DalitWomenand

Resources:
Accessinggovernmentschemes

2013

SathiAllforPartnershipswithCWLRmembers,
NACDOR,NMPSandtheirlocalgroups
FortheMinistryofWomenChildandDevelopment

1|P a g e

Acknowledgement

WearemostthankfultotheMinistryofWomenandChildDevelopmentforsanctioningofthestudyaswellas
fortheextensionoftime.Theresearchershadtoreviewworkasdatainthestudywasconstantlythrowingup
factsthatquestionedmanyofourbasicassumptionsasDalitandnonDalitindividuals.
Theresearchadvisorycommitteeplayedaveryimportantroleindevelopingtheinceptionframeworkforthe
research and for this we thank Dr Nitya Rao, Dr Manimala, Dr Mohd Shahid, Dr Sabiha Hussain and Ashok
Bharti.
The Study on Dalit Women in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Rajasthan was carried out by
WomensStrugglecommittee,NACDOR,andSathiAllForPartnerships.Datawerecollectedthroughadetailed
household level questionnaire, case studies and focus group discussions. This huge task was carried out by
data collectors Kanniammal, Nilavini, Gopal, Annakili, Annapoorani, Sathya and Usha in Chennai; Gautam in
Thervoy;KannagiandVeerasamiinNagaiDistrictandCasestudiesweremadeinNagaiandChennaiDistricts.
The data from secondary sources have been summarized by Nalini. Kalaivani Coordinated the field work in
Tamilnadu.DrGabrieleDietrichfromNMPSandRGeethafromWomensStruggleCommitteesupervisedthe
entire process in Tamil Nadu. The data collectors in Bihar were NACDOR fellows Gopal Paswan and Lallan
PaswanwhoworkedwithSAFPconsultantsMedhaShekharandManasiSamadar,MrBharatBhatiorganised
fieldworkinRajasthanandVandanaMahajancollatedthereportforthestate,NACDORstaffinUPSanjayand
ShaazorganisedfieldworkinUPcoordinatedbyRajniTilakandTarakeshwariNegiandthePunjabreportwas
coordinated and written by DrRajmohini Sethiwith assistance fromAmrick Singh a tradeunion leaderwho
helpedwithorganisingthefieldworkinthestate.Thedataentrywasdoneandtablesweregeneratedfrom
theprimarydatabyRahulBannerjeeandsupportedbyMamataDash.Ourheartfeltgratitudetoallofthem.
We are thankful to the team of activists who worked on data collection, case studies, secondary sources,
analysis,coordination,reportwritingandtyping.WorkingonDalitorwomensrightissueswasachallengeas
all work was done with a shoestring budget and government schemes seemed not to have reached dalit
womenamongourrespondents.
Gratitude goes to Rajesh Updhaya for his strategic advice and to Bridgit Hartland Johnsons design and
editorialinput.WearealsoextremelythankfulforthesupportofSantwanaNigamfortranslationintoHindi,
Gurpinder Vohra for printing the interview schedules, Clement Ekka, Augusta, Saroj Ekka and DM Jha for
providingthemuchrequiredadministrativesupportinDelhi.
Mostimportantlythemembersofthecommunitiesaswellasexpertsneedtobethankedforsharingtheirlife
andinsight.
We hope that this report is a beginning to not only deepen the understanding on Dalit women and their
resourcebasebutalsoinititatespecificactionthatincreasestheDalitwomensresourcebase.
DeepikaNairandShivaniBhardwaj
SathiAllforPartnerships

2|P a g e

Abbreviations

CWLR
ESCR
GEAG
GEM
FGD
FGM
FRA
GGGI
HDI
IIDS
JSY
JNNURM
KGBVS
LAFTI
MNCs
MOSPI
NACDOR
MWCD
NCRB
NFFWP
NRHM
NFFPFW
NMPS
PDS
RMK
RDMA
SC/ST
SCA
SAFP
SCSP/SCP
SEZ
SDF
SIGI
SGRY
SGSY
TSP
WSC

3|P a g e

ConsultForWomenandLandRights
Economicandsocio culturalrights
GorakhpurEnvironmentActionGroup
GenderEmpowermentMeasure
FocusGroupDiscussions
FemaleGenitalMutilation
ForestRightsAct2006
WorldEconomicForumsGlobalGenderGapIndex
HumanDevelopmentIndex
IndianInstituteofDalitStudies
JananiSurakshaYojana
JawaharLalNehruNationalUrbanRenewalMission
KasturbaGandhiBalikaVidyalaya
LandforTillersFreedom
MultiNationalCompanies
TheMinistryofStatisticsandProgramImplementation
NationalConfederationofDalitOrganizations
MinistryofWomenandChild
NationalCrimeRecordBureau
NationalFoodForWorkProgramme
NationalRuralHealthMission
NationalForumofForestPeopleandForestWorkers
NirmanMazdoorPanchayatSangam
PublicDistributionSystem
RashtriyaMahilaKosh
RashtriyaDalitMahilaAndolan
ScheduledCastes/ScheduledTribes
SpecialCentralAssistance
SathiAllForpartnerships
ScheduledCastesSubPlan/ScheduleClassPlan
SpecialEconomicZones
SocialDevelopmentFoundation
SocialIndicatorsandGenderIndex
SampoornaGrameenRozgarYojana
SwarnajayantiGrameenSwarozgarYojana
TribalSubPlan
WomenStruggleCommittee

ListofTables
Number
Table1
Table2
Table3
Table4
Table5
Table6
Table7
Table8
Table9
Table10
Table11
Table12
Table13
Table14
Table15
Table16
Table17
Table18
Table19
Table20
Table21
Table22
Table23
Table24
Table25
Table26
Table27
Table28
Table29
Table30
Table31
Table32
Table33
Table34
Table35
Table36
Table37
Table38
Table39

Title
Sampleselectionanddistributionineachlocation
LiteracyrateinUttarPradesh
AwarenessofSCP,schemesandlawsonrehabilitationinUP
HelpfulfactorsforaccessinggovernmentresourcesinBihar
OutlayforSCSPandTSP
VariationinSCPforgrantsinsomestates
Awarenessofthewomenrespondentsaboutresources
Householdsize
Familytypejointorunitary
Educationlevelofpopulation
Dalitandgendergapineducation
Dalitwomenassetgapandgenderassetgap
Disability
Occupationandincomegap
Adequacyofemployment
Disadvantageofinadequateemployment
Reasonsforinadequateemployment
Institutionsofhealthaccessed
GenderandDalitwomanaccesstohealthgap
Modesoftransportaccessed
GenderandDalitwomenaccesstotransportgap
Feltexclusionfromservices
Dalitwomengapinawarenessofschemesandservices
Resourcesrankedindetail
Overallresourcesetpriority
Livelihoodoptions forDalitwomen
Sourcetogetcreditasaresource
Decisionaboutenhancingcapacities
Helpfulfactorsforaccessinggovernmentresources
Obstaclesinaccessinggovernmentresources
Gapinaccesstogovernmentschemes
Analysisofschemesaccessed
Observationsonaccesstogovernmentschemes
HaveDalitwomenbenefitedfromeducation
ImpactofeducationonDalits
IsbeingaDalitanobstacletoreform
DescriptionoftheconditionofDalits
BenefitsfromNGOservices
SuggestionsforimprovementofDalitwomen'sstatus

4|P a g e

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113
113
115
116
116
117
117
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119
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121
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122
122
123

Contents
EXECUTIVESUMMARY
CHAPTERIINTRODUCTIONDALITWOMENSRESOURCERIGHTS

11

CHAPTER2SECONDARYRESEARCH

19

CHAPTER3RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY

27

CHAPTER4THESTATEREPORTS

33

4.1Tamilnadu:DalitWomensStatus

33

4.2UttarPradeshandDalitWomensResourceBase

52

4.3Biharstatereport

64

4.4PunjabStateReport

72

4.5RajasthanStateReport

82

CHAPTER5ANALYSISOFTHERESOURCEGAPSFORDALITWOMEN

100

CHAPTER6RECOMMENDATIONS

132

REFERENCES

139

ANNEX1:PROVISIONSOFTHEGOIFORDALITSANDWOMEN

141

ANNEX2

145

Annexi:Managementofthisresearchandtools

145

AnnexiiCasestudysummary

155

5|P a g e

ExecutiveSummary

The Mandate:The Ministry of Women and Child Development sanctioned the study on Dalit
Women and Resources as the situation with regard to Dalit womens access to government
resources needs to be understood comprehensively. There is a need to track the progress of the
12thfiveyearplanbasedontheindicatorsofinclusionwithgender,vulnerabilityandcasteequality
lenses. The research attempts to explore if education, skills, credit options, natural resources,
housingandlandasresourceshadincreasedlivelihoodopportunitiestoaltertheresourcebasefor
DalitwomeninIndia.
The Process: Based on literature review it was decided to focus on the resource gap from ten
government schemes related to a set of resources. The gap sought to be analysed was to be
between women only. The study sample across the five states was representative of national
coveragebutresultsshowedthatintwostates(TamilNaduandBihar),Dalitwomenhaddeveloped
an understanding of the primacy of their resource base, very differently from the sample in two
otherstates(RajasthanandUttarPradesh).Inthefifthstate(Punjab)Dalitpeoplesagencyhadnot
emergedasastrongfactortosayanythingspecificforDalitwomen.ThestategovernmentinPunjab
hadfocused verylittleondepressedpopulationincluding schedulecastes.Itwasthendecidedto
include gender resource gap as an added dimension in access to services in the Punjab data and
analysethesefromthelensesofDalitwomen.
Findings:ThestatepolicyanddeliverymechanismsandtheDalitleadershipindifferentstatesare
nothomogenousandaccesstoresourcesofDalitpeopleisnotsimilareither.Thereforethesituation
ofDalitwomeninIndia,inrelationtotheiraccesstoresourceopportunitiesandimprovedlivelihood
isnotahomogenousone.Thelackofresourcesforproductiveworkwasreflectedbythehighest
numberofwomeninthehomemakercategoryatthenationallevelinthesamplestudied35.39%of
Dalit women and 42.62 % of non Dalit women are home makers, followed by agriculture labor or
6|P a g e

domesticworkerwhicharebothlowpayingoccupations.NonDalitwomenhadmuchgreateraccess
to higher education than Dalit women with the gap being as high as 73 % more in favour of the
former in the case of post graduation. Similarly the non Dalit women owned more of the crucial
resourceslikeland,shopsandworkshopsandlivestockwiththegapinfavouroftheformerbeing
67% for shops and workshops. The non Dalit women (16.5%) had much greater awareness of
schemes than the Dalit women (5.5%) though they were both low. Non Dalit women had better
access to adequate sanitation and water supply (60%) as compared to Dalit women (38%). These
differencesarealsoreflectedinthethewayDalitwomenviewtheirresourceprioritiesascompared
to the non Dalit women. The non Dalit women rank housing, land and services as the most
important resources while the Dalit women suffering from grinding poverty rank adequate work
opportunitiesandmoneyincomesastheirmostimportantresource.Thisindicatesacrucialmindset
difference between the non Dalit women and the Dalit women where the former are inclined to
entrepreneurship than the latter who saw more possibilities in seeking jobs. Mostly, the Dalit in
IndiaarepoorandDalitwomen,beartripleexclusionofbeingawoman,unskilledandbelongingto
theoppressedandscheduledcaste.70%Dalitwomenfeeltheyareexcludedfromsocialinstitutions.
In Tamil Nadu, the sample of the study consisted of women who had accessed housing and land
meantforDalitwomen.Thiswaspossibleduetothecharismaticleadershipofwomenthatoffered
support at the local level. The survey was conducted within the areas where class and worker
consciousnesshadledthewomeninoursampletoholddemonstrationsinstatecapitalandinDelhi
to ask for a family living wage and felt shortchanged at being given only health insurance after
decades of struggle as workers of the unorganised sector. The issue of invisible retrenchment of
Dalit women agricultural labor was understood as the land owner gets the compensation when a
developmentplantakesoveragriculturalland.MNREGAbecomestheonlyoptionifmigrationtocity
isnotpossibleduetothewomansreproductiveroles.TheDalitwomenhavenotgotopportunityto
getacontractfortheircollectivetodeveloplandforincreasingDalitlandproductivityasstipulated
under MNREGA. The NMPS in Tamilnadu recommends that Dalit women workers collective be
trainedtoauditMNREGAanddeliveryofschemesandaredressmechanismforimplementationof
schemesbeinstitutedatthelocallevel.Thismechanismisproposedtobeinadditiontothedemand
of having infrastructure in the village and slums that the Dalit women can access along with
provision for space for production, access to services and redressal for violation sexual or work
compensationrelated.Respondentsinthestatewereawarethatinformationofgovernmentisnot
madeavailableduetocorruption.TogetawidowpensionorahousemeantforschemesforDalit
the sample respondents and their leaders have been through a very difficult process where the
demandforhousingfor10,000womenwasmetwithasanctionofonly20houses.Thisholdstrue
foroldageandwidowpensionschemesaswell.
ThesampleofourstudyinBiharwasinfluencedbystatepromotedwomensmobilityschemesunder
whichthegovernmenthasprovidedcyclestogirls. Dalitwomenhadgotspaceinlocalgovernance
and the announcement of mahaDalit category brought forth the intent of the state to deal with
creamylayerissueswithinDalitconsciousness.ThegeneralfeelingamongrespondentsinBiharwas
thatthereisachangeinstatusofDalitwomen.However,thedatarevealedlargegapsbetweenthe
resource base of Dalit and non Dalit women as well. The state government of Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh had publicised state policies and program delivery mechanism to servethe Dalit people
better. This led to a change at the level of aspirations that broke at least some mental barriers.
However,thesehavenotinspiredeithertheDalitorthepoortoapplyforand/oraccessresources
from the government. Only those under political patronage seem to apply for resource increase
through government schemes. In Uttar Pradesh the Dalit women in our sample had access to
MNREGAwheretheygotawagethatnooneelsewouldotherwiseworkon.Thestateofficialssaw
noneedtoplanforDalitwomenanythingseparatelyastheyareincludedinoverallDalitallocation
7|P a g e

schemesliketheSpecialComponentPlanforSC(SCP).TheSCPhadnosexdisaggregateddataand
the statelevelofficer feltthat there is a womancomponent plantocoverwomen, so whycover
Dalit women through central or state schemes. The data in UP shows that schemes have not
reachedDalitwomen.Forexample,anAmbedkarvillageoffersinfrastructureforDalithabitationbut
thisisnotplannedtoensurebetterproductivity,safetyandfacilityforwomen.Adistricteducation
officerofUP,however,hadpositivesuggestionthatallocationsunderSCPshouldbeusedforland
basedgrouplivelihoodofDalitwomenwhoshouldworkasproducergrouporalaborcooperative
companytoorganisetheirrightswithinadevelopmentplan.ANehruYuwakKendraofficerobserved
that Asha workers have taken away the dignity and the traditional work of the midwife. Asha
workersherselfistechnicallyavoluntaryworker,paidperinstitutionaldeliveryandinexperiencedin
taking on the role of care giver for a pregnant woman. Liveihoods related to care roles should be
plannedinawaythattraditionalknowledgeandhealthcareremainreachablewithinthevillage.
TheprosperityofPunjabhashiddendisparitieswithinthecommunitiessincelong.Dalitagricultural
workers in Punjab have been organised to some extent but women within the state have not
articulatedtheirconcernsinaconcertedmanner.Thestatehasbegunfocussingondalitissuesasa
recent task for itself.The finding from the state included gender resource gaps in addition to dalit
womens resource gaps. In Rajasthan and Punjab the state mechanism in both the states did not
offer schemes for Dalit people in particular and the Special Component Plan was utilized more to
serve Dalit hamlets as a state expenditure reportage tactic rather than as a conscious effort to
understandtheexistingresourcegapsforDalitwomenandmentoplantoreducethegap.
InRajasthan,thesampleofthestudywasfromdepressedclassSChamletswhichwereamongthe
poorestandhadthelowestsexratioinIndia.Thepovertyoflocalewasareasonthatshowedvery
little difference between Dalit and non Dalit woman. The district statistics official in Jodhpur
suggestedthattheActionTakenReportwhichisamandatorymonthlyreportofthedistrictcollector
should have a column to report how Dalit womens resource base was attempted to be taken
towardsanincreaseasameasurethatmaycreatesexsegregateddataonapplicationofschemesat
thedistrictandlocallevels.
Analysis:ThecurrentmodelofgrowthmarginalisesDalitwomeninruralareasandinruralareasthe
landlessareDalits.AmongstDalitsandamongstpoornonDalitsthereareveryfewwomenwhoown
land.Lossofcontroloncommonsduetooveralleconomicpoliciesandserviceshaventhelpedthe
womenDalitwomenareevenfurthermarginalisedinurbanareasastheydonothavetherequisite
educationlevelandskillbase.Dalitwomenreportedisolationinurbanareasastheyloosetheirown
family and community networks that help them survive. Government apathy to recognise labor
rightsaffectDalitwomenworkersmoreastheylacksocialnetworks.Schemescateredtomostlythe
lowereconomiclevelofpopulationswhilechangeofattitudeisneededinallclassesofthesocietyto
offeravenuesof socioeconomicnetworking.Discriminationin institutionscontinues ascorruption
networksarealsocasteandpowerbased.ThestudyfindingswerethatDalitwomenwerenotaware
ofschemesmeantforthem.
ThestatepolicyhasnotconsideredDalitwomansconcernsasakeyareaofworkand/orattention
withinitslargerprogramsforDalits.Forexample,inUPthestategovernmentcreatedAmbedkar
villagesorDalithamletsbutdidnotmonitorandevaluatetheinnovationforitsimpactofDalit
women.Thismayholdtrueforotherstatesaswell.Areabasedplansincludingskillbuilding,
infrastructureandregenerationofnaturalandfinancialcapitalneedstobegendermainstreamedin
awaythestatecanpromotewomensroleintheleadershipofagreeneconomythatincludeclosing
gapsforDalitwomenasanindicatorofdevelopment.DalitandnonDalitneedtoworktogetherin
8|P a g e

spacesthatofferopportunitytorespectandrecogniseeachotherstalentsandworthsoastoclose
theglaringdisparity.
There is no coordination between the gram panchayat and municipal authorities to foster
prosperityforDalitwomenineithercitiesorvillages.Settingupofinstitutionalmechanismsisnot
enough to improve womens status in reducing gender gaps in resources. Social institutions offer
manybarriersthatthestatemechanismneedstotackleandadoptmoreappropriatemeasuresto
not only have an inclusive planning but also an effective delivery mechanism. In an absence
ofparticipation of general public in village or city development plan, the question of inclusion of
womens priorities for resource increase and prosperity becomes a misnomer. There is no
monitoringdoneinordertotrackDalitwomensprosperityandensurethatthereissomelevelof
coordination among the different dimensions of prosperity. Some of the critical dimensions of
discrimination,oppression,challengesandpossibilitiesofDalitwomenarearticulatedbelow:

Dalitwomenhavenotimetoaspireastheydealwithsurvivalissuesundersevereindignity
EducationforDalitshasnotledtofreedomfromdiscriminationtoimprovelivelihoods
Accesstoschemeshasnotresultedinchangingthegenderrolesorspaceforsocial
integration
InclusionofDalitwomeningovernancehasincreasedtheirarticulationandconfidence
ScheduledCastesSpecialComponentPlan(SCSP)needstoincludeinclusiveareaandsector
planning
NeitherDalitornonnonDalitwomencanaccessbenefitfromschemessanssupport.
Lackofadequatefundingforgroupsworkingoninclusionandequity
DalitpeopleslivelihoodandDalitwomensworkneedstobemetwithherrightto
associationwithherlaborrightsbeingmet.

Spacetothink,andwork,spacetogetskilledtoproduceandtocareforhouseholdscancomefrom
thespacetorightfullyinteractwithothersandbetweentheirownkind.However,infrastructure
provisionasenvisagedunderRAYhasnotbeguninearnest.Dalitinfrastructuregapsneedstobe
plannedforwithDalitwomensaccesstothespacestonotonlybenefitfromspacesbuttomanage
infrastructuretochangetheirownskillbase.Someofthepossibleinterventionsand/ormeasures
thatcanfacilitateaninclusiveandparticipatoryplanningandimplementationmayincludethe
following:
Recommendationsfornationalandstategovernment:

ImproveallocationandmonitoringoftheSCSubPlanwithmechanismstoensurethat50%
oftheSCPshouldbeearmarkedfordalitwomen.
EmpoweragovernmentbodytodealwithDalitwomensdevelopmentandprotectionto
work.
ProvidedataonDalitwomeninthemonthlyactiontakenreportofthedistrictcollectorto
showreductionofresourcegapsfordalitwomenbytrackingimplementationofallschemes
includingSCPandWomencomponentofbudgets.
ProtecttherighttoLivelihoodsofDalitwomenbylookingatspecificDalitwomenas
unorganizedsectorworkers.Forexampleforthosewhofarmonlandensuringeffective
implementationoftherecommendationstothelandreformscommissionand12thPlan
workinggroupon"DisadvantagedFarmersincludingWomenwillbegoodasitasksfor
promotionofgrouplandrightsandensuringthat100%ofallMNREGAcontractsgotoall

9|P a g e

DalitwomensetupcaterstorightswagelaborandskillbuildingforMNREGAcontractingfor
Dalitwomen.
SocialauditofMNREGA,developmentalprojectsaswellasotherschemesthatcanenhance
landorinfrastructurebaserelatedtoadequatehousingandrighttolivelihoodneedstobe
ledbydalitwomensorganisations.
Awardof100percentprematricscholarship,attentiontoretentioninschoolsandquality
educationinadditiontoselfemploymentschemesformanualscavengers.
PublicdistributionsystemandservicesbemadepeopleandDalitwomencentricby
facilitatingtheiraccesstosafespacesforactiveparticipationindecisionmakingatalllevels.
Districtdevelopmentplansshouldbeauditedforgenderandsocialequitygaps.
EvolvespecialprotectionmechanismfortheDalitwomenwhohavefiledpolicecomplaints.

RecommendationforCSOsworkingforDalitandwomensrights
IntheabsenceofaneffectivegovernanceanditsmonitoringandthelackofDalitwomenfriendly
infrastructure,thelawsandprogrammeshavelittleeffect.Schemesareentitlementsofrights
holdersfromthestatethusdevelopmentalworkmustbedonewitharightsbasedapproachbut
schemesaredeliveredlikecharityinstead.Evenasplanningcanbeinclusiveofallexcluded
monitoringofreachtoallexcludedshouldbedoneseparatelyinatargetedmanner.Thedalit
womenneedtobetargetedasspecialcategorytotrackprogressagainstgapsidentifiedbefore
beginningofanydevelopmentprogram.Civilsocietycouldsuggestmonitoringmechanismsfor
improvingtheimplementationofservicedeliveryonthegroundsothatthebenefitsand
entitlementsmeantforthepoorandDalitwomenreachthemandbuildcapacityforprotectionwell
asforpreventionofcrimesagainstDalitwomen.Thecivilsocietiesneedtoworkonshadowreports
tpmonitorworkofStateagencies.
WayForward:Theresearchhasmadeitclearthatschemesdonotreachthepoorduetopatriarchal
andupperclasscontrolofresources.Thusservicesandworkneedstobeplannedalongwith
resourceplanningofeachareawhichprovidesrolesdalitwomencanbuildcapacitytoperform.The
proposalofSathiallforpartnershipsofdevelopingeachareaasaninclusivesustainable
developmentzonebecomesrelevanthere.Therecommendationmadetothegovernmentandcivil
societyinthisreportneedtobeaddressedfirstforplanningnextsteps.

10|P a g e

ChapterIIntroductionDalitWomensResourceRights

11|P a g e

.
Informationonresource
allocationfordalit womenwill
buildcapabilitiesforsurvivaland
freedomtogrow.

Skillsandabilitytoinvestinfurther
productivityresources

DEFINITION

Thereisnotmuch
informationwithMWCDonhow
muchgovernmentresourcesdo
dalit womenget
Thereisalackofdata
availabletodemonstrateboth
dalit andgendergapin
resources.

Impactpolicyandprogram
frameworki.e theNCSXIIPlan
andSpecialComponentPlan
(SCP)fordalits
Strengthenagencyfordalit
womenRDMA,NMPSandothers

SIGNIFICANCE

RATIONALE

PROBLEM

Introductioninshort
Resourcesincludeaccessto
andcontrolof:
Land&Housing,services
Education,Creditsandincome,

Background
While Indias average GDP has grown from 5.69% in early reform
period(199192to19967)to7.77%intenthplanperiod(20023to
Lackofaccessand
entitlementstoresources 20045), its agriculture and allied sector growth has declined from
leadstothedenialof 3.66%to2.47%duringthesameperiodandcrops&livestockfrom
3.68% to 2.51% (Planning Commission, 2008, Eleventh Five Year
rights,suchastherightsto plan, chapter on Agriculture). This has had debilitating impact on
livelihoodsandcivilrights thosedependentonagricultureandalliedsectoreconomy.Itisnot
affectingDalitwomens surprisingthatwhilethepopulationratioinruralareashasdeclined
abilitytoprotectand as per contested official figures from 37% to 28% between 1993
assertthemselves.The 1994and20045,ruralDalitsaremuchpoorerat37%asof20045
(40% Dalits are poor in urban areas in 20045), when compared to
lackofrightdistributive
26%atallIndialevel(PlanningCommission,2008,EleventhFiveYear
justiceinspiteofprotectionPlan, chapter on Social Justice). While Dalit and non Dalit gap has
bythelaw,inthecontext reduced at national level in rural and urban areas (some states
ofburdensDalitwomen however have seen a worsening situation such as Tamil Nadu and
face,reinforcesthecaste Kerala),butishigherinurbanthanruralareasasof20045showing
theimportanceofDalitaccesstoagriculture&alliedresourcesand
hierarchiesandthe
livestocktopreventmigration.Furthertheindiscriminateconversion
unequalpowerrelationsin ofagriculturelandtoindustrialpurposesmayhaveagreaterimpact
society.Hence,addressing on Dalits than others, as they are more dependent on agriculture.
Dalitwomensresource Percentageofworking populationamongstDalitsismuchhigherin
rightsremainskeyto ruralareas(42.5%)thanurbanareas(33%)asof20045.(ibid,2008)
buildinganegalitarian
There is a large number of Dalit women involved in agriculture,
society.Meera
alliedwork and livestock and they have been at the receiving end
Vulayudhan,Frontline duetothedrasticchangeineconomicandsocialpatterns.However,
2009
while there is a lot of discussions and debates about the overall
12|P a g e

discrimination and exploitation of Dalits as far as their access and control over resources matter,
thereisverylittleinformationonDalitwomensaccessandcontroloverresources.Thereisadearth
of information on Dalit womens poverty when compared to Dalit men. Further, there is no
governmentdatadisaggregatedonpovertybyvarioussubcastesamongstDalitsorreligionbarring
Tamil Nadu that provides some religionwise data for Dalits in general. Nevertheless, given that
more Dalit womenthan Dalitmenengaged in agriculturework and livestockthan industries and
services, the current model of growth is likely to marginalise Dalit women even further more in
urbanspacesthantheruralareas.Further,whilemajorityof landless areDalits,amongthem,very
fewwomenownlandorhouseontheirname.
Multiplelevelofdiscriminationexistsandforaprimaryandsecondarysearchbuildingananalysison
toomanyvariablesiscomplexwiththeresourcesallocatedforthestudy.Thereforesamplesizeand
theoutputarekepttobeindicativeoftrendsforpolicyandprogramneeds.
Thecurrentstudyhasnotlookedatallwomenandallagegroups.Thustheproductiveagegroupof
18 60 could be
studied to look at
resource gaps as
resource to the
family
and
economy is worked
upon
by
the
productive
To find out how far our sample:
population in five
representative
z has had access to planned resources under
states.
government schemes and Ngo schemes

Why this study?

The
states
z whether these resources have altered lives, given
opportunities, skills, knowledge and freedom for dalit
represent
a
women in comparison to nondalit women and men
national sample as
we
have
z what action is needed by the State to fill the gap of
representation of
resources for dalit women
east with Bihar,
North with UP,
South with TN and
west
with
Rajasthan.Punjabasanaddedstatethathasthesecondlargestdalitpopulationandhasreported
highest number of female feticide. These states are amoung the ten states in India that have the
largestpopulationofDalits.
Ineachstateonecityandtwovillagesintwodifferentdistrictswerechosentocollectprimarydata
(ChennaiTamilnadu,Nalanda/PatnaBihar,JodhpurRajasthan,LucknowUPandPatialaPunjab).
NeedfortheStudy
The change in overall economic pattern has led to a drastic change in sociocultural aspects of
communitiesandhaslikelytohaveimpactedtheDalitcommunitiesevenmoreseverely.Therehave
been some attemptsby the statetoaddressthe discrimination ofDalits inthe larger spectrumof
socioeconomic realities by instituting commissions, laws, schemes and programs. However, there
are areas of vast gaps as indicated above and thus there is a need to bring forth these gaps and
13|P a g e

recommendpossibleactionstobridgethem.Itisalsoessentialtoputtogetherasetofdataasfar
asDalitwomensrightsandaccessoverresourcesmattertofacilitateaninclusiveplanning.
BaselineinformationonDalitwomenandtheirresourcesasrightsdoesnotexistwiththeMinistryof
Women and Child Development at present. There is no countrywide study specifying what Dalit
women understand about their resource rights, what their aspirations are and how far are they
fulfilled.ThisresearchhasattemptedtofindanddocumentwhatresourcesareavailableforDalit
womenanddevelopanunderstandonwomensknowledgeonaffirmativeactionfromthestatefor
them.Itisenvisagedthatthisinformationgaponceavailablewillhelpindeterminingtheextentof
supportgapsexistforDalitwomentocontributeequallytotheirownprogresswhilecontributingto
the prosperity of the area they belong to in terms of their source and destination locations. For
women,theirnativeplaceandworkareabothareimportantastheyhavethecaregiversrolesof
eldersandchildrenmorethanmales.Thisstudyalsoaimedtorecommendawayinwhichwomen
andmenmaybenefitequallyundertheprovisionsofvariousprovisionssuchastheScheduledCaste
SubPlanas wellasthe12thfiveyearplan.Dalitwomenhave seriesofdisadvantagestofacefrom
childhoodtilladultlife.Astudyofthehistoricalandgenerationaldeterminantsofgenderinequality
anddeprivationindifferentinterconnectedspheresofhumansettlementsdevelopmentwithaDalit
womensperspectivehasnotbeendonesofar.
The purpose is also to create an advocacy agenda that Rashtriya Dalit Mahila Andolan, a national
level movement of Dalit women to establish their rights, and other platforms could take on along
with National Conferedation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), the Consult For Women and Land
Rights (CWLR), and Women Struggle Committee that works closely with labor and environmental
allianceslikeNMPSandNAPMtoimpactlegal,policy,planningandprogramframeworkofthestate
to increase access, ownership and control of resources for women from Dalit background. The
purposeistotaketheissueofDalitwomensrightstoresourcestotheattentionoftheMinistryof
WomenandChildDevelopmentsothattheycanpavethewayforDalitwomensaccesstoresource
effectivelyandtherightsofDalitwomenareupheld.
Dalitwomen:anInsight
Women in any society derive their status and rights from the community to which they belong.
Empowerment of the scheduled caste women as such cannot be conceived without the
empowermentofthescheduledcastesasawhole.Itiswellknownthatthescheduledcasteshave
suffered from exploitation, suppression and oppression for centuries. This has resulted in the
creation of a mindset characterised by inferiority complex and very low self esteem. However,
considerableprogressismadeforempowermentofthescheduledcastesasawhole.Empowerment
ofthescheduledcastewomenhasalsotakenplacebutataslowpaceandinfewaspects.Thereis
stillalongwaytogotobecomeequalinthesociety.
ThewordDalitliterallytranslatingtooppressedorbrokenisgenerallyusedtorefertopeople
who were once known as untouchables, those belonging to castes outside the fourfold Hindu
Varnasystem.Accordingtothe2001census,therearearound167millionDalits(referredtointhe
censusasScheduledCastes)inIndiaalone,thoughtherearetensofmillionsinotherSouthAsian
countries, as well.According to national geographic news published in June 2003, more than 160
million people in India are considered "Untouchable"people tainted by their birth into a caste
system that deems them impure, less than human. According to figures presented at the
InternationalDalitConferencethattookplacefromMay16to18inVancouver,Canada,nearly90%
ofallthepoorIndiansand95%ofalltheilliterateIndiansareDalits.
14|P a g e

TheCycleofOppressionofDalits:
According to census 2011, Dalits make up16.2% of the total Indian population, but their access
&control over resources of the country is marginalless than 5%. Close to half of the Dalit
populationlivesunderthePovertyLine,andevenmore(62%)areilliterate.AmongtheDalits,most
of those engaged in agricultural work are landless or nearly landless agricultural labourers. The
average household income for Dalits was of Rs. 17,465 in 1998, just 68% of the national average.
Less than 10% ofDalit households can afford safe drinking water, electricity and toilets, which is
indicativeoftheirdeplorablesocialcondition.Moreover,Dalitsaredailyvictimsoftheworstcrimes
andatrocities,faroutnumberingothersectionsofsocietyinthatrespectaswell.Thevastmajority
ofthesecrimesremainunreportedduetoomnipresentfear,andthosethatarereportedareoften
ignoredbypoliceorenduplanguishinginthebackloggedcourtsystem.Between1992and2000,a
totalof334,459caseswereregisterednationwidewiththepoliceascognisablecrimesagainstSCs.
Dalitsremainthemostvulnerable,marginalizedandbrutalisedcommunityinthecountry.Statistics
compiledbyIndia'sNationalCrimeRecordsBureauindicatethatintheyear2000,thelastyearfor
whichfiguresareavailable,25,455crimeswerecommittedagainstDalits.Itisestimatedthatevery
hourtwoDalitsareassaulted;everydaythreeDalitwomenareraped,twoDalitsaremurdered,and
twoDalithomesaretorched.
Thecycleofinjusticeandoppression:
Evenafterreservationpolicy,positivechangesandaconstantsupportofthepoliticalmachineryin
thecountrytowardseradicationofdiscriminationagainsttheDalits,itisstillnoteasybeingaDalit.
DalitwomeninIndiaareconsideredtheDalitsamongDalitsandsufferfromathreefoldoppression:

Onaccountofgenderbecauseofexistingpatriarchy,
Onaccountoftheircaste'theuntouchable',
Finally,onaccountoftheirclassasarethepoorestandmostmarginalizedcommunities.

Ruth Manorama, an active member of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and the
National Alliance of Women, once stated that in a male dominated society, Dalit women face a
triple burden of caste, class and gender in which she sums up the plight of Dalit women,
highlightingthefactthatDalitwomenareadistinctsocialgroupandcannotbemaskedunderthe
generalcategoriesofWomenorDalits(NewsArchives).
AccordingtotheHumanRightWatchReportin1992,anestimated50,000girlsweresoldeveryyear
to Hindu organizations that are involved in the Devdasi system. These girls are called the female
servantsofgodandaresexuallyexploited.The199293AnnualreportfromtheMinistryofWelfare
shows1,236reportedcasesofrapeonDalitwomenandtheNationalCommissionforSCshowsthat
approximately10,000casesofhumanrightviolationsonDalitsarereportedeverymonth.
Educationanddeprivation:
According to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 2000,
approximately 75% of the Dalit girls drop out of primary school despite the strict laws of the
Government of India, which hold reservations for Dalit children. Despite showing keen academic
aptitude, reasons for this early drop out from the education system is attributed to poverty or to
escapehumiliation,bullyingandisolationbyclassmates,society,andeventheirteachers.According
to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the majority of the
educated people are of the upper caste, many of which may practice castebased discrimination.
15|P a g e

Therefore,Dalitgirlsfeeldiscouragedtoenterintoeducationandthiscontributesfurthertoavery
low literacy rate amongDalit girls compared to the total population of educated upper caste girls
(NationalCommission). The Annual Report of University Grant Commission for 19992000, shows
that Dalits in general have very low participation rates in higher education (Annual Reports of
University).
The main reasons for very low literacy rate among Dalit women could be some or all of the
following:

Lackofeducationalresourcesespeciallyinruralareas
Privatizationofschoolsandcolleges
Extreme poverty, because of which they cannot afford the expensive fees for the private
schools
ThedemandforanincreaseintheDowryforeducatedgirls
Humiliationandbullyingbythehighcastestudentsandteachers.(Thind)

ThelargeproportionofilliteratefemalesisanotherreasonforlowliteracyinIndia.Inequalitybased
ongenderdifferencesresultedinfemaleliteracyratesbeinglowerat54.2%thanthatoftheirmale
counterpartsat75.8%.Duetostrongstereotypingoffemaleandmaleroles,sonsarethoughtofto
bemoreusefulandhenceareeducated.Femalesarepulledintohelpoutonagriculturalfarmsat
home as they are increasingly replacing the males on such activities which require no formal
education.Fewerthan2%ofgirlswhoengagedinagricultureworkattendschool.
Children from marginalized sections or so called "lower castes" are frequently denied school
attendance and harassed when they do attend (Mohanty 2004). In areas where there is no
discrimination, poor funding and impoverished families means that children often cannot afford
textbooksandstationery.
Healthstatus
ThehighdegreeofdeprivationamongDalitwomenisreflectedinotherindicatorsofwellbeing
undernutritionand health. About65 %and 56% ofST andSCwomenrespectively sufferedfrom
anaemiacomparedto47.6%ofnonSC/STwomen(Thorat2010).
Ownershipoverland
A careful look at the economic situation of Dalit women reveals that their work force structure is
suchthattheyhardlyownanyland.Alargemajorityofthemareagriculturallabourers.Therateof
unemploymentamongthemisalsoquitehigh.About90%ofwomenworkinginunorganizedsector
aremainlyfromlowercastes(Jogdand,2005).In1991,about71%ofDalitwomenworkersinrural
areawereagriculturallabourers.Only19%ofthemownedland(Tirmare,2004).
Thereissufficientresearchtoshowthatwhenwomensincomesincrease,theseincomesgodirectly
to improving household consumption. Rural womens incomes in developing nations can only
increase if they own land, individually or jointly, and have access to and benefit from rights to
common lands and forests. It is critical to recognize that the improvement of maternal and child
mortalitylevelsislinkedwithimprovedaccesstofoodandlivelihoodresourcesbywomen,whichis
improvedaccessandbenefitfromland.Womenwhoaredependentonmenforlandandhousing
arevulnerabletootherhumanrightsabuses,suchasviolenceandeconomicdeprivation.Itiscrucial
16|P a g e

thatthesebeaddressedandwomenareallowedtohavesecuretenureintheirownright.(PanAp,
2005).
EmploymentOpportunitiesforDalitwomen

PoliticalStatus

According to the Ministry of Labour, 85% of

the Dalit women have the most formidable
occupations and work as agriculturallaborers,
scavengers, sweepers, and disposers of
humanwaste.Manyofthesewomenworkfor
minimal wages under the upper caste
landlords, as indicated by the National
Commission for SC/ST that 85% of the Dalits
arelandless(NewsArchives).

Dalit women are generally excluded from

decisionmaking.Theyarenotgivenanyspace
to exercise their power. Wherever Dalit
women have contested, they have faced stiff
opposition and even been brutally attacked.
ThereareinstanceswhereDalitwomenhave
been elected into local governance and,
through the reservation policy, nominated as
the president of the local governing unit
(Panchayat). But when these women have
endeavouredtoexercisetheirrole,ithasmet
withresistance,eventotheextentofphysical
violence. The reservation for Dalits,
particularly for women, is accepted in form
but seldom in substance. Any change in the
statusquoisresisted.Dalitwomenssittingon
chairsisseenasthreattosocialhierarchyand
power. So, the upper castes in the village
vetoed chairs in the panchayat office (P.
SainathinRao2003).ADalitwomanpresident
is not allowed to sit on a chair if the other
castemembersdonotallowthis.Sheisforced
to be a mere figurehead, while the
functioningofthePanchayatistakenoverby
uppercaste members. Political parties in
India speak much about equality of women
but have totally ignored the plights of Dalit
women(Jogdand,1999).

In 2001, about 57 % of SC and 37 % of ST

women respectively were agricultural wage
labour inrural areas, as comparedwith29 %
for nonSC/STs. In urban areas, 16 % SC and
14%STwomenweredailywagelabourersas
compared with only 6 % from nonSC/STs.
Only 21 % of SC women were cultivators
comparedwith51%forSTsand45%fornon
SC/STs. SC/ST women also faced differential
treatment in wageearning, particularly in
urbanareas.In2000,SCandSTwomencasual
labourersreceiveddailywagesofRs37andRs
34 respectively, compared with Rs. 56 for
nonSC/ST women; the national average was
Rs 42. Besides this, a large number of SC
women are engaged in socalled unclean
occupations,likescavenging.Becauseoftheir
association with these occupations, Dalit
women face discrimination in the social and
economicspheres.(NewsArchives)

DalitpeoplehaveoftenconvertedtoeitherBuddhist,ChristianorMuslimfaithtofreethemselvesof
caste oppression. In eachreligion,property right remains unequal for the women. Dalit
women'sresourcelessnessthuscontinuesevenafterconversiontootherfaith.However,asmallray
ofhopehasemergedwiththeorganisationsofDalitwomenthathasbegunarticulatingtheirstories
anddocumentingtheiraspirations.TheDalitwomeninIndiahavedealtwiththeirinvisibilitywithin
the feminist, class and caste discourse. The contemporary dalit womens articulations (Tilak 2011)
record trends have taken on the historical vision of Dr Ambedkar to theorize and to developed
solidarity networks of Dalit women like the NMPS and Rashtriya Dalit Mahila Andolan (RDMA). Dr
Ambedkers visionofwomenempowermentupheldreservationforwomeninpoliticalparties and
educational institutions and the currentBuddhisthumanism talks of the need to build a human
revolution led by each individuals needed to work towards every ones happiness, including

17|P a g e

self.Everyones happiness is possible when all within every household can be healthy, prosperous
andarenetworkedthroughrelationshipsthatarenurturing(Ikeda2012).
TheDalitfeministparadigmwillbeinvestedwithitsownmeaningsfromitsownpoliticaland
geographicallocation.Dalitfeminismoughttobebroadenoughtoincludetheexperiencenotonlyof
theDalitwomeningeneral,butalsosensitiveenoughtoprovidespacefortheexpressionofthe
diversityoftheexperiencesofreligiousminorities,tribalandethnicidentitieswhoarepresently
termedsubaltern,andtherecanbenostoppingoftheprocess.Itwillnotonlybuildandshape
theory,itwillalsolearntomediatethespacesaswellasbuildsolidaritybetweenitselfandthe
existingFeministthoughtandtheory.Itwillalsonegotiateitsdifferenceswithandbuildsolidarity
withmenfromDalitandothersubalternandmarginalizedgroups.Anyonewhocanseethe
imperativeneedtochangetheparadigmsofsocietyfromacasteandpatriarchydominatedethos
towardsamoreinclusiveandequitablesocietywillrealizeitssignificance.(Vishwanath2012)

18|P a g e

Chapter2Secondaryresearch
Due to various sociopoliticalcultural and economic practices coupled with limited governmental
vision,discriminationofDalitwomenwithregardtoincome,educationandotherservicesismuch
higher(Murthy,RK,2010),andtherearepersistentgapsbetweenDalitsandnonDalitsineachof
thesesectorsandbetweenwomenandmen,withsomegapsincreasingandsomedecreasing,and
varying across states. Further, it merits investigation as to how far Dalit women and men (and
different sects and religion amongst them) are able to convert education into employment and
income into investments, and face non discrimination in all spheres. There are several spheres of
marginalisation and discrimination as far as Dalit women matter and over the years, their specific
needsandrightsareignoredbyoneandall.
Onthewhole,economicgrowthhasnotmanagedtoeffectivelybridgegapsbetweenDalitsandnon
Dalits,andbetweenDalitwomenandDalitmeninmostsectors.Oneofthekeyreasonsistheirlack
of access to, ownership and control over resources, in particular the Dalit women. While there is
already aseverelackofinformationontheseaspects,thereisalsonoattempttounderstandand
put together what Dalit women and men understand by resources. This study has attempted to
collectdataonthisaspectandanalysethesituationsoastorecommendpossibleinterventionsfor
anequitablelifeofDalitwomen.
ResponsefromtheState
With increase of civil society involvement in various forms, the state has tried to respond by
introducingandpromotingprogramssuchasMNREGSinruralareasandSGRY(wageemployment
scheme),SGSYinruralareasandSGSRYinurbanareas(selfemployment),RashtiryaMahilaKhosh
(creditscheme),housingschemeslikeIndiraAwasYojna,KanshiRamAwazYojna,water,sanitation
andotherprogramsandSC/STcomponentplan.TherearespecialschemesforDalitgirlseducation
and womens capacity building. There is also SC/ST Atrocity Act at national level, and SC/ST
Commissionatnationallevelandstatelevel.Whiletherearesomanyprogramsandschemesaimed
atDalitsinthecountry,thenewsaboutseverediscriminationandexploitationofDalits,especially
Dalitwomenisintheincrease.
The 11th Five Year Plan of GOI has mentioned empowerment indicators for the Scheduled Castes
(SCs).Yet,gapsexistforexampleamongtheSCs,childrenofscavengersareeducationallythemost
backward. The existing PreMatric scholarship for them needs to be revised in its funding
patternfrom50:50(CentreandStateshare)to100%CentralAssistancesothattargetfamiliessend
their children to school. The commission on land reforms under the plan was to monitor land
distribution to Dalit families and ensure continued possession of land distributed to Dalits under
variousschemes.ThislandneededtobeinthejointnameofDalitwomenandmen.
The Scheduled Caste Sub Plan, formulated in 1979, provides that the state legislature should
earmarkfundsforwelfareofschedulecastetoassistlinedepartmentstouseprovisionsadequately
under SCP, checking any diversion and avoiding any duplication of administrative machinery. This
mandates an allocation of at least 16% of the total outlay in the Union Budget for the Scheduled
Castes. But in reality, this figure has not even reached a two digit number. In 20092010 it was
6.43%, in 20082009 it was 7.05%, 20072008 had a 7.9% allocation and 20062007 it began with
5.2%.

19|P a g e

TheavailableresourcesonDalitwomen
Whilesignificantprogresshasbeenmadeoverthepastfewyearsincollectingandprovidinggender
dissegregateddataonseveralindicators,largedatagapscontinuetoconstraintheconstructionof
appropriateindicesespeciallyinthecontextofaccesstoland,productiveassets,credit,income,etc.
One of the reports of the Technical Advisory Committee of GoIUNDP suggested a list of socio
economic and development indicators for the basket for GDI and GEM. UNDPs Genderrelated
Development Index adjusts the average achievements in the same three dimensions that are
capturedintheHumanDevelopmentIndex(HDI),toaccountfortheinequalitiesbetweenmenand
women. UNDPs Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) focuses on opportunities and captures
genderinequalityinthreekeyareas.TheindicatorsforDalitwomenhavebeenspecifiedwithinthe
sameframeworkonly.
1. Political participation and decisionmaking power, as measured by womens and mens
percentagesharesofparliamentaryseatsandDalitwomensaspirationsandachievementinpolitical
power.
2.Economic participation and decisionmaking power, as measured by two indicators womens
and mens percentage in employment in the three class categories indicative of them as
a)legislators, senior officials and managers and womens and mens percentage shares of
professionalandtechnicalpositions;b)selfenterpriseandpaidjobsc)labourworkand
3.Powerovereconomicresources,asmeasuredbywomensandmensestimatedearnedincome,
skillandassetbase.
GEMDimension1:

GEMDimension2:

GEMDimension3:

ParticipationinPolitical
AreasandDecisionmaking
Power:PercentageofSeats
ingovernanceand
percentageofdecision
takingonissuesof
providingbasicservicesand
amenitiestoDalit
populatedareas

EconomicParticipation
andDecisionmaking
Power:Percentageof
Ownershipandaccessto
land,houseandpercentage
ofAccesstoeducationand
powertochangelifeskills

PowerOverEconomic
Resources:Percentageof
Controloverearnedincome
andPercentageofControl
overhousing,land,
transportorproductive
implements(computers,
implementsormachines)

This kind of data may help in developing general gender just programs but can have very little
impactontheexistinggapsasfarasDalitwomensrightsmatter.Thereisaneedtodevelopastrong
databaseontheDalitwomenslackofrightsoverresourcessoastoensureaninclusiveplanning.
TheSCSPrecommendationsgivenbyCBJAbelowareusefulltounderstandinthiscontext.

SuggestionsforensuringeffectiveimplementationofSCSP

Any planed allocation for SCs and STs in the Union and state budgets should be made in
proportiontotheirpopulation.
Funds exclusively meant for the welfare of SCs and STs should not be used for other
purposes/sectors.

20|P a g e

NonLapsable Central Pool of Resources for SCs and STs should be created and all the
unspentamountsbetransferredaccordingly
The line ministries and departments of the Central and state governments that have not
allocated the earmarked funds for SCSP and TSP so far must do so by introducing
special/exclusive/tailormadeprojects,thatneedtocatertowomenconcernsaswell.There
arearound43UnionMinistriesandDepartmentswhichhavenotallocatedfundsforSCsand
STs due to their nature of engagement either as regulator, their primary role of policy
making,orbeingresponsibleforcreatinginfrastructure.
Withoutcorrespondingschemesandtailormadeprojects,noallocationshouldbemadefor
SCSPorTSP.
Mostoftheschemesrenderingsocialserviceshaveverylessfocusonentrepreneurshipand
skilldevelopment.Thegeneralsectorschemes(likeSSA,schemesinhighereducation,ICDS,
NRHM and JNNURM) do not have much clarity in their norms and guidelines about the
specificprovisionsforSCsandSTs.SchemeguidelinesofIAY,thatstipulateprovidingatleast
40percentof thetotaloutlays forSCs and 20 percentof theallocation forSTs, are worth
emulating.Likewise,theguidelinesofSwarnajayantiGramSwarozgarYojana(SGSY),which
focusesoncreatinglivelihood,seekstoensurethatSCsandSTswouldaccountforatleast
50percentoftheassistedbeneficiaries.
Comparable beneficiarydisaggregated data on SCs and STs for each scheme must be
providedasagainstthedataontheschemeoutlays.Afewschemespresentbeneficiarydata
intheirreportingformat.WhileICDSandNRHMreportfundallocationsunderminorheads,
thesupportingdata on beneficiaries is notprovided.Further,importantdocumentsof the
UnionMinistrieslikeAnnualReports,OutcomeBudgetsandResultsFrameworkDocuments
(RFD)arenotprovidingadequateinformationaboutthepriorityforSCsandSTsintermsof
physicaltargetsandfinancialallocations.
Central Plan Assistance (CPA) for states should allocate funds for SCs and STs with proper
revision in the norms and guidelines. Apart from the Centrally Sponsored Schemes and
Central Sector Schemes, a substantial amount of funds goes through the CPA to states
without outlining any physical and financial provisions for SCs and STs. Schemes like
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF), JNNURM and
MemberofParliamentLocalAreaDevelopmentScheme(MPLADS)arenotallocatingfunds
forSCsandSTs.
The Finance Ministry in consultation with the Planning Commission and the ministries
concerned at the Union and state levels must be made accountable for the allocation to
SCSPandTSPaspertheguidelines.
An independent authority/commission chaired by the Cabinet Secretary/Chief Secretary
shouldbecreatedfortheprogressionofSCandSTswithnecessaryadministrative,executive
andaccountabilitymechanismstomonitorSCSPandTSPuptothedistrictlevel.
Ifalltheaboveisdonewithabaselinedataondalitwomensresourcebaseineachsector
andineachdistricttheimplementationofSCPfordalitwomencanbeplanneddifferently.

Participation in governance: Dalit womens

participation in governance is seen as a way
ahead to fill Dalit and gender gaps. In recent
years some studies have been conducted on
Dalit women and governance at the village
(NavsarjanandEvidencetrust2011)oratthe
level of ULB (IPE 2010). Gender stock taking
and ULB context in light of specific City
Development Plan (CDP) for each ULBs was
21|P a g e

preparedbySAFPfor5citiesinBiharin2010.
The study (IPE 2010) found an increased
participation of women, in all levels of the
ULBincludingfinancialandareadevelopment
decision taking. The performance of ULB in
reaching women was rated as 5 % by the
Councillors and 25% by the staff. ULB had
women who are able to get work done and
assert themselves. A rapid mapping showed

45% women Councillors of which 10 % were

Dalitwomen.MostwomenCouncillorsdidnot
havetheirownresourcesorfixedincomeand
depended on the male members of their
family or community. Women are absent in
senior positions in the ULB staff. Increase in
womenstaffintheoffice wassuggestedasa
solutionasitmayencouragewomenfromthe
communityaswell as thewomen Councillors
to frequent the office. The programs of the
ULB had no special component or
considerationfortheneedsofwomenunless
theyarewidows.Nonexistingwomenstoilet
in the premises of the ULB and in the city
reflects the sensitivity of the system towards
theneedsofwomen.
One of the recommendations of this stock
taking was that inclusive planning, budgeting
monitoring andreporting must present
information separately for women and men,
girlsandboystounderstandrelevancerelated
to local economic development and
sustainability. The allocation and expenditure
pattern could have sex segregated columns
for example property tax allocation,
expenditure on staff salary and uniform.
These suggestions were made to the ULBs
includingseniorstafftomaketheprovisionof
budget.Eightyfourpercentoftherespondents
felt that differential planning could be an
optionthatcanbeplanned17%thoughtthat
itwasbeingdoneand10%didnotthinkitwas
necessary. Eightyseven percent of the
respondentsdidnotknowwherethefundsof
the municipality were spent, 8% had some
ideaandonly5%knewwherethebudgetwas
spent.Thepriorityforthosewhoknowabout
the budgets is to get construction works

organised and disburse sanitation related

money. Budget on trainings like SGRY that
may impact local economic development are
oftenunderspent.
Anotherrecommendation was that resources
for womens and inclusion issues need to be
planned by the ULB after creating consensus
among both women and men. Dedicating
specific resources in plans for womens
habitat and livelihood need is an additional
strategy that can encourage a greater focus,
accountability and mainstreaming of goals
towards gender equality and inclusion. The
opportunityofutilisingJNNURUM,BSUP,RAY
and SGSRY and setting up entrepreneur
training, marketing centres, vending zones,
were taken up by the ULB in like Bhagalpur
wherewomenvendorsgotlandforsettingup
their stalls and get better housing. This
experiencefurthermotivatesthegrouptodo
work at community level to work on water
and sanitation in way women water and
sanitation committees could take on
community projects for self management.
Slum development plans can engender any
activity such as this is not only in increasing
participation of women along with increasing
their control and ownership on productive
assets. Gender budgeting manual of
Government of India and gender planning
needs to be understood by all staff and
councillorssothatneedsofwomen andmen
can be listed separately to monitor equal
spending. Programs continue to cater to the
whole family. It is assumed that woman is
taken care of automatically as she is part of
thefamily.

