In present times, the spectacle of Joint Action Committees in the state over any issue has also touched upon the gender sensitive or gender blind debate. This is over and above the practice of rag a tag groups taking upon itself to dispense ‘justice’ through their sheer vocal calls and presence in the area of incidence of the event or occurrence that leads to the existence of the JAC in the first place. JACs as everyone knows is not a formal group but an assortment of people who take on the onus of taking the lead in issues and events that unfold: crimes against women and children, deaths or agitations. But apart from JACs, there are motley groups of women in every locality who more or less take on a role similar to JACs in the face of any event in the neighbourhood who will take on the task of playing social vigilante. It is such groups who in the face of cries and claims of social crimes against women and instances of exploitation of women and children in the state, along with guardians of girls, including minors resort to ‘social compensation’ (ijat daabi) as a way of settling disputes without any regard for legal procedures. To begin with, the practice of eloping before marriage as an accepted practice by the society gives a wide awning for young women to be sexually exploited under the cover of this tradition. There have been innumerable cases where women have been duped into sexual relations with the promise of marriage, which follows in most incidences. While legally such actions can be challenged and action taken against the errant men involved by filing legal cases citing reasons for cheating and false promises, it is the social practice of ‘compensation’ and other social practices that complicates matters especially when minors are involved.
There may be arguments that legal actions when it does happen also result in financial compensation, which in a sense is also what also takes place in the practice of social compensation. But one glaring difference is that legal punishment also involves sentencing and legal censure, which is not considered in social resolution. In a sense, the social resolution route in such cases can also be seen as an out of court settlement without time and effort being spent on legal procedures but can unfortunately lead to the men being involved in the further exploitation of other women. Once money enters the picture and the man involved gets to know that it speaks volumes, it can only contribute to taking women and society for granted. Legal sentences and directives are more public and hence lead to a more careful and cautious approach, if only to save face. In certain cases, parents and guardians hush up elopements involving minors by resorting to ‘ijat daabi’ being involved rather than file criminal charges.
There is another practice called Keina Katpa, which literally means offering the girl. Co-incidentally, the practice of eloping was earlier not socially sanctioned and those who did elope were married off with great haste without much fuss and this was called Keina Katpa. In the present times, eloping before marriage has become a norm while Keina Katpa is enforced by women vigilant groups on couples who they claim have been found in ‘compromising situations’ and are carried out without any regard for individual choices or the couple in question being ready for marriage. There is no legal sanction in these types of practices and in fact, stringent legal action can be taken up against the said women groups for forcing marriage without consent. The irony of women groups revealing identities of young girls and women so caught in their vigilant drives is another sad face of the gender justice perspective in Manipur today. And even as such groups say their efforts are centered around delivering justice and setting things right, they end up making matters more complex. When such groups take it in their hands to dismantle the homes of people who are accused of various crimes, even if such crimes end up with women as victims, these vigilantes forget, that the house (s) of the accused that they are destroying would also have women and children. When they tonsure the heads of women alcohol vendors, they also victimize the very women, they say are standing for. And when they step in to the shoes of the police and the legal system by dint of their sheer noise, the administration must take the blame and the shame for letting the farce go on and of justice as it were being meted out in an unconstitutional manner.