logo czasopisma

Articles

No. 3 (2024): Law & Social Bonds Nr 4 (50) 2024

UNIFORM CIVIL CODE, LEGAL PLURALISM AND INHERITANCE RIGHTS OF TRIBAL INDIAN WOMEN

Submitted
13 February 2024
Published
21-08-2024

Abstract

The 42nd Amendment to the Indian Constitution[1] heralded India as a "Sovereign, Socialist, Secular Democratic Republic". This initiated a constitutional narrative that has sparked ongoing debates and scrutiny regarding the true essence of India's secularism. As the nation approaches the 2024 general elections, the ruling party has discussed the potential implementation of the Uniform Civil Code at the forefront of political discourse. Currently, numerous areas of civil law are regulated by personal laws, encompassing Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Parsi Law. Notably, communities like Sikhs, Jainas, Buddhists, Dalits, Scheduled Castes, and tribes are categorised as Hindus under the Hindu Personal Laws[2]. The adoption of the Uniform Civil Code is intrinsically linked to the rejection of these personal laws. This raises several questions and contradictions relating to the state of multireligious secular India and its dynamics with the women’s rights movement. The introduction of a Uniform Civil Code limits the nature of legal pluralism in India and can hinder the governance of tribal societies through customary laws. Under the scope of this commentary, the authors discuss the legal pluralism in India and the impact of the introduction of a uniform civil code on customary laws of tribes placing special emphasis on the inheritance rights of tribal women. The paper also discusses the approach of the higher courts in securing property rights for tribal women in the absence of such a   code.

References

  1. Afaq Ahmar, Sukhvinder Singh Dari, „Understanding Uniform Civil Code: Its Need and Challenges” Russian Law Journal, No. 1S (2023), https://doi.org/10.52783/rlj.v11i1S.358.
    View in Google Scholar
  2. Ahmmed F., „Challenges of Aging and Coping Mechanisms among the Khasi and Garo Tribal Groups: An Ethnographic Observation” Journal of International Social Issues, No. 1 (n.d.): 23-38.
    View in Google Scholar
  3. Ambedkar B. R., Vasant Moon, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches. New Delhi: Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, 2014.
    View in Google Scholar
  4. Ambedkar B. R., Sharmila Rege, Against the Madness of Manu: B.R. Ambedkar’s Writings on Brahmanical Patriarchy. New Delhi: Navayana Publishing Pvt. Ltd, 2013.
    View in Google Scholar
  5. Ao Temsula, „Land, Ethics and Economic Management among Ao Nagas” Institute of Northeast India Studies, 1 (2010).
    View in Google Scholar
  6. Das J.N., A Study of Land System in Manipur. Law Research Institute of Guwahati High Court, 1989.
    View in Google Scholar
  7. Das Ranga Ranjan, „Gender, Customary Laws and Codification – The North-Eastern Perspectives”, [in:] Gender Implications of Tribal Customary Law: The Case of North-East India. North Eastern Social Research Centre ; Rawat Publications, 2017.
    View in Google Scholar
  8. De Sousa Santos Boaventura, „Law: A Map of Misreading. Toward a Postmodern Conception of Law” Journal of Law and Society, No. 3 (1987): 279-302. https://doi.org/10.2307/1410186.
    View in Google Scholar
  9. Galanter Marc, „Justice in Many Rooms: Courts, Private Ordering, and Indigenous Law” The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, No. 19 (1981): 1-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.1981.10756257.
    View in Google Scholar
  10. Ghosh Gitanjali, „Gender Preference in Customary Inheritance Laws of the Khasi Tribe in India: Myth or Fact?” SSRN Electronic Journal, (2021), https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3793397.
    View in Google Scholar
  11. Gissel Line Engbo, „Nomos and Narrative in International Criminal Justice” Journal of International Criminal Justice, No. 1 (2022): 117-138. https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqac004.
    View in Google Scholar
  12. Griffiths John, „What Is Legal Pluralism?” Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 24 (1986).
    View in Google Scholar
  13. Hart H. L. A., Leslie Green, Joseph Raz, Penelope A. Bulloch, The Concept of Law. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2012.
    View in Google Scholar
  14. Hooker Michael Barry, Legal Pluralism: An Introduction to Colonial and Neo-Colonial Laws. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975.
    View in Google Scholar
  15. Mahanta Aparna, „Understanding Politics of Identity and Ethnicity in North East India: A Gender Perspective”, [in:] In Souvenir: North East India History Association. Dibrugarh, 2008.
    View in Google Scholar
  16. Malinowski Bronislaw, Crime and Custom in Savage Society. NJ: Rowman & Allanheld, 1985.
    View in Google Scholar
  17. Merry Sally Engle, „Legal Pluralism” Law & Society Review, No. 5 (1988): 869. https://doi.org/10.2307/3053638.
    View in Google Scholar
  18. Misra Bani Prassana, „Agrarian Relations in a Khasi State” Economic and Political Weekly, No. 20 (1979): 888-892.
    View in Google Scholar
  19. Moore Sally Falk, „Law and Social Change: The Semi-Autonomous Social Field as an Appropriate Subject of Study” Law & Society Review, No. 4 (1973): 719-746. https://doi.org/10.2307/3052967.
    View in Google Scholar
  20. Mukhim Patricia, „Crisis of Authority in the Khasi Matrilineal Society”, [in:] The Dynamics of Family System in a Matriliny of Meghalaya. Tribal Research Institute, 1999.
    View in Google Scholar
  21. Nongbri Tiplut, „Khasi Women and Matriliny: Transformations in Gender Relations” Gender, Technology and Development, No. 3 (2000): 359-395. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718524.2000.11909976.
    View in Google Scholar
  22. Pakyntein Valentina, „Gender Preference in Khasi Society: An Evaluation of Tradition, Change and Continuity” Indian Anthropologist, Indian Anthropological Association, 30 (2000): 27-35.
    View in Google Scholar
  23. Pal Samaraditya, Deepan Kumar Sarkar, India’s Constitution: Origins and Evolution: Constituent Assembly Debates, Lok Sabha Debates on Constitutional Amendments and Supreme Court Judgments. Gurgaon, Haryana, India: LexisNexis, 2017.
    View in Google Scholar
  24. Pospisil Leopold, Anthropology of Law: A Comparative Theory. New York Evanston San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1971.
    View in Google Scholar
  25. Rajak Komal, „Trajectories of Women’s Property Rights in India: A Reading of the Hindu Code Bill” Contemporary Voice of Dalit, No. 1 (2020): 82-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328X19898420.
    View in Google Scholar
  26. Rivers W. H. R., Social Organisation. Stephen, Austin & Sons Ltd., 1924.
    View in Google Scholar
  27. Singh Jyoti, Kajori Bhatnagar, „Evaluating the Categorical Exclusion of Khasi Women from Inheritance and Property Rights: A Case of East Khasi Hills” International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 30 January (2024): 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10143.
    View in Google Scholar
  28. Singh M. P., „On Uniform Civil Code, Legal Pluralism And The Constitution Of India” Journal of Indian Law and Society, Vol. V (2014).
    View in Google Scholar
  29. Tamahana Brain Z., „Understanding Legal Pluralism: Past to Present, Local to Global” Sydney Law Review, 29 (2007).
    View in Google Scholar
  30. Woodman Gordon R., „Ideological Combat and Social Observation: Recent Debate about Legal Pluralism” The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, No. 42 (1998): 21-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.1998.10756513.
    View in Google Scholar

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.