Exclusion and Dalit Women :Direct political participation of Dalit women is a human right that
enables the realisation of a host of other human rights, challenging and transforming structural
casteclassgender discrimination in institutions of governance and in the women's social
environment.ThestudybyNavsarjanandEvidencetrustfoundthatonlyonethirdofwomen,were
able to actwith independence and freedom to win the panchayat elections. Given the low social,
educational, economic and gender status of Dalit women,85% could be challenged and
overpowered,therebymakingthereservationpolicyredundant.Toensuresuccessinproxypolitics,
variousstrategieswereemployeddrawingonwomen'svulnerabilities:theirlowgenderstatusinthe
family (as economically dependent and boundedwithin marital and kinship relations); their low
22|P a g e

gender,casteandclassstatus(aswomanandDalit,asilliterateandlabourer)insociety;theiroldage
orwidowhoodstatus;exploitinganddeepeningintraDalitdivisions.Livelihooddependencyandlack
ofsufficient financial resources to meet election expenses also made the women vulnerable to
proxypoliticsespeciallyfromdominantcastesandpoliticalparties(dominatedbydominantcastes).
There is little evidence to suggest that theDalit women panchayat representatives are able to
significantly increase attention and resourcesto address the critical livelihood needs of Dalits or
women. This was made apparent by their lowparticipation in decisionmaking on the use of
panchayat revenue, development and welfare funds,as well as in dominant caste male
monopolisationofpanchayatresourcesandbenefits.
According to 34.3% of Dalit women elected representatives, their political participation
hadgenerated some change among women mainly that some women were able to speak up in
theirhouseholds and gram sabhas more freely. Other
Dalit women also increasingly recognised theirown
capacities for leadership and expressed greater
willingness
to
contest
panchayat
elections.
Bycomparison, only 28.9% of Dalit women elected
representatives indicated change in attitudestowards
themfromtheDalitcommunity,mainlyintermsofDalits
now approaching these womento represent their
developmental problems to government officials; Dalits
now settling disputesamong themselves under the
women's leadership; and other Dalits now feeling that
they too hadthe capacity to play leadership roles in
village administration. Some also noted greater
confidenceexhibited by Dalits (32.5%) as well as
increasedunityamongthem(22%).
The majority of the women witnessed little
transformation
of
caste
prejudices
orreduceddiscriminatory practices either towards
themselvesortheircommunity.
Only 21.1% of Dalitwomen elected representatives
mentioned some change, mainly in terms of greater
ability tointeract with dominant castes as a result of
their public office, greater freedom to walk
alongdominant caste streets in the villages, and being able to wear shoes while on official
panchayatduties.Tobenoted,though,isthatchangesinsupportpatterns,respectandattitudesof
dominantcastes towards Dalit women panchayat representatives that did occur did not include
recognitionofDalitwomen'spowerandauthority,especiallyaspanchayatheads.

23|P a g e


Source:OECD2012
HostofbooksareavailableonatrocitiesonDalitwomen,somepositiveandnegativestoriesemerge
fromthelifedocumentationofdifferentwomenfromDalitbackgroundsthathighlightthemultiple
layers of struggle . The barriers of social exclusion have not been easy to understand.The Dalit
women are excluded from social institutions more than the non Dalit woman. Social institutions
refer to the formal and informal norms, values and attitudes that exist in a society and influence
gender roles and relations. Discriminatory social institutions are understood in the context of
SIGI(Social Indicators and Gender Index) as those that impact negatively on women. While most
indicesofgenderequalitysuchasUNDPsGenderDevelopmentIndex(GDI),GenderEmpowerment
Measure(GEM),andtheWorldEconomicForumsGlobalGenderGapindex(GGGI)measuregender
differentiatedoutcomesinareassuchashealth,educationandemployment,SIGIisinnovativeinits
focus on the underlying factors that drive discrimination against women. The SIGI focuses on the
root causes behind these inequalities that include restrictions on physical and civil liberties,
resources, e.g. son preference, VAW etc shown in the diagram below. Understanding these and
manyotherobstaclescanhelpuslooksforsolutions.
Aneconomicdevelopmentpatternthatpitchestherichagainstthepooranddifferentracesagainst
each other also maintains the patriarchal and caste controls. A system where women are not
representedatalllevelsisbothunequalandinefficient.Newmeasurestoensurethatwomenare
represented in political decisionmaking must be designed (WEF 2011). This research is an
exploration towards knowing what the resource gap is between women and men. If the gap is
known, planning can ensue to reduce the same. However the discourse on equal resource base
needsoftengetsdrownedinthegenuineconcernsaroundviolenceagainstwomenandbodypolitic
ofpatriarchalcontrol.
24|P a g e

Theissueofeconomicdisparityandthepursuitofhappinessengagedifferentpeopleatanational
and international level to compute gaps in the form of economic disparity and gross national
happiness quotients. Given the complexity of human relationships and their interplay around
control and distribution of resources, some studies have attempted to quantify and qualify the
gender resource gap but these have focused on gender equality at work and for labor union
formation.Athouseholdleveleducationorgenderhealthgapshavebeenstudiedmorethanaccess
toservicesandentitlements.Moststudies,however,havedealtwithwhygapsexist.Inattempting
to understand the causality, the task of seeking recourse to reduce gaps has not got enough
attention.
Infrastructure
and
inclusion
:The
transformations witnessed by the present
generation makes us acutely aware that the
wayresourcesareconsumed,distributedand
controlled; it is proving to be a disaster for
humanityaswellasthenaturalresourcebase
that support life on earth. Equitable
distributionanduseofresourceareessential
anditshouldbemanagedbypeoplewhocan
nurture its regrowth or regeneration. The
unequal distribution begins at the household
level where resources are demarcated
between primary relationship as well as
relationships set within matrimonyandother
alliances. Relationship webs, often, are
complex and most attempts to justify who
gets what, are often questioned for their
validity. Most economist and feminists have
therefore not computed worth of members
within the household, in terms of what each
individualcanseekasanentitlementfromthe
householdandaspirestomaketheirownlife
choices. Most national planning does not
devolve beyond a household level. Planning
formemberswithinahouseholdisthusagap
in at least the context of Indian planning
systems. A micro study of Delhi called
DRAGGID (Bhardwaj and Ghosh 2011) links
gender resource differentials with local
planningsuchthatplanningatmacrolevelcan
beinformedabouthowtoreducethegender
resource gap. This study find out that a
gendergapinfavourofmaleata130%anda
13 % physical space gap ( Private, work and
publicspace)whichreflectinagapof3%for
services(healtheducationandtransport).This
studyhasnotdealtwiththegapswithinsocial
exclusion but has tried to understand that
gender resource gap exists at multiple levels
and in many forms. The present work
25|P a g e

thereforeisanimportantnextsteptotakein
thedirectionofbuildingclarityofyetanother
layer of exclusion that can be turned around
through inclusive planning. There is a
continued presence of deeprooted caste
based inequity in the distribution and
availabilitytoinfrastructureandhencetothe
accessibility of services and entitlements
hroughinclusiveplanning.Theeducationand
provision of house through schemes has not
broken barriers to discrimination faced by
Dalitwomen.Dalitpeoplefaceadeepequity
gap in access to infrastructure. A report by
social equity watch has captured this
dimension through a national survey (SEW
2011) that found that the SCs, STs and
Minoritiesarebeingfencedofffromaccessto
the functional infrastructure facilities by
merely situating them in General or BC
habitations. Many SC and ST habitations are
left officially uncovered thus people in these
habitations have to travel longer distance
than prescribed in official norms. The equity
gapissevereiscertainGramPunchayatswith
concentration of multiple infrastructure from
BC/General habitations. At places where the
infrastructure facilities are located in SC/ST
habitations, a sizable percentage of the
service providers are from the General or BC
category. Further, most of these
infrastructurefacilitatesareinprivatelandsor
buildings.TheratingofservicesbySC/STand
minorities in accessing these facilitates was
much lower than their BC/General
counterparts in the same habitations. The
satisfactiongapwaslargelyduetolocationof
services in other habitations. In certain
services such as ICDS, where some
government guidelines exist for encouraging
equitable distribution of infrastructure, the

equity
gap
is
less
than
other
infrastructure.Thereforethereexistsscopefor
equitable distribution of resources through

proactivemeasures.TheSEWsurveyhasnot
disaggregated information on Dalit womens
accesstoInfrastructure.

ReviewofLiterature
1.

2.

3.

4.

Dalit womenautobiographies
reportstrugglessocialinnature
Theyhavenotviewedindividual
capabilitiesasresourcesto
contributetoeconomy.
NotmanyDalit canmingledwith
nonDalit.Socialrelationsasa
resourceisindeficitwiththe
Dalits.
Dalit womenarenota
homogenousgroup.Dalit woman
workershavegotorganisedfor
collectivegains.
Womensmovementasagency
hasyettoincludeDalit womens
concernsintheirequality
discourse

Conclusion

1.
2.

3.

Overalltheliteraturereviewed
discusseseducationbutnot
resourceinequalityforDalit women.
Theofficialfocusonhow
capabilitiescanbeincreasedin
individualhasnotbeenableto
breaktheglassceilingtoforwomen
tobemoreproductiveoutside
communityframework.
Focusbycivilsocietyisoftenon
highlightingvictimisationrather
promotingthanproductiverolefor
Dalit women.

26|P a g e

Chapter3:ResearchMethodology
Scopeofthisstudy
The scope of this study is to examine how far the sample of the study has had access to planned
resources under government schemes and NGO schemes and if these resources alter life
opportunities, capabilities and freedoms for Dalit women in comparison to non Dalit women and
meninrespectivecategories.ThestudyattemptstodocumentwhatisneededforDalitwomenin
terms of affirmative action state could take to understand and fill the gap of resources for Dalit
women.

ResearchDesign&Methodology
Hypothesis

Scope

Womendonothave
resourceequality.
Resourceequalitywould
leadtoincreased
capabilitiesfordalit
women.
Dalit womenagencywill
beempoweredwithdata
todemandallocation
fromthegovernment

2villagesin2different
districtsandacityin5
differentstates.Patiala
andFerozpur,Nalanda
and
Patna,Jodhpur,Chennai
andLucknow
Workingcouplesinthe
followingareas:
Organised
Unorganised

Delimitations
Limitedto3areasin2
districtsof5states.
Limitationdueto
resourceavailability
Sixschemesandtwo
planshavebeenchosen
forstudy

Note:
Thisscopewaschosentolinkthemostvulnerablewiththeirpotentialemployers.
CitieschoseninlinewithNMPSandNACDORfieldcontactbasewoth dalit families.

Specificobjectivesofthisresearch

Tocollaboratewithnationalgroupsandcarryoutresearchto:
i.

ProvideanationalviewonthesituationofDalitwomeninIndia,inrelationtotheiraccessto
resourceopportunitiesandimprovedlivelihood.

ii

EstablishwhetherDalitwomenactuallyunderstandtheirrightsinrelationtoresources.

iii.

Understand whether state schemes as well as NGO schemes have provided increased
opportunitiesforlivelihoodandwhethertheyhavebeensuccessful.

27|P a g e

iv.

Understandwhethereducationhasbeenacontributingfactortotheimprovedlivelihoodof
Dalitwomenorwhethertheirbackgroundisstillanobstacletoanybetterment.

v.

Highlight the schemes that have been most successful and those that havent been
successfuldetailingwhytheyhave/havenotworked.

ResearchQuestionsexploredthroughthisstudy
i.

AreDalitwomenawareoftheirrights?

ii.

DoallDalitwomenhavethesameneedsandaspirations?

iii.

Can Dalit women be categorised according to their knowledge and aspirations? Or should
thecategoriesstillbeaccordingtogeographicalareaandscheduledcast?

iv.

Can educated Dalit women gainfully access better livelihoods than those who are
uneducated?

v.

HavethelivelihoodsofDalitwomenwhohavegainedaccesstoresourcesreallyimproved?

Theoutputsfromthisstudyaimstocontributetopolicyandprogramrecommendation

toincreaseDalitwomensresourcebasebutfirstandforemostitshouldrecordthe

statusofDalitwomeninrelationtoaccesstoandcontrolofschemesandprogram

meantforthem.Thisisderivedfromstatelevelinformationtogetanationalpictureof

Dalitwomenandresources

Resourcesinrelationtoimprovedlivelihoodmantainafocusonschemesstudywere:
a. Income:Therespondentswerechosenforpurposivesamplingfromthreeincomecatagories
poor unorganized category where women in wage workers households were interviewed.
The small scale enterprise workers weretaken as as respondents for middle income and
peoplewhohadsalaryaboveRs30,000oranassetincomewereincludedashigherincome
respondentstohaveallclassrepresentationinthedata.Theschemesthatwerelookedat
for income and employment were MNREGA in rural area and in Urban SGRY Studies on
genderaspectsinbotharedonealready.MNREGAaimedfor80%employmentofDalitbut
inpracticethisislessduetooverallcorruption.TheanalysisofwomeninMNERGAcanbe
doneincontextoftherolesofwomen(reproductive,productiveandcommunityroles).
b. Credit:Aquestionwasspecificallyaskedforcreditoptionsacrossallstates.
c. Land and natural resources: For access to livelihood resources access from environment,
fromcommunityfromfamiliesandfromothersthereexistnoschemebut2006agriculture
censushassexdisaggregateddata.Landasaresourceisgrantedonleasebyannualauction.
28|P a g e

Land and revenue department of the government have incentives that if land document
(patta)isgiven inwomennamethenthetaxwillbeless.Thestudycanexplorethegapof
Dalitwomensaccesstoland.
d. Accesstohousingandservices:Thequestionnairehadasectionforaccesstoschmesthat
asked foraccesstohousingaswell astoservicestomake ithabitable.IndraAwasYojna,
Kanshi Ram Awas Yojna, RAY are schmes that cover housing. For water, sanitation the
JNNURUM/RAY/BharatNirmanwaslisted.Aseparatequestionwasaddedfortheaccessof
water and sanitation to see if drinking water facilities and toilets were avaible to the
respondents.
e. Education:NACDORhasdoneastudyonstatusofDalitwomenandfoundthatthewomen
educationgapis52%buttheDalitwomengapneedstobeexplored.Anotheroptionisto
lookatDalitwomeningeneralschemes,inspecialschemesforwomenandthedeliveryof
schemesandprogramforDalitgirlsandwomen.Howeverwewereunabletogetanydata
fromgovernmentdepartments.
f. Skills and abilities : Schemes like SGSY and JRY give funds to train women through
punchayats.Therespondenstwillbeaskedhowmanyhaveavailedsuchtraining.
ReservationineducationinstitutionsandjobshadbeenthefocusoftheDalitleadershipforsome
time.ThisstrategygotforthacreamylayerwithintheDalits.Thewomenbenefitfactorhasnotbeen
studiedandstatedasyet.Theprivatizationhasputthequotaseatissuesinthebackburnerforthe
Dalitsgroupsasthesystemofreservationisrunningonitsownsteamaftergettinginstitutionalized.
Moreworknowneedstobedoneinpublicprivatepartnershipsaswellasjobsintheprivatesector.
TheresearchcouldevolveastrategyforDalitwomenwiththePPPfactor.Theobjectiveofeducation
couldhaveastudyonthescholarshipschemes.Apointtogetacrossisthateducationportfoliois
with ministry of human resources but the skill development is with labor ministry, if we have to
impact govt and also include enterprise. Is the study to do enquiry of what exists then we can
analyse the status of the system, not the implementation of the schemes and how schemes of
different ministry intersect to raise capability as this will be extrapolation that growth and
developmentcapabilityhastobedealtwithinaseparateframework.

5 resources being looked into

z
z
z
z
z

Income and Credit

Land and Natural resources
Access to Housing
Education
Skills and Ability

29|P a g e

ProcessandMethodology
Data collection was done through primary and secondary levels of sourcing. Primary sourcing of
information were elicited from Dalit and nonDalit married couples in representative households;
statelevelexpertsonthesubject;statelevelofficesatvillage/panchayatandblocklevels.Secondary
sourcing was done using the web search in related Ministries and subject specialist academic
institutionsandthroughascanofpublishedandnonpublishedmaterial.
Sampleselection:
States selected for the study have high Dalit
population as compared to other states. The
locations were chosen for availability of
organisedDalitorunorganisedsectorgroups.
Datewascollectedfromcityandtwovillages
in two different districts of Chennai
Tamilnadu, Nalanda/PatnaBihar, Jodhpur
Rajasthan,LucknowUPandPatialaPunjab.

A questionnaire was applied to 10 individual

State level experts on Dalit, gender and
sector.(seeannex)FGDsandhouseholdlevel
questionaiires were conducted. Households
selectedrepresented3incomelevelssothat
classasavariableisnullified.Fordetailsrefer
to box below. A total of 1000 households
were selected i.e. 66HH *3 locations +2 case
studies200*5states.

Table1:Sampleselectionanddistributionineachlocation
Class

Incomelevel

Workcategory

High

OrganisedsectorRs15,000and
above

Salaryorfamily
enterprise

Middle

organisedandUnorganisedsector
Rs500015000

Contract/self
work

16

Poor

UnOrganisedsectorbelowRs5000
amonth

Labor/daily
wage

16

Total

1000

48

18

Dalitwoman
16

NonDalitwoman
6

Toolsfordatacollection:
AquestionnaireforhouseholdswithDalitandnonDalitmarriedcouplesintheagegroupof1860
yrsinfiverepresentativestateswasadministeredacrossthestates.Theaimistoadministerabout
200questionnairesperstatetowomeninthe200households,onequestionistobeansweredby
the man in the household to understand how the perception on resources and its control differ
betweenwomenandmeninthesamehousehold.
FocusGroupDiscussions(FGD)withagroupofexpertsfromeachstatewereconductedtoanalyse
howDalitwomeninthestatehaveavailedSCP,education,trainingandlandresources.Alistofcore
questionsandguidelinesfortheFGDisprovidedinannex.
A general local information format to in local language was given to each team and a different
informationpackwaspreparedfortheexperts.
CasestudiesofDalitwomenwhogotresourcesandopportunitiesandhaverespondedwelltothe
responsibilities they got and what access to resources did they get to build their capacity and
30|P a g e

capability have been prepared. These include women who have had difficulties in accessing
resources.Alistofguidelinestodevelopthecasestudyhasbeendevelopedwithamodelcasestudy
exampleprovidedtostateresearchers.
Atrainingpackwasputtogethertotrainallthedatacollectorspriortotheirfieldwork.Trainingof
35peoplewasorganisedinDelhionJuly12and132011andtoolswerefieldtestedinChillavillage
inDelhi.
Limitationofthestudy
This study is limited to its search on five
resourcesdalitwomenmaygetfromthestate
and how their access of these five resources
maycomparewithnondalitwomen.Thiswas
decided as it was not possible to study
multiple variables of gender or class, even as
somecorrelationsweremadetounderstandif
gender gaps were more than dalit and non
dalit gap. Within the constraint of looking at
five resources made the sample size in each
location very small for carrying out complex
statistical inferences. The data thus is more
indicative and hasgone through a qualitative
analysis.
The lack of data on Dalit women resources
stems from the fact that most literature on
Dalitissuesisfocusedonatrocities.Tocreate
aresource focussed data theresearcherswill
needtobeginfromverybasicissuesonwhat
understanding exist on the subject. We have
evidence through census that most SC/ST
women lack access to income earning assets
ascomparedtogeneralcategory(GC)women
(2001 census 21 % SC women were
cultivatorsascomparedto45%fromGC)and
depend mainly on wage labour (half of SC
women, 39% ST versus 17% for GC). This we
call social group disparities within the
categoryofwomen.Nowtherearedisparities
between men and women within SC group.
Censusdatashowthatonly22%ofSCwomen
were cultivators as compared 29 % men). A
higher proportion of SC women work as
agriculturallabourersascomparedtoSCmen.
So, higher proportions of SC women work in
theunorganizedsector,vulnerabletofeatures
of that sector and have limited social
protection. Data for Muslim women also
31|P a g e

revealslessaccesstoqualityemploymentand
educationwhencomparedtootherreligions.
Assuchtheevidenceindicatesthatthereare
similarities and differences in the problems
facedbywomen belongingtoSC,ST, Muslim
groupsandrestofthewomen.Likeallwomen
these women also suffer from subordination
resulting from patriarchy. Like their poor
counterparts they also suffer from lack of
accesstoincomeearningassetsandresultant
highpoverty.However,womenfromexcluded
groupsdifferfromtherestofthewomeninso
far as their performance to human
development indicators (income, literacy and
health) is lower compared to other women.
Thisheighteneddeprivationcanbeattributed
tosocialexclusion.
Dalitwomenfacesocialexclusioninaccessto
sourcesoflivelihood.Socialexclusiondeprives
them of choices and opportunities to escape
from poverty and denies them a voice to
claimtheirrights.Wehavesomeevidenceon
forms of exclusion and discrimination
(IIDS/ILO study) in the labour market. Dalit
womenfacediscrimination throughexclusion
in certain types of work like work inside the
house of higher caste, denial of work related
to fetching drinking water etc. These are the
forms of discrimination which are not faced
bynonSCfemaleandthereforetheyarelikely
to enjoy higher employment in household
work.The samestudyalsoprovidesevidence
on discrimination while selling milk and
vegetables. The group faced difficulties in
selling these products due to the notion of
impurity and pollution associated with the
status
of
'untouchables'.(Nidhi
SadanaSabharwal, Indian Institute of Dalit

Studies(IIDS),NewDelhi,solutionsexchange
response).

Chapter4:TheStateReports

4.1Tamilnadu:DalitWomensStatus

33

4.2UttarPradeshandDalitWomensResourceBase

52

4.3Biharstatereport

64

4.4PunjabStateReport

72

4.5RajasthanStateReport

82

32|P a g e

Chapter4:TheStateReports

4.1Tamilnadu:DalitWomensStatus

ContextualRealityDalitwomenarethricediscriminated,treatedas
untouchables and as outcastes, due to their caste, face gender
discriminationbeingwomenandfinallyeconomicimpoverishment
due to unequal wage disparity, with low or underpaid labour.
Below the Hindu caste ladder is another rung, called the
untouchables or Panchamas. Among the untouchables, the status
of women is further eroded and closely linked to the concept of
purity.(TNWF2007)

DemographyandSexRatio:ThetotalSCpopulationinTamilNaduasper2001censusis62lakhs
(19%). Tamil Nadu stands in the 4th place among the States having the highest percentage of
Scheduled Caste population.Female population constitutes nearly half of the total population in
theState.Sexratio,i.e.thenumberoffemaleperthousandmales,isasignificantindicatorofthe
status of women. In Tamil Nadu, the ratio has registered a continuous decline except in 2001.
Accordingtothe2001PopulationCensus,thesexratiofortheStatestoodat987asagainst974in
1991 Census. Thecondition of women seems particularly poor in four backward districts:
Dharmapuri,Cuddalore,VillupuramandTiruvannamalai.Thepositionofwomen,inparticularthe
gendergapininfantmortalityrate(IMR)andsexratio,isextremelypoorinSalemandDharmapuri.
Adisturbingtrendhasbeenthefallinthejuvenilesexratioby0.29%inTamilNaduintheperiod
19912001as per Census 2001, with 22 districts experiencing a fall in the juvenile sex ratio. The
ruralsexratioisrelativelyfavourableat992comparedto981inurbanareas.Itmayalsobenoted
thatsexratioinTamilNaduwasconsistentlybetterthanallIndiaaverage.(Pillai2010)
Poverty Status of Women: More women than men experience poverty in Tamil Nadu, as in most
partsoftheworld.Aspovertyestimatesfocusonhouseholdastheunit,thereisnomacroestimate
of the number of women visvis the number of men in poverty. Microlevel evidence from
Madurai, Ramnathapuram, Dharmapuri and Dindigul districts indicates, however, that the
proportionofwomenheadedhouseholds(WHHs)inpovertyishigherthantheproportionofmale
ones in poverty. Tamil Nadu stands fourth in terms of the percentage of WHHs in India (C
Lakshmanan2009).Thisestimatecouldbeonthelowersideasitmaynottakeintoaccountdefacto
factors leading to headship by women (due to migration, sickness of husbands, alcoholism). The
proportionofSCwomenandwomenagriculturallabourers(oftenoverlappingcategories)inpoverty
is much greater than the proportion of other caste groups in poverty. Urban casual labour is
followedbyselfemployedhouseholds.
FinancialPosition:ADalitwomanisfinanciallydeprived.Sheiscompelledtoworkatlowerwages
andseldompermanentlyappointed.Noprotectiontotheirwagesisrendered.Shecannotpurchase
medicines forthemselvesand fortheirchildrentoo.Fivetotenpercentof theDalitwomenlivea
middleclasslife.
33|P a g e

Education:TheliteracyrateofSCpopulationinTamilNaduis63.2%,whereasinThiruvallurdistrict
itis68.6%,andinNagapattinam65.8%asper2001census.EducationscenarioforDalitwomenis
quite bleak as only a small number of the total populations of Dalit women are educated. The
reasons for the highrate ofilliteracyamongDalitwomenare many: resistancefromthefamilyto
send girls to schools; fear of insecurity in villages; lack of physical facilities like accommodation,
school transport and medical facilities; the girls are forced to take care of the siblings when the
parentsareawayatworktoearnforthefamilyandtododomesticchoreswhichpreventthemfrom
attendingschool.Manygirlsareforcedtogetmarriedatyoungage,whichstopschoolingbecause
social restrictions stop the girls from studying after marriage. Fear of alienation of girls from their
environment as a result of education can be attributed as one of the reason for low literacy level
amongSCgirls.Thisstudygaveshowedthat89.53%Dalitwomenwerenonliteratesascomparedto
70.83%NonDalitswomen.Ofthosewhocouldgeteducatedahighpercentageof94%Dalitwomen
incomparisonto14.29%NonDalitwomenhaveaccessededucationinprivateschools,showingthat
government education is not sustainable for Dalit women. Those not able to access education
because of being a woman is 12.81% in Dalits and 3.90%in non Dalits. The dalit womens gap in
education therefore has a difference more than 2 times i.e 200%. Even if the education improved
themarriageprospectsofthegirls,theminuspointistheincreaseindowry.Thereforeeducational
developmentamongSCwomenisverymarginalbecausegirlsarenotsenttoschool.
Employment: Only 10.2% are cultivators, 58.5% are agricultural labourers, 2.3% are industrial
workersandotherworkersconstitute29%inTamilNaduasper2001census.
Agricultural labour: Even by inheritance, the studies reveal that only few women inherit land on
their name. For e.g., in Chennai a sample of rural widows of SC across 7 states, only 13% of 470
women inherited land from their fathers. This means 87% of women did not receive their due as
daughters.(IFAD200).Womenhavelessskillsofretainingproperty.Agricultureasasectorhasfaced
aneconomicdownfall.Feminisationofagricultureisalsonotattractinginvestmentinagricultureas
a result agricultural land is sold off. When land gets alienated and sold off only owners get
compensation.Thedalitswhoareagricultureworkersonthelandfaceinvisibleretrenchmentthat
no one compensate them for and they then take on work like MNREGA or get into bondage like
conditionstoworkforlowestpossiblewagewhereevertheycanfindit.
AccesstoFood:ThestatesofRajasthanandTamilNaduhavebeennotablydeficientinprovidingthe
MidDayMealstoDalitchildren,becauseDalitchildrenarehesitanttoenterhostileareasinhabited
byhighercastes.Unfortunately,highercastemembersusuallyblockDalitfrombeinghiredascooks
andparticipatinginthedistributionoftheMMS.IfaDalitishiredasacook,nonDalitparentssend
packed lunches with the children to school. Highercaste members may also attempt to have the
Dalitcookfiredorcampaigntoclosetheschool(HAQ2000).Foodsubsidiesmeantforthepoorare
oftensoldontheblackmarket,andrationshoplicenseesbribepoliceofficerssothatcomplaintsare
notregistered.
Access to Land: According to NSS, In 19992000, at the state level, landlessness among the non
SC/SThouseholdswasthehighestforthestatesofMaharashtra(around12%)followedbyPunjab
(9.85 %), Tamil Nadu (9.35 %), and Gujarat (9.05 %). Use of common pasture and farming in
communitylandsinthevillagehavealsobeenasourceofdisputesbetweenhighercastelandlords
and Dalits. Unfortunately, under the new regime of liberalized economy, Dalits are further being
alienated from land. This has been happening mainly because of the large tracts of lands that are
beingprovidedtomultinationalcorporationsandbigprojectsatthrowawaypriceswithouttaking
into consideration the interests of the small and marginal farmers, majority of whom happen to
belongtoDalit andother disadvantaged sectionsof Indian society.Thishas alsoledtolarge scale
34|P a g e

displacementof Dalit and Adivasi families atvarious places withinthecountry. Absence of proper
landrecords havemade it easier for illegalencroachmentsupontheir lands. Laws and regulations
exist that prohibit the alienation of Dalit lands, set ceilings on a single landowners holdings, and
allocate surplus government lands to be redistributed to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes;
however,moststategovernmentshaveconsistentlyfailedtoadequatelyimplementthislandreform
legislation.Inarecentlyhighlightedcase(NCDHR2006),outof20lakhacresoflandgiventoDalits
under the Panchami scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu, illegal encroachments, sales and forceful
extractionhaveleftthemwithonlyalakhacre.ThisshowsthattheDalitsrightstolandeventoday
arenoteasilyenforced.
IthasbeentimeandagainraisedbyMsKrishnammalJagannathan,SeniorSarvodayaLeaderofLand
for Tillers Freedom, that the TAHDCO spends very small percentage of SC funds on getting
agriculturallandinthenameofDalitWomen,whilethatshouldbethepriorityschemeforpulling
Dalitfamiliesoutofbondageandpoverty.
Genderequality:ThegenderdiscriminationstartsattheveryearlystageinthelifeofaDalitgirl.
Normally, girl children are retained at home to look after the siblings. Another thing is the
compulsorymarriageofthegirlsatveryearlyageafterwhichtheeducationisstopped.Generallyin
the maledominated society, polygamy is allowed and more so in many Dalit families. Because of
thisthepositionofthewomendeteriorate.Jointfamilysystem,polygamy,propertystructure,early
marriage, and permanent widowhood have been the hurdles for the development of all Dalit
women.
Occupational inequality: Dalit women often work as agricultural labourers, Safai Karmchari,
sweepersanddisposersofhumanwaste(NDTVJanuary17,2011).ThatiswhythecontributionofSC
womentotheeconomicdevelopmentofIndiaissignificantespeciallyintheagriculturalsector.But
they are exploited by the higher caste landlords. They are paid very marginal salary for the hard
workinthefieldforthewholeday.Inleatherindustriesthetanningprocessisconsideredtobean
unclean job which is done only by socially backward class. The condition of scavengers and
sweepersisverydeplorableandtheyremainthemostvulnerablesectionsamongSCs.Theworking
conditionisverypoorandtheremunerationisalsoverypoor.
Familyrole: Becausethe girlsremaineduneducated,theygotmarriedveryearly.Marriageinthe
highreproductivestagewithhighfertilityrateaccountforlargenumberofpregnancyonthewhole.
Becauseoflargefamilynorm,theburdenfellontheyounggirlswhichaffectedtheirhealth.They
werenotabletoassistinfamilymatterstotheirhusbands.Butnowthesituationisdifferent.The
girls manage to plantheir family,educatethe children, assistthe husbands infamily matters and
office going and professional girls improve the economic conditions. On the whole the family
becomessociallydevelopedbecauseoftheeducationofthegirls.Governmentencouragesinter
caste marriages among Dalits and high caste by incentives. Untouchability practices are acute in
villages.However,thereisagradualchangeinruralareasbecausetheyhavebecomeawareoftheir
rights.Inanutshell,DalitWomenface:

Genderdiscriminationpatriarchy
Social/castediscriminationuntouchability
Violencedomestic,atworkplaceandinsociety
Economicdeprivationpoverty,unemployment,landlessness
Politicalpowerlessnessnonacceptanceandparticipationindecisionmaking
Discriminationinaccessinglivelihoodoptions,food,water,sanitationandwelfareprograms

35|P a g e

TNsschemeslackfocusonimprovingplightofDalits:
Response from the State: The ongoing schemes by Tamil Nadu government under the Scheduled
CastesSubPlan(SCSP)doesnothaveanyspecificfocusonupgradingthestatusoftheDalitsandit
should be made meaningful by introducing innovative schemes, according to sources. A review of
various departments done by development commissioner found that funds were diverted for
populistschemesbyviolatingrulesoreithershownoutsidethebudgetbutincludedinSCSP.
Interestingly, the official observation comes in the wake of state government providing 100 %
allocationundertheScheduledCasteSubPlan.TheproportionofSCpopulationis19%asper2001
census.
AccordingtotheminutesofthefirstreviewmeetingontheallocationmadetoSCSP,itwasobserved
thatmorethan50%fundswereallottedtopopulistschemeslikeDrMuthulakhsmiReddyMaternity
WelfareSchemeandKalaignarLifeInsuranceschemewhichishigherthanthe19%fundsearmarked
for Dalits (Indian Express 2009) The misuse of SCSP funds is due to deliberate attempts of Dalit
leadershipinsideoroutsidetheregimewhoremainsilentspectatorsorpowerbrokers.Theydont
seetheconcernofthepeopleduetotheirvestedinterest.(CLakshmanan2009)Itisclearthatthe
amountofexpenditureofplannedcentralgovernmentbudgetforDalitshouldbeaccordingtotheir
population but this rule has been flagrantly violated e.g., in 20072008 the total plan budget was
205100 crores and distribution to Dalits is was only 12535.75 crores whereas it should have been
32816crores.Thusthereisshortfallof20280crores.
Similarly,thereviewofLPGconnectionschemeandinterestsubsidytocooperativesocieties,found
outthattheproportionateflowtoSCSPwasonthehighside.Andinterestingly,itisnotsupported
by expenditure figures of the previous years. The secretary should take an appraisal of the SC
schemes and then reduce the size of the flow to the required minimum, it was observed.In the
energydepartment,whichconsumes 80% ofplan allocation, a totalof Rs 85.94 crore wasshown
againstSCSPandnoreasonsweregivenonwhytheamountshownoutsidethebudgetwasincluded
inSCSP.Moreover,nosubheadneitheranygovernmentorderexistforthisallocation.
PresentSituation:TheTamilNadugovernmenthasbeenallottedRs.302.89croreswhichhasbeen
splitasSubsidyofRs.111.25croresandTermloanofRs.191.64crorestouplifttheDalits.
InEducation,especiallyinhighereducationtheDalitchildrenhavegotadmissionandnotreceiving
scholarships. The Adhi Dravida welfare schools infrastructure facilities are very poor and the girls
hostels lack proper food, drainage systems, drinking water and the other necessary facilities.
Moreover,thewardensarepeculiarlyappointedonlyfromhighercastesandtheyarediscriminating
theDalitgirlchildreninallpossiblewayswhichcannotbeexplainedinwords.Butnowtherecent
State government has given a guarantee that the Dalits will get admitted to full extent in self
financingcollegesalso.
It has also taken steps to improve the quality of education given to the SC/ST candidates in the
budgetofAdhiDravidaWelfareFund20122013.Nearly71.80lakhsforscholarship,5344.45lakhs
to improve the infrastructure of old schools and to construct new schools, 298.98 lakhs for the
hostelshasbeenallotted.Especiallythisyear12.50lakhshasbeenreleasedtoTAHDC0toimprove
allthefacilitiesinTamilNadu.YettheprovisionofLandtotheDalitlandlessAgriculturallabourers
hasbeengivennopriority.

36|P a g e

TheHousingSchemesfortheScheduledCasteswerenotgivenimportanceformanydecadeswhile
nowthereisanannouncementof1lakhhousesincoastalareastobuildhousesdestroyeddueto
ThanecycloneandalsoprovisionofGreenhousesinRuralAreas.Buthowmanyschemeswillreach
Dalit women is a question and there is a complaint from villages that the list is decidedbased on
politicalfactors.ThemajorityofDalitwomenliveinthatchedhuts,pronetodestructionduetofire
and annual cyclones, thus needing major annual replacements, resulting in indebtedness. Hence
thereshouldbeapriorityallocationforhousingoftheDalitwomenlivinginhutsaswellashomeless
inurbanandruralareas.
TheStudyLocales:TamilnaduasastatehashadahistoryofworkingonschemesforDalitwomen.
The Women struggle Committee works who conducted this study in Tamilnadu works with
unorganisedsectorworkers.SamplefromthestudywaschosenfromTiruvallurDistrictastheDalit
womentherewereworkingtheirneedsonbasisoftheiraccesstonaturalresourcesandthusthese
women were not dependent on any one else for their needs. Displacement and land alienation
threatensthesituationoftheirlifesupportsystems.TheNagpattanamareawaschosenastheDalit
woman leadership had worked hard that they could access government schemes. 10,000 women
appliedforhousingandlandundergovernmentschemesandafewwereabletogetbenefitandin
ChennaislumstheDalitwomenhadalottosayonhowsocialsecurityandlaborrightsstandshort
changedandschemesofferedareprovidedasacharityinsteadofarightoftherecipient.Thehistory
of dalit womens organisation in the sample locales recons detailed information of the sample
localestounderstandtheresourcebaseofDalitwomeninTamilnadu.
ASNAPSHOTONDALITWOMENINTHERVOYTHIRUVALLURDISTRICT
ThervoyKandigaivillageisoneoftheinterior
Dalit villages in Tiruvallur district. Thervoy
village is situated at Northern most part of
Thiruvallur district. It comes under the
jurisdiction of Gumidipoondi Taluk. Most of
the people living in this village are marginal
farmersandagriculturallabourers.Agriculture
is done on the basis of irrigation from Lake,
Ponds and Canals. Thervoy village has 3500
acres of cultivated land. The presence of
canals, ponds and lakes in the village has
made the land very appropriate for
agriculture, producing Rice, Ground nuts,
Millets, Ragi, Jowar, and Sugarcane and for
rearingofcattle.Theonlysourceofirrigation
for agriculture is three large lakes feeding
entire fields. Water from catchment areas
also reaches Meikkal Poromboke (Grazing
lands of Govt) lands. The subsidiary
occupation of Thervoy is animal husbandry.
Flowers and vegetables are grown in the
village. Vegetables are brought out of the
villageandsoldonadailybasis.
Thervoy Kandigai village is surrounded by
dense shrubby forests, natural lakes, rice
37|P a g e

fields and undulating terrain with misty

mountain range of Sathyavedu in Andhra
Pradesh as the back drop. A storm that blew
away the dreams of Dalit women of Thervoy
was when TamilNadu Government handed
over 1127 acres of land to the French Tyre
company Michelin with a big investment
worth Rs.4000 crore for the state. The total
population of the village is approximately
5000 out of which 90% belong to SC/ST
category. There are approximately 3000
votersandnearly950households.SIPCOThas
forcibly acquired 1127 acres of Meikkal
poromboke land (grazing land) at Survey
number 32/2 and 33/2 under Thervoy
Kandigai Panchayat which for 100s of years
hasbeenacommonpropertyresourceforthe
villagers.In2008eventheforestDepartment
hadplannedareforestationintheareaunder
Social forestry. Despite Gram Sabha
resolutions against the land acquisition,
innumerable protests, including illegal
detention for protesting, Govt of Tamilnadu
andSIPCOThadgoneaheadandacquiredthe
landinthearea.

Thereisalsoavastareaofreserveforestwith
thousands of medicinal plants and trees. In
addition there was the vast area of grazing
land for the cattle. The people of Thervoy
village and neighboring villages were
dependent on these resources for making
their livelihood. In the last Tamilnadu
governmentperiod,DMKselected1205acres
offorestlandofThervoyvillagetoimplement
SIPCOT project. The 1127 acres of acquired
land were given for establishing Multi
National Companies (MNCs) such as Michelin
Tyre Company, Aluminium and Ferrous Alloy
Metal Marker Hunter Douglus India Pvt. Ltd.,

Harsha Float Glass India, Tamil Nadu

ElectricityBoardandHarshaExitoEngineering
Company. Due to this land acquisition by the
TamilnaduGovernmentinThervoyvillagethe
Dalit women are very badly affected.
Government decided to form an Industrial
park in Thervoy village and issued notice in
January 2007 regarding acquisition of lands.
From then onwards the people of Thervoy
village started to protest against the
Government decision. The forest and water
resources where badly affected from January
2009, following which the struggle of the
peoplebecameveryserious.

StatusofDalitWomensLandRights:Duringthesameperiod,theDalitwomenofThervoyvillage
where given agricultural land by the State Government in the year 20102011. Totally 17 Dalit
womenreceived2acresof landeach.Fromtheinteraction inthevillageitisunderstoodthatthe
landdistributionwasnotdonebyadecisionofGramSabhaoraspertherealneedandnotgivenfor
the real beneficiaries. The 17 women who had received land are family members of the elected
Panchayathmembersorreportedtohavepaidbribetogettheland.Thesewomenwhohadgotthe
landarealsonotmakinganylivelihoodastheaccesstowaterfordoingagricultureisdenieddueto
destruction of lakes and canals by SIPCOT. Most of the Dalit women in the village do not own
agricultural land in their name. The agricultural land which is owned by the men is traditionally
owned over generations. Majority of them are marginal farmers. The situation of widow and
destitute women of Dalit community is worse as they find it very difficult to even provide three
timesmealtotheirchildren.Mostofthemarepoorlypaidagriculturalworkerswhoworkfordaily
wage.InthissituationtheMNCswhohadoccupiedtheland have impactedthe agricultureofthe
village.Thepeoplewhodependonagriculturearelosingtheirlivelihoodandtheirincomelevelhas
reducedvastly.AsaresultthereisincreaseinpovertywhichhasadverseimpactonDalitwomen.
DalitwomenandHerbs:These forestsarealsoanaturalpharmacyforthevillagers.Whetheritis
diabetes, healing of broken backs, fever, skin desease, antidotes for snake bites, these forests
provide over 150 herbs for treatment. We dont have hospitals in this area; we depend on our
foresttocureussaidlocalvillagewomenKundhiyamma&Tamarai.Wehavebeingguardingthe
forest / Grazing land for 200 years. Adjacent to the tyre factory is a reserved forest. We are self
employedanddonotrequireemployment.WhynotlocatetheMichelintyrecompanyinFranceor
in Gummidipoondi industrial area? said Nayanamma The old women are the most attached to
forest/grazingLandandsangsongsonforests,agricultureandAmbedkar.TheyaretheHeroinesof
thestruggles.
Livestockandnaturalresources:Morethan35.33%oftherespondentsfearedthattheirlivestock
wouldbedecreased.Currentlytheyhavethelivestockasresources2500Cows,5000Goatsanda
1000hens.TreesintheThervoyvillageincludemango,palm,neem,tamarind,coconut,eucalyptus
and cashew.Impactonwater catchmentarea andothernatural water bodies wasnegative dueto
destructionofforest.Inthemeikkalprombokelands,rainwaterinthecatchmentareafallintothe
threelakesandothersmallwaterbodies.Furthertheanaicutthatisbeingconstructedtostorethe
surpluswaterfromThervoyKandigaiPeriyarLakewillservenopurposesincethewatersourcefor
theLakeisdestroyed.In2011P.W.DclosedtheThondaimanLakeaffectingcultivationin300acres.
38|P a g e

Thisadministrativedescisionaffectslivelihoodandresourcebaseofwomenwhoatpresentsurvive
withoutgovernmentcare.Alandownerwillsellofhislandifitbecomesunproductive.Womenwho
farminhislandfaceinvisibleretrenchmentthatisnotcoveredanygovernmentscheme.
TypesofShelter:36%oftherespondentsofthisstudyinthevillagearelivinginthatchedhuts.Itis
significant that most of the respondents do not have proper housing facility where as only 14 %
respondentsarelivinginIndraAwasYojanawhichisaGovernmentSchemeHouse.ThervoyVillage
remains a predominantly agricultural village in which the people source their shelter, food and
livelihood from the land and forest. Ownership, control, or even mere access to these resources
enables members of Dalit community of Thervoy village to survive and also to control their own
development. The unequal property relations translate into imbalances in power; the majority is
unable to influence or define development policies or enjoy personal safety free of threats or
violence.
Women make up half of the Thervoy village and are at the centre of the struggle. They perform
backbreakingproductiveandreproductiveworkinthevillageandareinvolvedinbothfoodandcash
cropproductionandinthedailymaintenanceoftheirchildrenandhouseholds.Thisdoubleburden
isdaunting,butDalitwomenslimitedaccesstoland,waterandforestsintensifiestheburdensthat
they bear because of their gender. As women are responsible for ensuring meals for the family,
food,waterandfuelsourcesaretheirparticularconcerns.Classandgenderinequalitiescoexistin
Thervoy village, with other forms of discrimination such as caste. These inequalities contribute to
womensincreasingeconomicmarginalisationandminimalroleindecisionmakingprocesses.
Inthepresentgenerationmostofthegirlsareeducatedandhavecompletedtheirhighereducation
andeagertofinishtheirgraduationbuttheirdreammightremainunfulfilledforeverifthesituation
inthevillagecontinues.Intheeraofglobalisation,theemphasisoneconomicliberalizationandthe
opening up of developing countries to even more unequal trade and foreign investments has
increasedwomensburdenswhichisevidentatThervoyvillage.
DiscriminationandDenialofWomensEqualRightstoLandandInheritance:Discriminationagainst
womenimpliesthedenialofinheritancerightsinland.Thisresultsingrossexploitationofwomens
labour and their impoverishment in Thervoy village. From the discussion we realize that women
performwellover50 %of all agriculturalwork in thevillage.Nearly 20 % ofrural households are
nowwomenheaded.However,veryfewwomenholdtitlestolandandhaveaccesstoindependent
agriculturalcredit.Theimpoverishingimpactoflandlessnessisexacerbatedbysocialexclusionand
discriminationforDalitwomenhereinthevillage.
InThervoyvillagewomenspovertyisdirectlyrelatedtotheabsenceofeconomicopportunitiesand
autonomy,lackofaccess toeconomicresources,includingcredit,landownership and inheritance.
Thisresultsinlackofaccesstoeducationandsupportservicesandtheirminimalparticipationinthe
decisionmaking process. Eradication of poverty based on sustained economic growth, social
development, environmental protection and social justice requires the involvement of women in
economic and social development and equal opportunities and the full and equal participation of
womenandmenasagentsandbeneficiariesofpeoplecenteredsustainabledevelopment.
TheyunderstoodthesituationinthevillageandtheystronglywantedtoagitateagainsttheMichelin
Company.On17thMarch2011,500womenfromthevillagehadprotestedinfrontofMichelinTyre
Company.DuringtheprotestthePoliceresortedtolathichargeagainstthewomen.Duringthattime
policeraidedsomeofthehouses.About160womengotarrestedon20thMarch2011.Atleast300
Villagers including more than 100 women, were arrested for intercepting a lorry and staging a
39|P a g e

protest at Thervoy Kandigai. There is a longer history of struggles by the whole community. The
grazing land forms an important water catchment for three big lakes which are the lifeline for
agricultureofthepeople.Besidestherewere110medievalherbsintheforestincludingforsnake
biteandskindiseases.TheyareManiKeerai,KaduchyaKeerai,Janniverkeerai,Prandiilai,vilailai,
Devtharaiilai,Adupuilai.TheforestalsogavefruitnamelyKommi,Kona,Palai,Murutta,Vakkalai,
Kundu, Plicha, Veeru, Thavittu, Kila and these fruits satisfy the hunger during non employment
periods.

CommonPropertyResources:Theresourceswomenusearelistedhereas
thesearewhatthelifeofdalitwomendependson.Ifthesearetaken
awayandtheyhavenoaccesstoschemes,thenalltheirdignityislost.

Firewood:TheMajority98%ofthepeoplessaidtheyusethefirewoodfromcommon
propertyresources.
GrazingLand:ThirtythreeoutofsixtyfivepeoplesaidthattheyobtaingrazingLandfree
ofcostwhichtheyuseforfeedingtheircattle.
Medicinal Herbs: It is stated that 80.67 % of the people use the medical herbs from
commonpropertyresources.
Waterbodies:Itisevidentthat68.67%ofthepeopleuseirrigation facilitiesfromthe
lakes,Ponds,watercatchmentAreaandTanksforcultivation

