Gender perspective of art 371 (A): A social inquiry on legal pluralism in Nagaland

The North Eastern States of India like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura are privileged by the Indian Constitution being accorded special provisions. The states of Mizoram [Article 371 (G] and Nagaland [Article 371 (A)] were born out of agreements signed between the Government of India (GOI) and rebel leaders who were arguably fighting for secession from the Indian union. No doubt, the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and the Parliament, the sovereignty in matters of legislation. However, when the state legislature is empowered to reject or modify a law passed by the Parliament, and also, special status conferred to the customs of the people, by the Constitution, one may argue: Which is more powerful; the tribal bodies or the state government; the customary laws or the Constitutional laws? Furthering the discourse is the gendered dimension: How much have women in Nagaland benefited politically or otherwise, with the coming of Article 371(A)? When many women in several parts of India are enjoying the reservation of seats in the local governing bodies, women in Nagaland are yet to benefit from the special provisions given in the constitution. In this quest, the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) election imbroglio of February 2017 will be examined vis-à-vis women's political position in Nagaland.