Tribal institutions and inequality

Tribal communities had their own political institutions long before the 73rd Amendment. In Meghalaya, the three major tribal groups, the Khasis, Jaintias and Garos, had institutions at the village, clan and state levels.

Among the Khasis, each clan had its own council, the 'Durbar Kur', presided over by the clan headman. Such institutions handled disputes and local affairs according to custom.

Because of this, a large part of tribal India lies outside the 73rd Amendment: the idea was to avoid disturbing tribal traditions with a new system imposed from outside.

But the sociologist Tiplut Nongbri cautioned that tribal institutions are not necessarily democratic:

• there is stratification: some clans and families hold more power than others;
• many are intolerant to women: women are often kept out of councils and decisions.

So keeping 'tradition' can mean keeping inequality.

The same problem appears in many ordinary villages. A Gram Sabha is meant to be a meeting of all adults, but in practice a small coterie (group) of rich, upper-caste landlords often controls it: they decide, and the majority, especially the poor, Dalits and women, look on silently.

The lesson: formal democratic institutions are not enough. Democracy needs equality to work: people must have the confidence, the information and the economic freedom to speak and act.