Santhali Constitution And Governance of india 2025

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The Dual Constitutions of the Santhal Parganas: A Juridical and Sociolinguistic Analysis of Statutory and Customary Sovereignty

Executive Summary

The year 2025 represents a seminal convergence in the history of Indian constitutionalism and Indigenous identity. On December 25, 2025, the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, formally released the translation of the Constitution of India into the Santhali language, written in the Ol Chiki script.1 This event, coinciding with the centenary of the script’s invention by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925, marks the symbolic reconciliation of two distinct legal orders that have coexisted, often uneasily, for nearly a century: the statutory "Big Constitution" of the Indian Republic and the unwritten, customary "Little Constitution" of the Santhal village republic, governed by the Manjhi-Pargana system.

This report provides an exhaustive examination of this duality. It posits that the Santhal community is governed by a complex legal pluralism where the written text of the Constitution of India serves as the shield against external alienation, while the unwritten customary laws—the "Santhal Code"—serve as the internal regulator of social life. Through a detailed analysis of the 92nd Constitutional Amendment, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy (SPT) Act of 1949, the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) of 1996, and the evolving jurisprudence of the Jharkhand High Court, this document maps the trajectory of Santhali identity from a localized tribal custom to a constitutionally protected linguistic and legal entity.

The analysis further scrutinizes the operational mechanics of the Manjhi-Pargana system, the modern codification efforts by the Manjhi Pargana Council (MPC), and the specific challenges of translating Anglo-Saxon legal concepts into the Austroasiatic Santhali worldview. It argues that the 2025 translation is not merely a linguistic exercise but a political act that empowers the Santhal raiyat (tenant) to navigate the asymmetries of the Indian legal state while preserving the autonomy of their traditional governance structures.

Part I: The Linguistic Foundation of Santhal Sovereignty

The existence of a "Santhali Constitution"—whether literal or metaphorical—is predicated on the existence of a distinct Santhali linguistic identity. Language is the vessel of the law; without a distinct script and recognized vocabulary, the legal concepts of the community remain vulnerable to assimilation by dominant regional cultures. The journey to the 2025 Constitutional translation begins with the fight for the script.

1.1 The Ol Chiki Centenary (1925–2025): The Architecture of Resistance

The release of the Constitution in the Ol Chiki script is the culmination of the "Ol Chiki Movement," a century-long cultural struggle that began in the princely state of Mayurbhanj. Before 1925, the Santhali language—an Austroasiatic language belonging to the Munda subfamily—was graphemically homeless. It was written in Bengali script in Bengal, Odia in Odisha, Devanagari in Bihar, and Roman script by Christian missionaries.3

This script fragmentation had profound legal and political implications. It fractured the Santhal nation across state lines, preventing the emergence of a unified literary or legal canon. A Santhal in Odisha could not read the property deeds or customary rulings written by a Santhal in Jharkhand, despite speaking the same tongue.

1.1.1 Pandit Raghunath Murmu and the Scientific Alphabet

In 1925, Pandit Raghunath Murmu invented Ol Chiki not merely as an alternative script but as a scientific necessity. The Santhali language contains specific phonemes—glottal stops, checked consonants, and distinct vowel markers—that the abugida (syllabic) systems of the Aryan languages (Devanagari, Bengali, Odia) could not accurately represent.3

The Ol Chiki script is an alphabet, distinct from the surrounding Indic scripts. It consists of 30 letters (6 vowels and 24 consonants) and is written from left to right. Its design philosophy is deeply rooted in the Santhal phenomenology; the shape of each letter is derived from a natural object or action familiar to the tribal ecology.5 For instance, the letter representing a specific sound might resemble a mushroom or the act of threshing grain. This "bio-mimetic" design ensured that literacy was not an imposition of alien symbols but an extension of the Santhal interaction with nature.

