Chutni Mahato

Chutni Mahato, also known as Chutni Devi (born 1959), is a social worker from Jharkhand, India. Once a victim of witch-branding, she now works to help others who have been branded as witches and spreads awareness about superstitions and witchcraft.^[1] In 2021, she was awarded the Padma Shri for her social work, India's fourth highest civilian award.^[2]

Life

Mahato was born in Bholadih village, Seraikela-Kharsawan district in Jharkhand in 1959. Married off as a child, she was labelled a witch in 1995 after a family member fell ill. The villagers grabbed her property, ill-treated her including sexual abuse, forcing her to drink urine and being paraded semi-naked. She ran away, finding her way back to her parents house.^[1] On approaching the police, they demanded a hefty sum to register the case.^[3] An Indian Administrative Service officer connected her to social workers who were working in the area of prevention of witch hunting.^[3] Following this, for over two decades, she has taken up the cause against superstitious practices and beliefs in Jharkhand.^[4] Chutni has skilled her daughters to also fight against the practice.^[5] In 1996 a documentary captured her life and social work.^[3] In 2014, a Bollywood movie "Kala Sach– The Dark Truth" was supposedly inspired by her; however it turned out to be a normal stereotyped Bollywood horror movie.^[3][6] A web series is in production.^[7]

In 2019, 27 women died following witch-related accusations in her state.^[1] According to National Crime Records Bureau 372 people killed in India in related-incidents between 2016 and 2019.^[8]