Of chiefs, interpreters and custodians

The State of Nagaland with a total population of around 20 lac. in 11 districts with 16 recognised tribes have special provisions in the Constitution of India that safeguard the state from the imposition of any Central law in contrast with the traditional and customary practices of the people. However, along with instances of misinterpretations there have been intentional negligence and lack of political will to build a strong system based on the traditional and customary laws. Thereby in the 53 years since statehood there have been parallel justice systems and bodies especially in the rural areas that continue till today with instances of misuse in some cases.
There are about 1400 recognised villages in the state at present and every village has a village council and among some tribe there are hereditary village chiefs. The tribes like Sumi, Konyak and Kuki have the system of hereditary village chiefs like the Angh and Kukami. These hereditary posts are recognised by the Nagaland Village and Tribal Councils Act, 1978 that gives ex-officio statuses to persons holding these positions in the village councils with voting rights. There are instances when the powers of the hereditary village chief surpass the powers of the village councils whose members are more democratically nominated at least in comparison to the former.
For those tribes without hereditary village chiefs, the council members elect among themselves a Village Council Chairman. However even in the cases where the system of hereditary village chief is not prevalent it does not mean that there are no traditional heads. The institution of traditional village head from among the prominent clans in the village is still prevalent among some tribes. However the Nagaland Village and Tribal Councils Act, 1978 completely ignore these posts held as per the traditional customary practices of the tribe. There have been reports that some villages therefore ensure that the traditional village head, unlike the hereditary but no doubt traditional, is made the Village Council Chairman.
Next comes the institution of the Gaonbura, the generic meaning of the word in Assamese is also village headman, that somehow evolved since the time of the British. The hereditary chiefs and also the traditionally nominated village headmen probably were referred to as the gaonburas initially. It is only natural that over the passage of time that the gaonburas slowly became the intermediary between the British administrators and the village. Then there are also instances among some tribes that purposely selected the gaonburas other than the traditional village head because the gaonburas slowly became more like agents of the government in the village. The tradition of the red cloth that the British started, that identifies the village chiefs and gaonburas under the administration continues still today. At present, except for the hereditary village chiefs, the gaonburas are the government agents although not under the payroll but distinctly noticeable with their red shawl or red waist coat.
Then comes the institution of the dobashi that also evolved from the days of the British who employed Nagas as interpreters. The word is derived from the Hindi word of do-basha meaning two language. However over the passage of time, the role of the interpreters or dobashis became more prominent when delivering justice by the administrators. Their knowledge of the language as well as the customary practices of their tribe thus evolved the institution of the dobashis from that of an interpreter to that of an adjudicator too. At present the dobashis are in essence the actual custodians of the customary laws and practices of the Naga tribes functioning under the administration in the form of the customary courts.
Unfortunately, even in the last 53 years after statehood, nothing much have changed since the time of the British. These institutions continue to struggle to have a clear definition and well defined jurisdiction. While some are wrongly attributed fancy titles some misuse power. There is also no Act of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly that clearly defines the role, functions and jurisdiction of the dobashis and instead there is a tussle with the existing judiciary system. On the other hand, at the grassroots the rural folks still prefer the customary courts to the modern law courts.
A time for a serious consultation for the future of these traditional institutions initiated by the lawmakers of the state has become a necessity.