Tura, Dec 14: Medieval mindset prevails in some rural areas of Garo Hills till today where myth is termed as reality and witchcraft and superstition beliefs continue to prevail over peoples’ lives even in an era of science and modernization.
Two families in the plains of West Garo Hills district faced a harrowing ordeal due to superstitious beliefs by their neighbours and other villagers, this week. To make matters worse, even the village headman or Nokma sided with the accusers and gave an ultimatum to the two affected families to leave their village.
Police had to be deployed to protect the two affected families.
The entire incident of ostracizing the two families began some time ago in Chirakawa Garo village under Rajabala police station jurisdiction. Several villagers accused the two families, who were doing economically well, of engaging in sorcery.
Despite their denials and appeals to the headman, they received no support. Instead, the Nokma, aligning with the villagers, gave them a three-day ultimatum to leave the village with their belongings and never to return.
On Thursday, word reached the Rajabala police station and a posse of policemen arrived at the village to try and diffuse the situation and make the superstitious villagers see reason.
Instead, they were confronted by a horde of angry villagers and a Nokma unwilling to see reason. The two frightened families had to spend the night under armed police protection.
On Friday, authorities dispatched more security and a magistrate who held a series of meetings with the villagers and the headman before the threat of eviction was called off.
The angry villagers agreed to withdraw their threat of eviction but also maintained that the two accused families must desist from practicing sorcery- a shocking claim that once again displayed their ignorance about reality and endangered the lives of two families.
