Indian society and diversity Flashcards
Khujli ghar?
- It is a cramped, triangular cage made from the logs of Masang-fung, a local tree that people avoid because of the irritation it causes (It does not affect the palm but people who make the cages have to be careful).
- It is a a traditional form of punishment that seeks to check crime.
- Some villages in Nagaland are trying to revive this form of punishment.
- Such itchy cages are referred to as khujli ghar in Nagamese. But each Naga community has its own name. The Aos, one of the major tribes of Nagaland, call it Shi-ki that means flesh-house.
- The cage is usually placed at a central spot in the village, usually in front of the morung, or bachelor’s dormitory, for the inmate to be in full public view.
Slave trade from India?
- Indentured servitude from India started in 1834 and lasted up till 1922, despite having been officially banned in 1917 by British India’s Imperial Legislative Council after pressure from freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi.
- This practice of indentured labour resulted in the growth of a large diaspora with Indo-Carribean, Indo-African and Indo-Malaysian heritage that continue to live in the Carribean, Fiji, Réunion, Natal, Mauritius, Malaysia, Sri Lanka etc.
- Indentured slavery was used as alternative to slavery in conventional sense. It was disguised as Contract labor and migrants had the right to return after finishing their 10 year terms of indenture.That, however, seldom happened
Lakshdweep society?
- The society in all islands is matriarchal. The religion is Islam of the pristine Shafi school of law. When Islam came to the islands is debated.
- Fishery is a primary occupation here. The language, except in Minicoy, is Malayalam; in Minicoy, Mahl is spoken, a language akin to the 17th century Divehi of the Maldives.
- Vatteluttu was the earliest script used with its heavy Sanskrit component and this system of autography is in evidence in the sailing manuals of local pilots (malmis), on inscriptions on tombstones and those in some mosques/pallis.
- With the introduction of Islam, Arabi-Malayalam, with Malayalam in Arabic script and associated with the literature of the Mappilas that developed on the mainland, also came into use on the islands.
- Today, long lines and refrigeration have aided the expansion of the fishing sector but income disparities have grown.
- Indiscriminate trawling endangers the coral, as experienced in the Maldives and now banned there.
- Revenue from tourism has declined with the closure of resorts (including at Bangaram) from litigation.
Going Online as Leaders (GOAL): what?
is a Facebook program aimed at guiding and encouraging tribal girls from across India to become village-level digital young leaders for their communities. will help to connect underprivileged young tribal women with senior expert mentors in the areas of business, fashion and arts to learn digital and life skills.
Changpa community?
- Ladakh’s nomadic herding community
- residents of Changthang plateau
- famous fr rearing Pashmina goats
- recent Chinese Army’s intrusion in Chumur and Demchok since January has left Ladakh’s nomadic herding Changpa community cut off from large parts of summer pastures. This has also resulted in a sharp rise in deaths of young Pashmina goats this year in the Korzok-Chumur belt of Changthang plateau in Ladakh.
Bru community?
- Bru or reang
- indigenous to NE India
- living in Tripura, Mizoram and assam
- recognised as PVTG in Tripura
- languages: Kaubru, Kokborok as well as bangla
- 23 yrs ago, targeted by a few ethnic social org of Mizoram who demanded that Bbru be excluded frm lectoral rolls in state; led to 37000 Bru fleeing from Mizoram’s mamit, Kolasib and Lunlei to Tripura, where they were sheltered in relief camps.
- Since then, >5000 hv returned in 9 phases of repatriation while 32000 still live behind in Tripura
govt’s efforts for Bru?
- In June 2018, Bru leaders signed an agreement in Delhi with the Centre and the two state governments, providing for repatriation to Mizoram; rejected by most of residents as ‘insufficient’ as it did not guarantee their safety in Mizoram, and that they feared a repeat of the violence
- New agreement signed in Jan 2020
features of 2020 agreement signed for Bru refugees?
- option of being resettled in Tripura to those currently living in relief camps; those who left earlier cannot return.
- a fresh survey and physical verification of Bru families living in relief camps
- Centre will implement a special development project for the resettled Bru; this will be in addition to the Rs 600 crore fund announced for the process
- Each resettled family will get 0.03 acre (1.5 ganda) of land for building a home, Rs 1.5 lakh as housing assistance, and Rs 4 lakh as a one-time cash benefit for sustenance via DBT. They will also receive a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000, and free rations for two years from the date of resettlement.
- Difference frm earlier initiatives: Thus far stressed only on peacefully repatriating the Bru, even though the enduring fear of ethnic violence remained a fundamental roadblock. The two other “durable solutions” for refugees and displaced persons suggested by the UN Refugee Agency — local integration or assimilation, and resettlement — were never explored.
Arunachal Pradesh Marriage and Inheritance Bill: main provisions?
- Essential conditions of marriage, registration of marriage: The bill is made applicable to any person who belongs to any indigenous scheduled tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. It provides that a marriage between parties may be solemnized according to local customary rites and rituals of the either party.
- Restitution of conjugal rights, void and voidable marriage: The bill also provides for restitution of conjugal rights stating when either of the party has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of the other, the aggrieved party may apply by petition to the district court for restitution of conjugal rights.
