Nicobarese tribal councils oppose draft poll rules, say traditional system aligns with democratic values

Nicobarese tribal councils from three different island groups have written to the local administration turning down the idea of Election Commission-conducted polls to their self-governance system, saying it could introduce “election rivalry, division, and conflict” in their society. The councils said the existing forms of self-governance “more closely align with democratic values” and said a new system will interfere with their existing ways which are “traditional, time-tested, and consensus-based” and in practice for thousands of years.

This comes even as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (A&NI) administration on Wednesday notified a public meeting on June 30 in Sri Vijaya Puram to discuss the draft rules for elections to Nicobarese tribal councils.

The tribal councils in Little and Great Nicobar, Kamorta (Nancowry), and Katchal Island have written detailed objections to the draft rules published by the A&NI administration last month. They have sought the withdrawal of this draft.

The draft rules aimed to reorganise Nicobarese villages into constituencies that would be represented by elected leaders, who would then constitute a larger tribal council. It would involve delimitation, preparation of voter rolls, and reservation of leadership positions for women. The draft prescribes five-yearly elections to the village councils and tribal councils. They provided for conducting the polls, the structure of the new representative system, the methodology of delimitation, the rules for candidature, nomination, and withdrawal, their duties and responsibilities, and the broader administrative set-up for conducting these elections.

These draft rules were notified on May 15 under a 2009 Presidential Regulation, which intended to bring “greater autonomy” to the Nicobarese and also gave the district administration an absolute veto over any decision the tribal council or village council might take. With the 30-day window for objections and suggestions having closed this week, the administration has received letters of objection from the Congress party in the islands and the tribal councils.

The tribal council of Little and Great Nicobar said that this represented an interference with their existing ways of self-governance, which is “traditional, time-tested, and consensus-based”. The Great Nicobar Tribal Council further noted that since August 15, 1947, Government of India bureaucrats have been assuring the Nicobarese that their ways of living will not be interrupted and that the Union would protect their traditions and customs.

Further, the tribal councils in Katchal, and Kamorta (Nancowry) added that their traditional tribal systems have “protected our people, culture, customs, and social harmony” since time immemorial. The councils said, “Even today our villages remain united through customary understanding and collective decision-making based on trust and tradition.”

The Great Nicobar tribal council went on to say that they have been holding elections for captains and tribal councils through a process they have “perfected over hundreds of years”, also adding that neither did they ever ask for such draft rules, nor do they need them. The council said that the draft rules defeat the entire purpose of tribal councils by handing the entire procedure of elections to bureaucrats.

The councils noted that the draft rules failed to recognise the key element of social organisation amongst the Nicobarese, which is the joint family/kinship structures of tuhets, hokgnonks, or komanaich. Apart from this, the councils also said that the draft rules were too complicated and that the Nicobar islanders have a system “that works”.

“Much of this draft has been drafted without any understanding of Nicobarese society. It does not improve existing systems of governance in the Nicobar Islands. We see the draft as an attempt to diminish the autonomy the Indian Constitution has granted to us by recognizing our traditional system of self-governance,” the tribal council of Great Nicobar said in its letter.