Birubala Rabha

Birubala Rabha (Assamese: বিৰুবালা ৰাভা; born 1954) is an Indian activist who campaigns against witchcraft and witch hunting in Goalpara, Assam.^[1][2][3] She runs an organisation called Mission Birubala which spreads awareness against witch hunting.^[4][5][6] She was instrumental in the Assam Government passing the Prevention of and Protection from Witch Hunting Act, 2015.^[7][8] The Government of India awarded her the fourth-highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2021, for her contributions to social work.^[9]

Birubala Rabha
Born	1954 (age 68–69) Thakurvila, Goalpara, Assam, India
Occupation	Human rights activist
Organisation	Mission Birubala

Background

Rabha was born in 1954 in the village of Thakurvila, near the border of Meghalaya in Assam's Goalpara district.^[6][10] Her father died when she was six, forcing her to drop out of school and help her mother run the household.^[1] Rabha was fifteen when she was married to her husband, a farmer who she had three children with.^[1]

In 1985 her mentally ill eldest son, Dharmeswar, suffered from a bout of typhoid, leading Rabha and her husband to take him to their local quack. They were told that he had been possessed by and had married a fairy, who was pregnant with his child and that as soon as this child was born he would die.^[11][1][6] According to the quack, Dharmeswar had only three days to live. However, he eventually recovered, living long after his diagnosis. After this incident, Rabha realised that the superstitions that led to the diagnosis of her son were baseless and stopped visiting quacks, who she believed were 'frauds'.^[1][12]

Activism

Initially, Rabha formed the Thakurvila Mahila Samity, a women's association raising awareness of various social ills, including witch-hunting in her local village, and later in 2006 became involved in the Assam Mahila Samata Society.^[13] In 2011 she founded Mission Birubala; a non-profit organisation made up of a network of social activists, survivors and lawyers; which aims to educate and spread awareness against witch-hunting, as well as support and protect survivors and potential victims of witch hunts across the state of Assam.^[11] Despite facing ridicule and attacks from those who defend the belief in witches, and being subjected to accusations of witchcraft herself, Rabha has frequently spoken out against witch-branding and hunting at meetings, organises awareness camps and has taught school lessons denouncing the practice, she has also rescued over thirty-five women branded as witches in the last decade.^[1][13]

In 2015 the activist's campaigning prompted the Assamese government to pass The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition Prevention and Protection) Act which many consider to be India's toughest anti-witch hunting law.^[1] The act, which came into effect in 2018, allows up to seven years in jail along with a substantial fine for identifying and branding a person as a witch, and extended the punishment for leading a person to commit suicide after accusing them of witchcraft to life imprisonment.^[14][11]

Recognition

Rabha had been recognised for her work against witch-hunting in Assam with numerous awards and accolades. In 2005 she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by the Northeast Network (a women's rights organisation operating in Assam) and in 2015 was awarded an honorary Doctorate from Gauhati University.^[12][6][5] In 2021 she was recognised by the Indian government for her social work and campaigning with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India.^[9]

See also

• Modern witch-hunts

References

1. "The Indian woman who hunts the witch hunters". Soutik Biswas. BBC News. 10 April 2016. from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
2. "Anti-witch hunt crusader UN-bound". The Times of India. 21 April 2017. from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
3. "Tribal woman gets award for crusade against witch-hunting in Assam". Indian Express. 5 July 2015. from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
4. "A witch-hunting survivor crusades to save Assamese women". Hindustan Times. 14 June 2016. from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
5. "Woman honoured with doctorate for fighting witch-hunting in Assam". Samudra Gupta Kashyap. Indian Express. 31 March 2015. from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
6. "The voice of the so-called witches". Hindu Business Line. 25 September 2015. from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
7. "Crusader against witch hunting to be felicitated". Daily News and Analysis. 23 November 2016. from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
8. "Putting women human rights activists on the world map". Sarumathi K. The Hindu. 19 May 2018. from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
9. "Padma Awards: 2021" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs (India). 25 January 2021. pp. 2–5. (PDF) from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
10. "The Indian Woman Who Hunts Witch Hunters". thecriticalscript.com. from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
11. "Why the road has been long and hard for Padma Shri awardee Birubala Rabha, Assam's crusader against witch-hunting". The Indian Express. 31 January 2021. from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
12. "Meet Padma Shri Birubala Rabha, Assam's Anti-Witch Hunt Crusader". femina.in. from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
13. Service, Statesman News (26 August 2018). "Slaying a social stigma". The Statesman. from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
14. "Assam Assembly passes Bill to end witch-hunting". The Hindu. 13 August 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.