HealthIssues:InThervoyvillagethereisnoPrimaryHealthCentreforabout5000peoplewith2500
women.Therearenoprofessionallyqualifieddoctorsinthevillage.Asthereisnohospitalfacilityin
the village they go for treatments to Redhills Government Hospital which is 18 kms away. During
emergencies they find it very difficult to go to the hospital. They also do not have proper bus
facilities from the village. For minor health problems they make use of herbs or a medical shop
whichisthereinthevillageitself.
SanitationandSafety:MostofthehousesinThervoyvillagedonothavetoiletfacilities.Themen
useopenplacesfordefecationandwomenandyounggirlsgototheforestfordefecation.Butafter
theforestwasdestroyedtheyfinditverydifficultforgoingtotoiletoutside.Theygofarawayfrom
thevillagetogofortoilet.Sincetherearemanymenworkingforlevelingthelandforthecompany
thewomenfeelinsecurewhentheygoforopendefecation.Agirlreportedthatwhenshewentfor
toilet,amanwhowasworkinginthecompanypassedthroughthatwaycreatedproblemtothegirl.
Hepulledtheblouseofthegirlandtriedtomisbehavewiththegirl.Shefoundherwaytoescape
from him with great difficulty. These kinds of incidents for the women of Thervoy village are
happeningveryoften.
Lack of Transport Facilities: Before establishing the private companies in Thervoy there was no
proper road facilities in and around the village. But now there are very good road facilities laid.
Althoughthereisroadfacilitythereisnopropertransportationfacilitiesarrangedforthepeoplein
Thervoyvillage.Thereisonlyonegovernmentbuswhichcomestothevillageforfixedthreetimes
perdayamorningtrip,afternoontripandlateeveningtrip.Thevillagepeoplefindverydifficultfor
goingoutofthevillage.
Government Schemes: The people are not at all aware about the Special Component Plan. The
people get old age pension, widow pension, and education help for children till higher education.
They are not aware about the livelihood training programmes of THADCO. There are totally 285
womenSHGsfunctioningintheThervoyvillageandtheyhavereceivedrevolvingfundandloanwith
40|P a g e

subsidy.TheNREGschemewasimplementedinthevillageandtherewheremorethan100sofmen
andwomenwhogotbenefitedbutthePanchayathdidnotreleasethefullamountofwage,onlyRs.
70waspaidaswageperdaytomenandRs.50aswageforwomenperday.
Given the above account it becomes clear that government schemes do not reach the most
deserving.
ASNAPSHOTONDALITWOMENINNAGAPPATTINAMDISTRICT
In Nagapattinam District, some details could be collected about the implementation of Special
Component plan with the details of access to land, credit, services and infrastructure for Dalit
women. We could get the support of LAFTI (Land for Tillers Freedom) organisation and the
Nagapattinam District Administration in collecting the information. We selected four villages in
NagapattinamdistrictsuchasPorkalankudi,PeriyaChathanKudi,MelaOdhiyathurofKilvelurTaluk
andPoovanthoppuofVedaranyamTaluk.Inthementionedfirstthreevillages,theDalitwomenare
agricultural workers and LAFTI has done interventions during 199193; in Poovanthoppu the Dalit
womenaresaltworkersandLAFTIdidnotintervene.WhereLAFTIhasdoneinterventions,thestatus
ofDalitwomenhasgotraisedandspecialcomponentplanwasimplementedtocertainlevel.
LAFTI (Land for Tillers Freedom) was founded by Sarvodaya Leaders, Ms Krishnammal and her
husbandandFreedomFighterSriJagannathanin1981.ThecouplehadcometoNagaiDistrictsoon
aftertheKilvenmani atrocitywhichtookplaceon 25thDecember,1968when 44Dalitwomen,old
men and children where burnt alive by henchmen of the landlord when the Dalit labourers
demandedminimumwages.TheSarvodayaleadersstudiedtherootcauseofagrarianunresttobe
landlessnessamongDalitsandfeltthattheprevailingbondageofDalitagriculturallabourerscould
only be tackled through Land distribution. They started camping in the villages and organizing
landlesslabourers,especially,women.LAFTIwasdevotedtopurchasinglandfordistributioninone
acre plots, with the aid of bank loans and government subsidies. Apart from land distribution,
housingschemesandbuildingofsmallvillageindustriesaswellaspurchaseofmilkcattlewerealso
implemented,saysDr.D.GabrieleinherstudyonWomensMovementinIndia.
LAFTIwasformedwiththeideaoflanddistributioninwomensnamestoDalitsforruraleconomic
development. It is based in the village of Kuthur and serves thousands of Dalit families in
Nagapattinam and Thiruvarur District. It started with the non violent struggle for land from Big
LandlordssuchasValivalamDesikarandTemplelands.Whentheyexposedthesurpluslandsunder
Landceilinglaw(Ceilingbeing15standardacres)heldbylandlordsandcultivatedbyDalits,using
nonviolenceandappealonthebasisofBhoodan(LandGift)Movement,createdbyAcharyaVinoba
Bhave, the landlords came forward to give up their lands.The significance of this nonviolent land
revolutionisstilltoberecognized,butBhoodhanandLAFTImovementshavebeeninstrumentalin
distributing 15000 acres of land to 15000 landless poor families in the names of Dalit women,
through nonviolent campaigns for the purchase of land for a reasonable price, or the lease of
templeortrustlandforcultivationbythevillagecommunity.
TheLanddistributiontowomenwastheoutcomeoftwofactors:firstly,Dalitwomencarryoutmost
oftheagriculturaloperationsandaretotallydependentonagriculture;andsecondly,mendrinkalot
andGramSwarajMovement(includingLAFTI)hadbeenstrugglingagainstillicitliquoraswellasGovt
liquorshops.Itwasfeltbyvillagecommunitiesthatthelandifgiveninmensnameswouldbesold
or mortgaged hence it was decided to distribute 1 acre of land each to Dalit women. There are 2
conditions:1)thelandshouldnotbesoldtoanyoneandwithouttheapprovalofLAFTI,2)theLoan
41|P a g e

money should be returned in installments and then lands get registered in the Dalit Womens
names.
ThemenandwomeninthevillagesofKilvelurTalukafteragricultureseasondonothavealternative
livelihood option to earn meal for their family. In this situation LAFTI organisation has helped the
people to avail alternative livelihood by providing them cattle for loan with subsidy from Punjab
National Bank under NABARD scheme. Also they had constructed mat weaving and skirt stitching
centre in the villages for Dalit women which contributes to their livelihood. In addition there is a
savingsschemeintroducedbyLAFTIinwhich20membersjointlydosavingsandthemoneysavedis
depositedinthelocalpostofficebywhichtheygettheirsavedmoneybackwithinterestandused
forpayingthedebts,constructionofhouses,marriageofchildren,educationofchildren,etc.
LAFTI is committed to raising the social status and acceptability of the Dalit caste, so called
untouchables. It has negotiated with the government for land subsidies, and with the banks for
reduced interest loans for the purchase of land. LAFTI's housing scheme was created during the
droughtperiodof198687,initiallyasameansofprovidingalternativeemployment.Brickandtile
making industry was set up in 10 centers, and later with government subsidies, single room
tenements where built with the bricks to replace the crumbling straw huts. It has
createdWomen'sRightsgroupsandYouthForumsinmanyvillages.
Ms.Krishnammal Jeganathan, was born to a landless Dalit family in 1926 and had University
Education and involved with the Gandhian Sarvodaya Movement.She is the founder Secretary of
LAFTIandhasreceivedmanyawardssuchasSwamiPranavanandaPeaceAward(1987),theJamnalal
Bajaj Award (1988) and Padma Shri in 1989. In 1996 the couple received the Bhagavan Mahaveer
Award,SummitFoundationAward(2008),UniversityofSeattleandalsoRighttoLivelihoodAward.
Porkalakudi : Porkalakudi is a fertile hamlet in Venkidangal Panchayat, Kilvelur Taluk in
Nagappattinam District with a total population of 350 people including, 145 men, 135
women,(widows11,Deserted4),45childrenand30oldpeople.Ithas6BigLandlordsand102Small
farmers.102womenhavereceivedland1acreeachthroughLafti.
Previously Dalit Women were working as wage slaves (Wage Labourers with debt) and so they
organizedthemselvestostruggleforlandandthisledtogivingawayofthelandbyLandlordstothe
Laftischeme.
Thelandstotheextentof102acreswerereceivedfrombigandsmallfarmerstoLAFTIscheme.It
started with one land lord being a Headmaster from Mudikondan (40km away) who could not
manage agriculture in a far off place while having property in own village Mudikondan. Since he
cameforwardtogiveuphislandtoLAFTIscheme,theothersalsocameforward.So102acrescould
bedistributedto102DalitWomenincluding11Widowsand4desertedwomen.
Someofthenewwomenfarmershaveworkedhardandmadeenoughmoneytobuymorelandand
thatreallyshowshowinvolvedtheDalitwomenarewithLafticommitment.
PeriachankudiPeriyachathankudiisafertilehamletinKottarakudiPanchayat,ThirumarugalBlockin
Nagappattinam District with a total population of 140, with 80 Men 60 Women(widows2). 24
Womenreceivedland1acreeachthroughLafti.
PreviouslyDalitWomenwhereworkingonlyaswagelabourersandsotheyorganizedthemselvesto
struggleforlandandthisledtogivingawayofthelandbyLandlordsonlytotheextentof24acres
42|P a g e

totheLaftischeme.Oneparticularlandlordhadexpiredandsincehischildrenhadalsomigratedto
citiesandwerewillingtogivelandtoLafti.
TheDalitfamiliesliveinthatchedhousesonwastelandandmaketheirlife.Theeconomicsituation
ofthelandlessfamiliesisverybad.Thewholefamily,includingthechildren,goesforworktomake
theirlivelihood.Thissituationmakesthewholefamilyvulnerableandoneofthemajorreasonsforit
becomesthecastediscrimination.Inadditionthenonavailabilityofbasicfacilitiesinthisvillageadds
burdenontheDalitwomen.
SocioeconomicconditionoftheDalitwomenisverypoorexceptthosewhohavereceivedland.The
Dalit women in Periyachathan kudi are working as agricultural labourers in the nearby farms, and
earn very meagreamount which is not even enough to survive. There are no proper sanitation
facilities in the village, women and children go for open defecation in the early morning and late
evening.Therearenogovernmentbusfacilitiestothevillageonlyoneprivateminibusisrunningto
andfrotovillageforthreetimesaday.TheNREGschemeisavailableinthevillagebutitdoesnot
ensurejobfor100days,itisgivenonlyfor20to30daysinayearandtheyarepaidonlyRs.50toRs.
75perday.TheDalitwomenfindnosourceformakingincomeorincreasetheirincome.
Mela Odhiyathur : Mela Odhiyathur is a fertile hamlet in Eravanchery Panchayat, Kilvelur Block in
NagappattinamDistrictwithatotalpopulationof350thatinclude225men,125Women(widows3,
Deserted2),4biglandlordsand18smallfarmers.18womenreceivedland1acreeachthroughLafti.
This village is predominantly an agricultural village where majority of the people are agricultural
labourers. The people are dependent on agriculture as the major occupation. Agriculture is done
onlyonseasonalbasisastheareaisdeltaregion.Waterforagricultureisavailableonlyfor6months
inayear.Theremaining6monthstheagriculturallabourersfamilydoesnothaveemployment.
Although the LAFTI has provided various supports the women headed households especially the
landless,struggletomaketheirlivelihood.Iftheydonotworkthechildrengetonlyonetimemealin
a day. They say that if they work the whole year without break then only they can survive. In
addition if somebody in a family falls ill or some additional major expenses incurred in the family
thenthefamilyfallsindebt.Thentheburdenofdebtgetsshoulderedbythewomeninthefamily.
Someofthemendonothavetheresponsibilitytorunthefamilyastheyearnandspendforalcohol.
The young Dalit women in the village have gone to Thirupur, Coimbatore and Chennai to baniyan
companiesandexportcompaniesinsearchofjobsandstaythereandearnincomewhichisusedto
feedtheirfamilyandevensomeofthemwhoareunmarried,savemoneyfortheirmarriage.
Poovanthoppu: The Poovanthoppu village is a hamlet under Agasthiyampalli Panchayat of
Vedaranyamtaluk.Therearetotally45Dalitfamilieslivinginthisvillagewiththepopulationof250
people. The State Government has constructed 45 concrete houses post tsunami for the
PoovanthoppuvillageDalitpeople.TheyaresolelydependentonSaltpansfortheirlivelihood.They
work as wage labourers doing salt pan work for the employers who are lease holders of Salt
Department(GovtofIndia)lands.
The Women and men do the work of pan preparation, scraping of salt and carrying salt but their
wagesareunequal.TheytakeadvanceofRs.5000fromleaseholdersandworkforverylonghours
andallthefamilymembersincludingchildrenareinvolvedinthiswork.Itbecomesabondedlabour
situationindirectly.Thewagesareverylow,wagepaidtowomenrangesfromRs.110120andto
themenvariesfromRs.140to160perday.Duringrainyseasontheydonothaveworksotheyget
43|P a g e

intodebtstoruntheirfamily.Theygotoworkatthemidnightat2.00amandcomebacktohomeby
eveningat4pm.Thereforethechildrendonotgetattentionandarenotfedwellbytheparents.As
a result the children suffer from malnutrition. The children without proper care do not get any
opportunity for growth and development. Many of the children in the village are illiterate. The
parentsdonothavetimetocookfortheirchildren.Onlyintheeveningaftertheyreturnbackfrom
theirjobtheygettimetopreparefoodfortheirchildren.Thehealthofthechildrenisverypoor.
The men and women working in the salt pan suffer various health disorders such as eye sight
problem, skin disorders, etc. At this juncture they dont even have proper medical health care
facilities inthevillage andtheyareso much dependent on the saltpanthattheydonteventake
careofthemselvesandgotohospitaltooutsidevillage.Theycontinuetoworkinthesaltpanwith
allformsofhealthdisordersandtheycontinuetoputtheirlifeattheriskofdeath.Onemaleworker
at 46 had become blind and the woman shoulders the family responsibility. 22 of the families of
Poovanthoppuvillagehavesmallplotsof5060centsofagriculturelandwhichisownedbythem
traditionally in mens names. This land also got saline during Tsunami and it was not desalted by
governmentnordidanyNGOtakestepforthewelfareofthesepeople.
EventhoughtheDalitwomensaltworkersareproducingsalt,anessentialfooditemandonlands
ownedbytheGovtofIndia,thewomenareatthelowestendofthehierarchyandintermediaries
andthePrincipalemployerCentralGovtseemunaffectedbythepitiableconditionofDalitwomen
salt workers.Hence Resource rights need to be ensured to collectives of Dalit Women agricultural
workersbytheprincipalemployer.
Chennai
In Chennai District, the slum population (including
upgradedslum)wouldbeonethirdthepopulation
ofChennaiandDalitswouldaccountfor50%ofthe
slum population. Ninty women workers in the
UnorganizedSectorwereinterviewed,including72
Dalit women and 18 non Dalit women. Another
eight Educated Dalit Women were also
interviewed.
ThegroupscoveredincludedPavementDwellersin
Mayor Ramanathan Road, Chetpet, Fire affected
SlumOld Zoo, Slum areas such as Annai Satya Nagar Rajaji Salai, Radhakrishnapuram (RA Puram),
Kannagi Nagar Resettlement Colony, Round Building (Anna Nagar West Ext) Tamilnadu Housing
Board, Sathya Nagar upgraded slum (Anna Nagar East) and Pachaikal Veerasamy St, Slum
ClearanceBoardTenements(Ayanavaram).
HousingLawsSchemesandPractice
The Tamil Nadu Slum Areas Act 1970 was
enacted by Govt of Tamilnadu according to
which slum areas would be notified and
protected against evictions. Further the Act
provides for Clearance and in situ
developmentaswellasimprovementthrough
Tamilnadu Slum Clearance Board, a statutory
44|P a g e

bodyundertheAct.From1971to1976many
slumareaswereclearedandTamilnaduSlum
ClearanceBoardhadbuiltinsitutenementsin
allthoseareasincludingriversideareas.
In 1977, Madras Urban Development Project
was initiated with World Bank assistance,

plotswereallottedonasiswhereisprinciple
onleasecumsalebasisandloansforhousing
up gradation and basic amenities where
providedtoslumdwellers.
From1988,TamilNaduSlumClearanceBoard
went into a program of eviction and
relocationtofaroffplacesandthathadledto
Resettlement colonies in Velachery,
Pallikkaranai,
Kannagi
Nagar
and
Chemenchery. This has put slum dwellers,
majority of them Dalits, especially Dalit
Women and children to great hardships. This
has been raised by many organizations such
as Pennurimai Iyakkam (Womens Rights
Movement),UnorganisedWorkersFederation
andNationalAllianceofPeoplesMovements.
National Commission for Women through
Womens Struggle Committee (Chennai) held
aPublicHearingonAtrocitiesonDalitWomen
on 30th October in 2011 at JD Hall Loyola
College Chennai , at the end of which the
Panel recommended that Slum eviction and
displacements to far off places should be
stopped.

APublicHearingwasheldon6thJanuary2010
at World University Service Centre, Chennai
by Chennai Slum Dwellers Rights Movement
with,aPanelconsistingofRetiredHighCourt
Judge, Retired IAS Officer, Educationists and
Social Worker. It also upheld that Slum
Eviction should be stopped. Tamilnadu Slum
Areas Act should be implemented through
insitu development and that slum dwellers
should be consulted and provided with
alternateaccommodationwithin3km.
Nevertheless the Slum Evictions and
resettlementtofaroffplaceshadtakenplace
in the last 5 years leading to deprivation and
increased dropouts. Among theDalit Women
employed in Domestic Work, Construction,
Street Vending, Basket Weaving, Sanitary
work etc,many have lost their livelihoods,
since it is time consuming and expensive to
come back near their old homes for their
livelihoodsmostofthechildrentraveltotheir
schools for long distances and many dropout
after a while. The Recommendations of the
Public Hearing were sent to national
committees.Howeveractionthatneedstobe
taken requires tireless follow up by local
workersorganisations.

UnorganisedWorkersWelfareBoardsandSocialSecurity
The 17 Unorganised Workers Sectoral Welfare Boards Constituted under Tamilnadu Manual
Workers Act 1982 provide for registration of various occupational groups of unorganized workers
such as construction, domestic, leather, handloomworkers, dhobi etc and assistance for Accident,
Death,Maternity,ChildrensEducation,Marriageetc.
From 2008, the system of registration of new workers as well as provision of benefit through
WelfareBoardshasbeenmadedifficultduetosystemicchangesthroughGOMs122,123and124.
DomesticWorkers
DomesticWorkersintheStatestruggledfordecadestogetaseparateWelfareBoardforDomestic
Workers. Domestic Workers in the main belong to Dalit Community. As per the Report of NCEUS
they are registered and they can access Welfare measures. Domestic Workers Union and
Unorganised Wokers Federation have been demanding Minimum Wages for Domestic Workers.
Domestic Workers were interviewed in Round Building, Annai Sathya Nagar, Anna Nagar, Kannagi
NagarandRajaAnnamalaiPuram.

45|P a g e

SanitaryWorkers
Women amongAdiAndhras andArundhatiyars are commonly employed as SanitaryWorkers. The
Police and Health Department as well as Chennai Municipal Corporation employ thousands of
women sanitary workers on casual and contract basis. They have no work place protection and
contractdiseases.TheWomenSanitaryWorkersinPoliceDepartmenthadstruggledfordecadesto
raisetheirmonthlyearningsfromRs.60to130,then450andRs.900from2002.Twoyearsagotheir
services have been regularized but with consolidated monthly emoluments of Rs.1100 Rs.3000.
These earnings are not equal to their counterparts who are permanent and not even minimum
wages are fixed by the Collector (Rs.6500pm). Sanitary Workers from Police Department and
workingunderNeelMetalCompany(Contractor)ofChennaiCorporationwereinterviewedinRound
Building,AnnaiSathyaNagar,AnnaNagar,KannagiNagarandRajaAnnamalaiPuram.
WastePickers
WastePickersarewomenandmenbelongingtoDalitCommunityandtheycollectvariouskindsof
wastefromGarbageBinsoffices,homesandfromGarbagedumps inthecity.TheycollectPlastic,
Iron,Paper,usedbottlesetcforrecycling.Thoughtheydosociallyusefulwork,theyareunprotected
and contract diseases in the course of employment. They carry out municipal function and their
workneedsrecognitionbyCorporationandtheymustbeprovidedwithglovesandshoesandmust
havetherighttocollectrecyclablewastefromhomesandnotgetharassedbypolice.WastePickers
wereinterviewedinRoundBuildingandAnnaiSathyaNagar.
StreetVendors
ScoresofDalitwomenareStreetVendorsinChennaiCity.Theysellflowers,fruitsandvegetableson
the streets for decades with very small capital (Rs 1001000) borrowed with high interest and get
constantly harassed by police and civic authorities. Though National Policy on Street Vendors was
putoutbyGovtofIndiaduetoeffortofSEWAandNASVI,theStateGovttilldatehasnotdonea
properSurvey.TheGovernmenthasnotprovidedthewomenandmenstreetvendorswithIDCards
nor allotted spaces for shops nor provided credit and transport facilities. Street Vendors were
interviewedinKannagiNagarAnnaiSathyaNagar(BeachVendors).
BasketWeavers
Women Basket Weavers belong to Scheduled Caste Community and their everyday life is full of
insecurities. Two groups of basket weavers where studied. Those in Mayor Ramanathan Road are
homelessandhavenoplaceexceptpavementtocarryoutBasketWeaving,Cooking,Sleepingand
Selling their wares. They were originally slum dwellers and the slum was demolished in 2008 for
building an Elevated Express Way and though over 700 families got alternate accommodation in
Kannagi Nagar, nearly 40 basket weavers families and over 60 vendors and domestic workers, all
Dalit,werenotgivenalternateaccommodationandthoughmostofthemarelivinginothernearby
slumonrentalbasis,thebasketweaversarelivingonpavements.Theygotocitysoutskirtsforest
areastocollectthereedsandgetharassedbyForestGuardstowhomtheyhavetopaybribes.They
areconstantlyharassedbyPoliceandcivicauthoritieswhohavetakenawaytheirwares34times
during the last 3 years. The State Govt and Corporation of Chennai till date have not bothered to
providesheltersforpavementdwellersinspiteoftheSupremeCourtJudgmentinWPNo.196/2001.
ConstructionWorkers
46|P a g e

DalitWomenConstructionWorkersdounskilledworkofcarryingbricks,CementmixtureandWater
pots on their heads and climbing ladders and stair cases and providing the materials to skilled
masons who are men belonging to other castes. The Dalit women Construction Workers are
recruitedeitherfrommarketplace,gettingjob3daysaweekorthroughmaistri(45daysaweek)or
directlybycontractor(6daysaweek).Thewageratesareinverselyproportionaltotheavailability
regular employment. Rs.300/ per day is the daily wage rate of a market place labourer. Maistri
attached labourer is paid Rs.200 250 per day and those who work regularly for a contractor for
decades get paid Rs.150 200 per day. The important issue with women construction workers is
thattheyarehelpersfrombeginningtoend.Themengetopportunitiesforskillupgradationwhich
womendonot.Afewwomenwhoarewivesofmasonsandworkingalongsidetheirhusbandswill
getsome opportunity to upgradetheir skills. But Dalit womenConstruction Workers work only as
helpers and eke out their livelihoods as helpers for their lifetime. The Dalit Women Construction
workerswereinterviewedinRoundBuilding,AnnaiSathiyaNagar,AnnaNagar,KannagiNagarand
atAyanavaram.
HOUSINGRIGHTSDENIED
Athirdofthecitypopulationlivesinslumstodayin6%oftheCitysAreasaysthestudyreporton
slumsin1970.ThereareoveralakhofpavementdwellersinChennaicityandallofthemareDalits.
Onesuchgroupwasinterviewed.ThereisaSupremeCourtRulingonPavementdwellersinWP
318/2008stipulatingthatadequateShelterswithbasicamenitiesshouldbecreatedforPavement
Dwellersinallcitieswithpopulationover5lakhs.ButthepresenceofmanythousandsofDalit
familiesonthepavementsinChennaiisadirectviolationoftheSCorder.
Informationfromtheprimarydata
Characteristicsoftherespondents:

145Dalitsand53nonDalitswereinterviewed,withmalerespondentsbeing40%inDalits
and26.4%ofnonDalits.
Thehouseholdsizewith1to5wasfoundin96.4%ofDalithouseholdsand97%ofnonDalit
households.
32(22.07%)outof145Dalithouseholdshavereportedafemalehead,while21(39.62%)out
of53nonDalitshouseholdhavereportedthesame.
Majorityofrespondentswereintheagegroupof18to55amongDalits.
InDalitsaswellasinnonDalitsthesexratiowasabovethenationalaverage,inDalits997
andinnonDalits1044.

Education:Illiteracy is predominant among Dalit women, with 28.52% being illiterate. Among the
nonliteratesinDalitsthereareabout89.53%womenand10.47%men,whereasamongtheNon
Dalitstheyareabout70.83%womenand29.17%men.Intheprimarylevelthereare57.84%women
and 42.16% men among theDalits and inthe nonDalits 35% women and 65% men.In thehigher
secondary level they are about 39.25% women and 60.75% men in Dalits and in non Dalits 45%
women and 55% men. Apparently the participation of Dalit women gradually reduces in the post
graduation,M.Phillevel.TheinstitutionsofeducationaccessedamongtheDalits3.94%ofwomen
and5.38%ofmenhaveaccessededucationinprivateschools,whereas14.29%womenand13.64%
menamongthenonDalitshaveaccessedprivateeducation,majorityofDalitwomenandmenstudy
inGovtschoolsi.e.,63.05%womenand65.92%men,andamongnonDalits57.14%ofwomenand
66.67%ofmen.
47|P a g e

AmongDalits,1.97%womenand6.73%mencouldnotgetgoodeducationbecauseofbeingaDalit,
andthosenotabletoaccesseducationbecauseofbeingawomanis12.81%inDalitsand3.90%in
nonDalits.AmongtheDalits37.9%womensaidthattheydidnotgetbenefittedfromeducationand
innonDalitsitis5.07%.IfeducationisofanyimpactontheDalits,34.5%ofDalitsand37.7%ofnon
Dalits,sayreformandprogressonallfrontsisachieved.But29.7%inDalitsand1.9%ofnonDalits
say poverty suppress the advantage of education, and 11% Dalits and 5.7% of non Dalits, say
patriarchysuppressestheadvantageofeducation.ThesurveyshowsthatsizeablenumbersofDalits
have no proper accessibility to education and the primary reasonsseem to be caste division and
poverty.Dalitwomenaretwiceoppressedanddeniedofeducation.
Inthedistributionofprimaryassetholdings:Housingownership,isfoundtobe47.02%ofwomen
and52.98%ofmeninDalits,whereasamongnonDalits,itis35.19%womenand64.81%ofmen.
Landisownedby16.13%womenand83.87%meninDalits,whereas37.50%womenand65.50%
men in non Dalit. Which means that Dalit Women have least land.Those with livestock, 57.58%
women 42.42% men in Dalits, where as 66.67% women and 33.33% men in non Dalits. Meaning
more non dalit women have livestock. Shopkeepers are 100% men; there are no female shop
keepers.
The survey shows that Dalitwomen possess more land and livestock in comparison with the non
Dalits. And the main reason behind this is the proactive step taken by NGO, LAFTI in a particular
district.However,thegenderequitystillremainsadistantreality.
The survey shows that Dalit females possess less land and livestock in comparison with the non
Dalits.TheproactivesteptakenbyNGO,LAFTIinaparticulardistrictdidnotgeteithergenderequity
orDalitwomenequality.
NononDalitwomenwerefoundinprofessionssuchaswastepickingandsanitarywork.Whereas
Dalitwomenwere2.5timesmorelikelytobedomesticworkersthanthenonDalitwomen.

Occupationandincome:14.21%womenand7.65%ofmeninDalits,&21.21%womenand14%men
innonDalitsamongtherespondentsmentionedtheiroccupationasagricultureontheirownland.
2.03%womenand1.18%ofmeninDalitsarewastepickersamongtherespondents,andamongthe
nonDalitsitisnotexistent.ThoseasAgriculturallaborers,thereare11.68%womenand18.24%
meninDalits&19.70%womenand16%meninnonDalits.InGovtadministrativejobabout1.02%
womenand3.53%meninDalits&1.52%womenand4%ofmeninnonDalits.AmongSanitary
workersthereare3%womenand1.76%meninDalitsandamongnonDalitsitisnotexistent.
11.68%Dalitsand4.55%nonDalits,asDomesticworkers.NononDalitwomenwerefoundin
professionssuchaswastepickingandsanitarywork.WhereasDalitwomenwere2.5timesmore
likelytobedomesticworkersthanthenonDalitwomen.2.8%ofDalitssaythattheyhaveadequate
employmentandlistthedisadvantagescausedduetoinadequateemploymentaslackof
confidence,whichisabout15.9%inDalits.27.6%Dalitsand20.8%nonDalitsareintoindebtedness
andlackofresourceswasthestatedreasonfor20%Dalitsand7.5%nonDalits.Thereasonbehind
inadequacyofemploymentweregivenasInflationby2.8%Dalits.13.8%Dalitsand9.4%nonDalits,
statedLackofgoodemployment.Lackofdignitywasthestatedreasonfor9%Dalitswhereas
povertywasthestatedreasonfor20%Dalits,and7.68%nonDalits.
Taking into consideration the occupation and income, it clearly portraits, that the occupation is
based on caste. Not many Dalits are accessing land ownership for there is still high prevalence of
48|P a g e

landholdinginthehandsofdominantcaste.Intheoccupationofwastepickers,domesticworkers
andsanitaryworkersitisstilltheDalitswhoarefoundpredominantly.
Institutionofhealthaccessed:54.94%womenand47.06%meninDalits,takeDomesticmedication.
41%womenand58% meninDalits & 22%womenand 77% meninnonDalitsareabletoaccess
Privatehospitals.50%womenand49%inDalitsand60%women&40%meninnonDalitsuseGovt
hospitals.DalitssaytheyarenotabletoaccessbecauseofbeingaDalit.Thereforeeveninthecase
ofhospitals,Dalits.75%Dalitwomenasagainst63%nondalitwomenaccessmoreofGovthospitals,
andusehomeremediesforfreemedicationsincetheyarenotinpositiontospendmoreonhealth
carefacilities.
Modesoftransportaccessed:

0.73%womenand0.72%meninDalits&2.25%womenand1.18%meninnonDalits,are
abletotravelincar
1.10% women and 1.81% men in Dalits and 3.37% women and 3.52% men in non Dalits,
travelinprivatebuses
78.02%womenand73.55%meninDalits&51.69%womenand30.59%meninnonDalits
useGovernmentbuses
ThisshowsthatmostoftheDalitswomenusegovernmentbusesmost.Thedatashowsthat
dalitwomenare50%morepedestriansascomparedtonondalitwomen.

Awareness:

73.1%Dalitsand39.6%nonDalitsarenotawareofSpecialcomponentplan
64.1%Dalitsand30.2%nonDalits.arenotawareofWomensscheme
48.3%Dalitsand41.5%nonDalits,feeltheyhaveequalaccesstoresources
53%Dalitsand32.1%.nonDalitsdonotreceiveanybenefitsfromGovtorNGOschemes
80.7%Dalitsand35.8%innonDalits,havenoawarenessondisplacementandrehabilitation
30.3% in Dalits and 20.8% in non Dalits, have no access to adequate water supply and
sanitation.

Thisshowsthatthereislackofawarenessgiven,theprogrammesintroducedarenoteffective,and
thereisdiscriminationstillprevalent,awidegapbetweentheGovtandthepeople.
Decisionmaking:

34.5%Dalitsand39.6%nonDalits,sayinenhancingcapacitiesthedecisionistakenbythe
headofthehouse
OnEducation22.1%inDalits,decisionistakenbytheheadofhouseholdand32.1%innon
Dalitsdecisionistakenbytheheadofthehousehold
OnHealth,23.4%inDalitsdecisionistakenbyselfand35.8%innonDalitsdecisionistaken
byself
On Household expense 38.6% in Dalits, decision is taken by self and 56.6% in non Dalits
decisiontakenbyself.
OnPropertyinownname,11.7%inDalitsdecisionistakenbyselfand45.3%innonDalits,
decisionistakenbyself.

49|P a g e

Thisshowsthatgenerallythedecisionsaremadebytheheadofthehousehold,andinthecaseof
Dalitwomentheyareinnopositionfordecisionmaking.
Priorityindexforlivelihoods:
Dalitpriorityrankingforlivelihoodsemergedasbelow:

Temporaryjobs,contracts,piecerateworks,etc
Smallshopsorworkforentrepreneurs
Wagelabor(plumber,domesticworker,agriculturalworker)
Traditionalfamilywork
Workathome
Govtjobspermanent,(asha/anganwadiworkers,sanitaryworkers,officers)
Farming
Teaching

Among the non Dalits, small shops ranks the first followed bywage labour,temporary jobs
contracts,Permanentgovernmentjobs,traditionalfamilywork,workathome,teachingandfarming.
Resources from which they were able to receive it from the last five years: Only a meagre
percentage of Dalits (1.48)and non Dalits (1.62) were able to receive resources through families
followed by friends (2.12 Dalits & 2.52non Dalits), Local money lenders (Dalits 2.50& non Dalits
2.44),Selfhelpgroupswith3.81%Dalitsand2.8%nonDalits,Microfinanceinstitutions(Dalits4.47&
non Dalits 3.71)and from ROSCA,Banks and Govt both Dalits and non Dalits have been able to
receiveverylittleresources.
SuggestionsforaccessingGovtresources:About40.0%inDalitsand20%innonDalitssuggestthat
informationshouldbeprovidedbyallgovernmentfunctionariesandelectedrepresentatives.21.1%
inDalitsand15.1%innonDalits,suggestthatwomenshouldbeorganizedandinspiredtodemand
their entitlements.13.8% among Dalits want Resources and information made available without
corruption at panchayat level. Around 7.6% of Dalits want awareness camps to be held among
beneficiaries.
Obstacles in accessing Government resources: 48.2% Dalits and 30.02 % non Dalits say it is a
combination of corruption, nepotism and apathy that come in between accessing government
resources.21.4%inDalitsand15.1%nonDalitsattributethepatriarchalgenderbiasagainstwomen
tolackofaccesstogovernmentresources.ExclusionanddisrespecttowardsDalitskeepthemaway
fromavailinggovernmentschemesandprograms,say20.1%Dalitsinthesurvey.
Schemesaccessed:EducationalscholarshipbeingaccessedamongDalitsisonly12.07%and18.33%
in non Dalits.MGNREGS is availed only by 17.24% Dalits and 26.67% non Dalits.Land grants were
accessedby13.36%Dalitsand28.33%nonDalitsandPensionwasaccessedby14.22%Dalitsand
11.67%amongnonDalits.
Access to Govt Schemes by Women:Accessing government schemes by women is further difficult
and it can be seen from the responses by women in the survey. The list below indicates the
accessibilitybyDalitandnonDalitwomenasfarasdifferentschemesandprogramsareconcerned:

Pension2.92Dalits)and2nonDalits

50|P a g e

JananiSurakshaYojna3.07Dalitsand3.46nonDalits
ICDS3.52Dalitsand3.63nonDalits
Scholarships4.18Dalitsand4.32nonDalits
MGNREGS4.2Dalitsand2.58nonDalits
HealthinsuranceforUnorganisedsector4.65Dalitsand5.14nonDalits
UnorganisedworkersWelfareBoard4.97Dalitsand5.78nonDalits
SwarnaJayantiSwaRojgarYojna6.1Dalitsand5.82nonDalits
ForestRightsAct20066.26Dalitsand8.16nonDalit
JNNURM6.72Dalitandand7.92nonDalit

If the resources fulfil expectation: Around 40%Dalits and 13.2% non Dalits say that the resources
availabletothemdoesnotfulfiltheirexpectations.
Observationonaccesstogovernmentschemes:20%Dalitsand7.55%nonDalitssaythatschemes
do not fulfil livelihood and other basic needs.15.71% of Dalits and 26.42% non Dalits say good
informationwereprovidedandthustheywereabletobenefitfromtheschemes.
Typeoflossduetodisplacement:15.2%ofDalitsand15.1%ofnonDalitssayLivelihood,Residence
and Basic needs were lost. 10.3% in Dalits and 7.5% of non Dalits that livelihood were lost, while
6.2%ofDalitssaythatResidenceswerelost and 1.4%Dalitsand1.9%ofnonDalits saythatbasic
needswerelost.Sooutofthetotalrespondents,33.1%ofDalitsand24.5%nonDalitswereaffected
duetodisplacement.
IfBeingaDalitanobstacletoreform:52.4%DalitsstatethatbeingaDalitisanobstacletoreform.
Description of Dalit condition:60% of Dalits and 3.8% non Dalits state that the Dalits are still
excluded and oppressed. And 18.7% Dalits and 9.4% non Dalits say that reservation have been
helpfulforDalits.Only4.1%Dalitsand3.8%nonDalitssaythatDalitshaveequalrights.
Socioeconomicpolitical change is a benefit or obstacle for Dalits: 45.5% Dalits and 35.8%non
Dalitssaythattherearesomebenefitduetosocioeconomicpoliticalchange.But23.4%Dalitsand
5.7%nonDalitssaythatsocioeconomicpoliticalchangeisagreatobstacle.12.4%ofDalitsand17%
nonDalitssaythatthereisnobenefitduetosocioeconomicpoliticalchange.
Factors inhibiting the access to Govt resources: 25.5% Dalits and 18.9% non Dalits say that
corruptionandinefficiencyinhibitsaccessinggovernmentresources.About20.0%Dalits,saylackof
gendersensitivityindesignandimplementationofschemesaremajorfactorsofhurdles.
NGO interventions: Around 56%Dalits and 57% non Dalits seem to have benefitted from
governmentandNGOinterventions.NGOservices:32.4%Dalitsand22.6%nonDalitsfeelthatNGO
services are better than the Government onesas they have greater accessibility to them than
governmentservices.Around30%Dalitsand11.3%nonDalitssaythattheyaremoreeffectivealso.
Efficient program implementation is cited as reasons for effectiveness of NGOs by approximately
18% Dalits and 13% non Dalits and easy availability of information in NGOs is another reason for
effectivenessaswell.
SuggestionforimprovementofDalitwomen

Inranking,individualhouseplotsinwomensnameranksfirstwith2.97Dalitsand2.52non
Dalits.

51|P a g e

MakingavailableaproductiveschemeforDalitwomenscollectivecomessecondwith3.66
Dalitand3.04nonDalits.
Acomprehensivelawforallwomeninunorganizedsectorandagricultureprovidinghealth
careandskilldevelopmentcomesthird,4.51Dalitsand3.00Dalits.
TrainingandfundstomakeDalitwomenworkersunions,comesfourthwith4.59Dalitsand
3.79nonDalits.
Vendingspacestobeallottedcomesfifthwith4.68Dalitsand3.34nonDalits.
Trainingtowomentogetpoliticaliyactive,comessixth,4.86Dalitsand4.22nonDalits.
Easieravailabilityoflivestockwithresources,comesseventh5.55Dalitand4.8nonDalit.
Morecarespacesandsheltersforallwomentomanagetogether,comeseighth5.83Dalits
and4.92nonDalits.
Welfareboardscome,ninthwith6.02Dalitsand5.91nonDalits.
ParticipatoryplanningwithMinimumDisplacementandproperRehabilitation,comestenth
with6.76Dalitsand6.80nonDalits.

4.2UttarPradeshandDalitWomensResourceBase

The research to find out if Dalit women in Uttar Pradesh were

accessing resources was of great interest as the gross happiness
quotientofDalitinthestateisperceivedtobehigh.Thesecondary
researchenumeratedmanyclaimsfromtheStatethatithasworked
towardstheupliftmentoftheDalitpeople.Stateclaimsfromofficial
orNGOreportsareintersectedbyinformationcollectedthroughthe

Primarydataandanalysis.
TheresearchtounderstandthesituationofDalitwomeninUPinrelationtotheiraccesstoresource
opportunitiesandimprovedlivelihoodcreatedalotofinterestamongotherpeerresearchers.Not
much empirical evidenceexists in thestate to understand resourcebaseof thewomen ingeneral
andDalitwomeninparticular.Whenwomenandmenwerequeriedontheissues,theycouldnot
understandresourcesasobligationsthestateshouldprovide.Theabsenceorpresenceofresources
wasgenerallytakenasafate.WithaDalitwomanheadingthestateasaChiefMinister(Mayawati
wastheCMwhenthesurveywasundertaken)whenprimarydatawascollated,theresearchteam
assumedthatDalitwomenandmenhavebenefittedinthestate.Thesearchforlocaleofcollecting
datathuswaschosenrandomlyinsiteswhereNACDORworkedinLucknowandBarabankidistricts.
Geogarphic and demographic information:Uttar Pradesh is the fourth largest state of India. Rich
and tranquil expanses of meadows, perennial rivers, and dense forests and fertile soil of Uttar
Pradeshhavecontributedtohistory.FlankedbytheGangaandYamunatheriversUttarPradeshis
surroundedbyBiharintheEast,MadhyaPradeshintheSouth,Rajasthan,Delhi,HimachalPradesh
andHaryanainthewestandUttaranchalinthenorthandNepaltouchthenorthernbordersofUttar
Pradesh,itassumesstrategicimportanceforIndiandefence.UttarPradeshhasbeendividedby18
administrativeunitscalledmandalsand72districtsand4economicareasi.eeastwest,centraland
52|P a g e

Bundelkhand. 820 community development bocks facilitate rural development programs in the
states.
It is most populated state having 1662 lakhs people as per 2001 census which is 16.2% of entire
Indiaspopulation.ThefemalepopulationofUPis47.3whilemaleis52.7.Per1000malesfemales
are898in2001censuswhereasin1991itwas876inUPincomparisontoIndiathisfigurein2001
was933and1991itwas927.
ThedecadalgrowthinScheduledCastepopulationfrom1991to2001was25.33%,thatwasalittle
lessthanthecorrespondinggrowthof25.85%intotalpopulationintheState,whichmaybetaken
as a healthy trend. Uttar Pradesh has 21.2% scheduled castes population. Of a total of l 97941
villagesthereare13179villageshaving3040%scheduledcastespopulation,7349villageshaving
4050%, 8148 villages having 50 90%, 784 villages between 90 100% and 442 villages having
exactly100%scheduledcastespopulation.ThegovernmenthasdeclaredthesevillagesasAmbedkar
villagestomonitorthegrowthThesexandagedisaagrgateddataofthesevillageswillletusknowif
focusedworkinthesevillagesbenefitpeopleequallyinthevillage.Outlayforareaorientedschemes
directlybenefitingScheduledCasteBastis/Villageshavingatleast40%ofScheduledCastepopulation
has been allocated under Scheduled Caste SubPlan.Only 50 % of allocation of Ambedkar villages
come from SCP for infrastructure development and the rest is taken from state level sectoral
ministries.
Overall sex ratio of scheduled caste population in Uttar Pradesh is 900 females per1000 males
whichislowerthanthenationalaverageof936femalesper1000malesforallscheduledcaste.The
work force in the state consists of 540 lakhs of which 222 ( 41.1%) are farmers, 134 (24.8%) are
agriculture labor, 30 lakh (5.6%) are in family enterprise workers and 154 (28.5%) are in other
works.Ofthetotal393lakhmainworkers,157aremarginalworkers.
Status of services and social welfare : Education in UP in 20082009, there were 1,44,058 junior
basicservicesschools,51,491seniorschools,16,331highersecondaryschools,30universities,2236
colleges,258statevocationalinstitutes,93diplomainstitutesand7engineeringcolleges.Asfaras
Health institutions matter, Uttar Pradesh has 4778 allopathic, 2367 ayurvedic and yunani,
1575homeopathyhospitalanddispensaries.
The UP Zamindari abolition act 1950 had to benefit SC population more than other caste landless
poorworkers.ThoseSCandSThouseholdswhohavepossessionofgrampanchayatlandon13May
2007havegottherightoftenuretostayonthelandonanontransferablebasis.Thestaterecords
showthatfromtheyear2006till2010,morethantargetedlanddistributionwasdone.Howeverno
sexdisaggregateddataonlanddistributionisavailableinstaterecords.
HousinglandwasgiventoSCST,disabledandBPLunder112gofUPZamindariabolitionact1950in
2006. , 363288 households got this housing plot under which the state government exceeded its
targets by 154%. Under disability act 1995 art 43 priority was given to disabled persons to get
housing plots. Towards this the UP government made an amendment in UP ZA act in a similar
mannerthat it madeprovisions of SC andSCT population land andhousing rights. (UP 2010 State
informationandpublicrelationdepartment).
Majority of the Scheduled Caste population lives in rural areas. The povertyratio, size of the land
holding, occupational classification and number of main workers and pattern are important
parameterstojudgetheruraleconomy.MostoftheSCfamilyarestilllivingbelowthepovertyline
and also majority of them are engaged in low wage and degraded occupations like sweeping and
53|P a g e

scavenging.Theirskillbaseisweak.Povertyamongstthescheduledcasteisgreaterinurbanareas
wher womenare isolated,thus have less accesstoschemes than the women inrural areas.The
notionofcommunityspaceandaccesstonaturalresourcesislackingforurbanpoor.
GendergapineducationvsDalitgapineducation:The2001censusforthestategavealiterate
populationof757Lakhsofwhich268lakhwerewomenindicatingamorethan50%gender
educationgapasshowninthefollowingtable:
Table2LiteracyrateinUttarPradesh
Year

TotalPopulation

ScheduledCastePopulation

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

1971

31.50

10.55

21.70

17.13

2.46

10.20

1981

38.76

14.04

27.16

24.83

3.89

14.96

1991

55.73

25.31

41.60

40.80

10.69

26.85

2001

68.8

42.2

56.3

60.3

30.5

46.3

ThestategovernmentclaimsthatliteracyrateofScheduledCasteincreasedby31%approximately
and for SC female it increased 8 times from 1981 to 2001. It may very well be true that the 44%
increase in the enrollment of SC female child has taken place. Yet the fact remains that women
workforceinorganizedandunorganizedsectorscontinuetogetlowerpositionsandpaidlessthan
men. The case studies and focus group discussions with the research respondents show that the
womeninspiteofbeingeducatedcontinuetoworkinsectorstheirmothersworkedin,evenasthey
may have been able to graduate from shifting
livelihood from scavenging to doing labor or from
manual labor to doing domestic workers task.
Quality education has not been accessed. As a
Dalitwomensliteracyrate
result, the Scheduled Castes candidates could not
gapinUPis35%(census
avail the opportunity of employment even on
2011).Among
reservedvacancies.TherepresentationofScheduled
respondents,29%ofDalit
CastepersonsinGovernmentservicesisbelowthe
markandthegovernmentdatadoesnothavesex
womeneitherwere
disaggregated data to confirm how many women
illiterateorstudiedat
andhowmanymenavailgovernmentservice.

homeasagainstthe19%
among nonDalitwomen.

The Rural Development Department of State

Government survey in the year 200203 recorded
thatthepopulationbelowpovertylineinScheduled
Castesconstitutedabout60%.Thus,higherincidenceofpovertyamongScheduledCastesisacause
of concern. This according to the state could be arrested through schemes to develop agriculture
and allied activities like animal husbandry, dairy etc. providing a source of livelihood to the SC
population and through projects that draw upon institutional finance to supplement Plan
allocations. The results of NFHSIII (200506) reveal that at household front, 48.2% women usually
participate indecision making process.Inorder to make womenselfdependentandeconomically
empowered,StateGovernmentdecidedtoformwomenSelfHelpGroups.Thereareapproximately
3.97lakhSelfHelpGroupsformedbyvariousagenciesofStateGovernment,outofwhichonly1.17
54|P a g e

lakh SHGs are Women self help groups. The gender gap in SHG is also apparent. Now the
government should providethe Dalitgap in SHG formation with sex disaggregateddata aswell as
incomedisaggregateddata.
Scheduled Caste SubPlan (SCSP) was launched in Uttar Pradesh in 198081 to provide benefit to
Scheduled Castes oftheState. The StateGovernment,in 199596 had taken a decision to provide
atleast 21% outlay to SCSP and Social Welfare Department was declared as Nodal department for
formulation and monitoring of FiveYear and Annual Plans for SCSP. The Social Welfare
Commissioner would be fully authorized to allocate the outlays, releases of sanctions and re
appropriationofbudget/reallocationofoutlaysunderSCSPforschemesthatensuredirectbenefits
to individuals or SC families. A minor budget head 789 Special Component Plan for Scheduled
Casteundervariousfunctionalmajorheadwithingrantno.83from200910wascreatedtotrack
expensesincurredunderSCSP.BesidesthisSpecialCentralAssistance(SCA)isalsoprovidedbythe
stateGovernmentfor incomegeneratingprogrammeswhichincludeschemesof selfemployment,
allotmentofshops,freeboringandvocationaltrainingprogramme.Therandomsamplechosenfor
the research showed than none among our sample had availed government benefit to improve
livelihood.Howeverwomenhavebeenabletoaugmenttheirlivelihoodduetotheirassociationwith
anNGO.
Scholarships are provided by the State Government at varying rates of Rs.25, Rs 40 and Rs 60 for
children in school. To encourage students to continue their higher education from class IX and
onwardsatvillagelevel,thedepartmentprovides168hostelsoutofwhich132hostelsareforboys
and 36hostels are forgirls. Girls ingovernment aided schools canavail ofbookgrant. Perhapsto
compensate for gender gap in hostels, a grant for the marriage of daughter is provided to those
familieswhohaveanannualincomebelowRs.19884inruralareasandRs.25546inurbanareas.A
coachinginstitutewasestablishedintheyear199798toprovidepreexaminationtrainingtoSC/ST
as well as O.B.C. students for the preparation of the examination for the recruitments in banking,
Railway Board, National Defence Academy and Life Insurance Corporation. Institute has minimum
capacityof300studentsinonesessionfor5monthscoaching.TheIDPprogrammewastoprovide
housing, community development centres, drinking water, education link road, economic
upliftment, production cum marketing centres; employment oriented training centres to most
deprivedgroupamongscheduledcastes.Againtheaboveprogramsdonotgiveacaste,incomeand
genderdisaggregateddata.

Thisresearchhoweverpointsoutthatmostdeprivedlivingverynearthecapitalcityhave
notheardoftheSCSPorSPAandhavehaddifficultyinaccessingtheindividualbenefits
fromsocialwelfareschemes.MostwomenfromDalitbackgroundswereunawareofthe
stateschemesorlawsthataffecttheirlivelihoods.
Table3AwarenessofSCP,SchemesforWomenandLawsonrehabilitationinUP

55|P a g e

Dalit

Awareness
SCP
in%of

NonDalit

women's
schemes

Lawson
rehabilitation

SCP

women's
schemes

Lawson
rehabilitation

Yes

5.6

9.9

3.5

17.0

24.5

13.2

Somewhat

15.5

31.0

5.6

7.5

30.2

3.8

No

74.6

54.9

79.6

75.5

43.4

79.2

NotResponded

4.2

4.2

11.3

1.9

3.8

Total

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

According to the Census 2001, the female literacy at the State level is 42.2 % which is well below
maleliteracyat68.8%andStatesaverageof56.3%.Itindicateswidedisparitybetweenmaleand
femaleliteracyrate.Thefemaleliteracyincreasedfrom10.6%in1971to42.2%in2001whileinthe
corresponding period, male literacy has gone up from 31.5 to 68.8 % respectively. Despite rise in
literacy the people are not able to access resources meant for them. The education profile of the
respondentsshowsthatDalitwomenhaveaccessedmorepostgraduateanddoctoraldegreesyet
thenonliterateDalitsnumberishigherthanthenonDalitliterategirls.
ParticipationofwomeninPanchayatiRajInstitutionandUrbanLocalBodies
Bringing women into mainstream of development has been a major concern for the State
Government.Thewomencanbeempoweredinrealsenseonlywhentheyareactivelyinvolvedin
decisionmakingandthereisadequateweightagetotheirsayinthegovernance.Women'spresence
in governance is a crucial indicator of womens empowerment. The 73rd & 74th constitutional
amendmentsbroughtforthadefiniteimpactontheparticipationofthewomenatgrassrootlevel
throughthePanchayatiRajInstitutionsandlocalbodies.Theseamendmentshavemade1/3posts
reservedforthem.However,48%womencandidatessuccessfullygotthepostofGramPradhanin
recentPanchayatelectionsintheState..
CivilSocietywork
The unorganized sector, housing, land and women rights networks have tried to work on specific
project based work in the state to include Dalit women within their programming efforts. Some
NGOsgotwomenfromthestatetoparticipateinnationalaswellasinternationalplatforms.While
others,outofhungerandsurvivalneeds,chosetoforcefullyoccupyvacantlandandbegintillingit.
NGOspromotedmutualhelpgroupstofacilitateeconomicprogramswhichcanhelpwomensustain
landandhousinggrants.AveteranactivistlateBharatiRoyChaudharyintroducedthestruggleof
womeninUttarPradeshtogetaccesstoforestproduceandlandinthe1980sinthehill rangeof
Shivaliks in district Saharanpur. The ground reality of patriarchal control on resources was very
differenttointellectualassertionthatwomenarebetterabletoretainlandandresourcesifgivento
group rather than an individual. Mahila Samakhya programmes helped organizing women within
communitygroups.ThusinShankergarhindistrictAllahabad,Dalitwomen,aftergettingempowered
by education and training from Mahila Samakhya were able to take on group labor contracts on
stonequarryminesinthe1990s.Theworkonlobbyforwomenslandrightshasbeendeveloped
thathelpedinrecommendationsraisedattheUPstatelegislativeassemblyaswellasattheICCARD
conference in Brazil in 2006. Rural Dalit women have been encouraged by different entities to
approach their local governance systems and the state government to implement womens land
rightstoimprovewomensqualityoflife,asarticulatedbyruralworkerswomenthemselves.Some
willbecentredonimplementinglandandresourcerightsforspecificgroupsofcommunitywomen
56|P a g e

inadefinedgeographicalarea.Pilotprogramshavedemonstratedwhatresourceswererequiredin
termsofinstitutionalsupportandcreditrequiredtoexplainhowtheinterventioncanresultinfood
security and increase livelihood prospects for the community. Some notable work by NGOS are
mentionedbelow.
Gorakhpur Environment Action Group (GEAG) has campaigned on women in Agriculture and
increased visibility of women farmers in UP. Their studies have found that agriculture extension
programmesdonotreachwomenandthusgovernmentservicesshouldbepopularisedatthevillage
levelsothatwomencanavailoftheservices.Duringtheirmeetings,menhavetakenpublicoathto
signoffagriculturallandinfavourofwomenintheirfamily.Theyhavealsodesignedcampaignsto
breakculturalnormsthatlimitwomenslandownership.Throughthisstrugglewomenhavebecome
sensitized about their rights. They take part in decision making, women go to the markets to sell
produce and thedecision to utilize surplus is also takenbythe women.But ploughing anddriving
tractor is still a taboo for tribal women and they are maintaining distance from it. Examples to
breakculturalnormshavebeendocumentedinafilmbymembersofGEAGtopublicizeLallaDevis
case who started ploughing her land and now there are around 30 women using the plough in
villages around Gorakhpur. GEAG reports that men in Uttar Pradesh prefer giving land in wives
namesratherthanmothersasitcanbefurtherdividedamongsttheremainingbrothers.
Grammonnati Sansthan, Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh, India works on issues of marginalization and
rightsofDalitwomen,reproductivehealthwithyoungpersons,andlivelihoodoptionswithwomen
and addresses gender issues with women through micro finance groups. Dalit women speak
stronglyonlandissuesatmeetings,howeverleadershipofDalitwomenbeyonddistrictlevelhasyet
togainvisibilityasfaraswomenandlandrightsisconcerned.
National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW) New Delhi, India. They have
federatedwomenworkersaspartoftheirlargerforumandwouldprovidespacefortheirresource
concerns along with other marginalised sections of the society equally. Women therefore need to
increase their representation skills and speak of their concerns in larger meetings as their own
initiative.WiththepassingoftheForestDwellersBill,womennowhaveanopportunitytoclaimland
and housing rights in their own names and also propose collective income generating possibilities
that may require further access and land use of forest resources for collective use. One of their
membersindistrictSonbhadraUPhashadahistoryofDalitwomenworkersreclaimingforestand
villagecouncillandandcultivatingit.Thedistrictadministrationarrestedwomenleadersin2007but
human rights defenders were able to bail them out with support from local and international
solidarity.This forumcalls forgroup rightstoland of foresttomake forest resourceviable for all,
including themselves. In a meeting in Jan 2013, they registered their complaint that the new land
record computerisation has no provision for common property land as only two categories of
governmentandprivatelandexists.Grouplandandforestrightsandwomensaccessneedsupport
from the government not only in terms of giving women groups access to land but also to teach
themgroupmanagementanddistributionofresources.
Bhoomi Adhikar Manch a people's organisation of women, small and marginal farmers and
landless people, to impart technical know how on the issue. Their memorandum to the chief
ministerwasdraftedafterconsultationandapadyatra(statewidemarch)onwomenandlandin
2006.Membersofthisgroupcollatedcaseswheremenwanttoincludenameoftheirwivesonland
ownedbythemtolobbytheauthoritiesfornotchargingregistrationfeeforthistask.Theworkers
during the campaign noted many procedural problems with joint registration that needed to be
resolvedbydistrictadministration
57|P a g e

