Land rights struggle 
as means of empowerment 
 
A comparative study of four Dalit communities 
in rural Uttar Pradesh 
 
 
 
 
By Frauke Bergmann 
 
Content

Glossary...................................................................................................................................................... IV
Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................................... IV
Persons interviewed and interpreters............................................................................................. V

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Purpose of Study .........................................................................................................................1
1.2 Structure of the report .............................................................................................................2
1.3 State of the art .............................................................................................................................3

2. The Caste System ............................................................................................................................ 5

2.1 Introduction to the Caste System.........................................................................................5
2.2 Organisation of the Caste System ........................................................................................7
2.3 Caste and Indian law ............................................................................................................. 11

3. Land politics .................................................................................................................................... 15

3.1 Laws and strategies of the Indian land reforms ......................................................... 19
3.1.1 Abolition of Zamindaris and Intermediaries ............................................................ 19
3.1.2 Ceiling on landholdings ................................................................................................. 20
3.1.3 Tenancy reforms ............................................................................................................... 21
3.2 Size and quality of holdings ................................................................................................ 22
3.3 Women and land rights......................................................................................................... 24
3.4 Problems related to landlessness ....................................................................................... 26
3.5 Land rights struggle ............................................................................................................... 28

4. The concept of Empowerment ............................................................................................ 29

5. Research area and Organisations..................................................................................... 30

5.1 Varanasi ...................................................................................................................................... 30
5.2 The People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) ........................ 32
5.3 “Jan Mitra Gaon” the People Friendly Village ........................................................... 33

6. Interview analysis ........................................................................................................................ 35

6.1 Introduction to the studied communities ....................................................................... 39
6.1.1 The Nat................................................................................................................................ 39
6.1.2 The Musahar ...................................................................................................................... 40
6.2 The studied villages ................................................................................................................ 40
6.2.1 Kuwar .................................................................................................................................. 41
6.2.2 Belwa ................................................................................................................................... 43
6.2.3 Shivrampur......................................................................................................................... 45
6.2.4 Ayer Musahar Ghetto...................................................................................................... 46

II
 6.3 Content Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 47
6.3.1 The importance of land................................................................................................... 47
6.3.2 Strategies used in the land rights struggle................................................................. 49
6.3.3 Problems faced while struggling ................................................................................. 57
6.3.4 Material changes .............................................................................................................. 63
6.3.5 Non-material changes ..................................................................................................... 66

7. Voice ...................................................................................................................................................... 73

8. Conclusion: Is land rights struggle a means of empowerment? ................. 76

9. List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 80

10. Bibliography .................................................................................................................................... 81

III
Glossary

Abbreviations

AAY Antyodaya Anna Yojana (red ration card for people below poverty line)
AHRC Asian Human Rights Commission
ALRC Asian Legal Resources Centre
ANM Auxiliary Nursing Mother (medical care worker in the Anganwadi Centres)
BJP Bharatiya Janata Party (Conservative Hindu Party, Hindutva)
BPL Below poverty line
DM District Magistrate
GO Government Order
GS Gram Sabha
IAY Indira Awas Yojana (government housing scheme)
ICDS Integrated Child Development Service
NCAS National Centre for Advocacy Studies
NGO Non-governmental Organisation
OBC Other Backward Classes
PDS Public Distribution System (for food grains)
PoA Prevention of Atrocities
PPC Pre Primary Centre
PVCHR People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights
RTI Right to Information
SC Scheduled Caste
ST Scheduled Tribe

IV
Persons interviewed and interpreters

Name Age Sex Village Position

PVCHR Activist
Anup n.a. male n.a.
(interpreter)
PVCHR Activist
Anupam n.a. female n.a.
(interpreter)
Dal Singar 37 male Kuwar villager Nat
Damaru 25 male Shivrampur villager Nat
Kismati 32 female Belwa villager Musahar
PVCHR Activist
Lenin n.a. male n.a.
(interpreter)
Madhuri 30 female Belwa villager Musahar
Manara 65 female Kuwar villager Nat

grass root activist Kuwar

Mangla n.a. male n.a.
and Belwa (interpreter)

Mithai 55 male Ayer villager Musahar

Pappu 30 male Ayer villager Musahar
Ram
65 male Belwa villager Patel
Khelavan
Samaru 72 male Ayer vilager Musahar
PVCHR Activist
Shabana n.a. female n.a.
(interpreter)
Shanta Ram 35 male Shivrampur villager Chamar
PVCHR Activist
Shruti n.a. female n.a.
(interpreter)
Somaru 60 male Ayer villager Musahar
Subhash 42 male Ayer villager Chamar
PVCHR Activist
Upendra n.a. male n.a.
(interpreter)

V
1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose of Study

The data collection for this report 1 was conducted from April 10th 2009 to August 28th 2009
while working with the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), an
Indian human rights organisation based in Varanasi in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The
predominating topic of interest was the living situation of the Dalit people with a special
focus on the issues of land rights. Based on this the following questions emerged: Are there
any effects of the land rights struggle and if there are, how do they affect the community or
the whole village in terms of social structure, socio-economic or political issues? Is there any
effect for the empowerment of the Dalit communities and how does this change the life in
the village? What are the aims and strategies of the various actors involved in the field of
land rights struggle or land distribution? How does PVCHR work to support the claims of
the Dalit and assist in their struggle? Who are the promoting actors and what are the
obstacles? Out of these related questions the interrelations between land rights struggle and
empowerment emerged as the primary points of interest which are examined in this study.
The interrelations between land rights struggle and empowerment are analysed and the ways
they influence each other are evaluated. It is tried to answer the question if land rights
struggles are a means of empowerment and if they are, in which ways do these struggles
influence the empowerment process. Further it is evaluated what these interlinkages between
land rights struggle and empowerment imply for the various actors involved in these
processes from the villagers to the governmental administration.

To inquire into the interrelations of land rights struggle and empowerment four villages
(Belwa, Shivrampur, Kuwar and the Ayer Musahar Ghetto) in the surrounding area of
Varanasi were selected to do a case study. For that reason interviews were conducted with
people living in these four settlements and with human rights professionals from PVCHR.
Further sources of data were also used to investigate into the field of land rights and
empowerment. These include own observations while visiting the villages and taking part in
daily activities and rallies or community meetings, publications and data collections of
PVCHR, and the internet. The latter, with its tools of blogs, newsletters and video platforms,
is used by PVCHR and other activists of the land rights struggle as a medium to distribute

1
This report was submitted in February 2010 as final thesis paper in Human Geography at Georg-August-
University of Göttingen.

1
information about their work and the situation and programmes in their partner villages and
communities.

1.2 Structure of the report

In this report the influences land rights struggle may have in regards to the empowerment of
Dalit communities is evaluated by analysing four case studies. In the beginning, the main
factors determining the empowerment of the marginalised and the land rights struggle are
explained to allow a better understanding of the circumstances underlying social
organisation. These are the Indian caste system and land as an asset and as a legal entity.
Therefore the caste system as the predominating system of social organisation is described to
allow a better understanding of the social context of Indian society and the discriminating
practices incorporated in this system. Further, the efforts the Indian government took to cope
with this system are shown and the problems faced in dealing with the caste system are
highlighted.

In chapter 3 an introduction to the complex field of land and land rights is given. The
manifold meanings of land and access to land, especially in rural areas are depicted. The
aims of Indian land reform measures are explained as well as the measures the government
took to pursue the land reform process. These laws, which include abolition of Zamindaris,
ceilings on landholdings and tenancy reform, are explained and their intent is shown as well
as their poor implementation and problems. Further, the gender based aspects of access to
land are shown in regards to women and land rights. In addition, the problems faced by
landless persons are described and a first introduction into the problems faced in the process
of land rights struggle is given. In addition a brief introduction into the concept of
empowerment as understood in this report is given in chapter 4.

Afterwards, in chapter 5 the working area is described. Here, the local context of the city of
Varanasi is introduced as well as PVCHR, the organisation which offered the research
opportunity. Further, the working approach of PVCHR, especially the concept of “Jan Mitra
Gaon”, the “people friendly village” is explained to allow a better understanding of the
situation in the studied villages.

Analysis of interviews is conducted in chapter 6, beginning with an explanation of the

methodology used and highlighting the problems faced while collecting the data.
Subsequently the communities of the Nat and Musahar and the socio-economic context of

2
each of these studied villages are described. This introduction to the studied communities is
followed by the analysis of the interviews conducted. This analysis is following five main
topics. These were: the importance of land and hopes connected to land rights, strategies
used in the land rights struggle, problems faced by communities while they were struggling
and material and non-material changes which have taken place in these communities since
they started to fight for their rights. In addition the ability to speak and to raise ones voice is
analysed regarding its influences on empowerment and its visibility in the interviews. In
conclusion, the main arguments of land rights struggle as means of empowerment are
collected to sum up the outcome of the study. Here, the interrelations between land rights
struggle and empowerment, as extracted out of the interviews, are correlated and a final
assessment on the question if land rights struggle can be called a means of empowerment is
given.

1.3 State of the art

There are various studies available about the caste system in India and its implications.
These may be overview studies or very specific studies based in every academic subject
imaginable from social science and religious studies to economy based ones. One standard
reference for an analyse of the Indian caste system is Louis M. Dumont’s study “Homo
Hierarchicus” (1966) which gives a sociological introduction into the caste system based on
the idea of hierarchy. Nicholas B. Dirks (2001) holds the opinion that the Indian caste
system does not reflect a kind of core culture or tradition; instead he states that it is a product
of the encounter with British colonialism. Ambedkar and Gandhi, in the first decades of the
20th century, argue against the caste system from a more religious point of view but draw
contradictory conclusions. Gandhi criticises the practise of “untouchability” but defends
Hinduism while Ambedkar holds the point of view that the caste system is an essential
component of Hinduism and to annihilate the caste system Hinduism as a religion has to be
annihilated as well. Girish Agrawal and Colin Gonsalves (2005) argue against the caste
system from the perspective of a human rights lawyer and trace its legal origins and
implications from the law of Manu to the Indian Constitution.

Similarly, when it comes to land rights, there are also numerous publications available,
ranging from generalised overviews of the land right situation in India to much more
specialised studies. These specialised studies are either focused on a certain region or a
certain group of population, may it be a caste, an Adivasi group or any other possible

3
distinguishable group. Further the land rights studies available may have various other foci.
Some focus more on land rights in relations to caste, others on land rights in relations to
women or gender (Rao 2008), and others are more focused on land rights as agricultural
assets (Hanstad et al. 2004) or focus on evictions of people due to economic development
(DasGupta 2006/ Mathur (ed.) 2008). The vast amount and the highly specialised foci make
it very difficult to draw conclusions or to do comparisons between the different contexts of
study conduction. It is hardly possible to compare the study of Nitya Rao (2008) who studied
the politics of land and gender in India in relations to a patriarchal Adivasi community in
Jharkhand or the study of Modhurima DasGupta (2006) about the struggle of Adivasi
communities against the Narmada dam project and the resulting evictions with the specific
problems other population groups in other settings have to face. In contrast to these
specialised studies that focus on circumscribed issues, the generalised studies try to provide
an overview about the situation in India as a whole. These are mostly focused on the
administrative provisions, the laws and acts regarding land or caste. Specific problems
cannot be taken into consideration, due to their highly specialised nature.

This report is not aimed at bringing together overviews and specific studies; neither shall a
comparison with other regional studies be conducted. This report shall present a narrowed
regional and social approach to the specific problems these specific Nat and Musahar
communities have to face. The region of Varanasi was selected by coincidence, the
communities of the Nat and Musahar were selected on the one hand due to the focus of
PVCHR, the Organisation offering the research opportunity and on the other hand due to the
fact, that the communities on the bottom of the Dalit society have been even more neglected
than other marginalised Indian communities.

4
2. The Caste System

In the following section the Indian caste system is described and its implications for the
people living under its restrictions are depicted to allow a better understanding of the societal
context in which the studied communities live. Besides a description of the caste system and
its mechanisms the various ways of legal dealing with the caste system are explained as well
as attempts to overcome this system with the tools of democratic administration.

2.1 Introduction to the Caste System

The effect of caste on the ethics of the Hindus is simply deplorable. Caste has killed public
spirit. Caste has destroyed the sense of public charity. Caste has made public opinion
impossible. A Hindu's public is his caste. His responsibility is only to his caste. His loyalty is
restricted only to his caste. Virtue has become caste-ridden and morality has become, caste-
bound. There is no sympathy to the deserving. There is no appreciation of the meritorious.
There is no charity to the needy. Suffering as such calls for no response. There is charity but it
begins with the caste and ends with the caste. –B. R. Ambedkar. Annihilation of Caste 1937-

The Indian caste system is one of the most controversially discussed systems of social
organisation in the world. Various scholars have tried to explain the function and genesis of
the Indian caste system, and its critics are as old as Buddhism which was developed around
400 BCE. There are various views on caste. Some scholars believe it to be primary a
religious system and they focus on its spiritual foundations in the Vedic scriptures. Other
scholars believe the caste system to be a social or economic system, but even here the views
vary considerably. Caste system is sometimes viewed as an extreme development of the
(natural evolvement of the) division of labour, or conversely as a hierarchical system based
on the tyranny of the Brahmins, who are upper caste religious leaders (Dirks 2001: 5).

Other difficulties in defining caste are based on the fact that the recognition of a certain caste
as a distinguishable caste involves subjective identification as well as comparison with data
that varies from group to group and from time to time. Castes are not always uniform and
consistent in their meanings. Self-identification as belonging to a certain caste varies
according to the purpose the tag ‘caste’ is used for (Shah 2008b: 5). In that case, caste has
some similarities to the concept of segmentary opposition introduced by Edward E. Evens
Pritchard. Further, Ghanshyam Shah identifies at least three different meanings of caste, one
in the context of matrimonial and kinship relations, a second meaning for economic
interactions and a third one for the use in political purposes. The institution of caste can be

5
found all over India, but it has not evolved uniformly. The prevailing caste rules vary from
caste to caste as well as regionally. The system is most rigid in Uttar Pradesh and its eastern
neighbour state Bihar (Shah 2008b: 6). Shah summarises the discussions around the complex
of caste as follows:
“There is no precise definition of caste. And there is no single definite theoretical
perspective on the caste system in India. Those who look from above, from the
vantage point of the Brahmins, view caste–based social order differently from
those who look from below, from the vantage point of the Dalits. Differing
perspectives not only influence different understandings of the system, but also
the prescriptions and strategies for maintaining or changing it“(Shah 2008b: 35).
It is very important to keep in mind that every scholar who studies the caste system has a
certain point of view which influences the outcome of the study and its interpretations.
Because of this problem, in the following paragraph the viewpoints used in this report are
revealed as well as the reasons underlying this decision.

Louis Dumont, whose study (first published as “Homo Hierarchicus” in 1966) about the
hierarchy of the caste system became controversially discussed in the following decades,
criticised most scholars in the past, may it be missionaries, colonial officers or social
scientists like social anthropologists, for explaining the caste system as an aberration instead
of trying to understand it as an institution (Dumont 1976: 17). As much as I would like to
criticise Dumont’s restricted focus on the hierarchy of the caste system, I will follow this
approach of not trying to explain it with a focus on the development and the religious, social
or economic foundations of the caste system. Instead I will try to concentrate on the
implications of the caste system, as it exists nowadays, for the people living under its
restrictions, by using the view from below, the perspective of the marginalised. I will
describe the organisation of the caste system, without speculating about its origins or the
interlinkages of various ideas of origin. I feel that, from the perspective of the marginalised,
it is much less important whether their marginalisation is founded on religious, social or
economic explanations, than it is to find a way out of this system. Further I believe that,
because of the geographic variations in the caste system and its historic depth and the
various actors involved, it is not possible to identify its origins. The caste system is deeply
rooted in Indian society and inextricably interwoven with images of religion, and socio-
economic organisation, with what is often called “tradition”. The question should not be how
it evolved, it should be how it is still legitimised and how it can be overcome 60 years after
its official outlawing in the Constitution of 1949.

6
According to Nicolas B. Dirks it is firstly very important to understand that some historic
expectations concerning the caste system have proven wrong. As he has shown, today’s
caste system is not a relict of India’s past, but a product of the historic encounter between
India and the western colonial rule. He believes that the notion of hierarchy in Dumont’s
sense was introduced to the caste system through the “colonial modern” and became a
systematic value under this influence. He states that “under colonialism, caste was thus made
out to be far more – far more pervasive, far more totalizing and far more uniform – than it
had ever been before” (Dirks 2001: 13). The views of the colonial power on the caste system
have, according to him, shaped today’s caste system to a considerable effect.

The second important point he states is that the assumption that the caste system would
decline and at last vanish with modernity has proven wrong. Caste did not die; caste
survived and overcame all efforts of “modernity” and “globalisation” to change its hold in
society (Dirks 2001: 16). Adding to these observations by Dirks, Agarwal and Gonsalves
believe that it is necessary to understand that “[u]ntouchability is a problem of institutional
structures, not of individual actors, and that it is an institution too entrenched to die quietly”
(Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 1). Therefore, while advocating a human rights approach, it
should be necessary to develop strategies to overcome the caste system because it will not
disappear on its own.

2.2 Organisation of the Caste System

Indian society is a stratified or compartmentalised society not based on class but on descent
and occupation and it has been like this for many thousands of years. According to Shah all
Indians, including non-Hindus, acquire caste (jati) at birth as an identity determining social
interactions. But the meaning of caste is not the same among Hindus and non-Hindus. For
non-Hindus, Shah states that, caste does not have a religious sanction; it is merely a social
structure of which they are a part. But for the Hindu, he believes, caste does mean much
more. It is believed that one’s caste is a reward or punishment for one’s karma and
achievements in previous lives (Shah 2008: 5).

Hindu society recognises four classes or varnas (colours) which are the Brahmins, the priest
and scholar class, the Kshathriyas, the rulers and warriors, the Vaishyas who are merchants
and farmers and the Sudras who are the servant class (Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 360pp.).
Each varna is constituted by numerous jatis or castes. Although members of the upper castes,
such as Brahmins, are a minority group compared to the lower caste groups which include

7
many more people, they have historically enjoyed positions of power and privilege. The
association of the Brahmins and other upper castes with the ruling elite has been used to
exploit the lower castes (Francis 2008). One of the most influential texts about the varna
system until today is the Manusmriti, the law of Manu, which is regarded as the foundational
work of Hindu law and ancient Indian society, and was written between 200 BCE and 200
CE. It is said to be a record of the words of Brahma the god of creation and gives detailed
advice, including rules and laws for the interactions between different varnas. According to
Manusmriti the lower castes, backward people and women are not entitled to receive any
education. Further, the Manusmriti states that the varna system is derived out of the body of
the primordial man Purusha. The Brahmins are his mouth, the Kshathriyas are his two arms,
his thighs are the Vaishyas and the Sudras are his feet (cf. Manusmriti). This doctrine, that
the different classes were created from different parts of the divine body has, according to
Ambedkar, led to the belief that it also must be divine will that they should remain separated
and distinguishable. This belief has formed a spiritual, legal and moral based order where
there is no sphere in life which is not regulated by this principle of “graded inequality”
(Ambedkar 2008: 84).

There is a distinct fifth group which is not part of the varna system and this one is
constituted by those who engage in unclean work like sweepers, scavengers, cobblers,
cremation workers, hide and leather workers, agricultural labourers, toddy tappers and the
like. This fifth group are “outcastes”, they are standing outside of the caste order of the four
varnas and they are regarded as “untouchable” by members of the varna castes (Agarwal/
Gonsalves 2005: 15). This group of outcastes has been called various names through history.
Official terms were “untouchables” or “depressed people”; nowadays the official
administrative reference is “Scheduled Castes”. Gandhi, who tried in his way to change the
situation of these marginalised groups, called them “Harijans” which means “people of
God”. Their actual self-designation “Dalit” is derived from the writings of B: R. Ambedkar
and means “oppressed people” or “broken people” (Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 14).

