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| Chinnammalu, Kakkaparatha Village, Malappuram |
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To those who approach the Edakkara Police Station with petty complaints, the policemen usually ask, “didn’t you meet Chinnammalu Edathi?” They are sure that if the complainants meet her, then their labour would be vastly reduced.
Chinnammalu is the de facto mediator- arbitrator of Kakkaparatha Village in Malappuram. This is a role that she has been performing admirably for the last 25 years. Be it family disputes, alcoholic husbands, mother-in-law vs daughter-in-law disputes or violent confrontations etc the people of the locality approach Chinnammalu for the redressel of their grievances. She has never seen courts in her life. Nor seen a judge except in cinemas. Nor met an advocate in his uniform. And yet she dispenses justice tempered with compassion in her village.
Her father was a healer and a man of influence in the village. Thus he acquired the role of an arbitrator. It was many years after his death that Chinnammalu started bearing the quasi-judicial responsibility on her shoulders.
Her mediation effort started with a boundary dispute. She felt the need to settle the dispute before it went to the police station. The amicable settlement of this dispute set the stage for her engagement with perceived and imagined injustices. Even as a child she had a tendency to help others. During monsoons, she used to bring her neighbours from their dripping houses and give them shelter in her own house.
There are 2 things that she emphasizes to the litigants: the fleeting nature of life and the individual’s connection with the family.
She has never accepted even a rupee from anyone for her efforts. Often she meets the traveling expenses too on her own. She does not consider herself as a dispenser of justice. Rather, she considers that the issues are getting resolved. It is faith in the Divine and the examples of great men and women that lead her.
There is a joke going on among the advocates of Manjeri. “If Chinnammalu goes on like this, we may as well sit at home!”
Courtesy:
V.R.Jyothish (text),
Azim Komachi (photo), Vanitha,
July 1-14, 2005
Contributed by: Administrator
