Who’s Afraid of Blood Money?

The tribal tradition of ‘mautana’, or blood money, has led to a spate of crimes including arson and other forms of violence in Mewar, Rajasthan.

Rajasthan’s Mewar region has a serious law and order problem brewing. The tribal tradition of ‘mautana’, or blood money, has led to a spate of crimes including arson and other forms of violence. The local police are investigating a new case in which a house was robbed and set on fire by the family of an accident victim. Under this tradition, if money isn’t paid up, family members of the deceased have the right to a noisy protest. If they prefer subtlety to shouting, the chanotara option can be exercised. It allows them to beat the accused and place the dead body at the accused’s doorstep, which happened twice recently.

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Himani Bahuguna