Monalisa Changkija - Naga women’s claim to economic equality has unsettled its male-dominated tribal bodies
To understand the
vehement opposition to 33 per cent women’s reservation in urban local bodies
(ULBs) in Nagaland by male-dominated/all-male Naga tribal bodies, it is
imperative that all illusions about tribal society being simple are dispelled.
In the case of the Nagas, it is even more multi-faceted for historical and
political reasons. Now, with rapidly changing national and global economic
eco-systems, in a patriarchal society with one foot still in the subsistence
economy, economic apprehensions have impacted political perspectives.
Opposition to women’s
participation in decision-making bodies and processes is centuries-old in Naga
society. Our customary laws are deeply rooted in patriarchy. So for Naga tribal
bodies to naively argue that such reservations violate Article 371 (A) of the
Constitution of India and would adversely affect Naga culture and customs would
be to miss the point of the argument against reservations. The core of the
issue — like most other issues — is the ownership of land and resources.
Naga culture and customs
debar women from land ownership; hence our customary laws preclude women from
inheriting land. This is exactly what Article 371 (A) protects — the social,
cultural and customary practices of the Nagas, which are germane to land
ownership and inheritance thereof. Much as Naga scholars acclaim Nagas’ “purest
form of democracy” in sovereign village-republics and compare it to the
“democracy” of the Greek city-states, the fact is, this “democracy” is
pertinent only to males — only males have the right to land ownership; only
males can participate in the village parliament. It’s patriarchy in its purest
form, actually.
In the opposition to
women’s reservation in ULBs, the most pertinent aspect is the economic
connotations inherent in politically empowering women through reservations. The
bottomline is: Economics spawns and dictates cultures and customs, as also
political and marital expediencies.
Against this
background, Naga male-dominated tribal bodies’ opposition to women’s
reservations in ULBs is understandable — the fear is that women would finally
have a say in how resources are used and shared in towns, which could then
spill over to villages. So far, only men are privy to the utilisation and
sharing of resources allotted by the Central and state governments, as also
available resources of clan and tribe land ownership. With political powers
come economic powers, and with economic powers, political power is reinforced
and consolidated, all of which has the potential to disrupt the status quo in
Naga society that has marginalised women politically and economically.
Women’s reservation is
necessitated in patriarchal societies because of the historical fact of a
ubiquitous culture of inequality in Naga society — even if we don’t practice
dowry, Sati, female foeticide and infanticide and the caste system. All
patriarchal societies and states deny women access to economic and political
powers, starting with land ownership, the primary marker of power hierarchies.
The opposition to women’s reservation in ULBs not only underlines the badly
bruised Naga male ego, but has critical economic connotations accentuating how
their economic and political strongholds are perceived to be threatened.
It must also be
underlined that almost all Naga tribal bodies, including the Naga Hoho, emerged
since the 1980s and thereafter — therefore, they are not Naga traditional
institutions. The traditional Naga institutions recognised by the British and
by the Indian government, which have constitutional sanction (enshrined in Article
371 (A)), are the Naga village parliaments, which are the custodians of Naga
culture, traditions and customary laws. Therefore, it is a matter of concern
that the Nagaland government has allowed itself to be held to ransom by NGOs
and civil society bodies at the cost of the constitutional mandate in the name
of Naga culture, tradition and customs.
Apprehensions related
to taxes and land ownership are very real. Under the Nagaland Municipal (Third
Amendment) Bill 2016 was the issue of taxation by the new municipalities/town
committees, particularly if Smart Cities and Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) are
involved. As Charles Chase, former editor and author of The Naga Imbroglio
writes: “Taxation has always been an abhorrent issue where Nagas are
concerned”. As I see it, the problem here is that Naga males are averse to the
idea of mainstreaming into the globalised economy but they welcome the
privileges of the same globalised economy.
That brings us to the
next point of Naga male tribal bodies’ opposition to women’s reservation.
Because of being precluded from inheriting land, Naga women have taken to
education with missionary zeal. Today, Naga women excel in the public and
private spheres academically, intellectually and to a certain extent
economically — this is frightening to the Naga male, who continues to expect
the woman to be dependent on him. While Naga women are respectful towards Naga
culture, tradition and customary law, they are also generally more open,
willing and able to adapt to new ideas and change and generally to global
culture, politically, economically and socially.
The new Naga woman is very
different from our subservient grandmothers, which is truly frightening to the
Naga male, who has failed to and/or refuses to understand and appreciate how
much the world has changed from the days of British colonials and American
missionaries. Significantly, some statistics maintain that more than 50 per
cent of Nagaland government employees are women.
There is also a fear
among Naga males that the Indian government is trying to introduce alien
political and economic systems, which would adversely tell on Naga nationalism,
even dilute it. Here again, the diverse perspectives of Nagas belonging to
various political, economic, social and educational backgrounds are at play.
The abysmal failure of
the Nagaland government and the state machinery to stem violent protests
against women’s reservation must be underlined. The Nagaland government’s
vacillating stand on women’s reservation over the years poured fuel into the
fire, as much as its inability to gauge the mood of tribal bodies and their
vulnerability to numerous shades of overground and subterranean political
agendas, in the name of Naga culture, customs and traditions, and a failure to
maintain the rule of law by an ineffectual civil and police bureaucratic
machinery.
