Conflicting Idea of ‘Victim' and ‘Perpetrator' in Witch-Hunting: A Case Study in the State of Assam, India

Abstract

In most cultures and societies witchcraft is seen as something evil and harmful, that's why the suspected witches are being accused and hunted. Witch-hunting is the witchcraft accusation that is often used as a symbol of the "barbaric" and "superstitious" practices of medieval and early modern people. After the enlightenment period witch-hunting is regarded as an illegal accusation and violation of human rights in different countries but it is still practiced in the current 21^st Century in the developing country like, India. In most cases, the alleged witches are sought after, severely punished, displaced or killed. Throughout the milieu of studying the process of accusation in witch-hunting cases, one interesting idea came up as having a conflicting nature. The idea of ‘victim' and ‘perpetrator' has a confusing and conflicting nature as it differs between outsiders' and the insiders' viewpoint. The paper highlights the conflicting idea experienced in the field work by using unstructured interview method and observation method.