Knowledge is light!

When we live in these huge cities, surrounded by latest gadgets and technology, sometimes it becomes very difficult to comprehend with inhuman things which happen in other parts of the country. Sometimes, we read a report or see something on TV and get shocked at our ignorance first and then feel grateful for being so far away from all this madness.

Thus it came as quite a shock, a revelation to know that Jharkhand holds the dubious distinction of being the “witch-hunting” capital of India. On an average some 37 witch-hunt crimes happen every year in this state. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 2,257 ‘witchcraft’ murders have taken place across India since 2000.  The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) from 2008 to 2013 released some data on this. These figures show that persecution in the name of witchcraft is not limited to states with a certain specific demographic profile or geographical contiguity. Haryana, for example, witnessed 57 ‘witchcraft’ murders in 2010, the maximum among states that year. Karnataka reported 77 ‘witchcraft’ murders in 2011, accounting for over 32 per cent of all such murders in the country that year. Again, Andhra Pradesh has seen a steady stream of such murders, averaging 24 every year for the last six years.

In this circumstance, where such thinking is rooted in complete ignorance, there is no doubt that only knowledge, that too right from the childhood, would be the only way forward. The thinking has to be changed – system will change by itself.

And taking the right step in this direction in the Jharkhand Govt’s decision to include chapters in school textbooks of class 6 to 8 on witch-hunting and human trafficking. The state school education and literacy department is planning to incorporate lessons on the two issues in the syllabi from the 2017 academic session bid to educate the new generation about ill-effects of these evil practices and to curb the menace.

The state plans to do away with NCERT textbooks and form its own JCERT to include locally-relevant lessons. Now that’s a good move!