Dalit Women Talk Differently

Author(s): Gopal Guru

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 30, No. 41/42 (Oct. 14-21, 1995), pp. 2548-2550
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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the bell faded away suggesting thg end of have failed to give the leadership in every But now when Gaslitand has shown who are
everything. Was it an accident or a murder? crisis, whether in Dugdha (August 21) or dutiful and disciplined and who are not, there
The explanation is being given that the Gaslitand (September 26). Another section should be a new start, resurrecting thegood
boiler became cold as there was no cover or of officers had been advocating reckless use old 'half-pants culture' of the collieries with
shade over it (why not?) and the steam of Article 28 of the Standing Orders which the workers and officers, believing in one
pressure was inadequate to operate the lift. gives arbitrary powers to dismiss workers another and in the future of BCCL, move
But the rain was continuing from 5 pm; why without any enquiry with a view to teaching hand in hand in a new spirit of solidarity
was there no vigil to ensure that the boiler duty and discipline to the workers by terror. washing away the dead past.
did not become cold? Moreover, bringing a
boiler to the normal position of raising steam
does not take more than 45 minutes, and here Dalit Women Talk Differently
more than four hours time had been available.
A shift consists not only of the workers but
Gopal Guru
the supervisors and officers, including the
assistant manager, manager and engineers.
Why were they not beside the trapped miners? The independent and autonomous organisation of dalit women has the
Where were the general manager, thedirectors potential to counter dalit patriarchy from within and state-sponsored
and the chairman for whom it would have
globalisation from without.
taken hardly half an hour to reach the spot
from their bungalows. There is a deep-rooted
feeling among the workers that had any bigOVER the last several decades women's less valid and less authentic. But this claim
boss been trapped inside, the boiler would issues have become a part of global public of dalit woman activist does not mean a
have been'ready within half an hour and the agenda. While it is due to their ceaseless celebration of plural practices of feminism.
lift would have been operated. Everyone struggles that women have acquired visibility However, there are feminists who'seek to
from the chairman to the general manager at the global level, women's assertion assumes understand the 'need to talk differently,
would have remained present at' the pit- particular expression by operating on a keeping in mind certain external factors. For
mouth to direct the safety operations and bag particular terrain shaped by forces of a example, Gail Omvedt would link the dalit
the president's award. particular country. The scenario of the need to talk differently vis-a-vis the left forces-
The Gaslitand episode, whether an accident women's movement in India, particularly in to ther betrayal of the promises given to the
or a murder, would go down as the darkest the context of the Beijing conference, is dalits by the latter. Rajni Kothari shares the
spot in mining history. A heinous crime was characterised by simultaneous mobilisation same opinion but rather differently. He says,
perpetrated, maybe unintentionally, but the of women by different autonomous feminist "With the erosion of institutions, the unsettled
outcome of a long-practised callous attitude groups and by groups affiliated to formal controversies over public policies, and the
towards miners' lives. It is as if the miners political formations. In a situation, where the growing uncertainty over ideological issues,
are not human beings and their deaths do organisation of politics around difference as well as the decline of democratic
not matter, except in the form of payment has become a major feature of feminist functioning of the political process, faith in
of a paltry compensation. So the crimes politics, the organisation of dalit women the capacity of the modern nation-state to
continue and the unrepentant officers' around the notion of difference is bound to provide a framework of both order and equity
association has been issuing provocative be a logical outcome. An independent and has declineol, and so too the reliance on
statements to prevent any punitive action autonomous assertion of dalit women's mainstream governmental and party political
against those guilty of gross dereliction of identity found its first expression in the process. The result has been the rise of a
duty, presumably with the blessings of the formation of National Federation of Dalit series of movements as distinct from the
top management. The first crime of Women (NFDW) at Delhi on August 11. earlier gainer of more specific economic
negligence was compounded by that of In order to understand the dalit women'smovements such as trade union or co-
delaying the rescue operation. It took more need to talk differently it is necessary to operative movements." Kothari calls this
than 72 hours to stop the flow of the Katri delineate both the internal and external factors phenomenon of 'talking differently' a
river into the mines, something w}iich could that have bearing on this phenomenon. Some 'discourse of descent'.
have been done within the 24 hours by. women activists apprehend that contingent But focusing on certain external factors
mobilising the BCCL's huge fleet of earth- factors like the upcoming Beijing conference does not provide access to the complex reality
moving machines. The third and worst crime were responsible for the national level meet of dalit women. For example the. question
is being committed in the form of the slow at Delhi. It may be true that the all India of rape cannot be grasped merely in terms
rate of dewatering, with the water level mobilisation of dalit women, which is a of class, criminality, or as a psychological
being lowered by no more than 3 ft per day.culmination of such conferences previously aberration or an illustration of male violence.
In other words, with the depth of water in held at Bangalore, Delhi and Pune during the The caste factor also has to be taken into
the mine being more than 300.ft, it wouldlast couple of years, was visualised by the account which makes sexual violence against
take more than 100 days. In the process dalit women activists keeping in view the dalit or tribal women much more severe in
extinguishing all hope of some ofthe trapped representation of dalit women to Beijing terms of intensity and magnitude. This
miners - those saved by air-pockets - being conference. However, the issue of differential experience was expressed by dalit
rescued. In the Burra Dhemo colliery in representing dalit women, both at the level activists at the Delhi meet and also
women
September 1956, 1 1 workers were rescuedof theory and politics, has erupted time and
previously at a conclave organised by
after 19 days due to the presence of air- again in the discourse or. dalit women. Dalit
Satyashodhak Mahi la Aghadi in Maharashtra.
pockets. In the sprawling Gaslitand mine women justify the case for talking differently However, these activists lament that the caste
there are expected to be many air-pockets. on the basis of external factors (non-dalit factor does not get adequate recognition in
lt is difficult to guess the effect, both moral forces homogenisingthe issue of dalitthe women)
analysis done by non-dalit, middle-class,
and material, of the Gaslitand disaster on and internal factors (the' patriarchal urbanised women activists.
BCCL's future. BCCL had been losing money domination within the dalits). Dalit women did appreciate feminist
at the rate of Rs I crore per day even before Social location which determines the radicalism in the early phase of new peasant
Gaslitand. Already a section of the top of ficers perception of reality is a major factor- (asmovements
we in Maharashtra. Yet, they did not
have been spreading the word that BCCL shall see in the context of argument made approve of the ultimate subordination of the
could not survive and so should be closed by dalit women) make the representation of dalit voice to the dominant voice of the
or privatised. With this attitude the officersdalit women's issues by non-dalit women Shetkari Sanghatana in Maharashtra and the

