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‘This has to go’: Tribal women in Himachal’s Kinnaur pin hopes on Murmu to scrap century-old law

Despite the SC judgment that women have equal rights in inheritance, women in Kinnaur fail to get their due and are waiting to narrate their ordeal to country’s first tribal President on 18 April.

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Shimla: Aged 42, the tribal woman from Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district has been living at her uncle’s “mercy” ever since she lost her father in 2011 and her husband in 2015. After her father’s death, all of his property which should have been rightfully hers, went to her uncle instead.

“It was normal to me like any other Kinnauri woman. But, when I lost my husband, I lost everything. I had no support. Had I owned some land, I could have earned my livelihood, but I was at my uncle’s mercy,” said the woman, who did not wish to be named. 

Like her, thousands of women in Kinnaur suffer because of a century-old customary law, Wajib ul Urj, which deprives a wife or a daughter from any share in the ancestral property of a husband or a father, respectively.

Failed by the system, these women are now pinning their hopes on President Draupadi Murmu — India’s first President from the tribal community — who is set to embark on a three-day visit to the state from 18 to 21 April.

Women activists have sought an appointment with the President to apprise her about this issue, which is yet to be resolved, despite the Supreme Court’s 2020 and December 2022 judgments stating that women have equal rights in inheritance and denying tribal women the right to their father’s or spouse’s property is unfair.

Thousands of women in Kinnaur suffer because of a century-old customary law, Wajib Ul Urj | By special arrangement
Thousands of women in Kinnaur suffer because of a century-old customary law, Wajib Ul Urj | By special arrangement

According to Rattan Manjari (70), founder of women’s rights group Mahila Kalyan Parishad, everything from the Constitution to the Supreme Court judgment is in favour of the women but “only god knows what has been stopping tribal women from getting their rights”.

“Now, we have hopes from the President. She is a tribal woman, she will surely understand our plight,” Manjari, who has been fighting for the equal rights of women for over three decades, told ThePrint. 

Claiming that they have reached out to the President’s office for an appointment, she said, “We will go to Shimla. I am sure she will listen to us. If not in Shimla, we will go to Delhi to meet her.” 

Asked about Wajib ul Urj, Manjari responded in no uncertain terms: “This has to go.”

“When the law of the country ensures equal rights for men and women, then why do such laws exist,” said Manjari, the daughter of an ex-serviceman and a victim of this law.

Wajib ul Urj, which means “customary rights”, came into existence in 1926 and is still observed in Himachal Pradesh’s tribal districts despite Parliament signing into law the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 which granted equal rights to men and women. 

But unlike Manjari, for some, these customary laws hold a deeper meaning.

“The idea was to protect tribal land and culture. Every revenue law has special provisions with respect to tribal areas. We cannot outright dismiss the customary laws. Even tribal women would not want this,” said a retired civil servant, who did not wish to be named.

Advocating for a middle approach as far as inheritance rights are concerned, he told ThePrint, “No one is against those suffering because of customary laws. The government should come up with a mechanism so that neither our women suffer, nor the tribal land and culture are encroached upon.”


Also Read: Didn’t take care of your parents in old age? For Mizos, it means losing status as legal heir


Protracted legal tussle

In December 2022, the Supreme Court asked the central government to consider amending the law denying tribal women equal rights to family property.

“When a daughter belonging to a non-­tribal is entitled to equal share in the property of the father, there is no reason to deny such a right to the daughter of a tribal community. Female tribal is entitled to parity with male tribal in intestate succession,” the division bench headed by Justice M.R. Shah had observed.

Although, the SC in its August 2020 judgment observed that daughters will have equal coparcenary rights in Hindu undivided family properties, irrespective of whether the father was alive or not as on 9 September, 2005.

The apex court also ruled that the right granted under Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 is acquired by birth. A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, S. Abdul Nazeer and M.R. Shah had observed in 2020, “The provisions contained in substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956 confer the status of coparcener on the daughter born before or after amendment in the same manner as a son with same rights and liabilities.”

A district court in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba ruled in favour of tribal women in 2002, but the order was challenged in the High Court which upheld the district court order in 2015.

This judgment paved the path for tribal women to inherit a share in family property according to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

The daughters in the tribal areas shall inherit a property in accordance with the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 and not as per customs. This is in order to prevent women from facing social injustice and all forms of exploitation,” the court had ruled.

According to tribal rights activist Dilip Negi, the HC judgment was challenged in the Supreme Court in February 2016 by petitioners from Lahaul and Spiti. The matter is still pending before the Supreme Court, he told ThePrint, adding, “But, there is a need for political will to end the pain and plight of tribal women. This is an old matter.”


Also Read: No proof inheritance custom existed — why Madras HC held tribal women covered under Hindu Succession Act


‘Jashthang & Konchang’

Tribal women in Kinnaur insisted that the men from their community were not in favour of them getting property rights. “They (men) think, if a woman gets property rights and then chooses to marry a non-tribal man, the property will be owned by the spouse,” said Dolma Negi, a resident of Kinnaur’s Hangrang Valley. She added that “saving tribal land and culture cannot be done at the cost of our (women’s) right”.

According to Manjari, clauses can be introduced to ensure that inheritance rights are not misused. “You ask a widow who has no support and no rights on her father’s property. Isn’t it unfair.? Just that land should not be transferred to non-tribals, is it not injustice to our daughters and sisters?”

Questions she raises becomes all the more important considering “Jashthang” and “Konchang”, local customs that ensure a property is divided only between male heirs.

Jashthang means the “rights” of the eldest son, while Konchang means the “rights” of the youngest. The eldest son gets the best farmland and the rest of the property is divided among the others, while the youngest one gets the ancestral house, explained Prem Negi, a resident of Kinnaur who invoked his rights in accordance with Konchang. 

According to tribal laws, if a patriarch dies without a male heir, his property is inherited by his unwed daughter who is not allowed to sell, gift or divide the property. This property then goes returns to the paternal male heir if and when the daughter gets married.

Earlier in 2015, Congress leader late Urmila Singh had advocated for the realisation of property rights of tribal women. “I would like to do something for them. Political parties should come together on this issue,” she had said while stating that she came across this issue during her stint as governor of Himachal Pradesh.

(An earlier version of this report referred to Wajib ul Urj as “records of rights”)

(Edited by Richa Mishra)


Also Read: Law on inheritance of issueless, heirless female Hindu dying intestate needs reframing


 

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