INDIA’S INDIGENOUS VALUES AND THE MODERN AGE

Subject: Legal methods

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 Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Chapter 1 : Meaning and concept of Indigenous values

3. Chapter 2: Various forms of Indigenous values

2.1: Social – cultural values
2.2: Practices related to environment protection
2.3: Health Care and modern facets of the medicine.
2.4: Educational values and modern day problems relating to that

3. Legal system in indigenous society:

4. Indigenous Justice System and the modern justice system:

5. Conclusion:

Introduction:

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 India, the land of values and principles has its own firm and strong relevance in the history
of the world. The land is known for its ethics, morals and mostly for its firm principles that
regulate the human conduct in the society. The Indigenous values, principles, ethics have their
own significance in the formation of India as a modern nation. Thus, the deep routed cultural
values in India which have been informed by the religious scripture and preaching of the saints
and great sages over the ages created a conducive atmosphere for acceptance and assimilation
of the various values in both formal and informal way, creating obligations on both state and
individuals. It is therefore no surprise to notice that the development and evolution of the
modern age, has shown remarkable coherence to the Indigenous values in various forms .In the
backdrop of this a attempt has been made to explore the harmony between the Indigenous values
and the modern age and also to examine the impact of the later on former and vice versa.

The present article is divided into five parts. The first part is an introduction. The second
part deals with the concept and meaning of Indigenous values. Third part deals with various
forms of Indigenous values prevalent in India since the ancient age and variation caused in those
values in contemporary era. The fourth part focuses on the conflicts of the modern age values
and the Indigenous values. In the last part the researcher has drawn certain conclusion basing
on the analysis of the scenario of both the societies and certain suggestions have been made for
the up-liftment of these Indigenous people.

CHAPTER 1: Meaning and concept of indigenous:

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 According to Cambridge advanced learner’s dictionary and thesaurus, the meaning
of Indigenous is “naturally existing in a place or country rather than arriving from another
place”1. Now, according to oxford English dictionary Indigenous means “originating or
occurring in particular place; native. The above definitions gives a general idea what Indigenous
is, it is basically a term used to represent any matter relating to its place of origin. It involves
all the practices, the ideals, the teachings, the scripts, and everything that our mother India
contains in it since the ancient age. All the people born within the jurisdiction of India are the
Indigenous people of India.

Facts revel that most of the people living in India are immigrants, who came to
India in various phases of history of India, within last ten thousand years or so. Most of them
were from north-east and to a lesser extent from north-west.2 Nearly 92% of the Indian
population are the descendants of immigrants. And the remaining 8%of the people within the
territory of India, who mostly live in mountains, forests, remote places are the real indigenous
people of India. It is considered that the Dravidians are the original inhabitants of India,
however it is evident that the pre-Dravidians are the real indigenous inhabitants. They are
known as ‘The Adivasis’ (Literally ‘original habitants’). In most states in India, Scheduled
Tribes are physically isolated, concentrated in remote regions and districts and in hilly and
forested areas with poorly staffed health centers.3

These communities have their own traditions and customs which in a way are
said to be the values. The Indigenous values of India depict the cultural and traditional relevance
of India.

2.1: Social- cultural values:

1
Dictionary.cambridge.org, accessed on 12-10-2016
2
http://www.achrweb.org/ihrrq/issue2/indigenous.html,accessed on 21-10-2016
3
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTINDPEOPLE/Resources/407801-
1271860301656/India_brief_clean_0110.pdf

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 The supreme social-cultural traditional values of Indian life have been the values of
mutual tolerance, of accommodation and assimilation. These values have been a source both of
the strength and weakness and play very important role in shaping coherence in the society.
Because of the strength, they have enabled India to accommodate most of the incoming
elements without internal conflict or disruption in her life, and of her weakness because of
Indian values and their modern educational indications they have rendered India vulnerable and
unable suitably to deal with the more importunate, aggressive and resourceful elements, which
have tended, directly or indirectly, to seek to replace the Indigenous multi-faceted pattern by
their own unitary or monolithic ones, creating internal conflicts in the process. These latter
developments came in handy for the political purposes of our foreign ex-rulers, who, far from
seeking to soften or adjust the importunities of those developments, actually tried to encourage
and profit by them.

When they had leave, which they ultimately did, they left for us a continuing legacy of
problems of inter-caste, inter-cultural and inter-religious integration and harmony, which they
still to reach satisfying solutions. However, even in this situation, it is still the ancient traditional
values of tolerance, of accommodation and assimilation, that are bound to help us through,
provided these values are sought to be implemented on and impartial, yet firm, basis in our
social theory and practice. In believe if we implement these values in letter and spirit we could
create a harmony in different sections of the society, because, it is true that the Indian traditions
and values bound to assist us are those of tolerance and co-existence, accommodation and
assimilation. The dominant and abiding Indian traditions and values are and should be tolerant
and inclusive, so that peaceful and cordial environment for coexistence of all the heterogeneous
groups in the Indian society would be possible.