2548 Economic,and Political Weekly October 14-21, 1995

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Rayat Sangha in Karnataka. They questioned dalit women to organise separately vis-a-vis Dalit women's claim to 'talk differently'
the populism of these peasant movements, the dalit men. In the post-Ambedkar period, assumes certain positions. It assumes that the
dalit leaders have always subordinated, and
who, representing the interests of rich farrmers, social location of the speaker will be more
entered into direct contradiction with the at times suppressed, an independent political or less stable; therefore, 'talking differently'
interests of dalit agricultural labourers over expression of dalit women. This political can be treated as genuinely representative.
the issue of minimum wages. marginalisation has been openly condemned This makes the claim of dalit woman to speak
Secondly, dalit women would not make by dalit women at the regional conferences on behalf of dalit women automatically valid.
common cause with the 'moral economy' of dalit women and at the Delhi meet. In doing so, the phenomenon of 'talking
advocated by the Shetkari Sanghatana and It is not only in the political arena that dalit differently' foregrounds the identity of dalit
women face exclusion. In the cultural field,
its feminnist supporters. They are of the opinion women.
that the moral economy of the Sanghatana for instance, dalit women have criticised Though it is difficult at this stage to make
offered no solution to their poverty, instead their male counterparts for dominating the any definitive comments on the dalit women's
it sought to naturalise their poor living literary scene. Dalit'male writers do not take movement, one can question the validity of
conditions. Dalit women are also not well serious note of the literary output of dalit the above assumptions. There is a notable
disposed to the eco-feminist call for women and tend to be dismissive of it. Dalit shift taking place in the location of dalit
development of environmental conscious- women rightly question why they are not women. Dalit women from Maharashtra are
ness. In fact, dalit men and women from considered forthetop positions indalitliterary better educated and employed than their
Kannad taluka of Aurangabad district conferences and institutions. This dissent counterparts from Karnataka. And it would
uprooted saplings planted by the social brings to fore three things: (1) It is not only be the former who would represent dalit
forestry department. Now, some environ- caste and class identity but also one's gender women at Beijing. Thus, here-too, a certain
mentalists might remark that these dalit positioning that decides the validity of an section of dalit women will be rendered
women lack ecological understanding. But event; (2) dalit men are reproducing the same anonymous. That is why the second point
the fact of the matter is that these dalits have
mechanisms against their women which their in the agenda of NFDW mentions the need
been denied legitimate piece of land from high caste adversaries had used to dominate to associate with grass roots dalit women.
the ceiling land which the village landlords them; (3) the experience of dalit women Further, for challenging male dominance in
still control. Further, the dalits do not have shows that local resistance within the dalits politics, dalit women are dependent on the
equal access to common property resources is important. The whole situation compels state to create a space for them. This exposes
of the village. In fac~t, the experience of gram
us to defend the claim of dalit women to talk them to the danger of co-option as was the
panchayats in Uttar Pradesh shows that an differently. case with their nrale counterparts.
egalitarian distribution of landholding is a Firstly, defended independent assertion of Nevertheless, the process of empowerment
precondition for tension-tree management dalit women should not be viewed by dalit otfdalit women makes the terrain of nation-
of forest resources. men as divisive; instead, it ought to be seen state more contested.
Thirdly, the claim for women's solidarity as carrying positive emancipatory potential. Also the Indian state is keen on projecting
at both national and global levels subsumes It can lead to a meaningful engagement of itself as well-intentioned on gender issues
contradictions that exist between high caste their creative energies. Secondly, the and has sponsored the delegation of Indian
and dalit women. The latent manifestations autonomous mobilisation of dalit women women to Beijing. The state by incorporating
of these contradictions involve subtle forms can also be understood from an women's movement within the jurisdiction
ot caste discrimination as practised by upper epistemological standpoint. This perspective of its apparatus intends to 'domesticate' the
caste upperclass women against dalit women maintains that the less powerful members of movement. Hence, the crucial question which
in the urban areas and resorting to slander a society have a more encompassing view arises with regard to the NFDW is whether
of dalit women in rural areas. The of social reality than others because their it will succeed in evading this trap of
contradictions also take a violent form as disadvantaged position grants them a certain domestication. On the basis of available
when the Shiv Sena women attacked dalit epistemic privilege over others. It has to be evidence it is possible to argue that dalit
women in Sawali village of Chandrapur noted that though there are some non-dalit women can challenge the state and state-
district in 1988. Thus, beneath the call tor women activists sensitive to the caste mediated dalit patriarchy. This was proved
women's solidarity the identity of the dalit dimensions of women's exploitation, their when dalit women of Bodha Gaya in Bihar
woman as 'dalit' gets whitewashed and allows stand has remained ambivalent regarding the who opposed the state's decision to hand
a 'non-dalit' woman to speak on her behalf. critique of caste. over land in the names of dalit men since
It is against this background that dalit women
have of late protested against their 'guest
appearances' in a text or a speech of a non-
dalit woman and instead organised on tlheir
own terms. They consider the feminist theory
developed by non-dalit women as unauthentic
since it does not capture their reality. This UR Nahar & Ambika Chandani (Eds.)
comprehension gets clearly retlected in the Sociology of Rural Development Rs. 375
12- point agenda adopted by the NFDW and
in several papers presented by the dalit women IS Chauhan & VS Bais
at the Maharashtra Dalit Women's
Social Structure.and Rural Development Rs. 250
Conference held in Pune in May 1995. Dalit
women define the concept of dalit strictly Aruna Sharma & Rajagopal
in caste terms, refuting the claim of upper
Planning for Rural Development Administration Rs. 250
caste women to dalithood. Dalit women
activists quote Phule and Ambedkar to
D Nandini
invalidate the attempt ot a non-d;alit woman
to don dalit identity.
Rural Development Administration Rs. 250

