Dungari-Garasia tribes

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Chadotaru

2021

Ashish Chauhan, June 21, 2021: The Times of India

Corpses dangle from trees as dramatic reminders that the aggrieved want justice. Blood money is paid by the offenders called out by this age-old tradition of ‘Chadotaru’ (roughly translated, ‘hanging’) followed by the tribal people of northeastern Gujarat. But Covid and the resultant hit on incomes have necessitated a concession — tribal elders have authorised the collection of blood money in easy monthly installments.

The ‘panch’ (committee of elders) decided that allowing EMIs was a prudent move since it is impossible amid the pandemic and financial crisis to recover large sums from the offenders in one go. These sums can go up to Rs 8 lakh in cases of suspicious deaths. The Chadotaru amount is distributed among the victims’ family members.

About five years ago, Chadotaru involved revenge. When someone was murdered, their family members marched to the house of the suspect. According to community elders in Amirgadh, bloodbaths were common when vengeance rather than compensation was central to the idea of justice.

“To end the violence, we introduced the provision by which the culprits could give monetary help to the victims’ families,” said Khimji Dungaisa, a panch member of the tribal community and the sarpanch of seven villages in Amirgadh. “The compensation is between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 8 lakh if the victim is a newly married woman or a young man who died during a visit to his in-laws’ house,” Dungaisa said.

Dungaisa said the EMI option has been adopted mainly by the Dungari-Garasia tribal people in the northeastern part of Banaskantha. “We have come across many cases in which people were unable to pay huge amounts due to the pandemic and the subsequent restrictions that hurt earnings,” said Dungaisa. “As for the EMIs, not only does the prime suspect pay but also his relatives.”

Keshaji Rathod, a resident of Upla Khapa village, said his brother was made to pay blood money after a woman riding pillion on his motorcycle died from a fall. “We were told to pay Rs 6 lakh as it was a case of accidental death. But we were unable to pay so much,” said Rathod. “So our panchayat directed us to pay an EMI of Rs 15,000.”

A social activist said the tribal people don’t trust the state police and law enforcement agencies. That distrust sustains the tradition, he said.

The ‘panch’ (committee of elders) decided that allowing EMIs was a prudent move since it is impossible amid the pandemic and financial crisis to recover large sums from offenders in one go