Witchcraft, Religious Transformation, and Hindu Nationalism in Rural Central India

272 Pages·2014·14.05 MB·English

University o fL ondon
The London School of Economics and Political Science
Department o f Anthropology
Witchcraft, Religious Transformation,
and Hindu Nationalism in Rural Central India
Amit A. Desai
Thesis submitted for the degree o f Doctor o f Philosophy
2007
UMI Number: U615660
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Abstract
This thesis is an anthropological exploration of the connections between
witchcraft, religious transformation, and Hindu nationalism in a village in an Adivasi (or
‘tribal’) area of eastern Maharashtra, India. It argues that the appeal of Hindu nationalism
in India today cannot be understood without reference to processes of religious and social
transformation that are also taking place at the local level.
The thesis demonstrates how changing village composition in terms of caste, together
with an increased State presence and particular view of modernity, have led to difficulties
in satisfactorily curing attacks of witchcraft and magic. Consequently, many people in the
village and wider area have begun to look for lasting solutions to these problems in new
ways. A significant number have joined a Hindu religious sect, the Mahanubhav Panth,
seen as particularly efficacious in matters of healing. Membership of this sect however
alters the values and practices of adherents which not only causes conflict with non-sect
neighbours and kin but also resonates powerfully with the messages promoted by Hindu
nationalist agents in the area.
The thesis engages key areas of anthropological concern: the relationship between
individual action and social structure; kinship and sociality; State activity; and religious
conversion.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to many people in many places. First and foremost are those owed
to the people of Markakasa who found a stranger in their village, welcomed him, and
transformed him into a friend. Instances of their warmth, curiosity, and generosity are
abiding memories of my time there. I thank in particular Brijlal, Champabai, Jankibai and
Bar Singh, Hemu, Mohan, and Mahananda who gave me a home and made it easy for me
to become part of their family. I thank my Mahaprasad, Ganeshyam for his friendship,
and the rest of the Koreti household for their kindness. There are many others in
Markakasa whose companionship and affection requires acknowledgment but I hope they
will forgive me for not mentioning them individually. I would also like to thank Virendra
Anjankar for introducing me to Markakasa, and Shravan-y/ Taram for hosting me in
Deori.
Fieldwork is an arduous business and every anthropologist needs fairy godparents. While
Brijlal and his family fulfilled that function in Markakasa, my uncle and aunt, Avinash
and Nandini Sahasrabudhe, and my cousin Ashwin supported me in Nagpur. Without
their encouragement, enthusiasm, assistance, and love, it would have been nigh
impossible to complete my research. Their home provided a relief from the intensity of
the experience and allowed me to keep a sense of perspective. On several occasions when
doubts about my work set in they were on hand to encourage or distract. Also in Nagpur,
I would like to thank the Arkatkar family, Harshwardhan Nimkhedkar, and Ramdas,
Rohit and the other members of the Dixit clan.
The research presented here was made possible by the financial support of several bodies.
I was fortunate to receive a postgraduate studentship from the Economic and Social
Research Council (no. PTA-030-2002-00731). I would also like to thank the Royal
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland for awarding me an Emslie
Homiman studentship and for giving me an unexpected but very welcome grant from the
Sutasoma Trust. I thank the Central Research Fund of the University of London for
giving me a travel award and lending me a camera. The Kale Memorial Trust also gave
generous assistance for which I am grateful.
I could not have hoped for better supervisors than Jonathan Parry and Veronique Benei.
They have inspired and challenged me in equal measure and I thank them for tolerating
my laziness and occasional obstinacy. I was fortunate that they both visited me in the
field and offered encouragement, ideas and new perspectives. I also thank Laura Bear,
Michael Scott, and Norbert Peabody for leading the writing-up seminar and for their
comments on versions of some of the chapters. In addition to my supervisors, I also
benefited from discussions with Chris Fuller, Peggy Froerer, and Laura Bear in the early
stages of planning the research.
My peers and friends at the LSE have been of tremendous support and a constant source
of intellectual excitement. I thank Michelle Obeid, Girish Daswani, Casey High, Jason
Sumich, Florent Giehmann, Eve Zucker, Clafinda Still, Evan Killick, and Magnus Course
for generously reading and commenting on parts of my work. I am grateful to Maxim
Bolt for expertly and speedily proof-reading the thesis for me at a busy time for him
personally.
My conversion to anthropology would have been impossible without the financial and
emotional support of my family. I thank my parents, Ashok and Yashaswini, and my
sister Aarti for their constant love and encouragement while I was writing the thesis and
for respecting my desire to do it.
Table o f Contents
Abstract page ii
Acknowledgements iii
List of Figures viii
List of Plates ix
Map of India xi
Locator map of India showing Maharashtra and Gondia district xii
Aerial view of Markakasa xiii
Chapter One: Introduction 1
Orientations 5
Religious experience and nationalist identification 5
Poles apart? The idea of the Adivasi and Indian modernity 8
Discussing conversion 14
Experience and embodiment as method 17
The experience of fieldwork 19
Outline of chapters 24
Chapter Two: The Setting 30
Space, caste and religious affiliation 35
Gaita Gond 38
Mahar 39
Teli 41
Commensality and Untouchability 42
Livelihoods 47
The land 47
The forest 50
State-funded casual work 53
v
Chapter Three: Ritual Friendship 56
Ritual friendship in Markakasa 59
Three friends 65
The content of ritual friendship 69
The problem with brothers 74
Conclusion 83
Chapter Four: Anti-Witchcraft and its Impediments: Migration,
the ‘Mixed Village9 and the Indian State 86
Witches, sorcerers and ghosts 90
Resolving disputes, migration, and land reform 95
Angadev: the collective response to village dis-ease 102
The demise of panbuddi: sex and marriage, detecting
witches, and ‘looking bad’ 112
Police, Naxalites, and the State 119
Conclusion 134
Chapter Five: Sect, Self and Sociality 138
The Mahanubhav sect 140
Suffering and the self 141
Dealing with illness 143
Salvation in Sukdi 148
Joining the sect and returning home 152
Satsang and the articulation of difference 158
Old kin, new kin? 164
Pilgrimage and the idea of Maharashtra 174
A Christian coda 178
Conclusion 183
vi
Chapter Six: From Protection to ‘Improvement’: The Commitment to
Vegetarianism and Visions of the Future 188
Food and the dangers of commensality 193
The power of vegetarian practice: protection not prestige 196
Vegetarians and meat-eaters: Gonds, sociality and commensality 203
The case of the missing horse: animal sacrifice and‘ superstition’ 207
Food, drink and the ‘backward Adivasi’: the neighbouring
village of Kedanar 212
Hindu nationalism and a coincidence of values 217
The holy man’s sermon and Hindu modernity 222
Conclusion 227
Chapter Seven: Conclusion 229
Ritual friendship and the sect 232
State and nation 234
A question of conversion 237
Bibliography 242
vii
List o f Figures
Figure 1: Table showing village composition by caste page 35
Figure 2: Landholding (in acres) by household and caste 50
Figure 3: The relationships between Naresh, Mukesh and Buddharu 66
Figure 4: The mahaprasad relationship between Manu and Devaram 70
Figure 5: The relationships between the Thakur’s family and Brijlal’s 146
viii