Dalits are at the bottom of the Indian social structure and they suffer constant discrimination
and violence on the basis of descent. These acts of discrimination because of decent and
work are referred to as caste based discrimination; because each caste is restricted to a
certain kind of work. In this system the most demeaning, menial, degrading and “polluting”
works are done by the Dalit. These “polluting” works often include the disposal of human
excreta, bodies of dead animals and human corpses. The feudal and hierarchical organisation

8
of the caste system prevents Dalit from leaving their prescribed works and they are left in
complete dependency on the upper castes who are the owners of land and in control of
businesses (AHRC 2004: 9pp.) In the mind of the upper castes, Dalits are polluted by their
work and also pollute others in cases of contact. That is why contact with Dalits must be
avoided at any cost. In case of “polluting contact towards an upper caste person” the Dalit is
punished severely. Untouchability conveys a sense of impunity and defilement as well as it
implies certain socio-religious disabilities. It includes customs that prevent the polluting
character of the Dalit from affecting upper caste persons. Therefore Dalits are debarred from
entering Hindu temples, certain streets, public places, eating places, wells, educational
institutions, gatherings and the like. Further it includes the segregation of Dalit communities
within the village, the denial of land rights, low wages in menial work, denial of access to
services and infrastructure like washermen, health care and education (Agarwal/ Gonsalves
2005: 362). Nowadays the notions of purity and pollution seem to loose their importance. As
Shah observes, people continue to maintain their caste identity and prefer to have castes with
lower social status below them. He believes that the notions of hierarchy remain, but the
belief in purity and pollution is not longer necessary to legitimise this stratification. He
believes that nowadays social status and ritual or religion based exclusions are becoming
separate issues (Shah 2008b: 10). Segregation of individual castes or of a group of castes can
be seen as one of the most obvious marks of civil privileges and disabilities and can be
found, in more or less defined forms, all over India. But in all cases it is always the impure
castes that are segregated and forced to live in the outskirts of the village (Ghurye 2008: 46).
Caste based discrimination or violence often operates hidden from the public view and is
rarely addressed by the courts or the administration.

Dalit women often suffer an additional layer of discrimination and violence on the basis of
gender. They are often exploited by both upper caste persons and also by Dalit males.
Further, Dalit women are even more poorly educated than Dalit men. This excerpt from the
report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences,
Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy gives a good example of the various forms of discrimination,
exploitation and sexual abuse Dalit women have to face.
“Lower-caste women often suffer double and triple discrimination because of
their caste, class and gender. They face targeted violence, even rape and death,
from State actors and powerful members of dominant castes, used to inflict
political lessons and crush dissent within the community; or the women are used
as pawns to capture their men folk. These women are gang raped, forced into
prostitution, stripped, paraded around naked, made to eat excrement or even
murdered for no crime of theirs. The hypocrisy of the caste system is revealed

9
 during these crimes, as “untouchability” does not operate then. The women face
also discrimination through the payment of unequal wages, or work in slave-like
conditions in bonded labour. They also face sexual discrimination in the
workplace. Young girls are married off at an early age mainly as protection
against sexual assault from upper-caste men” (Coomaraswamy in Agarwal/
Gonsalves 2005: 377).
Dalit, and especially Dalit women, often do not report incidents of sexual abuse,
exploitation, violence or discrimination, because they would have to face entrenched biases
in every step of the reporting process (Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 367). Even if they try to
report atrocities, they are often denied access to the facilities of the legal system, they are
sometimes counter charged or they even have to face further abuse by the local authorities as
well as the police.

There is also a strong relationship between caste and land ownership. Various village studies
since India’s independence from the British in 1947 have shown that there is an overlap
between the twin hierarchies of caste and landownership. According to M. N. Srinivas, who
conducted village studies in the 1960’s, it can be observed that the village community
consisted of hierarchical groups. Each of these groups had its own rights, duties and
privileges which were denied to the lower castes. The lower castes were the tenants,
servants, landless labourers, debtors and clients of the higher castes (Srinivas in Shah 2008b:
12). But in this case it is not the caste status which is used to legitimise the power; it is the
ownership of land which determines the power relations in the villages. Of course higher
caste status and land ownership go hand in hand, but according to Shah it is not necessary
that the highest castes are also the biggest landowners. While it can be observed that (big)
landowners are “generally of higher castes in Indian villages, it is their position as
landowners, rather than caste membership per se, which gives them status. […] Brahmins
have not been the dominant landholding class everywhere in the country.” (Shah 2008b:
18.).

It is estimated that Dalits constitute about 19% of India’s population. Other underprivileged
segments of the Indian society are administratively grouped as Scheduled Tribes and Other
Backward Classes. ‘Other Backward Classes’ formed mostly of Sudra or Muslim
communities, includes both economically poor communities and those lacking educational
opportunities. The Mandal commission 2 in 1979 identified about 52 % of the total
population as socially and educationally backward and grouped them as Other Backward

2
The Mandal commission was formed by the Indian government in 1979 to identify the socially and
educationally backward groups in society to generate reservations and development programmes for these
groups.

10
Classes (Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 360). Adding all three groups together it means that
more than 70% of the Indian population are facing discrimination due to their position in the
caste system. According to the Mandal Commission
“[t]he real triumph of the caste system lies not in upholding the supremacy of the
Brahmin. But in conditioning the consciousness of the lower castes in accepting
their inferior status in the ritual hierarchy as part of the natural order of things”
(Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 361).
The efforts to change the existing caste system have to come mainly from the group of the
marginalised because the benefactors of this system are most unlikely the ones working for
its change. The fact that Dalits have started to struggle for their rights as human beings and
citizens of India shows that they are not stuck in the belief that the caste system is the natural
order of things which cannot be changed in this life. The theory of karma on which parts of
the caste system are based, teaches the acceptance of ones living situation as resulting from
deeds or benefits from a previous birth. With this belief it is not possible to change the actual
situation in the ongoing live, one just has to accept. But the struggle of the Dalits shows that
they are no longer giving legitimation to this belief which would force them to continue
living their oppressed lives (Shah 2008b: 8). This may be part of a conscious decision to
destroy one of the various roots of the caste system; on the other hand the struggle may arise
out of the mere necessity to survive.

2.3 Caste and Indian law

The Indian Constitution given on November 26th 1949 abolishes the caste system and
outlaws the practise of untouchability as well as all forms of caste based discrimination.
Prohibitions and reservation programmes were remitted but according to Shah the
discussions about the abolition of the caste system have stayed mostly theoretical and there
were very few discussions about alternatives and other ways to eliminate the power of caste
(Shah 2008: 4). Further it took the Indian government a long time to make sure that the
regulations of the Constitution were implemented into actual practice. Even nowadays the
implementation of these provisions is not ensured and especially in the rural areas there is no
rule of law. But on the other hand, even if the implementation is still lacking, at least the
government has recognised the existence of the problem and it has tried to take actions. In
the last 20 years various amendments and new acts have been passed to improve ways of
dealing with the problems of caste based discrimination. On paper, the Indian Constitution is

11
very progressive, but the implantation of the law at the local level is lacking due to various
reasons about which I will not speculate here.

The Constitution of India in its Bill of Rights guarantees basic civil and political rights and
fundamental freedom to all citizens and has made further special provisions that are directed
at the practice of caste discrimination. Article 15 prohibits subjection to a disadvantage
based on caste with respect to access to public facilities like shops or to the use of wells,
roads and public places maintained by the state. Article 16 prohibits discrimination on the
ground of caste or descent in respect of employment under the state. Article 17 abolishes
untouchability and forbids its practice in any form. Article 23 bans forced labour while
Article 29 (2) prohibits denial of admission to any educational institution on the ground of
caste. The Constitution does not stop with these prohibitions; it has also imposed positive
duties on the state to redress imbalances due to past injustices against untouchables. In
Article 15 (4) the state is permitted to make special provisions for the advancement of any
socially and educationally backward class of citizens, including Scheduled Castes and
Article 16 (4) permits the state to reserve appointments for members of backward classes not
adequately represented in the state services. Further provisions are made in Article 325
which prohibits disenfranchisement on the ground of caste and in Articles 330 and 333,
which provide for the reservation of seats for members of Scheduled Castes in union and
state legislatures according to their population in each constituency (The Constitution of
India (Ninety-fourth Amendment) Act, 2006/ Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 360pp.).

Besides the Constitution there are several laws which deal with the problem of caste
discrimination. The Protection of Civil Rights (Anti-Untouchability) Act, passed in 1955
was strengthened by an amendment in 1973. This Act punishes offences that amount to the
observance of untouchability like prohibiting entry to temples or insulting someone on the
basis of his caste (Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 364pp.).

The Bonded labour (Abolition) Act, passed in 1976 aims at the release of labourers who
work in slave-like conditions. These bonded labourers are usually Dalits or Scheduled Tribes
who work in order to pay off a debt due to a high caste employer: This act tries to cancel any
outstanding debts and prohibits the creation of new bondage agreements, so the workers can
be freed (Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 364pp.)

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities [PoA]) Act was
passed in 1989. This Act was created because it became clear that the existing laws have not
prevented caste based discrimination and violence against Dalits by upper castes and even

12
the state apparatus. In this Act there are eighteen atrocities listed which include violence
against women, dispossessing a Dalit of his land, mischief by fire and destruction of
property. Further it includes guidelines for strengthening the Penal Code in case of atrocities
against Dalit. Special courts were established to provide speedy trials and special prosecutors
were hired to conduct cases (Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 364pp.).

In 1995 and 1999 the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Rules were enacted to strengthen the Act and to provide regulations for the payment of
compensation to victims and to improve the investigation process (Agarwal/ Gonsalves
2005: 364pp.). But even the implementation of these rules is lacking on the grass root level.
Dalits often do not have knowledge about these Acts and their constitutional rights and in
addition to that if they try to address a court they face a lot of problems related to caste based
discrimination which can still arise due to the failed implementation of the constitutional
requirements.

Some authors like Agarwal and Gonsalves criticise, that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act can only be used when people of other castes commit
crimes against Dalit or Scheduled Tribe people, it can not be used to punish and investigate
conflicts within the Dalit communities. But it gives some special provisions regarding the
right to land ownership and access to land by Dalits. There are two specific paragraphs
dealing with the common phenomena of grabbing and occupying the land of a Dalit. §3(1)
(iv) states that “whoever, wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, allotted to or
notified to be allotted to a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the
land allotted to him transferred”, shall be punished a fine and imprisonment for a not less
than six months and up to five years (SC/ ST (PoA) Act in Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 145).

Further § 3(1) (v) deals with those people who wrongfully dispossess a member of a
Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from his land or premises or interfere within his
enjoyment of his rights over his land or his water premises. These persons can also be
imprisoned for a period between 6 month and 5 years and they will have to pay a fine (SC/
ST (PoA) Act in Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 145).

Because of the failure of the Indian government to make sure that all provisions are
implemented on the local level, some people believe that international pressure should be
given to deal with the problems related to the caste system. The provisions of the
Constitution and these other laws aimed at abolishing the caste system and the practice of
untouchability may be criticised for their failure as well as for the fixation of caste. On the

13
one hand, caste as a system shall be abolished and all people shall be treated equal, on the
other hand, caste is used as a yardstick for receiving benefits in social welfare programmes,
which makes, as Bijo Francis from the Asian Human Rights Commission states, “a
mockery” out of the aims to abolish the caste system and caste consciousness (Francis 2008).
Of course it is necessary to establish social welfare programmes for the marginalised, but is
it necessary to define the eligibility to these programmes in terms of caste? Is it not futile
trying to stop the identification of people as belonging to a certain caste combined with a
special treatment when even the government issues papers certifying the caste of person? For
this and various other reasons the Interim Observation and Recommendations of the Jury of
the National Public Hearing on Dalit Human Rights Violations conducted in Chennai in
April 2000 states that:
“We must say that the National Human Rights Commission as well as the UN
General Assembly should recognize that caste, as an institution itself, is a source
of gross violation of human rights. Therefore it must be treated on a par with the
existence and operation of racism and apartheid. The caste system and the
equally obnoxious practice of untouchability must be taken seriously by the
Indian and international communities and administrative bodies” (Agarwal/
Gonsalves 2005: 359).

14
3. Land politics

In 2009 Indian society is still predominantly based on agriculture, even if the image
presented in the global politics is much more dominated by a growing economy in the
industrial and IT sector. Some regions, mainly in the highly urbanised metropolitan regions
of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bangalore are growing and new economic centres
like Pune are emerging. These areas are the ones which shape the image of modern India
abroad. But the major share of the Indian population is living in the rural areas and their
livelihood is predominantly based on agriculture.

Therefore land is the prominent asset in rural India. One can state that land is the centre of
rural life in India, as well as in every other agricultural based society. The access to land by
means of ownership or the right to use is central for defining a livelihood and to produce the
necessary means for survival (Jeyaranjan/ Swaminathan 2003: 7).

Land has an inherent value and through land value can be created, land can provide physical,
financial and nutritional security to a household and it can supply a labourer with a source of
income. Further, land can be the basis for identity and status within a family or within the
community and it can also be the foundation stone for political power (Hanstad et al.2004:
5). In contrast, landlessness erodes the social status and makes people economically
vulnerable and mentally restless for not having any sense of security in life (NCAS 2002:
12). To point it out more clearly, land ownership or landlessness determines the location of
people in the socio-political realm of the village (Jeyaranjan/ Swaminathan 2003: 7).

Because of these multiple functions which land can have in rural live, one may ask the
question if it is possible to understand land just as an individual productive asset or if it
should be necessary to view land as a socially embedded resource which is also tied to the
notions of dignity, status and power besides the notion of wealth (Rao 2008: 6). Therefore a
study just based on the economic component of the land rights issue seems not to be able to
provide a picture of the deep rooted and various meanings of land rights for the individual.

As shown, land is very important for all strata of rural society, but its availability is less than
the demand in most areas of rural India. Most land is owned either by the government or by
wealthy upper caste persons, who may be called landlords. Landownership and local power
are very much interlinked and in most cases feudal structures founded on caste based
discrimination still exist. The rural poor who are mostly belonging to the Scheduled Castes,

15
Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes are marginalised because of their poverty and
of their social status as Dalit and Adivasi. The Dalit and Adivasi people are deprived of both,
basic human rights and the rights the Constitution grants to every citizen of India. The
implementation of the rule of law in the rural areas is lacking or nearly non existent. The
power is often concentrated in the hands of the wealthy upper caste landlords, who are in
charge of the village politics and often do not care about the situation of marginalised people
living within their areas of influence. Dalits are often forced to work as agricultural labourers
on land owned by the landlords or in his stone quarries or brick kilns. In the worst case they
are indentured labourers working in a kind of bonded labour. From their little earnings, paid
in cash or in kind, it is hardly possible to survive. But because the most are uneducated and
have no power or resources to fight back it is hardly possible for them to change their
miserable living situation. In this situation, when there is little scope for profitable
engagement in other spheres of productive activity, access to land gains more and more
importance to secure a livelihood (Jeyaranjan/ Swaminathan 2003: 7).

The complex relationships between those who own and those who work the land mean that
the struggles over land are not just about material change or a redistribution of a resource,
even if this economic component often appears as one main cause in the western views on
land rights. It is also about shifts in power relations between different groups and about
asserting one’s identity (Rao 2008: 7).

Since independence in 1947 various laws have been passed which were intended to ease the
situation of the Dalit people. Unfortunately, these laws and reforms have often failed due to
the refusal of the local wealthy and powerful to give a share of their wealth (land) or power
to others. Especially when the discussion was focused on redistributing assets towards the
Dalit people, resistance by the local powers was most pronounced. But not only non-co-
operation by the local elite has lead to failure, also the lack of force and interest shown by
the government to implement or promote the implementation of this legislations has played a
major role.

Even if nowadays the efforts to implement land reforms have increased and also the
movement of struggle for land rights by Dalit and Adivasi people has grown considerably
because they were left without any other chance for survival, there are still lots of problems
faced by the marginalised. Unfortunately, up to the present, most reforms have not had a
significant impact on eliminating inequality in distribution of land or income. They have
failed to ease the access to land for the marginalised in any significant amount. So

16
Venkatasubramaniam concluded that the structural impediments to production and equitable
distribution of rural resources are very much in existence. Social, political and economic
power still rests with the elite group who were also elite prior to independence in 1947
(Venkatasubramaniam 2002: 9).

This shows that up until today the land distribution follows the social hierarchy with the
upper caste as owners of large plots of land, middle castes as cultivators and the Dalit and
Adivasi as (exploited) agricultural workers. According to the National Centre for Advocacy
Studies (NCAS) this unequal distribution helps to maintain the hierarchical structure of
society because “fair distribution would directly strike at the roots of the unequal social and
power relations and would free the marginalised from the clutches of perpetual bondage and
penury” (NCAS 2002: 13). This they identify as the main reason why the powerful landlords
oppose land reform, because they fear the loss of control over assets and dominance in
society. To remain in control of their land and power some use illegal means like
manipulation of land records, eviction of tenants or loans with exorbitant interest rates. By
this they ban others from acquiring land owned by them and they can further increase their
own property (NCAS 2002: 14). Confronted with the raising Dalit and Adivasi movements,
according to the NCAS, some feudal lords
“[…] are laying the web of nefarious conspiracy in connivance with the political
forces, which is more often than not manned by their own representatives, to
crush the land rights movement. Resultantly, Dalits and Adivasi who raise the
slogan of land rights are killed mercilessly, sometimes by the feudal forces
directly and sometimes by the police under the alibi of stopping the menace of
naxalites” (NCAS 2002: 15).
This again, like a vicious circle of interrelated problems, leads to the issue of lack of
implementation of the rule of law, failure to pursue those who committed atrocities and caste
based discrimination and violence.

All over India the laws originally intended to benefit the landless poor are being perverted in
favour of corrupt businessmen, landlords and government officials. As already mentioned
before, the laws are not properly implemented, so decisions are not taken according to these
laws but according to personal interest of the powerful. Landless people who have in the past
occupied pieces of unused government-owned land are now evicted from these lands,
tenancy agreements are cancelled or declared as illegal so that vast amounts of land under
government title are lying fallow or the land is again collected and controlled by a landlord.
Due to these reasons, in some regions with huge amounts of theoretically available land the
landless people starve and fight for their survival on a daily basis (AHRC 2004: 4). Further

17
the government of India is evicting people from their lands under the pretext of preserving
the natural forest, or in cases of “development programmes” like big dams or new industrial
plants or infrastructural programmes. The people evicted are mostly Dalits and Adivasi who
do not receive an appropriate compensation for the loss of their lands, common property
resources and homes. The marginalised people are standing in the way of “development” and
for them without proper knowledge and means it is nearly impossible to fight these
evictions. Individual profit is often valued higher than the lives of these oppressed people. In
some cases people are evicted from forest or government lands under the pretext of
“protection of these lands” so that these lands can be given to wealthy farmers or
businessmen. These evictions aggravate the living situation of the marginalised and lead to
loss of property and life, unemployment and poverty. Often these evictions are coupled with
violence or police abuse including torture and killing (AHRC 2004: 3).

Right to land and livelihood are inextricably linked with the right to food. It is obvious that
persons lacking the means for basic daily subsistence like access to land or employment will
face hunger and malnutrition and in the worst case starve to death. The Asian Human Rights
Commission states that it “requires state-managed violence” to maintain the existing
inequality in the distribution of food, water and land (AHRC 2004: 6). For them, the denial
of land, food and other basic resources of survival means to deny these people the rule of
law. They assume that fear is instilled to deprive people of basic economic rights and retard
their capacity to react. To achieve this, the state uses the police force with its (illegal) means
of detention, torture and extra-judicial killings to suppress the resistance of the landless
people (AHRC 2004: 6).

This gives rise to a kind of paradox situation that the government on the one hand passes
laws of land reformation and makes provisions for the benefit of the landless and
marginalised communities. On the other hand, the existing discrimination, eviction and
violence paired with gain in possession and power of wealthy local subjects as well as the
lacking implementation of laws aimed to protect the marginalised would also not be possible
without parts of the government or of the administration turning at least one blind eye at
these facts.

18
3.1 Laws and strategies of the Indian land reforms

Indian land reforms, on national as well as on state level, have been aimed at conferring
ownership of land rights to the landless and should give security of landholdings to the small
and marginal farmers, by creating a system of peasant proprietorship with the motto of “land
to the tiller” (Venkatasubramaniam 2002: 5). This security, it is assumed, would lead to a
boost of the farmers’ morale which would further result in higher productivity and
subsequent rising of living standards. Further, the government expects that enhanced
productivity and an improving economic situation of the farmers may lead to more
investment and improvement of agricultural practice (NCAS 2002: 12). Land reform was
also viewed as a factor for the national economy, because through transfer of the income
from few to many it was hoped to create a demand for consumer goods in the rural areas
(Venkatasubramaniam 2002: 5). Thus, land reform is expected to enhance economic
activities, provide social status and security, bestow human dignity, empower the
beneficiaries and to ensure participation of the (former) landless who are otherwise kept at
bay from the democratic processes and institutions (NCAS 2002: 12).

In this way, land reforms have ambitious goals on social issues, at least on paper. They aim
at ensuring distributive justice and try to be a part in the process of creating an egalitarian
society by eliminating all forms of exploitation (Venkatasubramaniam 2002: 5). To sum up,
Indian land reforms aim primarily at redistribution of ownership holdings and reorganising
operational holdings from the viewpoint of optimum utilisation of land. They are intended to
provide security of tenure, fixation of rent and conferment of ownership
(Venkatasubramaniam 2002: 5). Despite the many social issues related to land reform, the
economic aspects of land reformation seem to be the ones most highlighted by the
government. But unfortunately most efforts of land reformation have been slow and most of
them failed to reach their aims.