The survival of this script over a century, culminating in its use for the supreme law of the land in 2025, validates the argument that tribal identity requires distinct intellectual infrastructure to survive. The 2025 celebration, attended by the President and the Vice President, signals the state’s acceptance that the "Santhali identity" is inextricable from the "Ol Chiki identity".7

1.2 The Constitutional Turning Point: The 92nd Amendment Act, 2003

If 1925 was the cultural birth of the modern Santhal nation, 2003 was its political baptism. The Constitution (Ninety-second Amendment) Act, 2003, amended the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India to include Santhali, along with Bodo, Dogri, and Maithili.9

1.2.1 The Politics of Inclusion

The inclusion was not a passive administrative update but the result of aggressive political mobilization. Leaders like Salkhan Murmu, a Member of Parliament and president of the Jharkhand Disom Party, utilized the floor of the Lok Sabha to argue that language is a fundamental human right. The arguments framed Santhali not just as a dialect of the forest but as a "living ancient language" spoken by over six million people across four states (Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar) and neighboring nations like Nepal and Bangladesh.9

The debate highlighted a critical aspect of Indian federalism: the Eighth Schedule is the gateway to state resources. Upon inclusion, the Government of India became constitutionally obligated under Article 351 (directives for development of language) and Article 344 (Commission on Official Language) to fund the development of Santhali.12

1.2.2 The Legal and Educational Implications

The statutory consequences of the 92nd Amendment created the ecosystem that made the 2025 translation possible:

• Civil Services Access: It allowed Santhali speakers to take the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations in their mother tongue, integrating the tribal elite into the "steel frame" of the Indian bureaucracy.12

• Academic Institutionalization: It mandated universities to establish departments for Santhali. The Department of Santali at Visva-Bharati University (founded in the wake of the amendment) and the Department of Tribal and Regional Languages at Ranchi University became the laboratories where the language was standardized, modernized, and prepared for legal translation.14

• Legislative Privilege: It permitted Members of Parliament and State Assemblies to speak in Santhali during legislative debates, requiring the state to provide simultaneous interpretation.16

The 2003 Amendment effectively upgraded Santhali from a "vernacular" to a "Constitutional language," setting the stage for the translation of the Constitution itself two decades later.

Part II: The 2025 Translation Project — Bridging the Epistemic Divide

The release of the Constitution of India in Santhali is described by legal scholars and the Ministry of Law and Justice as a move toward "access to justice".17 However, the process of translation represents a complex negotiation between the rigid, positivist terminology of English/Hindi jurisprudence and the fluid, restorative terminology of Santhal customary law.

2.1 The Architect of the Translation: Sripati Tudu

While the President released the document, the intellectual labor is largely attributed to Sripati Tudu, an assistant professor of the Santhali language at Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University in Purulia, West Bengal. Tudu’s work began as a solitary initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by a profound realization: the Santhal people were being governed, prosecuted, and defended using a legal code they could not read.18

2.1.1 The Challenge of Legal Lexicon

Translating the Constitution is not a matter of finding synonyms; it is a matter of finding conceptual equivalents.

• Sovereignty: How does one translate "Sovereignty" for a people whose traditional worldview vests ultimate power in the Bonga (spirits) and the Jaher Than (sacred grove)?
• Republic: The concept of a "Republic" (res publica) had to be aligned with the Santhal concept of the Disom (country/region) and the Manjhi-Pargana democracy.
• Rights vs. Duties: The Indian Constitution balances Fundamental Rights (Part III) with Fundamental Duties (Part IVA). Santhal customary law is heavily weighted toward duties—community obligations over individual liberties. Tudu’s translation had to introduce the radical notion of the "individual rights" of the citizen into a language built around the "collective rights" of the clan.20

Tudu’s achievement lies in standardizing these terms in Ol Chiki, creating a "Legal Santhali" that can now be used in courts of law. The Ministry of Law and Justice, recognizing the monumental nature of this work, collaborated to publish it officially, giving it the stamp of state authority.21

2.2 The Symbolic Economy of the Release

The release ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan was laden with symbolism. President Droupadi Murmu, herself a tribal leader, emphasized that this document enables the community to "read and understand the Constitution in their own language".1 This serves two functions:

1. Legal Literacy as Defense: In the Scheduled Areas, land alienation is often facilitated by the tribal landowner's inability to read documents. A Santhali Constitution serves as a manual for self-defense against the Diku (outsider) state machinery.
2. Cultural Validation: It signals that the Santhal language is capable of carrying the weight of the supreme law, debunking the colonial notion that tribal languages are merely "dialects" unfit for high governance.

