‘Dagna Pratha’ – a superstition among tribals that’s costing infants’ lives in MP

A traditional treatment ritual called ‘Dagna’ in which the stomach of the infant would be branded with hot iron or hot bangle ('kada').

Bhopal:  ‘Dagna’ — a superstitious treatment ritual followed by some sections of the tribal community in Madhya Pradesh — has taken the lives of at least three infants in the past two weeks in the state.

It has been seen among the tribal communities, especially among the Baiga tribe, that if a child suffers from pneumonia or any other similar disease, the family members would prefer to go for a traditional treatment ritual called ‘Dagna’ in which the stomach of the infant would be branded with hot iron or hot bangle (‘kada’).

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All three cases of infant deaths were reported from the tribal-dominated Shahdol district in the Vindhya region of Madhya Pradesh.

In the latest case, a 45-day-old infant, who was branded with hot iron and was later admitted to the government hospital in Shahdol, died last Saturday.

As per reports, the child was suffering from pneumonia and the family members followed the ‘Dagna’ process to treat him.

As per reports, over 50 marks (dots) were found on the infant’s belly and later, when his health deteriorated, he was taken to the hospital on November 21.

“The child was admitted to the PICU of the district hospital. He was unable to breathe and his ribs were found broken. He died of complications caused due to the infection,” said a doctor on condition of anonymity.

Before this, two other infants who were suffering from pneumonia and were branded with hot irons, had reportedly died last month.