Development, Ethnicity and Gender
Author: Tiplut Nongbri

Khansemphi KK Raleng *

Name of the book: Development, Ethnicity and Gender.
By: Tiplut Nongbri
Published by Rawat publication
ISBN: 8170337836
Published in 2003.

Art Exhibition by Department of Fine Arts at Manipur University in December 2020 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Introduction:

Development, Ethnicity and Gender is the focus of the book. As a person from matrilineal tribal society, (Meghalaya) the frontier, and an expert of teaching courses on tribes, family, kinship and ecology at the centre for the Study of Social Systems (Jawaharlal Nehru University), with the ample amount of knowledge and the interest, she has written the book with empirical context and not being bias.

Thought the essay is concentrated on these three topics which are contemporary issues including a subject that is peripheral for mainstream research. Some of the vital issues that are debated are centre to the indigenous peoples; the effect of colonization in every aspect of the people's life, process of development and modernization that hampers by giving more burden to the people, intervention by the government or the state on natural resource management, linking the issue of ethnicity, maternal, gender and development.

Using the lens of the tribes to look into the problems it makes easier to understand the dynamics of the tribe and also the people's aspirations and goals which is very difficult for the success of any policy. Writing this book helped her to critique the mainstream theories about the tribe. This book focused on the Northeast region showing a clear direction for scholars and students giving an idea of the changing social process and the subjugation they faced especially the tribal women.

The first chapter contains the holistic view of the northeast region. One cannot exclude the history of the tribes in Northeast India where they became a part of colonization and after the independence, the isolation becomes worse by connecting with just a corridor through North Bengal. Within the frontier lies a socio-cultural variation of civilization where ethnicity defines complex pictures.

With the differences in the cultural, physiographical, eco-physical diversity, geographical, there are varieties of administration of a degree of autonomy and Self-management arrange by the Constitution of India. Because of all this heterogeneity, one cannot look into just the cultural aspects alone but also must look holistically and in an integrative manner. They had their system of administration and practice of customs and traditions.

In tribal beliefs, men not only depend on nature for physiological needs but also for psychological and spiritual wellbeing. The era of colonization brings Christianity, education, modernization and polarization and it also changes the economic and political structure which was once an egalitarian society.

There are eight chapters in the book, the second chapter talks about "Tribal Studies in India". The term "tribal" was coined by the British to map the population into 'tribes' and 'castes'. When we talk about tribal artisans and farmers emerging in the caste system according to different theories mention in this book, we can understand that it was difficult to prove and concluded.

She mentioned some examples of Gonds, Hos, Mundas, Oraons, Santhals and Todas who are highly Hinduish tribal but they never left their traditions and tribal identity. Even though 'tribe' is defined in the constitution, she has rightly said that its emphasis is only on the political and geographical aspects of the population. Thus, with the internationalisation of the issue of tribal, the researcher or the sociologist or the anthropologist need to look beyond the stereotyped tribe-caste differences and re-start a new journey deeper into the tribe with a multidimensional frame of reference.

Nongbri mentioned forth factors that shaped the tribal studies of India. First, is the colonial system which paved the way for anthropology as academic studies. Second, the rise of the freedom struggle and political movement which invested sociology and social anthropology with strong political content and strong nationalist orientation. Thirdly, the new nation-state with its firm democracy, social justice and development. The protective discrimination made by the Indian Constitution sharpened ethnic distinction. Finally, the internationalization of tribal issues in the United Nation.

The third chapter talks about Culture, Development and politics. India has the largest and lengthiest constitution in the world. The constitution not only enforces the law but also make certain provisions for the marginalised group through the Fundamental rights and the directive principles of state policies. Some of the article that makes the state responsible to ensure the promotion of the vulnerable groups is Article 46, 244 etc.

The definition of development for India is to help the backwardness of the tribe and to bring them to the level of the general population. To achieve this, the Union government made certain policies and programs; the focus was on the development tribal at the fifth five-year plan. In general, we adopt the western concept of development from the industrial revolution affecting the people of the tribal in many ways which is negative because of failing to note the real needs of the people where she takes the example of the Nehruvian Policy of Tribal development. A question arises how best development can take place without injuring the culture and material interest of any section of society is a work of a planner to consider.