SocialDevelopmentFoundation(SDF).Agrarianreformwithagendersensitivityisoneoftheprime
focusofSDFapartfromrighttofood,secularvaluesanddevelopmentofscientifictemperamong
the community they are working with, such as indigenous, Dalits, women, minorities and other
backward communities in India like fishermen, scavengers and women from Muslim community.
This group has federated women into self help groups where women have experimented on
increasinglivestockofpigs,goatsandalsotriedraisingratfarmsfortheMusaharcommunity.
FindingsfromtheStateOfficials
Theresearchersprobedthestateofficialsonseveraloccasionstoknowifthestategovernmenttook
anystepstoaddresstherightsofDalitwomenandremoveanyformofdiscriminationagainstthem.
The state has a well documented policy for women called the Uttar Pradesh Women Policy 2006.
The policy mentions steps taken in form of gender budgeting exercise initiated in 200506 as an
effectivepolicyinstrument.Thereisalonglistofachievementofthegovernmentinrelationtothe
state policy on women including 3 Tier Panchayats to have 33% reservation for women and clear
directionstodiscusswomenrelatedissuesinmeetings.Howeverduringtheinformationsearch,the
researchers did not find records of a single gram sabha that preceded a mahila sabha resolution
recordingneedsofthewomen.Somechangesthathavetakenplacethroughoutthecountryhave
also been mentioned in the state list of achievements like mothers name is to be included in
enrollment in educational institutions, only women workers to cook mid day meal, women SHGs
promoted in Swashakti Swayamsiddha, SJGS, UPDASP & NABARD to enhance women's credit and
thrift, reduction of stamp duty for women. Land pattas of cultivable land are to be given to joint
names of wife and husband, to widows, adult unmarried daughters, women who are orphaned,
divorcedandtowomenagriculturalworkers,JanshreeBimaYojnaforunorganizedsector.Thepolicy
Statesthattheresponsibilityofitsimplementationliesprimarilywiththedepartmentofwomenand
childwelfarewhichlistsamongotherimportanttaskscollectionofGendersegregateddatathatlike
many other listed tasks is yet to be embarked upon. An apex body was to be constituted to
implementandcoordinateprogrammesforwomensempowerment.Wheneverthisbodyissetup,
the state policy and programmes should be monitored to find out if gender resource gap in each
sectorislessenedalongwithlesseningthegapbetweenDalitwomensresourcebasewithnonDalit
womensresourcebase.
It will be of worth to evaluate effect of the policy across economic categories as well as on the
excluded and marginalized women. The state level officials did not know if an evaluation on
implementation of the women state policy has been done. This if done will qualify and quantify
whichwomenhavebenefittedduetostateaction.
Responsefromgovernmentfunctionaries
On asking for data on the above, it was found that officials assumed that any good for women in
generalwillalsoapplyforDalitwomenandanygoodforDalitsingeneralwillbebenefittingwomen
as well. There were schemes for Dalits but not for Dalit women separately. No mention of Dalit
womenhasbeenmadeinthestatewomenpolicyof2006andinthe2010reportofUPgovernment.
NosexdisaggregateddataisavailableinallschemesespeciallymeantforDalitorpoor.Thereisfree
allocation of land for SC Girls hostels on which State social welfare department provides hostel
constructionfromitsbudgets.90%grantisgiventoNGOsforconstructionofthesehostels.Inthe
studysamplearea,howeve,rtheresearcherfoundnoinformationfromtherespondentsaboutsuch
hostels. In reply to how the special component program works for women and men, the DM
Lukhnow said that aAll government departments work in coordination for all people and do not
viewwomenasaseparatecategoryastheyworkforupliftmentofall.Therearedifferentopinions
58|P a g e

about obstacles for womens empowerment. We assume that 50% beneficiary of all government
schemeswouldbethewomenorgirlsinthehousehold.
Inthisstate,thelanddistributionisdonesince1980inthenameofbothhusbandandwife,most
schemesforDalitroutinelytakeresourcesfromtheSpecialcomponent.Thisactionisintegratedinto
the overall development work of the state i.e if a road is going to a Dalit village or a basti its
expensesarecomputedundertheSCP.ThereforehavingaseparatesectionforwomenunderSCP
doesnotarise.Thissystemappliestoallothersectoralorspatialplannedwork.DMLukhnowfelt
that gender equality and women priorities are seen as an act of cooperation and collaboration
between different department activities. The researchers were asking DM Lukhnow names of
womenbenefittingunderschemessothattheycouldincludeatleast50%ofsampleasthosewho
had received benefit from the state and then compare it with others who had not accessed
government schemes. The DM did not give this information instead asked us to refer to the UP
government policy on women. He was of the opinion that most schemes any way are meant for
women.
WiththeDMLucknowslackofinteresttofocusonwomensempowermentdata,theresearchteam
soughttotalktoanofficerwhowasknownforhisgendersensitivity.TheBarbankidistrictprimary
education office gave us considered opinions. Skill development and control over economic
resources according to Barabanki district primary education officer was a basic impediment to
economic empowerment of rural women in the state. For this, programmes that strengthen
livelihoodopportunityforwomenandgirlsinruralandurbanareasneedtobesetupatthesoonest.
These livelihoodsshould bedonewithin anSHGgroup.Thewomencangetlandandcreditunder
theSCPandpaybacktheamounttothegovernmentaftermakingtheirprofitfromtheenterprise.
Similargrantscanbeworkedoutinallsectors.TheDalitwomenwhoareaccessingthisworkget
temporarybenefitofincomethatincreasetheirdignity,butinthelongrunthisdoesnotaltertheir
accesstoresources.Asaresulttheydonotendupaseconomicallyindependenthumanbeings.If
women are not being empowered at this level then how will they take benefit from other
reservations in jobs or in schemes. This is applicable to political empowerment of women in
panchayatandotherelectionsaswell.Theyarepaidthesalaryfortheirworkasmiddaymealcooks
fromthespecialcomponentplan.
Nehru Yuwak Kendra district youth coordinator of Barabanki said that increase in the level of
education,healthandsanitationaredeterminantsintheeconomicdevelopmentofDalitwomen.In
hisopiniontheDalitwomenhavesufferedduetolackofoptionsoftheabove.Thecontextofthis
conversation pointed out to many examples where the state department did not take holistic
perspectiveoflookingateffectsofadministeringschemes.ForexampletheJannaniSurashaYojana
encourages the women to have institutional delivery in government health centres but this had a
negativeeffectonthetraditionalbirthattendantwhonotonlylostoutonherskillbaseandincome
butalsohersocialstandingbuiltovermanyyears.Similarly,agreatpushfortoiletconstructionin
householdshasledtolosingofemploymentofthepeoplewhocarriedthenightsoilalthoughthe
community engaged in this work leads a miserably indignified life and there is a strong resistance
againstthisalreadyinthecountry.Thesevocationshadtobemadeobsoletebutthroughaphased
process of hand holding the traditional workforce who now are excluded from the benefit of the
givenschemes.Justthewayinanydevelopmentplangivesbenefittosome,itshouldcatertothose
whogetaffectedfromtheschemeortheprojectaswell.
AULBstaffmemberinLukhnowstatedthattheskilldevelopmentplansaremoreinurbanareasbut
thewomenwelfaredepartmentlooksatimprovingthesituationofwomennottheULBoffice.Itis
59|P a g e

reallyuptothestatedepartmentstogendermainstreamtheirplansandactions.HUDAandSUDAdo
nothavegendermainstreamedplansandprogrammes.
Focus group discussion and field data collection at Matayi gram sabha, Block Deva, district
Barakanki.
Thegramsabhahas350Dalithouseholdsofwhich80arefromRawatcommunity,50fromGautam
community,100fromBaksaurcommunityandrestarefromBalmikicommunity.
The respondents for the interview schedule were chosen from three income groups from four
different groups of Dalit community members. 66 households were identified through random
sampling in the village from clusters that settled in the village on basis of their occupation as
mentionedbelow:
FourDalitcommunitieswerechosenforfocusgroupdiscussionstogetinsightintoproblemsfaced
bydifferentsetoflivelihoods.
1.Rawat(Pasi)community:ThecommunityhasbeenworkingwithfeudallordsevenbeforeIndian
independence as muscle men who were skilled in the marshal art called " lathaiti" or mast fight.
Theyhadnoskillsinagricultureanddidnotgetlandfromthefeudallords.Oncethefeudalsystem
wanedthesepeoplehadtotakeonlaborjobstoruntheirfamilies.Womenofthefamilywillwork
the whole day on labor works and additionally work before and after for household work as well.
Menhavebeenhabitualalcoholicsanditisusualthattheirearningsaresquanderedoutsidefamily
needs.Womenoftenneedtotakemoneyfromlocalmoneylenderspaying10%interestpermonth.
Mostwomendidnothaveinformationaboutgovernmentschemesandiftheyneededtofillforms
they had to depend on middle men associated with government functionaries to whom they pay
1/4thofthemoneyfromthebenefittheygot.60yearoldMaltisaid"hamarepaasrupayaakahhajo
humkabudapekeepensionayeerahi,essepehlepradhanbhaiyekechelekaihiya700rupaadeye
rahen,tabekbarpensionaayeerahi,ukrebaadnatopensionayee,nakaonokaambha"i.eshehad
topaybribeofRs700topersonclosetothevillageheadtogetaninstallmentofthepensionjust
once.Shewasrequiredtothenvisitthegovernmentofficeherselftocontinuethebenefitshewas
toldbutwasunabletofindoutwhichofficesheshouldhavegoneto.Thusmiddlementakemostof
whatwomenmaygetasanentitlementfromthegovernmentastheyareabletousetheirnetwork
togetadequateinformation.InthesamecontextRajivGandhiduringhistenureasPrimeminsterof
India had remarked that "only 15 paisa of each rupee spent by government for the marginalized
reachthemandtherest85%ispocketedbyserviceproviders"Thissituationcontinuestilldate.
2.Raidasoechamarcommunitywhoproduceleather.Thewomenfromthiscommunityinformedus
duringthefocusgroupdiscussionthattheywerenotawareifanygovernmentschemesweremeant
forthem.TheyknewthatschemeslikeIndiraawasyojna,JananaiSurakshaYojnaetcaremadefor
thebelowpovertylinehouseholdsbutaccordingtothemthepeoplewhoarecloselyassociatedwith
thevillageheadaretheoneswhogetthemselvescertifiedasbelowpovertylineeveniftheyown
motorizedvehiclesthatareparkedinfrontoftheirpuccahouses.Theportionofthevillagewhere
they live according to them has many homes whose roof are broken down and family members
malnourished as their traditional livelihoods have become insecure with men migrating to labor
jobs.Womenhavelargefamiliesandcannotleavehometoseekworkfaraway.
3. Baksaur community: Women from this community have been practicing traditional birth
attendants.Thesewomenhadverycloserelationshipwithfamilieswithinthevillageastheywould
take care of the delivery and the new born babies. The advent of Janani Suraksha Yojna has left
60|P a g e

thesetraditionalbirthattendantswithlossoftheirstatusandongoinglivelihood.Thegovernment
medical services and systems have encouraged the younger birth attendants to get professional
training but the elderly women who have lost their mobility face problems. They requested that
adequate compensation for loss of current livelihood should be an essential part of any
developmentplanthatintroducenewtrendsandservicesinthevillages."Nowwecant,atthisage,
leaveourcommunitystatureandapplyformeniallaborworkunderMNERGA,alternativesthatsuit
ourstatusshouldbethoughtofasaprerequisitetoanydisplacementofexistingworkpatternsin
anyarea'.
4.Balmikicommunityormanualscavengers:Thewomenwhoattendedourfocusgroupdiscussion
fromthiscommunitywereawarethatBalmikisaroundIndiahaveworkedtowardsabolitionoftheir
traditionalworkofmanualscavengingworkasitisagainsthumandignity.Theyfeelthattheirwork
isatleastanalternativewithinagivensystemandwhenthealternativesofmoredignifiedworkof
havingbettersanitationappearthenthosejobsshouldbedonebythesamecommunity.Butour
villagenowhasonlyoneappointmentforasanitationjobbythegovernmentandtherearemanyof
us.Thetotalsanitationcampaignofthegovernmenthasthusrenderedusjobless.
The women have educated their daughters but even after secondary education she has not been
able to securea jobwith dignity. RajniBala said After hermarriage in thecitymydaughterwas
forcedtogettojobasadomesticworkerandagainfocusoncleaningdifferentkindofdirt.Towork
in peoples homes is not easy and it is common knowledge that women domestic workers face
sexual andverbalviolencefromtheiremployers.BeingawomanwhoisDalitandpoorleavesno
optionsforbettermentthatmaybeverydifferentfromthepast.
Theresearchersdidnotfindtherequirednumberofhouseholdsundermiddleclassoruppermiddle
classinthestudylocale,mostDalitfamiliesbelongtoBPLcategory.Only5abovepovertylineDalit
familiescouldbeidentifiedintheruralareasandthus11upperincomelevelDalithouseholdswere
takenfromurbanareaforthisresearch.Thesefamiliesonthefaceoftheirstatusseemedtohave
same consumer articles in their homes as the families corresponding to their economic level but
retainingsamesocialandpoliticalstaturewasanissuewefoundaboutonourprobingthemfurther
inthenextfocusgroupdiscussion.GivenbelowarefindingsaboutthesituationofDalitwomenin
differenteconomicstrata.
Lowereconomiccategory:ThestatusofthelowincomegroupsseemsthesameforDalitorMuslim
intermsofincomeandaccesstoservicesbuttheMuslimwomenwithinthiscategoryhasalsothe
issueofbeingunseen.Dalitwomenhavenoissuesinbeingmobilewithintheirneighborhoodor
even travel further away for work with permission of the head of household. Women from Hindu
householdcanbeseenworkinginfieldsandtravellingalone.Itisanothermatterthattheystillearn
lesswagethenmen.ThewomenwetalkedtoearnedanaverageofRs60adayaswagewhilethe
males they say earn Rs 80. Work availability for women laborer is not more than 5 to 6 days in a
month.
Middleeconomiccategory:Thechoiceofworkforwomenandmenhaveincreasedfromteachingin
neighborhoodschoolstoworkinnearbyindustrialareasandmarkets.Womenwhohadbegunsmall
teashopsorranenterpriseslikeclothesandembroideryworkwithhelpofNGOscoulddosoasthey
wereheadoftheirhouseholds.ThesewomensharedthatwomenbelongingtotheScheduledCastes
are in a far worsesituationby alldevelopmentindicators likehealth status oreducation status as
they hardly had time to focus on their own needs. Poverty and deprivation affect them more
adversely.Womenhavetraditionalfamilyoccupationsuchasleathercraftorweavingworkalong
withmen.Insuchcaseswomenarenotrecognizedasproducersintheirownright.Thestrategyfor
61|P a g e

the development of Scheduled Castes will have to include a major thrust for the benefit of
womenfolkthewomensaid.
Higherincomecategory:Whenaskedtoagroupof50womeninLukhnowifanurbandevelopment
planpreparedinconsultationwiththemwillmakethemfeelsafer,72.5%saidyesand12.5%saidno
whiletherestsaidthattheywerenotsure.
FindingfromPrimarydata
InUPatotalof195respondentswereinterviewedof
whom 142 are Dalits and 53 are NonDalits. The
family structure gap between Dalit and non Dalit is
7.7%jointfamiliesinDalits
18.7%. More Dalits are staying in unitary or nuclear
against26.4%innonDalit
families and vast gap between Dalit and non Dalit
family structure may reflect that Dalit families are
showsthatDalitsare3
breakingfromjointfamilymoreduetothefactthat
timeslesspronetogetthe
they are migrating more. Only 7% are joint family
supportofjointfamily
and92.3%arenuclearinDalitfamilies.Whereasin
structureandthisresultsin
nonDalits,thereare26.4%jointfamilies.Resource
scarcity like that of land and access to livelihood is
migrationandpoverty
contributing to this migration. 42 (29.57%) out of
amoungDalits.
142 Dalit households have reported a Female Head
while11(20.75)outof53NonDalithouseholdshave
reported the same. Primarily women respondents
weresoughtincaseswheretheydid nothaveinformationaboutgovernmentschemesandfamily
resourcesmalewithinthehouseholdwasalsointerviewed.36.6%Dalitwomenrespondedwithout
male intervention while 41% non Dalit responded without male informing them about the
information needs in the interview schedule. The data tells us that Dalit women are 5% less
informedaboutgovernmentschemes.ThereisnosignificantdifferenceinthefamilysizeofDalitand
nonDalit. The female headed householdgap is 9%,whichtells usthat in Dalitcommunities Dalit
women household is more. This shows resourcelessness more in Dalit women. Later answers
regarding decisions taken by the women themselves about their lives seem to indicate that these
figuresareacceptable.
TheUPgovernmenthasprofessedtochangethisconcentrationtoprovidelandandhousingtoSC
families.ThedatafromthestudyshowsthatDalitwomenperceivetopossessthesameamountof
landasthemenasthestateschemesgivejointtitlestoDalithouseholdsunderUPZAact.Inareport
of PRIA on The leadership of Scheduled caste in Panchayats and the Special Component plan, a
nationaldatabasedoncensus2001,statesthatDalitsfaceahugegapinownershipandaccessto
productive assets such as telephones, pucca house and services such as health, electricity, bank, ,
watersanitationanddrainageandland.Dalitpeopledonothaveanyassetsbase.
The resolution of Communist party of India in 2006 states that in 1991 70% of the total SC
households were landless or near landless (owning less than one acre) at the national level. This
increased to 75% in 2000. As per the Agricultural Census of 199596, the bottom 61.6% of
operationalholdingsaccountedforonly17.2%ofthetotaloperatedlandarea.Asagainstthis,the
top 7.3% of operational holdings accounted for 40.1% of the total operated area. This gives an
indicationoflandconcentrationinthehandsofafew.AccordingtotheprimarydataDalitwomen
andnonDalitwomenthinksimilaraboutDalitwomensoptionforlivelihood.Womendonotwant
to work at home or do voluntary work without pay. They want permanent government jobs,
62|P a g e

followedbyteachingforbothDalitandnonDalit.Farming
isnotahighpriorityforwomen;aspirationsforpriorityare
thesame.Carryingontraditionalfamilyprofessionisnota
highpriority.Peopleaccessedresourcesmorefromfamily
and friends and not from systems provided by the
government. 27% Dalits as compared to only 20% non
Dalits,whichisabout33%moreDalitsarereportingtobe
falling to indebtedness because of inadequacy of
employment.

16.9%ofDalitfamilies
wereassetlessas
comparedto5.7%
NonDalitfamilies
whichmeansthat
Dalitsare3times
morelikelytobe
assetlessthannon
DalitsinUP

No one heard about schemes like JNNURM, Labor Board,

andgenderdistrictplan.TheDalithouseholdsgetaccessto
MNREGA more, where as SGSY is accessed by non Dalits
more,nonDalitshavegotlandandDalitshadgotnoland
grantinoursample.InUParandomsamplewaspurposely
chosen to go to a place without knowing where
governmenthasgivenlandgrantsasgovernmentclaimsthatDalitsgetbenefitofschemes.Wehad
a very high number of respondents who could not give any response on the questions about
government schemes. None of the Dalit respondents had got land grants among the study
respondents. Yet in general Dalits felt that they did access schemes more as they had seen many
advertisements that claim that Dalits lot is better as MNREGA gives lobor work near the village.
Even if the laborwhogets thejob maynot beone self,the Dalit person is assuming thatanother
Dalitisworkingandbenefittingfromthescheme.Noneoftherespondentsknewofdalitpeoplewho
gotadirectbenefitfromtheschemes.
The non Dalits are trying their access for entrepreneur skill enhancement. The ratio of female
beneficiariestomaleisverylowanditisthesameforboth
DalitandnonDalits.

Only5%DalitshadBPL
cardsshowingwhythey
cantgetbenefitsfrom
manygovtschemes.
Nondalitsbenefit3times
moreinhousingscheme
likeIAYwhere7.22%
Dalitsbenefitedagainst
20.59%nonDalits.
UnderMNREGA29.9%
dalitsworkedascompared
to8.82%ofnonDalits.
NoDalitreceivedanyland
grantascomparedto9%of
nonDalits.

63|P a g e

Among Dalits the highest loss due to displacement is

education followed by basic needs. Among the non Dalits
these are basic needs followed by education, followed by
community support. Non Dalits got house in resettling
where as Dalits lost on house and rehabilitation. When
Dalits are displaced they get rehabilitated less. Dalits still
existatthelevelofbasicneedsandtheassetcreationand
servicesaccessisahighercastepeoplesdomainandnotfor
Dalits.Onthebrighterside,moreDalitshaveeducationnow
andthereforeitcanbeassumedthatithasincreasedtheir
capacitytoaskandapplyforservices.Thegapinserviceshit
the dalit women the hardest in UP. The gap in health
servicesforDalitwomanismorethan100%as5.7%non
Dalit women feel deprived from health services as
compared to 12.7% of Dalit women. This loss in services
canbeunderstoodbythefindingthat46%ofDalitwomen
gotoprivatequacksascomparedto36%nonDalitwomen.
24.4%Dalitwomenusegovernmentbusesascomparedto
only 12.77% nonDalit women. A gap of more than 60%
was reported in the sectors of water and sanitation .Only
51.4% Dalits accepted the availability of adequate water

andsanitationascomparedto83%ofnonDalits.
Rehabilitationwasdonein9(21.43%)outof42casesofdisplacementforDalitsand7(38.89%)out
of18casesforNonDalits.ThereisbenefitfromeducationforDalitsas77%nonDalitsperceivethis.
TheDalithouseholdsthinkthat30%havebenefittedfromgovernment schemes.Twokeyreasons
arereformandprogressonallfrontsthatincreasesawarenessandconfidence.56%agreethatbeing
aDalitisnotanobstacleinUP.AmongDalitsnoonethinksequalityisachievedwhereas3.77%non
Dalitssayequalityisachieved.Casteisanobstacletoreform.29.6%DalitthinkthatDalitsarestill
oppressed while 54% non Dalit feel that oppression has gone .53.5% of Dalits say that they dont
haveequalaccesstogovtschemesascomparedto24%nonDalits.DalitWomenaccessFRAismore
thanMNREGAfollowedbypensionandJSY,whereasnonDalitwomenaccessSJSRY,JSY,ICDSand
MREGA inthisorder.Dalitsdonotacess aganwadi sowomen fromDalitbackgroundareexcluded.
Nearly59%Dalitsfeelthattheyhavelackofawarenessandeducation.Corruptionandinefficiency
andLackofInformationishighfor50%ofnonDalitsfeelthesamebutlackofinformationprecedes
everything. A gap of double or 100% existed for Dalit women in their access to benefit from
schemes.Only 13.4% Dalit women said they have benefited from a govt or NGO scheme as
comparedto26.4%ofnonDalitwomen.Dalitsfeelthatexclusionwithacombinationofcorruption
nepotism and apathy prevents access to schemes. A combination of corruption, nepotism and
apathy was mentioned as obstacle in getting govt resources by 24.65% of Dalits as compared to
13.21 % of nonDalits. A gap of almost double shows the intensity with which Dalits feel this
obstacle. Exclusion prevents access that is combined by lack of education. The Non Dalits feel
corruptionisthecausefornonaccess,whichDalitalsofeelishighsoDalitsaredoublyexcluded.Only
38.7%dalitsand54.7%nonDalitsfeelthatbeingDalitisnotanobstacle.45.07%Dalitsfeeltheyare
stillexcludedandoppressedasagainst24.53%nonDalitswhohavethesameopinion.

4.3Biharstatereport

Demographic Profile of Dalits (SCs) in Bihar: Bihar is the twelfth

largest state of India with the population of 103,804,637 (2011
census)whichalsomakesitthirdmostpopulousstatewith8.07%of
the countrys population. This eastern state comprises of 38
districts, and has close to 85% rural population. The state lags
behind other states in human development and economic
indicators.ScheduledCastes(SCs)makeup15.4%ofitspopulation,
while Scheduled Tribes (STs) constitute 0.9% (Census of India,
2001).ViolenceagainstSCsisveryhighandBiharaccountsfor9.8%
ofallcrimescommittedagainstScheduledCastesinIndia.
According to Census 2011, the number of households in Bihar is 13,744,130 out of which rural
householdsare12,407,132andtheurbanhouseholdsare1,336,998.FemaletomaleratioofBiharis
91.93%.It is unsatisfactory and the people should drive some campaign to improve this. Urban
femaletomaleratioofBiharis86.75%comparedtothefemaletomaleratio92.56%inruralarea.
64|P a g e

According tocensus2011,the literacy rate ofthestateis 63%. Thefemale literacyrate is53.33%

comparedtomaleliteracyrateof73.39%.Asperthecensus2001theruralliteracyrateis43.92%
compared to urban literacy rate of 71.93%. The rural female literacy rate is 29.61% compared to
urbanfemaleliteracyrateof62.59%.Theruralmaleliteracyrateis57.09%comparedtourbanmale
literacyrateof79.94%.Thesexratiointhestateis917girlsper1000boys.
In199899,21.2%ofSCand26%ofSTchildrenunderfouryearsofagesufferedfrommalnutrition
(basedonweightforage).Oftheseunderweightchildren,54%ofSCsand56%ofSTswereseverely
undernourished. There is a significant difference between SC and ST children and nonSC/ST
children,13.80%and41.1%ofwhomaremalnourishedandundernourishedrespectively.Whilethe
Government of India has adopted the national goal of reducing the present infant mortality rate
(IMR) to 60, the SCs IMR, child mortality and under5 mortality is 83.00, 39.50 and 119.3,
respectively.Comparethiswith61.8,22.2and82.6fornonSC/STs,respectively.Similarly,IMR,child
mortalityandunder5mortalityare84,46.3and126amongSTs.About72%ofbirthstoSCwomen
and 81 % of births to STwomen tookplace at home; the corresponding figure for others is 59 %.
(Thorat2010).
Thetotalworkingpopulationis42.26%ofthetotalpopulation.23.71%ofthewomenand59.21%of
the men are working population. 50.62% of the men are main working population. 11.21% of the
womenaremainworkingpopulation.Whilethemarginalworkingpopulationis10.46%ofthetotal
population,8.59%ofthemenaremarginalworkingpopulation.12.5%ofthewomenaremarginal
workingpopulation.Thetotalnonworkingpopulationis57.74%ofthetotalpopulation.40.79%of
themenarenonworkingpopulation.76.29%ofthewomenarenonworkingpopulation.
The economy of the state is largely service oriented (accounts for 55% of economy), albeit with a
significantagriculturalbase(accounts for35%)butasmallindustrialsector(accountsfor9%).The
stateaveragesapercapitaincomeof$148ayearagainstIndiasaverageof$997and30.6%ofthe
states population lives below the poverty line against Indias average of 22.15% (Directorate of
Economics&StatisticsofrespectiveStateGovernmentsandCentralStatisticalOrganisation).
FindingsfromtheSurvey:
InBiharthereisacustominDalitfamilyofalagchulha(separatekitchen)soonaftermarriage,and
thusthefamilydisintegrationisnotbasedonpropertydivision.However,incaseofnonDalitsthey
aretogethertillpropertydividesthem.AlsoDalitshavelimitedtitleoverlandthusdivisiononthe
basisofpropertyisverylimitedornegligible.
Duringthe surveyone oflimitations experiencedwashigh rate of migraton amongboth Dalit and
non Dalit families in the area especially among males. This limited the participation of male
membersintheentireprocess.Mostoftherespondentsofthestudywerewomenbuteffortswere
madetoincludemen(asperavailability)inthebestpossibleway.

TheprimarydatafromBiharstatereflectsthat18(13.04%)outof138Dalithouseholdsand
6(12.77%)outof47NonDalithouseholdshavereportedaFemaleHead.Migrationamong
DalitsismorethannonDalits.TheaveragefamilysizeofDalitandnonDalitfamiliesis
almostsame.Thoughdisaggregateddataofboysandgirlsisnotavailable,theexistencesex
ratioof979and955womenper1000malesgivesaninsightintothehighnumberofboysin
families.

65|P a g e

TheratioofDalitwomentononDalitwomenintheagegroup3645yearsspecifiesthepossibility
ofhighrateofdeathsamongDalitwomeneventhoughgovernmentschemeslikeJananiSuraksha
Yojanaarebeingpromotedbythestatetoprovideandstrengthenthepreandpostnatalservices
forpregnantandlactatingmothers.Oneofthereasonsforthestatusispooraccessibilityofhealth
servicesespeciallyprimaryhealthservicesbytheDalitsandothermarginalisedsectionsduetonon
availabilityofsubcentersandprimaryhealthcentersinthearea.Thelackoftoilets,drainageand
cleandrinkingwaterwasalsogivenasthereasonofpoorhealthbythewomenrespondents.Indira
Awas Yojna houses are small that offer less ventilation and space for activities and roles women
perform.ThevillagesinthestudylocaleinNalandahadhalfconstructedhomesfromthisscheme.
Thewallswereconstructedbutsanstheroof,thebeneficiaryfamilyhadtiedplasticsheetstobegin
living on the side of the constructed wall. The families needed to pay bribe to get the money
sanctionedfortheroofandtheydidnothavethecashtodispensewith.Hopingthatthesefamilies
willgettoiletsbecomesaimpossibilityAgledassaaltakpuccatoilethamenahinaseebhooga(
nexttenyearswedonotseethatwecangetatoilet)saidaDalitwomaninathevillageinNalanda.
Various schemes like Jawahar Gram Samriddhi Yojna, National Health Insurance Schemes, Mamta
Scheme and so on are being implemented under the banner of NRHM. This has resulted in high
birth rate of girl children in the age group 06 years in both Dalit and nonDalit families thereby
keeping a check on incidences of infant and child deaths as well as sex selective abortions in the
area. Other reasons accounting for the status could be existent as well as upcoming promotional
schemes for girl children by the government like Balika Samridhi yojana, mukhya mantri kanya
surakshayojana(underwhichthegovernmentinvestsRs.2000/forthefirsttwogirlsinthefamilyof
BPLhouseholds),mukhyamantrikanyavivahyojana(thegovernmentissuesabondofRs.2,000/at
thetimeofthegirlchildsbirthandtheamountcouldbeusedinthemarriage).Howevertheactual
utility of the money by the BPL families including Dalits on the well being of girl children and
effectiveimplementationoftheschemeisstillamatterofconcern.
The Illiteracy among Dalit girl children is lower as compared to illiteracy among nonDalit girl
children.SincethesamplesizeofnonDalitfamiliesissmallsomevarianceindataisobservedthus
limitingthescopeofanalysis.Highenrolmentinprimaryleveleducationismostlyobservedincase
ofDalitgirlsduetotheexistentgovernmentpolicytoenrolallchildren(asperage)inthevillageor
areatothegovernmentprimaryschools.Howeverenrolmentdoesnotensuretheregularityofgirl
children intoschool.Withthecurrentpolicies,trackingofregularityofchildreninprimaryschools
with focus on girls especially Dalit girls is challenging task since most of the children are marked
present in the school registers irrespective of their attending or not attending the schools. The
primarydatashowedthatmoreDalitgirlsaccessededucationinBiharthannonDalitwomen.Fromthecase
studyinformationhoweverdiscriminationatschoolswasreportedthatitwastheDalitchildrenwhoareasked
to sweep the floor and keep the toilets clean. Girls are asked to prepare tea and help mid day meal
distribution.

ForthepromotionofeducationamongBPLpopulationespeciallygirlchildrenfromthemarginalised
sections like Dalits, various schemes are implemented by government which constitutes Kasturba
Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBVS) and National Programme for education of girls at Primary level
(NPEGL).Bihar leads on innovationssuch as Mid day meal scheme, Mukhyamantri Kanya Suraksha
Yojana as well as Flagship schemes like Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana, Mukhyamantri Cycle
Yojana, Mukhyamantri Balika Poshak Yojana, Mukhyamantri Poshak Yojana, Mukhyamantri
Paribhraman Yojana, TextBookDistributionScheme,Mukhyamantri BalikaProtsahan Yojana, Mid
DayMealSchemeetc.
66|P a g e

Thoughtheseschemeshaveaddedtotheenrolmentofgirlchildreninschools,howeveracloselook
onthenumberofDalitgirlsandnonDalitgirls,onefindsthatthereisaproportionatedecreasein
thenumberofDalitgirlchildrennotpursuinghighereducation.Highdropoutsamonggirlchildren
especially Dalit girls signify limited access to educational facilities or nonavailability of adequate
number of schools or higher educational facilities in the area. One of the primary reasons for
dropout is also accounted to poor quality of education in the existent schools and non
implementation of existent schemes for the promotion of girl child education. The existent
governmentpolicyforpassingallchildrentill8thstandardquestionsthequalityofeducation.Limited
accesstoeducationalfacilitiesandpooreconomicstatusofDalitfamilies(highrateofmigrationis
found among Dalit families for employment) also leads to irregularity and absenteeism of girl
children from schools. Another reason for parents not sending girls to school is the limited
understandingoftheimportanceofgirleducationandsometimessecuritythreatsfeltbyparentsin
sendingthegirlstodistantschools.
In the ratio of Dalit and non Dalit boys and girls having professional qualification, there is no
differencebetweenthegirlsandboysinnonDalitfamilies.Thisalsoimpliesthebetteraccessibility
ofnonDalitpopulationtoeducationalfacilitieswhichinawayisalsobecauseofbettereconomic
statusofnonDalitfamilies,viz.,betteremploymentopportunities.Highrateofmigrationisexistent
amongDalitpopulationthisisalsobecauseofnegligibletitleoverlandwhichlimitstheirscopeof
takingupagricultureastheprimaryoccupation.
The state government formed the State MahaDalit Commission for the development of the most
deprived amongst the Scheduled castes. The Commission observed that out of the 22 scheduled
castesinBihar,20areacutelydeprivedintermsofeducational,economic,socioculturalandpolitical
status.TheCommission identifiedthese20 castes primarily on thebasis oftheir literacy rate.The
literacyrateofMahaDalitis16.7%against28.5%literacyrateofschedulecasteinBihar.
ThecoinageofthePasmandaMuslimMahazcomprisingofcastebasedidentityofMuslimsalsowas
promotedbythecurrentgovernment.TheCasteidentitiesfromotherreligionssuchasMuslimsand
ChristianDalitshavebeenlistedandclaimsmadeforashareingovernmentresourcesbutthefront
lostacaseincourtwhentheyaskedforbudgetsingovernmentplanningasOBCs.Theshareofthe
backwardcasteshouldnotbetakenfromtheoverallshareoftheSCpeopleunderSCPandother
schemes meant for the Dalits. The Pasmanda front also did not have an internal examination of
gender roles as well as inequalities within. While it is true that lower castes from Hinduism
convertedtootherreligionstheprofessionsthattheytookoncontinueevenafterthereligionwas
changed.
TheHouseasanassetholdingbywomenislimitedtothetitleoverhousesmostlyonpapersdueto
theexistenceofschemelikeIndiraAwasYojanawhilethecontroloverresourcesismostlywiththe
men.AccordingtotheNationalFederationforDalitLandRightsMovements(NFDLRMs),Violence
againstDalitwomenisalsolinkedtothedenialoflandrightsasinmajorityofthelanddisputes,the
Dalitwomenaremadeatargetofviolencetosilencetheirmalecounterparts.Thisclearlyexplains
thelimitationoftitleofDalitwomenoverresources.Dalitsasoneofthemostmarginalisedsections
stillcomeunderforced, landless and bonded labourers with limited or negligibleownershiprights
overland.AccordingtoNationalSampleSurvey19992000around90.90DalitfamiliesinBiharwere
landlessornearlandless.
The ownership of Dalit women over assets like utensils, phone, internet, professional tools etc. is
mainly because of their involvement in household chores. Women bring the utensils along with
themintheformofdowry.Moreoverthetitleoverlandsignifiescontroloverresourcestherebythe
67|P a g e

leadershiproleandidentityasaproviderinthefamilyandexternalsociety.Theexistentofsocalled
patriarchydoesnotpermitthewomentohavetitleoversuchprimaryresourceslikelandandhouse
whichisathreattomalecontrolanddominanceoverresources.
Moreover in the current context under the new regime of liberalized economy Dalits are further
beingalienatedfromland.Thishasbeenhappeningmainlybecauselargetractsoflandsarebeing
providedtoMNCsatthrowawaypriceswithouttakingintoconsiderationtheinterestofthesmall
andmarginalfarmers,majorityofwhombelongtoDalitandotherdisadvantagedsectionsofIndian
society.ThishasalsoledtolargescaledisplacementofDalitandAdivasifamiliesatvariousplaces
within thecountry.TheSpecial EconomicZones (SEZs)which arebeing pursuedwitha missionary
zealbydifferentStateGovernmentsisnothingbutreincarnationofZamindarisystemandmustbe
opposed.
Oneoftheprimaryreasonsforthestatusistheinactive/
absence/inadequate village level government health
service system (ICDS, subcenters, ANMs) or inactive
54.44% Dalitand27.78%
health service providers who have the primary
responsibility to track such cases of differently able
nonDalitWomenhad
childrenthroughidentificationofanyearlysymptomsof
houseasanassetwhile
disability and timely referring it for the receiving
13.33%Dalitand16.67%
adequate treatment. Moreover Dalit families have lack
nonDalitWomenhadland
of adequate resources (limited income source) due to
which they could not opt for better and advanced
asaprimaryasset.
treatments thus limiting their scope. Also with the
existent government social security system many
13.33%Dalitand22.22%
differently able children in the lack of financial support
nonDalitWomenhad
couldnotreceivethemuchneededsupport.Thosewho
livestockastheirprimary
reported their occupation reported that female
asset.11.11%Dalitand
homemakerswhoarenotearninganymonetaryincome
aremostamongthem.Detailsoftheoccupationstaken
27.78%nonDalitWomen
upbyboththeDalitandnonDalitpopulationshowthat
hadphone.
in Dalit families 10.80 % women are agriculture labour
compared to 1.52 % women in non Dalit families.Thus
Dalit women are 6 times more likely to be agricultural
labour One of the major reasons for the status is the
high migration among male members of the Dalit families because of the lack of adequate
employment opportunities as well as absence of alternate livelihood. Also the Dalit families have
very limited ownership over land. Most of the Dalit families work as wage labourers in the
agriculture.Around31.82%womenarehomemakerinDalitfamilieswhileinnonDalitfamiliesthis
isashigheras42.42%therebyexplainingthelevelofinvolvementofDalitwomeninearningliving
oftheirfamily.OutofthetotalrespondentsitwasfoundthatmostlyDalitwomenworkasprivate
cleanersandsanitaryworkersforcleaningothercommunitymemberswaste.Thusclearlyexposing
thepractice,attitudeandsocialstatusofDalitpopulationespeciallyDalitwomeninthearea.
Duetothevariouseducationalpromotionalschemesofthegovernment,therehasbeenincreasein
theeducationallevelof girlchildren intheDalitfamilies.Thuswecould seemorenumberofgirls
andwomeninvariousoccupationsliketeachers,shopkeeperandgovernment,nurseetc.compared
to non Dalit girls and women. 64.66% Dalit and 70.73% non Dalit Women were illiterate. showing
thatmoreDalitgirlsaccessededucationinBiharthannonDalitwomen.
68|P a g e

Fordistributionofprimaryassets:54.44Dalitand27.78%nonDalitWomenhadhouseasanasset
while 13.33%Dalitand16.67% nonDalitWomenhadlandas aprimaryasset.13.33% Dalitand
22.22%nonDalitWomenhadlivestockastheirprimaryasset.11.11%Dalitand27.78%nonDalit
Women had phone, showing that more Dalit women had house and the non Dalit women had
phone,landandlivestockmore.ThegenderassetratioinBiharfornonDalitswas0.61whichwas
marginally less than 0.65 on Non Dalits. There were 11.59% of total Dalit households who were
assetlessascomparedto12.77%ofnonDalit.
Dalitwomenfeellackofunityasthemainreasonforinadequateemploymentinthearea.Thiscan
eitherbebecauseofthemigrationsamongthepopulationorduetothepoorsocioeconomicand
politicalstatusoftheDalitfamiliesinthesocietywhichlimitstheirsayinthesocialstructureexistent
in the area. Dalit girls are not pursuing higher education because of caste domination. The health
servicesaccessedbythebothDalitandnonDalitpopulationintheareashowsthattheDalitwomen
is more dependent on the government health services while the non Dalit women are dependent
uponprivatehealthservicesorprivatehospitalsorprivatequacksfortreatments.Oneofthebasic
reasons for dependence of Dalit women on government hospital is because of the benefits linked
with the hospitals like Janani Suraksha Yojana under which pregnant and lactating mothers are
providedfinancialaidincaseofinstitutionaldeliveriesandalsoareprovidedfinancialsupportupto
thebirthoftwogirlchildren.Secondly,theDalitfamiliesmostlybelongtotheBPLcategoriesdueto
whichtheyarecoveredunderBPLhealthbenefitsschemesunderwhichtheyareprovidedfinancial
supportfortheirtreatmentingovernmenthospitalirrespectiveofanykindoftreatmentrequiredby
them. However the quality of the government health services and the actual benefits received by
the Dalits is a matter of concern and needs to be looked into. The access of non Dalit families to
private health services also signifies the better economic status viz better income levels of these
familiesincontrasttotheDalitfamilieswhohavelimitedopportunitiesofemployment.
Accesstothetransportresourcesby bothDalitandnonDalitfamilies:Accordingtothedataboth
the Dalit and non Dalit population have access to private buses as a mode of transportation.
HoweverDalitfamilieshavelimitedaccesstogovernmenttransportationcomparedwithnonDalit
families who have more or better access to government transportation facilities. This somehow
points towards the power structure functional in the area where non Dalit population has
dominanceoverDalitpopulationwhenaccesstosuchservicesofgreaterimportanceareconcerned.
ThusDalitfamilieshavetospendmoneyfromtheirpocketforcommutingfromoneplacetoanother
duetotheirlimitedaccesstogovernmentservices.
Therespondentssharedabouttheservicesfromwhichtheyfeeltobemostdeprivedinthecontext
of availability, accessibility and affordability. On the basis of the responses received from the
respondents around 23.9 % Dalit families feel that they are deprived of participation in the social
meetings and get togethers as compared to 19.1 % nonDalit families. This reflects social
discriminationexistentinthearea.Dalitsarestillnotmadepartofanysocialeventwhichreinforces
the old age custom of considering Dalits the untouchables. For Dalit families the absence in the
political meetings affects them most. Thus their major focus is on strengthening the political say
whichultimatelyresultsinstrengtheningthesocialstatus.Dalitfamiliesmostlyfocusonbuildingup
theirsocialrelationsandworkingontheirsocialacceptanceinthesocietyamongothercastegroups
residing in the area. Thus struggling for social acceptance by the others is still one of the major
concerningareasofDalit.
ThereseemstobealargevacuumsurroundingthelevelofinformationandknowledgeoftheDalit
andnonDalitwomenregardingvariousexistentgovernmentschemesandservicesfortheirbenefit.
7.2%ofDalitwomenareawareabouttheschemesforwomenwelfareascomparedto14.9%non
69|P a g e

Dalit women. Hence limited benefits are received by the Dalit women compared to the non Dalit
women.Around50.7%Dalitwomenarepartiallyawareaboutthevariouswomenwelfareschemes
which ultimately limits their scope of benefitting and increases the risk of being cheated or
misguidedandhampersthereachoffulloractualbenefitsinreachingtheDalitfamilies.
58.7%Dalitand61.7%nonDalitpopulationrespondedthatthereisdiscriminationintheaccessof
resources between Dalit and nonDalit population which gives an insight into the level of control
overresources.InthecurrentcontextwhereDalitpopulationisdeprivedofevenbasicamenitiesof
life,oneofthemajorreasonsforthisstatusistheirlimitedinformation,awarenessandknowledge
regardingvariousgovernmentschemes,lawsandexternalworld,thus,limitingtheirscopetokeepa
matchwiththechangingworldandchangingsituationintheexternalcommunitythuspushesthem
morebackward.Displacementofthesecommunitiesfromoneplacetoothereitherduetonatural
calamitiesormanmadesituationaffectstheirlifemajorly.Theyhavetorestarttheirlifeafterany
such incidence. In the absence of adequate policies and law for providing adequate measure or
supporttosuchdisplacedfamiliestheresettlementprocessisverylengthy task.Oneofthemajor
reasons for lack of adequate benefits of the laws pertaining to the rehabilitation of the displaced
communitiesisalsolackofinformationregardingpolicieslinkedtothedisplacementduetowhich
themiddlemenarebenefitted.65.9%Dalitfamiliesarenotawareaboutthepromotionalschemes
andvariouslawsandpoliciespertainingtodisplacementandrehabilitation.ThusmanyDalitfamilies
or other nonDalit families do not get the much required benefits for which they are subject to.
Limited access of Dalit population to basic amenities of life is seen by the data that 44.2 % Dalit
families responded that they do not have adequate access to basic services like sanitation and
water. If we consider the existence of such situation in the area, its mostly the women who are
affectedbyit.Duetolackofadequatesanitationthewomenhavetowakeearlytofinishtheirdaily
chores(mostofthetimesindarkness).Thisarousesthethreattotheirsecurityinthearea.Alsoin
thepresenceofunhygienicsituations(presenceofhumanexcretainopenair)causesmanyurinary
infectionsamongwomen,manyatimesaboutwhichtheyarenotaware.Intheabsenceofaccessto
adequatewatersupplyitismostlywomenwhohavetowalklongdistancestofetchwaterfortheir
entirefamilyeitherforthehouseholdchoresorfordrinkingpurposes.Alsomanyatimes,women
havetotake bathintheopenareanearthewatersourcewhichhampersthedignityofawomen
wheneverypassingbyhaveaglanceofthemtakingbathinopen.SinceDalitcommunityisoneof
themostdeprivedcommunities,dominatedbyothersocalledcastegroups,suchincidencesraising
the possibilities of exploitation of women by other dominant castes in the area. For Dalit women,
moreresourcesarerequiredforincreasingthequality,effectivenessandefficiencyofworkdoneby
them and the training on utility of such resources will help in adding up to the same. One of the
majorhurdlesfacedbythewomenin theplaceoftheirworkis absenceofchildcareserviceslike
crcheat thework place as most ofthe womenbring their small childrenalongwiththem at the
workplace.Thismanyatimes diverts theattention, quality, efficiency and effectiveness aswell as
overalloutputofwomenworkersintheworkplace.
Resourcestoincreaseskillsandopportunitiesofanindividual

Dalitfamiliesespeciallywomenfeeltheaccesstoeducationandtrainingwilladduptotheir skills
and quality of their work. Since most of the Dalit families lack adequate opportunities and are
unskilledworkerstheyfeltthe immediaterequirementforcapacityenhancementprogrammes for
their skill improvement. While non Dalit families ranked having land and house in their name as
majorfactorinbuildingtheirskills.Dalitpopulationshaveverylimitedownershipoverlandhowever
theyrankedownershipoverlandandhouseassecondresourceforenhancementoftheirskills.This
gives an idea that the Dalit families especially women understand that skill building and capacity
enhancement can make them capable enough to own a land and house for themselves. Dalit
70|P a g e

families have very limited political presence. Due to the decentralised three tier panchayati raj
systemandreservationforwomen,especiallyDalits,eventhoughwomengetchancetocontestand
wintheelections,challengesarefacedbytheminpracticingofpowerinthepresenceofdominant
casteandclasssystem.Thusmoreactiveparticipationandstrongleadershipbuildingisrequiredto
buildtheleadershipskillsandincreasedopportunitiesforDalitsatalllevels.
Prioritisationondecisionmakingabilities:InDalitfamiliesthedecisionmakingvaryfromonefactor
to another like decisions related to enhancing the capacities are taken mostly by self while about
educationandhealthistakenmostlybyfamilyandnotself,incaseofnonDalitfamiliesmostofthe
decisions in all the aspects are taken up by the head of the household. Both Dalit and non Dalit
familieswouldprefertotakeupandbeinvolvedingovernmentjobs,teachingetc.aswellasfarming
andworkingasadomestichelpwhichcouldearnthemmoremoneyalongwithbetterandsecured
life.HoweverinthecontextofDalitwomengettingworkasadomestichelpisabigchallengedueto
intermittentcastebiasnessduetowhichpeopledonotdrinkwaterfromthesamepotanddonot
allowDalitstoenterinthekitchen.Howevervariousprogrammesrunbythegovernmentlikemid
day meal schemes in which supplementary nutrition is provided to school going children, efforts
have been done to employ women from most deprived communities like Dalits, however due to
socialstigmatheDalitwomenarenotallowedtoenterinthekitchen,touchtheutensilsorservethe
food. However involvement of women in agriculture both in their own field as well as working as
agricultural wage labourer is more rampant in the area. Even though women contribute to the
family income to a large extent, the control over income and expenditure lies in the hands of the
head ofthe familywhich ismostly the men and notwomen. The decisionmaking role andpower
doesnotliewithwomenunlessthereisnomaleadultmemberpresentinthefamily.
The major source of finance for Dalits are family, friends and colleagues, government and local
moneylenderand bankswhilenonDalitfamiliesaccessmicrofinanceinstitutionsadditionally.The
Dalit families are not linked to alternate sources of financial support like SHGs and micro finance
institutions.EventhoughDalitshaverankedfamiliesandfriendsasmajorfundingsourceshowever
itsdifficultforthemtogettimelyandadequatefinancialsupportfromthemasallthefamiliesarein
thesimilarcondition.
Table4HelpfulFactorsforAccessingGovernmentResourcesBihar
HelpfulFactorsforAccessingGovernment
Resources

ResourcesandInformationmadeavailable
withoutcorruptionatthePanchayatLevel

NonDalit

Frequency

Frequency

21

15.2

14.9

EvaluationofDevelopmentProgrammesshould
becarriedoutregularly

2.9

8.5

InformationandResourcesshouldbeprovided
byallGovernmentFunctionariesandelected
representatives

63

35.7

22

46.8

OrganisationofBeneficiariestodemandtheir
entitlements

0.7

2.1

DalitLeadershipinbothGovernmentand
Administrationshouldbeencouraged

3.6

2.1

71|P a g e

Dalit

Awarenesscampsshouldbeheldamong
beneficiaries
NotResponded
Total

27

19.6

10.6

17

12.3

14.9

138

100.00

47

100.00

The above table givesan insight into theexpectation levelof bothDalitandnon Dalit families for
betteraccessofgovernmentresources.35%Dalitfamiliesand46.8%nonDalitfamiliespreferred
the information and resources on various schemes of the government should be provided by the
government representatives. This however gives a food for thought for the actual process of
information dissemination by government or trust of people on government machinery. However
lackofmuchneededservicesfromgovernmentlimitsthescopeofinformationofthecommunities
who have limited access to various facilities. Around 15.2 %Dalit families and 14.9 % non Dalit
familiesstated the preference ofcorruption free informationdissemination regardinggovernment
resourcesbyPanchayatiRajrepresentatives.PanchayatiRajInstitutionswereestablishedinorderto
ensure that the last man receives all the required benefits from the government. However the
concealingofinformationorpartialsharingofinformationaboutvariousschemesandprogrammes
deprivesthecommunityfromtakingthebenefitsfromtheschemesandthrowslightontheexistent
red tapism.Dalit and non Dalit families understand that corruption is the major barrier in limiting
their reach towards government resources and services. 2.9 % Dalit families have benefitted from
morethan3governmentbutaround49.3%donothaveaccesstoanyofthegovernmentschemes.
Thisthrowslightupontheexistentcorruptioninthesystemaswellaslackofconfidenceandvoice
ofpeopleespeciallyDalitstofightfortheirrights.However48.9%nonDalitfamilieshavebenefitted
fromatleastonegovernmentscheme.
TheDalitsaremostlybenefittedbyIndiraAwasYojanaasthequotaisfixedforSCinthisschemeand
foreducationalscholarship.ThenonDalitshavebetteraccesstoemploymentgenerationschemes
andpensionschemes.SurprisinglynoDalitwomenhadaccesstoJananisurakshayojanaschemeas
the major objective of the scheme is to promote safe institutional delivery among the deprived
sectionsspeciallyBPLfamilies.
4.4PunjabStateReport

It is now well recognized that there exists is a two way link

betweeneconomicgrowth,povertyandgenderinequality.Onthe
one hand poverty is almost coterminous with lack of economic
growth and a combination of the two exacerbates gender
inequalities; on the other it is now well recognized that gender
inequalities have emerged as major hurdles in the reduction of
poverty. Gender disparities in basic human rights in terms of
access to education, credit, occupational avenues, land, housing,
andaccesstopubliclifeallhaveabearingonwomenandgirlsand
help in reproducing gender inequalities that hinder the pace of
economicgrowthanddevelopment.Inthe fastdevelopingIndian
society today gender issues have gained visibility but even then
womencontinuetobevictimsofavarietyofculturalperceptionsaboutwhatisrightandfairinthe
context of gender relations and because of these perceptions they remain at the bottom of the
social hierarchy and continue be deprived of opportunities and access to resources, and are
oppressedandviolatedinseveralways.Womenaredeniedaccesstobasicneedssuchaseducation,
employmentandaccesstohealthservices,andalsotootherproductiveresourcessuchaslandand
72|P a g e

houseownership.Thecombinedeffectofallthesefactorsisthatwomencontinuetobetreatedas
secondratecitizensandareunabletoparticipateinthepolityasinformedandequalcitizens.The
focusofthepresentstudyisonthedifferentiallocationsofDalitandnonDalitwomeninthecontext
ofgenderrelations andtheirdifferentialopportunities, awarenessandaccesstomaterialandnon
material resources. , the study tries to assess the level of awareness of the various, schemes
introducedbytheCentralandStateGovernmentsandassesstheoutreachandaccessibilityofthese
schemes among the scheduled castes women in the state. It also tries to assess the nature of
existing and acquired capabilities of scheduled castes and non scheduled castes women and their
awarenessandaccesstoresourcesprovidedbythestateandthesubsequentimprovementsinthe
qualityoftheirlife.Thesurveyinitspresentformisapilotprojecttobelaterdevelopedasamajor
research project. In Punjab study district Patiala has been surveyed. One village in Ferozpur was
surveyed but the respondents had zero access to government schemes there. Later it was
discovered that this village has less than 40% SC
populationthusitwasnoteligibleforapplyingforany
grantsorhelpfromthegovernment.
StateProfile:
ThepresentstateofPunjabwhichislocatedinnorth
India came into being after the reorganization of
statesin1966.Thestate hasapopulationdensityof
550 persons per sq. km. Its total population is 2.77
croresofwhich1.30croresarefemales.Thesexratio
of the state stood at 893 females per 1000 males in
2011 which shows marked improvement over the
figure of 876 in 2001 though much remains to be
achievedinthisrespect.ThestateofTamilNaduhas
made a quantumleap inthisdirection raising its sex
ratioto995per1000males.Again,theliteracyrateof
thestateof Punjab is76.7%andstate literacyrates
are far below other developed states such as Tamil
Naduwhichhas80.33%.

Thefirstsetof
respondentshadzero
accesstogovernment
schemes.Thisvillage
haslessthan40%SC
populationtherefor
Dalitslivingtheredid
notfitcriteriaevenif
theyhadaDalit
certificate.

The rural economic structure of the Punjab state has been undergoing a change since the green
revolutionthoughthestatestillremainspredominantlyagrarianwith66.1%populationengagedin
agricultural activities, though the figures of 1971 and 1991 Census stood at 76.01 % and 78.43 %
whichweremuchhigher.Thosewhoareengagedinagriculturalactivitiescomprisecultivatorsand
agriculturallabourers.Othercategoriesofworkershaveabsorbedlessthan24%oftheworkforceof
the state Economic development in the state has been witnessing a process of deceleration,
particularlyintheruralareas.Agriculturallabourersandsmallandmarginalfarmersarefacingthe
problem of under employment and unemployment on a very large scale. However, the per capita
income of the state continues to be quite high. The state's performance on the social indicators
particularlyintheruralareasisquitepoorintermsofliteracyrates,sexratios,andhealthindicators.
Moreover, the rural areas of the state which were known for sweet and clean water for drinking
purposes have now become water scarce areas where diseases like cancer are becoming quite
common. The statetodayfacesdepletion andpollutionof its waterresources.Inotherwords the
statelagsbehindinqualityoflifeindicatorssuchasliteracyrate,infantmortalityrateandavailability
ofcleandrinkingwatersupply(Gill2011).

