Role and Image of Law in India: The Tribal ExperienceThe image of law depends on the way in which its agents behave, carry out their duties or perform their role. An important but neglected area of concern is the way India`s tribal population perceives the state and its legal mechanisms and structures. Filling this gap, the book, which is the first of its kind on legal ethnography for Indian tribes, studies the relationship between tribes and the state with reference to the Indian legal system, It focuses on three tribes of India—the Bhils in Maharashtra, and the Santals and Pahadiyas in Jharkhand, which was earlier a part of Bihar. The author traces the historical roots of their dispossession in the ancient and medieval periods, their engagement with and subjugation by the Bristish, and how their ordeal of disempowerment continues even after Independence. Dr Dhagamwar looks at the historical relationship of these tribes with settled societies and also at some of their internal legal structures. The last part of the book consists of her interventions as a legal activist in the problems faced by these tribes, which culminated in public interest litigation writ petitions in the Supreme Court. She ends with a brief examination of indigenous people colonised elsewhere by Europeans. The author concludes that independence has no real meaning for the tribes of India since they are still led by outsiders. For them, the legal system is oppressive and exploitative, seving only the rich. Taking the larger perspective, the author still retains a deep faith in the rule of law and believes that its own stated goals compel it to serve the cause of justice. |
From inside the book
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Contents
Acknowledgements | 9 |
Tribes in Ancient and Medieval India | 19 |
An Overview | 47 |
Military Operations of the East India Company against | 58 |
The Jungleterry under Civil Administration | 91 |
British Conquest of the Bhils of Khandesh | 117 |
The Santal Settlers of the Jungleterry | 145 |
Settlements and Surveys in Santal Parganas | 186 |
The Custom and Practice of Bitlaha | 259 |
Prisoner at the Bar Are You Rich or Poor? | 267 |
The Three Worlds | 298 |
Conclusion | 346 |
Glossary | 388 |
395 | |
401 | |
About the Author 415 | |
Common terms and phrases
accused activists Adalat Akkalkua ALTs asked bail Beerbhum Bengal Bhagalpur Bhils Bihar bitlaha Bombay boys British Browne Canniah charge charge-sheet Chhoto chiefs chieftains civil Cleveland Collector Commissioner Council criminal cultivation Damin Damin-i-Koh Deva Dhule district Dumka farmers filed forest Godda Gujarat headman High Court Hindu ibid image of law Jagannath Deo jail Jamtara Jungleterry justice Kadra Khandesh land lawyer legal system mahajans Maharashtra manjhis Maratha Marwaris McPherson Mehvassi estates mentioned Moghul moneylender Mundya Gimba Muslims Nandurbar non-tribal offence officers Pahadiyas Panchhin Patil persons plains plunder police Pontet prisoners produced Pune Rajmahal hills Rajputs Ram Swaroop Yadav record Regulation rent revenue robberies rule of law ryot Sagar Santal Parganas Saura Pahadiyas sent Sessions Judge settled Shahada Shibu Shibu Soren Shimpi Singh Supreme Court Taloda tehsil tenants transfer tribal tribes Tudu village Yar Mohammed zamindar