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

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Witchcraft, Religious Transformation, and Hindu Nationalism in Rural Central India University of London The London School of Economics and Political Science Department of Anthropology Witchcraft, Religious Transformation, and Hindu Nationalism in Rural Central India Amit A. Desai Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2007 UMI Number: U615660 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615660 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 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 of 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 of 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 List of Plates Plate 1: A view of Markakasa page 28 Plate 2: A village street 28 Plate 3: A large Markakasa house 29 Plate 4: A village street 29 Plate 5: Village children playing kabbadi* 34 Plate 6: A Gaita Gond sian* 34 Plate 7: Harvesting rice 54 Plate 8: Harvesting rice 54 Plate 9: Taking a break from harvesting 55 Plate 10: Laying out bundles of tendu leaves 55 Plate 11: MyMahaprasad 64 Plate 12: Women gathered for a chikat 85 Plate 13: Markakasa boy atchikat 85 Plate 14: A powerful baiga 93 Plate 15: The Angadev with attendants 105 Plate 16: The Angadev at ‘play’ 105 Plate 17: A baiga becomes possessed while the Angadev ‘plays’ 106 Plate 18: A Chhattisgarhi Teli bridegroom 117 Plate 19: Markakasa people building a road 136 Plate 20: Taking a break from the road-building work 136 Plate 21: Returning home after the day’s work 137 Plate 22: The Mahanubhav temple, Sukdi 150 Plate 23: Midday worship at the Mahanubhav temple, Sukdi 150 Plate 24: A Markakasa man and his son* 167 Plate 25: Building a tomb during karsad 185 Plate 26: The affines play ‘mud’ on the tomb of a kinsman 185 Plate 27: Women carrying pots during karsad 186 Plate 28: Young men and women dancing and drumming during karsad 186 Plate 29: A baiga sacrificing a chick on a tomb during karsad 187 ix Plate 30: Markakasa deity* 208 Plate 31: Markakasa deities* 208 Plate 32: Offering worship during Sanjori * 209 Plate 33: The Thakurdev, principal tutelary deity of the village 209 Plate 34: Village boy 228 * Photographs courtesy Ajay T.
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