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INSIDE INSIGHT

Contents Pages

Editorial
Dalit Feminism 3

Caste and Gender Special

♦ History and Reform in the Women’s Reservation Debate: Smita Patil 7
♦Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki!: Shaweta Anand 12
♦My journey that’s just begun: Sujatha Surepally 14
♦ “My restlessness grew and started taking form quite early”: An interview with Pushpa Balmiki 17
♦ “Coalition is the philosophy and need of the hour”: An interview with Du Saraswathi 20
♦ “Kadhal Kondaen" - Sketching Gender and Caste Relations: Article by students from Pondicherry
University 23
♦ “Dalit Feminism Needs Theorizing”: An Interview with Prof Mary John 27
♦ “Need to redefine Dalit Movement”: An Interview with Rajni Tilak 29
♦ GSCASH: Sensitizing Campus, Preventing Abuse 32
♦ “It Is Comforting”: An interview with Kanika Singh 33
♦ ‘Common concern’ - Possible Framework for Dalits and Women: Y. Srinivasa Rao 34
♦ Negotiating Caste and Gender - An Experience of Andhra Politics: Dr. P. Kesava Kumar 37
♦ “That I am not inferior was always in the mind”: An Interview with Dr. Vimal Thorat 41
Columns
♦ Our Icon: Muktabai - “Listen To What I Have To Say” 45
♦ Letters with Insight 47
♦ Voices: Gaddar - Sing. For Our Freedom Sings With You: B. Prakash 49
Commentary
♦ Fear of History in MJ Akbar’s India: Shamuel Tharu 53
♦ Dalits in Nepal: Politically Manufactured Karma: Suresh Singh 55
♦ Celebrating Ambedkar Jayanti in Bonn: Dr. Maren Bellwinkel-Schempp 61
♦ JNU celebrates Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 114th Birth Anniversary: Harish Wankhede 63
♦ Maligning Ambedkar on his Birthday by Inaugurating Multi-Media Exhibition on Gandhi: Dr.
Narendra Kumar 64

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 Editorial
Dalit feminism
Guest Editor - M. Swathy Margaret

I am a Dalit-middle-class, University educated, Telugu speaking Dalit-Christian-Woman. All

these identities have a role in the way I perceive myself and the worlds I inhabit. I, as a Dalit
woman, primarily write for Dalit women to uphold our interests.
This statement of mine is necessary because if we do not define ourselves for ourselves, we will
be defined by others – for their use and to our detriment. This voice is not representative of all
Dalit women. However, I know that my voice is important because it is the voice of a socially
denigrated category, suppressed and silenced.
My own self-perception and understanding as a Dalit woman, as a point of intersection/an
overlap between the categories “Dalit” and “woman”, took shape in the University of Hyderabad
when I joined there for my M.A. in English. I fell in love with the sprawling campus instantly.
Some familiar-looking young men came to my aid in filling the endless forms and challans,
saying they are from the Ambedkar Students’ Union. Hearing Ambedkar’s name I knew I
belonged there. However, it did not take much time before I realized they refused to see an equal
intellectual comrade in me.
Like the majority of men, they acknowledge a Dalit woman’s presence as only fit for handing
over bouquets to the guest speakers they invite for their meetings. At the most, she can give the
vote of thanks. They do not consider her in important decisions or in writing papers.
Later I learned that excluding women from their committees was a deliberate policy they
followed as they believed women’s presence would cause “problems” and come in the way of
serious politics. Women inevitably mean “problems”, their sexuality being an uncontrolled wild
beast waiting to pounce upon the unassuming Dalit men in the movement. It is assumed that they
divert the attention from the larger concerns of the movement.
I was given a nice room in the corner of the wing in the Ladies Hostel. But the only thing was
that it was unused for a couple of years in spite of it being the best room in that wing, I was told.
I did not ask why. Later I was told it was the room where one Dalit woman Suneetha hung
herself to the fan, after continuous sexual exploitation and ultimate rejection by a Reddy man
when the question of marriage came up.
Some inquired if that fact scared me. The ghost that stared at me was not the thought of a
hanging female body but it was my own body which is Dalit and woman and is as vulnerable as
Suneetha’s. The stories of Dalit women being used and thrown by upper caste men, told and
retold by my mother came back shouting loudly in my ears.
I also saw the urban, fluent-in-English, extremely confident women, who called themselves
feminist, who I could hardly talk to. When I did talk to them I was struck by their confidence,