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 2.2: Indigenous practices related to protection of environment:

The Indigenous people of the world have learnt to live in most hostile environmental
condition in this universe. The most interesting feature associated with these Indigenous and
ethnic has been found that, they live in localities which are immensely rich in biodiversity. It is
estimated that about 300 million Indigenous people are living in world, out of which nearly half
i.e. 150 million are living in Asia.4 These Indigenous people have played a vital role in
conservation of environmental management and development process as they posse’s
traditional knowledge which has been useful in Eco-restoration. It has been noticed that these
people know how to live with harmony in nature.

In India, 68 million people belonging to 227 ethnic group and comprising of 573 tribal
communities derived from six racial stocks namely - Negroid, Proto- Australoid, Mongoloid,
Mediterranean, West Breachy and Nordic exists in different part of the country
(Pushpgandhan). 5These ethnic people mostly the Indigenous tribal live close in the vicinity of
forests and have managed and conserved the biodiversity of their localities since long time.
These tribal take shelter from forest and utilize wild edible plants both raw and cooked. The
flower and fruits are generally eaten raw whereas tubers, leaves and seeds are cooked. Tribal
utilize forest produce, forest timber and fuel wood. These tribes are living in forest since ages
and have developed a kind of affinity with forests.

Many plants are conserved in their natural habitat by tribals due to magico - religious
belief that they are habitat of god and goddess. The tribal culture prevalent in tribal pockets in
Central India has been recorded in Dindori, Balaghat and Mandala districts of Madhya Pradesh
and Kawardha and Bilaspur districts of Chhattisgarh states.6 The survey study reveals that
plants and flowers have a profound influence on them. Tribals worship trees and flowers as they
believe that God and Goddesses reside in them. India in the present scenario is rich in
biodiversity.

4
http://www.fao.org/docrep/article/wfc/xii/0186-a1.htm accessed on 16-11-2016
5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_medicine accessed on 10-11-2016
6
https://www.ncbs.res.in/ accessed on 16-11-2016

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 Thus, it is evident from the literature available that the Indigenous people have helped
in conservation of bio-diversity. However, efforts for conservation have to be made in both
vertical as well as horizontal direction due to rapid industrial revolution. Conservation of
diversity, sustainable management, propagation of such valued flora and their in-situ as well as
ex-situ conservation are the need of this century.

2.3: Health Care and modern facets of the medicine:

In the ancient time the people fulfilled their medical needs with the help of various
plants available in their neighborhoods slowly they develop the process of treatment the
Knowledge regarding the therapeutic, toxicological effect of plants, minerals and other
substances go back to the prehistoric times when people have migrated to into the Indian
subcontinent. Several evidences indicated that in Indian subcontinent medical intervention like
dentistry and plastic surgery and Transplantation were exercised as early as 7000 BCE.7 Current
archaeo-botanical excavations pointed towards the evidence regarding the use of medicinal
plants in the Middle Gangetic region since the 2nd millennium BCE which are still found in
Ayurveda folk medicine. India is a land of different group of people who have their own
religion, beliefs, culture, language and dialects.

Thus, diverse medicinal systems have developed in this region. A number of medicinal
systems also introduced here from outside and enriched in India. Since ancient time, Indian
society depends on traditional medicinal systems practiced here. Introduction of allopathic drug
during British era and neglecting Indian traditional medicine by British ruler are responsible for
significant erosion of Indian traditional medicine. High scientific progress in allopathic
medicine and modern facilities also resists the growth of traditional medicine. Still, about 70%
rural populations of India are believed in traditional medicine for primary healthcare. 8

The ancient medicinal practices followed in India are mostly due to the technological
advances and the growth in the discovery of new medicine which have a very instant effect on
the injuries and provide relief to the individuals in a very less time .The governments are trying

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Supra 4
8
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jtcme accessed on 7/11/2016

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 to make provisions and is forming policies that make it easier for the evolution of the traditional
medicines again.

2.4: Educational values and modern day problems relating to that:

The Indigenous people had no such great inclination towards education. They were mostly
concerned with their traditions and customs and focused mainly on continuing the practices, the
educational institutions with the passage of time grew well in the regions where the new rulers
and new systems of administration were adopted. The system of education in India evolved in
the later stage when the immigrant’s from other continents especially Europe started invading
India. As more dominating people came to India and they influenced boldly on Indian education
system. As such there are very few evidences of the education of the Indigenous people but if
we consider the practices related to the education of the people in later stage of arrival of the
immigrants we find sufficient evidences of their education.

