She was first beaten up with sandals and broomsticks. Then her head was shaved and face smeared with lime powder. But that was not the end of her ordeal. She was stripped and then forced to wear a dhoti and a pagri and paraded through the streets.

Her crime: She had broken the taboo on women tilling the land and violated the firm belief of the villagers, many of whom are adivasis, that this inevitably resulted in famine.

But Shankhani Devi couldn't have just sat back and watched the paddy saplings on her two acres go waste when, after a long spell of scanty rainfall, it rained heavily on August 9. First she turned to her 20-year-old son, Sanju Sahu, who refused to do the job. Then she picked up the yoke and tilled her land with the help of a bull, incurring the wrath of the villagers.

``I was helpless,'' she says, sobbing.``The rainfall has been scanty this time. After it poured on August 9, tilling became a necessity for paddy transplantation. Despite repeated requests my son didn't agree to do the work,'' she recalled.

Her son is now full of remorse. ``Had I listened to her and tilled the land, she would not have been punished by these people,'' said Sahu, pointing at a group of women outside his hut.

None of the two dozen women regret the punishment meted out to Shankhani. Sakli, echoing the sentiments of several men and women of the village, said: ``She is crazy. She tilled the land. Now we will have to starve...Famine is inevitable.''

Village priest Ram Munda recalled: ``I had objected and even tried to stop her from tilling the land, but she did it.''

A woman activist of the district, Aradhana Sharma, is planning to file an First Information Report (FIR) against the culprits. ``These woman must be booked,'' she fumed.

But Senior SP Amitabh Choudhary of Ranchi believes an FIR will not work as a deterrent. ``Theproblem is rooted in their tradition and beliefs. To end it these people must be educated,'' he said.