Title: Development Induced Displacement: Locating Gender

Submitted by: Rinkumoni Gogoi

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
Margherita College, Margherita (Tinsukia), Assam
Email: gogoimaina6@gmail.com
Contact: 9706320084
 Abstract
The development projects are the symbols of national progress. If properly executed, they
have the potential to facilitate generation of employment opportunities, formation of new skills,
increases in income and consumption levels and improvement of infrastructure facilities. On the
other hand most development projects drastically redefine the land use pattern. They induce
displacement of people from their ancestral habitats and cause large-scale loss of traditional
occupations. But how does displacement affect women differently? If the whole community is
affected, why women should be provided special focus? Women are the soft targets in any kind
of insecurity within the society. Therefore, women community should be provided with some
special securities that they can also lead a dignified life with freedom. Thus, the present study
will attempt to locate women within the greater paradigm of development, displacement and
rehabilitation of Indian state.

Key Words: Internationally Displaced Persons, Development, Displacement, Women

“There’s really no such thing as the voiceless…there are only the deliberately silenced or
the preferably unheard…” - Arundhati Roy

Introduction
The publication of Human Development Report 1994 by United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) has attached a great importance on the concept of Human security. It is a
reflection of the new security paradigm on the post-cold war world. This report also includes a
section on human security. The Report lists seven “components” or seven specific values of
human security, which are economic security, food security, health security, environmental
security, personal security, community security, and political security.1

The simplest definition of security is the absence of insecurity and threats. In realism,
security has usually been associated with threats to the survival of states. Human security instead
poses threats to individuals and communities as its prime focus. Threats can be to their survival
(physical abuse, violence, persecution, or death), to their livelihoods (unemployment, food insecurity,
health threats, etc), and to their dignity. Thus, poverty, for example, may be conceptualized as a
human security threat. Not only because it can induce violence which threatens the stability of the
state, but because it is a threat to the dignity of individuals. Human security designates the
individual(s) rather than the state as its “referent object” of security, although this does not
compromise the security of a state. The relationship between state security and that of
individuals is complementary, dependent and mutually reinforcing. Without human security,
state security cannot be attained and vice versa.
Because it concentrates on the well-being and dignity of individuals, the human security
approach recognizes threats beyond violence to include a host of other threats together with their
inter-dependence. Human security threats include both objectives, tangible elements, such as
insufficient income, unemployment, dismal access to adequate health care and quality education,
etc., as well as subjective perceptions, such as inability to control one’s destiny, indignity, fear of
crime and violent conflict, etc. They can be both direct and indirect.

1
Hussein,Karim et al. (2004) Security and Human Security: An Overview of Concepts and Initiatives; what
Implications for West Africa ? , OECD
 Every individual, regardless of age, gender, ethnic, social, religious or other background
need some security or protection within the society and state system to lead a dignified life. This
requires a common understanding of human security and the means by which it is achieved.
Human security may be analyzed as all activities aimed at obtaining full respect for the rights of
the individual in accordance with the letter and spirit of the relevant bodies of law, namely
human rights law, international humanitarian law and refugee law. Human security is an
objective which requires full and equal respect for the right of all individuals, without
discrimination, as provided for in national and international law. Human security is not limited to
survival and physical security but covers the full range of rights, including civil and political
rights, such as the right to freedom of movement, the right to political participation, and
economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to education and health. Human security
is a legal responsibility, principally of the State and its institutions. In situations of armed
conflict, that responsibility extends to all parties to the conflict under international humanitarian
law, including armed opposition groups. Humanitarian and human rights actors play an
important role as well, in particular when States and other authorities are unable or unwilling to
fulfill their security obligations.
All persons, including those who are internally displaced, are equally entitled to human
security. The two meanings of internally displaced persons (IDP) are, first IDPs are those who
involuntarily depart and secondly they are those individuals who remain within his/her country.
The first element distinguishes IDPs from individuals who left their homes out of choice and
could have otherwise safely remained where they lived. The second element explains why IDPs
are not refugees. Refugees, by definition, are outside their country of nationality or habitual
residence. In other respects, however, both categories of displaced persons often face similar
risks and deprivations.
One of the major part of the IDPs the world over consists of people who have been
displaced by their own governments for some developmental activities. This kind of
displacement is known as development induced displacement. Though economic development
brings about qualitative changes and stability in political and economic lives of various
communities, it is now a well-accepted fact that it also simultaneously degrades the socio-
economic and cultural lives of many marginalized social groups of the same society. It is
important to recognize that the contemporary development process has its beneficiaries as well
as victims also as internally displaced persons.
The premise of using gender as a category for analysis in the effects of development-
induced displacement is based on the assumption that women experience displacement and
relocation in a particularly gendered way. This occurs due to the gendered division of labor that
has arisen from socio-historical processes of men‘s traditional incorporation in wage earning and
performing labor oriented tasks while women remain on the land jobs and its management on a
daily basis. The insensitivity of the regimes constructing large developmental projects in the state
has created conditions where women have been the greatest sufferers. These projects
characterized by formal centrally managed systems, displace informal, decentralized and
participatory structures that form part of daily lives of women. Such conditions push huge
numbers of women into marginal environments where critically low level of water supplies,
shortage of fuels, and over-utilization of arable lands have deprived them of their livelihoods,
cultural identity and sense of well being.