If we analyze the educational practices they are very much different from the present
educational practices .They have their own way of communication and understanding things
.They are concerned mainly with it only and actually they are not much concerned with the
contemporary world .Therefore it is much more important to bring them in the mainstream but
this entire procedure should be such that their practices and the values that they carry should
not get affected. The government along with many NGO is working on the same path .The
government is constructing schools and is trying to provide facilities to these regions .But what
the government is doing is very little useful for the survival of these people.

The schools and their surroundings shape the minds of the children who frequent them.
Most tribal schools do not blend well into the tribal environment. They are alien and often ugly
structures in tribal villages. Shortly after schools are opened, they acquire the look of neglected
and dilapidated buildings. Even after tribal youths' educations are completed and they find
employment, negative attitudes fostered in the classroom remain a real social hurdle. They do
not belong in their tribal culture, nor in the national culture.9

9
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/india/tribal-education-india accessed
on 16/11/2016

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 The Constitution of India, under Article 350A, affirms that every state must provide
adequate facilities for instruction of pupils in their mother tongues. Decades have passed and
state governments have ignored this prescription for tribal people. Since initial instruction to
the tribal is given in a foreign language, they understand and assimilate very little.
Consequently, their response to education is poor.10 Had the instruction at the primary stage
been in their own tongue, the progress of tribal students would have been better, and today there
would be awareness of the importance of literacy among the tribal populations. Some attempts
are being made to educate Gonds, Bhils, Santals, and other groups in their own tongues.
According to recent reports, tribal children are responding well to such programs.

Though the government is trying its best for the upliftment, the researcher would suggest
that apart from providing the facilities or other contemporary facilities to these people they must
visit the places for which they are trying to make the policy .The facilities provided are mostly
insufficient because of this reason and if the government wants the upliftment of them they just
focus on applying their knowledge practically by understanding the condition in a society.

Chapter 3: Legal system in Indigenous society:

Common terms or references to the law of Indigenous societies include customary law,
Indigenous law, native law, and tribal or native law ways. All refer to the same concept.
Customary law is generally derived from custom. Custom in this sense means a long-established
practice that has acquired the force of law by common adoption or acquiescence; it does not
vary.11 Tribal common law is based on the values, morals, and norms of a tribe and expressed
in its customs, traditions, and practices. In some tribes, the tribal common law has been set out
in different court decisions and written opinions over time and has become case law. 12In some
of the communities in North-East India the matrilineal system holds that property belongs to
the female. In a divorce or separation, property is divided according to the matrilineal

10
https://www.researchgate.net/.../What_is_the_Role_of_European_Colonization_on_Education accessed on 10-
11-2016
11
Supra
12
http://www.aidainc.net/Publications/ij_systems.htm accessed on 12-11-2016

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 definitions of property ownership and is written into the decisions of the traditional or tribal
court. 13

For many tribes along the North-East customary laws dictate the areas where families
can conduct their hunting, and gathering. These areas are passed down from one generation to
the next. When someone hunts animal in another family's area, it is considered an affront to the
entire family.14 By custom, the wronged family convenes a family forum as the proper way to
handle the matter and to request compensation. Compensation may be with fish, fishing gear,
feathers, hides, beadwork, traditional clothing, or other forms of payment.

Among several communities, it is customary for discipline to be administered by the

fiscal, who is responsible for maintaining the peace and overseeing the welfare of children and
youth. It is a general practice for parents to summon the fiscal when their children are unruly
or misbehaving. The fiscal advises the children about the consequences of their misconduct and
may them or refer them and their parents to services such as counseling. In many tribes,
information, beliefs, and customs are handed down orally or by example from one generation
to another.

Contemporary Indian law is, for the most part, is based on foreign laws, and the attitudes
and concerns of much of the population which lives under it. However, the present legal system
is firmly established and the likelihood of its replacement by a revived 'indigenous' system is
extremely small.15 The modern Indian legal system, then, presents an instance of the apparent
displacement of a major intellectual and institutional complex within a highly developed
civilization by one largely of foreign inspiration.

