Dispute settlement in a Hindu community of Kampala
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Date
1968
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University of East Africa
Abstract
This thesis proposes to examine the dispute settlement in the Hindu community of Bakuli, Kampala. It shows the way different kinds of disputes are settled in Bakuli outside the realm of national law. Uganda constitutes a number of groups who enjoy the security provided by the state law through its judiciary and police services. The Asians, who trace their origin in India or Pakistan, have lived in Uganda since the beginning of this century. They, however, do not comprise a single homogenous community but divide themselves into numerous groups along linguistic, religious, and other grounds. This thesis attempts to illustrate how these groups evoke, outside law courts, standardized procedures for settling differences between themselves at local level. On the disputes about boys and girls, the Hindu communities always emphasize the polarity between sexes. The separation of sexes reduces all the possibilities of inter-group sex relationships for this may threaten endogamy on which the exclusiveness of different groups rests. Whenever such contacts between males and females become socially visible, this may generate tensions and conflicts. These may become disputes by drawing much public attention. Whenever such a dispute among the Hindus occurs, the member of Bhajanmandali is summoned to settle the differences and to prevent outbursts of hostility and violence. Matrimonial disputes go to different sources for their settlement. Elders in one's groups provide on locus of bringing pressures on husband and wife not to abandon each other and retain joint family unity. Some of these disputes often go to the lawyers who may help to settle the differences between spouses. On rent disputes the landlords attempt to settle these differences with their tenants by calling in lawyers or their clerks who then provide a way of settling disputes. On business disputes, the businesses in many Asian communities of Uganda are centered at family level. Families often provide a model to those who want to form partnership. In absence of legal agreements between members of the family or partners, disputes can be settled only outside the law courts. On police and settlement of disputes, in many disputes the Asians living in Bakuli call in the police constables in the initial stages of hostility. They go to the police station, not very much to use the available procedures of punishing their adversary but merely to frighten him. In a number of cases the disputants retreat from the police station and reach a compromise. Finally, this thesis shows how a dispute settlement process is informal when the principles, procedures, and personnel involved in it vary from the national legal system.
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Hindus in Uganda
Citation
Barot, R. (1968) Dispute settlement in a Hindu community of Kampala, Masters dissertation, University of East Africa. Available at http://41.86.178.3/internetserver3.1.2/detail.aspx