73|P a g e

ThesocialstructureofruralPunjabisdominatedmainlybytheuppercasteofJatSikhsbecauseof
their numerical, economic and political dominance in the state. They own and cultivate land and
employScheduledCastesandBackwardcastespeopleasagriculturallabourersontheirfarms.They
also control common property resources such as Shamlat and Panchayat lands and also places of
worship. The economic hegemony of Jat Sikhs is also reflected in their political hegemony in the
affairsofthestate.TheJatSikhsalsoownandcontrollandtheprimarysourceoflivelihoodinthe
rural areas of the state. Religious differentiation is intersected by caste differentiation in rural
Punjab.
AmongallthestatesofIndia,Punjabhasthehighestproportionofscheduledcastespopulation.The
scheduled castes in the state account for 28.9 % of the total population. In many villages the
scheduled castes constitute a majority and represent more than 50.0 % of the population. The
scheduledcastesinPunjabarelessurbanizedthantheircounterpartsinotherstatesoreventhenon
scheduledcastesinPunjab.TheruralpopulationofPunjabismostlythatofthelandowningJatSikhs
andtheScheduledCastes.Thescheduledcastesareneededineveryvillagetodothehardphysical
work in the fields apart from scavenging, flaying and tanning activities which are polluting for the
highercastes.CensusofIndia2001enumeratedthirtysevendifferentScheduledCastesinPunjab.
Around 59.9 % of the scheduled castes are Sikhs and 39.6 % are Hindus and are concentrated
districts Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jallunder, and Sangrur comprising
62.5%ofthetotalpopulation.Thecommercializationoftheeconomy,mechanizationofagriculture,
and multiple cropping brought far reaching changes in the demand for scheduled castes labour in
urban areas which facilitated their move to growing commercial and industrial towns within and
outsidethestate.Thisbroughtsubstantialchangesinthecompositionofrurallabormarketandthe
powerstructureofruralPunjab.
AccesstoResources:
In terms of human resources, the scheduled castes in Punjab have not done as well as their
counterpartsinotherpartsofIndia.Theratioofscheduledcastepoortothetotalruralpooris53.8
% in the state. The Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes in Punjab listed 68.0 % of the
scheduledcastefamiliesascomparedto22.0%ofthenonscheduledcastefamiliesaslivingbelow
thepovertylinein199697.ItisapparentthatthescheduledcasteshouseholdsinPunjabhavenot
done as well as the upper castes in development of human resources because of the widespread
belief in India that Punjab is a prosperous state with negligible poverty and it does not require
special measures. The invisibility of poverty in Punjab has blurred all state and central policy
prescriptionsinthestate.
Intermsofeconomicresources,thenumberofscheduledcasteoperationalholdingsisto3.78%of
thetotal,ofwhich94.66%arenotsuitableforcultivation.TheaveragesizeoftheSCholdingsis1.76
hectareswhichismuchlessthantheoverallaveragesizeoftheholdingsinthestate.Mostofthe
Scheduled Castes households are landless and those among them who own land and cultivate it
have very small holdings which are not even sufficient for the households survival. Most of the
ScheduledCasteshouseholdslivebelowthepovertylineandtheirpercentageintheoverallpoverty
groupsinthestateisveryhigh.Outofatotalof5.234lakhhouseholdslivingbelowthepovertyline,
3.21lakhhouseholdsbelongtothescheduledcastesconstituting61.38%ofthetotal.
Thestrategyofeconomicempowermentisanotherimportanttoolthatenablesabetterfocuson
resourceallocationinrelationtogenderbudgeting.Itrequiresthetappingoftheeconomicpotential
of the collective power of women and their due share in resources.In Punjab whereas the total
proportion of cultivators in the state was 30.1 % that of scheduled castes was only 3.9 %. Again,
74|P a g e

whereasthetotalproportionofagriculturallaborersinthestatewas7.5%thatofscheduledcastes
was38.4%.Thoseengagedinotheroccupationsinthestateaccountfor58.6%ofthetotalandthe
scheduledcastesaccountfor54.4%ofthetotalscheduledcastepopulation.Genderbaseddatain
termsofassetsownedshows0.86%operationalholdingswereownedbyscheduledcastewomen.
Around42.89%ofthetotalSCoperationalholdingsweremarginal(lessthanonehectare);only0.93
%oftheseholdingsbelongedtoSCwomen.Only52.97%oftheseholdingswereoperated.
This study shows that 6.21.0% Dalit households had no assets as compared to 3.64% non Dalit
households and only 9.39 % women among the Dalits owned movable or immovable assets. Dalit
womenwhohadassetsaccountedfor73.68%ofthetotalownmainlyaresidentialhouse.Onlyone
womanownedproductiveassetssuchasland,cattleandaresidentialhouse.Around93.60%Dalit
malesownedonlyaresidentialhouse,another4.0%agriculturalland,and1.60%bothresidential
houseandland.Thegendergapinaccesstoproductiveassetsisquitelarge.Thegenderassetratio
standsat:Dalitwomentomen0.13;nonDalitwomentomen0.42
TheworkparticipationrateoftheSCpopulationinPunjabis37.0%whichismuchlowerthanthe
allIndiaaverageof40.4%forthetotalSCpopulation.TheworkparticipationratesforSCmalesare
51.3%andforSCfemales20.9%.Thefemaleworkparticipationratesaremuchlowerthanmale
participation rates in the state even though they registered a fourfold increase within the
decade19912001.Amongallworkers,averyhighproportionthatis,79.5%aremainworkersand
theirproportionishigherthanthatrecordedforSC'sattheallIndialevel(73.0%).
Occupationasacriticalresourcerevealsthat62.75%Dalitand67.93%nonDalitwomenwereonly
home makers. Most of them wanted to work but said they had no skills and no opportunities to
work. Non Dalit women home makers were homemakers because of the prevailing values that
discouragewomenfromworkingoutsidethehome.Amongthosewhowereemployedinactivities
other than homemaking, 15.86 %Dalit women and 5.66 % non Dalit women were working as
unskilled agricultural or non agricultural labourers. of the provision of reservations. The average
monthlyincomeofDalitwomenisRs.2083.07andofnonDalitwomenRs.2872.95.Theaverage
family income of Dalit households is Rs. 7586.81 and that of non Dalit households Rs.10323.48.
Castebaseddifferencesinincomesandoccupationswereprominentfeaturesofthisstudy.Around
88.3%DalitwomenfeeltheydonothavethesameaccesstoproductiveresourcesasthenonDalit
women.Lackofproductiveassetsthatprovide asecuritynet fora sustained livelihoodhasforced
Dalit women to live in poverty. No programmes that train women in high productivity skills or
provide credit facilities exist. Support services such as crches and working womens hostels are
almostnonexistent.Sustainedlivelihoodresourcestakingintoaccountregionspecificneedshaveto
provided at the doorstep of these women. The most critical resource for improving livelihood
choices and securitynetforDalitwomenwastheownershipofhouse and fornonDalitwomenit
wasprovisioningofinfrastructuralresourcessuchaswaterandelectricity.
Thebeneficiariesoftheseschemesarelargelyilliteratepeoplewhoareunawareoftheschemesand
benefitsaccruingfromthem.Theincomelimitoftheschemeswasnotstrictlybeingmaintainedand
many beneficiaries had income above the specified limit. The households selected as beneficiary
households do notstrictly confirmtothe criteriadeveloped for BPLhouseholds inthe state.They
arealsonotawareoftheprocedure involved inapplyingforthesegrants andprocuringthegrant
outlinedundertheseschemes.
The experience of the first four decades of development planning indicates that the benefits of
economicdevelopmenthavenotpercolateddowntotheScheduledCastesinPunjabtotheextentit
wasenvisagedbythedevelopmentplanners.TheupperechelonsoftheScheduledCasteshierarchy
75|P a g e

have prospered and progressed to a certain extent but for the large mass of scheduled castes in
developmentandprogresshaveeludedthemandhasmadelittlechangeintheirlivesspecificallyin
termsofsocialindicatorsorwithinthevillagepowerhierarchy.Theflowofbenefitsaccruingfrom
development planning by the state and central government has also escaped these communities
because of the entrenched social prejudices, and economic exploitation of these castes and also
because of the popular belief that Punjab is a developed state and has low levels of poverty and
therefore the state has no need for special measures or efforts for the development of the poor.
This lackadaisical approach towards the poor in Punjab has been responsible for the continued
discrimination and deprivation of the poor, especially the scheduled castes, from the benefits of
developmentandhasalsofailedtoupliftthestatusofthesesocialcategoriesandbringwithinthe
mainstream of society by developing their capabilities. Resultantly, they have few assets and are
concentratedinlowpaidlowrankingoccupationssuchasshoemaking,tanning,sweeping,weaving,
andbasketmaking.
The resource of education in Punjab is above the national average but is far below some of the
developedstatessuchasKerala93.91%andTamilNadu80.33%in2001.Theoverallliteracyrates
ofscheduledcastesinPunjabwhichstoodat41.1%in1991haverisento56.2%in2001,butstill
remain much below the overall literacy rate in the state. Again the male literacy rate of the total
population of Punjab was recorded as 81.48 % and female literacy rate as 71.34 % in 2011. The
literacyratesforScheduledCastesmalesinPunjabwentupto63.4%from49.8%duringtheperiod
19912001.Femaleliteracyratesstillremainfarbelowthemaleliteracyratesthoughtheyareabove
the national rate of literacy for the scheduled castes. A wide gender gap exists in the resource of
literacyamongthescheduledcastesinPunjab.
Inresponsetoeducationalschemesofthestate,literacyratesofSCwomen/girlshasincreasedto
48.20%. The literacy rate for the total scheduled castes population is 56.20% and for Scheduled
Casteboys63.40%.TheschooldropoutratesamongthescheduledcastesinPunjabhavedeclined
during20072008fromstandardItoVrepresentingazerodropoutrate.Thetotalschooldropout
rateforthescheduledcastesuntilthe8thstandard(middleschool)was43.37%andforthehigher
castesitwas26.00.Forscheduledcasteboystheserateswere43.87%andforscheduledcastegirls
therateswere42.58.TheschooldropoutratesforthescheduledcastesfromclassItoXwas63.79
%forboysand66.34%forgirlswhilethedropoutratesforthetotalpopulationofgirlswere50.04
% as against 49.95 % for boys. The data clearly points out the gap in dropout rates of scheduled
castesandtotalpopulationandamongboysandgirls.TheGenderParityIndexofPunjabforClassIV
is0.98,forClassIVIII0.97,andforClassIXXis1.0.
Thepresent studyrevealsthatalmostone third of both Dalit and nonDalitrespondents feltmost
deprived of the critical resource of education. The data further shows that 51.71 %Dalit women
were illiterate as compared to 41.50 non Dalit women and were unaware of the benefits of
education as a resource. As many as 97.24% of the Dalit women had obtained education at
governmentinstitutionsapartfromotherhouseholdmemberswhowerereceivingorhadreceived
educationingovernmentinstitutions.Only0.69%hadreceivededucationfromprivateeducational
institutions, and another 2.07 % had obtained education from both government and private
institutions. Among the non Dalit respondents 92.45% had received education from government
institutions.Povertyoftherespondents(bothDalitandnonDalit)isthemajorfactorfortheiraccess
to public institutions rather than choice because it is well known in Punjab that people prefer to
send their wards to private institutions because the quality of education provided by these
institutionsisbetter.

Accesstoservices:
76|P a g e


State sponsored transport facilities were least facile for use of Dalit men andwomen who
preferredprivateservicesand/ormodeoftransport.Therewasalsodifferentialaccesstopublicand
privatetransportservicesamongDalitsandnonDalitsalongwithaclearcutgendergapinaccessto
transportamongbothDalitandnonDalitrespondents.Transportaccessandmobilityemergedasa
keyareaforinterventionforbothwomenandmen.Theirneedfortravelandaccesstospacesis
different.Developingaresponsivetransportplanningbecauseofthedifferentneedsandnatureof
women's work is important because their use of public transport is different from that of men
becauseofaccompanyingchildrenandotherdependentsandbecauseofcommutingforworkinthe
nonformalsector.Ifthesefactorsarenottakenintoconsideration,itaddstotheircosts,riskand
security. Transport planning should not disregard women's priorities and should focus on
accessibility. Women's travel needs frequently require transport outside of peak hours and to
alternativedestinationsfromthoseofmen.
Focused group interviews in Punjab revealed that the need for enhanced power supply was felt
morebyruralrespondents,bothDalit andnonDalit,whoinsistedthatthestateneedstoprovide
more power (electricity), more specifically, non stop power to the rural sector because of the
dependenceofthestate'sagricultureonpower.Nosignificantgenderdifferenceswereobservedin
respondents'awarenessandopiniononissuesofenergyorpower.
Statefundedschemesunderthesubheadurbandevelopmentsuchas,JawaharLalNehruNational
Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) which develops urban infrastructure and governance, basic
services to urban poor, Rajiv Awas Yojana, and integrated housing and slum development
programme were ranked 3.25 by Dalit women on scale of five where rank one is the highest and
rank 5 the lowest. Only 6.2 % of the scheduled castes women and 1.2 % non scheduled castes
womenwereawareoftheservicesprovidedundertheseschemes.JNNURMgetsthelowestrankin
termsofawarenessandoutreach.
Under water supply and sanitation the Punjab government has initiated several schemes such as
laying of sewerage lines in different towns and cities and also the Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking
WaterMissionandNabardaidedsanitationprojectwithassistancefromtheWorldBankalongwith
the Swajaldhara Rural Water Supply Programme. The state also has a scheme for provision of
drinkingwaterthroughreverseosmosis.InPunjab,theseschemeshavecomeintooperationduring
thecurrentyearandbecauseofittheirawareness,implementationandoutreachcannotbejudged
adequately.ItiswellknowninPunjabthatbecauseofthefallinthegroundlevelofthewatertable
and also because industrial pollutants are being drained into water channels, drinking water in
many parts of the state has become toxic and is unfit for human consumption without proper
treatment.Thepollutedwaterisalsoresponsibleforhealthhazardsandahighincidenceofmany
diseasessuchascancerintheaffectedareasofthestate.Womenandchildrenaremorevulnerable
to these health hazards. No immediate and concrete steps are being taken by the state and civil
society to resolve these problems. Whatever, little is being done is too meager to help the state
comeoutofthesituationwithinashortperiodandonapermanentbasis.Thestateneedstoadopt
an emergentstrategy to dealwiththis problem on a war footing. The respondents ofthe present
studyshowednoawarenessoftheseschemesandseemedquiteunawareofeventheneedforthe
creationofinfrastructureforthesupplyofcleandrinkingwater,sanitationorhygieneandinviewof
thelargescaleilliteracyofthesesectionsofthepopulationitcannotbeexpectedthatthesegroups
wouldbeawareoftheavailability/nonavailabilityofsafedrinkingwaterandadequatesanitation.
Under the sub head medical andhealth services provided by the state are National Malaria
Eradication Programme, Balri Rakshak Yojana, Rashtriya Swasthaya Bima Yojana, and National
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Rural/Urban Health Mission and also, Punjab Nirogi Yojana. JSY (Janani Suraksha Yojana) is one of
the major schemes and it intends to limit maternal and neonatal mortality by promoting
institutional delivery. Only one third of the Community health centers and sub centers had the
necessary infrastructure in terms of designated buildings and telephone facitlity or open drains.
Labourroomswerenotavailableinthesubcenters.TheANMswerecontractualappointeesorwere
given charge of two sub centers; because of which they were not able to perform their work
effectivelyorputintheirbesttopromotethehealthdeliverysystem.Routine,preventive,curative
and referral services which should normally be available in the sub centers were not there. If
equipmentisavailableinasubcentreitisnotfunctional.
TheresponsesofDalitandnonDalitwomenrespondentsshowthat29.0%ofDalitasagainst21.8%
non Dalit women felt most deprived of health facilities provided under NRHM. The most highly
rankedserviceprovidedbythestategovernmentistheIntegratedChildDevelopmentServiceswith
arankof2.0inafivepointrankingscalewhererankonerepresentsthehighestvalue.Respondents
viewsonthenatureofhealthservicesaccessedbythemrevealedthatonlyhalftheproportionof
Dalit respondents, that is, 50.34% accessed government doctors or Hospitals during illness as
compared to 62.26 % nonDalit women. Among the Dalit population who accessed government
institutionsofhealth 48.74%werewomenand50.14%weremen; and amongthenonscheduled
castestheseproportionswere65.60forwomenand71.96%formen.Thedatashowsthatthough
the gap between the Dalits and nonDalits is quite
pronouncedinaccessingstateinstitutionsof,thegendergap
is not as significant. Again only 2.07 %Dalit women were
50.34%Dalitwomen
able to access Primary Heath Centers under the NRHM
programmeasagainst3.77%nonDalitwomenrespondents.
areusinggovernment
Around 24.14 %Dalit women were availing the services of
hospitalslessthanthe
privatedoctors/hospitalsascomparedto32.07%nonDalit
62.26%nonDalit
women. Quite a large proportion of Dalit women(20.79%)
womenwhichmeans
and men(24.78%) availed only of the services of quacks or
Jhola Chhap doctors; on the other hand only 5.38% % non
theypaymorein
Dalit women and 0.93% nonDalit men availed of the
privateserviceor
services of Jhola Chhap doctors. A big gap exists between
dependonhome
DalitandnonDalitwomenintheirawarenessandaccessof
remedy.
state provided health services. Almost 50.00 % of the Dalit
women were not aware of the health services provided by
the government institutions and personnel and hence they
were not able to access them. Dalit women respondents
also felt that government doctors and other hospital personnel were least concerned about the
needsofwomenandpoor.Thedatafurtherrevealsthatprimaryhealthcentersofthegovernment
areleastpopularindeliveryofhealthcaretoDalitwomenandwereleastaccessedbythem.
Prioritizationofsocialsecurityresourcesrevealsthatprotectionsecurityagainstviolenceandsexual
harassment emerged as the most important need of both Dalit and non Dalit women while
livelihood security stands next to it. Power enhancing capabilities such as decision making were
present in only 6.2 %Dalit and 5.5 % non Dalit women who were incidentally also the head of
householdsandwhowerewidowswithminorchildren.
Majority of the state and central government sponsored schemes have been introduced quite
recently in Punjab while some are in the process of implementation, therefore to judge their
outreach, awareness and overall effect on the beneficiary population is quite premature and is
bound to be almost nil. Most of the state and central schemes have been introduced in select
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districtsandinvillageshavingmorethan40%scheduledcastespopulation.Theawarenessofthese
schemes among the beneficiaries, panchayat members, other implementing agencies inclusive of
NGO's and public is very poor. Publicity accompanying or preceding the introduction of these
schemesisalmostzero.IdentificationoftheruralpoorinPunjabisproblematicbecausetheincome
eligibilitycriterionsetbythePlanningCommissionisverylow.Itleavesoutalargechunkofpeople
who are poor but do not qualify for a yellow card. Also because of poor identification of
beneficiaries,manyyellowcardholdersarenotreallypoor.Statespecificcriteriaofpovertyneedto
introduce to bring alleviate the status of the poor. In the disbursement of these benefits several
lacunaehavebeenfound.AwarenessoftheseschemesislackingamongSarpanchesandMunicipal
Councillors who lack knowledge of exact criteria and eligibility conditions or the procedures
involved. Eligibility was perceived as garibi or scheduled caste. Only 2.0 % of the scheduled
castes were aware of the services provided by the state under the Scheduled Castes Special
ComponentPlan.Accesstoresourcescanbelimitedifproperinformationor awarenessaboutthe
availability of public or private sector resources is not there among the beneficiaries of these
resources.Further,ifthereareloopholesintheverificationandattestationoffacts,andprocedural
flawssuchastimegapintheduetocorruptpracticesorpoliticalpatronageintheimplementationof
these schemes, they become major causes of concern and alienation among the beneficiaries.
Though the stakeholders appreciate the benefits accruing from these schemes in letter and spirit,
the implementation of these schemes need a careful thought and consideration by all concerned.
ThedataofSAFPstudycorroboratetheaboveasonly11.0%DalitbeneficiarieshadBPLcards.The
averagenumberofschemesaccessedbydifferentDalithouseholdsis0.1and0.75householdshad
receivedbenefitsaccruingunderthedifferentschemes.Respondentshadbenefitedthemostfrom
NREGSandeducationalscholarships.Averysmall%age(aroundsixtoseven%)hadbenefitedfrom
RajivAwasYojana,orIndiraAwasYojana,ortheoldagepensionscheme.
PerformanceofSCSP:
InPunjab,theperformanceof theScheduledCastesSubPlan under the 8th, 9th and 10th Five Year
Plan ranged between 46 % and 66 % but during the 11th Five Year Plan the performance of SCSP
indicates marginal improvement over the previous years and its performance improved to 69 %
during 200809. The performance again dipped to52.98 % of the total Scheduled Castes Sub Plan
outlay in 200910 while the annual plan performance for the year 20102011 was 52.72 % of the
AnnualPlanOutlay.Thesefiguresarequiteindicativeofthehalfheartedapproachtodevelopment
by the state authorities. The states lackadaisical and lukewarm approach and efforts towards the
developmentofthepoorhasaffectedthedeliveryofservicesforalleviatingpovertyandignorance
fromthestate.
Most poor households in Punjab are not eligible to draw benefits from anti poverty schemes as
povertyindicesofthestatearequitedifferentfromthoseofotherstatesandschemessponsoredby
the central government have prefixed poverty limits. The Department of Rural Development and
PanchayatsPunjabundertookasurveyin2002toidentifyruralhouseholdsbelowpovertyline.The
criteriaforidentificationwere:incomelessthanRs.20,000/alongwithsomequalitativeindicators
suchas,nonpossessionofmorethantwohectaresofland,puccahouse,T.V.,Refrigerator,orMotor
Cycle.Thesurveyidentified3.44lakhfamilieslivingbelowthepovertyline.
Thosewhowereawareandhadaccessedtheschemeshadnotderivedmuchbenefitbecausethe
processes of access were cumbersome and caused alienation among the beneficiaries as the
monetary benefit was meager; while procedural delays in sanctioning and disbursement of loans/
funds,andtheirprocurementdependingonpoliticalpatronage,corruption,bribesandcommissions
79|P a g e

given to various agents down the line act as deterrents for the beneficiaries and they get
discouragedtoaccessthebenefitsoftheseschemes.
Proceduraldelaysoccurattheleveloftheimplementingauthoritiesdowntheline.Thelastdatefor
thesubmissionofapplicationsisarbitrarilychangedandapplicationsarereceivedevenafterthedue
date.Applicationformsarenotstandardizedproperly.Cumbersomeformalitiesareinvolvedinthe
completionofapplicationformswhichrequirenumberofdocumentstobesubmittedalongwiththe
form.Thedifferentdocumentsattachedtoapplicationhavetobeattestedandverifiedbydifferent
authorities such as the Sarpanch, Municipal Commissioner, District Welfare Officer, Tahsildar,
ExecutiveMagistrateorSDM.Longdelayalsooccursintheverificationoffacts.Thereisalsoatime
gap in the disbursement of cheques. The gap varies from three months to eighteen (18) months.
There is also lack of clarity in the instructions given to the different functionaries involved in the
implementation of the schemes. All these factors cause a lot of harassment to the beneficiaries.
Corruption and exploitation are the major challenges in popularizing access to these schemes and
helpingthescheduledcasteswomentojointhemainstreamofsociety.

RoleofNonGovernmentalOrganizations:
Major areas in which the voluntary associations (NGOs) in Punjab are involved are promoting
elementary and adult education, vocational training of adolescent girls and women from poor
households, facilitating the government Reproductive and Child Health Care and National Health
programmes,animalcareandthedevelopmentofwomenandchildren.InthestateofPunjab,the
government has formed a mother NGO called Society for Service to Voluntary Agencies (SOSVA)
Northtosystematizetheactivitiesofthedifferentvoluntaryorganizations.SOSVAislinkedwiththe
Department of Health and Social Welfare and disburses funds for various activities.Around thirty
thirty five civil society organizations are functioning in the two districts of Patiala and Rup Nagar
(Ropar) in Punjab. The activities of most of these organizations are in the area of education and
health. They provide free medicines to the poor, distribute uniforms to poor school children and
helpneedychildrenineducation.Someorganizationsgiveoldagepensiontowidows,destituteand
poorwomen.Fewofthemworkforthewelfareofruralwomenandchildren.Onlyoneorganization
wasengagedincreatingawarenessagainstfemalefoeticide.Ahandfulofvoluntaryorganizations
werefoundworkingfortheupliftofruralwomenandchildren.ProminentamongthemwereChild
Welfare Council Punjab, Association for Social Health in India Punjab, Centre for Development
ActionPatiala, ASRA Association for Rural Advancement Ropar, and Kajal Internationa an
organization with an international base for the upliftment of rural women. The activities of these
organizationsshowthatbarringafew,noseriouseffortisbeingmadebythevoluntaryorganizations
to resolve the problems of poverty, illiteracy, ill health and ignorance or to produce skilled labour
forceinthestate.Nowonderlargeproportionsofwomen(DalitandnonDalit)arenotawareofthe
existence of NGO's in their locality. The state needs to make serious efforts at philanthropy and
voluntaryservicetochangethefaceofthestateinrelationtootherpartsofthecountry.
Recommendations

TheincomeeligibilitycriteriaforthepoorBPLhouseholdsandthescheduledcastesshouldbe
state specific taking into account the existing income levels and socio cultural reality of each
state,thanonthebasisofacommonindexforallpoorinthecountry.Somestateslikethatof
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Punjabmighthavehigherlevelsofincomebutstillhavelargenumbersofpoorarecondemned
toremainpoormainlybecausetheyarenoteligibletoavailoftheseschemesanddonothave
yellowcardsthatqualifythemtoavailoftheschemes.Mostoftheseschemesareavailableto
households whose annual income is less than Rs.20,000/ in case of widows or less than
Rs.60,965/perannum.Iftheseschemesaremadeavailableonthebasisoftheprevailingmarket
wageratestheywouldbemoreeffectiveandwouldhavestatewidecoverageandappeal.Most
oftheseschemesneedtobereorientedtakingintoaccounttheexistingruralsocialrealitiesin
Punjab.

Assistancegivenundertheschemesshouldbeconsideredastheentitlementofthebeneficiaries
and not a favor disbursed by the official machinery. This would help to check corruption and
favoritismordolegiventotheofficialsimplementingtheseschemes.Astrongwilltoimplement
theseschemesisanecessityasitwillincreaseofficialefficiencyandresultinbetterperformance
of the Department of Social Welfare, and the Department of Women and Child Development.
SincetheBlocklevelisconsideredasthebasicunitfordevelopmentactivities,theDepartment
of Scheduled Castes and Backward Castes should also monitor the implementation of these
schemesattheBlocklevelforaneffectivedeliveryofservicesprovidedbythestate.
Animportantimmediateneedthereforeistostartamassivedriveforthespreadliteracyand
quality education among Scheduled Castes women. This could be done with the help and
involvementofNGOsandcommunityleadersinthedevelopmentprocessinabigwaysincethe
study points out the dire need and shortage of NGOs. The Non Gevernment Organisations
shouldbeinvolvedinalldevelopmentplanning,implementingandmonitoringofSCSP.
There is also an urgent need to upgrade the skills of women especially the scheduled castes
women. Lack of skills and knowledge of marketing and other aspects of training in productive
activities hamper the scheduled castes involvement in income generating activities. Training
programmesforupgradationofskillsandknowledgebaseshouldbeintroducedtoincreasethe
employabilityofpersonsreceivingtraining.Existingschemesneedtoberedesignedkeepingin
mind localneeds andmarketdemands sothat thegoodsproduced have a sustainable market
overaperiodoftime.
Activities which can provide additional income to scheduled caste/ non scheduled caste poor
women such as dairy farming, poultry, pig rearing, or sheep and goat rearing require land
ownershipevenifthelandownedisasmallpiece.Sincemajorityofthescheduledcastesfrom
poor households are landless therefore land pattas should be allotted to these women on
subsidizedratesbythestategovernmenttostarttheseactivities.
Many schemes such as MNREGA have not been introduced in almost half the villages. Gram
Sabhameetingswhichareessentialforstartingtheseschemeshavenotbeenconvenedandno
resolutionshavebeenpassedfortheirintroductioninmostofthevillages.Insomevillagesthe
dominant castes and classes have prevented the the passage of these resolutions to ensure a
regularsupplyoflaborfortheirfarms,andalsobecausevillagecommonlandsareundertheir
occupation.

Peoples representatives in the panchayats also need to be empowered through training

programmes that educate them about the availability of the schemes and their procedural
details so that they are in a position to implement these schemes with knowledge and
confidence. They should also keep a watch over district and Tahsil level officers in the

81|P a g e

implementation of these schemes and be vigilant that the schemes do not lapse for want of
utilization.

Rules and procedures for implementing development schemes need to rationalized and made
simple requiring fewer procedural formalities. Responsibility should also be fixed for delays in
sanctioningandloan/stipenddisbursementandaminimumandmaximumtimelimitshouldbe
fixedintheprocessingofapplications.Officialswhoshowspeedyresultsshouldberewardedby
the state toencourage better performance. It would not only result in beneficiary satisfaction
butalsoinreducingcorruption.Standardapplicationformsshouldbesuppliedtotahsil/Block
DevelopmentOfficerswhichshouldbeavailabletotheapplicantsondemandandanominalfee
chargedfortheform;orfullyequippedSuvidhacentersopenedatthetahsillevelwhichhelpin
completing all the formalities relating to a scheme at one place by the applicants. Records of
applicationsshouldbecomputerizedattheTahsillevel.
Compilationofsexsegregateddataonwomen,especiallyDalitwomenintherevenueandother
official/ non official records is of emergent necessity. Even theCensus data needs to compile
information on sex segregated basis in the ownership of resources such as land and house.
ThereshouldbeamandatoryinclusionofinformationonthestatusofSCwomenintheannual
reportsofbothStateandnationallevelcommissionsforScheduledCastesandwomen.

Few Dalit women own land, under joint titles or as individuals. Dalit women rights activists
advocateforeffectiveimplementationoftherecommendationsoflandreformscommissionfor
thedistributionofsurplusland,revenuelandortemplelandtothelandless.

Schemes related to land such as minor irrigation schemes or allocation of lands/ plots should
prioritizesinglewomenorwomenheadedhouseholds.

Ensure that women workers in the unorganised sector of employment get minimum wages,
protectionfromsexualharassment,andprovisionofcrechesat/neartheworkplace.

4.5RajasthanStateReport
Rajasthan,locatedintheNorthWestofIndia,isthelargeststateof
India. Indian subcontinents largest desert, the Thar Desert, also
known as the Great Indian Desert, is the most prominent and
distinguishingfeatureofthisstate.Rajasthansharesitsborderswith
Pakistan on the West; Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh on the South;
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab on the North East. Due to its
harsh topography of dessert area, there are perennial drought
conditionsandlackofpotablewaterareamongthemajorreasons
foritscontinuedunderdevelopmentandharshnessfacedbypeople
intheirdailylives.
HistoricallyRajasthanseconomywasprimarilyagriculturalandpastoral,howeveroverthelasttwo
to three decades Rajasthan has emerged as a key state for tourism, thriving on the rich history,
traditional handicrafts and natural beauty of the state, and Industry, with large production of
cement,textilesandmining.ThestatehasalsostartedinvestmentsinInformationTechnology(IT)
sectorwithNorthIndia'slargestintegratedITParkbeingopenedinJaipur,coveringnearly12square
kilometres.About13.74%ofthestatesruralpopulationisconsideredtobeBPL(census2001),the
correspondingfigureforurbanareasbeing19.85%.Rajasthanhasoneofthelargestconcentrations
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ofSC(17.15%)andST(12.56%)populationinthecountry.Socioeconomicindicatorsare,ingeneral
lowerthanthecountrysaverage.60.41%and43.85%ofitstotalandfemalepopulationrespectively
isliterate,thecorrespondingfiguresforIndiabeing64.8%and53.7%respectively.Thesexratiois
921comparedtothecountryaverageof933.ThestateofRajasthancontinuestoranklowonthe
key development, gender and social indicators. Some of the major concerns are: Low child sex
ratio(06years),highratesofviolationoftherightsofthegirlchildfrombirththroughyouthand
adulthood in a strongly entrenched gendered preference for the male child, very high levels of
crimesandwidespreaddiscriminationagainsttheDalits,Scheduledtribesandwomenasshownin
thecomparativestatewisenationaldataonthecrimeratesandatrocities.
DemographicandsocioeconomicprofileoftheDalitcommunitiesinRajasthan:
DalitcommunitiescompriseroughlyonefifthofthetotalpopulationofRajasthan.OfthetotalDalit
populationof97lakhsinRajasthan,46lakhsarewomen(2001census).Againstanationalaverage
of39%literacytheDalitwomenliteracyintheStatestandsat32%.AmongDalitmen,theliteracyis
62%inRajasthan.
Meghwals,Jatavs,Bariwas,Chamar,Bunkar,Raigars,Balais,Khatik,Jatias,andGingararesomeof
themajorDalitcommunitiessettledinRajasthan.Abriefdescriptionofthesecastesisgivenbelow:
Meghwal: Arguably, this community has the largest presence amongst Dalits in Rajasthan. They
mainly inhabit the Western, Southern and Central regions of Rajasthan. While a few pockets of
Meghwal families are engaged in shoemaking, today most of them are small farmers and farm
laborers,withsomeengagedinsomeothermanualwork.
Jatav: The Jatav community is found in eastern districts of the state, namely Bharatpur,Alwar,
Dholpur, Karauli and Sawai Madhopur. Jatavs, who are marginal farmers and agriculture laborers,
havebecomevocalandassertiveabouttheirrights.
Bairwas:BairwasaremainlyfoundinAlwar,SawaiMadhopur,Jaipur,Dausa,Karauli,Kota,Ajmer,
BhiwaraandTonkdistricts.BairwasareeconomicallybetteroffthanmanyotherDalitsofRajasthan.
Inurbanareastheyengageinpettybusinessandprovidelabour,andinruralareastheyaremainly
marginalfarmersandagriculturalworkers.
Raigars(Jatia):ThiscommunitymostlylivesinAlwar,Dausa,Jaipur,Ajmer,SawaiMadhopur,Karauli,
Tonk,Jodhpur,BarmerandPalidistricts.Theyarestillengagedinshoemakingandareeconomically
strong,withmanyofthemalsoworkingasagriculturallabourorownsmallfarms.
Chamar,Balali,Bunkar:ThesecommunitiestoohavestartedcallingthemselvesasMeghwals.They
liveintheCentralandNortheasternpartsofthestate.Someofthemarestillengagedinleather
relatedwork,whilethemajorityaresmallfarmersandlaborers.
Khatik:ThisistherichestcommunityamongtheDalits.TheylivemainlyinJaipur,Bharatpur,Alwar,
Ajmer,Bhilwara,Tonk,andKota,andareengagedincattlebusiness.
Leatherwork has been the traditional occupation of the dominant Dalit castes. However, this has
been changing and today Dalits are found doing menial work of other kinds too. Majority of the
agricultural and allied sector wage labour is from Dalit sections of the society and within it the
women comprise the bigger chunk than the menfolk with lower wage rates across all kinds of
unorgansied sector work they are working in. However, very few Dalits are represented in the
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administration,bureaucracyandlegislatureofthestate.TherepresentationofSC,STandwomenin
thepoliceforcealsoindicatesdeeprootedfeudalisminthestate.TheshareofSCinthepolicewas
lessthan15%whilethatofSTwasbelow10%whereastheSCpopulationinthestateis17%andST
13%. The representation of women in these organs of democracy is way behind their actual
demographic%ages.
StatusofDalitcommunitiesinRajasthan:
ThelatestdataofNationalCrimeRecordBureau(NCRB,2009)evidentlyreflectstheprejudicesand
discrimination prevalent towards Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and women, the
threemostvulnerablesectionsofthesocietyinRajasthan.AccordingtotheNCRBdatafortheyear
ending2009,RajasthanissecondinthecountryincrimesagainstSC,STandwomen,onlyafterUttar
Pradesh.UPwitnessed7,522incidentsofcrime,however,Rajasthanwitnessedmaximumnumberof
cognizableoffences.Thestatesawatotalof4,985incidentsofcrimeincluding65murdersandrape
of 163 Dalit women. In crimes against Scheduled Tribes, Rajasthan not only topped the list with
1,183 such incidents butalso got the numberone rank on thebasisof%age share in the all India
totalofcrimeagainstScheduleTribes.Accordingtothe2010AnnualReportoftheMinistryofSocial
JusticeandEmpowerment,GovernmentofIndia,Rajasthanreportedoneofthehighestincidences
ofatrocities againstDalits,with 4,302 casesregisteredundertheSC/ST(PoA)Act1989in2008.As
perthisgovernmentdocument,Rajasthanreportsanincidenceof44.7casesperlakhofpopulation,
whichisthehighestinIndia.
Rajasthan'scontributiontotheallIndiafiguresofcrimeagainstST,SCandwomenwas21.8%,14.8%
and8.5%,respectively.Therewas2to3%jumpineachcategoryoverthelastNCRBsurveyof2004.
While,thestatetopsthelistincrimeagainstSC/ST,itranksfourthincrimeagainstwomen.Infact,
Bihar, stood at 20th place in cognizable crimes against women and seems to be treating women
better than Rajasthan. The capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur, relatively progressive and cosmopolitan in
naturecomparedtotherestofthestate,ranks7incrimeagainstwomen.
ThestatehascontinuedtoshowsteepratesofDowryrelatedcrimesanddowrydeaths.Traditional
biases against women flourish which is evident in the accusations of witchcraft and subsequent
attacks on single and widowed women who own land or other resources. High rates of domestic
violencearealsoreportedfromthestate.P.Sainath,afterresearchingthesituationofinRajasthan,
reportedthatonanaverageawomanisrapedeverysixtyhoursandthatoneismurderedeverynine
days.
ExclusionofDalitsandtriplediscriminationofDalitwomeninRajasthan
ThestruggletoincludeDalits in social andeconomicspheresishamperedduetocontinuedsocial
discrimination practices. Prof. Sukhdeo Thorat states, 60 % of Rajasthans villages, Dalits are not
hiredtocookmiddaymeals.In 25%ofasmany as555villagessurveyednationwide,Dalitswere
paidlesswages, in35%theywerenotallowedtosellgoods atthevillageandin 47%ofvillages
theywerenotallowedtosellmilktocooperatives.(Thorat,2008).Discriminationinentitlementsto
resourcesleadstodenialofrights.TherearemorewomenfromSCcommunitiesworkingaswage
labourers than selfcultivators. This is indicative of the lesser availability and access to productive
resourcesamongDalitwomen.Prof.Thoratprovidesevidencethatin2001,thereweremanymore
SCandSTagriculturalwagelabourers(57and37%respectively)thantherewereinthenonSC/ST
category(29%).Inurbanareas,therewerealargernumberofwomenfromSC/STcommunities(16
and14%respectively)whoweredailywageearnersincomparisontononSC/STwomen(6%).The
84|P a g e

number of women cultivators, on the other hand, was higher among STs and nonSC/ST
communitiesthaninSCs.
SC/ST women also face differential treatment in wageearning, particularly in urban areas, where
theyearnlesserwages(Rs37andRs34respectively)thantheirnonSC/STcounterparts(Rs56)as
daily wage labourers. Furthermore, a large number of SC women are engaged in occupations
considered unclean or ritually polluting like scavenging, due to caste biases. Because of their
traditionalassociationwiththeseoccupations,Dalitwomenfacegreaterdiscriminationinthesocial
andeconomicspheres.
Role of statutory institutions in ensuring Dalit Rights: Poor implementation of the legal and
protectiveinstrumentsforDalitsandwomenandinfringementsoftheirconstitutionalrights
ThelawsmeanttoprotecttherightsoftheDalitmenandwomen,youthandchildrenunderthe
ScheduledCaste,ScheduledTribe(PreventionofAtrocities)Act1989andProtectionofCivilRights
Act1995arefarfromeffectiveimplementedfordeliveringjusticeintruespiritofthelegislations.
A collaborative study was conducted by the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) in
collaborationwithCentreforDalitRights,Jaipur,Rajasthanin200910ontheeffectivenessofthe
implementation of protective measures and development measures aimed at securing rights and
entitlementsofscheduledcastes(SCs)inRajasthan,inparticulartheroleofstatutorycommissions
inensuringsuchrightsinthestate.Thestudyhighlightedthehighlevelsofdissatisfactionwiththese
constitutional and quasilegal bodies such as the Scheduled Caste Commission and the Womens
Commission, which are meant to protect the interests of SCs. In fact it was pointed out that the
stateSCcommissionhasneverbroughtoutitsannualreports.Thereportobserved:Itisclearthat
theprotectivemeasures anddevelopmental measures havenotbeen implementedinthespiritin
whichtheywereconceived.Itsreachthereforeremainslimitedandimpactisnotveryclearlyvisible
at the micro level. While macro development indicators portray a healthier picture, grassroots
realities are grim. Government data reveals inefficient utilization of resources under various
schemes. Pockets of poverty and deprivation still remain.In another national fact finding study
conducted by PWESCR the context of state of Rajasthan was highlighted to understand if the
economic andsocioculturalrights(ESCR)relatedtorighttofood,waterand livelihoodofDalit
women were being met. The study assessed if the human rights standards were enforced to
ensureDalitwomensempowermentinrelationtoESCR.Thefactfindingreportclearlyshowedthat
inspiteofvariouslawsandschemesforpoorandDalits,thereisnotmuchbeingdoneontheground
to address day to day hardship faced by Dalit women. Also womens realities and
interconnectednessofvariousrightsbroughtoutotherrightsandissuesespeciallythoseconnected
witheducationandhealth(PWESCR2011).
AnalysisoftheSchemeDesign
Analysis of the design of a few schemes by Centre for Budgeting, Governance and Accountability
(CBGA)revealsthatbeneficiaryorientedschemeshavelessscopeoffunddiversion,whilebenefits
of infrastructure related projects are often diverted to other sectors/purposes and non SC /ST
communities. In this respect, Indira Awas Yojana and SGSY, which get large allocations, also have
mechanismsandguidelinestoaddresstheconcernsofSCsandSTsthroughtheschemedesign.This
hasbeenpossiblebecauseoftheclearcutearmarkingofbenefits(physicalandfinancialtargets)in
scheme guidelines and opening of the Minor Head code of 789 and 796 in Ministry of Rural
Development.Schemes like NRHM andICDSdo not provideenough provisionsonphysicaltargets
for SCs/STs in the guidelines data on SC and ST beneficiaries. Recently, some changes have been
made in the scheme design of two programmes (National Rural Health MissionNRHM and
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IntegratedChildDevelopmentServicesICDS)tocovertheneedofSCsandSTs;still,thereisalackof
clarity in their guidelines regarding SCs and STs. Further, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
RenewalMission(JNNURM)hasnopolicyprovisiontoaddressthedevelopmentdeficitsofSCsand
STsinurbanareas(NCDHRandCBGAreport).
FindingsfromtheState:
Allthecentralgovernmentschemesforthepoorandmarginalisedsectionsofthesocietyarealso
budgetedintheplannedfundsoftheRajasthanstategovernments.Someofthekeyonesamong
these schemes include the MNREGA in rural areas and SGRY, SGSRY in urban areas (self
employment),(wageemploymentscheme),SGSYinruralareasandRashtiryaMahilaKhosh(credit
scheme), housing schemes like Indira Awas Yojna, Kanshi Ram Awaz Yojna), water, sanitation and
otherprogramsandSC/Stcomponentplan;schemesforDalitgirlseducationandwomenscapacity
building.TherearealsoSC/STAtrocityActatnationallevel,andSC/STCommissionatnationallevel
andstatelevel.
Despite an impressive list of programmes and incentives to improve and enhance their socio
economic status, the poor and Dalit women remain largely ignored and outside the realm of
availability,access,useandcontrolofresourcesandclaimingherrightsandentitlementsdueas
the citizensof a free,equal society as enshrined intheconstitutionof India. Whether itistodo
withlivelihoodavailabilityoraccesstolandbasedresourcesorbeconsideredcreditworthyfor
owningandusingproductiveassetssuchaslandortobuyagriculturalimplements,pumpsetsand
minorirrigations.InRajasthantheDalitcommunityhasverylimitedaccessandownershipoverland.
Theyownsmallplotsoflandof1to4bighas.Insuchasituation,women'srighttolandispractically
unheardof,sanctionedneitherculturallynorlegallyandtheconditionsofworkareworsenedas
therearenotradeunionsorworkersgroupstorepresentthevoicesofDalitworkersandwomens
voicesdontcountatall!
PoorImplementationofScheduledCasteSubPlan(SCSP)
The Scheduled Caste Sub Plan, formulated in 1979, provides that the state legislature should
earmarkfundsforwelfareofschedulecastetoassistlinedepartmentstouseprovisionsadequately
under the Sub component Plan (SCP), checking any diversion and avoiding any duplication of
administrative machinery. Analysis of government data compiled by Centre for Budgeting ,
governance and accountability from Statement 21, Expenditure Budget of Vol1 of Union Budget,
201112,itisagainevidentthattheUniongovernmentandmanyofthestategovernmentoutlays
fortheSCSPshowabiggapbetweenintentionandaction.
Table5:UnionGovt.OutlaysforScheduledCasteSubPlan(SCSP)andTribalSubPlan(TSP)
AmountinRs.Crore

201011(BE)

201011(RE)

201112(BE)

A.TotalPlanAllocationearmarkedforSCs

23795.6

23153.2

30551

B.TotalPlanAllocationearmarkedforSTs 8989.91

9221.31

18436.15*

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C.TotalPlanAllocationofUnionGovt.
(excludingCentralAssistancetoState&
UTPlans)

284284

302500

340255

Aas%ofC

8.37

7.65

8.98

Bas%ofC

3.16

3.05

5.42

*ShowsRs. 17371.35croreastotalplan
allocation for STs, while summing up all
27 entries from all the ministries and
department it was found to be Rs.
18,436.15crore,sothereisadifference
of Rs 1064.8 crore.Source: Compiled by
CBGA from Statement 21, Expenditure
Budget of Vol1 of Union Budget, 2011
12

Table6:VariationinScheduledCasteSubPlan(SCSP)EstimatesprovidedbyStatePlanningBoard
andDetailedDemandsforGrants(DDG)insomestatesincludingthestateofRajasthan

State

StatePlanning
BoardSCP

DetailedDemandsforGrants(DDG)PlanningBoardSCP

200910BE(%)

200910BE(%)

201011BE(%) 201011BE(%)

Rajasthan

16.0

2.9

16.4

3.9

UttarPradesh

20.0

20.0

19.9

19.9

Orissa

16.4

15.4

16.5

16.6

MadhyaPradesh 14.8

14.8

15.0

15.0

Lookingatthe implementationofSCSPand TSPintheStateBudgets,anassessmentoftheAnnual

Plansoffivestatesfor200910and201011revealsthatthereareanomaliesinthefiguresgivenby
theStatePlanningDepartmentsandDetailedDemandsforGrants(DDGs)inthethreestatesofBihar,
RajasthanandMadhyaPradesh.AsperthePlanningDepartments,Bihar,Odisha,UttarPradeshand
MadhyaPradeshhaveallocatedthefundsasstipulatedbytheSCSPguidelines,whereastheanalysis
of DDGs shows that Rajasthan and Bihar have not set aside funds for SCs in proportion to their
populationsin201011.TheestimatesoffundallocationsforSCsbasedonananalysisoftheDDGs
vary widely across these five states. In Bihar, SCs were allocated 1.2 % in 200708 (AE), 1.1 % in
200910(RE)and1.2%in201011(BE).InthecaseofRajasthan,theplanfundvariesfrom3to4%
for SCs for the same time period. The analysis of the department and schemewise allocations
highlightmanyinstancesoffunddiversionandmisappropriationoffundsthatwereearmarkedfor
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SCs. (Source: Reportof thestudyon Implementationof ScheduledCaste Sub Plan andTribalSub

PlanintheUnionandStateBudgetsconductedbyNationalCampaignonDalitHumanRightsand
CentreforBudgetandGovernanceAccountability)
TogivecredittothegovernmentofRajasthanfortakinginitiativesinimprovingandstreamlining
theimplementationofitseconomicsectorindustrialandinfrastructuredevelopmentprogrammes,
ithaspassedtheSingleWindowAct,2011,whichestablishedSinglewindowclearancemechanism
tofasttrackallpermissions,concessions,exemptionsandrelaxationsforsettingupoperationsofan
enterpriseinthestatewithminimuminvestmentRs.10Crore.Undertheact,aSingleNodalagency
hasbeenestablishedtohandleallapplication/permissionsofanentrepreneurandforwardthemto
theconcerneddepartmentatthestatelevel.Theagencyistoserveasasinglepointofcontactfor
all permissions for starting a business. All communication, including comments and requests for
correctionsinapplications,arechannelledthroughthenodalagency;majorityofcommunicationis
online,thoughafewhardcopiesarestillneeded.
Timebound responses:Thelawhastheprovisionforobtainingtimeboundclearancesthrough a
single point of contact. Measures have been put in place to insure timely approval. Each task has
been assigned a minimum turnaround time after discussion with the various departments. If the
approval is not made in time, the matter is raised to the state empowered committee, which is a
committee established by the council of ministers to handle late approval. The empowered
committee can impose individual penalties to incentivize timely compliance by the approving
authorities.Ifissueremainsunresolved,itisdirectlyraisedtotheCouncilofministers.
Templatescreated:Genericandcustomizedtemplateshavebeenprepared.Setofpermissionsare
same for most projects and can be used off the shelf to expedite the process. However larger
projectsareallowedtohavecustomizationintheirapprovalsalso.Thereisaprovisionofpenalties
imposedontheconcerneddepartmentsfordefault.
Lacunae: Although the state government has been proactive in support of an investor friendly
environment in Rajasthan by via a single window clearance mechanism to accelerate grant of
licenses,permissionandapprovals,however,thereareareasforimprovementtoincreaseambitof
application, reduce minimum investment and increasing the scope beyond setting up business.
Smaller businesses and entrepreneurs are excluded from this initiative; instead their concerns are
handledbytheDistrictIndustrycentres(DIC).Theobstaclesanddiscriminatoryenvironmentfaced
by poor and marginalized communities such as Dalit men and women to set up their small and
medium enterprises are completely excluded from the provisionsunderthe Single WindowAct.
Thestatecan
1.

2.
3.

ReducetheminimuminvestmentrequiredfromRs.10Crto1Cr.andfurthermakespecial
provisionsofwaversandincreasedallocationsforenterprisestobesetupbyDalitsand,in
particularfortheDalitwomenbythestatefinanceanddevelopmentcorporations.
Increase the ambit of the window beyond setting up business to include issues faced by
existingbusinessesaswell,suchaslandusechanges,environmentalclearancesetc
Reducetheinpersonfollowupsanddocumentsubmissionsrequired

TheProcess:
TheRajasthanstatereportislargelybasedonsecondarydatafromtheofficialandnongovernment
sources.HoweverasmallsamplesizedfieldresearchinselectlocationswheremostdepressedSC
populationsstayedinthedistrictsofJaisalmerandJodhpurwasconductedforsubstantiatingthe
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understandingofthesituationofDalitsespeciallywomenfromthesecondarydatasources.The
reportthereforedrawsuponthecombinationofreviewofrelevantreferencesfromthedesk
and web based sources of information and descriptive and analytical details drawn from the
qualitativecasestudiesandresponsesoftheDalitandnonDalitmenandwomenrespondentsto
adetailedsetofquestionsaskedintheprimaryfieldresearch.Thereportalsodrawsuponthe
reflections on the policy environment and access and use of the government programmes and
servicesfortheDalitsandpoorwomen.ResponsesfromthecivilrightsgroupsworkingwithDalits
andwomenandtheirrecommendationshavebeenincludedaspartofthereport.
Therewaspositiveresponseandcooperationwasextendedfortheinterviewsanddiscussionswith
officialsfromthedistrictadministrationofJaisalmerandJodhpur.Inboththedistrictsthecollector
markedthelettertotheDistrictplanningandJilaparishadofficerswhothencalledhisotherofficers
todiscusstheimplementationofdifferentschemesandthedifficultiesthatDalitsfaceinaccessing
theschemes.Thedistrictcollectorprovidedinformationabouttherelevantschemeslistasperthe
printedquestionnaireofthestudyanddeputedhisofficerstomorespecificinformationtothe
team.

Challenges:
Duetoconstraintsofresourcesandlimitedsamplesize,itwaschallengingtodrawsubstantiveco
relations fromthelimitedsampledata.Howeverthestudy doesprovideusefulinformation and
insightsthatseektofurtherengenderthedebateandresearchonconditionsofDalitwomenviza
viztheiraccessanduseofresourcesinthestate.KeyFindings:
A total of 198 respondent families formed the sample size of whom 145 were Dalits and 54 were
NonDalitsintwodistrictsofJaisalmerandJodhpur.Thepresentanalysishasbeenlimitedtothe
DalitnonDalitwomenaxisonlywiththeintentiontogetinsightsintotheresourceaccesssituation
ofDalitwomeninRajasthan.
Characteristicsoftherespondents:
Whilewomenwereinterviewedintheselectedhouseholds,manycouldnotanswerquestionsthat
requiredanswersonresources.Insuchcasesinformationfrommaleswithintheirhouseholdwere
sought to fullfill the required data serach through household questionnaires. There were a
marignally higher male respondents in the non Dalit households (29.6%) from which may be
surmisedthattherethemenfromtheDalithouseholds(25.5%)mayhavelefthomesforseeking
employmentaspartoftheseasonalmigrationpattern.
AverageHousholdSizein theDalitHHswas 5.23 andforthenonDalitHHsitwas5.06.Maximum
numberofHHshaveafamilysizerangingbetween46familymembers,andtherewere25.6%
families in the Dalit household with family size between 710 members and the in the non Dalit
households family size was 20.5%. There were 3 families amongst Dalit HHs which had 10
members whereas, there were also 4 families with only one member and there were 11 families
withonlytwomembersintheDalitHHswhereasinthenonDalithouseholdstherewere3families
withtwomemberseach.AmarginallyhighernumberofDalithouseholdswerejointthanthenon
Dalitfamilies.12(8.28%)outof145Dalithouseholdshavereportedafemaleheadwhile9(16.67%)
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out of 54 nonDalit households have reported the same which means that there more women
headedhouseholdsamongstnonDalitfamilies.
Agewisedistributionofpopulationshowsthattotalnumberofwomenandgirlsarelessthanmen
andboysinboththeDalitandnonDalithouseholds.Therewere338girlsandwomenagainst421
boysandmeninDalithouseholdsand124girlsandwomenand149boysandmeninthenonDalit
households.Inthe06yearsage,boththeDalitandnonDalithouseholdshavelessernumberof
girlchildrenintheirrespectivefamilies.Maximumnumberofrespondentswereintheagegroupof
18to25among(79females+89 males)Dalitand (17females+39males)nonDalits.Theskewed
numberofwomeninthenonDalithouseholdinthisagegroupwasprobedtofindthatoneofthe
villagesinoursamplehadhighestrateoffemaleinfanticide.Theagewisedistributioninthegroup
of3645yrsshowsabiggapbetweenthewomenandmenespeciallyintheDalithouseholds.In
Dalithouseholdstherewere7(5.03%)womenand44(10.45%)menandinthenonDalithousehols
there were 12(9.68%) women and 22 men( 14.77%) in this age group. This also needs further
probing.Intheagegroupofabove55years,thenumbersofwomenaremarginallyhigherthanmen
in both the households.The adult Sex Ratio and 0 6 yrs Sex Ratio in both Dalit and non Dalit
householdswaslowerthanthenationalaverage.

