On the Future of Indigenous Traditions - Munin

Raj Act (meant for all India). The Jharkhand Panchayti Raj Act 2001 on one hand
gives “more power” to the village councils and enables them to have “direct links to
the centre”, but does not support the customary system of governance for the Adivasis
in the Scheduled Areas of the state.
The question here is then what is the problem for the Adivasis lie? Moreover, why
should the Adivasis have problems with it, when the then Chief Minister (CM) 98 of
the state, was an Adivasi himself claiming to be supporting the interest of the Adivasi
peoples? As a result of this development there are three cases (Devendra Nath
Champia vs. State of Jharkhand WP (PIL) 5939 of 2001; Sathee vs. State of
Jharkhand, WP 5669 of 2001; Adivasi Aatu Boisi Self Governance Committee vs.
State of Jharkhand, WP 2993 of 2002) 99 in the Jharkhand High Court concerning the
effects of Jharkhand Panchayti Raj Act 2001’s proposed elections on the traditional
political structure of the Adivasis and another ten cases raising the issue of reservation
and boundaries of Scheduled Areas. 100
According to the analysis given on this issue by Nandini Sundar, there are four
different sets of interest groups in Jharkhand. The first set of groups is of the Adivasis
themselves, i.e. the Jharkhand Pradesh Parha Raja, Manjhi Parganait Manki Munda,
Doklo Sohor Maha Samiti, who oppose having the Jharkhand Panchayati Raj
elections in scheduled areas. They argue for their own customary system and their
heads munda-mankis, manjhi-parganaits to be their representatives instead of the
Panchayt’s three-tier elected system. PESA enables to form government which are
built upon local traditions of participatory democracy, instead of the divisive party
politics and money that are associated with representative democracy in India.
The second set of groups comprise mainly Kurmi Mahto 101 and other non-Adivasi
groups, like the Chatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti and the Jharkhand Pradesh
Panchayatiraj Adhikar Manch (JPPAM), who do not see a special future for Adivasis
98
Babulal Marandi, the then Chief Minister of Jharkhand state. He comes from the Santhal Adivasis
99
Nandini Sundar, “Custom' and 'Democracy' in Jharkhand”, Economic and Political Weekly (8
October, 2005), 4432.
100
Ibid.
101
In the earlier and pre-independent India these groups from Hindu background who had come to live
with the Adivasis as their guests and service communities were listed as Scheduled Tribes, but later in
the post-independent India they were given another status, – the Other Backward Class (OBC).
68