3 Review(s)

While posted in the Santal Parganas in Bihar in the mid-1940s, W.G. Archer completed a three volume report on Santal Laws and Justice at the instance of the Government of Bihar, which has remained unpublished since. The first volume on the Civil Law in Santal Society describes Santal Civil Law, its various facets relating to inheritance, marriage, rights of women and children, divorce, etc. The second volume on Criminal Law deals with the unique Santal institution of the bitlaha of which Archer has handed down probably the most impressive account. The third volume on Civil Justice in Tribal India with special reference to the Santal Parganas looks into the structure of the judicial and administrative systems in tribal areas and underlines the need for the understanding of the tribal laws, their codification and their recognition as the “aboriginal school” of Hindu Law. The report highlights the unique features of Santal laws and shows that the tribal system of law and justice in many aspects is more human, takes a more humane view of human feelings, is more flexible and less cumbersome. Codification of tribal laws and their understanding is intrinsic to tribal welfare. Archer’s report, in spite of various limitations, remains a definitive account of the Santal Laws in the 1940s, a notable piece of social research, a model for the codification of tribal laws and a pioneering work in the area of anthropology of law which is emerging as a major sub-discipline of anthropology. The report is being published under the authority of the Bihar Government thirty-seven years later.