13
Ibid at p.2
14
Supra pp. 2, 2.

15
http://cscs.res.in/dataarchive/textfiles/textfile.2007-09-20.4561074338/file accessed on 17-11-2016

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 Chapter 4: Indigenous justice system and modern justice system:

Indigenous methods of conflict resolution include traditional dispute resolution,

peacemaking, talking circles, family or community gatherings, and traditional mediation,
described only by the language of the tribal community. All these refer to the methods of
resolving problems and to the methods of restorative and reparative justice. The structure of
relationships in many tribal communities is paramount to a legal system exemplified by the clan
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system. Tribal law determines clan identification, which is often matrilineal. The Social
activities, which religious or medicine groups’ one may join, which political positions one may
hold, whom one may court or marry, or what property one may own. The clan system regulates
the behavior of its members. The interlocking relationships in tribal communities often
determines the flow of how problems are handled.

For example, in many tribal communities, parents and the extended family are expected
to nurture, supervise, and discipline their children. When parental misconduct occurs, such as
with physical or sexual abuse or neglect, the parents and extended family convene through the
leadership of an elder to address the matter.17 In a minor case of physical abuse or neglect, the
family forum is used. The distributive aspect is invoked extensively to ensure protection of the
children and to monitor and enforce proper parental behavior and responsibility, which is
regulated by the family. More serious cases may involve tribal officials.

In the family and community forums and the traditional courts, those accused of
wrongdoing are required to give a verbal account of their involvement in an incident, whether
or not they admit to the accusations. This verbal account is key in discovering the underlying
factors precipitating the problem.18 It requires participation by the offender's family and
relatives who may have to explain the offender's misconduct, especially when some type of
victimization has occurred. For example, parents may be admonished for not providing proper
discipline and supervision for their children who vandalized or destroyed property. Relatives
may be criticized for allowing a son or brother to abuse his wife or children.

16
www.lega lservicesindia.com/article/.../the-legal-system-in-ancient-india-1391-1.html accessed on 18 -11-2016

17
cscs.res.in/dataarchive/textfiles/textfile.2007-09-20.4561074338/file accessed on 16-11-2016
18
http://www.achrweb.org/ihrrq/issue2/indigenous.html accessed on 09-11-2016

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 Verbal accountability by the offender and the offender's family is essential to express
remorse to the victim and the victim's family. Face-to-face exchange of apology and forgiveness
empowers victims to confront their offenders and convey their pain and anguish. 19 Offenders
are forced to be accountable for their behavior, to face the people whom they have hurt, to
explain themselves, to ask forgiveness, and to take full responsibility for making amends.
Observing and hearing the apology enables the victim and family to discern its sincerity and
move toward forgiveness and healing. Forgiveness is strongly suggested, but not essential for
the victim to begin healing.

Conclusion:

In the backdrop of the above discussion we can safely conclude that Indigenous people
have their own way of administration, education, health care etc., but it is evident that due to
many intrusions to the tribal way of life, due to which its evolution process slowed down, but
it has never stopped. After analyzing the social and cultural values, the supreme social-cultural
traditional values of Indian life have been the values of mutual tolerance, of accommodation
and assimilation. These values have been a source both of the strength and weakness and play
very important role in shaping coherence in the society. But in the contemporary society we are
forgetting such values, though superficially India appears to be a tolerant country but the ground
reality is bit different. We need to seriously think about this thing and try to adopt their values
and combine it with modern facets of human existence and strike a balance between them.

These Indigenous people have played a vital role in conservation of environmental

management and development process as they possess traditional knowledge which has been
useful in Eco-restoration. It has been noticed that these people know how to live with harmony
in nature. Though our organizations are working to restore the lost beauty of nature or
environment, but they are too slow in implementing it on ground therefore the researcher is of
the opinion that we must adopt their practices of conservation of environment.

If we analyze the educational practices they are very much different from the present
educational practices .They have their own way of communication and understanding things

19
http://commission-on-legal-pluralism.com/volumes/46/ovsyanikov-art.pdf accessed on 10-11-2016

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.They are concerned mainly with it only and actually they are not much concerned with the
contemporary world. Though government is trying to bring the tribal or indigenous people to
the mainstream but it is of no use until the way the tribes educate themselves understood by the
government. Just creating a falling school in tribal areas will not suffice the purpose of
education, the government according to the need of these people must try to fulfill their
requirements. Therefore there is a mismatch between the education system provided by
government and the requirements of indigenous people.

The legal system prevalent in india since the arrival of the British has more focused on
the concept of ‘Rule of Law’ but while working on the purpose of strengthening this concept
we have forgotten the real concept of Law and justice which is the ‘good for all’ and the
indigenous systems have always tried to strike a balance between these two and therefore the
path shown by these indigenous people to arrive to the concept of ‘Welfare state’ through the
legal system and administrative justice system is necessarily needs to be taken into
consideration.

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