Agartala, July 21: A committee representing the customary law bodies of various tribal communities in Tripura on Tuesday postponed its proposed deputation to the state government and the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) administration in view of the one-day state mourning declared following the death of Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag.

The deputation programme, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has now been rescheduled for July 27 as a mark of respect to the late police chief.

A representative of the Customary Law Committee said chieftains and traditional leaders from different indigenous communities had assembled in Agartala to submit separate memorandums to the state government and the TTAADC administration. However, the committee decided to defer the programme after the state government announced mourning in honour of the DGP.

“The chieftains of various tribal communities had gathered here for the deputation. But considering the state mourning declared following the DGP’s demise, we have decided to postpone the programme to July 27 as a mark of respect,” the representative said.

The committee reiterated that its primary demand is the early codification of the customary laws of Tripura’s indigenous tribal communities. According to the committee, despite repeated efforts over the years, the customary law Bills of most tribal communities are yet to receive legal recognition.

The representative pointed out that, so far, only the Jamatia community’s customary law has been codified, while the proposed laws of several other tribal communities remain pending.

He claimed that at least 18 customary law Bills have already been prepared and are awaiting the Governor’s assent. The committee urged the authorities to expedite the approval process so that these traditional laws could receive formal legal status.

“Our only demand is that these customary law Bills should be codified without further delay and handed over to the respective tribal communities,” he said.

The committee plans to submit separate deputations to the offices of Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha and the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the TTAADC on the revised date.

Traditional leaders expressed hope that the government would take prompt steps to clear the pending Bills, saying that codification of customary laws is essential for preserving the unique cultural identity, traditions and indigenous governance systems of Tripura’s tribal communities.