Rationale of the study

Development is an integral part of any society at the present time. Sometimes, social
development leads to improvement of life conditions for a particular population at the cost of
some others. The material development of a society always needs some developmental projects
by the government of that particular state for making the lives of people of that state more
convenient and easy. But this kind of development very often displaces people from their
ancestral homes and lands leading to creation of internally displaced persons which also can be
regarded as development induced displacement. Development induced displacement is a
traumatic experience for anyone who is undergoing through such effects. But this kind of
experiences became more traumatic for the women community, as they are very often has not
been provided with ownership rights along with some other social rights which may create more
hardships for those women who are experiencing displacement. Thus it should be the endeavor
of any society or state to ensure economic, social and cultural securities in the form of home,
livelihood and social integration to the displaced women population not less than their earlier
status.
 The present study is expected to contribute some focus on the role of compensation and
rehabilitation policies of Indian government towards displaced women. The study will attempt to
bring some light on the life conditions of project affected women and the compensation and
rehabilitation provided by the government of India towards these women with a special reference
to north-east India.

Development Induced Displacement

Development projects are perceived as symbols of national progress. If properly
executed, they have the potential to facilitate generation of employment opportunities, formation
of new skills, increases in income and consumption levels and improvement of infrastructure
facilities. They can also contribute to modifications in cultural patterns, and changes in old social
values and traditional organizations. On the other hand most development projects drastically
redefine the land use pattern that was used earlier. They induce displacement of people from
their ancestral habitats and cause large-scale loss of traditional occupations. Although the
carefully planned development projects have been instrumental in the faster economic growth of
the nation, they have often also proved to be destructive.

Dams, mines, power plants, industries, parks and sanctuaries induce varying magnitudes
of displacement of people from their traditional habitats. Often, displacement is followed by
some form of voluntary or involuntary resettlement at the original or other locations. Typically,
displacement causes serious economic, social and cultural disruption of the lives of those
affected by it, and the social fabric of the communities of the area. In India, relocation normally
meant movement of people from one place and environment to another. Such movements
drastically altered the physical and social environment in which people found themselves and to
which they had to adapt after relocation.

The nature and extent of physio-cultural, environmental and economic changes induced
by displacement and resettlement determined the nature and the intensity of stress and strain
people experienced. Policies aimed at replacing the lost assets relocation of the displaced in
congenial social and physical environment and special provisions to facilitate the weak and the
vulnerable to re-establish properly may help in eliminating the adverse impact of displacement.
 Development has been biased and unequal in its manifestations. In many cases, it has
been brutal, ruthless and inhuman in its consequences. At certain levels, criminalization of
development has also taken place wherein politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats and mafias
masquerading as contractors and social workers have collectively siphoned off the fund meant
for development. This unbalanced economic structure creates most adverse effect on the women
of a particular society as they are not only physically but also socially, economically and
politically weaker section of a society. In order to have a greater idea of this underrated and
ignorant aspect of development, this study will be confined specifically to locate gender in the
development-induced displacement of population.

Objectives of the study

The present study will aim to understand the life conditions of those women who are
facing the threat of displacement as a consequence of state sponsored development projects in
India. The study will be an attempt to question the post-colonial development strategy of India
and the loopholes of its compensation policies with a special reference to north-east India.

