THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, March 10: Holi festival is around. And so has gone up the sale of the liquor. Liquor brings in different faiths together. They show one commoness. It’s their superstition.
Students of the BNS Law College are spearheading anti-witchcraft and anti-liquor campaign. Pre-Holi days are prone to superstition and liquor.
A batch of law students visited Bhusarya and Hisra villages, led by the principal of the BNS Law College Pankaj Kumar on Saturday.
Personal Encounters with Villagers’ Beliefs
“There is hardly any family in Bhusarya and Hisra where superstitions are not ruling the families. They believe in ‘jadu tona’ more than anything”, said the principal.
“We met a widow there. She outrightly blamed Jadu Tona for her widowhood. She told us that her husband has been ‘eaten’ by the dyne (witch)”, said Pankaj Kumar.
“We then took the widow into our confidence and asked her if her husband drank wine. The widow was honest enough to admit that her man used to remain ‘drunk 24 hours’,” added the principal.
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“We told her that it was wine that took the life of her husband, but the widow looked unimpressed, continuing to believe some ‘dyne’ finished him”, added the principal.
There is a strong need for a robust campaign against liquor and superstition in the villages.
Focus on Legal Awareness and Education
“Our law boys and girls will be visiting villages once in a month. It will be their outreach of legal awareness,” the principal explained.
On being asked if the villagers are aware of legal provisions for a woman who is branded as a witch and is made to suffer, sometimes to lose life also, the principal said, “No. They don’t know anything about the legal protection of woman who is labelled as a witch.”
The Principal suggested that education department officials like teachers of the primary, middle and secondary schools can play a big role in the awareness campaign against liquor and superstition.
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Sources said this is the first of its kind when law students on their own are moving into untrodden villages asking people to shed off their belief in superstition and to put a stop to liquor.
Kamlesh Kumar, a resident of Daltonganj said, “In Bihar, people drink spurious liquor. Everyone knows what tragedy spurious liquor brings in Bihar. Back here in Jharkhand and in Palamu, people drink harya and mahua and lose their money, not life.”