- Grounds for dissolution of marriage (divorce): Marriage solemnized after the commencement of the act can be dissolved on various grounds.
- Permanent alimony and maintenance: A wife who is unable to maintain herself can file application to the court for maintenance. The court may order that the husband shall pay to her an appropriate lump sum of permanent alimony.
- Bill’s status on polygamy: declares any future such marriage as void and the person committing such marriage is said to have committed an offence under IPC
Arunachal Pradesh Marriage and Inheritance Bill: why is it termed anti tribal or anti Arunachal?
due to the following provision:
An APST woman shall enjoy the right of any property owned and acquired by her in her lifetime. In the event of her death, her husband (even if non APST) and her heir have full rights of its disposal.
issue raised: In customary law, there is no gender discrimination in sharing of inherited immovable property. sharing of inherited property with sisters and daughters is accepted but they are against sharing immovable properties with those Arunachalee women married to non-APST. How can a non-tribal acquire property by simply marrying an Arunachali?
Chakmas and Hajongs?
Chakmas and Hajongs were originally residents of Chittagong Hill Tracts in the erstwhile East Pakistan. They left their homeland when it was submerged by the Kaptai dam project in the 1960s.
The Chakmas, who are Buddhists, and the Hajongs, who are Hindus, also allegedly faced religious persecution and entered India through the then Lushai Hills district of Assam (now Mizoram). The Centre moved the majority of them to the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), which is now Arunachal Pradesh.
Their numbers have gone up from about 5,000 in 1964-69 to one lakh. At present, they don’t have citizenship and land rights but are provided basic amenities by the state government.
NE Region SDG Index: by? main findings?
by NITI Aayog
- sikkim and Tripura dominates the rankings with 100% of their districts in Achiever category
- this SDG index is not completely comparable to SDG Index for Indian states
- Arunachal Pradesh has performed exceptional: for eg. most of her districts are frontrunners or performers in SDGs like hunger, education, health, job opportunities etc. where it suffers is infrastr, cities and industries.
- Almost the whole of NE has performed exceptional in SDG6 i.e. clean water and sanitation and SDG5 i.e. Gender equaity
- Almost the whole of NE is under Aspirant category in SDG of Climate Action mainly because of- loss of lives due to natural calamity and declining forest cover. However, the whole of NE has performed exceptional in case of SDG of Life on Land due to their high forest cover % (NE accounts for 8% of India’s land bt 25% of its forest cover)
- Almost whole of Meghalaya is in performers category (same as in Nagaland and Arunachal P) under SDG of Peace, Justice and Strong Institution despite never fighting insurgency that the other two states suffered from.
- While the top districts are dominated by Sikkim and Tripura, the bottom states are mostly from Nagaland, mostly those districts that have still active insurgency, thereby pointing towards a cyclic link between insurgency and lack of development.
Karbi anglong crisis?
- Located in central Assam, Karbi Anglong is the state’s largest district and a melting pot of ethnicities and tribal groups — Karbi, Dimasa, Bodo, Kuki, Hmar, Tiwa, Garo, Man (Tai speakers), Rengma Naga. Its diversity also generated different outfits and fuelled an insurgency that did not allow the region to develop.
- Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) is an autonomous district council, protected under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
- The Karbis are a major ethnic group of Assam, dotted by several factions and splinters. The history of the Karbi group has been marked by killings, ethnic violence, abductions and taxation since the late 1980s.
- Insurgent groups of Karbi Anglong district like People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK), Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), etc. originated from the core demand of forming a separate state.
- Some of the other demands of the militant groups are:
- Inclusion of some areas into Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC),
- Reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes,
- More powers to the council,
- Inclusion of Karbi language in the Eighth Schedule,
- Financial package of Rs 1,500 crore.
Khasi INheritace of Property Bill 2021?
It is aimed at “equitable distribution” of parental property among siblings in the Khasi community.
Implications:
If implemented, the proposed Bill would modify an age-old customary practice of inheritance of the matrilineal Khasi tribe.
Aims and Objectives of the Bill:
1. Equitable distribution” of parental property among siblings – both male and female.
2. Let parents decide who they want their property to inherit.
3. Prevent a sibling from getting parental property if they marry a non-Khasi and accept the spouse’s customs and culture.
Need for this Bill:
Many times, boys are not able to take loans because there is no collateral to show. Sometimes, when a couple has no children, and there is no genuine heir, the clan takes over the property, as per custom. It leads to a number of litigations by children against their parents.
Matrilineal system in Meghalaya?
The three tribes of Meghalaya — Khasis, Jaintias, and Garos — practise a matrilineal system of inheritance. In this system, lineage and descent are traced through the mother’s clan.
- Here, children take the mother’s surname, the husband moves into his wife’s house, and the youngest daughter (khatduh) of the family is bequeathed the full share of the ancestral — or the clan’s — property.
- Custom also dictates that the khatduh cannot sell the property, without permission of her mother’s brother (maternal uncle) — since he technically belongs to the mother’s clan, through which descent is traced.
- This inheritance tradition applies only to ancestral or clan/community property, which has been with the family for years.
- In this traditional set-up, if a couple does not have any daughters, then the property goes to the wife’s elder sister, and her daughters. If the wife does not have sisters, then the clan usually takes over the property.
