Native Land Right System About Tribal Women in Jharkhand: An Interpretative Analysis

Pre-colonial equitable gender relations in the forested upland of Jharkhand plateau have been waning over the last 200 years on a spiraling pace. The rudimentary patriarchy of the indigenous communities of the hoary past received a great fillip during the early phase of ‘feudalism from bellow’ by the primary states. It grew at a faster pace in the colonial period, as a result of the privatization of land and religio-cultural impact of the Zamindari system. Presently, the complete exposure to the dominant society of the plains has triggered of a process of complete demolition of the indigenous institutions that upheld women’s economic rights and social status at a much higher level than that of the peasant society of the plains. The government policfy of economic reform and structural change, since the 90s accelerated the process of masculisation of social institutions further. Through this article I had tried to highlight the situation of tribal women in context with economic rights and social status in the society.