Part III: The "Unwritten Constitution" — The Manjhi-Pargana Administration

While the translated Constitution of India is the supreme statute, the daily life of a Santhal villager is governed by an unwritten, ancient constitution: the Manjhi-Pargana System. This system is a sophisticated administrative structure that functions as a parallel government within the Indian state. It possesses its own legislature, judiciary, and executive, operating on principles of direct democracy and consensus.

3.1 The Administrative Hierarchy

The system is organized into a three-tier federal structure, ensuring that power remains decentralized.

Table 1: The Manjhi-Pargana Governance Structure

Tier	Administrative Head	Jurisdiction	Council / Assembly	Primary Functions
Village Level	Manjhi (Headman)	Single Village (Ato)	More Hor (Council of Five)	Judicial dispute resolution, land allocation, tax collection, ritual leadership.
Cluster Level	Pargana (Parganait)	10–20 Villages (Pir)	Pargana Council	Appellate court for disputes unresolved by Manjhis; inter-village conflict resolution.
Regional Level	Disom Pargana / Lo-Bir	Entire Region (Disom)	Lo-Bir Sendra (Hunt Council)	Supreme Court of the Santhals; decisions on excommunication (Bitlaha); matters of war or mass crisis.

3.2 The Village Executive Council (The Ministry)

The Manjhi is not an autocrat. He governs through a "Cabinet" of officials, each with a specific portfolio. This structure mirrors modern cabinet systems but predates them by centuries.23

1. The Manjhi (Headman): The executive head. He represents the village in dealings with the external government (acting as the Pradhan under the SPT Act). He presides over the village council.
2. The Paranik (Deputy Headman): The Minister of Agriculture and Land. He acts as the Manjhi in the headman's absence and oversees land distribution.
3. The Jog Manjhi (Guardian of Morals): The Minister of Youth and Culture. He is responsible for the conduct of the youth, managing the Dangri (youth dormitory traditions), and presiding over marriage negotiations. He ensures that social boundaries are respected.
4. The Jog Paranik: Assistant to the Jog Manjhi.
5. The Godet (Messenger/Prosecutor): The Minister of Information. He summons villagers to the meetings (Kulhi Durup), collects contributions for festivals, and acts as the official executioner of council orders.
6. The Naike (Village Priest): The Minister of Religion. He maintains the relationship between the village and the Bongas (spirits).
7. The Kudum Naike: The assistant priest, responsible for propitiating the spirits of the outskirts and wilderness.

3.3 The Judicial Process: Kulhi Durup

Justice is dispensed in the Kulhi Durup (Village Sitting). Unlike the adversarial system of Indian courts (State vs. Accused), the Santhal system is restorative. The entire village sits as the jury.

• Procedure: The complainant informs the Godet. The Godet summons the village. The Manjhi presides. Both sides present their case without lawyers. The "Council of Five" (More Hor) deliberates, but the final verdict must be a consensus of the entire assembly.

• Sanction: Punishments are usually fines (in the form of rice beer or money) or ritual purification. Imprisonment is unknown to the system. The ultimate sanction is Bitlaha (excommunication), reserved for heinous crimes like incest or sexual relations with non-tribals.23

3.4 Modern Formalization: The Manjhi Pargana Council (MPC)

In the 21st century, this traditional system has begun to institutionalize itself to interface with the modern state. The WeSantal - Self Government Council and its subsidiary, the Manjhi Pargana Council (MPC), act as a central secretariat. Located in Odisha, the MPC issues written "guidelines" on customary law, effectively codifying what was once oral.25

The MPC asserts authority over "filmmakers, publishers, and institutions" representing Santhal society. For example, they mandate that any film depicting Santhal marriage must be "culturally accurate" and verified by the council. This represents a fascinating evolution: a traditional tribal council asserting "Intellectual Property Rights" over its cultural heritage, using the language of modern law to enforce ancient custom.26

Part IV: The Santhal Civil Code — Marriage, Kinship, and Exclusion

The "Santhal Code" is the body of customary civil laws that regulate the private lives of the community. While uncodified in a single statute, these laws are rigid and binding, often creating friction with the liberal ethos of the Indian Constitution.

4.1 The Law of Marriage (Bapla)

Marriage in Santhal society is a community contract, not a private affair between two individuals. The MPC explicitly states: "Marriage is a community institution... Private or secret marriage is outside customary approval".26

• Exogamy and Endogamy: The fundamental rule is strict clan exogamy (Paris) and tribal endogamy. A Murmu cannot marry a Murmu; a Soren cannot marry a Soren. This is considered incest. Conversely, marrying a Diku (non-Santhal) is a grave offense against the purity of the tribe.
• Village Exogamy: The MPC guidelines reiterate that "a village is treated as one extended kinship unit." Therefore, marriage between a boy and girl of the same village is traditionally prohibited, even if they are of different clans. This rule is designed to maintain the village as a fraternity of "brothers and sisters," preventing internal sexual conflict.26
• The Role of the Jog Manjhi: No marriage is valid without the Jog Manjhi’s seal of approval. He ensures that the lineage lines are clear and that the bride price (Pon) is settled according to custom.

4.2 Divorce and the "Chira-Chata"

Divorce requires a judicial decree from the village council. The custom of Chira-Chata (tearing of the sal leaf) symbolizes the severance of the relationship. The MPC has taken a strong stance against "instant verbal divorce," aligning the custom with the principles of natural justice found in modern law. They mandate that "elders attempt reconciliation before any separation is confirmed," turning the village council into a Family Court.26

4.3 The Conflict of Gender and Inheritance

The most controversial aspect of the Santhal Code—and its primary collision point with the Indian Constitution—is the status of women. Santhal society is patrilineal. Women cannot inherit ancestral land. The logic is that if a daughter inherits land, she will take it with her to her husband's village (and clan) upon marriage, thereby fragmenting the clan's landholding.27

However, the custom provides a critical exception: the Gharjamai system.

• The Mechanism: If a man has no sons, he can marry his daughter to a man who agrees to move into his father-in-law's house. This son-in-law is the Gharjamai. The daughter then functions as a son for inheritance purposes.
• Judicial Recognition: In the landmark case of Babu Lal Mandal v. State of Jharkhand, the courts examined Gantzer’s Settlement Report (1936), which is treated as the authoritative text on Santhal custom. The report confirms that a daughter married in the Gharjamai form is entitled to inherit. The courts have aggressively used this exception to protect women's property rights, citing the "evolving nature" of custom to align it with constitutional gender equality.27

4.4 The Ultimate Sanction: Bitlaha

Bitlaha is the "capital punishment" of Santhal society—social death. It is invoked when a Santhal woman has sexual relations with a non-Santhal man, or in cases of intra-clan incest. The ritual involves the entire region descending upon the offender's house, drumming, dancing lewdly, and defiling the premises with excrement. The offender is expelled from the tribe.

While the practice preserves tribal endogamy, it violently clashes with Article 21 (Right to Dignity) of the Indian Constitution. Modern courts and district administrations often intervene to prevent Bitlaha, leading to significant tension between the "Law of the Land" and the "Law of the Tribe".29

Part V: The Economic Constitution — The Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act

If the Manjhi system is the political constitution, the Santhal Parganas Tenancy (SPT) Act, 1949 is the economic constitution. It is one of the most restrictive land laws in the world, designed to create a "legal forcefield" around Santhal land.

