the incident occurred on Sunday but the villagers reported the case quite late. He also said that five accused have been arrested and a manhunt launched to nab the remaining villagers. Her condition is said to be stable, he said.
Analysis:
This is an incidence which shows the need for public policy which arises from the social and economic conditions prevailing in the society. Generally it is said that government performs the function of governing the people. The domain of activities is more or less restricted to the political domain. However as an actor or agency in a welfare state it has to interfere in the social sphere of life. In this case customs like asking a lady to put hands in burning oil to prove if she is with or not is a blind and perilous custom followed by the Gharasiya tribe in Jaipur. The actors or members of government like Panchayat members were also involved in this brutal act. Thus, there is problem of blind traditions are still followed which has to be abolished. The customs or traditions have to analysed in the time framework. In this era of knowledge those tradtions who are proved to be wrong and baseless, a public policy should be needed to check them. Also, the actors of public policy who themselves are obstacles in achieving the goal of welfare of people should be punished strictly.
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