Deconstructing Inheritance Rights of Women Under Tribal Customary Laws A Comparative Study of Khasi and Mizo Tribes

Abstract

There are several tribes in north-east India who are governed by their own customary laws in all matters including that related to inheritance as well and a preliminary study of the same evidences the fact that they are not egalitarian in nature and are in fact bereft of the notion of providing equal rights to women. The thesis comprises an analytical study of the inheritance rights of women under the Khasi and Mizo customary laws respectively; gauges the effects of the existence of matriliny in case of khasis and patriliny in case of mizos on the inheritance rights enjoyed by women; analyses the recent developments in favour of affording equal inheritance rights in these tribes; contains a comparative study of the said laws apropos christian law of succession as well as international and national standards of equality as contained in several international treaties, declarations, etc. and the constitution of India respectively. A major portion of the thesis comprises an empirical study on the effects of modernity on and recent legislative developments relating to the khasi and mizo customary inheritance laws wherein subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and behaviour of the respondents has been done. newline