3.1.1 Abolition of Zamindaris and Intermediaries

One of the first efforts of land reformation in the 1950s was the (official) abolition of the
feudal Zamindari system and of intermediaries who kept the tenants burdened with high
rents, unproductive means of production and other forms of exploitation. By 1972 all Indian
federal states had abolished intermediaries by law and the Zamindari Abolition Act (first in

19
1948) distributed 57.7 lakh 3 hectares to landless agriculturists (Venkatasubramaniam 2002:
6). Further, there have been efforts to reform tenancy, by providing security of tenure and
regulating the rent. Ceilings on landholdings were established to take possession of
landlords’ land that had been declared as surplus and to distribute these holdings to the
landless.

But the abolition of the intermediaries and the Zamindaris has only benefited a small part of
society. Sub-tenants and share croppers were (mostly) excluded from the benefits of the
reforms because they did not have occupancy rights on the land they cultivated. The problem
of not having written proof of ownership or rights status is one major obstacle for the
landless tillers. Even though the Zamindaris and intermediaries have been officially
abolished, the rent receiving class continued to exist and in the local context nothing much
changed in everyday practice, it was just called by a different name (Venkatasubramaniam
2002: 6). Furthermore various landlords managed to retain considerably land areas under
various provisions of the law, so that much less land was available to be distributed.

3.1.2 Ceiling on landholdings

In the context of the land reforms of the 1960s all Indian states passed ceiling legislations on
landholdings. In these ceiling laws the amount of land which can be legally owned by a
“family” or by a “land holder” was restricted. In 1971 the ceiling laws were revised to create
uniformity between the federal states. The law allowed a family of up to 5 persons to own 28
acres of wet land and 54 acres of unirrigated land, thus a ceiling on landholdings was
created. The land claimed by the land owning unit above this legal ceiling was declared as
“ceiling surplus” and should be handed over to the government for redistribution among the
landless communities. But the redistribution did not reach its aim. Landowners managed to
keep their land or they handed over only the uncultivable or inferior parts of their property.
Just about two thirds of the land declared ceiling surplus has been distributed and this land
was in most cases not well fitted for agricultural purposes (Venkatasubramaniam 2002:
7pp.).

3
1 lakh equals to 100 000

20
3.1.3 Tenancy reforms

Different tenancy reform measures were taken over the last 60 years aimed at securing the
status of the tenant, but these have mostly failed to reach their aim of securing the marginal
tenants or of making it easier for the landless to obtain possession of land with the help of
tenancy. The most prominent regulations made in the realm of tenancy were regulations of
rent, regulations for the security of tenure and provisions for conferring ownership on the
tenants. Regulations regarding rent were among the first ones to be enacted and the first five-
year plan states that rent should not exceed 1/5 to 1/4 of the total produce. This legislation was
aimed at breaking the absolute power of the landlord or Zamindar, who could demand what
ever he wanted. To ensure security of tenure three essential aims were formulated. Eviction
of the tenant could only take place within the provisions of the law. These laws were
strengthened and allowed eviction only in cases of severe violations of the tenancy
agreement by the tenant. Non-payment of rent, performance of an act destructive or
permanently injurious to the land, subletting land and using land for other purposes than
agriculture were now grounds for eviction. Further, the landlord was allowed to reclaim the
land but only if he wanted to cultivate it on his own. With these regulations in place, forced
evictions of tenants were expected to stop, but there were still too many ways left to bypass
the laws (Venkatasubramaniam 2002: 6pp.).

In Uttar Pradesh the law gives full security of tenure to all tenants cultivating a portion of
land, without the land owner having the right to resume the land for personal cultivation
(Venkatasubramaniam 2002: 6pp.). The third regulation for conferring ownership to the
tenant stated that after a certain length of permanent tenure (mostly around 12-15 years) the
land rented should be given to the tenant and from that point onwards, it should be his
possession.

But most of these provisions have failed to secure and increase tenancy and to provide easier
access to land for the landless. Land owners started not to rent out their land on long-term
basis or at all, because they feared losing the ownership rights to the tenant after a certain
number of years. So many land owners, who used to rent out their surplus or unused land,
now stopped this practice and these lands are lying idle. This is one of the reasons that the
provisions aimed at increasing the access to land for the marginalised failed and even made
it more difficult for them to get access to land, because the option of tenure was nearly gone
in the rural reality. Some states even outlawed tenancy with an aim of protecting the rural

21
poor from being exploited by the landlord through unfair contracts and high rents, but this of
course could not be called a measure of improvement in the distribution of land (Hanstad et
al. 2004). Further problems of tenancy reforms were that all persons who did not have a
written agreement were excluded, so share croppers for example who form the bulk of the
tenant cultivators could not participate. Further the government was not able to ensure that
fair rents were demanded by the landlords and there were enough ways left to exploit the
tenant in this way, mostly based on the corruption prevalent in nearly all administrative
structures and within the police. Further the efforts to confer ownership rights to the tenant
did not work out because of the resistance of the land owner and his high compensation
demands (Venkatasubramaniam 2002: 7). In the end most of the tenancy reformation
procedures have not led to an improvement in the situation of the tenant or even provided
better access to land for the landless. The provisions, which seemed not to be well thought
through, have failed in most cases.

One further problem which is mostly ignored is that even Dalits who got land allotted to
them are not allowed to enter it or to start cultivation on it. Upper castes often capture this
land or, due to the distribution of the plots in the village do not allow them to enter a certain
street or area, so that in reality the Dalit-owner has no chance of using his allotted lands (Rao
2008: 22pp.).

3.2 Size and quality of holdings

One of the other important factors for the success of land reform measures are the size and
quality of the holdings which are given to the people. Agricultural production aimed at
generating a sustainable livelihood or even at generating some surplus requires a certain
minimum farm size. This minimum size varies according to the soil and the climatic
conditions as well as the products planted and the agricultural techniques used. Therefore it
is difficult to give generalised statements about the minimum amount of land that a family or
group of people needs to achieve measurable changes in their living situation. In India,
marginal holdings are predominant and among the Scheduled Caste and Tribes population
landlessness is very common. Medium and large holdings are mostly found among the
higher caste households. But the majority of the Indian population, if they own land at all,
own small pieces. Only very few landholders like the government and other regional
(traditional) authorities control vast amounts of land (Jeyaranjan/ Swaminathan 2003:8).

22
One pronounced aim of land reforms was to distribute holdings between one and four acres
of land per household. But these efforts face a lot of problems due to the sheer number of the
landless people and the limited lands available. In most cases there would be more land
available than at the moment if all the provisions were implemented, but still there would not
be enough land to distribute four acres to each household in India. Therefore research is
being done to discover the effects the distribution of small plots may have on the landless
communities. In these cases holdings of less than one acre shall be distributed. These small
plots seem to be easier to achieve and still they would help to increase the livelihood options
of the rural poor. Small plots lead to increased and diversified income, they can enable
access to credits and they improve the nutritional situation. Small plots can of course not
support a family completely, but combined with other income generating strategies they can
help to build a buffer against the total vulnerability of depending on just one means of
making a livelihood. Besides an increase in the food intake they can also lead to an improved
social status as well as to more self esteem due to the fact of being in possession of the
socially valuable asset of land (Hanstad et al. 2004).

Another concept of small plots which has shown considerable effects are house and garden
plots. According to Hanstad, studies have shown that the optimal effects can be achieved
with house and garden plots in sizes between 1300 and 3000 sq f (120 to 278 sq m). He
states that the former landless agricultural labourer derives housing and non-housing benefits
from this sized plots. It is obvious that the fact of owning a small piece of land where
accommodation can also be built is the first improvement. Then the small garden plot also
attached to the house makes small scale gardening possible so that vegetables can be grown
to increase the intake in nutritious food. Small-scale husbandry makes production of milk
and meat for sale or consumption possible. Even these very small plots of land can have a
considerable effect on the nutritional and social situation of the beneficiary. Another factor is
that these house and garden plots, due to their small size, are not very costly to provide and
can be used as a starting point to improve ones living situation. Further, many of the benefits
derived from house and garden plots accrue to the women in comparison to benefits from
larger plots used for farming. Hanstad believes that it is easier for women to keep control of
a house and garden plot and its products than it is for them to stay in control over larger scale
farming activities, mostly done with the help of men. And because of the small scale of the
house and garden plot, the benefits of the production are directly used by the family
(Hanstad et al. 2004).

23
Another important fact which should be kept in mind while talking about the distribution of
land to landless people is that mere access to land does not necessarily enable persons to
generate a livelihood or to improve their living situation. The quality of the land available is
very important, so it is of no use to distribute land which is not cultivable with the means
available. The land distributed for cultivation should be at least moderately fertile and
enough water or irrigation possibilities should be available. In case of distribution of infertile
land or land without irrigation possibilities, it is not possible to acquire any benefits out of
these lands. Unfortunately the land owned by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes or
available for them is mostly lower quality land in terms of its fertility or irrigation
possibilities (Jeyaranjan/ Swaminathan 2003: 8). The distribution of land is of no use, if it is
not ensured that it is possible to cultivate this land. Access to water, electricity and even
modern means of cultivation like tractors etc. is also necessary. It seems to be necessary to
think again about the aims of a land reform. How can they make a difference, if mostly
uncultivable or less cultivable land is given to the landless?

3.3 Women and land rights

Another big step towards improving the living situation of Dalits and other rural poor would
be remedying the exclusion of women from control over land. Women have the legal right to
own land, but very few women do and those who own land are not necessarily in control of
the land and its assets. The patriarchal currents running through rural life and the institutions
of rural self-governance have proven far more influential and persistent than any government
law or policy. Therefore it is necessary to address interrelated institutions in the field of
politics, religion, law and social organisation, to achieve changes in this patriarchal field
(Hanstad et al. 2004).

It is believed that by increasing women’s control over land the welfare of the country’s
future generation can be positively and significantly influenced. According to Hanstad
various studies have shown that it is more likely that women spend their money for the
improvement of their family and for the education of their children than it that men do.
Without control over the income generated by the household or the land, women are not able
to obtain loans or credits. In terms of economic security and social status they are totally
dependent on relationships with male family members. Women who are left without male
relatives due to various reasons like death or divorce are left without any assets within their
control to sustain a livelihood (Hanstad et al. 2004). Hanstad believes that independent

24
access to land as well as shared marital property may lead to an increase in the status of
women in the family or in the marriage, because in these cases the male persons, for example
the husband, would not be able to take all decisions regarding this property alone and the
improved legal status of women would reduce the incidence of them being abandoned or
exploited (Hanstad et al. 2004).

There are three ways over which women can achieve right to land. These are first through
the inheritance of land, and secondly through government distribution programmes like
distribution of ceiling surplus land or waste land. The third way to get control over land
would be related to the land marked in terms of tenancy or sale, as well as access to common
property resources or to the forests. But these ways are highly restricted and there are many
obstacles facing women who want to stay in control of the land or achieve this control
(Saxena 2002: 10).

In regards to inheritance laws the following can be observed. The Constitution grants equal
rights to men and women in all realms of life, but this does not reach the religious or
customary law that governs most property rights related to marriage, divorce and inheritance.
In this customary law women are excluded from joint family property and their right to
inheritance is extremely limited. There are some differences regarding right to inheritance
between Hindu and Muslim communities, but they share the fact that both grant less land
rights or inheritance rights to women. But even in laws regarding land right which were
passed after independence women were not granted equal rights. Most of these laws have
still not been amended. In Section 171 of the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reform Act of
1950, daughters have no right of inheritance when sons are alive and even when they do
inherit something, after their death it reverts to the male relatives and not to their own heirs.
According to the same Act, widows are only allowed to inherit property if they do not
remarry and in all cases women are the last to inherit, their male relatives are favoured
(Saxena 2002: 10).

In cases of government land distribution programmes it is still the men who receive the title
to most of the land which is distributed because they are deemed to be the head of the
household or the main cultivators of the land. Even if laws granting equal access for men and
women exist, due to biased officials or to a lack of knowledge about women’s right to
ownership by the landless groups, land rights are mostly given to the men. It is very rare that
land rights are distributed to women on the initiative of the local authorities who tend to
favour men, women in most cases have to demand for their share forcefully to get it

25
certified; otherwise they are treated according to the traditional structures. An official
government advice states that land should be allotted to women or to both spouses “to the
extent possible” (Hanstad et al. 2004), whatever this may mean in the local context. It seems
to open yet another opportunity of denying land rights to women, because this particular case
was not within the group declared as possible (Hanstad et al. 2004).

Access to land through land purchase or through tenure is not easily available for women.
Most rural women lack both financial means and knowledge as well as social skills like
bargaining ability or confidence, that are required to enter the land market successfully and
to compete with men. Furthermore, most of the land owners are male and not willing to
negotiate with women (Hanstad et al. 2004). Further access to common property resources
decreases more and more due to privatisation or capture of the land and also due to actions
of the forest department or other actors aimed at protecting the natural environment.

It can be concluded that access to land for women is even more difficult than it is for Dalit
men. Until now nearly all efforts for equal distribution of land, as well as for general
distribution of good quality land to the landless have failed. Therefore new provisions should
be taken to reform existing programmes and in this case, actions should be taken to ensure
the equal participation of women to increase access to benefits to all parts of the rural
population in an equal share.

3.4 Problems related to landlessness

Landless Dalit people are now largely dependent on waged labour for their livelihood. This
dependence has increased with the disappearance of common property resources which they
had been able to use in the past. These included access to forests which is nowadays often
highly restricted by the forest department or the capture of gram sabha 4 (village land) or
government land by the upper castes. These lands may have once been “real” common
property resources which were used for grazing animals or communal cropping. On the other
hand, government land which was allotted to the Dalit by land reform measures has been
captured by the upper castes, or the upper castes refuse to hand over land to the Dalit which
was declared as “ceiling surplus”.

4
Sabha is the administrative name of a village of more than 300 inhabitants and it also forms an instrument of
local self governance. The gram sabha is formed by all inhabitants over 18 and twice a year a gram sabha
meeting is conducted. The gram sabha has to approve all (development) projects that shall be conducted in the
community and they elect the gram panchayat which is responsible for the administrative work delegated to the
village level by the state authorities.

26
Because they are often illiterate and not well educated, the rural Dalit cannot obtain any kind
of skilled job and often they are hired as labourers on a daily basis. They work as
agricultural labourers in the fields of the upper castes, in brick kilns or quarries. Their
payment is often low, paid irregularly, or given in kind such as poor quality grain. They are
not able to save for times of need when they have not found work or when additional
expenses are necessary because of illness or weddings. In this situation of need they lack the
means to acquire either food or money. They often face starvation and malnutrition is
common. To meet their financial requirements they are often forced to take loans to pay for
food or medical treatment of the ill. This state of indebtedness gives rise to debt based forms
of bonded labour which, like a vicious circle, aggravates the situation of the Dalit workers.

Due to their low economic status the rural Dalit are also dependent on government relief
schemes like subsidized food grains or the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(NREGA) 5 . But in these government schemes lots of corruption exists and the distressed are
denied their legal share. They are denied job cards which would enable them to take part in
NREGA works, or if they have received these cards the illiterate are exploited by
underpayment. The eligibility cards for the subsidised food grains are also often not issued
or they receive grains of low quality or less than they are entitled to. By this, the local
authorities, mostly formed of higher castes are able to increase their personal profit by
gaining financially through bribes and reselling of embezzled goods. By denying rights to
the Dalit they keep them exploited and dependent, so that their own authority is not
challenged. The worst scenario of landlessness can be found in communities which have no
ownership or use rights over the land they are building their settlement on. These
communities face the constant fear that their huts or houses will be destroyed and that they
will be evicted from these lands.

Landless communities often live and work surrounded by plenty of grains and food
resources, they are contributing through their agricultural labour to food production, but
despite this they have no rights to use food that they grow, so amidst this plenty they are
facing hunger and starvation and live in deteriorating conditions.

5
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is a government programme which is aimed at
giving opportunities for livelihood generation to the poor. In this programme, every person can apply for a job
card and with it the cardholder is enabled to work 100 days a year in government or community programmes
with earnings of 100 rupees a day. Men and women are equally able to apply for this card and they should be
treated and paid equal (Shruti 29.06.2009c; Rao 2008: 267pp.).

27
3.5 Land rights struggle

As explained before, land has various meanings in the context of rural India and is valued by
all members of the rural population. To achieve access to land is the main target of the
marginalised and landless groups but it is in most cases the hardest asset to achieve.
Landholders do not want to lose a part of their land, so struggles over land rights and
utilisation are most pronounced and more likely to turn violent than demands for other social
and economic assets. People active in the land rights movement face lots of obstacles in their
life. Their families and property are facing constant threat and danger. Struggle for land
rights is the most challenging action that marginalised people can take in the rural context. It
challenges and threatens the “traditional” social structure in the villages which is founded on
caste based discrimination and exploitation. Land rights struggle challenges the social,
religious and economic foundations of the village community as well as the power relations.
It promises a sense of self-esteem and human dignity previously denied to the marginalised.
In most cases land rights are the basis of any Dalit movement, but usually they are the
hardest and last assets to be achieved. Therefore this report analysis the interrelations of land
rights struggle and empowerment in detail, as well as the effects active land rights struggle
has on the living situation of the Dalit communities in regards to material and non-material
changes.

28
4. The concept of Empowerment

The concept of empowerment can be defined in multiple ways and it can be found in various
contexts. Empowerment measures can exist in every marginalised group and in every
context possible. They exist in relations to the sphere of work and workplace organisation,
democratic awareness and engagement, social work and also in regards to personality
building. One common characteristic of the various definitions of empowerment is the focus
on human capabilities and the intent that persons shall increase their scope of action during
the empowerment process (Schultz 2002: 64). Empowerment, as understood in this report,
describes strategies and measures used to increase self-determination and autonomy in
communities as well as in individuals and to enable them to pursue their self-interests
responsibly. It refers to an increased social, political and economic strength of a group or an
individual combined with an increased self-esteem and confidence regarding the capabilities
of the concerned group. Empowerment enables communities to act in their own interests and
to shape their living situation independently. Naila Kabeer (1999) further states that
empowerment also includes the notion of “choice”. In her understanding empowerment
refers to an increasing individual ability to make strategic choices regarding his/her life,
especially in a context were this choice was previously denied to the people (Kabeer in
Schultz 2002: 64).

Empowerment can use diverse means and can be recognized in various aspects of life. The
ability to access courts or the administration and to express ones claims in front of them is a
part of empowerment as well as the ability to support ones family independently and to
secure a living. Empowerment can be derived from within a community, from development
of one’s own capabilities as well as from the development of new approaches towards
certain problems. On the other hand, empowerment can also be fostered from outside the
community, when persons or organisations assist the concerned community by providing the
necessary knowledge, skills and information to pursue the desired path. In this report the
term empowerment focuses on the notions of self-determination and confidence generation
in combination with the acquirement of knowledge which enable individuals and
communities to pursue their claims independently and to stand up and take actions to reach
the aims desired.

29
5. Research area and Organisations

In the following chapter the working area and its social context is described to built a
foundation for the further analysis. These descriptions include a brief overview about the
town of Varanasi and the PVCHR as well as a description of one of their main project the
“Jan Mitra Gaon”, the “People friendly village”. Subsequently the interviews which were
conducted with Dalit people living in four villages of Varanasi district are analysed
regarding the interrelations of land rights struggle and empowerment.

5.1 Varanasi

The city of Varanasi is located in the eastern part of the Indian federal state of Uttar Pradesh.
It lies on the western banks of the holy river Ganges at the confluence of the rivers Assi and
Varuna. Its geodetic coordinates according to WGS 84 are 25°16’55.23’’N 82°57’22.81’’E
(Google Earth 28. July 2009). Varanasi is considered to be one of the holiest places in
Hinduism and thousands of pilgrims and tourist come there to wash their sins away in the
holy waters or get their dead cremated. Since its founding more than 3000 years ago
Varanasi, which is also named Benares or Kashi (city of life) has been considered a centre
for study and religious learning. Varanasi, the city of Shiva has always attracted various
scholars of Hinduism, Sanskrit or Buddhism, for Buddha is believed to have given his first
sermon in Sarnath, just 10 km northeast of Varanasi.

Today, with the Benares Hindu University which was founded in 1916, Varanasi is still the
main centre for higher education in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Despite this, the region of eastern
Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Bihar are said to be among the most backward regions of
India. Here the restrictions of the caste system are still strong in daily life, especially in the
rural areas. Besides the caste system the still prevalent feudal structures with wealthy and
powerful upper caste landlords determine the life of the majority of people. The bulk of
India’s population is rural poor and among those the most deprived are the lower castes or
Dalit.

Living in the rural areas is strongly determined by the discriminating practices of the caste
system and the lower castes and Dalits are mostly living in miserable circumstances. They
have been marginalised for thousands of years under the ideas of caste system and until
recently they have been deprived of nearly all basic human rights by the upper castes.

30
Segregated settlements, discrimination, sexual harassment, exploitation, bonded labour and
the like have been and still are common obstacles that the marginalised have to face.

Political map of India with

highlighted location of Varanasi

Oxford Student Atlas for India 2004: 9 with own additions

31
5.2 The People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)

The PVCHR is a membership based human rights organisation which was founded in 1996
by the poet Gyanendrapati, Dr. Mahendra Pratap, the Sarod maestro Vikas Maharaj, Shruti
Nagvanshi and Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi. Its aim is to ensure basic rights for vulnerable
groups in Indian society, which means children, women, Dalit, Adivasi (Scheduled Tribes)
and Muslim communities. The ideology of PVCHR is inspired by the father of the Dalit
movement and the Indian Constitution Dr. B. R. Ambedkar 6 . In the tradition of Dr.
Ambedkar, who struggled against Brahmanism and the hierarchical caste system, they are
trying to promote a human rights culture based on democratic values (PVCHR Homepage
2009a). This statement by PVCHR summarises their working approach and their analysis of
the problems Indian society has to face.
“India's independence from the fetters of British Colonialism has only freed the
nation politically but socially and culturally it is still under feudal bondage.
Democratization of the society needs to be done, as the society hasn't been freed
from the clutches of caste system, communalism, conservative ideas and
customs. The Hindu Fundamentalism occasionally raises its fangs in this
scenario, the dalits and adivasis need to be organised and the anti people policies
affecting them the most has to be challenged through movements. It is important
and timely as the marginalised section has to be brought in a platform where
PVCHR can not only struggle against the government's policies but also give a
unified face to their resistance against the Globalisation and Liberalisation”
(PVCHR Blog 2009a).
On the grass root level the PVCHR is working with 45 villages in Varanasi district and
further they are active in 80 districts in the four states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand
and Uttaranchal; their overall membership accounts for more than 50 000 people. Their main
tasks are to investigate human rights violations and to document these as well as advocacy,
publication and networking on a local, national and international level. The most common
human rights violations are caste based discrimination, malnutrition and starvation, police
torture and unavailable medical treatment. To distribute their observations, to raise
awareness and to initiate actions the tools of the internet like blogs, newsletters and video
platforms are frequently used. The PVCHR has created models of non-violent and
democratic communities like the “People Friendly Villages” or “Torture Free Villages” and

6
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956) was a Dalit leader in the movement for Dalit rights as well as a
politician during the fight for independence from the British. He was a strong opponent of Hinduism and
believed that the oppressing caste system can just be overcome by stopping to be a Hindu. He believed that the
caste system is an essential component of Hinduism and each can not exist without the other. That is why he
promoted Buddhism and the conversion to this belief as part of the solution to abolish the caste system. He was
Minister of law and Chairman of the Drafting committee of the Constitution. In this position he was responsible
for the provisions in the Constitution intended to fulfil the promise in the preamble to secure to all citizens
justice and equality of status and opportunity (Agarwal/ Gonsalves 2005: 360).

32
promotes these models on the local level. Further, they are creating democratic structures for
the “voiceless”, which means the marginalised groups and they try to enable them to access
the constitutional guarantees of modern India. Therefore they use means like folk schools to
supply the marginalised communities with trainings, education and access to information to
give them the tools for democratic empowerment. In addition they are working as a mediator
between the grass roots level and national and international human rights networks and
institutions as well as the local authorities (PVCHR Homepage 2009a). Their aim is to
educate and empower the marginalised, to guide them and give them the assistance
necessary to enable them to stand up and fight for their rights independently.

5.3 “Jan Mitra Gaon” the People Friendly Village

Since 2004 PVCHR has declared two villages in the surrounding of Varanasi (Belwa and
Shivrampur) and one urban slum (the silk weaver dominated Baghawanala) as model
villages of the “Jan Mitra Gaon” programme. On a smaller scale these programmes are
introduced in all the villages PVCHR is working with, but these three locations are the main
focus of the project. “Jan Mitra Gaon” means “People Friendly Village” and the PVCHR is
engaged in the process of mobilizing the marginalised for the protection, promotion and
fulfilment of their livelihood rights and human rights in general and child rights in particular.
The concept and aims of “Jan Mitra Gaon” are described as following:
“’Jan Mitra Gaon’ is a village where every individual is assured of his or her
social, economic, political and cultural rights as per the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and is living together within the society without any form of
discrimination” (Nagvanshi, S. n. d.: 11).
The concept of “Jan Mitra Gaon” was developed by a fusion of Gandhi’s village republic
concept and the social democratic critics of Ambedkar. The main pillars of the “Jan Mitra
Gaon” concept are the educational concept and the organisational development of the
marginalised groups. The educational concept is aimed to “break the cycle of poverty, to
improve equity, empower women, and create health awareness and moreover improved
democracy and accountability” (Nagvanshi, S. n. d.: 12).

In the process of organisational development the marginalised groups shall be motivated and
enabled to fight panchayat 7 decisions and raise their voices in their meetings. Therefore

7
Panchayats (lit. meeting of five) are community meetings in an institutionalised form. Panchayat members are
elected by the members of the gram sabha and they are the representants of the village on various levels. There
are different forms of panchayat from the community or village level to block and district level. The Indian
government has delegated and decentralised various administrative functions to the village level, where they

33
measures shall be taken to assure that the village committee representing the village on the
various levels of panchayat consists of at least 50% Dalit, women, children and other
minorities. In addition a children’s panchayat shall be established to promote the democratic
education of the children and give them the opportunity to force the administration to pay
attention to child specific problems (Nagvanshi, S. n. d.: 13).

To promote all this, a community centre was built in each Jan Mitra village to form the basis
for the project activities. One of the core projects to promote empowerment in the model
villages are the “folk schools” where the people can learn about their rights and acquire the
skills to confront the authorities. The first folk school organised by PVCHR was conducted
in the village of Belwa in January 2007. Folk schools often deal with conflicts with the
village head and experiences of torture and exploitation. Therefore it is important to provide
a secured environment where the participants of the folk school can share their experiences
or testimonies of suffering and receive support by the community to promote their
psychological well being. The statements made in these folk schools are recorded and
forwarded to the administration and governments (PVCHR Homepage 2009b). Besides the
folk schools there are special forums for women where topics from health to dowry can be
discussed.

are taken care of by the panchayat. Further the panchayat acts as a conduit between the government and the
people of the gram sabha.

34
6. Interview analysis

Four settlements named Belwa, Kuwar, Shivrampur and Ayer Musahar Ghetto in the
surrounding area of Varanasi were selected to conduct a case study because they were in the
main focus of the PVCHR’s work during the data collection period. In these villages
interviews were conducted with villagers of the Dalit communities to obtain information
about their living situation and their involvement in the land rights movement. The
interviews focused on possible changes since they became involved into the struggle and
started raising their voices. Another aim was to understand the reasons, strategies and
motivations of the villagers for starting to fight as well as the reasons why some groups or
people have become or stayed demoralised and not joined the struggle.

Whenever possible the interviews, three or four for every village, were conducted among
villagers belonging to the Nat and Musahar communities. In each village an initial interview
was conducted with one of the PVCHR activists to obtain an overview of the village
situation as well as an assessment by a human rights professional. This was followed by at
least two interviews with Nat or Musahar people. In Ayer village it was possible to interview
one of the grass root activists who works as a mediator between the villagers and the main
PVCHR activists.

Five of the persons interviewed were female and nine were male. Two of the interviewed
females, Anupam and Shruti were PVCHR activists and interviewed to obtain an overview
and a summary of the situation in each village. Shrutis interviews represent the three villages
of Belwa, Ayer and Shivrampur, while Anupam gave information about Kuwar. The other
three females and eight males were landless villagers of the Nat and Musahar communities
(cf. Table “Interviewed persons and interpreters” in the glossary). Some interviews were
conducted with two participants. These were the interviews of Samaru and Pappu and
Somaru and Mithai, all from Ayer village.

The 14 interviews used in this case study were conducted in Hindi and in the local language
Bhojpuri with the help of three different interpreters. The questions were translated from
English into the local languages and the answers were summarised and translated into
English. Only the interview of Anupam on 09.07.2009 was conducted in English without a
translator. In the interview with Dal Singar on 18.07.2009 it was possible to get a translation
sentence by sentence, all the other 12 interviews are based on an English language summary

35
of the Hindi or Bhojpuri original. Since it was a summary that was translated, the interview
data is no longer a first-person narration, it is converted into reported speech.

The interview analysis was conducted on the basis of Phillip Mayring’s concept of
“qualitative content analysis” (1993) which promised to be a fruitful approach to analyse the
interviews under the aspect of land right struggle and its impacts on the communities. But
due to the sources of data available, some steps of this analysis very extremely difficult or
impossible to conduct. Due to the fact that all individual statements were summarised for
translation it was very difficult to analyse the nonverbal contents of the interviews like facial
expressions, gestures, breaks and immediate reactions like laughter or grief. Further it was
not possible to place these nonverbal actions in the exact context of utterance. Of course it
stayed possible to analyse the way of speaking in general, but the details were lost due to the
translation as a summary.

The quality of the interviews varies considerably. Because of the translations between two or
three languages there are many inaccuracies or misunderstandings which are very difficult
for me to find and to evaluate due to my lack of knowledge of Hindi and Bhojpuri. Further
language-based difficulties arose due to the fact that none of the people involved in the
interviews and the data collection process had English as their native language. So their
proficiency in the English language varies and has huge effects on the quality of the
interviews or translations. Some interviews appear to be translated in more detail than
others; some include several additional comments by the translators which have to be
identified and marked as additions.

It was planned to conduct guideline-based interviews, thus allowing comparisons as well as

giving enough freedom to the interviewed to share the information s/he wants to share and to
give them space to talk, however for various reasons this approach was not completely
successful. Language based problems and misunderstanding or inaccuracies while
translating led to faltering speech, and sometimes it seemed as if the interviewed persons
were overwhelmed by that much freedom to speak. In most cases they answered the guiding
questions as briefly as possible and no further conversation was possible. Further, some
persons seemed to lack knowledge about the ongoing land rights struggle and were either
unable or unwilling to give further information. But nevertheless the interviews are a major
source of data and insights into the land rights struggle and its effects, but one has to be
aware of the problems involved in collecting the data.

36
Some guiding questions were used to structure the interviews. These were in the beginning a
question regarding the individual living situation in the village and the governmental
schemes and land rights available to the interviewed person. Further questions were asked
regarding the personal knowledge about rights and schemes available and the personal
involvement into the struggle for these. In addition it was asked about the strategies used
while struggling and about the experiences made with these strategies. It was also focused on
the changes which the interviewed persons had observed within their communities since they
got involved in the struggle for rights.

The four study villages were selected for two reasons. On the one hand, they were in the
main focus of the work of PVCHR during the time of data collection and they were, in
comparison to other target villages, located in closer proximity to Varanasi. On the other
hand they were selected because they were described as situated in various stages of the
process of land rights struggle which sounded very promising. The Ayer Musahar Ghetto
was described as a community, which had just started to be active in the struggle, while the
village of Shivrampur was introduced as a village with a long and successful history of
struggle. The two remaining villages of Belwa and Kuwar were described as somewhere in
the middle of the struggle, with vocal communities which have already achieved some of
their demands, but the last and final aim of land right is still missing. The selection of these
villages promised various insights into the strategies of struggle used by the community
people as well as insights into their motivations and hopes. Due to the different stages of
involvement it seemed possible to investigate the various layers of changes and
achievements, from various forms of empowerment like the ability to speak and challenge
the authorities to access to government programmes. Further the setting promised a kind of
control group to see whether the hopes connected with the achievement of land rights have
really come true.

Unfortunately the interview conduction and data collection was not as easy as it had been
hoped. Due to various problems the collected data did not show the clear image of the
village situation as it was hoped it would. On the one hand language based problems as
explained earlier played a major role in the data collection process. Further, the interview
partners were selected by PVCHR after the aim of the study was formulated. But due to
some organisational problems and shortness in time it was sometimes not possible to arrange
interviews with the local representatives of the land rights movement in the communities. So
in some cases interviews were conducted with people who were not active in the land rights

37
movement and in these cases, due to their lack of knowledge, it was not possible to get any
insights besides their own demoralisation.

In three villages data relating to struggle strategies and changes within the community were
successfully collected. Unfortunately in case of the village Shivrampur, which is the village
in which the most Dalit communities have achieved land rights due to their struggle, the
interviews were conducted with landless persons who were not involved in the movement
and had little knowledge about the fighting strategies and changes within the rest of the
village community. Regrettably it was not possible to arrange for further interviews with
other persons of Shivrampur. In some other cases the interview partners were also not ideal,
because they were not the main participants of the struggle. Further problems arose due to
the fact that in some cases it seemed that the people interviewed were not used to being
asked their opinion or about their own analysis of the situation. Sometimes it seemed as if
they were overwhelmed with the ideas of a guideline based interview which was aimed at
giving them freedom to express themselves. Of course this fact of voice or voicelessness was
also interesting to compare between the villages, but the existence of voicelessness or lack of
knowledge made it difficult to get further insights into the situation of the individual. A
transcribed version of the interviews used can be found in the digital appendix.

Another problem faced during data collection was the divergence of information or
contradictions in the assessment of a certain situation between different persons of the
PVCHR activists. This made it very difficult to develop an understanding of the situation in
the villages and communities. One further problem in the process of data collection was the
difficulty of finding maps showing the district of Varanasi in detail. There are district maps
of Uttar Pradesh available, but in most of them, the scale is too small to distinguish the
different blocks or villages. Large scale maps on district level are not available for Uttar
Pradesh. Block maps showing the villages in a certain block are frequently not available and
if there are any, they are much generalised. The only map showing the district of Varanasi
and its block headquarters is a highly generalised one out of the Uttar Pradesh tourist road
atlas published by the Indian map service.

To generate information about the impact land rights and the land rights movement may
have for the empowerment of rural Dalit communities, the interviews will be evaluated
regarding the following main topics.
• The importance of land and the hopes connected to land rights.
• Strategies used in the land rights struggle.

38
 • Problems faced while struggling for land rights from within the community/ village
till the administrative field.
• Changes and achievements in the community since the struggle started in regards to
material changes.
• Changes in the community in regards to non-material or psychological changes like
self-esteem, empowerment and ability to speak.

The interviews will be analysed and compared to show similarities and differences between
the different villages and to allow conclusions about the influences land rights struggle may
have on the empowerment of the Dalit communities. The interviewed persons will be quoted
according to the following system (Name of the interviewed person and date of interview
conduction).

6.1 Introduction to the studied communities

In the following chapter the Nat and Musahar communities are introduced according to their
position within the caste system and the “traditional” village hierarchies. This includes their
occupations, their means of livelihood generation and general problems they have to face
due to their subordinate status.

6.1.1 The Nat

The Nat are a Dalit community and recognised as a Scheduled Caste and therefore entitled to
benefit from governmental development and aid programmes. By upper caste Hindus the Nat
are considered as ‘untouchables’ and even among the lower castes and other Dalit they are
believed to occupy one of the lowest positions. It can be said that the Nat are the
“untouchable among the untouchable” (AHRC 2008a). Traditionally the Nat were acrobatic
dancers and used to earn their livelihood while roaming around and performing acrobatics
especially during festivals or marriages. They were well known for their artistic skills
(Nagvanshi A.; Raghuvanshi 2008). Nowadays they are a landless community with no
permanent means of livelihood generation and highly dependent on waged labour which
they are often just able to find in very exploiting conditions. They work as hawkers, as
agricultural labourers on the upper castes fields or in brick kilns and in quarries. They
struggle to obtain a livelihood often by begging. They sometimes even live on snakes and
rodents to manage their food requirements (AHRC 2008a). Unlike the majority of Dalit and

39
caste Hindu communities the Nat do not burn the bodies of their dead, so they are also in
need of land which can be used as graveyard to give honourable treatment to the deceased
(Shruti 29.06.2009a).

6.1.2 The Musahar

The Musahar are a Dalit community, recognized as a Scheduled Caste. They are regarded as
‘untouchable’ by the caste Hindus and socially and economically one of the most
marginalised and poorest communities in India. There are an estimated 500 000 to 700 000
Musahars living in Uttar Pradesh. Exact figures are not available, because the last census did
not count the Musahar community separately, but subsumed them under the general
Scheduled Castes (Raghuvanshi 2008). The Musahar used to work as agricultural labourers
for the upper castes and cleared their fields of rats, while they used the grains they found in
the rats burrows later on. This may have led to their name, which is derived from the words
“musa” (rat) and “ahar” (diet) (Raghuvanshi 2008). They are named as people eating rats,
which is a clear sign of their marginalised status and their desperate living situation. The
landless Musahar are dependent on waged labour, mostly as agricultural workers or other
kinds of hard physical work. Payments are irregular and mostly given in kind so that it is not
possible to have savings for times of need, therefore malnutrition is a common phenomenon.
Further, the Musahar used the forest and common property resources for collecting wood
and leafs to sell them or they produced leaf plates and the like. But in recent years the forest
department restricted the use of the forests and further the common property resources are
captured by the upper caste. So these means of livelihood generation are now also taken
away from them (PVCHR Blog 2009d).

6.2 The studied villages

While working with PVCHR the four studied communities were visited between two and
four times. It was not possible to arrange for a consecutive stay, but with some visits it was
still possible to obtain an overview of the living situation of the villagers and the specific
problems prevalent in each community. In some cases interviews were conducted while
visiting the villages. Further in some cases it was possible to take part in community
programmes, like an honour ceremony for torture survivors in Kuwar village or the

40
distribution of school material in Belwa which gave the opportunity to interact with the
community people in a non-formal setting.

The district Varanasi and the approximate location of the four studied villages

Indian map service 2008: 84 with own additions

6.2.1 Kuwar

The village of Kuwar is located in Badagoan block about 32 km northwest of Varanasi near
to Babatpur Airport. The village has a population of approximately 3000 people out of which
25 families are Thakur (landed upper castes), 100 families are Muslim and 150 families
belong to the Other Backward Classes. The remaining families belong to various Dalit
communities, among them 21 families of the Musahar community (PVCHR Blog: 2009b),
24 families of the Nat and 20 families of Sonkar, which is a powerful Scheduled Caste
community (Anupam 09.07.2009). In the Nat community there are 150 people. The different

41
communities are living segregated from each other while the Dalit hamlets are located at the
margins of the settlement.

The Nat hamlet is located outside the main village, but next to the houses and lands of the
Thakur, so continuous fighting is going on over the issues of land utilisation and trespassing.
The Nat people do not have proper housing; they are deprived of the benefits of the Indira
Awas Yojana (IAY) 8 by the upper castes. Their hamlet does not have electricity and just
recently a second hand pump was built, but the water is not safe for drinking. Due to caste
discrimination they are not allowed to use the village wells, so having their own hand pumps
is of major importance to them. There is no government primary school close by and
government child-and healthcare facilities are also not frequently available. Ration cards
have been issued to various people but the Public Distribution System (PDS) shop is about
1.5 km away. Further it is only open two times a month and a lot of corruption or
exploitation like short weight or distributing bad quality grains is going on, so that the Nat
are deprived of nearly all basic facilities (Anupam 09.07.2009).

The Musahar hamlet is located on the other side of the main village and surrounded by
ponds from three sides which is not a safe living environment, and the Musahar live in
constant fear of destruction of their homes due to flooding by the ponds. The Nat and
Musahar are landless and until now they have not benefited from the land reform
programmes. Just two Nat families got ownership of a small plot of land in the last few years
(Dal Singar 18.07.2009). Both groups are economically very weak and are working as
labourers for the wealthy upper caste landlords. Very few Nat families have found waged
labour, and their employment, wages and payments are not secured. They never know if they
will have work or will be paid the next day, so they depend largely on begging to fulfil their
basic needs. Child malnutrition is very common because of the resulting food insecurity and
the lack of government child care and health centres (Dal Singar 18.07.2009). In 1964 the
government allotted land to the Nat community to provide them secured settlement. But until
today this land is captured by the Thakur community and the Nat are facing constant threat
not to try to get possession of these lands (Manara 14.08.2009). In addition, most of the
government land in Kuwar, which used to be a common property resource, is nowadays

8
Indira Awas Yojana is a government programme with the main objective to provide better housing facilities
to members of Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes, freed bonded labourers and also non - Scheduled Castes/
Scheduled Tribes rural poor below the poverty line. Potential beneficiaries can apply for IAY with the local
authorities and if granted, they would receive up to Rs. 35 000 for construction of a house. But like in many
other systems there is lots of corruption and the upper castes try to prevent the implementation of IAY on local
level (Rao 2008: 273pp.).

42
captured by the upper castes, so that the Dalit communities are not allowed to use it
anymore. Further a huge amount of the government land is registered in the name of a
fictitious NGO which is not using the land but allows the upper caste to grow crops on it. So
the available land is directly or indirectly captured by the upper castes (Dal Singar
18.07.2009).

Village politics are highly dominated by the caste system, individualism and a feudal
tendency is obvious. It could be observed that in the past, during elections, the upper castes
supported the BJP 9 and pressured the Dalit communities to do the same. The 25 Thakur
families used to dominate the land, wealth and village politics in their own favour (PVCHR
Blog 2009b).

The PVCHR has been working with the Nat community of Kuwar since 2004.

6.2.2 Belwa

The village of Belwa is located in Badagoan block about 30 km from Varanasi on an 8km
track off the Varanasi Lucknow Highway, which was paved in 2007. The village of Belwa
has a population of approximately 6000 people. The population is predominantly upper caste
and dominated by Thakur and Brahmin. The Dalit communities combined are less than 5%
of the total village population. The village head is a Thakur and has managed to keep his
position for more than 25 years before first being challenged in an election in 2005, in which
he managed to keep his power (PVCHR Blog 2009b). Caste based politics and feudal
structures prevail in Belwa and the upper castes are trying to preserve their privileged status
by all means. The right to vote is suppressed, land is captured and withheld, payments and
other government schemes are not made accessible. In Belwa there are landless communities
of the Nat, Musahar and Rajbhar among which the situation of the Musahar is the worst. The
landless communities are struggling hard to fulfil their basic needs and are prey to
exploitation through the landed upper castes. They work as agricultural labourers or in brick
kilns. Forms of bonded labour can be found in Belwa and some bonded labourers have been
released in the last years (PVCHR Blog 2009b). This led to conflicts with the village
authorities whose power was challenged by Dalit who started to raise their voices. The right

9
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian People’s Party was founded in 1980 and can be described as the
most important and influential Hindu Nationalist Party. They are promoting conservative social policies, their
foreign policies contain a strong nationalist agenda and they promote the national defence. In an alliance with
several other parties the BJP was in Power from 1998 till 2004 (www.bjp.org). It can be said that they are
primarily representing the interest of upper caste Hindus and they cultivate the image of the Muslim as the arch
enemy of the Hindu identity.

43
to education was denied to the Dalit communities by the village head who did not allow
Dalit children in the private schools he ran in the village. His motives may be related to the
fact that when the Dalit people get education and literacy, they will know about their rights
and will not remain easy victims and cheap labourers to be used for the individual gain of the
upper castes. The government school, which was inaugurated on July, 30th 2009, could be
built only because of personal land donation by an old lady from another Dalit community in
the village (Ram Khelavan 30.07.2009).

The Musahar community of Belwa lives segregated from the main village in dilapidated
huts, surrounded by the rich fields of the upper castes, which used to force them to work as
bonded labourers. In 2006 six children of the Musahar community died due to
malnourishment and neglect by the local authorities and medical professionals like Auxiliary
Nursing Mothers 10 (Malekar 2006). The Musahar hamlet has no electricity and two hand
pumps.

Nowadays the Dalit communities of Belwa are united and struggling together, but despite
their fight since 2001 discriminations based on the caste system have not been routed out
completely and they are still struggling for land and their basic rights granted by the
Constitution. Especially in Belwa there are lots of conflicts between the Dalit communities
and the Other Backward Classes who are not supporting the claims of the Dalit, even though
they are making the same claims, because they fear losing their small achievements such as
plots of land. So the various communities are only united in their “administrative
classifications” like Dalit or OBC but not over the boundaries of these classifications. This
weakens their fighting strength considerably and leads to lots of fighting between different
marginalised groups and shifts the focus from the struggle against the landlords (e-mail
Lenin Raghuvanshi 05.08.2009). But within the Nat and Musahar communities there is good
agreement so they have combined their strengths to fight for the school and their land
(PVCHR Blog 2009b). Also women empowerment within these communities is increasing a
lot. Women are valued for their contributions to society and they are very active in the
struggle and have been given the opportunity of speaking and decision making. Nowadays
the community is accepting the leadership of women in the struggle but the gender situation
is still far from equal (PVCHR Blog 2009b).

10
The Auxiliary Nursing Mothers are government employees who are supposed to look into health related
issues in the villages. They should focus primarily on the health of the children and take care that they are well
nourished. In cases of malnourishment they should distribute nutritious food and milk and give basic medical
treatment.

44
Since 2001 Belwa has been one of the three model villages of the PVCHR’s “Jan Mitra
Gaon” (People Friendly Village) programme (cf. chapter “Jan Mitra Gaon”).

6.2.3 Shivrampur

The village of Shivrampur is located in Harhua block about 15 km northwest of Varanasi

and approximately 0.5 km east of Ayer Marked on Sindhora Road. In Shivrampur, Dalit
people and Other Backward Classes form the majority. Because of this the socio-political
dynamics in this village are quite different compared to the three other villages in this study.
Due to this majority situation the struggle for land rights and against discrimination began
much earlier in Shivrampur so by the time that PVCHR started working with them; they had
already achieved many things. The Other Backward Classes of Shivrampur were one of the
communities who benefited from the Zamindari Abolition Act and got land allotment.
Nowadays most of the backward classes and some Dalit communities in Shivrampur own
small pieces of land and especially the Chamar community became a very powerful,
politically active and flourishing Dalit community (Shruti 29.06.2009b). There are some
Dalit communities and individuals in Shivrampur who still do not have land ownership. The
landless people are mostly belonging to the small Nat community that consists of just 6
families. Until 2003 the main occupation in Shivrampur besides agriculture was weaving.
But due to increasing competition in the market with machine woven products and especially
with cheaper silk imports from China, the weavers in Shivrampur as well as in the whole
Varanasi area are struggling to survive (PVCHR Blog 2009b).

Shivrampur is also part of the “Jan Mitra Gaon” Programme and can be called a “model
village” for various reasons. The various communities of Shivrampur are united and
struggling together. Due to its specific population structure with Other Backward Classes
and Dalit in the majority and few progressive upper castes the village politics are much more
equal and democratic than in the average village. At present time the village head is a female
Dalit who began serving her second term in 2008. The Dalit are quite active and powerful in
the local self governance institutions like gram sabha meetings and village councils, so many
of their demands could be achieved even if the feudals were opposing them. In recent years
18 out of the 25 persons identified as landless received land due to their presence and
struggle in the local self-governance institutions (Shruti 29.06.2009b). Furthermore, there
are now two primary schools and one middle school, which are also serving midday meal to
the children. Nowadays 100% of the people are immunized, there is 100% birth registration,

45
there is full enrolment into schools and Shivrampur is free of child labour (PVCHR Blog
2009b). Job cards for work in NREGA and ration cards are also available to most of the
villagers. Due to their success in sustaining their livelihood the village infrastructure has also
improved considerably and mud huts have been replaced by stone houses.

6.2.4 Ayer Musahar Ghetto

Ayer Musahar Ghetto is located in Harhua block about 15 km northwest of Varanasi. It is

isolated from the village Ayer but directly bordering the Dalit settlement of Shivrampur. The
main village Ayer is inhabited by around 5000 people but in the isolated Musahar Ghetto
there are just 179 people living. The Ayer Musahar Ghetto has two hand pumps for drinking
water but there is no electricity. The main occupations are making leaf plates, rickshaw
pulling or working in the brick kiln (PVCHR Blog 2009b).

Despite the close proximity to the village Shivrampur there are hardly any spill-over effects
on the Musahar of Ayer. The primary school of Shivrampur for example is just 10 meters
away, but the Musahar children did not attend school until 2007. The Musahar community of
Ayer can be described as a totally demoralised community and at the moment PVCHR and
other activist are trying to break this demoralisation. Land rights struggle is not the main
issue in this village and they do not like to speak about land, for them other things like ration
cards or housing are more important (e-mail Lenin Raghuvanshi 05.08.2009).

The position of village head of Ayer is occupied by changing members of one feudal family
and they or other upper castes never visited the Musahar Ghetto or paid any attention to
them (PVCHR Blog 2009b). In the last years the PVCHR started many initiatives to break
the demoralisation of the Ayer Musahar but until now, this has not led to internal changes in
the community. A community centre was established as well as an Anganwadi 11 centre,
some houses were build under Indira Awas Yojana scheme, ration and job cards were issued
and a community kitchen was built to promote interactions between people of different
castes especially among the school children. (Shruti 29.06.2009c). But this has not led to any
significant gain in self esteem or fighting strength, so the Ayer Musahar are still demoralised
and hopeless.

11
An Anganwadi Centre is one of the main measures of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS)
aimed at monitoring and securing the health and development of children of the age group 0-6 years. The
Anganwadi Centre is a kind of play school providing basic education as well as raising awareness about health
issues with the parents. Further the Anganwadi worker monitors the child development and its health and
distributes nutritious food, milk, vitamins and medicines to the children in need of it. It can be described as a
rural medical centre for children.

46
A further problem can be found in the fact that the Musahar of Ayer are not united and
fighting for their causes together. There are lots of internal disputes within the community,
which weaken their fighting strength. Conflicts exist particularly between the supporters and
opponents of the PVCHR projects within the Musahar community. These internal disputes
are often based on belief that ghosts and other spiritual or para natural powers determine the
life and health of the community.

6.3 Content Analysis

In this chapter the content analysis of the interviews conducted with the Nat and Musahar
people of the four villages Belwa, Kuwar, Shivrampur and Ayer will be carried out in the
following order. First the importance of land for the people of the community will be
evaluated followed by an analysis of the strategies the Dalit people use in the process of land
rights struggle. Subsequently the problems the communities have to face while they are
struggling are evaluated within the context of the community as well as in relations with the
administrative bodies. This is followed by an analysis of material and non-material changes
which took place within the communities since they started to fight for land rights.

6.3.1 The importance of land

In every single interview the importance of land ownership or access rights to land is
highlighted. Most of the interviewed persons link the right to land ownership with the
possibility of doing independent small scale farming and husbandry to improve the living
situation of their family. They believe that control over the fruits produced by their work
would increase their food supply and allow them to use a better way of earning a living than
the prevalent daily waged labour, bonded labour or begging. They hope that land would
allow them, to “spend their life in a good way” and would grant them more power in the
village setting (Manara 14.08.2009/ Madhuri 14.08.2009).

In most of the cases land is demanded and valued mostly for its immediate use in agriculture,
as a place for secure housing and as a productive setting for livelihood generation. But in
cases of people more active in the land rights struggle, other aspects related to land
ownership rights were also mentioned. Land, as a more secure means of livelihood
generation, allows villagers to earn money on a regular basis and this enables them to
provide education to their children and send them to school (Ram Khelavan 30.07.2009).

47
Further it would increase their position in the socio-economic order of the village and they
believe that they would gain in power and independence from the landlord and his demands.
In one interview of Belwa village, land was compared to a nurturing mother who can
provide them with all means necessary for survival including food, money and education
(Ram Khelavan 30.07.2009).

In Ayer village Subhash, a grass root activist who belongs to the Chamar community, which
is also recognized as a Scheduled Caste, gives a detailed assessment of the importance of
land as well as of the various benefits which can be achieved with certain amounts of land.
According to his observations a plot of land in the size of one acre would be enough to
supply a family of five with enough food and some surplus for sale and enable them to
provide healthcare and education for their children. In the average year without any further
expenses due to illness or less income due to crop failure, this one acre would lead to a
considerable growth of the living standard. Allotments of smaller pieces of land, he tells, are
not able to support a family alone, but still they give them the opportunity to increase their
income or nutritional situation and can provide them with more confidence and self esteem
to start or continue to work and fight for the improvement of their general living situation.
Land, even if just a very small plot is available, leads to considerable improvements,
especially when combined with other income generating strategies (Subhash 10.08.2009).

Regarding the importance of land Shruti, on of the main PVCHR activists, adds that besides
its use in agriculture and the immediate link to productivity, the most important value that
land has in the Indian village is related to the notion that land ownership is linked with
dignity. Land ownership gives dignity and social prestige. In the rural setting the notions of
“good life” are linked with agricultural life and, according to Shruti, there is no culture
without agriculture, which means that culture is linked to the land. The social prestige that
one individual can claim in the village society is directly related to how much land this
individual owns. The ownership of land is very important for appropriate participation in the
cultural life of the village and the individual’s dignity in the village setting; it gives self
esteem and changes the respect others demonstrate towards oneself (Shruti 29.06.2009b).
These psycho-social aspects of the ownership of land are very important and should be
considered in the same amount as the more immediate effects of its agricultural prospects.

Even if all the interviewed persons and their communities value land highly, there are huge
differences in their approach towards the achievement of land rights. This varies from
passive waiting that someday someone will give them land, as it can be observed in the Nat

48
community of Shivrampur and in the majority of the Musahar people of Ayer village, to
various active struggle strategies as they can be found more pronounced in the Nat and
Musahar communities of Kuwar and Belwa.

6.3.2 Strategies used in the land rights struggle

The people interviewed and the communities they represent use more or less defined
strategies of struggle. Going hand in hand with the depth of their involvement in the
struggle, their strategies become more diversified and better developed. In cases of the Nat
of Shivrampur and of the Musahar of Ayer, only less developed ideas of struggle strategies
could be found. There, the people seemed more or less demoralised and without hope or
ideas how their involvement might lead to land allotment. They were waiting for someone
from the outside to come and give them land. Almost the only actions taken by them were
short confrontations with the village head, but after his refusal they did not continue to
pursue this trail. The Ayer Musahar are not primarily demanding land allotment and the few
actions they take are aimed much more at getting access to other government schemes like
job cards for the work in NREGA, access to ration cards or the government housing
schemes. It can be observed also that these demands are not raised very forcefully (Somaru
& Mithai 10.08.2009/ Damaru 27.08.2009).

The Ayer Musahar and the Nat of Shivrampur are just beginning the struggle and at the
moment they lack the proper knowledge about their rights as well as ideas of how to pursue
these rights. These communities are still much deeper embedded into the exploiting rural
caste system than the communities of Belwa and Kuwar are. Further they have not yet found
the strength and unity to challenge this system, which has oppressed and silenced them since
they were born. Deeply rooted feelings of powerlessness and unworthiness based on
experiences with exploiting upper castes leave the communities without hope that their
actions may lead to a change. In Ayer village there are some persons who have started to
work with PVCHR, but this cooperation is only just beginning and up to now the deep
rooted feelings of distrust towards upper caste people are still very powerful. Further the
communities are not united in their demands and in the struggle, so their ability to build up
pressure against the authorities is very limited. In the case of the Ayer Musahar their strong
believe in ghosts and other supernatural beings which influence their life is another obstacle
for the unity of the community. At least two groups are opposing each other very forcefully
and the fronts between them are hardened and persistent due to the belief that the opponents

49
have used supernatural powers to enforce their opinions. Further these supernatural beings
are only ascribed with destructive powers which can be used to harm opponents within the
community and to spread fear (Samaru & Pappu 04.08.2009). This is another factor to be
considered while trying to understand why certain communities are less active in the land
rights struggle than others.

To overcome this demoralisation and internal quarrels the PVCHR, together with their grass
root activists, tries to break these paralysing mindsets by initiating exchange between
different villages. In case of the Ayer Musahar they try to introduce them to the Belwa
Musahar, who live about 25 km away and belong to the same caste, but who are very active
in the land rights struggle. They have overcome many internal quarrels as well as conflicts
with other Dalit communities in their village to unite their strength for the struggle. Subhash,
a PVCHR grass root activists, tells that through cultural programmes and other meetings
they try to promote interactions between different Musahar communities as well as between
different Dalit or other marginalised communities. Further, the activists live with these
groups and take part in their daily life. This is aimed both at getting a better understanding of
the problems within the community; and as a confidence building measure to overcome the
distrust towards upper caste persons. Combined, these actions may lead to a breaking of the
circle of marginalisation and demoralisation and also convince these communities to join the
struggle (Subhash 10.08.2009).

In addition to the strategies explained by Subhash, Anupam who is also a PVCHR activist,
describes some of the strategies used as confidence-building measures in Kuwar to
overcome both the distrust of the Nat community towards upper caste persons in general as
well as their internal demoralisation. When the PVCHR activists start to visit a community
and try to motivate and assist the concerned marginalised community to pursue their rights,
they are confronted with various problems. Some of these are also related to the caste system
and the deep rooted distrust towards upper caste people, based on the fact that nearly all the
members of the main PVCHR activists belong to upper castes. Anupam told that it takes a
very long time to gain trust and to form a movement within the community. In case of
Kuwar they faced distrust but less than in other communities, because the Nat community
themselves initiated the first contact. There were still problems of distrust to solve, but they
were less than those of communities like the Ayer Musahar in which the initial contact was
made by the PVCHR. In case of Kuwar, the Nat people started to join PVCHR meetings,
rallies and demonstrations conducted nearby. After some time of contact, the PVCHR people

50
started to visit the Nat hamlet and started to conduct a situation assessment to determine their
needs and demands. Anupam explained that, besides many other needs, they found a strong
demand for education due to the absence of an accessible school close by. Consequently,
they started to run a Pre Primary Centre in the community to provide basic education to the
children as well as the parents. The Pre Primary Centre was staffed four hours a day and
slowly the Nat people started to visit this centre. They found that somebody was there for
them if they needed assistance and slowly, due to this permanent presence in the community
and the resulting interactions, the distrust towards the upper caste people from the city
shrank (Anupam 09.07.2009).

But still today, Anupam reports, the Nat people scrutinise the behaviour of the PVCHR
activists intensively, because it is very hard for them to believe that an upper caste person is
not treating them badly and trying to exploit them. Today the PVCHR activists are still very
careful to evaluate how their actions may be interpreted by the Nat community. They
understand that, due to their previous experiences with upper caste people, the Nat have to
be careful to protect their community.
“He is also checking us out. We are also upper caste, they are checking out we
are like that. […] I don’t know what my acting will be for them. Because I am
not from that community, so we are very aware about that. So if they have
prepared some food or water, I’m taking it, if I’m hungry or not, if I’m thirsty or
not, I just take the food or water, because till today they are checking our
attitude. It’s ok, because that is their right. That is their right, because they are
suffering very much from upper castes. We are taking very honoured; we are
giving them the honour. And we take very care about that, because I don’t know
what my actions will hurt him” (Anupam 09.07.2009).
To take food or water from the hands of a Dalit or even to share food with him is an
extraordinary action in the context of caste system according to which Dalits pollute every
foodstuff they touch and also pollute every person taking this food. By taking this food
within the context of the caste system one gives a telling representation of the unimportance
one gives to the restrictions of the caste system. By treating Dalits as equal human beings
through the practice of interdining, removes legitimation from the belief of pollution through
Dalits and further honours them by acknowledging their human nature as an equal being.

The practice of interdining, the action of taking food together without the barriers of caste,
combined with the other activities described before, can help to generate confidence and
trust between the two groups concerned. In case of Kuwar these confidence-building
measures have been very fruitful, resulting in a relationship of trust and mutual respect being
established, but to reach this point it took some years of intense efforts. In the Nat and

51
Musahar communities of Shivrampur and Ayer, the same strategies are pursued by PVCHR,
but still they have not reached the same level as in Kuwar and Belwa, but this approach to
overcoming their distrust and demoralisation seems promising as it has happened previously
in similar conditions.

The situation in the Nat and Musahar communities of Kuwar and Belwa is very different
compared to the communities of Ayer and Shivrampur. The Nat and Musahar communities
of these two villages are very active in the land rights struggle as well as in other human
rights related struggles and the strategies they use are much more developed and diversified.
The Nat and Musahar communities of these two villages are united in their struggle and they
fight on various levels from community education and resistance against upper castes claims
to interactions with the district administration and its representatives. Between these two
communities only a few differences regarding their strategies of struggle can be found. Both
communities are very eager to improve their unity and their knowledge and educational
situation, regarding formal education for children as well as informal education for the
adults. Inspired by the folk school model introduced by PVCHR they have developed further
educational facilities on the basis of exchange of experience. These work both within the
community and between different communities and people can share information about the
strategies they have used and their failure or success, so that other people can learn from
them and that existing ideas and strategies of struggle can be further developed and
improved (Anupam 09.07.2009). Besides the unity within the community, the Nat of Kuwar
for example have recently started to establish contact with other marginalised groups of
Kuwar village to combine their voices and to create a more powerful movement and to put
higher pressure on the authorities. The most intense contact has been established with the
Musahar community of Kuwar and the Muslim minority (Anupam in Dal Singar
18.07.2009).

