Legal pluralism and stigma
A case-study of customary resurgence in the Chakma communities of Bangladesh and India
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12889494 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Margaret O’brien (0000-0002-9306-6871, University of Warwick, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 356-370 |
| Publication date | 2021-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Law in Context (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1744-5523 • E-ISSN: 1744-5531 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s1744552321000434 |
| OpenAlex | W3205338683 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
This paper explores the complex iteration of ethnic identity and legal culture amongst the Chakma peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the hill territories of Tripura, India. Its hypothesis is that the stigma of tribal identity is more likely to be sustained in situations of ‘weak’ pluralism – that is, where the customary system is formally annexed to the state. However, such stigma is more likely to be dispelled where numerous, competing legal jurisdictions collide in a ‘strong’ pluralism expressed as a relatively autonomous legal domain, overlapping legal jurisdictions and in the presence of a productive and potentially creative ‘interlegality’. Conversely, strong state recognition of identities, such as can be found in India, appears to be linked to weak local pluralism, creating an insular and inward-looking community that embraces stigma and the preservation and use of customary practices. In conclusion, this paper asserts that formal state recognition in a situation of legal pluralism tends to freeze identities in a facsimile of the colonial trope of tribe, whilst conflict between the communities and the state generates new and resistant identities and new iterations of customary law
Colonialism · Epistemology · Ethnic group · Legal pluralism · Legal profession · Legal realism · Pluralism (philosophy · Political science · Sociology · State (computer science · Stigma (botany · Tribe · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Bangladesh Politics, Society, and Development · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · South Asian Studies and Conflicts
Define and Rule
Alibis of Empire
The Art of Not Being Governed
Troubled Periphery
Stigma
What is Legal Pluralism
The Curious Career of Liberalism in India
Out of the Ordinary
Ethnicity and insurgency in the Chittagong Hill tracts region
The Chittagong Hill Tracts
Durable Disorder
Legal Consciousness
Power Relations and Legal Pluralism
The concept of tribe with special reference to India
Liberalism and Its Other
Legal Pluralism
The Invention of the 'Jummas
Contesting Stigma
Conceptualizing Stigma
The measure of a tribe
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |