The Gatpo of Spiti: Current Relevance of Traditional Governance in Spiti Valley (India)
Ashish Kothari
Friends, this would be of interest to those interested in traditional forms of governance and their intersections with economy, ecology, and socio-cultural issues, that continue to survive. The report below follows on a similar one for Ladakh, also northern India, which can be found at: https://vikalpsangam.org/article/the-goba-of-ladakh-report/
Also of interest in relation to the report below is this video by Nature Conservation Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5uPio_ZHQ8
Comments/queries may pl. be sent directly to Shrishtee & I.
ashish
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Dear friends,
We are happy to release this report on the traditional governance system of Spiti (Himachal Pradesh), focused on the village of Kibber. The village headman is called the gatpo (or lambardar/nambardar officially), and plays a crucial role in village decision making from socio-cultural, economic, ecological and political dimensions to also spiritual. Kibber has a robust decision making process and has designed the local village institutions to ensure some forms of direct democracy. For this, the study also looked at the interface between the local/traditional and new/modern governance systems, viz. the gatpo/village customary institutions with the panchayat and local administration, and internal inequities .
Through this documentation, we highlight key learnings on governance, democracy, autonomy, and management of the natural commons, specifically in Kibber but also relevant for our broader understanding of these concepts. Crucially, we ask: if the gatpo system continues to have relevance, what can be done to sustain it, clarify its role, tackle its internal inequities and strengthen its functioning? This study is a collaborative effort between Kalpavriksh and Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) along with the residents of Kibber.
https://vikalpsangam.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/The-Gatpo-of-Spiti-Report-3.12.2025.pdf
Comments are welcome, directly to us cc'd please.