Mundari Khuntkatti: An Institution of Customary Right over Land

Abstract

Land is central to all tribal societies. They consider themselves as a natural owner of land they have. Mundari Khuntkatti is a customary institution found among Mundas of Chotanagpur which provides ownership of land among all the families of the same killi (clan), who cleared the forest and made land cultivable. This old age institution also provides an identity of being a Munda and their country. It is true that the Chotanagpur Teanacy Act, 1908 has been safeguarding this system but the Act reduced the Mundari Khuntkattidars as a tenant and not the owner of the land and village. The paper based to on the empirical investigation of two Mundari Khuntkatti villages, Gutuhatu and Salga from intact Mundari Khuntkatti Revenue Circle of Khunti district in the State of Jharkhand, come to the conclusion that firstly, the spirit of Mundari Khuntkatti was misunderstood by British administrators to serve their vested interest in this tribal dominated region, in fact, it is neither tenure nor tenancy, it is an institution. Secondly, a number of emerging issues and challenges have posed afresh threat for disintegration of the age old institution and tradition.