DALI-F PATRIARCHY RAWAT PUBLICATIONS

3-Na-20, Jawahar Nagar, JAIPUR 302 004
Besides these external factors, there are
Phone: 0141-567022 Fax: 0141-567748
certain internal factors that have prompted

Economic and Political Weekly October 14-21, 1995 2549

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it would further marginalise them. Dalit and region against the violence let loose by ELE.ORAL RESULTS
women under the Bahujan Mahila Aghadi the Hindutva forces. Dalit women are partici-
and Shetmajur Shetkari Shramik Aghadi pating in the ongoing struggle regarding Just like the first district council poll in
in Maharashtra oppose the process of pasture land. In this context, the anti- 1991, the people's verdict was in favour of
Hindutva campaign organised by Women's
globalisation. Incidentally, the newly-formed the LDF. The'CPI (M)-led LDF registered
NFD women also has made clear its intention Voice of Bangalore, which is a major com- victory in 530 out of -the 990 grama
to fight the Indian state's new economic ponent of NFDW, deserves mention. Thus, panchayats (53.53 per cent of the GPs). The
policy of privatisation and glob4lisation.dalit women's perception while critical ofthe LDF captured power in 90 out of 152 block
Dalit women, particularly at the grass roots
homogenisatibn of a dominant discourse,Adoes panchayats (59.21 per cent). Further, the
level in Maharashtra, are exhibiting a spon- LDF routed the UDF in the elections to the
not make a fetish of its own reality, and there-
taneous and strong solidarity across caste fore, prevents the ghettoisation of dalithood. district panchayats by winning 10 out of 14
DPs (71.42 per cent). The district pancha
yats which went to the LDF way are
LDF's Repeat Performance Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam,
Alahpuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Trissur,
Kerala's Local Body Elections Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kannur: Moreover,
the LDF established its dominance over the
urban voters by capturing 29 out of 54
M R Biju municipalities (53.70 per cent) and two out
of the three city corporations.
The electoral statistics reveal that the ruling
In spite of its pro-backward class stance on the issue of reservations,
UDF could establish its dominance in 342
the UDF failed to win majority of local bodies due to infighting and grama panchayats (34.54 per cent) and 45
emergence of divisions within the state's Muslim constituency. block panchayats (29.6 per cent). It could
win only 3 of the 14 district panchayats and
18 of the 54 municipalities. The district
THE electoral politics in Kerala has always Janathipathya Samrakshna Samiti (JSS)
been a topic of special interest for political extended their support to the UDF, while the
Indian National League (INL) had some sort TABLE 2: DISTRICrWISE POLLING
scientists all over the globe. This is the fifth
(Percentages)
time since independence that polls to the of electoral adjustment with the LDF,
local bodies in Kerala have been held. The particularly in the northern Kerala. BJP, Districts
too, Panchayat Munici- Corpora-
first poll was in 1953, under the provisions put up its candidates in a number of pality tion
of the then Travancore-Cochin Panchayat constituencies. The elrctions noticed an
unprecedented increase in the number of Thiruvanantha-
Act, 1950. The second election was held in
puram 70.0 72.0 71.0
1963, after the formation of the state,in 1956 independent candidates. Table I shows the
number of candidates, fielded by Thajor Kollam 72.0 67.0 -
and the passing of Kerala Panchayat Act,
