Between landmark ruling, customary law : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Between landmark ruling, customary law

A Himachal Pradesh High Court judgment that changes the legal status of tribal women may have caused much cheer outside the state, but the intended beneficiaries themselves do not seem overtly enthused.

Between landmark ruling, customary law

Property rights for women in tribal areas of Himachal could see new social equations.



Vandana Shukla

A Himachal Pradesh High Court judgment that changes the legal status of tribal women may have caused much cheer outside the state, but the intended beneficiaries themselves do not seem overtly enthused.

The prevailing customary law, recorded almost a century back by the British, allows only males to inherit ancestral property. The tribal women have now been given equal inheritance rights in the tribal belts of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur.

Not much is set to change on the ground, claims a senior bureaucrat from the region, since not much was considered wrong in the first place, barring a few instances. That is because, unlike in the rest of the country where women's rights are usurped despite the equality touted on paper, in the tribal region land is shared with single women though it is not legally owned by them. "Outsiders may see it as injustice," he reasons, "but here everything is sorted out amicably and in a just manner. Single women are given a share of the farmland; they also sell their produce, though the transfer of land is not on paper so that after her death the land is retained by the family."

Locals say that before jumping to any conclusion, people should understand the topography of this region. Fertile land is extremely scarce, which has given birth to traditions under which land is not allowed to be disintegrated at any cost.

Till a decade back, the number of single women in the tribal belts was alarmingly high. The practice of polyandry by the major tribes too was a result of limited land and resources. Several brothers married a single woman to avoid division of land, which resulted in the single status of several women since they did not get married. 

Also, in Spiti region, the law of primogeniture, which gives the right of inheritance only to the firstborn male child, deprived the rest of the male siblings of their legal right to property. In the absence of an heir, inheritance passed to collateral relatives — usually male, in order of seniority. In upper areas, where the fertile land is even scarcer, traditionally the younger siblings joined the monastery or the nunnery.

“If you study the survey reports of the region, you will find that women’s rights are very well protected; legally there may not be a division of land, but it is shared. Dowry is unheard of and very few families have the kind of land that could invite any dispute,” says Puran Singh Negi, former Principal Secretary, HP, and former Under Secretary, Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission. He has authored a voluminous book on the subject titled Cultural Heritage of Trans Himalayas.

Transformation of tribal population

The 7.5 per cent reservation for tribals in government institutions and jobs changed their life over the years and led to migration of almost 70 per cent of the population. A large number of administrative officers, including from the IAS, come from the tribal belts. But that does not make its inhabitants indifferent to the developments, like the court ruling, that “challenge” their customary laws.

“Once the Rohtang tunnel is completed (8.8-km tunnel will facilitate winter travel from Manali to Keylong), it will open floodgates for winter tourism since this place receives the maximum snowfall in the country. We are afraid outsiders marrying our daughters will get to our land, they will turn Lahaul-Spiti into a concrete jungle like Manali,” says Sanjeev Kumar, chairman, Panchayat Samiti, Lahaul. 

The Panchayats and Zila Parishads are very active in the region and have been trying hard to guard against the land sharks. As such, locals complain, they are losing their distinct cultural identity. Close to 80 per cent of the population is Buddhist; the remaining are a mix of Hindus and Buddhists since many families follow cultural practices of both religions. “Educated women marry outsiders, more and more women sport sindoor and mangalsutra. There is an effort to turn tribal customs into Hindu culture,” comments another officer who does not wish to be named. While men got jobs outside, many educated women married men from other communities; this brought about a change in the cultural fabric.

“So far we have been able to retain our tribal values due to the geographical inaccessibility. When the possibility of promoting winter tourism was explored here, a few started giving their land on lease. Within the community, we held a panchayat to ban buying or sale of land unless extremely unavoidable. Our concern is that land inheritance rights to women will provide an opening to outsiders,” says an education officer. 

The close-knit community operates with workable internal arrangements. Pushpa, former president of the Lahaul-Spiti Zila Parishad, who spearheaded the three-day padyatra from Dhami to the Vidhan Sabha in Shimla in support of tribal women’s property rights, is upbeat about the judgment. “It’s very good for the women.” When asked about the problems faced by the single women in her tribe, she explains that one of her aunts never married but was given a khet (piece of farming land) for sustenance. “There is no written document but single women are well looked after by the family,” she adds.

Then why this hullabaloo? Mahila Kalyan Parishad chairperson Rattan Manjri, who has been fighting for equal rights of tribal women by organising panchayat meetings and signature campaigns for over a decade, says the ruling is important because customs are being ignored.

Manjri herself is among the rare women who inherited apple orchards and a house from her mother in Kinnaur district. “That old customs took care of women is true. The father-in-law used to write a portion of the house and land in the name of the daughter-in-law and the paper was kept with her father so that in case of a matrimonial dispute, she could claim her right. But those customs were thrown out of the window and no one winced,” she says. 

Another activist talks of instances where old widows and aunts have been denied their share of land by their educated brothers or nephews. These women need legal protection, they assert.

Mahila Parishad activists narrate the case of Dev Bati, an unmarried woman from Khoti village in Kinnaur, whose parents died some years back. Her only sister is married and they do not have a male sibling. Rightfully, the property should have gone to both of them, but the power of attorney was handed over to Dev Bati’s paternal uncle, who bequeathed it to his son.

The High Court ruling can bring about a transformation, but does give rise to new dilemmas for the tribal women, caught between a customary law and a right that could well change social equations. 

Total population of Lahaul and Spiti district
31,528

Number of females in Lahaul and Spiti district
15,073

Total female population in Kinnaur district
37,934

Total geographical area of Lahaul-Spiti 
9,11,195 hectares

Total agricultural land in Lahaul-Spiti
3,503 hectares

Density of population in Lahaul-Spiti
2 per sq km

Top News

Arvind Kejriwal to be produced before Delhi court today as 6-day ED custody ends

Excise policy case: Delhi court extends ED custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1

In his submissions, Kejriwal said, ‘I am named by 4 witnesse...

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

The bench refuses to comment on merits of the issue, saying ...

‘Unwarranted, unacceptable’: India on US remarks on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest

‘Unwarranted, unacceptable’: India on US remarks on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest

MEA spokesperson says India is proud of its independent and ...

Bullying Congress culture, no wonder being rejected: PM Modi, backs senior lawyers who flagged attempts to undermine public trust in judiciary

Bullying Congress culture, no wonder being rejected: PM Modi

Backs senior lawyers who flagged attempts to undermine publi...

Explainer: Why BJP is flying solo in Punjab and Odisha

Explainer: Why BJP is flying solo in Punjab and Odisha

A multi-cornered contest is always advantageous for BJP; it ...


Cities

View All