Methodology

The methodology that is used in this paper is conventional . This paper is based on
secondary data only. However it is a descriptive one also. In order to develop this paper data,
information and literature have been taken from various secondary sources like books, journals,
research articles, internet sites etc.

Sources of material available

The present study will be based on the sources including books, articles, official data,
web pages and other sources according to the needs of the proposed study.

Analysis of data

If the state acquires land for some developmental activities from a particular population,
then it became the moral responsibility of the state to provide them a considerable rehabilitation
or compensation at least not lower than their earlier status. Every state has its own legal process
for land acquisition. In India most of the land till present date was taken by the state under the
provisions of the colonial law called Land Acquisition Act 1894. As it is an Act of colonial
period, so it provides all the necessary immunities to the state to acquire land from the common
people. This Act not only permits the state to acquire privately owned land for public purposes,
but it also empowers the state to evict or displace people from their land very arbitrarily. In this
particular Act, the very term ‘public interest’ remains vague and confusing. Under the Act the
government can issue a notification for land acquisition, and allow the affected people to file
complaints or objections within two months of the first notification. The second notification
deals with the objections or complaints and also delivers the final decision. These two
notifications are also issued in the government gazette. The third stage is the award that decides
the compensation and other related issues about the acquired land. The Act also empowers the
state to acquire land under some urgency or emergency periods under which the state can acquire
private land within just 15 days under urgency provisions and within 48 hours under emergency
provisions. This law only deals with the private land acquisition but there is a lack of clear-cut
law for the acquisition of common property resources (CPR). This (CPR) type of land is
regarded as the property of the state. Therefore, this kind of land is acquired by the state only
under some governmental orders or inter-departmental agreements. While the Land Acquisition
Act, 1894 mainly deals with the privately owned lands but it does not even recognize the need of
some compensation or rehabilitation for those who were living on CPRs which is now acquired
for some developmental purposes. These people are not entitled to any kind of compensation
under governmental rules except the people who were living in the areas which comes under the
Sixth Schedule of the Indian constitution. Those who are not entitled to any compensation for
living in the CPRs completely lost their home, land and livelihood in the name of some so called
public interest.
Displacements, however, took place, because land is needed for the construction of
developmental projects. There are different estimates of the total number of persons that have
been displaced by developmental projects. Compensation had to be paid for the land or property
taken over, based on historical cost, but the concept of replacement cost was unknown. The
compensation amount was not a negotiated sum, but a figure fixed by the government officials
under certain rules. The figure could be contested under the Act, and many cases did go to the
courts, leading to some enhancement of the valuation in some cases, but this was nowhere near
replacement cost. The Act did provide for the issue of notifications giving the persons whose
land or property was proposed to be acquired an opportunity to raise objections, but the
objections could be procedural or about valuation; the "public purpose" for which the state
proposed to take over private property was not open to contestation. There was a great
dissatisfaction with the Act on the part of the people on the grounds of the quantum of
compensation, the delays in payments, and so on and on the part of the government because of
the delays in land acquisition because of challenges and litigation and the delays that caused to
the implementation of the projects.

Compensation and rehabilitation is determined on the basis of ownership to land. It is

therefore not surprising, that the Land Acquisition Act 1894, the main law governing acquisition,
reveals a gender bias and merely reinforces the existing situation of women's lack of ownership
of land and property. S 42 (2) of this act specifies that if the 'person interested' is not available to
receive the notice for acquisition then it may be handed over to, or served on, any other adult
male member of the family who resides with him. If no 'adult male' is present then the notice
may be placed on the outer door of the house, or in some conspicuous place in the office of the
collector or court house, etc. In other words, if the notice is served on a woman, it is not legal.
The act does not mention what is to be done if the 'person interested', or one of the 'persons
interested' is a woman, which may well be the case sometimes.

All policies for resettlement and rehabilitation go by the 'ownership' of land or property,
when working out compensation, and reflect similar gender bias. The Narmada Water Dispute
Tribunal's (NWDT) Award which governs rehabilitation of the people displaced by the Sardar
Sarovar Project assumes a family to include "husband, wife and minor children and other persons
dependent on the head of the family, example, widowed mother" (I (3)(i), p 126). It adds in sub-
clause I (3)(ii), that every major son will be treated as a separate family. It has been left to the
three states concerned, namely Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, to re-interpret this as
they deem fit.

