Witch-Hunting in India: Causes, Justification and Solution

We all have grown up listening to stories that involved within it some form of narrative that did not have a scientific explanation but at that point of time we could never realize that such stories would ever become a reality and that to a very dangerous one where the life and liberty of a fellow human being would be of no consequence. Killing in name of Witchcraft is nothing short of such a horror story becoming a reality where people especially women are declared to be a witch having some supernatural powers to control people, and events, that cause diseases and kill people are being lynched, thrashed, and raped across countries. The article demystifies this particular shocking cultural belief plaguing our country currently, and also it tries to explain how the concept of witch-hunting and gender are conflated and people of specific gender are being targeted. There has also been an attempt to describe the perception of witch-craft among the larger masses and how the cycle of violence from identification to torture to finally killing of a woman accused of being a witch manifests. The article has also tried to evaluate legal instruments meant for witchcraft regulation and found them to be completely wanting. The article ends by giving its two cents on how to improve the situation to some extent.