EducationlevelsandInstitutionsofEducationAccessed:
Sharp and distinct gender differences persist in the educational access and achievements in both
DalitandnonDalithouseholdatalllevelsofschoolingandhighereducation.
66.11% Dalit and 62.83% non Dalit women are non literate in comparison to illiterate men which
were34.29%inDalitand 40%amongnonDalitmen.Thusincomparativetermsthereweremore
illiterateDalitwomenthannonDalitwomen,thedifferencewastothetuneof4%differenceand
almostsimilardifferencewasfoundbetweentheDalitmenandnonDalitmen.Genderdifferences
areequallysharperintheprimaryeducationlevelsamongstboththeDalitandnonDalitgroupsof
respondents. Only 22% Dalit women in contrast to 41+% men and 20% non Dalit women in
contrastto42+%nonDalitmenhadattendedprimaryleveleducation.Atsecondarylevelthere
were more non Dalit girls and boys than their Dalit counterparts. At the senior secondary and
graduationlevelthereweresharpdifferencesbetweentheDalitfemaleandmaleliteracyatthis
levelwithintheDalithouseholds.17.7%womenfromDalithouseholdsreportedthattheywereself
taughtathome.
MoremenfromDalitandnonDalithadaccesstoprivateeducationinschoolsandcollegethan
theirwomencounterparts.Amongstthosewhohaveaccessedgovernmenteducationinstitutionsat
thehigerlevelthenumberofmenamongstbothDalitandnonDalithouseholdsisalmostthedouble
ofwomenfolk.
Therewere3.64%womenand2.37%menamongDalitscouldnotgetgoodeducationbecauseof
beingaDalit,andthosenotabletoaccesseducationbecauseofbeingawomanis57.2%inDalits
and50%innonDalits.
Whether Dalit women benfited from education,among the Dalits 37.9% say NO, in non Dalits it is
5.07%, and 32.4% in Dalits say yes where as among non Dalits it is 56.6%. If education is of any
impactontheDalits,34.5%ofDalitsand37.7%ofnonDalitssayreformandprogressonallfrontsis
achieved.
90|P a g e

But 29.7% in Dalits and 1.9% of non Dalits say poverty suppress the advantage of education, and
11%Dalitsand5.7%ofnonDalitssaypatriarchysuppressestheadvantageofeducation.
The survey showed that a sizeable number of Dalits have no proper access to education reason
mainlybeingtheirlowstatusinthecastehierarchyandduetotheirimpoverishedstatus.Inthecase
ofDalitwomentheyaretwiceoppressedduetotheirgenderandclassbaseddifferencesandhence
deniedoffairandequalopportunitiesforeducation.
WhenaskedifDalitwomenhavebenefitedfromeducation,theresponsewasnegative.Only4.8%
Dalitwomenand2%nondailtwomengaveanaffirmativeresponsewhereasmorethan62%said
thattheyhavebenefittedonlytosomeextentandmorethan30%womensaidthattheyhadnot
benefittedfromtheeducationalopportunities.
Impact of Education for Dalits It has mainly resulted in reform and progress on all fronts as
reported by 34.48% Dalit HHs and 35.19% non Dalit HHs and for another 3.45 Dalit women and
7.41% nonDalitwomen education hashelpedinprovidingthemwitheconomicIndependence.
However,for14.48%Dalitsand16.67%nonDalitwomen,patriarchysuppressestheadvantagesof
educationandforanother9%Dalitwomenand7.4%nonDalitwomenbeingpoorsuppressesthe
advantages of education. Significantly 38.62% Dalit women and 33.3% non Dalit women didnt
respondtothequestionofwhethereducationhadanimpactonthem.Itneedstobeinvestigated
furtherastowhythewomendidntthinkthattheycouldrespondtothequestionofempowerment
byeducation.
Distributionofprimaryassetholdings:ImpoverishedassetstatusofwomeninpoorDalitandnon
DalitHouseholds
TherewaspracticallylittleornodifferenceintheeconomicconditionsofbothDalitandnonDalit
households (HH). The family members from both the HHs were mostly involved in unskilled or
agriculturallabourandbothHHshadverylowlandholdings.Thereforethedifferencesintermsof
possession and control of resources there were not very distinguishable differences between the
DalitandnonDalithouseholds.However,therewereverycleardifferencesalongthegenderlinesin
these households. The house and land was overwhelmingly owned by men as the head of the
household.Itseemsthatthegovernmentincentivesforpromotingajointleasewiththewomanof
the HH and/or transferring the property in womens name hasnt got many takers in the sample
households.Evenwhereitisreportedthatthewomenpossessland,itmayonlybenotionalasitis
unlikelythatactualtitletothelandiswiththewomen.Thisneedstobeprobedfurther.
In possession of the primary assets, the women from the non Dalit housolds were found to be
slightlybetteroffthantheirfemalecounterpartsintheDalithouseholds.TheGenderAssetRatio
was0.4(79/191)forthewomeninDalitHHswhereasitwas0.6(36/57).Therewerefewassetless
householdsamongthe(5)Dalithouseholdsandamongthe(3)nonDalithouseholds.Interestingly
butnotwithoutreason,the%ageofwomenowninglivestockwastheonlyassetswashigherthan
meninboththeHHs.Itbeingalabourintensiverolesowhoelsetoslogforthewellbeingofthe
familyandthecattlethanthewomen!!Shopkeepersareagainmostlymen!!
Occupationandincome:
MonthlyIncome:AverageMonthlyIncomeforDalitwomenwasRs812.42andforDalitmenitwas
Rs.5206.90whererefornonDalitwomenitwasreportedasslightlyhigheratRs.1336.36andfor
thenonDalitmenitwasRs.4929.69.
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In terms of occupational patterns, it was observed that a slightly higher number of men and
women from the non Dalit HHs were involved in agricultural activities in their own lands as
comparedtotheirDalitcounterparts.Amongsttheagriculturalwagelabourersthereweremore
women (27%) involved in this work than men (17% from Dalit) and (23 % from non Dalit )
households. The number of men in skilled labour work, government administrative jobs,
government engineer and private agencies for skilled work was far higher than women. It also
seems that the benefits of job reservations have not reached optimally to the Dalit HHs, the
numberofmenfromDalitHHsintheprivatesectorjobsorascontractorsisfarhigherthanthose
inthegovernmentsectorjobs.Majority(morethan50%)ofthewomenfromDalitandnonDalit
HHsreportedtobehomemakersastheirmainwork.
SincemostHHsintheDalitandnonDalitcategorywereeconomicallypoor,theoccupationaland
income patterns portrait that types of occupation and levels of income is determined by their
economicpositionandaccordinglytheopportunitiesandchoiceswithregardtoworkandaccess
to resources is also determined by their economic position in the society, the caste based
determinantsdocomeintoplaybutarenotthesoleandsignificantdeterminants.However,gender
stereotypes of the kind of work and low income for women prevail more loudly than the caste
baseddifferentials.
Inadequacy of Employment: Disadvantageous position continues due to inadequacy of
employment
SinceboththeHHssurveyedfromDalitandnonDalitfamilieswerefromthepoorbackground,the
respondents from these HHs uniformly reported lack of adequate employment opportunities. 110
outof145Dalitrespondentssaidthattheadequacywasalittlebitand16saidthattherewere
notatallanyemploymentopportunitiesforthem.
Indebtednessandlackofconfidenceleadingtopoorselfimagewerethemaindisadvantagesdue
topooremploymentopportunitiesasreportedbytheDalitHHs.32of145Dalitquotedlackof
confidence and another 37 Indebtedness and 18 said that they lacked resources. Amongst the
nonDalitHHs,indebtednesswasthemajordisadvantagecausedalongwithnothavingadequate
resources.
ReasonsforInadequacyofEmployment:51of145DalitHHrespondentsquotedthereasonaslack
ofgoodemploymentopportunities,another16saidthatitwasbecauseoflackofguidanceand
another11saidthatbecausetheywerepoor.Similarreasonsforinadequacyofemploymentwere
reportedbythenonDalithouseholds.
Institutionofhealthaccessed:
Amongst the determinants of inequitable access to health services and facilities , the gender
based discrimination rules the roost and class and caste based inequitable exclusion follows
closely. Majority of the respondents from both Dalit and non Dalit castes were using the
governmentPHC/CHCfacilities.HereinalsotherewasagenderdifferentialwheremoreDalitmen
(68.00)thanwomen(28.57)andamongthenonDalithouseholdstherewere48.89%womenin
contrastto93.75%menwhowereaccessingthegovernmenthealthfacilities.NonDalitmenand
womenhad ahigheraccessratethantheDalitmen inusinggovernmenthealthfacilities.Dalits
householdsusehomeremediesforfreemedicationsincetheyarenotinpositiontospendmoreon
healthcarefacilities.
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More men than women in both the Dalit and non Dalit households visited the private health
practitioners and they go for treatment in a private hospital, the number of men in Dalit
households using private health care facility was slightly more than the men from non Dalit
households.ThenumberofwomenfromDalithouseholdsusingprivatehealthfacilitieswasalmost
negligible.
57.14 % Dalit women and 37.18%non Dalit women felt that they couldn't get access to health
servicesbecauseoftheirgenderwhereasmoreDalitmen(7.43%)feltthatbecauseofbeingaDalit,
theycouldnthaveaccesstothehealthservices.
TransportwasthemostmentionedamongtheservicesfromwhichtheDalitandnonDalit
householdsfelttheyweredeprivedofwhichmeansthatconstraintsofmobilityduetolackofeasy
connectivitytothenearbytown/tehsil/districtwasaseriousserviceaccessissuefortherural
respondentsinboththedistrictsofRajasthan.Poorand/ordeprivedaccesstohealthserviceswas
afarmoreseriousconcernamongtheDalitrespondents(11.77%)ascomparedtononDalits(3.7%).
Feltexclusion:6.9%Dalitsand18.9%nonDalits,feltitwasineducation.11.71%inDalitsand3.8%
in non Dalits, felt Health.40.07% Dalits and 34.04% non Dalits, felt exluded at social gathering.
25.5%DalitsandnonDalits28.3%,feltinpoliticalmeetings.Thestatisticshowsthatsizablenumber
ofDalitsarestilldeniedinparticipatingatsocialgatherings,castebeingthemajorreason.
Awareness:Alarminglylowlevelsofinformationandawarenessleadingtopooraccessanduseof
theresourcesbyDalitandpoorwomen.91.7%Dalitsand96.3%nonDalitswerenotawareof
Special component plan. 6.9% of the Dalit respondents and 1.9% of the non Dalit respondents
weresomewhatawareand1.4%and1.9%wereawareoftheSCP.
56.6%DalitswerenotawareofWomensschemeand42.8%oftheDalitrespondentssaidthatthey
were somewhat aware and only 0.7% of the Dalits and 18% of the non Dalit respondents were
awareofthewomensschemes.94.5%Dalitsandallthe54nonDalitsrespondentssaidthatthere
was unequal equal access to resources.95.2% Dalits and 98.11% non Dalits responded that they
hadntbenefittedfromtheGovtorNGOschemes;Similarlyoverwhelmingresponsegivenaboutno
awareness about the laws on awareness on displacement and rehabilitation from both Dalit and
nonDalitrespondents.90%DalitsandnonDalitsrespondedthattheyhadnoorveryscarceaccess
toadequatewatersupplyandsanitationservices.
Thisshowsthatthereishugeawarenessandinformationdeficiency,theprogrammesintroducedare
not effective, and there is discrimination still prevalent, a wide gap prevails between what is
promisedintheplan,policiesandschemesbythegovernmentandwhatreachesthepeople.
Intherankingexerciseforpriortisingtheresourcestohaveadequateland,housingandservicesfor
selfandfamily,thewomenrespondentsfrombothDalitandnonDalitHHshavethehighestvalueto
havingahousefromagovernmentorprivateschemeandthenextinorderofvaluewashavingthe
optionofworkingnearhome.Betterwaterandelectricityservicesfollowedandtheownershipof
landwastheforthinvalueonthegivenlistofresources.
ResourcestoincreaseskillsandopportunitiesofanindividualAmongsttheDalitrespondentsthe
highestvaluewas givento havetheland or houseplotin their name andfor nonDalits itwas
participation in Local, State or National Governance, access to education and training for self was
accordedthesecondhighestvalueandtimeandmoneytotravelandseetheworldwasrankedthe
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fourth in value of the list of resources, however for the non Dalit respondents they ranked
itsecondmostvaluedindividualresource.

ResourcesforahappyfamilyandstrongcommunityChildrencansettlewellinlifewasgiventhe
highestvalueandsocialsecurityfromworkwasgiventhesecondhighestvalue.
Resources as part of womens group Security against violence and violations was ranked first in
valuewhichwasfollowedbypowertoremovesubstanceabusefromthewardandthethirdranked
came access to buildings,grazing land, waterponds and transport forwork and leisure and lastly
moretimetoimproverelationships.TherewasaslightlyhigherlevelofawrenessamongnonDalits
aboutthewomensschemes.
Prioritisationoftheresourcesetofthe5resourcecategoriesmentioned,thehighestvaluewas
given to stronger womens group which was followed by happier family and community for the
DalitrespondentsandforthenonDalitrespondentsitwashousing,landandservices.FortheDalit
respondentsitwasthefourthinvalueamongstthefiveresourcecategories.Forthemmorework
andmoneywasthethirdhighestrankeddesiredresourceandthe fifthrankedwasmoreskill and
opportunityforself.
Decision making: It is wholly a male domain, not intersected and mediated by class and caste
issues
Whether it was decision about enhancing capacities or about education or on Health and on
householdexpense,morethan90%respondentsfromtheDalitandnonDalitHHsreportedthatit
waseitherthefamilydecisionortakenbytheheadofthehousehold.Only7%Dalitsand11%non
Dalit respondents said that they could take decisions by themselves. With regard to the decision
makingabilityabouthavingpropertyinownname,thepercentageofresponsesweresplitbetween
theheadofthehousehold(36%)andtakenbythefamily(54%).Womensdecisionmakingcapacity
in the family remains undermined by the supremacy of the male members under the strongly
patriarchalfamilystructures.ThesurveyresponsesreiteratethattheDalitwomensdecisionmaking
capacitiesremainequallyundermined.
Dalitscantdaretodreambig:Storyofexclusionofwomen,poorandDalitscontinues
The responses of the poor and non Dalit HHs clearly point out to the poverty of aspirations
amongst the Dalit and poor women. When asked to prioritise among the given options for
improvedlivelihoodintodaystimes,boththeDalitandnonDalitwomengavehighestvalueto
thewageLabour(plumber,domesticworkeragricultureworker),Farmingandtraditionalfamily
workwhicharetheirtraditionaloccupations,thisiswhattheyaredoing.Leastprioritywasgivento
Government jobs permanent (asha/anganwadi workers, sanitary workers, officer) followed by
teaching and setting up enterprises by the Dalit HHs. It seems that these occupations are still
accorded high priority as options for their livelihood by the poor families because their own
manuallabouralongwithfarmbasedlivelihoodsourcesandtraditionaloccupationalskillsremain
theirprimaryresourcesforlivelihood.TheRajasthanDalitwomensstatusreportbytheCentre
forDalitRightsandPWESCERalsoshowedthattheworkavailableforDalitwomeninmostofthe
rural areas in Rajasthan was informal and not governed by any labour laws, therefore it had a
bearingupontheavailabilityandlackofqualityworkopportunitiesfortheDalitwomen.Dueto
lack of skills, alternative employment opportunities and extreme poverty, Dalit women are forced
toundertakeunskilled,lowpayingworkintheinformalsector.
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Thepoorwomenhaventyetgotaccesstohigherlevelofskillsandopportunitiesforthemtobe
able to see these as their options for bettering their income and livelihood status. However, it
needstobeprobedfurtherwhythepoorDalitandnonDalitfamiliesdidntgiveprioritytoother
livelihoodoptions.
However,thoughbothDalitandnonDalitfamilieswerefromthepoorbackground,thenonDalit
women respondents had higher aspirational levels for seeking improved and skill based
livelihoodoptionsasshownintheirvaluationofthepriorityindexforlivelihoods.Amongstthenon
Dalit HHs teaching and government jobs,setting up enterprises, work in the Private agency
(temporaryjobs,contracts,pieceratework)andworkathomeweretheoptionsinthedecreasing
orderofpriority.
Resourcesreceivedinthelastfiveyears:
Dalits andnonDalitsfamilieswere abletoreceive resourcesupportthroughfamilies, the most .
Secondly friends had helped. Local money lenders came third with Dalits. Self help groups came
fourth.However, both Dalits andnon Dalitsreported thattheyreceived littleornosupportfrom
ROSCA,BanksandGovernmentprogrammes.
Lackofinformationandtransparencyhascomeoutasthebiggestdeterrentinaccessingandusing
the government resources. There is a lack of information and awareness about the state
programmes, schemes and entitlements forDalits. Asa result ofthelackof information,the poor
andDalitwomenareunabletoaccessthesesources.Forinstance,despitethescholarshipschemes
for Dalit children and especially Dalit girls, most Dalit families lackedknowledge about various
education,technicalandvocationalschemesandincentivesaswellaboutthecreditsupportand
banklinkagesprovidedbythestateandcentralgovernmenttothepoorandDalitwomen.The
CDR and PWESCER study also pointed to the lack of transparency and corruption at the levels of
Governmentofficialsleadingtofurtheropaquenessandobstaclesinavailingandusingtheresources
meantforthepoorandDalitmenandwomen.
SuggestionsforHelpfulFactorsforAccessingGovernmentResources:
MaximumnumberofresponsesfromtheDalitHHs(26%)and17%nonDalitHHssuggestedfor
an increased and improved information and resourcesto be provided by all Government
functionaries and elected representatives. Whereas maximum number of non Dalit HHs (20%)
suggestedfororganisationofbeneficiariestodemandtheirentitlements.Therewasasmall%ageof
responsesfromDalit(2%)and4%fromnonDalitHHsforresourcesandinformationtobemade
available without corruption at the Panchayat Level. For women to be organised and inspired to
demandtheirrightsandentitlements,therewereonly1.3%responsesfromtheDalitHHsand1.8%
fromthenonDalitHHs.
ObstaclesinaccessingGovernmentresources:FormostDalitandnondaltHHsitisacombination
of corruption, nepotism and apathy that are causing obstacles in accessing the government
services.Howeverexclusionalsowasaconstrainingfactor.
Poorratesofaccesstothegovernmentschemes:VeryfewpoorDalitandnonDalitfamiliesand
womenhavebenefittedfromtheplethoraofgovernmentschemes.Therewere46.2%and53.7%
DalitandnonDalitHHswhichhadnotbenefittedfromevenoneofthegovernmentschemesand
thenumberofthosefamilieswhichhavebenefittedfromoneschemeswas49.7%fortheDalitHHs
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and38.9%forthenonDalitHHs.3.4%oftheDalitHHsand7.4%ofthenonDalitHHshadbenefitted
from2schemes.
AnalysisofSchemesAccessedshowsthatmaximumnumberofDalit(79.52%)andnonDalitHHs
(69%)hadbenefittedfromMNREGSwhichwasfollowedbyavailingthethebenefitofPension
schemewhichwas27%fortheDalitHHsand27%forthenonDalitHHs.Only1%DalitHHshad
benefitted from the RAY and IAY housing schemes, land grants and educational scholarships.
AverageNo.ofSchemesperHouseholdcameto0.57fortheDalitHHsand0.54forthenonDalit
HHs.EfficiencyRatioi.e.thebenefitshavereachedHHsthathavebeensanctionedschemeswas1.0
forboththeDalitandnonDalitHHswhichmeansthatalthoughallthehouseholdshadbenefitted
fromthegovernmentschemesbutthe%ageofpeoplegettingthebenefitswasverylow,thereby
theefficiencyofaccessanduseofthegovernmentschemeswasverypoor.Therefore,itcomes
out clearly that the poor efficiency ratio with regard to access and use of the government
supportedresourcesdoesntfulfilltherequirementsandexpectationsofthepoorDalitandnon
men and women to be able to lead a dignified life with equal and fair opportunities. 96%
respondentssaidthatthegovernmentsupporttoshoreuptheirresourcesthroughitsschemesand
specialprogrammesdidntfulfilltheirexpectations.Morethan45%respondentsfromthepoorDalit
andnonDalitHhssaidthatthegovernmentschemesdidntfulfilllivelihoodandotherbasicneeds.
Informationgapstillremainsamajorbarrierforpooraccess:Morethan44%respondentssaid
thatwhentheinformationwasprovidedtothemregardingthegovernmentscheme,theywere
able to get some benefit of these schemes. Reiterating the importance of being provided
informationabuttheresourcesandservicesprovidedbythegovernment,30%DalitHHsand19%
non Dalit HHs mentioned the lack of Information as the most important factor
inhibiting/facilitatingtheaccesstogovernmentresources,lackofdesignandpoorimplementation
wasgivena6%ratingbytheDalitHhsand20%bythenonDalitHHs.LackofGenderSensitivityin
design and implementation of schemes was quoted by 5.5% of the non Dalit respondents as an
inhibitingfactor.
Only2%and3%womenfromtheDalitandnonDalitHHsrespectivelysaidthattheyhavebeen
benefitted from the government schemes, whereas the percentage of those who said that they
havebeensomewhatornotbenefittedwas83%fromboththekindsofHHs.
InresponsetothebenefitsfromNGOservices,theresponsewasonlyshadebetter.Only7%Dalit
HHs said that the services recived from the NGOs were better because of greater access than
Governmentservices,whereas10%saidthattheirserviceswereineffectiveand79%saidthatthey
didntknowwhetheritwaseffectiveornot!!TheroleofNGOsforawarenessbuildingwasthemain
reasongivenfortheirslightlybettereffectiveness.
BeingaDalit:
18% Dalits stated that being a Dalit was an obstacle to reform and another 59% said that it was
somewhatanobstacle.20.0%Dalitsand 11.1%ofnonDalitssaidthatbeingaDalitwasnotan
obstacletoreform.Morethan94%Dalitsrespondedinnegativetothequestionofhavingparity
andequalityinaccesstoresourceswiththenonDalits.
DescriptionofbeingaDalitbytherespondentshadacommonthreadoffeelingexcludedand
oppressed,lackingawarenessandorganizationalunitytoclaimtheirduestatusandrightsinthe
society.Theresponsetothequestionofwhetherthesocioecopol.changesinthesocietyhave
beenbeneficialforDalitswasambivalent.49.0%Dalitsand24.1%nonDalitssaidthattherewere
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somebenefitduetosocecopolchangewhereas29.0%Dalitsfeltthattherewasnobenefitand
35.2%nonDalitfamiliessaidthesame.However,5.5%Dalitsand28%nonDalitssaidthatthe
socioecopolchangeposedsomeobstacles.
The following order of suggestions in decreasing value were given by the women respondents for
improvementoftheirsocioeconomicstatus
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

MakingavailableaproductivespaceschemeforDalitwomenscollective
Vendingspacesshouldbeallotted
TrainingandfundstomakeDalitwomenworkersunions
Morecarespacesandsheltersforallwomentomanagetogether
Trainingtowomentogetpoliticallyactive
Acomprehensivelawforallwomeninunorganisedsectorandagricultureprovidinghealth
careandskilldevelopment
Welfareboard
Easieravailabilityoflivestockwithresourcesforsustainingtheenterprise
ParticipatoryPlanningwithMinimumDisplacementandProperRehabilitation
Individualhouseplotsinwomensname

RecommendationsforStategovernment:
ThestategovernmentofRajasthanhasschemesandincentivestodistributelandforthelandless.
Althoughthishasbeenthepolicysincethe1960s,veryfewDalitwomenhavereceivedsuchland,
under joint titles or as individuals. The National Commission on Land Reforms has suggested
supportive measures for retention and sustainability of small plots of land, which need to be
implementedthroughconstructionofrelevantmechanisms,designingprogrammesandearmarking
offunds.
Thereisaneedtosetupeffectivemechanismsforstringentmonitoringandimplementationof
the newly introduced Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of manual Scavengers. A similar
missionmodeapproachsuchastheNationalLiteracyMissionalsoshouldbepromotedforstringent
and effective implementation of the new set of government guidelines to end the manual
scavengingmostlybeingdonebytheDalitwomen.
Although the Rajasthan state government has been proactive to support an investor friendly
environmentinthestateviaasinglewindowclearancemechanismtoaccelerategrantoflicenses,
permission and approvals, however, there are areas for Improvement to increase ambit of
application,reduceminimuminvestmentandincreasingthescopebeyondsettingupbusinessand
includesmallerbusinessesandenterpriseswhichareexcludedfromthisinitiative.Thereisaroom
forimprovementinenvironmentalpracticesandpromotingentrepreneurialenvironmentsuchthat
the marginalised communities such as the SC, ST and women are encouraged and supported to
develop self reliant economic activities. There is also the urgent need to undertake land re
distributionreforms,improvemeasuresfortransparencyinlandrecordsandissuesrelatedtoland
use changes which directly and indirectly further marginalize and discrimante against the poor ,
Dalitsandwomen.Someofthesuggestionsinthisregardare:

Speedyandtransparentlandacquisitionandallotmentmeasurestothesinglewomen,women
intheDalit,scheduledtribescommunities
Digitization of Land and property records and stamp duty payment across the State. Land
recordareonlycomputerizedin4districtsofthestate.

97|P a g e

Betteravailabilityofinformationthroughupdatesandproactivedisseminationbyimproving
thedistrict,blockandpanchayatlevelinformationandservicehubs.
Thegovernmenthasannouncedprogrammesforminorirrigationforalllands/plotsownedby
Dalits. However, this programme should include an incentive that such lands/plots are given
joint titles, and that femaleheaded households/single women are given priority. The other
programmes include shortstay homes and help line services to be arranged by the Central
Social Welfare Board, although no clear monitoring mechanisms are spelled out. The line
ministryofthestategovernmentneedtostepupIthemomentumtosetupprocessesand
proceduressothattheseservicesareeffectivelyutilisedbythewomen.
PrioritizedandbetterlinkingoftheSHGsofthepoorandDalitwomeninthestatethrough
theRashtriyaMahilaKosh(RMK)intheformoffundingandtraining.RMKthathadbeensetup
in 1993 as a registered society by the Department of Women and Child development, for
promoting the provision of microcredit to poor and Dalit women for income generation
activitiesorassetcreation.
Food and PDS: Marginalised women from the poor and Dalit communities working together
havedemonstratedtheirabilitytosecuretheirfoodsecurityoftheirhouseholds,particularly
by working on the principle of food sovereignty and growing the kind of food they want in a
sustainableway.Thewomenscollectivesformedofandbythesewomenhavedemandedthat
government policies on agricultural practices, land reforms, food security and public
distributionsystembemadepeopleandwomencentricandprioritybegiventosinglewomen,
widows, and womenheaded households in accessing support services and safe spaces for
activeparticipationindecisionmakingatalllevels.
Thereisalsoaneedtosetupequalopportunityofficesineducationalandotherpublicservice
sectorsacrossthepublicandprivateinstitutions.Itisnotenoughtoaskforthefacilitybutitis
importanttohavesocialandequitableaccesstosuchservicesandresources.
ThereisanurgentneedforimprovedallocationandmonitoringoftheSCSubPlaninthestate.
Thestatehassofarnotsetupmonitoringmechanismstoensurecoordinationamongstthe
lineministeriesanddepartmentsforallocatingtheirshareofresourcestotheSCSPandalso
toseehowitisbeingutilizedanddoingregularandsystematicforitsimpactassessmentonall
individual sections of these communities i.e. the women, men,girls andboys. Itwouldbe
useful for public probity if the on the SC sub plan os produced and put up in the public
domainbythestateministryofruraldevelopmentandsocialjusticeandempowermentand
womenandchilddevelopment.(Nopublicreporthasbeenproducedsincetheinceptionofthis
subplan in the 1970s.). As per the suggestion from the District planning officer in Jodhpur,
underthe20pointprogramundertheSCSP,thedistrictadministrativeofficeundertheDistrict
collector should be mandated to provide data of scheme implementation in its monthly
reports.Itwasalsosuggestedthatoftheresourceallocationof14%ofthestatebudgetbe
earmarkedforDalits andforwomen itshouldbe30%ofthebudget,thenthecurrentgapin
resourcesforthesesectionsofthepopulationcanbeplugged.
Districtdevelopmentplansneedtobeauditedforplugginginthegenderandsocialequitygaps
and to identify the resource and service areas in the district from where women could get
resourcesbothfromthepublicandprivatesectorsothatwecouldsetanexampleofscheme
benefit. As an example, in Osian , Jodhpur, where Suzlon, a wind energy private sector
companyworksandhasmanylandpatchesforitswindmills,ithasofferedstooffertowomen
toworkincollectivestogrowvegetables,theycouldalsobeencouragedtodocollectivework
likesettingupaunitofsolarenergyprojectorwaterfordrinkingfortheircattleorcommunity.
This is importantasresources within thedistrictshouldbetalked from the axisof equitable
accessandusebytheDalitandpoorwomen.InanotherinstancefromJodhpurinRamdevra,
the poor community was being mobilised to ask the gram panchayat for how could the
resourcesearnedbythepanchaytintheformofrevenuethatitearnsfromthetourismand

98|P a g e

earning from the donations to its popular religious shrine could be equitable used for
benfittingthepoorandDalitsinthevillage.
Sincetheproblemofatrocitiesandcrimesagainstwomeninthestateareveryhigh,thereis
astrongneed forevolvingspecialprotectionmechanism for the Dalit women whohave filed
policecomplaints.Thereisalsoastrongneedforaneffectiveredressalmechanismwhichis
not only about receiving complaints but also for mediation, protection and speedy justice
delivery. Responsive law enforcing measures and sensitized police and judiciary and
accountablejusticedeliverysystemsaretheneedofthehour.

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Chapter5AnalysisoftheresourcegapsforDalitwomen
NationalFindingandAnalysisofDalitWomen'sResourceAccessSurvey2011
There are a total of 977 respondents of whom 715 are Dalits and 262 are NonDalits. The
stratificationofthesamplehasbeendonebylocation(ruralurban)andincome(lowmiddle
high). Thusthe results couldbecomparedonthethree axes of Caste, LocationandIncome.Since
the ruralurban and income stratifications have been well studied earlier by researchers and the
intentionofthepresentstudyistogetinsightsintotheresourceaccesssituationofDalitwomenwe
haverestrictedouranalysistotheDalitandnonDalitwomenaxisonly.Thetablesinthissectionof
thereportgivethepreliminaryfrequencyanalysisandaremostlyselfexplanatory..Howeverthe
percentageshavebeencalculatedonthebasisofthetotalnumberofhouseholdssurveyedasthe
purposehereistocomparebetweentheDalitsandtheNonDalitsandgettherelativeimportance
ofthevariouscategories.Withtheexperienceofhavingdoneresourceaccesssurveysearlier,itis
known that at times women do not have much knowledge about what the male earns and vice
versa.Incaseswherewomenrespondentscouldnotanswerquestionsrelatedtoresourcesmalesin
thehouseholdwerealsointerviewedtofillininformationgaps.Inmanyquestionsalargenumberof
respondentshavenotansweredastheyhadnotheardofmostresourceopportunitiessothereisa
separatecategorycalledNotRespondedinthefrequencytables.More(37.20%)Dalitwomenwere
askingtheirmalememberstorespondthannonDalitwomenasshowninTable7A.Insomecase
venmalesdidnotknowaboutresourcestheywereentiledtofromthegovernmentschemes.
Table7:Awarenessofthewomenrespondentsaboutresources

7A.WhethertherewereMale
Respondentsalso

Dalit

NonDalit

Frequency

Frequency

Yes

266

37.20

78

29.77

No

449

62.80

184

70.23

Total

715

100.00

262

100.00

Fromamongtherespondents,malerespondentsconstitutedaround37%inDalitsand30%innon
Dalits.TheaveragehouseholdsizeamongtheDalitsandnonDalitswerenotremarkablydifferent
with45membersinafamilyandboththecommunitiesasshowninTable8(A2)inthenextpage.

100|P a g e


Table8:HouseholdSize

8(A2).HouseholdSize
No.ofMembers

Dalit

NonDalit

Frequency

Frequency

1.26

0.38

50

6.99

23

8.78

98

13.71

49

18.70

209

29.23

83

31.68

171

23.92

51

19.47

93

13.01

25

9.54

37

5.17

16

6.11

32

4.48

11

4.20

11

1.54

0.76

10

0.98

0.38

715

100.00

262

100.00

Total
TotalPopulation

3336

1159

AverageHouseholdSize

4.67

4.42

Table9FamilyTypeJointorUnitary
Dalit

NonDalit

9(A3).FamilyType
Frequency

Frequency

Unitary

605

84.62

215

82.06

Joint

110

15.38

47

17.94

Total

715

100.00

262

100.00

The table also shows the sex ratio among Dalits and nonDalits is equally alarming with the ratio
hoveringaround1000:897and1000:894respectively.115(16.08%)outof715Dalithouseholdshave
reportedaFemaleHeadwhile53(20.23%)outof262NonDalithouseholdshavereportedthesame.
Table A3 shows that both communities have an overwhelming proportion of families of nuclear
type.The incidence of joint or unitary family indicate how the smallest unit i.e. the family exist to
allowdistributionofresourcesaswellasdecisionsmakingaboutresources.Census2011datashows
thatinurbanIndia,theproportionofhouseholdswithonlyonemarriedcouplehasdeclinedwhile
the share of households with two and even three married couples staying together has increased
sincethelastCensusin2001(TOI2012).Familiesifoursamplewhichhaveanmoreruralthanurban
101|P a g e

respondentsshowthat84.62%Dalitunitaryfamiliesexistincomparison82.06%nonDalitunitary
families. There may be financial compulsion to stay as single units. In Bihar during an FGD it was
sharedthataDalitadultwillbeaskedtosetuphisownunitasthereisneverenoughforall.Thelow
incidenceofjointfamilyindicatesthatinthestudylocalesthenotionofjointfamilyasaresourceto
base livelihood(BaumgartnerR. and Hgger R 2004.) isonthe decline. Case studies conducted as
partof thisresearch indicate that inunitaryfamilies thedecisions about intrahousehold resource
base and its distribution is dominated by males more than in joint families. The distribution of
resourceisguidedbythenormsandnotionssetbypatriarchalandcastebasedvalues.
Table10:Educationlevelofpopulation
EducationLevelof
Population

Dalit

NonDalit

Femal
e

Mal
e

Femal
e

Male

Nonliterate

499

34.11

260

15.74

164

32.54

92

16.28

StudiedatHome

91

6.22

65

3.93

51

10.12

29

5.13

Primary

348

23.79

469

28.39

90

17.86

140

24.78

Secondary

215

14.70

306

18.52

79

15.67

124

21.95

HigherSecondary

165

11.28

235

14.23

61

12.10

96

16.99

Graduate

89

6.08

179

10.84

34

6.75

57

10.09

PostGraduate

30

2.05

76

4.60

17

3.37

17

3.01

MPhil/Phd

14

0.96

31

1.88

0.79

0.53

Nurse/doctor/engine
er

12

0.82

31

1.88

0.79

1.24

Total

1463

100.0
0

165
2

100.0
0

504

100.0
0

565

100.00

Childrenbelow6yrs
whohavebeen
excludedfromthis
analysis

114

107

43

47

EducationalLevel

Table10showsthattheliteracyrateforthestudysampleismoreorlessthesameasforthewhole
countryasgivenintheCensus201165%forwomenand85%formen.Theproportionofpeople
withhighereducationinthesampleis9.91%forDalitwomenand19.20%forDalitmenwhileitis
11.7%fornonDalitwomenand14.87%fornonDalitmen.TableA7.1showsthegenderandcaste
gapsineducationlevels.Thereisnotmuchofadifferenceinilliteracylevelsbetweenwomenand
nonDalitwomenanditisonly2.56%favouringtheDalitwomen.However,asmuchas9.29%more
nonDalit women studied at home as compared to Dalit women. During a focus group discussion
Dalitwomensharedthattheylearnfromtheiryoungonesathome.MorenonDalitgirlsattended
primarythroughsecondaryschoolandsignificantlymorenonDalitwomengettinghighereducation.
Education is the principal channel in contemporary India for transferring inequalities, based on
accident of birth from one generation to the next. Given the limited possibilities of redistributing
economicresourceslikelandorcapital,higherortechnicaleducationisonlytheproductiveresource
102|P a g e

thatthestatecandistribute.(John2012).AccordingtoUGCfromabaselineof10%womeninhigher
educationatthetimeofIndiasindependencethefigurehasrisento42%in20102011.Ifthisfigure
isdisaggregatedbyregion,ruralurban,monirity/muslimandcastethiswillgiveanotherpictureas
interlocking effects of gender with other aspects of discrimination are many. In all levels though
maleshavehadabetterdealtobeginwithinthesphereofeducation(John2012).
In Tamilnadu the access to education has shown very different results than the national average
above.IlliteracyispredominantamongDalitwomen,with28.52%beingilliterate.Amongthenon
literatesinDalitsthereareabout89.53%womenand10.47%men,whereasamongtheNonDalits
theyareabout70.83%womenand29.17%men.Intheprimarylevelthereare57.84%womenand
42.16% men among the Dalits and in the nonDalits 35% women and 65% men. In the higher
secondary level they are about 39.25% women and 60.75% men In Dalits and in non Dalits 45%
women and 55% men. Apparently the participation of Dalit women gradually reduces in the post
graduation,M.Phillevel.
Table11DalitandGenderGapinEducation
Dalit
EducationLevelofPopulation
(ShowingdifferencegenderGap
orGGin%)

Nonliterate
StudiedatHome
Primary
Secondary
HigherSecondary
Graduate
PostGraduate
MPhil/Phd
Nurse/doctor/
Engineer
Total
NoChildincluded
103|P a g e

NonDalit

Dalit
Femto
Non
Total Dalit
FemGap
(%)*
256
100.0
2.56
80
100.0
9.29
230
100.0
8.13

Total

Frequency
GGin%
Frequency
GG%
Frequency
GG%

499
65.74
91
58.33
348
42.59

260
34.26
65
41.67
469
57.41

759
100.0
156
100.0
817
100.0

164
64.06
51
63.75
90
39.13

92
35.94
29
36.25
140
60.87

Frequency

215

306

521

79

124

203

41.27

58.73

100.0

38.92

61.08

100.0

Frequency

165

235

400

61

96

157

GG%
Frequency
GG%

41.25
89
33.21

58.75
179
66.79

100.0
268
100.0

38.85
34
37.36

61.15
57
62.64

100.0
91
100.0

Frequency

30

76

106

17

17

34

GG%
Frequency
GG%

28.30
14
31.11

71.70
31
68.89

100.0
45
100.0

50.00
4
57.14

50.00
3
42.86

100.0
7
100.0

Frequency

12

31

43

11

GG%

27.91

72.09

100.0

36.36

63.64

100.0

1463

1652

3115

504

565

1069

GG%

5.70
5.81
12.51
76.67
83.67

30.30

*Inallthesegapdisplayingtablesthisistheratioofthedifferencebetweenthevalueofthe%age
for Dalit Female and NonDalit Female to the Dalit Female %age expressed as a % {100*(Dalit%
NonDalit%)/ Dalit%} with N.C. meaning Not Calculable because of division by zero. A negative
valuemeansthatNonDalitFemaleshavemorewhileapositivevalueindicatesthatDalitFemales
have more.The respondents have sometimes said they own more than one asset. In the Table 8
belowtheprimaryassetholdingisreportedonlyasthisgivesafairideaofthesituation.Amongthe
Dalits women have been shown to possess the same amount of land as the men. The state
governmentschemesforDalitwomenshousingrightsperhapsgiveasenseofownershiptowomen.
Deeperprobingisrequiredastowhetherthetitletotheland,houseorproductiveassetiswiththe
womenandifhavingthetitlealsomeansthatshehascontroloveritsproduce.Thiskindofprobing
wasdonefurtherinthedatasearch.Singlewomeninoursampleaswellasinourcasestudycould
comeoutofthefamilyandaskforgovernmenthouseunderIndiraAwasYojna(Casestudy5).The
Dalitwomenhave8.10%moreaccesstoahouseasanassetastheonlyareawheretheyhavemore
besidesaccesstointernetasDalitwomeninoursamplehadmorehighereducationinallotherasset
holdingnonDalitwomenhavemoresuchas19.66%moreland,66.67%moreshop/workshopsand
60.63%morelivestock.
Table12DalitWomenAssetGapandGenderAssetgap
DistributionofPrimary
Assetholding(Showing
GenderGaporGGas
differencebetween
femalesandmalesin%)
House

Land
Shop/Works
hop
Livestock

Phone

Internet

GG%
Frequency
GG%
Frequency
GG%
Frequency
GG%
Frequency
%
Frequency
%

Utensilsfor
Rent

Frequency

Professional
T l

Frequency

104|P a g e

Frequency

Dalit

NonDalit

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

Total

200

314

514

58

124

182

38.91

61.09

100.0

31.87

68.13

100.0

116

251

367

59

97

156

31.61

68.39

100.0

37.82

62.18

100.0

29

35

15

21

17.14

82.86

100.0

28.57

71.43

100.0

59

53

112

22

26

52.68

47.32

100.0

84.62

15.38

100.0

53

91

144

22

37

59

36.81

63.19

100.0

37.29

62.71

100.0

33.33

66.67

100.0

25.00

75.00

100.0

28.57

71.43

100.0

0.00

100.00

100.0

DalitFem
toNon
DalitFem
Gap(%)*

18.10

19.66

66.67

60.63

1.31

25.00

100.00

%
Total

33.33

66.67

100.0

33.33

66.67

100.0

438

747

1185

170

289

459

0.00

Accesstolandand accesstospace forworkandmanaging livestockwhichareassetsthatcanget

incomerequireinvestmentthatDalitwomenhavelessaccesstoasseeninthedatarelatedtocredit
laterinthereport.AccesstospaceandspacetokeeplivestockasshownintheTable12,thelargest
gapsDalitwomenhaveincomparisontononDalitwomen.Thisisakeypieceofinformationthatthe
studywillbaseanargumentonforpolicyandprogramreforms.Staticpropertylikehouseandland
areconsideredabasicresourceforlivingandsurvival.Concernsaboutwomensaccessto,control
over and ownership of land and resources have been raised over the years at different but inter
relatedlevels.(BhardwajandDavid2004).InrecentyearsDalitwomenslandrightshavebeenin
focusandduringthe12thFiveYearPlanofGOIsomeoftheseconcernshavebeenraisedintermsof
landforagriculturaluse formarginalfarmers. Spaceisrequired formanyotherpurposes inurban
andruralareasbesidesagriculture.Theprimacyofthissupremeassetcannotbedeniedbutaccess
to land for developing care and wellness spaces as well as learning and production spaces should
alsobedeliberatedupon.Theimportanceofthisstudyonlyliesinpointingoutthatgapsbetween
Dalit and non Dalit women exists and this small finding recons that planning mechanisms need to
beginthinkingonredressmechanismstofillthisgap.
Table13Disability
Dalit

Disability

NonDalit

Frequency

Frequency

Hearing

16

2.24

1.53

Speech

0.98

0.76

Orthopaedic

1.12

0.38

Psychological

13

1.82

1.15

Sight

0.28

0.76

NotResponded/NotAffected

669

93.57

250

95.42

Total

715

100.00

262

100.00

AsseeninTable13Dalithouseholdshavemoredisabilityonallcountsexceptindisabilityofsight.
The state level data showed variations of the greater disability faced by the Dalits. In Tamilnadu
hearingdisabilityis2.76%amongDalitsand1.86%amongnonDalits.Thosewithorthopedic,2.76%
inDalitsand1.89%innonDalits.ImpairmentaffectsthelifestylemodeofDalitfamiliesmorethan
non dalit. The issue here is about the care and opportunities for the care taker of the disabled
personaswellasthedisabled.Thesespecialcareneedscomeratherthangothroughacomparison
askforplannedsupportforthepeoplenearhome.BothDalitandnonDalitwomenaswellasmen
haverolesdividedamoungtheirhouseholdtolookafterthedisabledpersons,eldersandchildren
andthisaccountsforanumberofhoursin24hours.Ifawomenhaslesseraccesstoworkspaceand
lessersayinpublicspacesasmentionedearlierthisisagapthatneedstobefilledinbyproviding
servicesthatcaneitherreachforcaresupportineachhomeorbetterstillcreateservicesnearthe
home.Ifawomanisfreefromcarerolesofthehomeshewillbeabletotakeonopportunitiesfor
105|P a g e

selfgrowthandwellnesstoexerciseherchoices.Agapinaccesstospace,landandproductiveassets
holdtheDalitwomenbehindinherdevelopment.
IntheTable14belowtheaveragemonthlyIncomehasbeencalculatedbydividingthetotalincome
ofthosereportingaseitheremployedorunemployedbythetotalnumberandincludesthosewho
are employable but reported as not earning any income at the time of survey. The total of those
with occupations in the table below on the other hand is that of those who have reported their
occupation including female homemakers who are not earning any monetary income. Taking into
considerationtheoccupationandincome,itclearlyportrays,thattheoccupationisbasedoncaste.
NotmanyDalitshaveaccesstolandownershipforthereisstillhighprevalenceoflandholdinginthe
hands of dominant castes. In the occupation of waste pickers, sanitary workers, agricultural
labourers it is still the Dalits who are found predominantly. The largest number of women in our
samplefroproductiveagegroupwerehomemakers.Thisissignificantastheydowanttoworkas
shownintableslater,butcannotastheyneedtobeathomefulfillingcarerolesinthefamily.They
arecontributingtotheeconomyasunpaidworker.
Table14OccupationandIncomegap
Dalit
B1.Occupation&Income

Female
Freq.
%

Male
Freq.
%

NonDalit
Female
Male
Freq.
%
Freq.
%

Agricultureonownland

77

9.14

91

11.23

30

10.07

55

19.10

Agricultureonleasedland
Sharecropping
Agriculturallabour
AnimalHusbandry
SaltpanWorker
Homemaker
Piecerate/contracthome
worker
Traditionalfamilyworkor
helpingwithworkathome
Tailor
FoodPreparationWorker
Government
Administrativejob
SkilledWorkerin
Government
Privateadministrativejob
SkilledWorkerinPrivate
Agency
PrivateCleaner
Sanitaryworker
WasteRecycler
SchoolTeacher

1
1
114
7
14
298

0.12
0.12
13.54
0.83
1.66
35.39

3
10
101
10
13

0.37
1.23
12.47
1.23
1.60
0.00

1
1
32
6

4
5
36
2

127

0.34
0.34
10.74
2.01
0.00
42.62

1.39
1.74
12.50
0.69
0.00
0.00

15

1.78

30

3.70

2.68

2.43

33

3.92

32

3.95

10

3.36

2.08

23
11

2.73
1.31

9
11

1.11
1.36

10
4

3.36
1.34

5
8

1.74
2.78

17

2.02

64

7.90

1.34

25

8.68

0.00

0.69

3.02

16

5.56

0.00

13

4.51

106|P a g e

13

0.00

0.00

1.54

48

0.24

39

4.81

3
18
4
35

0.36
2.14
0.48
4.16

1
18
2
27

0.12
2.22
0.25
3.33

5.93

1
13

0.00
0.34
0.00
4.36

2
5

0.00
0.69
0.00
1.74

CollegeTeacher
Domesticworker
Contractor
Shopkeeper
Cartvendor
GovernmentTransport
worker
PrivateTransportworker
GovernmentDoctor
PrivateDoctor
GovernmentNurse
PrivateNurse
AnganwadiWorker
GovernmentEngineer
PrivateEngineer
ConstructionLabour
DailyWageLabour
AssistanttoSkilledWorker
BasketWeaver
Total
AverageMonthlyIncome*
(Rs)

3
59
1
21
9

1
19
7
1
2
3
16
2
12
842

0.36
7.01
0.12
2.49
1.07

7
5
17
73
30

0.86
0.62
2.10
9.01
3.70

0.00

0.12

0.00
0.12
0.00
2.26
0.83
0.12
0.24
0.36
1.90
0.00
0.24
1.43
100.00

52
2
2

6.42
0.25
0.25
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.36
0.86
6.67
0.00
2.84
2.10
100.00

3294.46

11
7
54
23
17
810

6347.76

5
7
1
13
3

6
3

1
2
1
298

1.68
2.35
0.34
4.36
1.01

8
34
5

0.69
0.00
2.78
11.81
1.74

0.00

0.35

0.00
0.00
0.00
2.01
1.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.34
0.67
0.34
0.00
100.00

8
1
2

2.78
0.35
0.69
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.39
1.04
4.17
2.08
3.82
0.00
100.00

3325.83

4
3
12
6
11
288

8569.13

The association of the gender income gap and the Dalit woman income gap : The gender gap in
income for Dalit is Rs 3053 and for non Dalit is Rs 5243.83 . The gap between Dalit and non Dalit
womenisRs31.37.ThisdataofverylessincomegapbetweenDalitandnonDalitwomensendour
researchteamquestioningthebasicsofourresearchmethod.Westoppedresearchforawhileand
sentoneteamforaresurveyinonestateandchoosetovoluntarilyaddalocationjusttostudythe
genderincomeandresourcegapcorrelationthroughthestudycalledDRAGGID.Theresurveygotus
similarresults.TheDRAGGIDstudyhadcalculatedagenderincomegapof130%infavourofmales.
ThislackofgapinincomebetweenDalitandnonDalitwomanhasgottheresearchteamtothink
aboutthenonincomegeneratingroleofwomenmuchasthisissueishotlydebatedinformofsex
selective abortions, women and violence and valuation of womans monetary worth in this caste
ridden, patriarchal unsustainable development paradigm. Income is a gap that Dalit and non Dalit
womanfacemost.ButsincethenonDalitwomanhasmoreaccesstospace,shecanaffordtohave
options for development that Dalit woman does not have. Thus spaces near home under Dalit
womensaccessandcontrolcouldberecommendedasasolutiontocloseabitofthespacegap.If
these spaces can be used for collective services of care and livelihood augmentation then the
incomegapcanbereducedtoo.
Incomegapcandepriveapersonoftheirbasicneedsandcapabilitiesasithinderstheconversionof
monitory gain into increasing capabilities and functions in social and political sphere or creating
assetsforself.Thispointexplainsthatifassetisboughtandmaintainedonamaleincome,female
willnotbeabletoexercisecontroloverit.

107|P a g e

AsseeninthelistofoccupationsinTable14therespondentswerefromrangeofoccupationsfrom
organised and unorganised sector. When asked about adequacy of employment the following
responsesinTable15belowrevealthatbothDalitandnonDalitwomenmayliketoincreasetheir
employmentoptionsbutfeelthattheyhavelessoptionsorfacealackofbetteravenues.

Table15:EmploymentAdequacy
Dalit

AdequacyofEmployment

NonDalit

Frequency

Frequency

127

17.76

62

23.66

Alittle

391

54.69

130

49.62

No

152

21.26

53

20.23

NotResponded

45

6.29

17

6.49

Total

715

100.00

262

100.00

Yes

Table 16 lists indebtedness as the highest disadvantage caused if employment is Inadequate as

ratedbytherespondents.Therearesignificantdifferencesinthereasonsforunemploymentamong
theDalitandnonDalitwomen.NonDalitwomendonotsiteinflationasareasonoflackofadequate
employmentputfeelthatthereispovertythereforethereislessemploymentwhereasDalitwomen
cite inflation as a reason besides pointing out lack of guidance to get to good employment
opportunities. The missing social networks seem to be a clear gap for Dalit women to get better
employment.Moreopportunitiestomixandbuildanetworkperhapswillbridgetheconfidencegap
Dalit women have in comparison to non Dalit women as shown in Table B 5. Space for building a
network is in education institutions but not as much near homes where most women spend time
caring for the family. Economic empowerment of women requires all women to have access to
sustainedlivelihoodintermsoftheirregionspecificneeds.Italsorequiresgendermainstreamingin
genderneutralsectorsthroughhighskilltraining,facilitatingaccesstotraining,andtappingnew
avenues of productive employment. It further requires facilitating and promoting opportunity for
accesstoassetownershipofwomen.
Table16:Disadvantageofinadequateemployment
B5.Disadvantageof
InadequateEmployment
LackofConfidence
Indebtedness
Lackofresources
alloftheabove
NotResponded
Total

108|P a g e

Dalit
Frequency
102
163
96
90
264
715

NonDalit
%
14.27
22.80
13.43
12.59
36.92
100.00

Frequency
31
62
37
19
116
262

%
11.83
23.66
14.12
7.25
44.27
100.00

In the reasons given for inadequacy of employment by the respondents the lack of good
employment opportunities ranked the highest for both Dalits and non Dalit. Significant difference
did not show up in this data between Dalits and non Dalit reasons which were stated as lack of
education, awareness and information, or the poverty of the respondents etc. Some respondents
alsomentionedthesteepriseinpricesandinflationthathasresultedintheirunemployment(Table
17).
Table17:Reasonsforinadequateemployment
ReasonsforInadequacyof
Employment
Inflation
LackofGoodEmployment
LackofGuidance
LackofUnity
Poverty
LackofEducation
LackofInformation
LackofDignityforDalits
DevastationofAgriculture
AlcoholismofMen
BadHealth
NotResponded
Total

Dalit
Frequency
%
85
11.89
121
16.92
68
9.51
15
2.10
60
8.39
14
1.96
20
2.80
18
2.52
19
2.66
3
0.42
2
0.28
290
40.56
715
100.00

NonDalit
Frequency
%
5
1.91
49
18.70
19
7.25
0.00
31
11.83
3
1.15
18
6.87
0.00
7
2.67
1
0.38
0.00
129
49.24
262
100.00

Access to services The gap in services between Dalit and non Dalit woman can be examined in
termsoftheiravailabilty,accessandquality.Aspirationsforservicesindicatealackofwhatmaynot
be availed. The quality of service determines quality of life just as the ability to actively use
resourcesandinformationincreaseswitheducation.InLukhnowaDalitwomanwhohadcompleted
herprofessionalcoursewasaskedaboutheraspiration.Shesaidthatshewantstomoveawayfrom
herparentsandworkfaraway.Shedidnotwanttoidentifyherselfwithaspacethathadlessbasic
services.Herownsenseofgivingbacktothehouseholdincomewasthroughpostalordersasand
whenshemaybeabletoearnenoughtosendhome.Herfocuswastobuildherselfanewidentity
whichwasclasslessandcastelessandfreefromthestigmaofbelongingtoaruralsettlementthat
lacksbasicservices.Interactionsuchastheseshowthataspirationsofyoungerwomenaredifferent
from elder women who still think of opening a health centre in the gram punchayat land in the
centreofthevillage.Eachgenerationneedstogothroughtheireducationandtraining.Whenthis
young girl becomes a wife or a mother perhaps aspiration may fall into a pattern that continues
sincemanyyears.
Data for access to three services was generated through the study for education, health and
transport.ThedataforeducationwasalreadyprovidedintheprofileoftherespondentsinTable10
and 11 . The need to be understood to attempt was to arrive at a method of computing gaps in
servicessuchthatarecommendationcouldbedebatedonhowtofilltheservicesgap.Thedetailsof
thegapsinhealthandtransportservicesfirstrespondentshadoftenlistedtwoormoreoptionswith
regardtotheinstitutionsandmodesaccessed.

109|P a g e

Institutionofhealthaccessed:
1.65% and 16.51% women and 1.43%, 18.07% men in Dalits, & 1.94%,16.75 women and 0.39% ,
15.78innonDalitstakeDomesticmedicationandusetheprivatequackrespectively.13.%women
men in Dalits and 11.17 % women and 15.38 % men in non Dalits , are capable of using Private
hospitals, make non Dalit males more capable of accessing private hospitals. 34.91 % women and
34.91%inDalitsand30.83%women&25.64%meninnonDalits,useGovthospitals.
Table18InstitutionsofHealthAccessed
InstitutionsofHealth
Accessed

Dalit
Female
Freq.
%

Male
Freq.
%

NonDalit
Female
Male
Freq.
%
Freq.
%

DomesticMedication

21

1.65

20

1.43

1.94

0.39

PrivateQuack
PrivateQualifieddoctor
PrivateHospital
GovernmentPrimary
HealthCentre
Governmentcommunity
healthcentre
GovernmentHospital
Private,Governmentand
HomeRemedies
Couldn'tgetaccess
becauseIamaDalit
Total

210
149
168

16.51
11.71
13.21

253
144
184

18.07
10.29
13.14

69
62
46

16.75
15.05
11.17

80
62
78

15.78
12.23
15.38

98

7.70

177

12.64

49

11.89

92

18.15

13

1.02

18

1.29

0.24

0.99

444

34.91

493

35.21

127

30.83

130

25.64

92

7.23

96

6.86

50

12.14

58

11.44

77

6.05

15

1.07

0.00

0.00

1272

100.00 1400 100.00 412

100.00 507

100.00

The Dalit women face a gap of 13.72 % less visits to private hospitals as compared to non Dalit,
meaning that they have less capacity to pay for better services. 6.05 % Dalits women and 1.07 %
Dalitmensaytheyarenotabletoaccess,becauseofbeingaDalit.Thereforeeveninthecaseof
hospitalsDalitsaccessmoreofGovthospitalsandhomeremediesforfreemedicationsincetheyare
notinpositiontospendmoreonhealthcarefacilities.
AccesstoTransport
Transport gaps have been a widely researched as investors of this sector like to be sure of data
beforeservicesarefloatedinanarea.Thissectorprovidesconnectivityforallhumanroles.Women
spend more time travelling on slower modes as the faster and more flexible modes are more
expensive.Theirtimepovertyforcesthemtolookforworkatshorterdistancesfromtheirhome,
thus decreasing their choices and opportunities (Singh and Anand2001). Thus the gender gaps in
transport can be understood to favour men more than women. The transport planning has dealt
withgendergapsbyaddressingspecificneedsofwomenaswellasthepoor(WorldBank1999).Lets
usseeifthedatafromthestudyprovideevidencetosupporttheclaimmadebytheBank.Thetable
below shows that non Dalit women use a car 37.50% more than Dalit women, but same as their
ownmen.Dalitmenhoweverusecar13.64%thannonDalitwomen.Thiscarisnotselfownedsoit
signifiesthatitmayatransportthatisprovidedtothembytheirpeers,orwork.Forexamplemany
110|P a g e

low income respondent males were transport staff. It is interesting to note that males used self
ownedcars morei.e 75%moreincaseofDalitsand90.91% incaseofnonDalitincomparisonto
25%Dalitwomenusingcarwhichis63.64%morethannonDalitwomanwhousesselfownedcar
less.IncontrastforcheapestmodeoftravelslikewalkingDalitwomenhavescoredthehighestata
51%settlingagapof10.29infavourofDalitwomen.ThenonDalitwomanusecycles16.58%more
thanDalitwomen.InthiscategorytheDalitmenscoresthehighestat72.07%denotingthatwhen
the opportunity to invest and use a better a transport than walking comes the males take the
opportunitymore.
Table19:GenderandDalitwomanaccesstohealthgap
InstitutionsofHealth
Accessed(Showing
differencebetween
FemalesandMalesin%)
Domestic
Medication
PrivateQuack
Private
Qualified
doctor

Dalit

NonDalit

DalitFem
toNon
DalitFem
Gap(%)*

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

Total

Frequency
%
Frequency
%
Frequency

21
51.22
210
45.36
149

20
48.78
253
54.64
144

41
100.0
463
100.0
293

8
80.00
69
46.31
62

2
20.00
80
53.69
62

10
100.0
149
100.0
124

50.85

49.15

100.0

50.00

50.00

100.0

168

184

352

46

78

124

47.73

52.27

100.0

37.10

62.90

100.0

98

177

275

49

92

141

35.64

64.36

100.0

34.75

65.25

100.0

13

18

31

41.94

58.06

100.0

16.67

83.33

100.0

60.26

Frequency
%

444
47.39

493
52.61

937
100.0

127
49.42

130
50.58

257
100.0

4.29

Frequency

92

96

188

50

58

108

48.94

51.06

100.0

46.30

53.70

100.0

77

15

92

83.70

16.30

100.0

1400

2672

412

507

919

Private
Hospital

Frequency

Government
Primary
HealthCentre
Government
community
healthcentre
Government
Hospital
Private,
Government
andHome
Remedies
Couldn'tget
access
becauseIama
Dalit
Total

Frequency

%
Frequency

%
Frequency
%

1272

56.19
2.10

1.68

22.27

2.48

5.39

100.00

SimilaristhecaseonmotorizedtwowheelerstheonlydifferenceinthiscategoryisthatnonDalit
malescore3%higherthanDalitmaleinthisaspect.Theownershipanduseofowntwowheeleris
111|P a g e

9.37%higherincaseofDalitwomenasnonDalitwomanowns34.26%oftwowheelerswhichisthe
lowestinthesecategories,oneofthecasestudywidowrespondentinPunjabusedtodriveatwo
wheelerfrommorningtoeveninginspectingvillagedevelopmentplansasshewasthesurpanch.She
didnotgetsupportforherpoliticalactivityfromherhusbandsfamilybutderivedherstrengthfor
public work from her own parents. More Dalit women are likely to use government buses as
comparedtononDalitwomen.

Table20:ModesofTransportAccessed

ModesofTransport
Accessed

Female

NonDalit
Male

Female

Male

Freq

Freq.

Freq

Freq

Car

16

1.42

28

2.10

1.44

1.25

PrivateBuses

226

20.04

276

20.71

86

20.57

93

19.38

GovernmentBuses

332

29.43

360

27.01

110

26.32

89

18.54

Rail

84

7.45

101

7.58

29

6.94

28

5.83

Autorickshaw

173

15.34

148

11.10

59

14.11

54

11.25

Taxi

42

3.72

46

3.45

1.67

15

3.13

OwnTwowheeler

104

9.22

170

12.75

37

8.85

71

14.79

0.35

12

0.90

0.24

10

2.08

22

1.95

25

1.88

28

6.70

38

7.92

87
80
1333

6.53
6.00
100.00

41
14
418

9.81
3.35
100.00

47
29
480

9.79
6.04
100.00

owncar
Government,Private
andOwncombined
Walking
Cycle
Total

112|P a g e

Dalit

94
8.33
31
2.75
1128 100.00

Differentfocusgroupdiscussionswereheldontheissuesofaccesstotransport.TheDalitwoman
neededtotravelmore astheygotevictedanddisplaced from their homes most, rendereingtheir
workplacefurtherdistanceaway.DalitwomenworkedoutsidethehomemorethanthenonDalit
women who had more restriction on mobility due to purdah etc than their Dalit counterparts.
Safety,comfort,costandtravellingtimeareatstakewhiletravelling.Thepersonwhotravelsmore,
learnsmoreaboutnewopportunitiesandputthemselvesatriskaswell.InadiscussioninBiharon
what should be done about access to transport between experts and women focused on how to
improvetransportaccess,womenfirstandforemostwantedbettersanitation,cleandrinkingwater,
lightedpathwaysandroadsthatcouldbelinedwithmultiplespacestheyhaddailyaccessto.These
could be vending and parking areas, care spaces, parks as well as gender resource, old age, or
childrenscentres.Thewomendevelopedtheplanfortheirownneighbourhoodtoplacedifferent
facilities like water points, community halls and spaces for production and training in the
neighbourhood. They wanted to have most requirements for travel to be such that the need to
travel through insecure areas is the least. These plans were later placed before their elected
leadersinBiharandTamilnadu.

Table21:GenderandDalitwomenstransportaccessgap
C3.1ModesofTransport
Accessed(GGor
Differencebetween
FemaleandMalein%)
Frequency
Car
%
Frequency

Dalit

NonDalit

DalitFem
toNon
DalitFem
Total
Gap(%)*
12

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

16

28

44

36.36

63.64

100.0

50.00

50.00

100.0

226

276

502

86

93

179

45.02

54.98

100.0

48.04

51.96

100.0

332

360

692

110

89

199

47.98

52.02

100.0

55.28

44.72

100.0

84

101

185

29

28

57

37.50

PrivateBuses

%
Government
Buses

Frequency

Rail

Frequency

113|P a g e

6.72
15.21

%
Auto
rickshaw
Taxi
Own
Twowheeler
owncar

45.41

54.59

100.0

50.88

49.12

100.0

173

148

321

59

54

113

53.89

46.11

100.0

52.21

47.79

100.0

3.12

Frequency
%

42
47.73

46
52.27

88
100.0

7
31.82

15
68.18

22
100.0

33.33

Frequency

104

170

274

37

71

108

%
Frequency
%

37.96
4
25.00

62.04
12
75.00

100.0
16
100.0

34.26
1
9.09

65.74
10
90.91

100.0
11
100.0

22

25

47

28

38

66

46.81

53.19

100.0

42.42

57.58

100.0

94
51.93
31
27.93

87
181
48.07 100.0
80
111
72.07 100.00

41
46.59
14
32.56

47
53.41
29
67.44

88
100.0
43
100.0

1128

1333

418

480

898

Frequency

Government, Frequency
Privateand
%
Own
Frequency
Walking
%
Frequency
Cycle
%
Total

2461

12.05

9.74
63.64

9.37

10.29
16.58

ADalitwomanUrbanLocalBody(ULB)memberinBiharproposedaninclusiveplanningoftheward
shestaysin.Accesstotransportanditsfacilitiesarevitaltolinkinclusiveplannedgrowth.Transport
andlocalareaplanningcouldusefundingfromSCPaswellasJNNURMtodevelopbetterservices.In
PunjabandRajasthanSCPfundswerenotusedforlocalareaplanafteraresearchonwhatarethe
needs for inclusion in an area. It is important to understand an overall picture to look at gap for
accessofDalittoservicesandschemes.TheTable22explainsthatDalitfeelmoredeprivedintheir
participationinpoliticalmeetingsandhealthservicesfollowedbydeprivationinsocialgettogether.
The non Dalit feels a larger deprivation than Dalit in political sphere and in education services as
showninTable22.

Table22:Feltexclusionfromservices
ServicefromwhichmostDeprived
Education
Health
Transport
SocialGetTogether
PoliticalMeeting
NotResponded
Total
114|P a g e

Dalit
Frequency
%
105
14.69
110
15.38
102
14.27
106
14.83
113
15.80
179
25.03
715
100.00

NonDalit
Frequency
%
44
16.79
30
11.45
30
11.45
31
11.83
57
21.76
70
26.72
262
100.00

AwarenessabouttheSCPwaslessbutitsknowledgeamongDalitwastheleastasshowninTable23
inD1.Awarenessaboutschemesfor womentoowas lessamongDalits as showninD2 andDalits
feelthattheydonothaveequalaccesstoresourcesasshowninD4.
Table23:Dalitwomansgapinawarenessofschemes,lawsandservices

Dalit
NonDalit
Frequency
%
Frequency
%
D1.AwarenessofSCP
Yes
42
5.87
25
9.54
Somewhat
103
14.41
43
16.41
No
557
77.90
178
67.94
NotResponded
13
1.82
16
6.11
Total
715
100
262
100
D2.AwarenessofWomensSchemes
Yes
39
5.45
43

Somewhat
244
34.13
118
45.04
No
419
58.60
87
33.21
NotResponded
13
1.82
14
5.34
Total
715
100.0
262
100.0
D4.DalitsandNonDalitshaveEqualAccesstoResources
Yes
73
10.21
68
25.95
Somewhat
140
19.58
37
14.12
No
491
68.67
140
53.44
NotResponded
11
1.54
17
6.49
Total
715
100.0
262
100.
D5.BenefitfromGovernment.orNGOScheme
Yes
85
11.89
41
15.65
Somewhat
111
15.52
86
32.82
No
510
71.33
121
46.18
NotResponded
9
1.26
14
5.34
Total
715
100.0
262
100.0
D6.AwarenessofDisplacementandRehabilitationLaws
Yes
26
3.64
29
11.07
Somewhat
72
10.07
35
13.36
No
590
82.52
182
69.47
NotResponded
27
3.78
16
6.11
Total
715
100.0
262
100.0
D7.AccesstoAdequateSanitationandWaterSupply
Yes
274
38.32
157
59.92
Somewhat
160
22.38
27
10.31
No
269
37.62
65
24.81
NotResponded
12
1.68
13
4.96
Total
715
100.0
262
100.0

115|P a g e

ThebenefitfromgovernmentschemereachednonDalitmoreaccordingtoperceptionscapturedin
D5. 46% nonDalit women say that they have not been benefited from the government or NGO
schemes, where as more than 71% Dalit women say the same. This is also a huge gap ( 25% in
absolute sense and more than 50% in relative sense. In Tamilnadu where land grant awareness is
maximumlandgrantswereaccessedby13.36%inDalitsand28.33%innonDalits.TheDalitwere
less aware about displacement and rehabilitation law as shown in D7 and they had less access to
waterandsanitationasshowninD7.Thisshowsthatthereisahugeawarenessandinformation
deficiency gap, the programmes introduced are not effective, and there is discrimination still
prevalent for women in general and Dalit in particular, a wide gap prevails between what is
promisedintheplan,policiesandschemesbythegovernmentandwhatreachesthepeople.
Resources are relational to the current needs and context of each individual. Each state situation
differedandeachlocaleandincomegrouphaddifferentresourceneeds.TheRankingIndex(RI)in
thetablesbelowistheaverageoftheranksthatthewomenhavegiventothevariousoptions.The
lowerthevalueoftheRIthemoreimportantitisfromthepointofviewoftherespondents.The
table below presents the kind of resources Dalits and nonDalits have identified accessing which
could better their lives. The Dalit women in the resource set for land and housing have ranked a
housefromagovernmentandprivatescheme,betterworkandmoremoney,landandhouseplotin
her own name as their highest priority, where as the Non Dalit women seem to be wanting
adequateservicesmore, implyingthattheyaremoresecurein relationtotheirhousingandland
needs.ThenonDalitwomenwantahouseorlandintheirname,implyingthattheymaybelivingin
afamily housethatmay notbesolelyownedbythem.Securityagainstevictionandrehabilitation
wasapointwhichweasresearcherswereinterestedtosee.Whilediscussingresourcesetsitgotthe
least priority as perhaps women were not tuned to understand security as a tangible resource.
SimilarlyneitherDalitornonDalitwomenstatedthattheyneededtimeandmoneytotravelandsee
the world as access to educating self was seen as a higher priority. This may be because our
respondents were married women who had children and they were perhaps not predisposed to
leaving home to learn about the world as the role that they see for themselves is more near the
home. It is for this reason health and child care near work was also not a higher priority for Dalit
women.FornonDalitwomenagreaterprioritywasthatherchildrencouldsettlewellinlifeandfor
this the average score given by non Dalit woman was higher than that of the Dalit women who
balancedprioritiesbetweenherchildrenandsocialsecurityfromherwork.Perhapstosecurethese
twotheDalitwomenscoreonparticipation ingovernance arehigher thanthe nonDalit womans
averagescore.AnelectedDalitULBmembercomplainedthatsheisshownthebudgetfileduringa
meetingevenaftershehasaskedthatpapersbesenttoherhomesomedaysinadvancesothatshe
can have it read and she is able to consult her community for suggestion. In the category of
resources as part of womens group non Dalit womens score for security against violence and
violationishigherthanDalitwomenbutthisistheclearpriorityforboth,theDalitwomenseemto
bemorefocussedongainingpowertofightagainstsubstanceabuseintheirneighbourhoodmore
than the non Dalit women. These issues become more primary for women than access to natural
resourcesorinfrastructureresources.ForDalitwomenmoretimetoimprove
Table24:Rankingtherelativeimportanceofresources

1
116|P a g e

Ranking
Index
Resource
Non
Dalit
Dalit
Resourcestohaveadequateland,housingandservicesforselfandfamily

Housefromagovernmentorprivatescheme
Betterserviceslikewater,electricity
Ownershipoflandwhichyouwillnotbeevictedfrom
Worknearhome
Resourcesforbetterworkandmoremoney
Occupationaltraining

1.98
2.01
2.53
2.67

2.34
1.95
2.54
2.40

2.07

2.14

Resourcesforbetterworkandmoremoney

1.97

2.07

Accesstoinstitutionalcheapcreditandfinances

2.48

2.49

Healthandchildcarenearwork

2.67

2.42
1.56
2.25
2.50
3.05

1.93
1.90
2.69
2.66

1.93
1.87
2.92
2.58

1.64
2.07

1.56
2.23

2.45

2.39

Resourcestoincreaseskillsandopportunities.
Landorhouseplotinyourname
Accesstoeducationandtrainingforself
ParticipationinLocal,StateorNationalGovernance
Timeandmoneytotravelandseetheworld
Resourcesforahappyfamilyandstrongcommunity
Socialsecurityfromwork
Childrencansettlewellinlife
Rehabilitationbeforedisplacement
Careforchildren,oldpeopleanddisabled
Resourcesforyouaspartofwomensgroup
Securityagainstviolenceandviolations
Powertoremovesubstanceabusefromtheward
Accesstobuildings,grazingland,waterpondsandtransport
forworkandleisure
Moretimetoimproverelationships

1.54
2.07
2.63
3.31

2.84

2.81

relationshipswastheleastpriorityasaresource.Thusphysicalthreatandviolenceissuesaremore
associatedinwomensresourceneedhierarchythanusingawomensagencyforaccesstoresources
ordevelopingsocialrelationship.Dalitwomenperhapshavenohopethatsocialbarriersandpower
structureswilltransform andthereforedonotaspireorthinktoimproverelationsbutjustgeton
withtheirsurvivalneeds.ThereforeintheMaslowhierarchyneedswomenoverallareatthelowest
rungofaspirationandDalitwomenhavenotaspiredbeyondbasicresourceneeds.
The respondents were also asked to prioritise between different resources sets. Prioritising the
resourcestohavemoreworkandmoneywasthehighestpriorityforDalitwomen,whereasfornon
Dalitwomenadequateland,housingand servicesforself and familywasthefirstpriority.Forthe
Dalitwomenresourcegapsrelatedtogettingcashincomehomeismostandfromthisexerciseitis
clearthatforDalitwomenworkisanessential.ThenonDalitwomenperhapsisnotsostretchedto
work outside the home, interestingly, the non Dalit women aspires for stronger womens group
117|P a g e

more in comparison to her happier family and community, where as Dalit womens score is
opposite.Thismaymeanarangeofthings.Atasimplisticlevel,itmaymeanthatnonDalitwomen
has a happy family and community and therefore wants to make time to now build a stronger
womens organisation and it can also mean just the opposite that they have felt the need to
associate with strong womens group more. Deeper probing was required to understand this
phenomenaduringcasestudyinterviewsanddiscussionwithexperts.
Table25Prioritisationoftheresourceset
ResourceSet
Housing,landandservices
Moreworkandmoney
Moreskillandopportunityforself
Happierfamilyandcommunity
Strongerwomensgroup

RankingIndex
Dalit
NonDalit
2.26
2.16
2.16
2.39
2.92
2.91
3.34
3.03
3.15
3.34

OnthelivelihoodoptionsasshowninTable26,permanentgovernmentjobsisthefirstpriorityfor
Dalitwomenfollowedbywagelaborandtraditionalfamilywork.WomenbothDalitandnonDalit
do not want to work at home. This is significant as livelihood option near home are needed but
women will like to keep their home and work space separate. The Priority Index (PI) in the table
belowistheaverageoftheresponsesgivenbytherespondentsandtheloweritsvaluethehigheris
thepriorityandtheloweritsvaluethehigheristhepriority.TheDalitwomanwantedgovernment
jobasafistpriorityorelsetheywantedwagelaborsignifyingthattheyknowwhatisavailableasan
opportunitybutrealityisthatonlylaborjobsiswhattheyaccessandtheywillnotliketocontinueto
avail this livelihood option as right now this is how they were to survive, the non Dalit woman
aspiration for livelihood was the same as well. This is an important point to note as economic
opportunityforwomanslivelihoodisseemingtobesimilarforbothDalitandnonDalitwomen.
Table26:LivelihoodOptionforDalitWomen
WhataretheprioritiesforlivelihoodoptionsforDalitwomen
today?LivelihoodOption
1.Workathome
2Privateagency(temporaryjobs,contracts,pieceratework)
3.Enterprises(smallshopsorworkforenterprenueursoutsidehome)
4.Governmentjobspermanent(ashaworkers,sanitaryworkers,officer)
5.Teaching
6.Traditionalfamilywork
7.WageLabour(plumber,domesticworkeragricultureworker)
8.Farming

PriorityIndex
Dalit NonDalit
5.21 5.59
4.53 4.54
4.28 4.29
3.63 3.24
4.78 4.25
4.20 4.24
3.78 4.14
4.68 4.81

WhenaskedthequestionmentionedinTable27i.e.Fromwhomyoucouldgetresourcesinthelast
fewyearsandfromwhomyoucouldnotgetresources,itwasfoundthatwomengotresourcesfrom
family more followed by friends and colleagues. They seem to have accessed institutional credit
118|P a g e

mechanismless.DalitwomenhavereliedonlocalmoneylendermorewhilenonDalitwomenhave
accessedcreditthroughselfhelpgroups.
Table27:Sourcetogetcreditasaresource
Resourcescouldnotbe
accessed

Couldgetresource

SourceofCredit

Dalit

NonDalit

Dalit

NonDalit

1. Family

1.39

1.45

2.48

1.83

2. FriendsandColleagues

1.81

2.04

2.99

1.66

3. Localmoneylender

2.19

2.25

2.91

2.14

4. Microfinanceinstitutions

2.99

3.25

3.56

2.12

5. ROSCA{Besi}

4.24

3.93

3.74

2.62

6. Selfhelpgroups

2.57

2.72

4.43

3.49

7. Banks

2.84

3.02

4.12

3.97

8. Government.

3.34

4.03

4.50

4.59

Spaceandopportunitytotakedecisionandexercisingthatdecisionplayamajorroleinapersons
wellbeing.Presentedbelowisthesituationonarangeofareas/aspectsaroundwhichdecisionsare
taken. This also indicates that there are certain things that are decided solely by the head of the
householdwhichisoftentheman.WomenandthattooDalitwomengetverylittleopportunityto
sharetheiropiniontheyarealwaysexpectedtoacceptwhateverisdecidedforthem.
Table28:DecisionAboutEnhancingCapacities
Dalit

DecisionAboutEnhancingCapacities

NonDalit

Frequency

Frequency

TakenbySelf

137

19.16

54

20.61

TakenbyFamily

261

36.50

89

33.97

TakenbyHeadofHousehold

288

40.28

113

43.13

NotResponded

29

4.06

2.29

Total

715

100.00

262

100.00

Accessingresourcesfromthegovernmentremainsapriorityforpeopleandgivenbelowisasetof
factors that either facilitates or debilitates accessing the resources as articulated by the
respondents. Information and resources should be provided by all Government functionaries and
elected representatives was rated the highest signifying that the respondents do not get
information. The next factor that got prominence was these resources and Information made
available without corruption at the Panchayat Level signifying that resources are deliberately not
publicisedbythegovernmentfunctionariesastheymaywanttomakemoneyfromtheprocessof
disbursement.
119|P a g e

Table29:HelpfulFactorsforAccessingGovernmentResources
HelpfulFactorsforAccessingGovernment
Resources
ResourcesandInformationmadeavailable
withoutcorruptionatthePanchayatLevel
EvaluationofDevelopmentProgrammes
shouldbecarriedoutregularly
InformationandResourcesshouldbe
providedbyallGovernmentFunctionaries
andelectedrepresentatives
OrganisationofBeneficiariestodemand
theirentitlements
DalitLeadershipinbothGovernmentand
Administrationshouldbeencouraged
Awarenesscampsshouldbeheldamong
beneficiaries
FacilitationbyGovernmentOfficials
NotResponded
Total

Dalit

NonDalit

Frequency

Frequency

65

9.09

17

6.49

0.70

2.67

314

43.92

103

39.31

23

3.22

14

5.34

0.70

0.38

48

6.71

11

4.20

6
249
715

0.84
34.83
100.00

7
102
262

2.67
38.93
100.00

Table30reformulatedthesamequestionsinadifferentwaytogetasimilaranswerthatthelargest
obstacles in accessing government resources is acombinationof corruption, nepotism andapathy
followedbylackofinformationbythegovernment.InadditiontheDalitfeelthattheyareexcluded
becausetheyarefromlowerranksofsocialstrataandbecausethereisalsoagenderbais.
Table30ObstaclesinAccessingGovernmentResources
ObstaclesinAccessingGovernment
Resources
Acombinationofcorruption,nepotismand
apathy
FeudalPoweroftheUpperCastes
LackofInformationregardingGovernment
Schemes
LackofOrganisationamongthepoor
AgriculturalCrisis
BadHealth
LackofTime
ExclusionofDalits
GenderBiasagainstWomen
Poverty
LackofEducation
120|P a g e

Dalit

NonDalit

Frequency

Frequency

197

27.55

72

27.48

12

1.68

0.76

131

18.32

52

19.85

23
1
3
6
39
31
7
21

3.22
0.14
0.42
0.84
5.45
4.34
0.98
2.94

1.53
0.00
1.15
0.00
0.00
3.05
1.15
2.67

8
3
7

NoObstaclesfaced
NotResponded
Total

4
240
715

0.56
33.57
100.00

3
108
262

1.15
41.22
100.00

Asdiscussedabove,thereisagenerallackofawarenessaboutvariousschemesandprogramsbut
whenitcomestoaccessingthem,educationalscholarships,MGNREGSandPensionseemtobethe
mostlyaccessedschemesbyboththeDalitsandnonDalits.Asizablenumberofpeople(19%Dalits
and 18% nonDalits) have said that these schemes do notreally address their livelihood and basic
needs.52%ofDalitand56%ofnonDalitrespondentshadnotaccessedanygovernmentschemes.
Table31:Gapinaccesstogovernmentschemes
F1.Householdswhohavebenefitedfrom
GovernmentSchemes
NumberofSchemes
Accesstonoscheme
1MNREGA
2EducationalScholarships
3landgrant
4JSY
5Pension
Total

Dalit
Frequency
372
201
99
31
10
2
715

NonDalit
%
52.03
28.11
13.85
4.34
1.40
0.28
100.00

Frequency
149
73
24
14
2
0
262

%
56.87
27.86
9.16
5.34
0.76
0.00
100.00

28%MGNREGSaccessedequally,EducationalScholarshipsaccessedbyDalitwomenmorethannon
Dalitsata17.38%andPensionalsowereaccessedmoreat15.14%.Thisbenefitisofabasicnature
thatoffersopportunitytoearnaftergreatlabourorgetasubsistenceallowanceasthewomanisold
orwidowed.Incontrastlandgrantswhichmaygivealargereconomicsecuritybenefitareaccessed
morebynonDalitwomen6.7%morethanDalitwomen.JSYishasgotavailed3.6%morebyDalit
women.Theseschemesdonotaddresstheneedsofwomenisevidentfromthedataprovidedinthe
Table32
Table32:AnalysisofSchemesAccessed

F1.1.AnalysisofSchemesAccessed
RAYandIAYhousingschemes
EducationalScholarships
Hostel
MGNREGS
Pension
SJSRY
JSY
LandGrants
Employmentexchange
Loans
121|P a g e

Dalit
Frequency
48
93
19
150
81
8
29
35
1
0

NonDalit
%
8.97
17.38
3.55
28.04
15.14
1.50
5.42
6.54
0.19
0.00

Frequency
8
21
2
42
16
12
15
20
1
2

%
5.33
14.00
1.33
28.00
10.67
8.00
10.00
13.33
0.67
1.33

JSY
HealthInsurance
JNNURM
Genderbudgetindistrictplans
FRA
Total
AverageNo.ofSchemesperHousehold
RatioofFemaleBeneficiaries/Male
EfficiencyRatio(BenefitshaveReached
Hholdsthathavebeensanctioned
schemes)

23
3
1
14
30
535

4.30
0.56
0.19
2.62
5.61
100.00

1
0
0
4
0
150

0.67
0.00
0.00
2.67
0.00
100.00

0.75
1.32

0.57
1.45

0.87

0.91

Theefficiencyratioabovesignifiesthatevenaftergettingasanctiononly87%ofDalitand91%of
nonDalitgetthebenefitwhichmeansthatthereisnondisbursementoffundsthatfailtoreacha
sanctionedbenefitreachthebeneficiary.
When women were asked to speak about their access to government schemes most did not
respond.Thisisnotsurprisingastheschemesofferlittleandtouchveryfewlives.Mostwomenfelt
thatschemesdonotaddresslivelihoodneedsandaspirationsanditwasonlywhentheygothelpin
termsofinformationfromanoutsideagencylikeandNGOweretheyabletoaccessthelittlethat
theygot.
Table33ObservationsonAccesstoGovernmentSchemes

ObservationsonAccesstoGovernment
Schemes
Schemesdonotfulfillivelihoodandother
basicneeds
LackofTimePreventsAccess
SurveyProvidedOpportunitytoComplain
aboutlackofaccesstoGovernment
Schemes
Informationwasprovidedleadingtoaccess
LackofEducationpreventedaccess
LackofInformationpreventedaccess
Corruptionpreventedaccess
NotResponded
Total

Dalit

NonDalit

Frequenc
y

Frequenc
y

134

18.74

46

17.56

1.12

2.29

1.26

0.38

95
8
9
10
442
715

13.29
1.12
1.26
1.40
61.82
100.00

43
1
6
6
153
262

16.41
0.38
2.29
2.29
58.40
100.00

Educationplaysanimportantroleinpeopleslivesandlivelihoodsandaround40%Dalitshavesaid
thateducationhashelpedtheDalitwomenalthoughalmost37%ofthemthinkthatithadhelpedin
somewayand20%oftherespondedhavesaidthatithasnothelpedatall.Educationseemstohave
impactedon overall progress and well being asthis iscorroborated by around 34%Dalit and 38%
nonDalitrespondents.Thetable34givesresponsesfromdalitandnondalitwomenonthesame:
122|P a g e

Table34:HaveDalitwomenbenefitedfromEducation
HaveDalitwomenbenefitedfromEducation?
Yes
Somewhat
No
NotResponded
Total

Dalit
Frequency
%
289
40.42
264
36.92
141
19.72
21
2.94
715
100.00

NonDalit
Frequency
%
115
43.89
80
30.53
30
11.45
37
14.12
262
100.00

TheTable35isaresponseontheimpactofeducationforDalitsthroughranking.EvenasbothDalit
andnonDalitsfeelthatreformandprogressonallfrontsisachieved,theDalitfeelthisonalesser
scale than nonDalits.Dalit feelthatdue to educationtheyhavean increased awareness but they
also feel that caste and patriarchy suppresses the advantages of education more than non Dalits
feelit.Veryfewrespondentshavefeltthateducationfacilitatesrightsbasedactiontowardsgender
equality
Table35:ImpactofEducationforDalits

ImpactofEducationforDalits
IncreasesAwarenessandSelfConfidence
EconomicIndependenceisachieved
ReformandProgressonallfrontsis
achieved
Patriarchysuppressestheadvantagesof
Education
Povertysuppressestheadvantagesof
Education
ExclusionofDalitssuppressesadvantages
ofEducation
Facilitatesrightsbasedactionforgender
equality
BetterCareofFamilyandChildren
NotResponded
Total

Dalit
Frequency
%
55
7.69
69
9.65

NonDalit
Frequency
%
14
5.34
29
11.07

239

33.43

98

37.40

48

6.71

12

4.58

58

8.11

2.67

0.98

0.38

13

1.82

1.53

68
158
715

9.51
22.10
100.00

11
86
262

4.20
32.82
100.00

Dalitsfaceanunprecedentedformofdiscriminationandexploitationinthecastehierarchyandasa
result they are denied many rights, services and more importantly dignity. Generations of being
pushedtothemarginandfacedwithsevereformsofdisparities,ithasadeepimpactontheway
Dalitsviewthemselves.BeingaDalitkeepsthemawayfromvariousthingsinlifeanditisdifficultfor
themtoleadalifewithoutbeingharassedandexploited.Thetablesbelowhavecapturedsomeof
theirperceptionsandexperiencesofbeingaDalit.About33%DalitwomensaythatbeingDalitisan
obstacletoreformascomparedtoonly11%nonDalitwomensayingso
Table36:IsbeingaDalitanobstacletoreform
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IsbeingDalitanObstacletoReform
Yes
Somewhat
No
NotResponded
Total

Dalit
Frequency
%
236
33.01
269
37.62
195
27.27
15
2.10
715
100.00

NonDalit
Frequency
%
30
11.45
82
31.30
96
36.64
54
20.61
262
100.00

About54%Dalitwomen feelthatDalits are stillexcludedand oppressed asagainst 27%nonDalit

womenadmittingthis.AgapofalmostdoubleasshowninTable37.ThenonDalitwomenalsorank
this factor the highest. However lack of awareness prevents improvement is another factor cited
more by Dalit women. The non Dalit women rate lack of organisation as a description of Dalit
condition.
Table37:DescriptionofDalitCondition
DescriptionofDalitCondition
Dalitshaveequalrightsandopportunities
Dalitsarestillexcludedandoppressed
Reservationshavehelpedtoimprove
LackofAwarenesspreventsimprovement
LackofOrganisation
NotResponded
Total

Dalit
Frequency
%
80
11.19
383
53.57
27
3.78
35
4.90
26
3.64
164
22.94
715
100.00

NonDalit
Frequency
%
42
16.03
71
27.10
5
1.91
12
4.58
14
5.34
118
45.04
262
100.00

Various welfare and development schemes are run both by the government as well as non
governmentalorganizationstohelptheDalitwomen.Givenbelowisapresentationontheextentof
benefitwomenhavefeltfromtheseentities.Highestresponsewasgiventoservicesnotrecivedby
bothDalitandnonDalitwomenwhoalsoperceivethatNGOservicesarebetterthangovernment
servicesastheydoreachtheintendedbeneficiary.
Table38:BenefitsfromNGOservices
H3.BenefitsfromNGOservices
Servicenotreceived
Betterbecauseofgreateraccessthan
Governmentservices
Somewhateffective
Ineffective
Donotknow
NotResponded
Total

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Dalit
Frequency
%
187
26.15

NonDalit
Frequency
%
68
25.95

79

11.05

20

7.63

126
32
207
84
715

17.62
4.48
28.95
11.75
100.00

36
5
82
51
262

13.74
1.91
31.30
19.47
100.00

ThesuggestionstoimprovethesituationofDalitwomenwerelistedasshowninTable39.TheRIis
theaverageoftheindividualrankingsbyrespondentsandtheloweritsvaluethemoreimportantit
is.NeedforvendingandproductionspaceisthehighestrankedbybothDalitandnonDalitwomen.
BothDalitandnonDalitwomenhaverankedmakingavailableaproductivespaceschemeforDalit
womenscollectiveasthemostimportantsuggestionfollowedbyneedforvendingspaces.
Table39:SuggestionsforImprovementofDalitWomen'sStatus
RankingIndexforSuggestionsforImprovementofDalit
Women'sStatus
1.MakingavailableaproductivespaceschemeforDalit
womenscollective
2Acomprehensivelawforallwomeninunorganisedsector
andagricultureprovidinghealthcareandskilldevelopment

Dalit

NonDalit

2.68

2.64

3.48

3.18

3.Individualhouseplotsinwomensname

3.46

3.41

4Vendingspacesshouldbeallotted
5.Easieravailabilityoflivestockwithresources forsustaining
theenterprise
6.TrainingandfundstomakeDalitwomenworkersunions
7.Trainingtowomentogetpoliticallyactive
8.Morecarespacesandsheltersforallwomentomanage
together
9.WelfareBoard
10.ParticipatoryPlanningwithMinimumDisplacementand
ProperRehabilitation

2.88

2.75

4.22

4.24

3.51
4.21

3.61
3.99

4.31

4.46

4.60

4.22

5.19

5.91

Summaryofthefindingonthegapsfordalitwomeninrelationtoresources
The finding fromthe data from theNational survey depicts a situationof Dalit women in India,in
relation to their access to resources. The survey and secondary research clearly showed that the
opportunitiesforimprovedqualityoflifeandlivelihoodforDalitwomeninIndiadifferdependingon
thelocalarea,districtandstatesshelivesin.ThecharacteristicsofDalitwomenacrossIndiaisnota
homogenous one. Yet many are forced to be bound to reproductive role more as the lack of
resourcesforproductiveworkwasabsentneartheirplaceofhabitation.(Casestudy8and4).Thisis
reflectedbythehighestnumberofwomeninthehomemakercategoryatthenationallevelinthe
samplestudied35.39%ofDalitwomenand42.62%ofnonDalitwomenarehomemakers,followed
byagriculturelaborordomesticworkerwhicharebothlowpayingoccupations.NonDalitwomen
hadmuchgreateraccesstohighereducationthanDalitwomenwiththegapbeingashighas73%
moreinfavouroftheformerinthecaseofpostgraduation.Theaccessineducationandgovernance
hasprovidednewarticulationamongDalitwomen(Casestudy3and2).Thisarticulationhowever
has not led to equality for Dalit woman to gain an equal access to resource when compared to
similar class category of non Dalit woman. The non Dalit women owned more of the crucial
resourceslikeland,shopsandworkshopsandlivestockwiththegapinfavouroftheformerbeing
67% for shops and workshops. The Dalit woman from a rich or a poor background finds it more
difficulttobuyassetsinhernameforhertobeginandsustainanenterprise(Casestudy5and7).
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For this reason she has lesser access to credit from institutions. Dalit women at times choose to
change their resource base through their work or marriage (Case study 1 and 10) but in their
changedcircumstancedonlyafewrevealtheircasteidentityforthefearofsocialrejection.Ifthey
remainwithintheirnewfoundtransformativespacetheylooseoutoninformationmeanttochange
situation or help them fight discrimination. The non Dalit women had 16.5% much greater
awarenessofschemesthanthe5.5%awarenessoftheDalitwomenthoughlevelsofawarenessfor
botharelow.ThefactsshowthattheDalitwomanfacesgreaterexclusionastheNonDalitwomen
hadbetteraccesstoadequatesanitationandwatersupplyata60%ascomparedto38%accessof
the Dalit women. The research also introduced the researchers to the world of hope that Dalit
womenhavepainstakinglyknit for theircommunity( Casestudy 6 and 9). The articulationamong
theintellectualandactivistDalitwomenhasshownthepathtowardsprogressnotonlyforDalitbut
for all women. For Dalit women leaders like Rajni Tilak, Krishna Mal Jagganath, Ruth Manorama,
MeeraVellayudhanthetaskforincreasingtheresourcebaseforDalitwomenmustbetakenontop
priority as Dalit woman needs not only to increase her resources for her own security but for the
developmentofherfamily,thesectorsheworkswithin,theneighbourhoodwhereshelivesinand
the womenagency she develops suchthather participation intheresources share can gettojust
distributionforall.
These differences are also reflected in the way Dalit women view their resource priorities as
compared to the non Dalit women. The non Dalit women rank housing, land and services as the
mostimportantresourceswhilethenonDalitwomensufferingfromgrindingpovertyrankadequate
workopportunitiesandmoneyincomesastheirmostimportantresource.AninterviewwithaDalit
womangovernmentsanitaryworkerinBiharrevealedthathavingasecurejobdidnotassuresecure
salary or dignity in personal or social life. The workers do not get paid their salary from the
governmentasthemunicipalityhasnotraiseditsownresourcestomakethepayment.Thisworker
thentakesonprivatejobsofcleaningtoiletsinhomesthathavewaterandaconnectiontoawaste
pit.She isa creamy layerpersonasmanymembers ofher communitystillcontinue to do manual
scavenginginhabitationsnotconnectedwithwaterandsanitationschemes.Themencleanpublic
sanitation infrastructure likedrains andsewerage passages morethan women and getpaid more.
No where in thesampleanon Dalit women tookonthe taskof sanitaryworker.Nowhere in the
samplemarriageofMahaDalitwerereportedoutsidetheirowncommunity.Thesocialexclusion
anddiscriminationthuspersist.
TheaboveindicatesacrucialmindsetdifferencebetweenthenonDalitwomenandtheDalitwomen
wheretheformerareinclinedtoentrepreneurshipthanthelatterwhosawmorepossibilitiesin
seekingjobs,howeverhistoricallyundignifiedandsociallyexcluded.Mostly,theDalitinIndiaare
poorandDalitwomen,beartripleexclusionofbeingawoman,unskilledandbelongingtothe
oppressedandscheduledcaste.70%Dalitwomenfeeltheyareexcludedfromsocialinstitutions.
AnalysingthequantumofthelowresourcebaseofDalitwomen:
Tounderstandthequantumofgapsdatafromthestatesamplewasanalysedfurtherintwostates
TamilnaduandUttarPradeshasboththesestateshadpublicisedmoreaffirmativeactionschemes
for Dalit women as compared to other states in our sample. In Tamilnadu the data showed that
22.07%Dalithouseholdshavereportedafemalehead,while39.62%53nonDalitshouseholdhave
reported the same. 29.57% out of 142 Dalit households have reported a female head in Uttar
Pradesh while 20.75 out of 53 NonDalit households have reported the same. This increases the
burdengaponDalitwomen.ItmeansthattheDalithouseholdshavemorethan50%possibilityas
compared to NonDalits, that they would be headed by women. The resource base of these Dalit
126|P a g e

womenisweakerthannonDalitwomenandtheyevenafterbeingsupportedbyastrongwomen
workers agency have not been able to negotiate an equal resource base as compared to the non
Dalitwomaninthestudysample.Theinterpretationofthedatabelowprovidesthisevidence.
1. Educationandskills:TheDalitwomengapsinEducationinTamilnaduwerebig.Amongthe
nonliteratesinDalits,thereareabout89.53%womenwhereasamongtheNonDalitsthey
areabout70.83%women.Dalitwomenare19%morenonliteratethannonDalitwomen.
TheDalitwomensgapinaccessingeducationinprivateschoolsisanalysedtobemorethan
2timesi.e200%basedonthedatathat3.94%ofDalitwomenhaveaccessededucationin
private schools, where as 14.29% Non Dalit women accessed private education. Similarly
those not able to access education because of being a woman is 12.81% in Dalits and
3.90%innonDalits.37.9%Dalitsfeelthatwomenhavenotbeenbenefitedfromeducation
asagainst5.7%nonDalits.Literacyratesof2001censusinformthat,inUP,averageliteracy
rate was 56.3% against the SC literacy rate of 46.3%. Among women, this gap was more
givingthecorrespondingfiguresof42.2%and30.5%.Agapofabout35%inliteracyfrom
Dalitwomenspointofviewexists.Thesampleshowssimilargaps.Amongrespondents,29%
of Dalit women either were illiterate or studied at home as against the 19% among non
Dalitwomen.InUP23.2%DalitsfeelthatDalitwomenhavenotbenefitedfromeducation
ascomparedto18.9%ofnonDalits.

2. Housing and services : Non Dalits in UP benefit 200% more through housing scheme as
7.22%DalitsbenefitedfromRAYandIAYschemesagainst20.59%nonDalits.Morethan
100%gapDalitwomensresourcegapexistsinaccesstohealthandtransportservicesinUP.
5.7% nonDalit women feel deprived from health services as compared to 12.7% of Dalit
women.46%ofDalitwomengotoprivatequacksascomparedto36%nonDalitwomen.
Thismaybebecausethereisa60%gapinavailabilityofadequatewaterandsanitationfor
DalitsinUP.Only51.4%Dalitsacceptedtheavailabilityofadequatewaterandsanitation
ascomparedto83%ofnonDalits.24.4%Dalitwomenusegovernmentbusesascompared
toonly12.77%nonDalitwomen.InTamilnadu,Dalitwomenhavelessaccesstoservicesis
evidencedbythedatathat78.02%womeninDalitsand51.69%womeninnonDalitsuse
busesand75%Dalitwomenasagainst63%nondalitwomenaccessmoreofhospitalsrunby
government. 30.3% in Dalits and 20.8% in non Dalits, have no access to adequate water
supplyandsanitation.

3. Land and natural resources: Land is owned by Dalit women is 100% less than non Dalit
womenasanalysedfromtheownershipoflandas16.13%womeninDalits,ascomparedto
37.50%womeninnonDalits,signifyingthatthedifferenceinlandownershipismorethan
double. Land ownership is also a temporary phenomena. Out of the total respondents in
Tamilnadu, 33.1% of Dalits (40% more than nonDalits) and 24.5% non Dalits were badly
affectedduetodisplacement.Nearly50%Dalitwomendidhaveawarenessondisplacement
andrehabilitationasreflectedfromthedatathat80.7%Dalitsand35.8%innonDalits,had
noinformationondisplacementandrehabilitationschemes.InUPRehabilitationwasdone
in21.43%casesofdisplacementforDalitsand38.89%casesforNonDalits.(Agapof
almost90%).Agapof2timesor200%amoundDalitwomenexistsintheirawarenessabout
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displacementandrehabilitationlaws.Only3.5%Dalitwomensaidtheywereawareabout
displacement and rehabilitation laws as compared to 13.2% nonDalit women. No Dalit
receivedanylandgrantascomparedto9%ofnonDalitsinthestudysampleinUP.Thiscan
becorrelatedtothefactthatmostDalitwomenhavenooptionbuttoseekworkaslabor.
UnderMNREGA29.9%Dalitsworkedascomparedto8.82%ofnonDalitsinUP.

4. Livelihood,creditandIncome:TheaverageincomesinTamilnadushowthatthenonDalit
womanearnsalmostdoubleofthedalitwomensincome.Thisisreflectedinthedatathat
the average income for a Dalit women is Rs 2855 per month, for a nonDalit women, it is
5482 No nondalits were found on professions such as waste picking and sanitary work in
Tamilnadu.WhereasDalitswere2.5timesmorelikelytobedomesticworkersthanthenon
Dalits. Similarly 16.9% of Dalit families were assetless as compared to 5.7% NonDalit
familieswhichmeansthatDalitsare3timesmorelikelytobeassetlessthannonDalitsinU
P.DalitwomeninUPare4timesor400%morelikelytoworkasagriculturallabour.Among
Dalit women, 20.12% reported as working as agricultural labour compared to only 4.92%
women in nonDalits. 15.24% Dalit women were working as domestic help where as no
nonDalitwomenreportedthisprofession.Similarly,whilesomeDalitwomenreportedto
beworkingassanitaryworker,privatecleaner,constructionworkerandbasketweaver;no
nonDalitwomenclaimedtobeintheseprofessions.Itshowsthecastefactorinworstof
theprofessions.27%Dalitsascomparedtoonly20%nonDalits,whichisabout33%more
Dalitsarereportingtobefallingtoindebtednessbecauseofinadequacyofemployment.

5. Access to resources through schemes and SCP: The government offers affirmative action
through schemes and has SCP for dalits. The study found out that the schemes were not
accessed fully by the Dalit women as a combination of factors inhibits her access. In UP
53.5%ofDalitssaythattheydonthaveequalaccesstogovernmentschemesascompared
to24%nonDalits.Agapofdoubleor100%thusexistedforDalitwomenintheiraccessto
benefit from schemes.Only 13.4% Dalit women said they have benefited from a govt or
NGO scheme as compared to 26.4% of nonDalit women. A gap of more than 100% is
perceivedonlackofawarenessandeducationastheworstinhibitingfactorintheaccessof
government schemes (21 % Dalits feel that lack against only 9% of nonDalits in UP). 45%
Dalits feel women have not benefited from government and NGO efforts as against 32%
nonDalitswhohavethesameopinion.FRA,MNREGA,JSY,andPensionsaremostaccessed
government schemes by Dalits. Health insurance, unorganized sector board, scholarships,
ICDS, and SJSRY are least accessed by Dalits in UP. Educational scholarship being accessed
among Dalits in Tamilnadu is 12.07% and 18.33% in non Dalits. Thus non Dalits have 50%
more access to educational scholarships than Dalits. Similar figure of gap shows up in the
accessofworkthroughMGNREGS,17.24%inDalitsand26.67%innonDalitsandagainthis
is 50% more than Dalits. Land grants that have greater value in terms of having access to
productiveresourceascomparedtolaborthisgapdoubles.Landgrantsaccessedby13.36%
Dalitsand28.33%nonDalitsinthestudysamplewhichshowsthatnonDalitwomenhave
had more than 100% more land grants than Dalits. Over all the gap of access for Dalit
womentogetschemesfromthegovernmentorNGOinTNbecomes21%as53%Dalitsand
32.1%. non Dalits do not receive any benefits from Govt or NGO schemes. The lack of
awarenessandaccessonwomenrelatedschemeswasonaaverage34%inTNasanalysed
fromthedatathat64.1%Dalitsand30.2%nonDalitswerenotawareofwomensscheme.
NonDalits are 2.5 times more aware about information on schemes for women as
comparedtoDalitsinUP.9.9%Dalitsrespondedsayingtheyknowanywomensschemes
where as 24.5% of nonDalits said they had information. This shows the information gap.
128|P a g e

Dalit women were less informed about resources. The household questionnaire was to be
administeredtothewomenonly.Maleswereaskedtofillininformationwhenthewomen
wereunabletounderstandwhatresourcesfromgovernmentorNGOschemesmeant.36.6
% Dalit women responded without male intervention while 41% non Dalit responded
without male informing them about the information needs in the interview schedule. This
again highlights the information gap about government schemes. The gap in awareness
abouttheSCPwasalso34%as73.1%Dalitsand39.6%nonDalitsarenotawareofSpecial
componentplaninTN.
Obstaclesinaccessingschemes:
InTamilnadu48.2%Dalitsand30.02%innonDalits,sayitisacombinationofcorruption,nepotism
andapathy.About50%moreDalitsfeelitisaproblemascomparedtononDalits.20.1%Dalitssay
exclusionofanddisrespecttowardsDalitsisanobstacle,nononDalitmentionedthispoint.60%of
Dalits(asagainst3.8%ofnonDalits)statethattheDalitsarestillexcludedandoppressed.18.7%of
Dalitsasagainst9.4%nonDalitsfeelthatreservationshavebeenhelpful.Morethan67%ofDalits
feelthatbeingDalitisanobstacletoreformasagainst7.5%ofnonDalits.
InUPagapofalmostdoubleshowstheintensitywithwhichDalitwomenfeeltheobstacleingetting
govtresources.24.65%ofDalitsascomparedto13.21%ofnonDalitsfeelthisobstacleasonly5%
DalitshadBPLcardsshowingwhytheydonotgetbenefitsfrommanygovtschemes.Only38.7%
dalitsand54.7%nonDalitsfeelthatbeingDalitisnotanobstacle.45.07%Dalitsfeeltheyarestill
excludedandoppressedasagainst24.53%nonDalitswhohavethesameopinion.
The above understanding of dalit women resources gaps indicates that dalit women are more
deprived of resources and they work at the most deplorable livelihood options in the sector of
sanitationandlowestpaidlaborjobs.MoreDalitwomenthanDalitmenareengagedinagriculture
and livestock rearing than industries and services, the current model of growth marginalises Dalit
womeninruralareasasagricultureisnotbeingdevelopedasasectorascomparedtoindustry.In
ruralareathelandlessareDalits,amongstDalitsandamongstpoornonDalitsveryfewwomenown
landintheirnamesotheydolaborjobsinnonagriculturesector.Lossofcontroloncommonsand
serviceshaventhelpedthewomeninupgradingtheirskillsandmoveupthevaluechaintoaccess,
use and own other technical and industrial or service tools of production and begin their own
incomegenerationenterprisegoingintolowpaidandlabourintensivework.Dalitwomenareeven
furthermarginalisedinurbanareasastheydonothaverequisiteeducationlevelandskillbase.Dalit
womenreportedisolationin urbanareas asthey loosetheirownfamilyand communitynetworks
that help them survive. Governments inadequate promotion of labor rights affect Dalit women
workersmoreastheylacksocialnetworks,BPLcardsandalltheygetisanapparently,equalaccess
tohealthsecuritybenefitinthenameofsocialsecurity.Workersrighttothecityandvillagespace,
workspace and space for negotiating individual and group rights have been sidelined to promote
overallgrowthoftheeconomy.Theagenciesthatcaninvestinbetterservicesforworkersfamilies
in the place where workers stay and work adopt caution and surveillance, instead of promotional
andnurturingvision.

HowtoworkontheDalitwomensresourcegaps:

129|P a g e

The realisation of Dalit women to understand their rights in relation to resources takes concerted
efforts of an NGO, union or a woman agency. The Dalit movement has begun leadership
development within its own cadres but the fact remains that in normal course even men do not
understand their rights in relation to resources from the government or private agencies. For the
purposeofthestudyresourcesandservicesweremeanttobeaccessibleschemessuchthatfocus
remains within the purview of state affirmative action. How ever taken in its larger meaning
resourceshaveamuchmoreexpansivemeaningtoinclude,natural,infrastructural,skillbaseaswell
as financial and infrastructure resource. Schemes catered to mostly the lower economic level of
populationswhilechangeofattitudeisneededinallclassesofthesocietytoofferavenuesofsocio
economicnetworking.Discriminationininstitutionscontinuesascorruptionnetworksarealsocaste
andpowerbased.ThestudyfindingswerethatDalitwomenwerenotawareofschemesmeantfor
them. NGOs and state actors inadequate awareness and understanding about deep rooted
discriminationandviolenceDalitpeoplefaceleadstononacceptanceofschemesforDalitsandthis
makesanaffirmativeactionnonfunctional.
The state policy has not considered Dalit womans concerns as a focus area. States like UP tried
innovation for Dalits i.e in creating Ambedkar villages or Dalit hamlets but did not monitor and
evaluatetheinnovationforitsimpactonDalitwomen.Thereforeoneoftherecommendationsfor
theUPstategovernmentisthatallflagshipprogrammesshouldbegendermainstreamedand50%
oftheSCSPand21%ofthewomencomponentplanmustbeearmarkedforuseofDalitwomenin
the state. How this money should be planned to be spent needs to be decided after consulting
women in neighbourhood clusters that are being connected through current infrastructural
developmentplansofroadsandopticalfibrenetworkofGOI.Thismaybetrueforotherstatesas
well. Area based plans including skill building, infrastructure and regeneration of natural and
financialcapitalneedstobegendermainstreamedinawaythestatecanpromotewomensrolein
the leadership of a green economy that include closing gaps for Dalit women as an indicator of
development.ToclosediscriminationgapsDalitsandnonDalitsneedtoworktogetherinspaces
thatofferopportunitytorespectandrecogniseeachotherstalentsandworth.Planningforspaces
to working together near homes of Dalit people is a must to deal with breaking class and caste
barriers.
There is no coordination between the gram panchayat and municipal authorities to foster
prosperityforDalitwomenineithercitiesorvillages.Settingupofinstitutionalmechanismsisnot
enough to improve womens status in reducing gender gaps in resources. Social institutions offer
manybarriersthatthestatemechanismneedstotackleandadoptmoreappropriatemeasuresto
notonlyhaveaninclusiveplanningbutalsoaneffectivedeliverymechanism.Whenparticipationof
peopleinvillageorcitydevelopmentplanisabsent,thequestionofinclusionofwomenspriorities
forresourceincreaseandprosperitybecomesamisnomer.Nomonitoringisdoneinordertotrack
Dalit womens prosperity. Understanding that can facilitate an inclusive planning and
implementationmayincludethefollowing:

Dalitwomenhavenotimetoaspireastheydealwithsurvivalissuesundersevereindignity.
EducationforDalitshasnotledtofreedomfromdiscriminationtoimprovelivelihoods
Accesstoschemesisnotleadingtochangeingenderrolesorspaceforsocialintegration
InclusionofDalitwomeningovernancehasincreasedtheirarticulationandconfidence
ScheduledCastesSpecialComponentPlan(SCSP)needstoincludegenderinclusiveareaand
sectorplanning
130|P a g e

NeitherDalitnornonDalitwomencanaccessbenefitfromschemessanssupportsomore
fundingtogroupsworkingoninclusionsothatfacilitationcontinues.Dalitwomenareata
greaterdisadvantageastheyhavelessfacilitation.
DalitpeopleslivelihoodandDalitwomansworkneedstobemetwithherrightto
associationwithherlaborrightsbeingmet.

Spacetothink,andwork,spacetogetskilledtoproduceandtocareforhouseholdscancomefrom
thespacetorightfullyinteractwithothersandbetweentheirownkind.Howeverinfrastructure
provisionasenvisagedunderRAYhasnotbeguninearnest.Dalitinfrastructuregapsneedstobe
plannedforwithDalitwomensaccesstothespacestonotonlybenefitfromspacesbuttomanage
infrastructuretochangetheirownskillbase.
TosumuptheobjectivesofthestudywastounderstandtheifDalitwomensaccesstogovernment
resourceswasequitableandifthegovernmentorNGOledschemesandplanninghadreducedthe
resourcegapforDalitwomeninIndiaplan.Thestudyfindingandanalysisclearlyshowsthatdespite
besteffortsofthegovernmentandtheNGOsaswellasmovementsthatsupportlivedexperiences
andstrugglesofDalitwomen,thegapsinresourcesforDalitwomenremainhuge.
Thesecondarysearchandstudyofgovernmentschemesclarifiedthatgendergapsinresourcesexist
as a 16 % access to productive assets (KHAS 2011), 130% Income and 33% space gap (DRAGGID
2012). Gaps for Dalit habitation in access to government infrastructure was also recorded (SEW
2012)butdataonDalitwomensresourcegapwasavailableonlyforafewsectorslikeeducation,
land ownership etc. Sector wide spatial planning seemed to be answer to deal with issues of
exclusion(BhardwajandGhosh2012)theDalitwomenfacebutthroughtheinterviewswithofficials
atstatelevelitwasclearthattheSCPwasnotbeingusedinawaythatgendermainstreamingor
Dalit mainstreaming could become a part of either local, district or national plans. To plan the
inclusionofDalitwomeninlocalareaplanningthestudypointsthatdalitwomenprioritiesforkey
resourcesneedtobesetasideforinclusion.Theseresourcesneedtobemeasuredsuchthatgaps
are identified for targeted populations in given local habitations. The identified gaps can help in
planningandmonitoringofinterventionsforinclusion.Dalitwomenorganizationsdemandequality.

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Chapter6Recommendations
TheresourcegapsforDalitwomenasunderstoodbythestudynowneedactiontowardsaninclusive
planning. The resource gaps for Dalit women need to be planned to be reduced as this is
Constitutionally mandated. Towards this it is imperative to address comprehensiveness,
effectiveness and efficiency of schemes, programmes, policies and legislations to understand how
thisaffirmativeactionleadsto:

Economicliberationandequalityinresourcebase
Educationalparityateverylevelofeducation
SocialdignityoftheDalitwomanandhersecurity

AnationalschemeforuniversalprovisionoflandsforallruralSCfamiliesinthenameandownership
of the woman of the household could be a way out. The Tamilnadu experience reveals that this
schemes as given dignity to the Dalit women. However possession for land also is a liability as to
make it productive many other services are required from the state like irrigation and other
agricultureproducedevelopment.Thelandgrantsofsmallsizewillnotworkwellforthewomen.A
household needs can be met with a 5 acre of waste land but to earn cash from it, much more is
required.GroupfarmingthusisanoptionthattheDalitwomenhavetriedinUP.
These poor Dalit women groups are in no position to write proposals to Rural development
ministriesformatoftheMahilaShashaktikaranPariyojna.Theseproposalsaremadesocomplexthat
onlyorganizationssuchasSwaminathanfoundationcanproposeworktogovernmenttoundertake
pilotstowork on replicablemodels.Replication will requiresimilarbudgetsandfacilitation to pay
for the time and expenses of people who will assist Dalit women to understand how a group
economy can survive in the individual capital accumulation and agriculture controlled by
corporationsandbigfarmers.
Group rights are not an option that should be ignored. Community support is required besides
access to schemes that benefit individual patriarchal family set up. This is required as community
consciousness needs to be built to understand the historical existential condition of agricultural
servitude and other socioeconomic disadvantages and deprivations to plan economic freedom,
educationadvancementthatshouldimpacthealthoftheirwomenandchildrenalongwithensuring
thattheyremainproductiveandsafe,withinthehouseholdsandinpublicspace.
The gap in Dalit womens resource base proves that discrimination is rampant. Case studies and
FGDs recoded that atrocities continue, especially when Dalit women secure even a small part of
theirrights.Implementationofexistingisdonewithoutunderstandingtheimplicationofthetriple
burdenontheDalitwomenmakingitineffective.
TotalandcomprehensiveplanningfortheDalitswasintroducedin1978withtheSpecialComponent
Planbutitsoverallplanningwasflawedasitdidnotplanbeyondallocationsandshowednowayto
make it class and gender mainstreamed. The purpose of the Special Component Plan can be fully
andadequatelyachievedifitlooksatgenderandinclusioninlocalareaplanningthatwillprovidea
visionforthedevelopmentandempowermentofDalitsandothermarginalizedasanoverarching
goal.
It is only a small proportion of Dalit women who have been able to secure employment in
Government, PSUs and other such public organizations through the mechanism of scholarships,
hostels and reservation in posts and appointments. Even the benefits of reservation have not
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reachedtheSCsinfullbecauseofpoorimplementationbytheCentralaswellasStateGovernments.
Therecommendationsbelowbecomerelevant.
Recommendationsfornationalandstategovernment:
Empower a government body to deal with Dalit womens development and protection to work
within the framework of UDHR, CESCR and CEDAW. Entrust and empower the Ministry for Social
JusticeandEmpowermenttodealwithfasttrackredresstoaddressDalitwomensconcerns.The
responsibility for this unit was given to National Commission for Women, which is not a statutory
bodyin2009.Itneedstobewithinagovernmentdepartmentorministry.
ProvidedataonDalitwomen:CreateacategoryforDalitwomeninofficialdocumentstoprovide
the much needed extra attention to the groupthatremainsatthe bottomof thesocial structure.
ThereshouldbecompilationofsegregateddataonDalitwomeninthecensusandprogressreports,
andmandatoryinclusionofreportsonthestatusofSCwomenintheannualreportsofbothState
andnationallevelcommissionsforScheduledCastesandwomen.TheMinistryofStatistics(MOSPI
)isnowthroughapilotsurveying25districtsforSocialInstitutionsGenderIndex.Withinthedistricts
and villages it chooses, they must choose Dalit hamlets with workers who engage in agriculture
labor,sanitationworkandconstructionworkastheseformcoreofDalitpeopleswork.Thekindof
hardphysicallaborandabusewomenfaceintheirworkwasnotapartofthestudybutitcanbe
includedintheSIGIindicatorsthatMOSPIwillbenowworkingon.
Themonthlyactiontakenreportofthedistrictcollectorshouldrecordeffortsandresultsofreducing
resource gaps for dalit women to track progress on all schemes including SCP and Women
componentofbudgets.
Righttonaturalresources:Effectiveimplementationoftherecommendationstothelandreforms
commission and Twelfth Plan working group on "Disadvantaged Farmers including Women" and if
need,itshouldpurchaselandforsuchdistribution.Specifically

Involve Dalit women organizations to work on land distribution needs to finalize the
distributionlistforsurplusandgovernmentlandforDalitwomeninGramSabha.
Prioritizesinglewomen,femaleheadedhouseholdsandjointtitleslandsinthedeliveryof
the land related schemes government programs like minor irrigation for all lands/plots
ownedbyDalits.
Restore common property resource of social forest as well as water bodies to village
community Dalit women and shift the companies who have been allotted resource on
whichDalitcommunitiesweredependenttoanotherarea.
Prohibitbylawthetransferofsocialforestandwaterbodiesforcommercialpurposeand
destructionofagriculture.
Undertake land re distribution reforms, improve measures for transparency in land
records and issues related to land use changes which directly and indirectly further
marginalizeanddiscriminateagainstthepoor,Dalitsandsinglewomen.

RighttoLivelihoodsofDalitwomen:TheDalitvillageswhicharepredominantlywater,forestand
agriculturedependenthavenotransportconnectingthemtomarketsthereforetheyshouldbegiven
importance for marketing their produced products by eliminating middle men. They need training
programmestomakevalueadditionoftheirproducts.Governmentshouldtakeallnecessarystepsto
protectrightsofDalitcommunitytoaccesscommonresourcesandensurelandforgrazingcattlein
the villages as the Dalit people are significantly dependent on natural resources or livestock for
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their livelihood. Furthermore looking at specific Dalit unorganized sector workers is helpful in
understandingtheirspecificneedsasindicatedinthefollowingrecommendations.

Agriculture workers: Distribute agricultural lands, which are surplus under land ceiling act,
Govtlands,wastelands,panchamilandstoDalitwomenagriculturalworkerswithadequate
financialsupportonaprioritybasis.
Salt Pan workers : Lease Salt lands directly to Dalit women Salt workers through Women
SHGs and Cooperatives and small producers with adequate financial support. Since Salt
productionandAgriculturalworkcometoahaltduringrainyseasonDalitwomenworkersin
saltpansandagricultureshouldbeprovidedwithmonsoonallowance.
Waste pickers : Women Waste pickers need to be given Identity cards by Municipal
Corporationandmedicalinsurance.
Sanitary Workers: Investigate how better employment practice can be demonstrated for
Dalitwomensanitaryworkers,employedbygovernmentdepartmentslikepolice,education
etc. who are in condition of being Bonded Labour i.e. non payment of minimum wages,
equalpayforequalwork,weeklyleave,uniform,gloves,boots,andbuspassasmentioned
byTamilNadustatereporttoproposearedress.
Prioritized and better linking of the SHGs of the Dalit women in the state through the
RashtriyaMahilaKosh(RMK)intheformoffundingandtraining.RMKthathadbeensetup
in 1993 as a registered society by the Department of Women and Child development, for
promoting theprovision ofmicrocredittoDalitwomen for income generationactivities or
assetcreation.
Encourage DalitWomen construction workers to formcooperatives and carry out labour
contracts after providing training to upgrade their skills in masonry, carpentry, painting as
wellasearthwork.
Ensurethat100%ofallMNREGAcontractsgotoallDalitwomensetupandensurethatDalit
womencanmonitorthatdalitlandsaredevelopedthroughMNREGA.
Protectwomendomesticworkerswithminimumwages,protectionfromsexualharassment
throughcomplaintscommitteesinDomesticWorkersWelfareBoardatDistrictlevels.
It is also relevant to ensure Social security to all Dalit women workers by enabling
registrationinwelfareBoardswithoutinterferencefromRevenueDepartmentandprovision
ofbenefitisinamonthoffilingclaims.Thesocialsecuritybenefitneedstobeadequatesuch
as Rs 3000 as pension ( 15 days of wages based on minimum wages) and Rs 18,000 as
maternityassistance(90daysofwages)etc.
It is very important that National Policy on Street Vendors is implemented by Municipal
Corporation and space is allocated for Dalit Women Vendors to stop evictions, extortions
andpoliceharassments.
Basket weavers need to be not only covered as street vendors but also as forest workers
collecting the raw material for baskets from forests and given identity cards by Forest
Departmentandprotectedfromharassmentandextortions.
EndthemanualscavengingmostlybeingdonebytheDalitwomenbystringentmonitoring
and implementation mechanisms of the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of
manualScavengersthattargets3.42lakhofthetotal7.73lakhscavengers.
Awardof100percentprematricscholarship,attentiontoretentioninschoolsandquality
education in addition to selfemployment schemes for manual scavengers, training,
extensionofloans,andsubsidiesshouldbemonitoredinthemissionmodeapproachsuch
astheNationalLiteracyMission.
ProvideanincreasedallocationforenterprisesbyDalitwomeninparticular,Dalitwomen
infinanceanddevelopmentcorporationstogobeyondpromotingthesettingupbusinesses.

134|P a g e

Improve environmental practices and promoting entrepreneurial environment such that

the marginalised communities such as the SC , ST and women are encouraged and
supportedtodevelopselfrelianteconomicactivities.
Setupequalopportunityofficesineducationalandotherpublicservicesectorsacrossthe
publicandprivateinstitutions.Itisnotenoughtoaskforthefacilitybutit isimportantto
havesocialandequitableaccesstosuchservicesandresources.
SocialauditofMNREGA,developmentalprojectsaswellasotherschemesthatcanenhance
landorinfrastructurebaserelatedtoadequatehousingandrighttolivelihoodneedstobe
ledbydalitwomensorganisations.

RighttoServices:
Ensure food security by improvingPublic Distribution System (PDS) rather than shifting to cash
transfers.AccesstoPDSismediatedbycastepolitics.MarginalisedwomenfromthepoorandDalit
communitiesworkingtogetherhavedemonstratedtheirabilitytosecurethefoodsecurityoftheir
households, particularly by working on the principle of food sovereignty and growing the kind of
foodtheywantinasustainableway.Thewomens collectivesformedofandbytheDalitwomen
women have demanded that government policies on agricultural practices, land reforms, food
security and public distribution system be made people and Dalit womencentric and priority be
given to single women, widows, and womenheaded householdsin accessing support services and
safespacesforactiveparticipationindecisionmakingatalllevels.

Proper drinking facilities should be provided by the government to all Dalit villages and
habitations.
The health and sanitation as well as transport facilities should be provided to all the Dalit
villages/habitationsanditmustbeproperlymonitoredwhetheralltheschemesreachthe
communityornot.
The children in the villages of Dalit areas should be ensured standard education and the
governmentshouldprovideeducationsupporttillgraduation.
ThehousingrightsofDalitwomenshouldalsobeensuredbythegovernmentinalltheDalit
villages/habitations.
AdherencetoSCorderonPavementDwellersandprovisionsofstatelevelslumactaswell
asimplementationofRajivAwasYojanaforallslumdwellerswithpattasinwomensnames
orinjointnames,andprovisionoftenementsinwomensnamesorinjointnamesandto
stop displacements to far off places depriving the Dalit women of their livelihoods and
childrenseducation.
Districtdevelopmentplansneedtobeauditedforplugginginthegenderandsocialequity
gapsandtoidentifytheresourceandserviceareasinthedistrictfromwhereDalitwomen
could get resources both from the public and private sector so that we could set an
exampleofschemebenefit.
EvolvespecialprotectionmechanismfortheDalitwomenwhohavefiledpolicecomplaints.
Thereisalsoastrongneedforaneffectiveredressalmechanismwhichisnotonlyabout
receiving complaints but also for mediation, protection and speedy justice delivery.
Responsive law enforcing measures and sensitized police and judiciary and accountable
justicedeliverysystemsaretheneedofthehour.
Setupprocessesandproceduresandmonitoringmechanismsforshortstayhomesandhelp
lineservicestobearrangedbytheCentralSocialWelfareBoardsothattheseservicesare
effectivelyutilisedbytheDalitwomen.
Improve allocation and monitoring of the SC SubPlan with mechanisms to ensure
coordination amongst the line ministries and departments in allocating their share of
135|P a g e

resources to the SCSP and also to see how it is being utilized and doing regular and
systematic monitoring for its impact assessment on all individual sections of these
communitiesi.e.thewomen,men,girlsandboys.Itwouldbeusefulforpublicprobityif
thereportontheSCsubplanisproducedandputupinthepublicdomainbythestate
ministryofruraldevelopmentandsocialjusticeandempowermentandwomenandchild
development.Nopublicreporthasbeenproducedsincetheinceptionofthissubplaninthe
1970s. As Under the 20 point program under the SCSP, the district administrative office
undertheDistrictcollectorshouldbemandatedtoprovidedataofschemeimplementation
initsmonthlyreports.50%oftheSCPshouldbeearmarkedfordalitwomen.
RecommendationforCSOsworkingforDalitandwomensrights
IntheabsenceofaneffectivemonitoringmechanismandlackofDalitwomenfriendlyinfrastructure
accountability on part of agencies, the available laws and programmes have little effect. The
availabilityofinfrastructuretohousedeliveryandmonitoringcanensurethattheexistingschemes,
policies and laws are implemented. A state level shadow report should be produced by the civil
society on the implementation of government policies concerning violations of civil, social and
political rights of women from Dalit and scheduled tribes. The shadow report should show
progresstowardsfollowing:

Strengthenworkonincreasingresourcebasetoworkonimprovedinformationaccessto
Dalitandpoorwomenabouttheirentitlementsasrightsholdersfromthestate.
Combineworkofdevelopmentalapproachwiththerightsbasedapproachtoaddressthe
human rights violations of the poor and Dalit women that work at the level of social
customs that segregate women and men and people in habitations and at work on caste
categories
IncreasethearticulationofDalitwomenconstituencytounderstandtheirconcerns.
Develop strategic direction to address specific gaps issues arising from the patriarchal
hierarchiesandpowerimbalanceleadingtogenderbiaseswhicharenotaddressedinthe
prevalentparadigmsaddressingcasteandclassbasedissues.
Suggestmonitoringmechanismsfor improvingtheimplementationof servicedeliveryon
the ground so that the benefits and entitlements meant for the poor and Dalit women
reachthem.
Build capacity for providing prompt and responsive systems for protection well as for
preventionofcrimesagainstDalitwomen.Therearesufficient,strongandprogressivelegal
andpolicyprovisionswhichhavebeenenactedforthemarginalizedsectionsofthesociety
which are not used optimally for lack of capacity and infrastructure that is safe for Dalit
women.

Way Forward : The research has made it clear that schemes do not reach the poor because
thepatriarchalandupperclasscontrolofresourceshasnotletwomeningeneralanddalitwomenin
particular get their due share. Access to land, infrastructure and credit is essential. There is a
continued presence of deeprooted castebased inequity in the distribution and availability to
infrastructure and hence to the accessibility of services and entitlements. The education and
provisionofhousethroughschemeshasnotbrokenbarrierstodiscriminationfacedbyDalitwomen.
Dalitpeoplefaceadeepequitygapinaccesstoinfrastructure(SEW2011).

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Thetaskaheadistomonitorthelocationofnewinfrastructureinsuchawaythattheexistingequity
gap can be filled in a gender equal manner. This would be crucial for scarce resources such as
drinkingwaterandcertainnewerinfrastructuresuchasinternetkiosksareplannedinnearfuture.
The access of schemes that promote livelihood and capacity building are needed to service girls,
boys, women and men living and working in local areas. Thus there is a possibility to develop the
infrastructureofschemesdifferentlysuchthatschemescanprovidearoletoDalitwomentoassist
ininfrastructuredevelopmentratherthantreatthemasarecipientofadoletostayalive.Indefining
aspecificdevelopmentroleforDalitwomen,theroleforallwomencanberedefinedasthenthelast
womaninsocialsystemcanbeincludedwithinatransformationofnotonlyareaswheretheylive
butalsoareaswheretheyworkandperformtheircommunityroles.Thusservicesandworkneedsto
beplannedalongwithresourceplanningofeachareawhichprovidesrolesallwomencanperform
equally rather than giving them giving them only equal representation in governance mechanisms
thathavecontrolofupperclassandhighcatemen.ThusitisemperitivethatresourcebaseofDalit
women should be strengthened such that they can take on roles that empower them to build
capacitytosustainandmanageresourcesfornotonlythemselvesbuttheircommunitiesasawhole.
The proposal of Sathi all for partnerships of developing each area as an inclusive sustainable
developmentzonebecomesrelevanthere.Therecommendationmadetothegovernmentandcivil
societyinthisreportneedtobeaddressedfirstforplanningnextsteps.
Inconclusion
Discrimination exists in Dalit women getting very less from their increased education or political
status. Debates about the discrimination and exploitation of Dalits has little information on Dalit
womens access and control over resources as result of this discrimination. There is a dearth of
information on Dalit womens poverty when compared to Dalit men. Further, there is no
governmentdatadisaggregatedonpovertybyvarioussubcastesamongstDalitsorreligionbarring
TamilNaduthatprovidessomereligionwisedataforDalitsingeneral.Learningfromtheexperience
ofthestudyTheMinistryofStatisticsandProgramImplementationshouldadapttheSIGIframework
explainedabovetoincludeCaste(includingthoseDalitswhohaveconvertedtootherreligions)asa
factor in the barriers to physical integrity and have subsections within it as access to productive
integritythatincludes spaceforcarerolesandspaceforwork nearhome.Thisissoasthesocio
economicculturalsituationisrealizedatspacesathomeandspacesoutside.Havingthespacethat
is serviced with water, energy, sanitation and infrastructure helps a person perform better.
Importantly, the discourse on resource gap and the definition of resource itself needs to be
informedbetter.Inthecontextofthestudy,governmentoffersschemesforwomen, schemes for
DalitsasSCPtobridgeagapthathasnotbeencalculatedforpeopleatsectorlevel,orclasslevel,or
onarealeveli.e.spatially.
Schemesmeantforsurvivalanddevelopmentofthetargetpopulationshouldbeconsideredasthe
entitlement of the beneficiaries and not a favour disbursed by the official machinery. Thus the
awareness about the access of the schemes needs to be done through neighbourhood resource
centres that women have access and control of. Provision of state infrastructure for use,
management and control of women (Dalit as well as non Dalit ) would ensure utilization of these
schemes effectively. The income eligibility criteria for the poorBPL households and the scheduled
castes should be state specific taking into account the existing income levels and socio cultural
reality
Due to various sociocultural and economic practices coupled with limited governmental vision,
discrimination of Dalit and poor women with regard to income, education, and other services
137|P a g e

remainshighandtherearepersistentgapsbetweenwomenandmenamongstDalitsandnonDalits
ineachofthesesectors,withsomegapsincreasingandsomedecreasingandvaryingacrossstates.
There are several spheres of marginalisation and discrimination as far as Dalit women matter and
over the years, their specific needs and rights are ignored by one and all. Further, it merits
investigation astohowfarDalitwomenand men(anddifferentsectsandreligionamongstthem)
are able to convert education into employment and income into investments, and face non
discriminationinallspheres.
Onthewhole,economicgrowthhasnotmanagedtoeffectivelybridgegapsbetweenpoorandwell
todoDalitmenandwomenandnonDalitmenandwomen,andbetweenDalitwomenandDalit
men inmostsectors.Oneofthekey reasonsforthedisparityisthestrikingandpersistentskew
showinginwomenslackofaccessto,ownershipandcontroloverresources.Whilethereisalready
a severe lack of information on these aspects, there is also no attempt to understand and put
togetherwhatDalitwomenandmenunderstandbyresources.
There needs to be an all round urgency, willingness and commitment by the government and the
civilsocietytobringaboutradicalchangeinthesocialmindsetofpeopleasastrongsenseofsocial,
economic and politicalexclusion forDalitandpoor women invarious forms exists.Thecustomary
practices in within the caste systems are rooted in a structures which are mediated by class and
genderbias.

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Annex1:ProvisionsoftheGoIforDalitsandWomen

MajorschemesimplementedbyGovernmentofIndiatobenefitthescheduledcastesareasfollows:

1)TheTargetedPublicDistributionSystem(PDS):Itwasintendedtobeestablishedasamethodto
streamlinethepublicdistributionsystembyissuingspecialcardstoBelowPovertyLinefamiliesand
sellingfoodgrainsunderPDStothematspeciallysubsidizedprices.

2) Antyodaya Anna Yojana : Antyodaya households are provided with a special ration card which
entitles the household to 35 kilograms of grain per month at highlysubsidized prices (Rs 2/ per
kilogramsforwheatandRs3/perkilogramsforrice).

3)AnnapoornaYojana:Ittargetsindigentseniorcitizensof65yearsofageorabove,whothough
eligibleforoldagepensionundertheNationalOldAgePensionScheme(NOAPS),arenotgettingthe
pensionandwhodonotlivewiththeirchildreninthesamevillagearecoveredundertheScheme.

4) Mid Day Meal Programme : Intended to be a major relief for poor children and an
encouragement to them to go to school, the scheme targets all children in government and
governmentassisted schools and they are provided a free midday meals for at least 200 days per
year.

5)NationalOldAgePension:Itisacentralassistanceschemetopersonsabovetheageof65years
whohavelittleornomeansofsubsistenceeitherthroughhis/herownsourcesorthroughsupport
fromfamilyandothersources.

6)NationalFamilyBenefitScheme:Underthisscheme,BelowPovertyLinefamilieswhohavelost
theirprimarybreadwinner,agedbetween18and65atthetimeofdeath,areentitledtoreceivea
consolidatedamountofRs.10,000.

7) Integrated Child Development Scheme : The objective of ICDS is to provide all basic sectoral
services, related to early childhood care, preschool education,nutrition and health converge,
through a communitybased child care worker i.e. the anganwadi worker, on the same group of
children,adolescentgirls,pregnantandnursingmothers.

8) Janani Suraksha Yojana : Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), launched in April 2005, is a safe
motherhoodinterventionundertheNationalRuralHealthMission(NRHM)beingimplementedwith
the objective of reducing maternal and neonatal mortality by promoting institutional delivery
amongthepoorpregnantwomen.

FollowingaresomeoftheGovernmentofIndiaschemesrelatingtoworkandlivelihood:

1) Swarnajayanti Grameen Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) : The programme aims at establishing a large
numberofmicroenterprisesinruralareaswithanemphasisonorganizingtheruralpoorintoself
help groups, capacitybuilding, planning of activity clusters, infrastructure support, technology,
creditandmarketinglinkages.

2)SampoornaGrameenRozgarYojana(SGRY):SGRYwasintroducedinSeptember2001.Thebasic
aimoftheschemecontinuestobegenerationofwageemployment,creationofdurableeconomic
infrastructureinruralareasandprovisionoffoodandnutritionsecuritytothepoor.
141|P a g e


3)NationalFoodForWorkProgramme(NFFWP) :Itis a 100%centrallysponsored schemewhich
aimstoprovideadditionalresourcesapartfromtheresourcesavailableundertheSGRYto150most
backward districts of the country so that generation of supplementary wage employment and
providingoffoodsecuritythroughcreationofneedbasedeconomic,socialandcommunityassetsin
thesedistrictsisfurtherintensified.

4) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act / Scheme : Under NREG Act 2005, the scheme was
launchedinFebruary2006toensurelivelihoodsecurityinruralareasbyprovidingatleast100days
of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members
volunteertodounskilledmanuallabour.

5) Scholarship Scheme: This schemetargets Scheduled Caste and ScheduledTribestudentsin the

state,studyingfromprimaryschoolleveltocollegelevel.Prematricscholarship:Malestudentsfrom
classes6to8aretoreceiveascholarshipofRs.15/ andfemalestudents ascholarshipofRs.20/.
Male students of classes9 and 10 are to receive a scholarship of Rs.30/ and female students a
scholarshipofRs.40/.ThisisgivenbytheEducationDepartmentoftheState.
Postmatricscholarship:ScheduledCasteandScheduledTribestudentsin10+2classesandcollege
whose parents have an annual income of less than Rs.1, 00,000/.The scholarship amount is Rs.
425/perstudentpermonth.

6)GrantsandLoansForFinancingIncomeGeneratingActivities:RajasthanSCsandSTsFinanceand
DevelopmentCorporationLtd.wassetupin1980withtheobjectiveoffinancingincomegenerating
activitiesofSCbeneficiarieslivingbelowthepovertylinelimits(presentlyRs.20,000/p.a.forrural
areasandRs.21,400/p.a.forurbanareas).Schemesincludesupportforgrantsandbankloansfor
agriculturalimplements,pumpsetsandminorirrigations,handicrafts,shoemakingetc.

7)RashtriyaMahilaKosh:TheNationalCreditFundforWomenortheRashtriyaMahilaKosh(RMK)
wassetupinMarch1993withtheobjectivetoprovideorpromotetheprovisionofmicrocreditto
poorwomenforincomegenerationactivitiesorforassetcreation.DeliveryisnormallythroughSelf
HelpGroups.

Ruralhousing:

1) Indira Awas Yojana : Initiated in 198586, the IAY is the core programme for providing free
housing to BPL families in rural areas and targets SC/STs households,freed bonded labourers and
nonSC/STsubjecttotheconditionthatthebenefitstononSC/STshouldnotexceed40%oftotalIAY
allocationduringafinancialyear.

ConstitutionalProvisionsforwomenandDalitstowardsEqualityandnondiscrimination

TheprincipleofequalityandnondiscriminationareenshrinedintheConstitutionofIndia.Thestate
guarantees to every person the right toequality before law and equal protection of laws. This
implies(a)thelawisthesameforeveryone;itshouldbeappliedinthesamewaytoall(b)thestate
hasanobligationtobringnecessarysocialandeconomicchangessothateveryonemayenjoyequal
protectionofthelawsandnobodyisdeniedsuchaprotection.
Every citizen shall have equality of opportunity, irrespective of religion, race, caste, sex,
descent,placeofbirth,residenceoranyofthem,to:employmentor
appointmenttoanyofficeundertheState:accesstoshops,publicrestaurants,hotelsandplacesof
publicentertainmentortheuseofwells,tanks,bathingghats,
142|P a g e

roadsandplacesofpublicresortmaintainedwhollyorpartlyoutofStatefundsordedicatedtothe
useofthegeneralpublic.

Women: The Constitution empowers the State to make any special provision for women and
children such as setting up of institutions exclusively forwomen or reservation at institutions,
governmentjobsandotherpublicofficers.Itprovidesallcitizens,menandwomenequally,theright
to an adequate means oflivelihood and the State must ensure equal pay for equal work for both
men and women. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provides for the payment of
equalremuneration to men and women workers and for the prevention of discrimination, on the
groundofsex,againstwomeninthematterofemployment.

Dalits:Dalits in legal parlance are called Scheduled Castes (SCs), and are identified as such by the
President of India under Article 341 of the Constitution where they are put under a Schedule.The
Constitution empowers the State to make special provisions in favour of Scheduled Castes on the
questions ofAccess to public places, Admission to educational institutions, Appointment and
promotionsinservicesundertheState.TheScheduledCastesandtheScheduledTribes(Prevention
ofAtrocities)Actwasenactedin1989withtheobjectiveofpreventingthecommissionofoffences
ofatrocitiesagainstthemembersoftheScheduledCastesandtheScheduledTribes,toprovidefor
Special Courts for the trial of such offences and for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of
suchoffences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Act provides for
punishment,amongotheratrocities,for:wrongfullyoccupyingorcultivatinganylandownedby,or
allottedto,ornotifiedbyanycompetentauthoritytobeallottedto,amemberofaScheduledCaste
oraScheduledTribeorgetsthelandallottedtohimtransferred

wrongfully dispossessing a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from his land or
premisesorinterferewiththeenjoymentofhisrightsoveranyland,premisesorwater
corruptingthewaterofanyspring,reservoiroranyothersourceordinarilyusedbymembersof
the Scheduled Castesor Scheduled Tribes so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is
ordinarilyused
denyingamemberofaScheduledCasteoraScheduledTribeanycustomaryrightofpassagetoa
placeof publicresortorobstructs, soastopreventhim from usingorhaving access to aplaceof
publicresorttowhichothermembersofpublicoranysectionthereofhavearighttouseoraccess
to.

Right to Food, Water and Livelihood: Article 21 of the Constitution which guarantees the
FundamentalRighttolifeandpersonallibertystatesthatnopersonshallbedeprivedofhislifeor
personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. The right which is the most
fundamentalofallisalsothemostdifficulttodefine.InFrancisCoralievs.UnionTerritoryofDelhi,
theSupremeCourtheld:thattherighttolifeincludestherighttolivewithhumandignityandall
thatgoesalongwithit,namely,thebarenecessariesoflifesuchasadequatenutrition,clothingand
shelter over the headThis right to live enshrined in Article 21derives its life breath from the
Directive Principled of State Policy.Keeping this view of the Court in perspective, we shall now
examinethe provisions in theConstitutionthatdirectly deal withtheright to food,livelihood and
water.WeshallalsobrieflydiscussotherlawsimpactingtherightsofwomenandDalits,wherever
applicable.

RighttoFood:Ashasalreadybeenmentioned,theSupremeCourthasheldadequatenutritionas
being intrinsic to the Fundamental Right to Life asenshrined in Article 21. The ongoing public
interestlitigationintheSupremeCourt,PUCLvs.UnionofIndia25,popularlyknownastherightto
food case, focuseson the general need to uphold the right to food, which follows from the
143|P a g e

fundamental right to life enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court
through its various interim orders directing the Indian government, for instance to: (1) introduce
middaymealsinallprimaryschools,(2)provide35kilogramsofgrain
per month at highly subsidized prices to 15 million destitute households, and (3) double resource
allocations for SampoornaGrameenRozgarYojana, andtheappointmentofCommissioners or the
purposeofmonitoringtheimplementationofallordersrelatingtotherighttofood,hasrecognized
thefundamentalnatureoftherighttofoodanditsjusticiabilty.Article47oftheConstitution,isa
DirectivePrinciplewhichdirectstheStatetoraisethelevelofnutritionandthestandardoflivingof
itspeopleandtoimprovepublichealth.Itstatesthat:TheStateshallregardtheraisingofthelevel
ofnutritionandthestandardoflivingofitspeopleandtheimprovementofpublichealthasamong
itsprimaryduties

RighttoWater:Therighttowateris indispensablefor leading alifeinhumandignity.Thebare

necessariesoflifedescribedbytheCourtinFrancisCoralievs.UnionTerritoryofDelhithoughdoes
notexplicitlyincludewater,itmustbeconstruedtoincludethisrightaswell.

RighttoLivelihood:TheSupremeCourthas,throughanumberofcasesclearlyheldthattherightto
livelihoodisincludedintherighttolifebecausenopersoncanlivewithoutthemeansofliving,that
is, the means of livelihood. The Constitution itself, through various Directive Principles of State
Policy,recognizesvariousaspectsrelatedtoworkandlivelihood.TheStatehasadutytoensurethe
peopleadequatemeansoflivelihood,fairdistributionofwealthandequalpayforequalworkand
development:employment,educationandpublicassistanceincasesofunemployment,
old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want.Just and humane
conditionsofworkshouldbeensuredtotheworker,work,livingwages,conditionsofworkensuring
adecentstandardoflifeandfullenjoymentofleisureandsocialandculturalopportunities.

144|P a g e

Annex2
Annexi:Managementofthisresearchandtools

Compositionoftheresearchteam
AdvisorygroupDrManimala,DrSabihaHussain,DrNityaRao,DrShahid,DrMukeshManasand
Mr.AshokBharti
Institutions involved NMPS, NACDOR, CWLR, and individuals working inDalit studiescentres and
statelevelDalitintellectualsandpolicyandNPC.
Overallnoteandguidancepointonwomenresourcerights:ShivaniBhardwajofSAFP.
Ms.MamataDashNationalCoordinator
StateCoordinators:MsVandanaMahajanforRajisthan,Ms.MedhaShekarforBihar,MsTaraNegi
forUP,DrSethiRajmohiniSethiforPunjabandMs.RGeetaforTamilnadu.
SupervisionandReporting
Supervisionfocuspoint:MsDeepikaNairofSAFPfortechnicalguidanceandqualitycontrolonthe
researchwithdataanalysisexpertisefromMr.RahulBanerrjeeofDhasGramin.
Ownershipofdata:SAFPownsalldatauntilitissubmittedtoMWCD.

Tools
Questionsfortheexpertgroup:
Atthevillage/ULBlevel:
1. Are gram punchayat and municipal authorities coordinating their actions with other
authoritiestofosterprosperityofDalitwomenincitiesandvillages
2. WhatfactorspreventDalitwomensprosperityincitiesandinthevillage
3. Aretheauthoritiesdefininggenderpriorities?

RoleofInstitutions(traditionalsystems,civilsociety,government)
4. WhatistheroleofcivilsocietyespeciallyDalitwomensandgenderrelatedorganizationsin
definingthecities/villageswomensprioritiesforresourceincreaseandprosperity?
5. Isthereanyorderorprioritygiventothewayinwhicheachofthedimensionsofprosperity
(qualityoflife,productivity,infrastructuredevelopmentandequity)isimplemented?Ifso,
whoorwhatdeterminesthis?Arewomensprioritiesdifferentfrommensorderofpriority?
6. Are there plans to catch up with other dimensions of prosperity that are less advanced?
Whenandhow?

Gendersensitivepolicies,plansandactions
7. Whatistheroleofplanninginarticulatinggendersensitivepolicies,plansandactionsthat
integratedifferentdimensionsofprosperity?
8. HowismonitoringdoneinordertotrackDalitwomensprosperityandensurethatthereis
some level of coordination among the different dimensions of prosperity even if they are
implementeddifferentlyorbydifferentagents?

Arethefollowingdiscriminatorypracticesreportedbythemediaandatthepunchayatorpolice
station
abusivelanguageusedbyothercastetoharmdignityoftheDalits
refusedtoshareinformationwithDalitwomenrepresentatives
preventedthemfromspeaking.
Separateseatingarrangements
pressuretostandupbeforedominantcastemembers
useseparateutensilsforteaorfoodduringmeeting
145|P a g e


CASESTUDYFORMATFORHIGHERINCOMEGROUP
CasestudyquestionsdestinedforthehigherincomegroupDalitwomen(entrepreneurs,professors,
etc.)onecasestudyfromhigh incomein 5 states wouldberecordedtocollateandseesimilarities
anddissimilaritiesinIndia
Theattemptwillbetointerviewthosewomenwhohaveaccessedresourceandwhoarebothalso
relatingwiththeworkingclassDalitwomaninlowereconomicstrataeitherthroughworkorthrough
herfamilylinks.Aminimumoftwocasesstudiesneedtoberecordedineachstateeitherinthecity
thevillage.Thisformatwasrevisedfortheotherincomegroups.
Questionstoaddress:
1. What sort of resource have you accessed, individually or collectively? Is it housing, workspace,
garden space, work contract, Job/ business acumen /increased salalry, professional influence and
responsibility,avehicleormanagingbuiltinfrastructureorland?
Q:Doyouownanyproperty?Didyouinherititorpurchaseitonyourown?Doyoumanage
itordoessomeoneelsedoit?
Q:Areyouemployed,andifyes,doingwhat?Areyouabletosavefromyourincomeafter
providing for your familys needs? Do you have full control over your income? Please
explain.
Q:Ifyouwork,haveyoufacedanyobstaclesreachingwhereyouhavefromcolleagues?Do
youfaceanychallengesonadaytodaybasisbecauseofyourgender?Howwouldyoulike
toseethingsimproveatwork?
Q:Doyouhaveaccesstoacommunityorwomenscenter?Ifyes,whatkindofastructureis
it?Whomanagesitandwhoelsehasaccesstoit?Whatisitsuse?Whatkindsofresources
areavailablewithinit?Ifyouweretohaveaccesstoawomenscenter,whatwouldyoulike
ittobelike?
Q:Doyouhaveownershipstatusoversomeofyourhouseholdcommodities?Whichones?
Areyousolelyresponsibleforthemanagementofthesecommodities?
Q: Do you have access to a vehicle? Who owns it? Who manages it? Can you access it
wheneveryouwant?Doyoushareitwithothers?Whatdoyouusethevehiclefor?
Q:Whichmeansofcommunication?(Phone,internetaccess,postoffice?)Ifyes,howoften
doyouuseit?Whatfor?Whoelseusesit?Whomanagesit?Whopaysforit?
Q:Haveyouevertakenoutaloan?Ifyes,whatfor?Isitasharedloan?Ifyes,withwhom?
What are the payment moDalities (how do you pay it back, and how often, to whom and
withwhatinterest)?
Q: Have you ever had a business plan? Did you concretize it or not? If not, what stood in
yourway?

2. What was the process of accessing this resource? How long did it take? Did it involve a legal
processorwinningofacase,oranyotherformofpatronage,struggleornegotiation?
Askthisquestionforeachresourcelistedinquestion1.
Whowasyourallyandhowwereyousupportedbyothers.
Didtheprocessofacquiringtheresourcerequireanytrainingorlearning

3.Whataretheproblemsencountered?
Resistancefromotherfamilymembers?(natalandmarried)
Resistancefromthecommunity?
Resistancefromdifferentgovernmentlevels?
Resistancefromlocalbusinesses,companies,orothermarketforces?
Have there been problems relating from lacking infrastructure, funding or other logistical
difficulties?
146|P a g e


4. If you work, or are in a position of influence, do you think that you have been a source of
inspirationtootherwomeninyourcommunity?
5.Haveyoueverparticipatedinanactivitytoempowerotherwomen?
a)Atthehouseholdleveldowomenhavemoreincome,moredecisionmakingpower,less
subjecttoviolence,moreindependenceandfeelingofsecurity,etc.
b) At community level more representation, increased mobility, more legitimacy as
workers, any decision making or political role locally? Better or worse relationship with
peers? Has it increased or decreased her, and other womens security within the
community?
c) At state level recognition of women's contributions as legitimate, support policies,
special programmes targeted to women, involvement in decision making, involvement in
advocacyorlobbying,etc.

SURVEYTOOL

August1
2011

SomeDalitwomenhavegoteducatedbutthismaynothaveleadtoan
increaseintheirresourcebaseasgovernmentschemesandpoliciesdo
notincreasetheirentrepreneurialability.Thissurveycollatesdatato
findoutthefacts..

Dalitwomenand
resourcesinrelationto
nonDalitwomen

StudyofDalitWomenandtheirResources
BySathiAllforPartnershipwithNACDORandNMPS

147|P a g e

InterviewSchedule
ForOpenendedquestions(prefixedO)writedownthedetailedanswers.

State:Bihar,Punjab,Rajasthan,TamilNadu,UttarPradesh
District:____________Village/city:_________,Block/Ward_________
QuestionnaireNo.Location:1Village,2City
NameofRespondent:_______________________________________________

A.FamilydetailsoftheRespondent.
A.1Caste:Dalit,GeneralA2.Castename_____________________

A3.FamilyType:Nuclear,Joint.
Maleresponseincludedinthisform?
A.5
A.6 A.7 A.8 A.9
Family A.4
Member Relation Gender Age Educa Asset Functio Yes,No
Notefollowthesamefamilymember
tion
nal
No.
with
(FM)numbertillquestionnumberD.
Disabi

Headof
CodesA4.Relationshipwithheadof
lity
Family
household:1Self,2Wife,3Daughter
Resp.

inLaw,4Daughter,5Sister,6
FM1

Husband,7SoninLaw,8Son,9
FM2

Brother,10FatherinLaw,11Mother
FMh3

inLaw,12Sisterinlaw,13Father,14
FM4

Mother,15Partner
FM5

A.5.Gender:1female,2male
FM6

A.6.Age:1=06yrs,2=713yrs,3=
FM7

1417yrs,4=1825yrs,5=2635yrs,6=
FM8

3645yrs,7=4655yrs,
FM9

8=5664yrs,9=65yrs&above
FM10

A.7.EducationoftheRespondent
(HighestLevelofEducationAttained):1NoformalEducation,2Homeschooled,3Primary,4
Secondary,5HigherSecondary,6Graduate,7PostGraduate,8MPhil/Phd9.Profcourse(Dr,
Engineer,NurseSpecify)10.Others
O1.specify_______________________________________________
A8.Assets1House,2.land3.shop/workshop,4.Livestock,5phone.6,internet,7Articlesthatcanearn
rent8.toolsofwork
A.9.FunctionalDisability:1VisualImpaired2Hearingimpaired3Speechimpaired,4,Mental
retardation,5Mentalillness6Orthopedic7Multiplefactors(O2.
Specify_________________________)8Others(O3.
specify___________________________________________)

B.OccupationandEmployment
Family B.1OccupationMain
B.3
CodesB.12. Occupations Main and
Member
Employmen Supplementary:999Forchildrenbelow
Occupation
Income
No.
tStatus
6yrs, 998 for children 617yrs who are
studying and not working ( if they are
Resp.

workingthentheappropriateoccupation
FM1

codeistobeput),
FM2

1Workonafarmowned,1.1leased1.2
FM3

sharecropped2AgriculturalLabourer,
FM4

3Homemakerwithnoearning,4Home
FM5

148|P a g e

FM6
FM7

basedworkofselfforearning(piecerate
orworkathome)5
Helpingwithworkoffamily,6Tailor,
7Governmentadministrationjob,8
Privateadministrationjob,8.1private
cleanersjob9Weaver,10
Foodrelatedwork(workwithrestaurant,
juicevendor,foodsupplying,
11leatherwork,12Sanitarywork,
13SchoolTeacher,14College
Teacher15Domesticworker,16Petty
Contractor,17Shopkeeper,
18Handcartoperator,19
Govt.transportworker,20Private
transportworker,

B.3.EmploymentStatus:1Permanentwork2EmployedTemporary3Unemployed
B.4Doyouhaveadequateworktofulfilyourresponsibilityandaspiration1Yes,No.
B.5IfNo,whatisyourloss?1LackofDignityandSelfBelief,2Indebtedness,3Lackof
accesstoresources.4Alltheabove,5OthersO5.Specify........................................

O6.Whatarethereasonsforinadequacy________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
C.AccesstoServices
C:ServicesaccessedCodes
Family
C.1Education C.2
C.3
C.1:WhichFacilitymostavailedfor
Member
Health
Transport
Education
.
No.
1PrivateSchool,2PrivateCollege,3No
Resp.

schoolselftought),4Coaching,5Private
FM1

University,6GovernmentSchool,7
FM2

GovernmentCollege,8Government
FM3

University,9BothPrivateandGovernment,
FM4

10Can'taccessbecauseIamDalit,11
FM5

Can'tAccessbecauseIamaWoman.
FM6

C.2WhichFacilitymostavailedforHealth.
FM7

1Quack,2PrivateQualifiedDoctorClinic,
FM8

3PrivateHospital,4GovernmentPrimary
FM9

HealthCentre,5GovernmentCommunity
FM10

HealthCentre,6GovernmentHospital,7
HomeRemedies,8Allthreeprivate,governmentandhomecombined,9NoaccessbecauseIam
Dalit,10NoAccessbecauseIamWoman.
C.3WhichFacilitymostavailedforTransport.
1Car,2PrivateBuses,3GovernmentBuses,4Rail,5Autorickshaws,6Taxies,7OwnTwo
wheelers,8OwnCars,9Allthreeprivate,governmentandowncombined:10Walk,11Ican
notaccessevenbywalkingasIamDalit,12SomeareaIcannotaccessasIamawoman.13none
C.4Whichfacilityareyoumostexcludedfrom:1.Education,2.Health,3.Transport,4
Socialgatherings,5Politicalevents
O.7Whatarethecommunitynetworksandotherintangibleresourcesthatyoucannotaccessand
participateinorareexcludedfrom?______________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
149|P a g e

D.AwarenessaboutResourcesforlivelihoodopportunitiesinIndia
Sl.NOPlan/Resources
1
DoyouknowaboutSpecialcomponentplan(SCP)forDalits?
2
Doyouknowofschemesthatenhancelivelihoodforwomen?
4
DoDalitwomenhavesameaccesstoschemesasnonDalit
women?
5
Haveavailedanybenefitfromanygovernmentorngoscheme
6
7

Doyouknowifthereisapolicyorlawondisplacementand
rehabilitation?
Doyouhaveaccesstoadequatewaterandsanitationfacilities

Yes Somewhat

No

E1Resourcesforbetterlifeandlivelihoodthatyouaspireto
Whatwouldyoulikemosttomakelifebetterforyou?Pleaseranktheminascaleof1to4with1as
themostimportantand4asleastimportant.
1.Resourcestohaveadequateland,housing
andservicesforselfandfamily
Childrencansettlewellinlife

Resource
Ranking
Housefromagovernmentor

Rehabilitationbeforedisplacement
privatescheme
Careforchildren,oldpeopleand
Betterserviceslikewater,

disabled
electricity

Ownershipoflandwhichyouwill

notbeevictedfrom

Worknearhome

5.Resourcesforyouaspartofwomens
2.Resourcesforbetterworkandmore
group
money
Resource
Ranking
Resource
Ranking
Securityagainstviolenceand

Occupationaltraining

violations
Resourcesforbetterworkand

Powertoremovesubstance

moremoney
abusefromtheward
Accesstoinstitutionalcheap

Accesstobuildings,grazingland,
creditandfinances
waterpondsandtransportfor
Healthandchildcarenearwork
workandleisure
3Resourcestoincreaseskillsand
Moretimetoimprove

opportunitiesofanindividual.
relationships
Resource
Ranking
Landorhouseplotinyourname
Accesstoeducationandtraining
forself
ParticipationinLocal,Stateor

NationalGovernance
Timeandmoneytotravelandsee
theworld
4.Resourcesforahappyfamilyandstrong
community

Resource
Ranking
6.Prioritizetheresourcesetfrom15
Socialsecurityfromwork

ResourceSet
Ranking
150|P a g e

Happierfamilyand
Housing,landand
community
services
Moreworkandmoney
Strongerwomensgroup
Moreskilland

opportunityforself
E.2Ratethefollowingonwhodecidestospendtheincomeearnedinthehousehold
SL.No.
You
AllintheFamily
HeadoftheHousehold
1.Capacitybuilding

2.Education
3.Heathcare

4.Foodandhouseholdexpenses

5.Ownershipoverassets

E.3WhatarethelivelihoodoptionsforDalitwomentoday?Rankeachas1mostimportantand9
asleastimportant
LivelihoodOption
Priority
1.Workathome

2Privateagency(temporaryjobs,contracts,pieceratework)

3.Enterprises(smallshopsorworkforenterprenueursoutsidehome)

4.Governmentjobspermenant(asha/anganwadiworkers,sanitaryworkers,

officer)
5.Teaching

6.Traditionalfamilywork

7.WageLabour(plumber,domesticworkeragricultureworker)

8.Farming

9.Other

O8.Ifotherthenspecify______________________________________________________

E.4Fromwhomyoucouldgetresourcesinthelastfewyearsandfromwhomyoucouldnotget
resourcesPleaseranktheminascaleof1to9with1asthemostimportantand9asleast
important.

Couldgetresource
Resourcescouldnotbeaccessed
1. Family

2. FriendsandColleagues

3. Localmoneylender

4. Microfinanceinstitutions

5. ROSCA{Besi}

6. Selfhelpgroups

7. Banks

151|P a g e

8. Government.

9. Others

O9.ifothersources,specify______________________________________________,
O10.ifGovernment,specify_______________________________________________
O11.Howarepeopleablegetresourcesfromgovernmentnarratefacilitativefactors:
O12.Narratenotableinstancesoffailureandlisttheinhibitingfactors:

F.HaveStateschemes,NGOprogrammesofferedyouoryourfamilyopportunities?(ifwomenare
unabletoanswerthenmalesinthefamilyshouldbeinterviewedalsoandinthosecellswhere
menhaveprovidedtheanswerMshouldbeenteredalongwiththecode.
F.1Scheme/Programmeandopportunitiesprovided:
0Noscheme,1Rajiv/IndraAwasYojna,2LandgrantedbyGramPanchayat/useof
governmentbuilding,3JNNURM,4BharatNirman.5ForestRightAct2006,6MNREGA,7
SampoornaGramRojgarYojnaEmploymentexchange,9Widow/oldagepension,10Hostel
stayforSC/ST,11Scholarship/feewaiver,12JananiSurakshaYojna,13unorganisedsector
healthinsurance,14PolicyonLandDistribution15DistrictPlanandGenderSubPlan15Others
O13.IfOthersthenspecify__________________________________________
Numberof
Didthebenefitreach
Sector
NameofScheme Provider
1Yes,2Sometimes,

1Govt. Beneficiaries
3No

2NGO
Male
Female
Education,Hostel

facility,Scholarship
Land,Housing(home

stead)
Land(Agricultural)

Livestock

Vendingspace

Forestaccess
Employment

Pension

Microcredit

IncomeGeneration
Lifeskilltraining

Workskilltraining

F.2Weretheaboveadequatetofulfilyouraspirations?1Yes,2Somewhat,3No
O14.GiveDetails________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
F.3.1Ifvictimofdisplacement,indicatetheloss
intermsof:1livelihood,2housing,3Educationofchildren,4.Basicneeds,5Communitysupport,
6.Alloftheabove

F3.2Wasrehabilitationprovided1yes,2no
F3.3Ifyeswhatwasprovided
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1provisionofalternatehousing,2basicamenities,3land,4livelihood,5combinationofall6
Others
(O15.IfOthersthenSpecify___________________________________________________)
G.Haseducationhelpedinchangingwomensstatus.
G.1Havewomenbeenabletoimprovetheirstatusinlifeaftereducation?

Code:1Yes,2Somewhat,3No
O16.ElaborateHow____________________________________________________________
G.2IsbeingaDalitstillanobstacletobetterment?
1Yes,2Somewhat,3No
O17.ExplainHow__________________________________________________
G.3Havesocioeconomicandpoliticalchangesinthelargercontext/environmentenabledor
disabledtheimprovementinlife?

1Enabled,2SomewhatEnabled,3DidNotEnable,4SomewhatDisabled,5Disabled
H.ReachofGovernmentSchemesandNGOservicestowomen
H.1Governmentschemes:successorfailureforwomeningeneral.1success,2somewhat,
3notreached
H2.Rankthesuccessorfailureofthegovernmentschemesonascaleof15with1beingthemost
successfulormostfailed.
GovernmentScheme
RankingofSuccess RankingofFailure
1.JNURRM(citydevelopment)

2SGSY(skilltraining)

3.FRA(Forestproduceaccess)

4.MGNERGS(wagefor100days)

5.Pension(oldage/widow)

6.JananiSurakshaYojna(moneyforpregnantwomen)

7.SocialSecurityofunorganisedworkers

8.ICDS(aganwadi)

9.Scholorship,hostelsandeducationrelatedschemes

10.UnorganisedWelfareBoard

O18.IfOtherSpecify__________________________________________
O19.ReasonsforSchemeSuccess/Failure
_____________________________________________________________________
H.3GiveyouropinionoftheimpactofNGOservicesifyouhavereceivedthem.
0NGOservicesnotreceived,1Goodasitseasiertoavailthangovernmentschemes/programs,
2Somewhateffective,3Noimpact,4dontknow
O20.Pleaseelaborate_______________________________________________________
H.4SuggestionsforImprovementofDalitWomen'sstatus
Priorityrankinginascaleof15with1asmostimportantpriorityand5astheleastimportant
priority
Suggestion
Rank
4Vendingspacesshouldbeallotted

1.Makingavailableaproductive
spaceschemeforDalitwomens
Suggestion
Rank
collective
5.Easieravailabilityoflivestockwith
2Acomprehensivelawforall
resourcesforsustainingthe
womeninunorganisedsectorand
enterprise
agricultureprovidinghealthcareand
6.TrainingandfundstomakeDalit

skilldevelopment
womenworkersunions
3.Individualhouseplotsinwomens
7.Trainingtowomentoget

name
politicallyactive
8.Morecarespacesandsheltersfor
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MinimumDisplacementandProper
allwomentomanagetogether
Rehabilitation
9.WelfareBoard

10.ParticipatoryPlanningwith

O21.IfOtherthendescribe_________________________________________________________

NameofInterviewer________________Date_____________________________

Researchersaretoaskdistrictandstateofficials,academicsand

leadersthefollowingquestions:
Atthevillage/ULBlevel:
1. Are gram punchayat and municipal authorities
coordinating their actions with other authorities to
fosterprosperityofdalitwomenincitiesandvillages
2. What factors prevent dalit womens prosperity in
citiesandinthevillage
3. Aretheauthoritiesdefininggenderpriorities?
Role of Institutions (traditional systems, civil society,
government)
4. What is the role of civil society especially dalit
womensandgenderrelatedorganizationsindefining
the cities/villages womens priorities for resource
increaseandprosperity?
5. Is there any order or priority given to the way in
whicheachofthedimensionsofprosperity(qualityof
life, productivity, infrastructure development and
equity) is implemented? If so, who or what
determines this? Are womens priorities different
frommensorderofpriority?
6. Arethereplanstocatchupwithotherdimensionsof
prosperitythatarelessadvanced?Whenandhow?
Gendersensitivepolicies,plansandactions
7. What is the role of planning in articulating gender
sensitive policies, plans and actions that integrate
differentdimensionsofprosperity?
8. How is monitoring done in order to track dalit
womens prosperity and ensure that there is some
levelofcoordinationamongthedifferentdimensions
of prosperity even if they are implemented
differentlyorbydifferentagents?

SathiAllForPartnerships

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StudyofDalitWomenandtheirResourcesBySathiAllforPartnershipwithNACDORandNMPS
AnnexiiCasestudysummary
TodevelopaqualitativeanalysisofDalitwomenandtheirresources,ineachstatetwocasestudies
whichbringoutthenuanceddetailsofthegroundrealityofthelivedexperiencesofDalitwomen
weredocumented.ThecasestudiesfromthelivesoftwoDalitwomenonewhohadaccessto
resourcesbutwasunsuccessfulandtheotherwhowassuccessfulhelpedintheoverallanlaysis.
Summaryofthecasesareprovodedbelow.

Case1Punjab:Struggledwithalcoholismofherfather,gotsupportofrelativesandeducated
herselftobecomeaassistantstatisticianandmarriedaprofessor.

Case2Punjab:Thevillagesarpanch,is56yearsoldwidow,roamsinherscootertoinspectthe
village,maritalfamilydidnotsupportherpoliticalactivitiesbutgotsupportfromhernatalfamily,
Shehasbeganwomenenterprisesinhervillage.

Case 3 Rajasthan: Single parent, living in a village of Jodhpur She walked away from a violent
marriage. Trained as an activist with a women rights organization who now organizes a single
womannetworklinkednationally.

Case 4 Rajasthan: A house wife married to a family that has let her have dignity as she has
remained within the partriarchal and caste frameworks. Has managed a big household and now
balancesmultiplefamilysresponsibilitiesthathavegrownasaresultofstayingtogetherasajoint
family.

Case 5 Tamilnadu : Christain Dalit Judge earns and spends her own money with freedom, happy
withfamily,ownsnoassetsgotfeeandreservationinJobandpromotion.

Case6Tamilnadu:BorntoalandlessDalitfamilyin1926andhaduniversityeducationandinvolved
with the Gandhian Sarvodaya Movement, founded LAFTI an NGO and has received many awards
includingthePadmaShri.

Case 7 UP: Living in Barbanki in UP mother of 3, fights her construction laborer husbands
alchoholism.HerlifeimprovedafterbeingpartofwomanSHGwhereshelearnaboutschemesand
beganagoatrearingbusiness.Howeverwhateversheearnsisspentindailyneeds.

Case8UP:MarriededucatedhousewifeinLukhnowwhokepttryingtogetajobasateacherbut
herdomesticcareresponsibilitiesdidnotallowhertoleavehereldersandchildren.Shemanaged
herhomewellasherhusbandwasinagoodjob.

Case9Bihar:Organisedintoagroupshegotmadeenoughmoneytosetupteastallwherewomen
feel empowered as they come here to get information about meetings. The women meet in
commonspaces,theydonothaveinfrastructurefacilityorcellphonesasyet.

Case10Bihar:A69yearoldwidowwhosesonmadeherstandasacounsellorastheseatwas
reservedforwomen.Hediedthereafter.Thiswomannowattendsthegovernancemeetingandhas
notmadeanyimpactexceptgotherselfherwidowpensionthatsilencesherinservitudetohermale
colleagueswhogotherthebenefit.

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StudyofDalitWomenandtheirResourcesBySathiAllforPartnershipwithNACDORandNMPS

SathiAllForPartnerships
E09AnandLokMayurViharPhaseI
NewDelhiIndia
Email:sb@gmail.com,cwlr2007@gmail.com,ph9810536717

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