Tripura Tribal Leaders Urge Government to Codify Customary Laws of 19 Communities

CORRESPONDENT

AGARTALA: Leaders of various tribal communities have appealed to the State Government and the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) to codify the customary laws prevailing in their respective communities. A delegation of Samajpatis (community heads) met Chief Minister Prof. (Dr) Manik Saha and the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the TTAADC separately on Monday and submitted memoranda.

Tripura has 19 tribal communities, each with its own customary laws. Of these, only the customary laws of the Jamatia community have been codified, while those of the remaining communities are pending with the Government and the TTAADC. The delegation demanded the immediate approval and official recognition of the customary laws of all tribal communities.

The initiative, coordinated by Shanti Bikash Chakma, Coordinator of the Tripura Tribal Customary Law Codification Committee (TTCLCC), and Birendra Tripura, Joint Convener of the organisation, expressed optimism that the incumbent Government would consider their demands in the interest of the welfare of the tribal communities.

As part of the initiative, representatives of all tribal communities submitted a memorandum to the CEM at the TTAADC headquarters in Khumulwng on Monday noon. Later, at 1 pm, they submitted another memorandum to the Chief Minister at his official residence in Agartala.

After submitting the memoranda, the tribal leaders said, "This has been a long-standing issue since the formation of the TTAADC regarding the official recognition of the customary laws of different tribal communities to safeguard the socio-cultural and traditional interests of the tribal population. Despite pursuing the matter relentlessly, our voices have remained unheard."

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