5.1 The Historical Context: The 1855 Hul and the Gantzer Report

The SPT Act is the legislative legacy of the Santhal Hul (Rebellion) of 1855. The rebellion was driven by the loss of land to exploitative moneylenders (Mahajans) and the British revenue system. In response, the British administration, through officers like McPherson and later Gantzer, created a special administrative zone (Santhal Parganas) where general laws did not apply. Gantzer's Settlement Report (1936) became the foundational document, recording the rights of the tenants and the duties of the Headmen.30

5.2 Section 20: The Ironclad Guarantee

The core of the SPT Act is Section 20.

• The Provision: It states that no transfer of Raiyati (cultivator) land—by sale, gift, mortgage, lease, or any other contract—is valid. This ban applies even if the buyer is another tribal. This differentiates the SPT Act from the Chotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act, which allows tribal-to-tribal transfer with the Deputy Commissioner's permission. Under the SPT Act, land is essentially frozen.32
• The Intent: The drafters believed that any loophole allowing transfer would be exploited by moneylenders using Benami (proxy) transactions. Therefore, they removed the right to alienate property entirely.

5.3 Section 42: The Power of Eviction

Section 42 empowers the Deputy Commissioner to evict any person found in possession of land in contravention of Section 20. Crucially, the courts have held that the limitation period (adverse possession) does not apply here. A person can be evicted after 30 or 40 years of possession if the original transfer was illegal. This makes the SPT Act a "timeless" weapon for land restoration.34

5.4 The Role of the Pradhan (Section 5)

The SPT Act integrates the traditional Manjhi into the state revenue system. Section 5 provides for the appointment of a Village Headman (Pradhan) on the application of the raiyats. This gives the Manjhi statutory protection. He cannot be easily removed by the state, and his appointment requires the consent of the villagers (specifically two-thirds of the Jamabandi Raiyats). This statutory recognition of a customary office is a unique feature of Santhal Parganas law.33

5.5 The Development Dilemma

While the SPT Act has prevented mass land alienation, it has also created an "economic prison." Because land cannot be sold or mortgaged, banks cannot accept it as collateral for loans. This locks the Santhal farmer out of the formal credit market, forcing them back to informal moneylenders—the very evil the Act sought to cure. Recent attempts to amend the Act to allow transfers for "public purpose" (infrastructure, industry) have been met with massive protests, as the community fears this is the thin edge of the wedge that will dismantle their "Economic Constitution".34

Part VI: The Statutory Collision — PESA vs. Traditional Governance

The most volatile legal frontier in the Santhal Parganas is the conflict between the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996 and the traditional Manjhi-Pargana system.

6.1 The Promise of PESA

PESA was enacted to extend the 73rd Constitutional Amendment (Panchayati Raj) to the Fifth Schedule (tribal) areas. Its stated goal was to empower the Gram Sabha (Village Assembly) and recognize traditional customs. It was hailed as a law that would finally align the Indian state with tribal self-rule.37

6.2 The Reality of Institutional Conflict

In practice, PESA introduced a competitor to the Manjhi: the Mukhiya.

• The Manjhi vs. The Mukhiya: The Manjhi is a traditional, hereditary/consensus-based leader who adjudicates justice and social norms. The Mukhiya is an elected politician who controls government development funds (MNREGA, road construction, housing schemes).
• Power Dynamics: Since the Mukhiya controls the money, power has shifted away from the traditional council. The Manjhi retains cultural authority, but the Mukhiya holds economic authority. This bifurcates village life and often creates political factionalism, as Mukhiyas are backed by national political parties, introducing party politics into the previously non-partisan village council.38

6.3 The "Santhal Model" of PESA

The Manjhi Pargana Council and activists argue that the implementation of PESA in Jharkhand has been flawed. They contend that the Gram Sabha under PESA should be synonymous with the traditional Kulhi Durup, and the Manjhi should automatically be the chairperson of the Gram Sabha. The current system, where an elected Mukhiya often overrides the Gram Sabha, is seen as a violation of the spirit of PESA, which mandates that state laws must be "in consonance with customary law".40

