(Author: Jasinta Kerketta)
Ranchi::The Supreme Court's decision to grant tribal women the right to ancestral property has created a stir in tribal society. This is only natural. There is no doubt that tribal society has influenced Indian society as much as Indian society has influenced tribal society. Indian society is patriarchal, and many tribal communities in the country are also patriarchal.
When the tribal people first arrived on the Chotanagpur Plateau, they cleared the forests to create fields and established villages. The land created in this way was
called khuntkatti and bhuihnari land. Women played a crucial role in cultivating these fields and in the establishment of villages. Initially, since there were no written records, all individuals had collective rights to the land. The land was considered a source of livelihood for both men and women. At that time, no one thought of selling land. When women married and moved to other villages, they were referred to as "bechal beti," which meant "sold daughter." Both tribal men and women believed that a "bechal beti" had no right to ancestral property. Women who remained unmarried in the village had the right to receive a share of their father’s land, build a house, and farm it. They were also given some land for agricultural purposes. However, in villages where men were alcoholic and violent, it became difficult for unmarried women to secure these rights. When such women died, their land was passed on to their brothers. This system existed in many villages. However, due to the control of property and decision-making by men, the status of unmarried women, women unable to bear children, widows, and the elderly was not very good.
In tribal society, although no one had the right to sell land, men had the right to distribute it. They would bring in dhangar (workers) gharjamai (sons-in-law), and others from different villages to work on their lands or homes and provide them with land for housing and cultivation. They would also give land to pahan (priests) and paddha raja (village chiefs). In this way, land was shared so that people could sustain themselves. When women married, their gotra (clan) would change, and to preserve their ancestral land, they were given the right to farm their husband's land, which was on a different khunta (plot) or keeli (marker). However, over time, the right to distribute land turned into the right to sell it. Men began to interpret some gender-neutral clauses of the CNT Act (Chotanagpur Tenancy Act) in their favor. During the British era, when land surveys were initiated and khatiyan (land records) were created, the names of women were also recorded alongside those of tribal men in some states. However, in the tribal areas of Chotanagpur, only the names of men were recorded in the khatiyan. These changes led men to treat communal property as individual property. Tribal men began to claim not only ancestral land but also property acquired by their educated parents. While women’s rights to movable property should have been ensured, they were often ignored in this regard. Gradually, women were deprived of property rights and were unable to prevent men from selling communal land. The sale of land by men created a livelihood and shelter crisis for those women who depended on it, whether as wives or daughters. Their displacement and migration affected the next generation of children as well. It cannot be denied that many widows and weaker men in tribal society have been killed by their own people over land disputes.
It is also true that the life, beliefs, and culture of tribal societies revolve around land. Tribal communities have their own distinctive self-governance system, which includes several villages called kili-khunt (villages). These communities have their own padaha (leadership) system, which includes a padaha raja (village chief), a court, and a supreme court (bishu-sendra). This system allowed them to maintain a separate identity, apart from Hindu kings, caste systems, and competitive societies. But now, the situation has changed. The pahra (self-governance) system has broken down. In the modern world, every basic necessity of life, including education, requires money, and the tribal people no longer have land to sustain them. They have no other capital either. In tribal villages, food cultivation and wage labor are the two primary occupations. Gradually, as educated and working tribal people started acquiring property, they began buying land from their own tribe. Tribal men started selling khuntkatti and bhuihnari communal land. Governments, companies, and wealthy individuals began encroaching upon tribal lands by violating laws, leading to the destruction of the entire tribal social structure.
On the other hand, due to religious conflicts in the country, tribal society faces existential threats, especially because of violence and rape committed against women by men within their own society. According to statistics, tribal women constitute the largest working class in the country. Additionally, they face attacks in the name of defending society’s recognition, culture, and religion. Despite enduring all these struggles, they continue to fight for the protection of their land.
Customs also reflect the secondary status of women in the community. For example, when a tribal man dies, his shadow or spirit is considered an ancestor and is brought back to the house and placed in a separate room. However, in the Munda tribal community of Jharkhand, there is a custom that if a woman dies in her husband's house, her in-laws do not give her spirit a place in the village. Upon hearing the news of their daughter’s death, her parents bring her body back, according to the customs. If a woman dies due to illness in her husband’s house, her parents also refuse to place her spirit in the village. They leave it at the boundary of the village. This indicates that while no written agreement exists for the living woman, even the spirit of a deceased woman finds no secure place in tribal society.
Nowhere in the world have women achieved their rights without struggle. No social change has ever occurred without conflict. Therefore, tribal women need to organize their struggles and dialogues within their society. Only then will tribal society be able to review itself, and that is the need of the hour.
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