Pathananthitta 70.0 72.0 -
1960. The third time the people of Kerala political parties.
Alappuzha 72.6 67.0 -
exercised their franchise was after a long The announcement of the poll stirred the
Kottayam 70.8 75.0 -
break of 16 years, in 1979. The fourth election people and political parties alike because,
Idukki 70.0 81.2 -
to the local bodies was held in 1988. these were the first elections after vesting
Ernakulam 72.0 71.0 65.0
The year 1994 witnessed the passing of with the PRIs, and Nagarapalikas with
Trissur 72.0 74.0 -
two historic legislations for revamping the enornous powers. Both the fronts resorted Palakkad 64.0 65.0 -
panchayats and municipalities in the state, to street corner meetings and door-to-door Malappu.ram 75.0 78.0 -
following the footsteps of the 73rd and thie canvassing in preference to public meetings. Kozhikode 70.0 78.7 65.0
74th constitutional amendment acts passed Due to the strict restrictions of the election Wayanadu 73.0 75.0 -
by the centre. The Kerala Panchayati Raj commission on expenses, mass rallies and Kannur 71.8 71.6 -
Act, 1994 officially came into force on April the use of electronic media were in a low Kasargod 74.5 70.0 -
30, 1994 while the Kerala Municipalities Act profile.
Sources: Mathrubhumi, September 24, 1995.
came into force on May 30, 1994. On the Elections were held in two phases. In the
Kerala Kaumudi, September 26, 1995.
basis of these two acts elections to the local first phase, over 70 per cent voters in
bodies were held on 23 and 25 September, Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, TABLE 3: PARTY POSImON IN GRAMA PANCHAYATS
1995. Idukki, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Kasargod and
The panchayati raj and municipal polls Kozhikodedistricts exercised theirfranchise, Districts Total LDF UDF Others
on September 23, 1995. The remaining No of
assumed greater significance due to two
districts of Malappuram, Kollam, Wayanadu, GPs
reasons. Firstly, these were the first elections
after vesting both the bodies with enormous Alappuzha, Kannur, Kottayam and Trissur Thiruvanantha-
powers. Secondly, it was the first went to the poll on September 25. In this puram 84 61 16 7
comprehensive statewide electoral outing phase, 72-75 per cent voters exercised their KolIam 71 55 11 1
since A K Antony took over as the chief righi to vote. Table 2 clearly illustrates thePathanamthitta 54 13 26 15
minister of the state. The ruling Congressdetails
(I)- of the districtwise polling percentage. Alappuzha 71 35 24 12
led UDF considered the poll as a means to Kottayam 73 25 35 13
vindicate their claim that it continues to Idukki 51 21 22 8
TABLE 1: PART '.'WISE DISTRfUTION OF
enjoy the overwhelming support in the state CANDIDATES
Ernakulam 84 50 29 7
whereas the CPM-led LDF considered the Trissur 98 51 36 11
Total no of candidates - 58,089 Palakkad 90 59 24 7
poll as a chance to ventilate their charges
Total no of male candidates - 40,220 Malappuram 94 29 53 12
against the UDF rule.
Total no of female candidates - 17,869 Kozhikode 76 48 22 6
Compared to the I4DF, the selection process
Congress(l) - 9,644 Wayanadu 24 12 8 4
of the candidates for the LDF was a smooth
CPI(M) - 6,566 Kannur 81 56 24 1
affair. Both the fronts fielded several young
CPI - 1,894 Kasargod 37 13 14 7
faces. The candidates of both the fronts (3 B1P)
BJP - 7,542
included district level leaders, ex-MLAs and
ex-ministers and ex-MPs. The newly formed
Source: Mathrubhumi, September 23, 1995. Source: Keralae Kaumudi

2550 Economic and Political Weekly October 14-21, 1995

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