There are some people who have a gullible, naive belief that mankind and society has progressed to a level where certain actions and behavior are impossible to fathom in this day and age. I hear people say all of the time that The Holocaust couldn't happen again, or The Inquisition would never be allowed to happen today. I hear them rationalize this by saying that we as a society have moved into an age of intellectualism which transcends spiritualism and superstition. They say that we live in an age which is ruled by science and its loyal atheist students no longer believe in the existence of a higher power and are no longer held back by the chains of mysticism.
I can only laugh at this. Religion is bigger than ever. The number of people in the World who are religious versus those who aren't is staggering. Sure, the atheists have a large voice in the Media and people like Bill Maher making mainstream movies in their behest, but in a World where practically every major conflict being waged is between two sects, do we really think that anyone cares what Richard Dawkins or Bill Maher have to say?
The World is in dire straits as economies plummet, and as more and more people become unemployed and impoverished, they will turn to their faith more than ever. When faith in their God is the only thing they have left, how well received will the atheists who's agenda is to stamp out religion be? At that point, it's going to be like five-year old poking a 2000lb Kodiak bear, complete with adamantium exoskeleton, with a toothpick.
All hypothesis aside, I direct your attention to the grist of this article. In a village in India called Pattharghatia, five women were victimized in the streets yesterday. They were stripped of their clothing and marched up and down the streets while the local citizenry beat them mercilessly and forced them to eat human feces. Their crime? Well, Witchcraft naturally.
Local police said the victims were Muslim widows who had been labelled as witches by a local cleric.After deciding upon what witches were made of over a couple of bowls of curry, the villagers decided to grab their torches and pitchforks and show society just how "progressed" we really are. It was possibly the most fun they'd had since they were extras on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.The incident occurred on Sunday in a remote village in Deoghar district.
Correspondents say the abuse of women who are branded as witches is common, but rare footage of the incident has caused outrage across India.
Police went to Pattharghatia village after being informed about the incident by a group of villagers.
Don't look now, but I think we just time-traveled to Salem, MA circa 1692. "On Sunday morning the victims were taken to a playground where hundreds had assembled to watch the ghastly incident," deputy inspector general of police Murari Lal Meena told the BBC.India, population 1,198,003,000, Member of the Nuclear Club since 1974...nothing to worry about. After all, we're progressed, right?"No one in the mob came forward to rescue the victims as they were being stripped and beaten up," he said.
The victims are now under police protection.
Police say that people in Pattharghatia believe that certain women in their village are possessed by a "holy spirit" that can identify those who practice witchcraft.
"These women recently identified five women from the same village as being witches who practised witchcraft and brought miseries to the area," a police official said.
Soon, an unruly mob broke into their huts, dragged them out and started beating them up.
Footage of the incident has been aired on television channels in India prompting outrage.
Hundreds of people, mostly women, have been killed in India because their neighbours thought they were witches.
Experts say superstitious beliefs are behind some of these attacks, but there are occasions when people - especially widows - are targeted for their land and property.