Nongbri in her book defines culture as, 'the essence of people that reflects the ideological and material base of society which shapes the subjective identity of the people that relates to the social structure'. This makes culture an important element in the process of social change. There are no such things as unchangeable tribal culture as a very tribe have their customs and tradition, there are differences when we compare within the Indian civilisation, from here the tribal culture emerges.

There is a history where the tribal borrows many elements from the greater tradition and vice versa but this does not make them a part of each other. Even if some part of culture may change, the principles remain the same. There is universal tribal culture because each tribe varies in their ethnic origin in every aspect. One thing that has been established is that the tribals are very much connected with nature.

Most importantly the forest is not just a connection but their economy and spiritual evolve around it. When we talk about caste and tribe together, it is not very easy to co-exist wherein so in the case of food e.g. she mentioned the 'beef' as an example wherein today's situation it is very much relevant when the government itself support the caste culture. This touches the image of a tribe where their main food is something that is considered illegal.

The burden increases with the coming of tourism and other state-sponsored development projects. This may have provided short term benefits but permanently disturbed the economy and their connection with nature which are an intangible heritage. Another important piece of data that was proved by the National Commission for Women observes that victims are the women which face the danger of sexual abuse and value-loaded standards of the outsider.

Even though there has been a partial fault of the tribal of being ignorant, there has been a shred of evidence that the system is very corrupted at the implementation of policies and programs. The tradition of the domination of the major population made the tribe vulnerable and propelled them to the process of separatism in the region. She took an example of Naga fighting for sovereignty for all Naga-inhabited areas in the mega-region. Other reasons are the suppression or subjugation by the people in the valley or by other people who are non-tribal is one of the main reasons in Manipur.

The theme of the fourth chapter centres on the trend of ethnicity and the political activism in Northeast India.' Ethnic' or 'Ethnic groups' have been used in various ways from people with common biological or racial characteristics to a group with distinct, or perception of shared culture. India is closely related to tribe. However, this two are not synonymous. Ethnicity involves relationships; social interaction and a feeling of exclusivity between groups are rigid.

The norms, values, behaviour and exceptions of the dominant group could have a direct effect on ethnicity. When there is a clash of interest between the two ethnic conflicts may erupt. Here, the role of the state and policies assumes to be of great importance. But on the other hand, if the state is used as an instrument by the dominant group it will intensify the conflict which is a great challenge for the minority. Miscalculation of the ethnic factor could deepen the stability of the state and the security of the people.

The division starts from the British era where they segregate the tribal through various acts where they use backwardness as a reason. After the independence, the Indian government adopted the same principle. Thus this leads to strong resistance from the Nagas, in Khasi and Jaintia hills, even in Assam and even in Mizoram.

The tribals were divided by the Britishers for eg. Nagas in Manipur and also in Myanmar, the Mizo and the Khasis etc. This made them more eager to unite them all into one single autonomy. The facts show that the important factor that leads to ethnic mobilisation in the frontier was the national policy of tribal integration. The new political leadership played a major role in shaping the course of tribal politics in the region. Even though the tribal movement and mobilization are formed in the colonial era, not all tribes could translate it into political gain due to lack of voice, material and strategic support, second is the state tends to view the tribal movement as a law and order problem and lastly, the inclusion of the demands of the non-tribal into tribal areas dilutes the tribal demand.

Nongbri shifted her focus on the land, policy and resources in the fifth chapter. Modernization has made the tribal land possession and a commodity to buy and sell it. With the formation of the seven sisters of the 1970s, the government tries to make a land reform commission. With the name of development or 'public purpose,' the state gives itself the right to appropriate land-based resources. A person who gains the most in the state, corporate sector or the urban middle one nearest to the central power and it is proved that it is only a handful of people yet they are the dominant force who dictates the policies of the state for their gain and the victims are the poor.

The State created the District Council for the protection of the right of the people but so far it is not helpful. Many administrative and scientific organizations like the military, the police, and civil aviation have acquired large tracts of agriculture and forest land and are permanently alienated from the people. Therefore, development results in the dehumanization of the poor and their loss of dignity and self-respect.

Chapter six is based on the forest policy starting from the colonial rule till the present times. It talks about how the legislation or the acts affects the people in the tribe and even though the book focused on the northeast region, we can find a similar situation where other tribal areas of the country. She tried to prove with the evidence of historical and anthropology about the use of legislation by the colonial and the state to depleted and extract as much as resources and the use of land and forest with the excuses of 'development'.