In the matter of non-wood forest produce (NWFP) and the common property resources,
again, women have no rights, although it is they who collect fuel wood, fodder, and minor forest
produce for the family. As a result, when displacement occurs, their loss of access to these
resources is seldom focused upon. Collection of water is almost always a woman's responsibility.
Taking over of the water source by dams, or water pollution by 'development' projects, affect
women's lives the most. Sanitation is also another major problem specific to the displaced
women. But since this is a problem peculiar to women, it draws attention very less. After
displaced from their homes and lands the women have no toilets, and other health facilities that
are necessary for them. Not only did this make their lives physically uncomfortable, it also made
them more vulnerable to physical and sexual harassment. Displacement often forces people to
migrate out of the area as daily-wage labour. Under such circumstances too they face problems
of sanitation. As a result, hygiene became deplorable, and women were left with no private space
to use during the day.

The transition period between actual displacement and resettlement is a difficult phase, in
which, again, the women suffer somewhat more. In the absence of sensitive handling and a
supportive atmosphere, the displaced people found it difficult to shift to the new site. Many,
therefore, continued to maintain two homes - one in the submerging village and the other in the
resettlement, resulting in fracturing of families. Most often, it is the women, the old, and children
who are left behind. It has been seen that whenever there is unemployment, i e, jobs are scarce;
the first ones to lose are the women. This is not only because they lack the skill, but more
because they have to make way for the men. Jobs are scarce in a displacement situation, because
most projects have very limited number of jobs to offer to the affected. As a result, despite there
being a custom of women going out to work, men and women both accept that the woman's
place was in the house and that she should not expect anything else.

However, given the situation of landlessness, much reduced land assets, joblessness of
the men, and impoverishment, it becomes imperative that women work. Yet, traditional
occupations, such as agriculture, fishing, basket-making, etc, become unfeasible, either because
of unavailability of raw material once the forest or the water source is taken away, or due to the
dispersion of the clientele as a consequence of the breakdown of the community network. As a
result, the women find that they have to settle for unskilled wage labour which is most often
irregular and underpaid.

Given the high mortality rates among women, it is likely that they will be the worst
affected by displacement-induced morbidity. Similarly the nutritional and health status of the
women, which is lower than that of the males even under normal circumstances, is bound to
proportionately go down in the event of an overall decrease in the health status caused by
displacement. Dislocation and relocation in another area, unless very carefully executed, means a
breakdown in community networks. For women, community and family networks are extremely
important support systems. Since their dependence on them is greater, breakdown of these
networks creates tremendous insecurity and trauma, which the women experience more than the
men who relatively less dependent on these networks. Even collection of fodder and fuel or
water is often not a purely economic activity. It is an opportunity to socialize and exchange
confidences and news, and therefore, have a social relevance for women. If these activities stop,
the social life is also altered. The rise in social disturbances reflected by alcoholism, prostitution,
gambling and theft has also been noted in earlier instances of displacement. This increase in
social problems is bound to have affected directly the lives and status of the women by way of
violence inflicted on them. Loss of self-esteem or fall in status of the men, especially in their
own eyes, often manifests itself in increased violence against the women and children. It is
difficult, however, to make any definite statement as to whether the changes brought about in
women's lives due to displacement have been for the better or for the worse. A lot of it has been
dependent on individual experiences, their social and economic backgrounds and their own
perceptions. While some women have experienced loss of status, some others, especially in cases
of urbanization and industrialization, have experienced greater freedom having moved away
from their traditional village community. A degree of freedom in the new surroundings has
meant greater independence, particularly for those from traditional families.

Displaced women of North-East India

Most of the population of India’s Northeastern part is dependent on the environment

which is understood as land, forests, biodiversity, water resources etc. It is believed that their
knowledge systems is very high, so is their level of education but investment in employment
generation in the secondary sector is still very low. These conditions are the setting for an
understanding of development in the region. Their high dependence on land is the main reason
which caused conflicts between the state and displaced people at different times. Development
projects have impacted differently on the displaced population of north-east India, especially to
the women community as women of north-east is still lacking in the spheres of income
generation and other social privileges. This is because most of the societies of north-eastern
states of India follow traditional patriarchal societal system. Women have only a partial or
sometime no control on the productive resources. Given this close link, alienation from the
productive resources resulted not merely in economic impoverishment but also in deprival of social
support to women. Downward social mobility follows from this process. However, the few
rehabilitation packages that exist do not go beyond the economic factor to community and cultural
support, particularly in what concerns women.

