Arunachal’s tribal councils meet the 21st century: digitising customary law
Village councils are recording customary decisions in searchable archives — and testing the limits of tradition.
The kebang and nyeder councils of Arunachal’s tribes, which have settled village disputes for centuries, are going digital: customary decisions recorded, indexed and searchable in a state archive.
Supporters say the archive preserves traditions that were never written down; critics ask what happens when a recorded decision meets a changed world.
The pilot, covering the Adi, Apatani and Monpa councils, is being watched by tribal bodies across the region.