The struggle strategies are mostly based on the attempt to use the tools available in the
administration of a democratic legislation. The people meet local authorities and file
complaints and petitions with them. These authorities can be found on various levels of the
administrative hierarchy from village heads and panchayats to the District Magistrate or even
the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. They also address the district courts of Varanasi and
higher judicial authorities like the courts of Illahabad and Lakhnau. The people of Kuwar use
the tools of petition and applications to confront the Chief Minister and the District
Magistrate with their neglect and to remind them, with their own tools, to take actions

52
against caste based discrimination and the like. In addition they use the Right to Information
(RTI) Act 12 to inquire about the status of their previous petitions and applications. With this
tool they can try to find out if their previous demands have been taken seriously and if not,
they may get proof of this neglect so that they will have a better formal standing for the next
steps of struggle. In addition, in case of negative information due to RTI, they can take
further actions against the persons in charge (Anupam 09.07.2009).

Furthermore they conduct demonstrations, rallies and (hunger) strikes to spread awareness
about their situation and their struggle and to put pressure on the authorities. In summer
2009 the Musahar of Belwa conducted a seven days strike in front of the block
administration building to force administrators to acknowledge their demands (Kismati
14.08.2009). Combined with the public and media attention generated by their persistent
demonstration in front of this administrative building they managed to force the authorities
at least to recognise that there are communities facing desperate living situations. The
demonstrators’ appearance in front of the public, the administration and even the courts
makes it more difficult for the authorities to keep on denying them their constitutional rights
in the future. When communities become aware of their rights and try to confront the
neglectful authorities, it gets harder and harder for them to continue their work as usual,
because their former victims are no longer silent and passively accepting their maltreatment.
Marginalised communities highlighting failures of the administration can develop a power
that can be dangerous for the position of the individual who previously has benefited from
their exploitation. Of course this takes a long time, and the Dalit people are mostly in the
weaker positions, but this challenge of the authorities and reminder of their constitutional
duties can lead to actual changes in the small scale politics towards Dalits and their claims.

In the village context the person directly in control of the access to land and government
schemes is the village head, so interactions with him are very important to acquire these
benefits. The Nat and Musahar send applications to him as well and they use the meetings of
the gram sabha and the panchayat to raise their demands and to urge them to take actions.
The people of the Dalit communities know that their immediate living situation is dependent
on the village head and on his approach towards Dalit people and their claims. Therefore the

12
The Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed in 2005 and it is aimed at providing the citizens of India with
a tool to inquire into the status of a previous applications or demands towards the government. The RTI enables
the citizens to ask questions to the concerned authorities about what has happened with this specific request in
the past. The RTI shall force the authorities to open their accounts and explain reasons for neglect of specific
topics. The RTI can be a powerful tool to reveal laxity of government personal and it is further aimed at an
improvement of administrative work, due to the fact that now, this work may be controlled.

53
people of all four villages have recognized that it is necessary to change the village head or
at least to change his way of dealing with Dalit people to get a share of their legal rights. In
some cases the people hope that they can change the village head through democratic votes,
as Madhuri from Belwa village states (Madhuri 14.06.2009). In other cases the people know
about the importance of the village head, but they are sceptical that a change in power would
lead to an improvement in their situation, because they have discovered that power corrupts
a person. So persons, even Dalits, begin to change after being elected village head and start
to adopt upper caste habitus (Damaru 27.08.2009). But still, actions against exploitation
through the village head remain a major factor of the land rights struggle in the rural context,
especially where the village head is also the major upper caste landholder of an area.

It could be further observed that, in Kuwar and Belwa, the Nat and Musahar people have
started to resist the established daily practices of the caste system. They have stopped
accepting their subordinated role in the village setting and they refuse to show the “required”
respect to the upper castes. They are not greeting and bowing to the upper castes and they try
to refuse their claims of “traditional” work agreements, which literally means bonded labour
(Manara 14.08.2009/ Kismati 14.08.2009). In case of the Nat of Kuwar, they refuse to work
in the upper castes fields. Further, they refuse to take part in all village gatherings which
require their presence on the basis of caste and tradition. The Nat used to be called to
marriages and other celebrations, where they were expected to perform their acrobatic arts in
exchange for some food. In the case of these celebrations they were “paid” with good quality
food, which is usually very valuable for them and as a result of other refusals they have to
face the denial of the small benefits or payments which were accessible to them before.
Nowadays the Nat of Kuwar refuse to take part in these functions which are codifying their
status in the realms of power. They refuse to take part in all actions which can be used to
acknowledge the caste system and its implications and they are prepared to face short term
detriments to contribute to the future (Anupam 09.07.2009).

In addition, the Nat and Musahar try to inquire into the land records and get access to these
to find out if they are properly kept and what they are officially stating about land possession
and land availability in the relevant area. Therefore they force government officials to
actually visit their hamlets and not just talk to some upper caste representatives in the main
market. Land survey officials as well as other administration officials or persons in charge of
(government) social welfare programmes seldom visited the Dalit hamlets in the past;
instead they just interacted with the villages’ upper castes and took down their situation

54
assessment. Some years ago the Nat of Kuwar started to intercept these people and force
them to visit the actual Dalit settlements and also to directly interact with them. As a result
the authorities could no longer pretend that they do not know about the real living situation
of the Dalit and the neglects by the people in charge. Previously they relied upon the
assurance by the upper castes that in this village, everything is fine. By forcing the surveyors
to actually visit their hamlets the Nat try to access land and government schemes directly,
without previous approval by the village head. Following these methods of inducing survey
and administration officials to visit their hamlets, especially in case of Kuwar, they are now
trying to bring media people or other persons who may be of public interest into their
communities. They show them their living situation with the hope, that public awareness can
be raised about the miserable living situation of the Dalit people and the problems they face
due to caste based discrimination and governmental neglect. They hope to find supporters
for their struggle who can give more voice and importance to their claims, who have easier
access to the courts and government and can assist them in their struggle.

Manara, a 65 years old lady of the Kuwar Nat has developed various struggle strategies in
the last three years since the Nat have been working in close relations with the PVCHR. She
is very active in the effort to get possession of the land which was allotted as settlement area
to the Nat community in 1964 and which is still captured by the upper castes. Further she
tries to get land for agricultural use as well as access to government schemes like old age and
widow pension and ration cards. Twice a month she tries to talk to the District Magistrate on
tehsil day. The tehsil is a local governance facility which has certain fiscal and
administrative powers and it is the ultimate executive agency for land records and related
matters like land availability and distribution. Every Tuesday the tehsil of Badagoan block is
supposed to hear the claims and applications of the people living under its jurisdiction. If
Manara is not able to express her demands on tehsil day, she goes to visit the residence of
the District Magistrate and tries to hand over her claims, demanding that he takes actions to
solve her problems. Further she goes to the block administration to raise her demands and
she goes to the police to report threats and violence by the upper castes. Of course, reporting
with the police is very difficult, because police were often used by the upper castes to further
threaten and pressurise the communities that they do not dare to resist against the upper
castes or demand for own land allotment. But she is showing the authorities that the Nat are
no longer afraid of the upper castes and their police henchmen and that it is no longer
possible to intimidate and silence them by fear. When a person abuses her or threatens her,
she tries to pay the same back and also threatens the police or local authorities with her

55
newly developed strength and her knowledge about her rights. In relations with the PVCHR
she is also very demanding. If she has not heard anything from them for more than four or
five days, she makes a phone call to inquire or even travels to the office to remind them of
her presence (Manara 14.08.2009). All these actions require a huge amount of Manara’s time
and also a certain amount of money for the travel expenses or the calls she is doing. From
the limited financial means available to her, she uses a considerable amount for her struggle
because she is sure, that just by forcefully raising their voices and making their actions
visible they will reach their aims of land allotment and increasing their living standard,
therefore she is willing to “risk” her financial means and also her physical safety.

Subhash further describes the strategies used to acquire information about the land records.
The people go to the thesil days or to the Kachahari court, which is the district court in
Varanasi, and demand for a copy of the land survey. The land survey is conducted every 6
months by the land department which collects all the information related to land such as who
is the legal owner of it, who has captured it, and who is using the land for what kind of
activities. So in theory detailed and up to date reports of land ownership, distribution and
utilisation should be available and accessible to the general public. The Nat and Musahar use
public pressure through demonstrations or the RTI to force the land department to hand over
these records and to investigate in the actual situation properly by really visiting and talking
to the marginalised communities. Having knowledge about the official land records makes it
easier to fill applications and to point out inaccuracies to the public to ensure proper
utilisation of existing rules (Subhash 10.08.2009).

There are two different ways to file applications for land allotment. The first one is an
application for general allotment. It demands allotment of land in general without stating
anything about land availability or existing land distribution. The other form of application is
a specific application for which the knowledge of the official land records is necessary. Then
it is possible to file specific applications and to identify specific plots of land, their owners
and utilisation. With a specific application, based on the official land records and the land
identification maps used in them, it gets harder for the landholders or authorities to oppose
land distribution measures, or further deny land distribution by stating that no land is
available. In these cases proof exists that this statement is just a self-serving declaration and
the chances of land distribution towards the marginalised are higher as compared to the
general applications. On the other hand, the specific applications may contain more risks for
the life and property of the marginalised applicants than the general applications do. Specific

56
applications are directly targeted on a specific landholder and his (il)legal property, so the
chances that this landholder will use violent means to keep the land in his possession are
growing (Subhash 10.08.2009).

The majority of the strategies used by the Nat and Musahar people are non-violent means of
struggle and resistance like applications to the government, to the administrative bodies and
the courts, demonstrations and media interaction to raise awareness and also acts of
resistance and denial of caste based practices in the village setting. But in some cases they
feel that this is not enough. Kismati from Belwa village states that they would also need to
have weapons like sticks and guns to fight in their struggle and to be able to fight back the
forces of the landowners/ village heads/ police who start to “defend” their power with
violent means (Kismati 14.08.2009). But despite this situation of violent threats by the
powerful, most of the strategies of the land rights struggle used by the Nat and Musahar
people are non-violent strategies based on democratic provisions, Weapons are in most cases
just desired for self-preservation and self-defence against violence exerted on them by the
land lords and their henchmen.

6.3.3 Problems faced while struggling

There are various problems which the communities have to face while they are struggling.
These range from internal disputes, the caste system and poverty to biased administration
officials or the bureaucratic system. In the following, some of these problems will be
highlighted to illustrate these deeply intertwined problems.

Problems can be found within the community or in relations with other marginalised
communities. Samaru and Pappu from Ayer state that in their community there are two
groups that cannot be united. One of these groups is following the interests of the village
head and the upper castes while the other one is preparing to join the land right struggle.
This split situation weakens the fighting strength considerably, especially when the dividing
line is constructed around the question of support for the upper castes (Samaru & Pappu
04.08.2009). This creates a tense situation inside the community, because the group willing
to take up the struggle is confronted by the upper castes as well as their own community
people and facing further threat and fear of spies and other related dangers.

There are many additional problems arising out of internal quarrels and personal interests
which may change the evaluation or contextualisation of a certain event, and which, in

57
relation to that, can change personal involvement in the struggle. As Anup, who works with
PVCHR and translated many of the interviews used, adds in regards to Samaru and Pappu’s
statements, there are lots of problems due to the fact that most of the Ayer Musahar do not
understand the interrelations of events in the past, the present and their possible future (Anup
in Samaru & Pappu 04.08.2009). On the one hand, even in case of the more educated
persons of this community, who in the past went to fight for their rights at the Lakhnau and
Illahabad courts, the belief in destructive supernatural beings is very strong and very
demoralising. On the other hand, their situation assessment and willingness to work with
PVCHR or to take part in the struggle seems not to be motivated by an understanding of the
interrelations of caste discrimination and their living situation, it sometimes seems to be
more built by personal interests and can change according to internal conflicts, as the
following example may show.

A child of the Musahar community was beaten by the teacher in the government school,
because of the fact that he, as a member of the Musahar community, dared to attend school.
This case of caste based discrimination and violence was intensely highlighted in the local
media, the community became very active and involved and as a result disciplinary actions
were taken against the teacher. Within the community there was the understanding that this
beating was an arbitrary act of caste based discrimination conducted by the upper caste
teacher aimed at evicting the Musahar children from the school and keeping them illiterate
and exploitable in the future. But this case, which helped to unite the community for a short
time is nowadays contextualised differently by Samaru, who now states that this beating was
not motivated due to caste based discrimination, instead is was just a normal punishment by
a teacher of a misbehaving child. As Anup explained about the further context of this event
in the village setting, he told about a quarrel between Samaru and the child’s father. Due to
this quarrel, Samaru changed his interpretations of the past events and again a new dividing
line is built in this community and the previously achieved unity in fighting against
discrimination regarding the access to education is again lost. Anup further gave his
assessment of the problems. He told that, nowadays, Samaru and parts of the Ayer
community are working with PVCHR and their ideas of struggle, because they want
immediate problems to be solved. In case of Samaru and Pappu this immediate problem is
related to corruption and exploitation in the NREGA schemes. But Anup is pessimistic about
what will happen, if the immediate problem is solved. He fears, that they may stop fighting
for greater coherences, against the caste system in general, because they lack deeper

58
understanding of the interrelations between caste and their marginalised status and between
past and future.
“The problem is they are quarrelling each other, because they are illiterate and
the most problem is that they are illiterate and they are not thinking about
anything, why this is happening and what will happen in future, they are only
living on the present time, not in the past, not in the future” (Anup in Samaru &
Pappu 04.08.2009).
These internal conflicts rooted in quarrels, illiteracy, and a lack of education and
understanding lead to major problems for the work of PVCHR and the successful struggle
for land rights as well as human rights in general. Further, these problems are part of the
demoralisation persistent especially in the Ayer Musahar community which has to be
overcome by the community.

Additional problems related to unity and a weakening of strength can be found in the fact
that often there is no solidarity between people of different Dalit and OBC communities
which all face similar living conditions and often have similar demands. In case of struggle
for government schemes like job and ration cards or health care facilities, often a united
struggle movement can be found. But when it comes to land rights, this unity is broken and
no common support can be found (Shruti 29.06.2009a). In the case of land rights, individual
claims, fears of loss and neglect and the fear of being overlooked overcome the previously
achieved unity in struggle and so the movement reverberated to individual struggle loses
strength. Further, previously suppressed notions of caste hierarchy within different Dalit and
OBC groups regain power when it comes to land rights and the question of who should be
the benefactors of land distribution measures.

Other internal problems weakening the strength of a community and the involvement of
individuals in the struggle are based directly on the desperate living situation and the
persistent poverty. In the immediate fight for survival with physically hard labour and the
attempts to find enough food there is sometimes no strength left to engage oneself in further
struggles. Shanta Ram from Shivrampur tells that the first priority for his family is income
for survival, therefore they do labour. He says that they do not have time to fight for rights of
land and other schemes because their immediate needs of survival demand income, which
firstly has to be generated (Shanta Ram 27.08.2009). Subhash shares similar observations
regarding his problems of organising and motivating the Musahar community of Ayer. He
says that the Musahar people do not have time to talk to him, to interact and to engage
themselves into the struggle, because they are going to the city to work as labourers. When
they return late at night there is just enough time left to sleep and no energy left for the

59
struggle (Subhash 10.08.2009). Of course this is a difficult situation and a kind of vicious
circle. The desperate living situation and the fight for survival consume all strength left in a
person and there is often nothing left to be used in the struggle. But on the other hand this
situation reproduces the living situation, because without struggle, nothing will change.
Therefore it is necessary to overcome this demoralisation, to enable and motivate the
communities to pursue their rights, to give hope that their actions may change something,
and above all, find ways to secure their immediate needs so that they can put all their
strength into the movement.

Another problem which is mostly found in the beginning stages of the struggle is again
related to the motivation of the marginalised community. As Ram Khelavan states it is often
difficult to explain to the marginalised communities that it takes time till their actions may
lead to significant changes and that the administrations are working slowly. He tells that
often it is believed that after they have started to raise their voice they will receive access to
the schemed demanded immediately. Therefore it can be very difficult and challenging to
keep the struggle alive and the communities motivated to engage themselves into the
struggle, when changes can not be achieved immediately (Ram Khelavan 30.07.2009).

Sometimes it is very hard to distinguish, if a certain problem is more related to internal or

external factors because both realms are very much interlinked due to interactions which
cross the exiting boundaries and effect the organisation of the community both in internal
and external relations. Some of these interlinked problems are described by Dal Singar of
Kuwar as follows: The upper castes try to stop the Nat community in their efforts by taking
the concerned cases to court. This makes it is very difficult for the Nat people, because they
lack the required money to pay for the court procedures as well as the proper knowledge
about their rights and the ways a court works. Because of the poverty, which could be
classified as both as an internal and an external problem related to the caste based rural
labour market, the people of the Nat community face difficulties in accessing other
community external facilities like courts. Some other problems affecting the motivation
inside the community are also linked to poverty and the employment situation. As Dal
Singar states, many parents of his community have collected some additional money through
begging and labour or cut down their monthly expenses to allow their children to attend
school. They tried very hard to provide their children with education, because they hoped
that in the future they would be able to find better jobs, when they are literate and educated.
But in reality, even educated people of the Nat community are not able to find quality jobs.

60
This is mostly linked with persistent caste discrimination because of which they get denied
access to these jobs by the authorities. The fact that there can be found nearly no significant
difference in the employment opportunities of educated and uneducated Nat people leads to
frustration inside the community and the willingness to spend on education and to face
austerity declines (Dal Singar 18.07.2009). This frustration linked to the education system
and the employment situation further affect the motivation to involve oneself into the
struggle and furthermore keeps the communities trapped in desperate living circumstances.

Besides these internal problems that people and communities active in the land rights
struggle have to face and deal with the resulting demotivation, other problems can be found
due to external factors which may be related to the village head, the landlords and
landholders and various other administrative institutions or local powers.

The village head is the first major obstacle many communities have to deal with. All
decisions concerning the village have to be approved by the village head, so failure or
success of any measures towards land rights are dependent on his decision and his approach
towards Dalit people. In all four communities studied, the village head is opposing the
claims of the Nat and Musahar people, but there are differences in his ferocity and in the
means he is willing to use to discourage his “opponents”. The village heads are mostly from
upper castes, but even if they are from Scheduled Castes, they often develop an upper caste
attitude towards the claims of other Dalit people. The village heads of Kuwar and Belwa
village have been secure in their positions for decades and still they treat, or try to treat,
people with inhuman methods. They do not listen to the claims of the marginalised and let
them wait for hours or even days to express their claims and then the village heads only
rarely takes actions in favour of the Dalits claim. In case of the village Shivrampur Damaru
states, that the village head never abuses them, but he just talks and sometimes promises
actions, but these actions are never accomplished (Damaru 27.08.2009).

In case of Kuwar village, Manara and the grass root activist Mangla explain the prevalent
“divide and rule” policy used by the village head. In Kuwar the village head promises land
distribution or other benefits in exchange for support of his politics or in elections. He
distributes access to land and other government schemes as a kind of reward for behaviour in
his favour. Further he uses his power over decisions to cause quarrels and conflicts within
the lower caste communities, by promising or giving access to certain persons, but denying
to others. These newly created internal conflicts and the practice of promising access as a
reward for “good behaviour” are aimed at keeping the Dalit communities powerless and

61
oppressed. In addition these practices also prevent the different lower caste communities
from uniting and starting to pursue their claims with combined powers. Through this divide
and rule policy the village head of Kuwar keeps the communities separate and weakens their
fighting strength through the creation of internal disputes (Mangla in Manara 14.08.2009).

Another problem while dealing with the village head and other administrative authorities is
the widespread practice of corruption. Many persons occupying the position of the village
head or other administrative ones, demand money before they are willing to listen to a
demand or to provide the required documents for a ration card or a job card. But even after
paying the (often exorbitant) bribes demanded, one cannot be sure that the demand will be
fulfilled, the card issued or the land distributed. In case of Kuwar village Manara told that
after the death of her husband she went to the village head to apply for a widow pension
card. The village head promised to issue this card for a payment of 500 rupees
(approximately US $10), which is a fortune for Manara who survives through begging. To
collect the required 500 rupees Manara was forced to sell many of her personal belongings
and finally she managed to pay the demanded bribe to the village head, but she never
received access to the widow pension scheme (Manara 14.08.2009).

All these actions are aimed at keeping the Dalit communities weak but besides these
strategies of denial and divide and rule, which are based on the use of institutional power and
indirect violence, there are also other means used to weaken the communities by use of
physical violence. These strategies are common when it comes to conflicts about land rights.
Land is a very valuable asset and hardly anyone who is in control of a certain amount of
land, may it be legal or illegally owned, is willing to lose control over it. People who are
raising their demands for land allotment are challenging the local ownership and power
structures. By that they are creating problems for the persons who feel a threat to the
legitimation of their power if they lose control over the land. There is a very powerful
network of land lords who constantly work to increase their power by acquiring more lands.
In most cases they are capturing previously government owned lands and they deny land
rights to the landless persons. These landholders can be called a land mafia and every person
directly or indirectly challenging their power by applying for his/her own land allotment is
subject to their violent threats. These violent threats include destruction of the settlements
and huts/ houses, battering and other forms of violence aimed at destruction of property and
threats to physical safety to discourage them from pursuing their claims for land allotment.
The land mafias often use the police to execute this violence and to further threat their

62
“opponents”. In the early morning of 29th January 2009 for example, a small settlement of
the Dharkar community in Varanasi was destroyed by the police and the Dharkar people
were very brutally beaten. For the last four generations the Dharkar have lived on a fallow
piece of government land which is also claimed by a local landlord. In 2008 they started to
apply for ownership titles for this land, as a result of this; they were violently evicted from
these lands by the combined forces of the land mafia and the police (Anup in Subhash
10.08.2009).