Since the common property resources are the family’s nutrition for a considerable
population of north-east, they are the basis of its economy, of the woman’s work outside her home
and of her social relations. With their alienation, the woman is unable to work outside. The project
that deprives her of these resources does not give the women a job. Thus most of the north-eastern
displaced women is reduced to being a housewife alone, unable to make an economic contribution
to the family’s economy. Even when resettled, most women of this part are not continuing their
economic autonomy. If resettlement is land based, land is allotted in the name of individuals,
invariably men, considered heads of families, except in women headed households. She had
decision-making power in the family as long as the community sustained itself on the common
property resources (CRPs). She as the family decision maker controlled production as part of its
economy. With individual patta (legal document for land) becoming the norm of land ownership
after resettlement, power is transferred to the man and from him to his son. Thus displaced woman
of north-east India now ceases to be the main decision maker in the family’s economy and becomes
dependent on men.

Employment generation given as a justification can be an alternative to the livelihood

lost. However, very few projects give jobs to the DPs/PAPs especially to women. While
employment generation is given as justification, no project in the Northeast gives data on how
many jobs they will create. Their thrust is commercial, to produce power for sale outside the
region. By ignoring people’s livelihood, they will deprive several lakhs of their sustenance and
add to the number the unemployed. Based on the past record, the planning of the future schemes
does not create much hope. For example, the Gas Cracker Project going on at Lapekatta near
Dibrugarh, have affected several thousands of mostly tribal families. Tea garden labourers once
displaced from the tea gardens were displaced again. They were moved out from their lands and
houses. But this project has failed to provide any job assurance to the women who have been
displaced for this project as they are not skilled to work in such a project.

Studies in the Northeast show that counter-measures of displacement results in a transition

from community to individual ownership and to strengthening of patriarchy. For example, among
the matrilineal Garo of Meghalaya, the State recognizes the man as the head of the family. It
introduces commercial crops and subsidizes only individuals in this community ownership system.
The State gets the permission of the gaonburah, the village head, to acquire land and ignores the
community. Consequently, while in their tradition the woman controlled land and the community
legitimized it, power is being transferred to individual male owners. Some tribals as well as
outsiders monopolize land and dispossess others (Fernandes and Barbora 2002b: 137-141). Studies
show that ultimately, the women internalize the ideology of class, patriarchy and destruction of
nature. Thus, displaced women in this part of India is becoming more and more degraded, losing
their earlier status along with loss of economic powers.

Conclusion

Thus on the basis of the above discussion it may be concluded that rehabilitation policies
so far have not accorded the displaced women a status equal to that given to their male counter-
parts. India as a democratic regime must ensure equality to women and promise not to
discriminate against them on the basis of sex. It is noticeable that all rehabilitation policies, plans
and laws imbibe the ideology that emanates from the constitution and the various UN
declarations and conventions that India has ratified. The daughter(s) should receive equal
treatment to that of the son(s) of the family. 'Family' must be redefined to include female-headed
households. Husband and wife should be given equal status. There are very few women who
have ownership rights at the time of displacement. However, the rehabilitation plans must ensure
joint ownership of both spouses at the time of new allotments. The current model of development
allows for very little or no participation of the affected population. The tragedy of displacement
due to development projects is compounded because the affected bear the cost but have no share
in the benefits [Ganguly Thukral 1992:18]. The women of course have even lesser access. They
are mere passive recipients of the fall-outs. According to Vandana Shiva (1993:73), “Women's
underdevelopment was not due to insufficient and inadequate participation; rather it was due to
their enforced but asymmetric participation whereby they bore the cost but were excluded from
the benefits”. It is a normal picture of the society that women are not treated equally, the
displaced women will need some extra attention to cope with the changed circumstances till such
time that they can begin as equals. It has to be recognized that the displaced woman needs
special attention and that her rights and civil liberties will have to be protected by the new Right
to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
Act, adopted by government of India in the year 2013 in the coming future of India’s
development agenda.

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