The ULB elections have
been deferred and it is likely that women’s reservation to ULBs will never come
to pass. But it is clear from what happened in the last few days that the state
government and the tribal bodies have lost the plot. The ball is in the
Centre’s court, seeing that the Nagaland government and Naga tribal bodies are
seeking no less than an amendment to certain parts of Part IX-A of the
Constitution. Meanwhile, Naga women will continue to struggle for their rights
unambiguously enshrined in the Constitution of India.
The writer, a
journalist and poet, is editor of ‘Nagaland Page’
My Editorial today:
Monalisa Chankija
Sorry saga
What happened after
the announcement for elections to the Urban Local Bodies (UBLs) last month in
Nagaland ~ the sorry saga still continuing till the time of writing this
Editorial, albeit the tapering off already commencing ~ clearly establishes
that Naga men are yet to fully realize the potency and potential of power,
which emanates only from intelligence, judiciousness, prudence and perspicacity
but most importantly from knowledge and wisdom. And these do not come with the
package of being born male. So today the ULB elections may have been deferred
but Naga men have to little option but to go back to the drawing board in their
anti-women’s reservation fight. And this has to start with what exactly Article
371 (A) of the Indian Constitution says: “no Act of Parliament in respect of -
religious or social practices of the Nagas, customary law and procedure,
ownership and transfer of land and its resources- shall apply to the State of
Nagaland unless the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland by a resolution so
decides”. Nothing is mentioned about municipal bodies, which are not Naga
traditional institutions ~ for that matter, nor is the state Legislative
Assembly. But perhaps what is required more is a comprehensive and meticulous
study and scrutiny of the entire Constitution of India ~ because we cannot
ignore it and focus only on Article 371 (A).
Moreover, no citizen
of India can violate anyone’s rights while claiming one’s own rights ~ and
denying the constitutional mandate of reservation for women in elected bodies
is just that, which further underscores the patriarchy and misogyny in Naga
society. Secondly, Naga men had a field day out in the streets bringing the
entire state to a standstill, reversing our tottering economy, destroying
Government/public property, causing irreparable loss to man-hours, students,
etc., so it is hoped that they would now audit the gains of the “bandh” they
imposed ~ although they seem to be unable to discern between a bandh and a
curfew.
But the biggest loss
they have caused to Naga society is exposing to the entire world the “real”
Naga culture ~ denying democratic rights to women and resorting to violence to
keep women suppressed and oppressed. Anyway, are bandhs and curfews integral to
Naga culture ~ if so, since when? A peaceful protest or a hunger strike may
have yielded better and more results ~ but to envisage positive results and
strategize for that, it takes sagacity. Thirdly, while the schisms among and
between the numerous Naga bodies, which mostly emerged in the 1980s and
thereafter ~ and are not really Naga traditional institutions, were apparent
much before the 33% women’s reservation issue arose, with the formation of the
Central Naga Tribes Council, Nagaland Tribes Council and with most Nagaland
tribes disassociating from the Naga Hoho, which is also not a Naga traditional
institution, the schisms among the tribal bodies are more conspicuous after
they called for the “bandh” from January 28 last. The violence unleashed,
especially at Kohima, and to a lesser extent at Dimapur, seems to underscore
that.
The differences and
disagreements between the elders and the youth of the tribal bodies are also
telling. The public also has the right to know whether mayhem and destruction
of Government/pubic property and the responsibility thereof were a part of the
plan of the “bandh” called by the tribal bodies. Fourthly, thanks to the
“bandh” called by the tribal bodies, Government employees are enjoying a long
paid holiday ~ as it is, it is difficult to get Government employees in offices
and their places of posting, now they have a valid reason not to work ~ and
their mobility is hardly restricted since almost all of them have private
transport. Fifthly, unless Naga tribal bodies are rolling in money ~ the source
of which the public has the right to know ~ who really has that kind of money
to fund and sustain over a week’s “bandh”? And, who stands to gain from
disrupting the Government machinery ~ in fact, bring down the Government? After
all, it was obvious even before the “bandh” that the women’s reservation became
a non-issue as Naga tribal bodies moved on to taxes, land ownership, etc. and
then finally focused on ridding the present Government.
Sixthly, our state
Government has unambiguously exposed its weaknesses ~ indecisiveness, failure
to gauge the mood of the tribal bodies and their vulnerability to influences of
numerous shades of political in the name of Naga culture, customs and
traditions, failure to maintain the rule of law by strengthening an ineffectual
civil and police bureaucratic machinery totally marked by its failure to keep
contact and connectivity with the people ergo failing to advise the Government,
act decisively to maintain law and order, etc. The Chief Minister also needs to
direly reconsider getting rid of some of his Advisors and hiring more competent
persons and shake up the state bureaucracy from its stupor. It is clear from
what happened in the past week and continues to happen, the state Government
and the tribal bodies have lost the plot but then it also doesn’t look like
they had a plot in the first place, which has cost three precious lives.