There are additional problems related to land and its distribution. The problem of land
capture can be found very often and in various forms. It may be that former landholders
refuse to give up land which was in their possession, as it can be found in the Ceilings on -
Landholdings Act. Land can further be captured when former government land is being
distributed, but when the upper castes seize it. Another problem can be found in the location
of the plot of land distributed to a Dalit community. Kismati from Belwa tells that some land
was distributed to their community but these plots are located far away from their settlement
in the area of the upper castes. The caste based power structures and the violence and threats
they face by the upper castes do not allow them to use these plots which have been allotted
to them (Kismati 14.08.2009). Other problems regarding land are related to the land records
kept by the land department. Firstly it is very difficult for Dalits to get access to these
records and secondly these records are often not properly kept. In case of her village Belwa,
Kismati tells that the official land records state that some of the lands surrounding the
Musahar community are ponds. Ponds of course can not be distributed as agricultural land,
so the potential land available for distribution is shrinking due to this wrong declaration as a
pond. In reality the land surrounding the Musahar community is used as agricultural land by
the upper castes, but as long as it does not officially exist as “land” in the records, it is not
possible for the Musahar to claim access to these lands legally (Kismati 14.08.2009). By this
manipulation of the land record the village head and other upper caste land holders manage
to stay in possession of these lands and to achieve this they profit greatly from the caste bias
prevalent in the officials of the land survey, who often refuse to actually visit Dalit
communities.

6.3.4 Material changes

In the following section the material changes which took place in the communities since they
started to demand land rights, as well as access to social security programmes in general, are

63
highlighted. Sometimes it is very difficult to decide if these changes belong to the material
realm or to the non-material realm which is described in chapter 6.3.5, because both realms
are deeply interlinked. And even if one asset or improvement like a hand pump is easily
grouped as a material change, the effects this asset may have on the community are both
material as well as non-material. In attempting to differentiate between both realms, it must
be kept in mind that it is not possible to make absolutely clear differentiations due to the
multiple effects in both realms which one asset may have.

In nearly all villages studied the demand for land was the first one raised after contact with
PVCHR was established. But just with a few rare exceptions no one out of the studied Nat
and Musahar communities received land in a sufficient amount due to their struggle. But
while they started struggling for land their knowledge about other government schemes and
their constitutional rights increased, so that other issues, besides land rights, were also
highlighted and access to some of these other assets could be achieved. Due to the varying
quality and content of the interviews conducted, there is less data available for the villages of
Shivrampur and the Ayer Musahar Ghetto, so that it is not possible to achieve an equally
detailed analysis.

In case of Kuwar village the following demands were raised by the Nat community in
addition to the main demand for land allotment for settlement and agriculture. The Nat
demanded a second hand pump for their hamlet of 24 families. They demanded ration cards,
old age and widow pension and for access to the Indira Awas Yojana housing schemes as
well as electricity supply for their hamlet. Further they raised the demand for a government
school in the proximity of their settlement so that their children would be able to attend
classes and for access to the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). This scheme
combines, through an Anganwadi centre, the facilities of a nursery school with health care
and basic education. In addition they demanded that the administrative bodies deal with their
community by visiting their settlement and directly interacting with them (Dal Singar
18.07.2009). These demands required interactions with the administrative bodies in nearly
the same way as described previously in regards to the demand for land.

Out of these various assets and government schemes demanded, some have already been
achieved through their struggle and some were in progress in summer 2009, while the study
was conducted. The Nat community of Kuwar received a second hand pump as well as
access to ration cards to buy subsidised food, and as Manara states the distribution of
nutritious food has started (Manara 14.08.2009). Electricity has been promised to them and

64
the poles have been built already but the cable is still missing, but nonetheless the access to
electricity supply is on the way. Dal Singar states the same for the different pension
schemes; they were in process in July 2009 (Dal Singar 18.07.2009). According to Anupam
one governmental education centre is also about to start work, it should be opening during
August or September 2009 (Anupam 09.07.2009) 13 . Two families have gotten land allotment
in the last years. The allotted plots are very small, but still they give the opportunity of
agriculture and additional food production. As Dal Singar states, although these plots are too
small to allow subsistence farming but a slight improvement of the nutritional and financial
situation of these families could be observed (Dal Singar 18.07.2009).

In the case of the village Belwa, similar changes have taken place since the Musahar
community started to engage themselves in the struggle. One of the most outstanding
changes in the Musahar community of Belwa is the fact that all the bonded labourers from
this community have been freed and that nobody now dares to force them into bondage
again. The interactions between the Musahar of Belwa and PVCHR were intensified because
of these bonded labour cases in the year 2003 and after that many other problems and
demands were highlighted. The Musahar have received job and ration cards due to their
struggle, so they may get access to NREGA programmes as well as to subsidised food. Most
children are attending the newly opened government school and they are receiving midday
meal there. An Auxiliary Nursing Mother is now available for the children of the community
and takes care of their health needs, while establishing a medical facility and raising
awareness about health issues. In addition an Anganwadi centre for child care has also
opened in the Musahar community as part of the ICDS programmes to monitor child
development and to distribute nutritious food. (Madhuri 14.08.2009).

In the Ayer Musahar community an Anganwadi centre has started its work, the community
centre was re-established and the children got admission to the government school in
neighbouring Shivrampur and access to the midday meal served there. Further, a kitchen
programme was started in Ayer Musahar Ghetto to distribute nutritious food and promote
interactions between people of different castes and communities. Few families have received
ration cards or job cards, and three families were assigned with the Indira Awas Yojana
housing scheme. Also, the government built some latrines in this community (Shruti
29.06.2009c). No one has gained access to land rights and the achievements are less in

13
The Non-formal governmental education centre in Kuwar village was opened for the period of two month but
is again closed in February 2010. There has been no progress regarding the supply of electricity (e-mail Lenin
Raghuvanshi 04.01.2010).

65
comparison to the other three communities. This is related to the fact that the efforts of
struggle in case of the Ayer Musahar are still in the beginning stage and not as well
developed and forcefully pursued as in the other three communities.

In case of the village Shivrampur, due to its specific setting with a powerful Dalit majority
and progressive upper castes who support the claims of the Dalit in most cases, the situation
in Shivrampur is very different from the other three villages. The majority of the Shivrampur
people have already achieved access to land and all government schemes they are entitled to,
like pensions, ration and job cards. There are three schools available out of which one is a
middle school, health care facilities like Anganwadi centres are functioning and even a Dalit
woman was elected as village head. As Shruti states, while walking through Shivrampur it is
no longer possible to recognize the Dalit settlements, because they made use of the schemes
available and their community flourished (Shruti 29.06.2009b). The Nat community of
Shivrampur has not yet received access to land, but they have received ration and job cards
as well.

In summary, besides being active in the land rights struggle, many other problems and
demands related to livelihood generation or lifestyle improvement are also highlighted and
struggled for. Most of these other demands are much more easily achieved than the actual
access to land, but they may have deep impacts on the living situation. Access to hand
pumps and better quality water combined with job and ration cards which enable access to
subsidized food and paid work can, if the schemes are functioning as intended, have
considerable effects for the improvement of ones living situation, while providing better
access to food, water, healthcare and housing. An increased living standard combined with
higher security of livelihood generation can ease the immediate struggle for survival and
give time, power and opportunity to engage oneself in further struggle movements for
example the land rights movement.

6.3.5 Non-material changes

In regards to the non-material changes which took place within the communities since they
started to be active in the land rights struggle, the data generated by the interviews is
incomplete. For the Ayer Musahar Ghetto and the Nat community of Shivrampur no
information regarding such intangible changes could be extracted from the interviews. In
case of Ayer this is related to the fact that the struggle is still in its beginning stage and until
today no significant changes regarding the mindset of the Ayer Musahar have taken place. In

66
case of Shivrampur this insufficient amount of information is related to the persons
interviewed and their lacking knowledge and involvement into the land rights struggle. The
information about changes in the village Shivrampur is not extracted from interviews, it is
based on personal observations and communications with PVCHR activists.

In the Nat community of Kuwar many non-material changes in regards to the predominant
mindset within their community could be observed. One of the most important facts is that
the community has been united and that they speak with one voice, raising the same
demands at the administrative bodies. Because of their continuous presence in front of the
authorities and their resistance against the police and “traditional” power structures based on
the caste system and caste-based discrimination, in Varanasi district, the Nat community of
Kuwar became famous for their rise. Further, as Manara states, many of the local authorities
are now “afraid” of the Nat community and their new found unity, strength and voice which
they use as “loudspeaker in administration and government” to fight for their rights (Manara
14.08.2009).

Manara describes the changes in her life and her community in detail. She states that the
struggle has made her powerful. She is no longer afraid of anybody, may it be the police or
the upper castes. In the past, when the policemen or upper caste persons came into her
hamlet, she showed a very subordinate behaviour. She bent down and folded her hands and
she did not resist violence or exploitation. Today she is not showing this subordinate
behaviour anymore. If someone, like a policeman, threatens her, she resists him and also
fights him back. She no longer silently accepts and receives threats and other forms of
violence; she tries to fight the abusing forces and pushes herself to a more equal level of
interaction by forcing them to acknowledge her as a human being. She is taking actions to
demand her rights and challenges the authorities and the local power structures by refusing
to act in the ways ascribed to her by the caste system. In the last three years, since their
contact with PVCHR was intensified and the struggle of the Nat community gained strength,
her life has changed a lot. She summarises the changes for her by explaining that she now
knows everything, about her rights, about the benefits she is entitled to and about the ways to
14
fight for these. She states that she has become just like a lion (Manara 14.08.2009).
Further she states that her experience within the struggle made her hopes touch reality.

14
The sentence: „I became just like a lion” found in the summary of Manaras statements is, according to my
understanding, derived out of the translation of an idiom used. In the English language one fights like a lion, I
doubt that the same image exists in the Hindi language, but the use as a comparison to a powerful fighter is still
intended.

67
Through the fact that their communities struggle led to some changes, their hopes become
accessible and further motivate the communities to pursue these hopes while struggling.

Dal Singar adds that he and his community gained a lot of things due to their struggle. This
statement is related to the material gains like a hand pump and access to government
schemes, but further he also mentions their new found confidence and the encouragement
they receive by PVCHR. He states that since the time when PVCHR first came to their
community they learned many things with their help.
“When PVCHR came, we found out the ways, now we can say we can fight and
we can grow. PVCHR is coming to us to fight for our right and for our
community building and also they promote us for education, they learn us
education is important. We are fighting but they are just watching (laughs), if we
will get success or not, but we are still fighting. We want rights from government
but are still waiting for the results” (Dal Singar 18.07.2009 translation by
Anupam).
This statement also includes the essential working approach of PVCHR which understands
their work as assistance to independent struggle. They are providing the communities with
the information and skills required but they leave it to the community people to confront the
authorities with their demands to create a confident and self-dependent movement within the
communities.

Furthermore, Dal Singar draws a lot of motivation from their achievements in the past from
which he learned that struggle against marginalisation and exploitation can lead to success
and changes within the community and their lifestyle.

Anupam further reinforces the statements of Manara and Dal Singar and gives some
additional observations. Since they started the struggle about four years ago the community
changed a lot, especially in regards to voice. Voice in this case means their ability to express
themselves and their demands in front of the authorities as well as in regards to everyday
interactions and conversations. Anupam tells how, when they first started to work in Kuwar,
the Nat community was demoralised and suppressed, and did not confront the authorities or
express themselves in any form. “A little bit light voice was coming” out of this community,
but in the following years they gained confidence and experience and today “we have very
loud voice of these communities” (Anupam 09.08.2009). Further, Anupam emphasises the
circular character of their organisational involvement with the Nat community. PVCHR
gives inputs and support and is engaged within the community, but only because the
community wants them to. Without the desire and intense engagement by the concerned
community no working relationship would be built. As Anupam puts it, there are various

68
villages where the people are suffering, but without engagement by the communities there is
nothing that PVCHR can do to assist them. The Nat community of Kuwar became strongly
engaged in the work with PVCHR, and a circular learning system, which can be compared to
the folk school, has formed within the community to spread experience and knowledge
within their group and with neighbouring communities. At present, Anupam summarises, the
Nat people of Kuwar are not only fighting for land rights. Additionally they are fighting for
access to government schemes, health and education system and they are fighting the caste
system and its discriminating practices in general. According to her, today the Nat people of
Kuwar are aware of their rights and the help and support they can receive from their
cooperation with PVCHR and they have now learned to reach everywhere in relation to the
administrative system and the authorities (Anupam 09.08.2009).

In case of the village Belwa the non-material changes within the community, especially
those regarding mindset and self-esteem are quite similar to the changes described
previously in case of the Kuwar Nat. But there are slight differences in the directions these
changes took due to the different causes of struggle in the two villages. In Belwa village the
struggle for rights and against the village head and the other exploiting upper castes arose
due to three bonded labour cases in the Musahar community in 2003. In previous years the
situation of the Musahar had worsened drastically. More and more people were taken into
bondage, payment decreased and violence was used frequently to threaten the Musahar.
Their nutritional situation worsened and nine children died due to starvation and other
hunger related illnesses. When, at the same time that the starvation deaths occurred, the
village head tried to make three new permanent bonded labourers the Musahar people started
to resist (Kismati 14.05.2009).

Upendra, a PVCHR activist explained the situation which led to a change in the Musahar
community and to their rise against exploitation as follows: According to his observations
the exploitation and marginalisation has a limit, and after this position is reached, the
exploitation and oppression declines. He states that the village head of Belwa exploited the
Musahar community very much and always tried to increase his power and wealth by further
exploiting the lower caste subordinates. The Musahar community of Belwa was prey to these
exploitations but their deep rooted feelings of weakness paralysed them. But by further
increasing his oppression by creating permanent bonded labourers, the village head,
according to Upendra, crossed the boundary and the Musahar took the only path left for
them by starting to resist the landlords’ claims. This was the turning point for the Musahar

69
community. With help of PVCHR the three bonded labourers were freed and the Musahar
people experienced achieving their aims by fighting in unity against oppression. The village
head of Belwa is a local “superpower man”. To fight against this superpower is an
extraordinary action and requires braveness. Due to their experience of success by freeing
the bonded labourers, the Musahar community got very motivated and started to fight the
authorities for other reasons like access to schemes and land (Upendra in Kismati
14.08.2009).

Kismati has developed hopes for the future. She wants to get access to the government
schemes and obtain education for her children, so that her “children’s future will become
bright”. Therefore she refuses to accept seasonal labour in brick kilns far away, as she and
her family used to do in the past and which involved seasonal migration for them all. Today
she is looking for employment in proximity to the village to enable their children to attend
school and receive education. Further, due to her experience in the struggle her self-esteem
changed a lot. Before she started to fight for her rights she states that she was a very weak
person. She did not take any actions and was always thinking about her poverty and her
weakness. But today she states that she has power and that she can do anything (Kismati
14.08.2009).

Madhuri, who came to the community through marriage after the bonded labourers had been
freed, emphasises the importance of their standing united against the village head to fight for
their rights. Further one very important change in her life was that she and other adults in
their community learned how to write their names. Being able to sign ones own name is a
source of confidence and self-esteem, especially when dealing with the authorities (Madhuri
14.08.2009).

Shruti summarises the changes within the community of the Belwa Musahar as following: In
the past the Musahar of Belwa did not raise any questions, they did not discuss among
themselves the problems they had to face. They were trapped in their subordinate position.
But today, they are discussing their problems, they are attending folk schools and they are
involved into community and organisational meetings. Due to their involvement in these
processes they have started to ask questions and to raise their voices. They are demanding
their rights very forcefully and they have become “fearless people” (Shruti 29.06.2009a).
Similar to the Nat of Kuwar, they are not afraid anymore of the threats the village head and
other upper caste persons makes to them. They know about their rights and about ways to
fight for them by putting pressure on the upper castes and local authorities. They are no

70
longer passively accepting their subordinate status; they are breaking out of it and claiming
back their human dignity.

In case of the village Shivrampur the self-esteem of most Dalit communities has risen
significantly. It is no longer possible, either in regards to settlement infrastructure or in
regards to the individuals’ behaviour, to recognise the settlements of the landed Dalits while
walking through the village. However, this change in the self-esteem and the material assets
available, in combination with a rise in the lifestyle, may have negative effects. New
problems may arise when a community is able to change their lifestyle. In case of
Shivrampur this can be observed in the case of some families who have adopted parts of
what can be called “upper caste habitus”. This “upper caste habitus” can be found either in
regards to the treatment of subordinate strata of the village society or in regards to patriarchy
and the treatment of women. This newly adopted behaviour may sometimes be used as a
demarcation against parts of the Dalit community and is often aimed at increasing one’s own
status in the power hierarchies of the village by depreciating others. According to Shruti it
can be observed that the patriarchy of the upper castes is very different from the patriarchy
prevailing in the lower castes. Upper caste women, as Shruti states, do not go out of the
house to take part in community life or to work in the fields or the like; they are like slaves
in the house of their male relatives (Shruti 29.06.2009a). In Shivrampur, some of the landed
Dalits have also adopted upper caste patriarchy, which is of course no benefit for the
empowerment of women. Certainly within the Dalit communities patriarchy is also the
prevalent form of family organisation, but due to economic necessity, the Dalit women are
“allowed” to leave the house, work and take part in community life. Women participate in
the fields of economy, work and property, but in many cases the women are not in control of
the land they work on or of their produce. However, this is a different notion of gender-
equality, or the acceptance of women and their work as valuable and necessary parts of
livelihood generation, which seems to be more developed among the Dalit women than it is
in the upper castes. Manara from Kuwar for example states, that she believes that all
property and access to benefits is distributed jointly by the government (Manara
14.08.2009). Therefore it is also very important to be aware of the “undesired” effects that
go hand in hand with the empowerment and economic development of a community. As
Shruti states this
“[…] is very challenging, because they are going to their masters and the
landlords and all. And they are looking a very stabilized patriarchal society. So
they have the feeling of genders and when they become richer, they are starting

71
 same (the discrimination of women F.B.). (Shruti 29.06.2009a translation by
Lenin).
Therefore, Shruti states, it is necessary to work continuously on the ideas of patriarchy and
gender-relations to promote equal access to resources and a treatment based on mutual
respect to prevent the previously mentioned effects of economic development and “social
advancement” as occurred in some families of Shivrampur. This example also shows that
empowerment of a certain group in relations to a specific asset does not necessarily mean a
benefit for all individuals of this group and does not necessarily lead to a society based on
gender-equality and mutual respect.

72
7. Voice

The ability to raise ones voice and to manage to get this voice heard by the authorities or the
general public is a very important accomplishment in the context of land rights or general
rights struggle and a significant component of the empowerment process. The ability to
speak and raise ones voice has multiple layers, it can be found in relations to the political
sphere as well as in relations to the individuals’ direct living context. It can be found in
relations to authorities and courts, in relations to the media with the purpose of awareness
building but also in relations to the individuals’ ability to converse and to express his
feelings, needs and hopes. Therefore voice has both, a structural and a rhetorical dimension
which are interlinked and mutually dependent. Voice shows itself in demonstrations and
applications, in folk schools and village meetings and in direct confrontations with
authorities or their henchmen. The ability to speak or to speak up and raise ones voice
against someone or for something, as well as the ability to converse and express oneself is a
skill which first has to be acquired, especially when dealing with marginalised, voiceless
communities. The voicelessness in relations to the political sphere as well as in the
individuals’ direct living context has to be overcome. This can be very difficult, especially in
situations where experiences of repression and neglect are prevalent and nobody has ever
cared about the experience of the marginalised. People are made or kept voiceless by the
overlying structures of social and political organisation which excludes them from access to
these structures. Further they can be made voiceless due to resignation which results out of
their exclusion from the political sphere.

