India Rationalists to Campaign Against Witchcraft

Villagers in Sundergarh district of Orissa break into peels of laughter as Narendra Naik, a rationalist, asks them to applaud the "mother", an 11-year-old when her "supernatural" strength ignites the contents of a vessel on its own. The rationalists explain how the "link" is achieved.

Naik, the President of Federation of All India Rationalists Association, is presently on a 13-day campaign in the villages of Orissa to spread awareness against witchcraft, a practice rarely heard of even in any other part of India.

The campaign was started from Sundergarh, district which is reported to be accounting for nearly 60 percent of these cases.

The Government of Orissa has a law, which prohibits anybody practicing witchcraft and includes a fine and even imprisonment. Interestingly, the majority of practitioners and victims of witchcraft are women. Full Story

Related: religion, wicca, pagan