This paper explores the complex iteration of ethnic identity and legal culture amongst the Chakma peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the hill territories of Tripura, India. Its hypothesis is that the stigma of tribal identity is more likely to be sustained in situations of ‘weak’ pluralism – that is, where the customary system is formally annexed to the state. However, such stigma is more likely to be dispelled where numerous, competing legal jurisdictions collide in a ‘strong’ pluralism expressed as a relatively autonomous legal domain, overlapping legal jurisdictions and in the presence of a productive and potentially creative ‘interlegality’. Conversely, strong state recognition of identities, such as can be found in India, appears to be linked to weak local pluralism, creating an insular and inward-looking community that embraces stigma and the preservation and use of customary practices. In conclusion, this paper asserts that formal state recognition in a situation of legal pluralism tends to freeze identities in a facsimile of the colonial trope of tribe, whilst conflict between the communities and the state generates new and resistant identities and new iterations of customary law.

中文翻译：

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法律多元化和污名化：孟加拉国和印度查克马社区习俗复兴的案例研究

本文探讨了在孟加拉国吉大港山区和印度特里普拉山区的查克马人之间种族身份和法律文化的复杂迭代。它的假设是，部落身份的污名更有可能在“弱”多元主义的情况下持续存在——也就是说，在习惯制度正式附属于国家的情况下。然而，当众多相互竞争的法律管辖区在“强有力的”多元主义中发生冲突时，这种污名更有可能被消除，这种多元化表现为相对自治的法律领域、重叠的法律管辖区以及存在生产性和潜在创造性的“法律互通性”。相反，国家对身份的强烈承认，例如在印度，似乎与当地的多元主义薄弱有关，创建一个封闭的和内向的社区，接受污名化和保护和使用习惯做法。总之，本文认为，在法律多元化的情况下，正式的国家承认往往会冻结部落殖民比喻中的身份，而社区与国家之间的冲突会产生新的和抗拒的身份以及习惯法的新迭代。