Case studies from Dumka and Godda districts show that where the Manjhi and Mukhiya are at odds, development stalls. Conversely, in villages where the Manjhi is accorded respect and the Mukhiya works as the "development executive" under the Manjhi's "legislative oversight," the system functions effectively. The demand is for the formal recognition of the Pargana (regional head) in the tiered Panchayat structure, bridging the gap between the ancient and the modern.42

Part VII: Judicial Review — The High Court as the Final Arbiter

The Jharkhand High Court has emerged as the de facto "Constitutional Court" for the Santhal nation, constantly interpreting the interplay between the SPT Act, customary law, and the Constitution of India.

7.1 Affirming the Headman's Authority

In cases like Hapna Manjhi and Ors. v. The State of Jharkhand (2021) and Mahipal Mishra v. State of Jharkhand, the court has rigorously upheld the democratic process of selecting the Headman. The courts have ruled that the Deputy Commissioner cannot arbitrarily appoint a Pradhan; the will of the Jamabandi Raiyats (landholding tenants) is paramount. This affirms the "republican" nature of the village administration.33

7.2 Interpreting the "Gharjamai" Exception

The most significant judicial activism has occurred in inheritance law. In Sheopuyjan Bhagat v. Thakur Hembrom and other inheritance cases, the courts have navigated the conflict between the exclusionary customary law (no female inheritance) and the Constitution. By strictly interpreting the Gharjamai custom—often accepting loose evidence of a son-in-law's residence to qualify him as a Gharjamai—the courts have effectively created a pathway for daughters to inherit. The High Court relies heavily on W.G. Archer's "Tribal Law and Justice" and Gantzer's Report as evidentiary standards for what constitutes valid custom.27

7.3 Limitations of Custom

However, the judiciary draws a red line at "repugnancy." Customs that violate fundamental human rights are struck down. The courts have consistently ruled against the violent excesses of Bitlaha, asserting that while the Santhals have a right to culture (Article 29), they do not have a right to violate the bodily integrity or dignity of individuals (Article 21). This establishes the supremacy of the "Big Constitution" over the "Little Constitution" in matters of criminal justice.29

Part VIII: Conclusion — Towards a Syncretic Legal Order

The release of the Constitution of India in Santhali in 2025 is not the end of a journey, but a new beginning. It represents the state's acknowledgment that the Santhal people are not merely subjects of the law, but interpreters of it.

8.1 The Pedagogy of Rights

The translation enables a new pedagogy of rights. The Manjhi can now hold the translated Constitution in the village council. When a dispute arises over land acquisition, he can cite Article 300A (Right to Property) or the Fifth Schedule provisions directly in the Santhal language. This reduces the epistemic violence where the state speaks English/Hindi and the citizen speaks Santhali.

8.2 The Unfinished Agenda: The Sarna Code

The recognition of the language has fueled the demand for the recognition of religion. The "Sarna Code" movement demands a separate religious column in the Census for nature worshippers. The argument mirrors the language movement: just as Santhali is distinct from Hindi, Sarna is distinct from Hinduism. The Constitutional translation strengthens this claim by proving the distinctness of the Santhal worldview.25

8.3 The Digital Future

As the Manjhi Pargana Council moves to regulate digital representations of the tribe, and as the Constitution becomes available as a digital text in Ol Chiki, the Santhal nation is transitioning into a "Digital Tribalism." They are using the tools of modernity—scripts, statutes, and smartphones—to defend an ancient identity.

In the final analysis, the Santhal Constitution is a living, breathing entity. It lives in the tension between Section 20 of the SPT Act and the loan requirements of a modern bank; between the exclusion of women in the Kulhi Durup and the gender equality of Article 14; between the beat of the Tumdak drum and the gavel of the High Court judge. The 2025 translation provides the vocabulary to resolve these tensions, promising a future where one can be a devout Santhal and a proud Indian citizen without contradiction.

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