Imagine waking up to the gentle rustle of leaves and the sweet chirping of birds in your quiet native village. The air is frosty, your family is near, and life moves at a pace that soothes the soul. You begin your day with your daily chores, sharing warm laughter with your loved ones. Peaceful. Familiar. Safe.
All of a sudden, a strange scenario creeps in. You hear voices surrounding you, shouting in an unfamiliar way. You step out, worried, and see your fellow villagers in a rage. Before you can comprehend what’s happening, a hand reaches out from the crowd, grabs your hair, and drags you down. Countless sticks and feet start hitting you, your breath slowing, but you still don’t know why. You see your family being pulled out too, despairing, begging for your life, trying to protect you.
An aunt, who once sang you lullabies, pulls out a knife and cuts your hair with anguish. And amidst that disbelief, you hear a familiar voice, filled with disgust, shouting, “Daini (Witch), go away and die!”
“Burn her down!” the mob screams.
Eyes that once smiled at you now burn with hatred. Neighbours. Friends. People you once trusted are now a seething mob, armed and bloodthirsty, closing in.
They hang you in the middle of the village and burn you alive—reason— Superstitious belief.
This is not a fictional narrative but rather an outline of real-life cases of more than 2,500 innocent souls who died miserably, being vulnerable victims of ‘Witch-hunting’ at the hands of their people. According to the National Crime Report Bureau’s Crime in India Report 2022, nearly 85 individuals were murdered in witchcraft-related incidents in that year alone. Alarmingly, between 2012 and 2022, a total of 1,184 people lost their lives to witch-hunting violence across India.
Killing based on (superstition) suspicion has been practised in rural India for a very long time. It has been believed that any distress that takes place has to have been transcendental. Anyone with a distinctive characteristic was seen as dubious. Women have always been an easy target for this. Change in positive essence was upheld as a blessing, but a negative repercussion was a curse by someone. Many voices were cut down without justice based on intuition, and some with an underlying intention. Women are pestered more, be it to seize land, extract personal revenge, or legitimise acts of violence. Prime outrage of misinformed minds when given a false push can be tremendously harmful, and this has resulted in the deaths of many. All these would have been a part and parcel of our daily newspapers even today if not advocated by some strong leaders bearing the torch of light. One such inspiring being was ‘Birubala Rabha’.
Hailing from the village of Thakurvila in Goalpara district, Birubala Rabha lived her life as a fighter. With her father passing away when she was barely six years old, she dedicated her early years to helping her mother out. Once her son got immensely sick, and with the lack of access to healthcare, she was bound to visit a local quack healer. The sham made up some delusive story and declared her son to be dead in no time. Birubala Rabha, who was once a believer of such claims, was terrified by his remarks, but to her surprise, her son’s health improved. That is when she realised the misbelief that had been deceiving her and many others for ages.
Not letting her anguish go in vain, she tried to accumulate as many people as she knew to be vigilant. Formed the Thakurvilla Mahila Samiti, where the women of that village were entrusted to eradicate social evils from their district. More than 50 women were saved under her leadership. Seeing its pace, she insisted on taking the movement further by initiating Mission Birubala in 2012. This intent was a landmark movement to not only save girls from falling prey to social evils but also rehabilitate them with proper legal aid.
Though successful in her mission, it wasn’t an easy path for her. Large sections of people still condemned her for trying to break societal norms. Daini Hatya,(“Witch crafting”) has a mixed level of unfortunate acceptance in a very conservative society. A report on Contemporary Practices of Witch Hunting 2015, cited by the New York Times, states that the victims may be subjected to horrific abuses such as being forcibly stripped, paraded naked in public, having their head shaved off, faces blackened, teeth pulled out to “defang” them, eyes gouged, whipped and even gang raped, or forced to consume human excreta. In the most extreme cases, they are killed by hanging, hacking, lynching, or even being buried alive.
Birubala was herself branded a witch for forging her way out of repressive custom towards justice, her character questioned. But Birubala Rabha was determined to fight against all odds. She continued her work and, without any fear and hesitation, openly delivered speeches on social evils. Her persistence gained significant recognition, attracting notice of the powerful. Former Assam DGP Dr. Kuladhar Saikia joined forces with her in the campaign, lending a strong and authoritative voice to the movement against witch-hunting across the state. In recognition of her extraordinary contributions, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Guwahati University and in 2021, she received one of India’s highest civilian honours—the Padma Shri. In 2017, she was also invited to speak as a panelist at the Witchcraft and Human Rights Experts Workshop hosted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. The following year, in 2018, she was honoured with a cash award by the Women’s World Summit Foundation in recognition of her efforts.
Birubala Rabha’s impact transcended grassroots activism. She became a catalyst for legislative reform in Assam. Her relentless advocacy was instrumental in the enactment of the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention, and Protection) Act, 2015, a watershed decision that firmly criminalises the inhumane practice of witch-hunting. Under this stringent legislation, branding someone a “witch” can result in imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine reaching five lakh rupees. This powerful legal framework stands as one of the most robust measures in India against witch-hunting, a testament to Birubala Rabha’s unwavering courage and commitment to justice.
Unfortunately, last year, on May 13, 2024, this unprecedented warrior took her last breath battling cancer, but she left a legacy of successful deliberation towards women’s empowerment that lives on in every victim. What she did back then is today’s beacon of curbing social evils. Superstitious acts reduced significantly in Assam post her endeavour. Her fearless battle against the deep-rooted evil of witch-hunting not only led to historic legal reforms but also sparked a broader movement against superstition and ignorance at large. In her honour, the Assam Government has declared May 13 of every year to be observed as Anti-Superstition Day, a powerful reminder of her mission for all, to eradicate ignorance through awareness and empathy.
Though the shadow of witch-hunting still lingers in pockets of our society, we must not and never turn a blind eye or fall silent. Statistics do show a decrease in cases, but many evils go unreported in rural India. Birubala Rabha showed us that the fight against injustice begins with one brave voice and that voice can echo across generations.
As Birubala herself once said, “My mission is to end the menace of witch-hunting,” let us honour that, not just in words, but in action, so that no one has to wake up tomorrow and endure pain and fear at the hands of their own people.
(The author is an independent writer and research scholar focusing on rural India)