Why in the News?
Members of the Ho tribe in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district staged a protest for alleged interference in their traditional Manki-Munda governance system by removing village heads (Mundas).
About Ho Tribes:
- Location: Major community of Jharkhand (Kolhan, West Singhbhum), with presence in Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
- Language: Speak Ho language (Munda branch, Austroasiatic family), traditionally written in Warang Citi script.
- Livelihoods: Primarily agriculturalists, with farming, hunting, and forest produce as traditional occupations.
- Festivals: Mage Parab, Ba Parab, Sohrai, tied to agriculture, celebrated with dance, music, rituals.
- Resistance: Historically fought outsiders; staged Ho Revolt (1821–22) and Kol Revolt (1831) against British.
- Social Fabric: Clan-based, community-oriented, guided by customary law and collective decision-making.
What is the Manki-Munda System?
- Structure:
- Munda: Village head (hereditary), resolves disputes, represents village.
- Manki: Head of pidh (cluster of 8–15 villages), adjudicates inter-village disputes.
- Pre-British: Purely internal self-rule, no taxation or external sovereign authority.
- British Codification:
- Wilkinson’s Rules (1833–37) codified system into 31 rules, formally recognising Mankis/Mundas as British agents.
- Introduced private property; Ho became raiyats (tenants) instead of communal landholders.
- Led to demographic influx of dikkus (outsiders), rising from ~1,500 (1867) to ~15,700 (1897).
- Post-Independence: Kolhan Government Estate dissolved (1947) but Wilkinson’s Rules still operative; Kolhan largely exempt from civil laws.
- Judicial View: In Mora Ho vs State of Bihar (2000), Patna HC treated Wilkinson’s Rules as customs, not law, but upheld their continuance.
- Current Practice: System governs village disputes; ~200 vacant posts filled by Gram Sabhas.
- Criticism: Hereditary leadership limits efficiency; many leaders lack education for modern administration.
- Reform Debate: Youth demand limiting hereditary succession and inclusion of non-tribal raiyats.
- Contemporary Role: Remains a symbol of tribal autonomy yet requires modernisation for democratic governance.
| [UPSC 2010] Which one of the following pairs of primitive tribes and places of their inhabitation is not correctly matched?
(a) Buksa : Pauri-Garhwal (b) Kol : Jabalpur (c) Munda : Chhotanagpur (d) Korba : Kodagu* |
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