Bill to stop witch hunting in India- Bihar first State to pass A legislation in 1999

The increasing graph of crimes against women under the pretext of them being witches has compelled some states in India to formulate necessary legislation against this appalling practice.Read more on this at

http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/151277/1/

The first among three states to have formulated the Anti Witchcraft Act is Bihar. The Bihar government passed a law in 1999 called the Prevention of Witch (dayan) Practices Act, 1999. Jharkhand followed it with the Anti Witchcraft Act in 2001.

Branding women

The witch hunt is a common occurrence in certain states of India. The highest incidences have been reported from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Maharastra, Andra Pradesh and Orissa.

According to official figures 2,556 women were branded as witches and killed in India between 1987 and 2003 (Religion news blog.com, July 2004). From 1991 to 2000, over 522 cases of witch hunting have been registered in Bihar alone.