Out of the four studied communities the communities of the Kuwar Nat and the Belwa
Musahar have become very vocal in the past few years. They have learned how to express
their demands in front of authorities and how they can create awareness for their situation.
The Musahar community of Ayer and the Nat community of Shivrampur are in the
beginning stages of struggle and only slight changes in regards to their ability to raise their
voice or their ability to speak could be observed. Interestingly, aspects related to the use of
voice and the ability to speak showed in the interviews conducted within the four
communities. These aspects were mostly linked to the rhetorical dimension of voice, but the
ability to use the rhetorical dimension of voice has huge influences on the development and
usage of its structural aspects. The occurrence of free speech and individual assessments was
significantly higher in the cases of Kuwar and Belwa. In the interviews conducted in Ayer

73
and Shivrampur nearly no examples of free speech could be found. All questions were
answered as briefly as possible, in most cases in one or two sentences, and these answers
stayed on a descriptive level and nearly no personal emphasises or conclusions were visible.
Two interview of Ayer village include free speech. These are the interviews of the grass root
activist Subhash, who, in his function as a professional human rights activist can not be
included in an evaluation of the ability to speak, in regards to its rhetorical dimension, of the
Musahar community. The other interview which includes free speech was conducted with
Somaru and Pappu. In this interview the parts related to land rights struggle are also
answered quite briefly, but the parts about the ghost powers, which are believed to influence
the live of the Ayer Musahar, include huge amounts of free speech by Somaru. Somaru has
experience with courts in Illahabad and Lakhnau, therefore he has learned to speak up in
front of people, but this is an exception in his community.

In Kuwar and Belwa the portion of free speech and individual contextualisation is much
higher but there were differences between the people interviewed which went hand in hand
with their involvement into the struggle and their usage of voices’ structural dimension. The
interviews of Manara and Dal Singar from Kuwar, who are both very active in the struggle
and sometimes seem to take over the position of a leader, show huge amounts of free speech
and own assessments and contextualisation of certain problems. The interview with Dal
Singar is the only interview in which the interviewed person asked about the aims of
interview conduction and linked his consent to be interviewed with demands about the use of
his statements. Dal Singar demanded that his statements and his “voice” shall be given “a
large space” so that people outside India also know about the problems of the Nat
community and their struggle for rights (Dal Singar 18.07.2009). Dal Singar was aware that
the participation in this study may generate and distribute information about his community
on a different scale than he would be able to, and he used this tool given to him consciously
and with hope to receive support due to his statements. He used his skills in the rhetorical
realm of voice to access and influence its structural sphere. The Interviews of Madhuri and
Kismati from Belwa show lesser amounts of free speech in direct comparison to the
interviews of Kuwar village, but still much more than the interviews of Ayer and
Shivrampur do.

It is very interesting that the amount of free speech and individual contextualisation used by
the interviewed persons goes hand in hand with the depth of their involvement into the
struggle. Persons with more experience in the fields of struggle had other means of

74
communication available and used them in conversations, while people less active in the
struggle movements expressed themselves very little. The interrelations between the use of
free speech in a guideline based interview as an indicator for the rhetorical dimension of
voice and the involvement in the struggle movement where also the structural dimension of
voice is required, seems obvious. The ability to use voice in its structural dimension in the
realms of administrative power seems to be the more influential skill in regards to
empowerment and general rights struggle. But without skills in its rhetorical dimension,
which directly influences the ability to express oneself, the structural dimension of voice
cannot be reached. But it is necessary to inquire further into the deeper interrelations and
origins of the ability to speak in the different contexts of social and political organisation.

75
8. Conclusion: Is land rights struggle a means of
empowerment?

Land rights struggle can be called a means of empowerment, but of course this is not the
only way of influencing the empowerment process. The demand for land is often the first
one raised and therefore land rights struggle can be seen as the beginning of general human
rights struggle. The demand for land, due to its direct link to food security, is one of the most
important demands which should be fulfilled from the perspective of the rural poor.
Therefore is seems obvious that the demand for land is the first one raised, while demands
for other assets of social security are more distant and not directly linked with daily reality.
Demand for land is often the initial factor which promotes change within a community.
While raising this demand the community no longer silently accepts their living situation and
the often exploitative conditions they are subject to and starts to be active and takes the
responsibility for shaping their own living conditions into their own hands. In all the four
communities studied, the demand for land allotment was raised, but this demand did not lead
to a well developed struggle movement in every community. In the Nat and Musahar
communities of Ayer and Shivrampur the demand for land has not yet lead to the formation
of a struggle movement and only few changes regarding self-esteem, resistance and
empowerment could be observed. The raised demand for land does not necessarily led to an
empowered community which is pursuing their claims and developing further strategies.

This fact is linked to the, previously described, complex interrelations of land ownership
with status, caste and power. Due to these interlinkages it is extremely difficult for
marginalised communities to achieve land allotment. Access to land cannot be achieved
simply by forcefully raised demands, especially in cases where the local authorities are the
opponents. To be a successful and serious actor in the land rights struggle certain skills are
necessary and have to be acquired. In the process of land rights struggle the generation of
further skills and knowledge is very important. And while acquiring the skills needed to
address the land survey officials or a district court, other related skills are also acquired and
further knowledge is created. By developing strategies to address courts and learning about
the provisions of the Indian Constitution various other assets or government programmes
start to be in the focus of action. Because of the land rights struggle the fighting communities
start to enter the realms of administration and government and start to move in these circles.

76
In this realm they often have to deal with structures which are (still) opposing their claims,
even if they are ordered, for example by provisions of the Constitution, to do otherwise.

When dealing with the administration and the government the existing legal structures are of
major importance as well as the provisions and laws these authorities have passed in the past
to rearrange land distribution or to deal with caste based discrimination. These laws include
the previously depicted measures of land reform or ceiling laws as well as anti
discrimination laws like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act. But even if these laws and programmes exist, there are various problems
regarding their implementation on the local level and the accessibility of their structures.
These problems, as has been explained earlier, are often linked to caste based prejudices and
biased individuals who interfere between the level of the laws and the local reality. Through
their struggle and their continuous demands the Dalit people are trying to get access to the
provisions of the Constitution and to force the authorities to implement laws already
existing, but without any support inside the administrative field these efforts are often in
vain. Besides the Dalit people who have to fight for their rights, the government is in charge
of pursuing the implementation of its rulings. There are a multitude good efforts and acts
which have been developed to deal with marginalisation, caste based discrimination,
poverty, malnourishment and landlessness, but in most cases they have not yet left the paper
level. Therefore, besides struggle for access to assets on the local level, continuous pressure
on the various levels of governmental administration, from district to the national level is
necessary, to force the still reluctant departments within the administrative structures to take
actions and implement the existing laws as well as to amend the known problems within
them. These would change the accessibility to governmental schemes and other assets and
would directly benefit the landless Dalit communities. This is a particular difficulty, because
the government is one of the major landholders in India and is not acting according to its
own provisions of land distribution which would benefit the marginalised.

The skills which are necessary to fight for land rights in relations to the administrative
bodies such as application writing, knowledge about laws and acts like the Right to
Information Act and the skills to use these Acts as well as voice and confidence are not only
restricted to the field of land rights struggle. These skills can be transferred to address other
problems related to discrimination, employment, access to government schemes and the
caste system in general. Therefore it is very difficult to tell where land rights struggle begins
or where it ends and another struggle begins.

77
The various struggles which could be observed in the four villages studied are very much
interlinked and they are all derived out of an initial demand for land. Still today the struggle
for land rights is one of the driving forces that motivate the community people to further
pursue their claims, but many other demands and related struggles have joined. And due to
the multiple embeddedness of land in the rural context, as both an economic and social asset,
it is not easy to determine whether this specific action is motivated by land or by any other
factor. The interwoven structure of the struggle by the Dalit people makes it impossible to
differentiate between the specific struggles, but this is not necessarily negative. These
interwoven struggles show that the communities are trying to change their living situation in
regards to more than just one aspect. Mere land rights struggle, in which no other social or
economic problems are addressed, would change very little in regards to the living situation
of the rural Dalit communities. Especially in the villages of Kuwar and Belwa the efforts of
land rights struggle are combined with struggle for general human rights like access to
education, food, employment and housing as well as with struggle against the caste system
and its discriminating practices. Of course land rights struggle is a necessary struggle, but
only in combination with other struggles it can be successful and lead to a significant
improvement of the rural Dalits living situation. Land rights struggle is an important part of
the empowerment process, but nevertheless it is only a part and not the answer for all the
problems that the studied communities have to face. To show significant effects, the land
rights struggle has to be embedded into the general human rights and anti-caste struggle
under the aim of the greater good.

Further, the relation between land rights struggle and empowerment is a circular one. As
observed in the four communities, land rights struggle is the initial cause for the
empowerment process to start. The process of being active and the experiences gained while
struggling for land, challenging the authorities and resisting against oppression lead,
especially in Kuwar and Belwa, to a more confident and vocal community. Through their
struggle experiences, the communities get more empowered in regards to knowledge and
skills as well as to self-esteem and self-determination. These newly gained aspects of
empowerment have a renewed influence on the land rights struggle in the form of new
strategies or increased fighting strength due to confidence. Therefore land rights, or general
rights struggle and empowerment form a circular relationship and have a mutual influence
on each other.

78
To sum up, the process of land rights struggle has significant influence on the empowerment
process and the change of the living situation of the four studied communities. The changes
within the communities can be related directly to land rights struggle when the communities
receive land, but more often the changes are more related to indirect effects of the land rights
struggle. In these cases the land rights struggle works as an initiator of a resistance
movement and most of the changes within the community are more related to the
experiences of general struggle and empowerment. Due to the initial land rights struggle
other benefits such as education, health care and employment may be achieved even if the
initial demand for land has not yet been fulfilled. As observed in Kuwar and Belwa the most
effects are achieved when experiences derived from the land rights struggle are joined with
other demands to address the overlying structures of exploitation and discrimination. Land
rights struggle does not equal empowerment. It is an important aspect of empowerment but
to have significant impact on the living situation of the Dalit communities and their ability to
live in a self-determined way, the land rights struggle has to be joined with general human
rights and anti-caste struggle.

79
 9. List of Figures

Map 1:
Political map of India with highlighted location of Varanasi p.31

Map 2:
The district Varanasi and the approximate location of the four studied villages p. 41

80
 10. Bibliography

Agnes, Flavia
2009 [2000] Women, Marriage, and the Subordination of Rights. In: Chatterjee, Partha;
Jeganathan, Pradeep (ed.). Subaltern Studies XI: Community, Gender and
Violence; pp. 106-137.New Delhi: Permanent Black.
Al Jazeera
2009 Stigma plagues India 'Untouchables' By Matt McClure in Uttar Pradesh.
Electronic document.
<http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/indiaelections/2009/2009/04/20094177410
620521.html> [23.04.2009]

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)/ Asian Legal Resources Centre (ALRC)
2004 India’s Tribal People Given Beatings and Bullets instead of Land. Human
Rights Solidarity 14(2).

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

2008a [Hunger Alert] GENERAL (India): Neglect by government aggravates
poverty of Dalits in Varanasi. Electronic document.
<http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2008/2960/> [23.04.2009]

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

2008b [Hunger Alert] INDIA: Three and a half-year-old boy may die from acute
malnutrition. . Electronic document.
<http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2008/3043/> [23.04.2009]

Agrawal, Girish; Colin Gonsalves

2005 Remove Manu: Dalits and the law. New Delhi: Human Rights Law Network.

Ambedkar, B.R.
2006 [1944] Annihilation of Caste. Electronic Document.
<http://www.ambedkar.org/ambcd/02.Annihilation of Caste.htm>
[29.05.2009]

Ambedkar, B.R.
2008 [1987] Caste in India. In: Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.). Caste and Democratic Politics in
India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 83-107. New Delhi: Permanent Black.

Bharatiya Janata Party

2009 <http://www.bjp.org> [7.11.2009]

Das, Manoj Kumar

2006 Where people live and die with empty stomachs. Electronic document.
<http://rtfcup.blogspot.com/2006/04/where-people-live-and-die-with-
empty.html > [23.04.2009]

81
DasGupta, Modhurima
2006 Women, Adivasi Land Rights, and the Law in India. Quebec: Annual meeting
of the American Sociological Association, 11. August. Unpublished paper.
Electronic Document.
< http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation
/1/0/3/9/4/p103946_index.html> [24.04.2009]

Dirks, Nicholas B.
2001 Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the making of modern India. Delhi:
Permanent Black.

Dumont, Louis M.
1976 Gesellschaft in Indien: Die Soziologie des Kastenwesens. Wien:
Europaverlag.

Dumont, Louis M.
2008 [1970] Hierarchy: The Theory of the ‘Varna’. In: Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.). Caste and
Democratic Politics in India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 60-79. New Delhi: Permanent
Black.

Fernando, W J Basil
2004 The right to speak loudly: Essays on law and human rights. Hong Kong:
Asian Legal Resources Centre.

Flick, Uwe; Ernst von Kardorff; Ines Steinke (ed.)

2008 Qualitative Sozialforschung: Ein Handbuch. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.

Francis, Bijo
2008 Can human rights work bring change: The story of one Dalit movement by
Bijo Francis, AHRC. Electronic document.
<http://www.eia.rghr.net/archive/2008-ethics-in-action/vol.-2-no.-1-february-
2008/can-human-rights-work-bring-change-the-story-of> [15.04.2009]

Gandhi, M.K.
2008 [1933] Caste Must Go. In: Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.). Caste and Democratic Politics in
India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 80-81. New Delhi: Permanent Black.

Gandhi, M.K.
2008 [1926] The four Castes. In: Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.). Caste and Democratic Politics in
India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 81-82. New Delhi: Permanent Black.

Ghurye, G.S.
2008 [1969] Features of the Caste System. In: Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.). Caste and
Democratic Politics in India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 38-59. New Delhi: Permanent
Black.

Google Earth
2009 <http://earth.gogle.com/intl/de/> [28.07.2009]

82
Hanstad, Tim; Robin Nielsen; Jennifer Brown
2004 Land and livelihoods: Making Land Rights real for India’s rural poor. Rural
Development Institute. Electronic document.
<http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/j2602e /j2602 e00.htm> [28.04.2008]

Jeyaranjan, J.; Padmini Swaminathan

2003 Understanding Persistent Poverty in India. Humanist Institute for Co-
operation with developing countries, Netherlands. Bangalore: Humanist
Institute for Co-operation with developing countries.

Kakarala, Sitharamam
2004 The challenge of Democratic Empowerment. Humanist Institute for Co-
operation with developing countries: Netherlands. Bangalore: Humanist
Institute for Co-operation with developing countries.

Malekar, Anosh
2006 Why Karmeena Musahar died. Electronic document.
<http://pvchr.blogspot.com/2006/11/why-karmeena-musahar-died.html>
[22.06.2009]

Mathur, Hari Mohan (ed.)

2008 India: Social Development Report: Development and Displacement. New
Delhi: Oxford University press.

Manusmriti
2009 Manusmriti, the laws of Manu. Electronic document.
<http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/dharma/manusmriti.
asp> [08.11.2009]

Mayring, Phillip
1993 Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse: Grundlagen und Techniken. Weinheim. Deutscher
Studienverlag.

May 18 Memorial Foundation International Interns on Human Rights

2008 Musahars received lands for livelihood. Electronic document.
<http://518interns.blogspot.com/2008/06/musahars-received-lands-for-
livelihood.html> [23.04.2009]

Mendelsohn, Oliver
2008 [1993] The Transformation of Authority in Rural India. In: Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.).
Caste and Democratic Politics in India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 167-208. New Delhi:
Permanent Black.

National Centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS)

2002 Land and the Landless. In: Advocacy Internet. 4(6): 12-16.

Nagvanshi, Anupam; Lenin Raghuvanshi

2008 Uttar Pradesh: Voice of Nuts from Varanasi. Electronic document
<http://www.mynews.in/ fullstory.aspx?storyid=5818#> [23.03.2009]

83
Nagvanshi, Shruti (ed.)
n. d. जनिमऽ गांव. Model Village: People’s friendly village (Janmitra Gaon).
Varanasi: information leaflet.

Omvedt, Gail
2000 [1990] Violence against Women: New Movements and New Theories in India. New
Delhi: Kali for women.

Omvedt, Gail
2008a [1996] The Anti-caste Movement and the Discourse of Power. In: Shah, Ghanshyam
(ed.). Caste and Democratic Politics in India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 413-431. New
Delhi: Permanent Black.

Omvedt, Gail
2008b Dalit Visions: The anti-caste movement and the construction of an Indian
identity. New Delhi: Orient Longman Private Limited.

Pelly, Grace (ed.)

2009 State Terrorism: Torture, Extra-judicial Killings and Forced Disappearances
in India. Report of the Independent People’s Tribunal 9.-10. February 2008.
New Delhi: Human Rights Law Network.

PVCHR Blog
2009a About PVCHR. Electronic document.
<http://pvchr.blogspot.com/2006/04/about-pvchr.html> [23.04.2009]

PVCHR Blog
2009b Situational analysis of working area in Varanasi. Electronic document.
<http://pvchr.blogspot.com/2008/09/situational-analysis-of-working-
area.html> [23.04.2009]

PVCHR Blog
2009c Stigma plagues India “Untouchables”. Electronic document.
<http://pvchr.blogspot.com/2009/04/stigma-plagues-india-untouchables.html>
[23.04.2009]

PVCHR Blog
2009d Struggle of Musahars in Damhi of Mirzapur, India: A ray of hope against
marginalisation. Local thinking, local-global action. Electronic document.
<http://pvchr.blogspot.com/2007/01/struggle-of-musahars-in-damhi-of.html>
[23.04.2009]

PVCHR Homepage
2009a About PVCHR (People’s Vigilance committee on Human Rights). Electronic
document.
<http://www.pvchr.org/pvchr.htm> [15.04.2009]

84
PVCHR Homepage
2009b Action Plan of JMN for Jan Mitra Gaon (People’s friendly Village).
Electronic document.
<http://www.pvchr.org/actionplan.htm> [15.04.2009]

PVCHR Homepage
2009c Food Souverenity. Electronic document.
<http://www.pvchr.org/foodsecurity.htm> [15.04.2009]

PVCHR Homepage
2009d Pleading justice to Weavers. Electronic document.
<http://www.pvchr.org/weavers.htm> [15.04.2009]

PVCHR Homepage
2009e An investigation into caste based atrocities in Varanasi and surrounding areas
in U.P. by Justice K. Sukumeran, June 2002. Electronic document.
<http://www.pvchr.org/dalit.htm> [15.04.2009]

PVCHR Homepage
2009f Updates on death threats to human rights activists working with dalit and
marginalized group in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Electronic document.
<http://www.pvchr.org/achievements.htm> [15.04.2009]

Raghuvanshi, Lenin
2008 The plight of India’s caste-bound poor. Electronic document.
<http://pvchr.blogspot.com /2008/04/ plight-of-indias-caste-bound-poor.html>
[23.04.2009]

Ranadive, B.T.
2008 [1979] Caste, Class and Property Relations. In: Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.). Caste and
Democratic Politics in India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 134-161. New Delhi:
Permanent Black.

Rao, Nitya
2008 Good Women do not inherit Land: Politics of Land and Gender in India. New
Delhi: Orient Black Swan.

Saxena, N.C.
2002 Women and Land Rights. In: Advocacy Internet. 4(6): 10, 11, 17-20.

Schultz, Ulrike
2002 Das Konzept des „Empowerment“ bei der Evaluierung von
Frauenkreditprogrammen in Afrika. In: Afrika Spectrum 37(1): 61-79.

Shah, Ghanshyam
2008a [1991] Social Backwardness and the Politics of Reservation. In: Shah, Ghanshyam
(ed.). Caste and Democratic Politics in India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 388-412. New
Delhi: Permanent Black.

85
Shah, Ghanshyam
2008b [2002] Introduction: Caste and Democratic Politics. In: Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.).
Caste and Democratic Politics in India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 1-31; 33-35. New
Delhi: Permanent Black.

Sheth, D.L.
2008 [1996] Ram Manohar Lohia on Caste in Indian Politics. In: Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.).
Caste and Democratic Politics in India. 2008 [2002]; pp. 108-133. New Delhi:
Permanent Black.

Sunder Rajan, Rajeswari

2008 [2003] The Scandal of the State: Women, Law, and Citizenship in Postcolonial India.
New Delhi: Permanent Black.

The Constitution of India

2006 The Constitution of India ( Ninety-fourth Amendment) Act, 2006. Electronic
document.
<http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf> [06.05.2009]

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act

2009 [1989] The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989. Electronic document.
<http://indianchristians.in/news/images/resources/pdf/sc_and_st_prevention_o
f_atrocities _act_1989.pdf> [06.05.2009]

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules

2009 [1995] The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules,
1995. Electronic document.
<http://indianchristians.in/news/images/resources/pdf/sc_and_st_prevention_o
f_atrocities _rules_1995.pdf> [06.05.2009]

Venkatasubramaniam, K.
2002 Land reform: An unfinished business. In: Advocacy Internet. 4(6):5-9.

Maps
India Political
2004 Oxford Student Atlas for India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 9.

The District Varanasi

2008 Tourist road Atlas & state distance guide. Jodhpur: Indian Map Service. p. 84.

86