This is a very serious problem and issue for the tribal as they depend mostly on nature for survival. The author wished that the new forest policy could be made keeping the view of stability of the eco-system, from the past mistakes and mostly the families, village communities and the society large. This can be done by re-empowering the local communities and re-activating their traditional institutions.

'Gender' and 'tribal' as the central focus here in the seven chapters, even thought importance have started giving to the gender as one of an important variable in any studies or developmental issue nationally and international, she made a clear statement that women in tribal faced gender discrimination despite the theories made. She criticized Engels (1884), Boserup (1970) and some feminist where they assumed that there are freedom and dignity and mutual respect in a tribal community.

The policies makers internally and nationally are ignorant of the needs and challenges of the tribal women. And so the policies are made only for men in general. With the engagement in the development process, the tribal women are more subjected to the exploitation of resources, also their safety. Women subjugation intersects all across regions and tribes. Nongbri made a very important statement that a women's position depends on her variety of social factors and her capacity to engage herself with the system.

During the International Decade for women, the committee showed evidence that many tribal women face political and ideological subjugation. The author uses the case of Meghalaya where even though, the people practice matrilineal men dominate the political institutions. It clearly shows the need for policies that are the gender-sensitive approach in the planning of India's tribal population. Women's isolation from politics not only subjugates the women but also shows openly the gender bias in policymaking.

It is true when we say that the tribal customary law favours the men. This statement is supported by few cases in the book referring to the region of northeast tribal. Most of the customary or personal law that relates to property and marriage is highly oppressive to women. The system of inheritance favours men. Women rarely have a role in the management of community resources e.g. Panchayati Raj. Along with this, the Bhuria Committee whose work is how to integrate the traditional tribal institution to the Indian Constitution did not once touch on the issue of women's representation.

Lastly, Lastly, she took the situation from the state of Meghalaya the only matrilineal state in India to discuss 'gender' and 'ethnicity. As T.H. Ericksen notes in his book that 'ethnic minorities and women occupy the parallel structural position in the society with a little formal power'. The Khasi community in the state of Meghalaya proposed legislation called Khasi Custom of Lineage Bill, 1997 to preserve their matrilineal system but in reality, it is an instrument to reconstruct, redefine their identity and a clear description of how men use both the state machinery and the civil society to keep controlling women.

Failure to produce a child is a serious concern not only for the women but the whole family and is a valid ground for divorce. It is a known fact that a Khasi woman can marry a non-Khasi man to establish their clan and marriage between members shows ethnic loyalty. From the given debate, women are portrayed as their culture and tradition where they focus on women's sexuality, they are subjected, they are expected to uphold the social and moral code of the system, sacrifice their freedom and reproduce for the community or take the risk of being discarded by the social, economic and political rights.

She makes the point that most, Christianity had challenged the system as the religion backed the patrilineal society. Thus, all the facts and the evidence directly challenged the view that women in matrilineal society are free from subjugation. The process of social change and conflicts that involves development and modernization provoked the tribal to define their distinctiveness (identity) and along with that, it parallels the issue of gender.

Conclusion:

Nongbri's narrative is rich in details taking much evidence and empirical facts which is more of a social scientist in defining the meanings and the problems of the tribals. She takes an example of different tribes from different states of the Northeast at the right issue, trying to make it more scientific and making it more concrete using the available resources. The topics like tribal, culture, politics, ethnicity, gender and the legislation of natural resources like forest and land were highlighted in the book by linking each other and using the appropriate case or example of the region.

Chapter two which is very academic and informative in studies of tribal, drawing out the different structure or phases of Tribal Studies. The author mentioned the roots of the problem of every issue or theme in the book which makes the reader understand the whole situation more practically and not just a story but linked it with the depth of the causes. One thing that could be added is the present situation of (socio-economic, political in terms of development) the region.

Though she used the word 'development' in the title and tried to explain it in every aspect or theme, it contained very less information and do not bring out much of the development part of people in the general. She could have used one more example of Patriarchal society from different tribes or regions to compare matrilineal society for a better understanding of tribal women of the northeast.

Most of the author who writes about the frontier emphasize only on the history, describe the region as mythical, mainly established the image as still backwards and the culture or traditions which can be shown in the museum. But this is one of the books that shows the holistic view that can represent the whole northeast region in terms of socio-political situation.