CRI223 | Rights of Indigenous Peoples

This course aims to introduce students to indigenous peoples’ rights as enshrined in the Constitution, human rights, property, and environmental laws of India. The central theme of the course is to examine the extent to which our laws recognize the rights and interests of indigenous peoples as citizens and as peoples. It explores who are the indigenous people of India, and how are their sovereignty, self-determination, and self-governance rights fortified along with providing an understanding of socio-political, historical, and cultural context to these legal rights. We will also explore topical debates on when indigenous rights are touted to be in tension with ‘development’, environment, or wildlife and how do we align these ‘competing’ interests. The modules will be based on case studies, and through a reading of relevant legal provisions, case laws and socio-legal discourses, we aim to critically examine the adequacy of the current state of laws and their judicial interpretation. Wherever relevant, we use examples from comparative jurisdictions to study what other countries have been doing to develop the laws of the indigenous peoples, and which ideas can be transplanted from and to India.

How does this course relate to the programme curriculum: Does it develop on a prior course in the programme or is it a foundational or standalone course?

This is a standalone course for those interested in learning about the rights of indigenous peoples.

Describe how you have approached the course. What have you included/excluded and why? Choice of materials: primary or secondary readings / case law;

This is an inter-disciplinary course that provides the students with social context behind the constitutional and legal provisions for the rights of indigenous peoples and, looks at operationalisation of these rights on the ground. We use varied materials- socio-legal readings, legislations, case laws and government reports to analyse critical issues.

Describe your pedagogical method: lectures, Socratic discussion, seminar style discussion, response papers or group work, field work;

The course primarily runs as a seminar style discussion where each week students are supposed to share a brief comment on their understanding of the mandatory reading with the other students and the Professor before the class. In the classroom, a brief background lecture maybe given to introduce key concepts, followed by class discussion, sometimes interspersed with educational videos. At the end of the chapter, an interactive exercise is conducted- group activity, recap quiz etc. for student engagement. The course also hopes to feature guest presentations from indigenous scholars about their indigenous legal traditions and from legal practitioners who present indigenous clients and can discuss issues that arise in the practice of indigenous rights.

Describe the layout of the course: module structure and sequence.

The course can be divided into three parts- in Part I (Fundamentals) we understand a) the challenges in defining groups as indigenous, scheduled tribe or tribe; b) the present demographics and related challenges, c) the rights based framework (under UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) and d) the ethical approach to understanding the indigenous issues. Part II is on ‘Constitutional Framework and the Governance Structure in India’ that includes understanding the constitutional provisions, the fifth and the sixth schedule and the local governance structure through the PESA Act, 1996. Lastly, Part III explores the rights in contention that includes the supposed spatial ‘conflict’ with the environment and the wildlife. We also deconstruct the idea of ‘development’ for the indigenous communities and possible endogenous solutions to resource conflicts through the free, prior and informed consent provision. Lastly, we look at the specific situation of the particularly vulnerable groups and the situation of indigenous women and their individual rights v. the group rights of the community.