Editor,
The calm air cloaking the abode of clouds, a sleepy state on the hills of the North East, conceals a dark secret. Time and time again, mobs driven by rumours of “Menshohnoh” hunted down and lynched dozens of innocent men, women and children. The killings are among dozens of witchcraft slayings that have shaken the so-called “Ri Tip-Briew Tip-Blei” to its core, prompting talk of dramatic change to colonial-era laws on rumour-mongering.
Meghalaya, a scenic north-eastern state, struggles with poverty, illiteracy and unemployment now faces the issue of deaths caused by lynching on suspicion of witchcraft. Belief in witchcraft or black magic in the rural areas of the state is almost as widespread as its illiteracy. A few days back, local media reported that residents of Lawmei village had tried to lynch two innocent young men suspecting them to be “Menshohnoh” or individuals catering to the ever-so-popular demonic serpent “U Thlen”.
As an atheist, I’ve often asked myself: Is it offensive to hate superstitious people? Hating a group of people for being stupid is basically wrong, right? What if such a group is a precisely definite and defined group that is attempting to oppress you, steal from you or even kill you? Would it then be less offensive to hate such people?
I understand it is wrong to hate all women, just because some women are misandrist. It is wrong to hate all men, just because some men are misogynist and some ignore sexism in their surroundings. And it is also wrong to hate all followers of “religion”, just because some people are fundamentalists, theocrats and allow evil acts in the name of that religion and hold their peers free of taking responsibility for wrong doings. But enough is enough!
It’s about time the government takes a stand against this menace and immediately forms a special commission tasked with drafting legal proposals to address this crucial issue. I understand that people’s beliefs cannot be suppressed by legislation; but this has to stop! Killings and violence caused by rumour-mongering have only rarely resulted in arrests and prosecutions. It brands this a failure of law enforcement that has stoked a climate of impunity and fed the violence.
It’s time law enforcement in Meghalaya takes action against idiots involved in spreading superstitious beliefs, which eventually leads to bloodshed. People whose continued attempts to spread superstitious beliefs deserve to be locked up and booked under the law. I therefore urge immediate action to bring killers and abusers to justice.
It is truly something worth remarking on, worth talking about and discussing how to change through legislation, mental healthcare and fighting toxic cultures. The more people join that discussion with positive solutions for all.
Michael J. Kharkongor
Mawlai Nongkwar,
Shillong
