Uneasy hills
THE WEEK India|December 04, 2022
DESPITE THE BJP’S AGGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN IN THE TRIBAL BELT, MANY VOTERS THERE ARE ANGRY ABOUT BEING DENIED THE REAL FRUITS OF DEVELOPMENT
NANDINI OZA
Uneasy hills

FAR AWAY FROM the huge flyovers that reflect the Gujarat growth story, in the Aravalli mountain ranges in the state’s northern tribal belt, it is a daily ritual for women to cook with firewood and fetch water from over a kilometre or two, usually twice a day. They can also be done to death by their husbands in a fit of rage. It could probably be from the delay in serving dinner or even from a husband’s desire to remarry.

“The victim’s parents would then destroy the house and the fields of the accused. Properties of people belonging to his caste or subcaste are also destroyed. The victim’s parents are accompanied by people of their caste,” said Rupabhai Ghorina of Upla Ghoda village in Banaskantha district.

The accused then has to give a compensation decided in consultation with village elders. The first instalment has to be given immediately, while the rest is given within a mutually agreed time frame. “To create pressure on the accused to pay on time, the family may not even touch the dead body for days together and may even hang it on the tree,” he said. The practice is called ‘chadoturu’. It is the local way of seeking justice.

Ghorina said that even today, when in labour pain, women are taken to the local ‘bhuva’ (a shaman) first. He spreads some grain on the floor and then divines whether it is indeed labour pain. In Panchmahals, Dahod and Chhotaudepur in central Gujarat, branding a woman a ‘witch’ continues to be a common practice. A single woman or a widow is usually an easy target.

この記事は THE WEEK India の December 04, 2022 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は THE WEEK India の December 04, 2022 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

THE WEEK INDIAのその他の記事すべて表示
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
THE WEEK India

What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?

IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.

time-read
5 分  |
December 08, 2024
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
THE WEEK India

Trump and the crisis of liberalism

Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.

time-read
2 分  |
December 08, 2024
Men eye the woman's purse
THE WEEK India

Men eye the woman's purse

A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.

time-read
2 分  |
December 08, 2024
When trees hold hands
THE WEEK India

When trees hold hands

A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges

time-read
3 分  |
December 08, 2024
Ms Gee & Gen Z
THE WEEK India

Ms Gee & Gen Z

The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing

time-read
5 分  |
December 08, 2024
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
THE WEEK India

Vikram Seth-a suitable man

Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.

time-read
2 分  |
December 08, 2024
Superman bites the dust
THE WEEK India

Superman bites the dust

When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.

time-read
3 分  |
December 08, 2024
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THE WEEK India

OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port

time-read
4 分  |
December 08, 2024
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE WEEK India

Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets

THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.

time-read
3 分  |
December 08, 2024
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
THE WEEK India

Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay

AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.

time-read
2 分  |
December 08, 2024