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their go-get attitude. There were no shared fears, pleasures or problems with them. They do not
seem to have a caste to be bothered about.
Amidst such an entirely new atmosphere, there was this pressure to prove yourself, to be a good
student, a meritorious student. The task did not seem too daunting in the beginning. Why should
it, when there is such a huge library and thousands of books at my disposal?! And I am known
for my intelligence!
As a student of English literature, I came to see some very touching literature of African
American women writers. They provided me with the tools to explain my exclusion within the
Ambedkar Students Association, my sense of distance from other feminists who are from upper
castes, an eerie sense of alienation I felt in the classrooms and outside. They also gave me
strength to remain myself without trying too much to fit in any of these foreign structures.
My association with other Dalit feminists on the campus gave me a sense of belonging. Our
struggle for representation of women in the Students’ Union Body on rotation basis strengthened
our collective self that we were entitled too. All this empowering experience began translating
into my paper presentations and term papers, and in my readings of texts in the classroom. There
was a corresponding dwindling in my grades. Asserting my position has always been important
for me. Hence I have been learning to laugh at them (both my teachers and my grades).
*
In this issue of Insight on gender and caste, many articles raise the question of alliance-building
among various movements, especially between the Dalit movement and the feminist movement.
Dalit feminists share a definite sense of identification with many basic articulations raised by
both these movements. We have gained a lot from them. While it is important and strategically
wise to form coalitions and build solidarity with other marginalized groups, it should be
considered only when a movement is armed with a clear understanding of its own historicity
based on the experience of oppression and discrimination.
It is productive to have in mind the historical dialogue between different marginalized sections of
people. Otherwise, there is the danger of Dalit women, their self-definition and their peculiar
positioning in the society being rendered invisible. For example, the Dalit ideologues like Katti
Padma Rao, Gopal Guru and Gaddar seem to be less sensitive to the internal patriarchy of Dalit
communities. They maintain that all women are Dalits.
Since the upper caste women are not allowed to enter into their kitchens and are treated as
impure during their menstrual periods, they are also untouchables! Here “untouchability” is the
ideal framework to fight against caste oppression, claims Gopal Guru. What Guru overlooks is
that untouchability is a phenomenon that evokes various notions and images of bodies--bodies
that are marked by their caste, gender, class, age, sexual orientation and other identities. And
different bodies are ascribed different cultural meanings. Not all bodies possess even identities.
Not all Dalit bodies are one, not all female bodies are one. They interact with each other being
caught in a complex web of intersecting identities.
Dalit men, even those identified with the movement, do not want to see us as intellectuals. “You
are a Dalit body, a Dalit female body. Why can’t I possess it? Why can’t I just come near you”?
It is threatening. This happens at a very physical level. To prevent this, one of the strategies that I
use, is to stay with upper-caste women as Dalit men will not dare do express and behave in the

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same manner with them. In such a situation who am I closer to? The Dalit men or the upper-caste
women? Neither.
This lack of understanding of this caste-gender dynamics is reflected in the work of some
important upper-caste feminists like Volga, Vasantha Kannabhiran, Kalpana Kannabhiran, and
Chhaya Datar, who feel that women of all communities and Dalits are both badly discriminated
against by the diku system, and therefore all women are Dalits!
These intellectuals do not, for a moment, think of Dalits who are also women. In spite of their
awareness that women are divided along caste and class lines, they comfortably draw the
analogy between “women” and “Dalits”. The social status of upper caste women has never been
like that of Dalit men or women.
Patriarchy, as it operates within and between different castes is determined by the caste identity
of individuals. Politics based on difference should be sensitive not only to the difference that
matters to them, which they perceive as important but also to other differences.
The aim of identity politics like that of the feminists and Dalits is to ultimately dissolve the
crippling effects of these burdensome identities. Asserting an identity is to lay claim on the
universal. This universalistic vision can be realized only with the analytical tools that Dalit
feminisms provide with. They aim at actively participating in eradicating all forms of violence,
intolerance, hierarchy and discrimination in the society. An effective way of achieving this ideal
is to take “difference” seriously and engage with the politics of difference.
*
Muktabai, a mang woman, in 1855, wrote about the subjugation that the poor mangs and mahars,
especially women, suffered at the hands of the upper castes. She points to how the mahars have
internalized brahminical values and saw themselves as superior to mangs. Dalit women writers
are sensitive to the differential treatment meted out to different sub-castes and women within
Dalit communities. Muktabai challenges the Brahmins to “try to think about it from your own
experience”. We find that, according to her, “experience” has to be the basis of one’s
understanding and analysis of the society.
Brutal patriarchy within Dalit communities is one issue which repeatedly appears in Dalit
feminist discourses. However, the views of Dalit male intellectuals on the negotiations between
caste and gender are interesting. Ilaiah compares patriarchy in Dalits and Hindu patriarchy and
declares that the former is more democratic!
How can any oppressive structure be democratic at all? He substantiates his argument by stating
that certain customs like paadapooja (touching the feet) are not observed in Dalit families. He,
of course, notices the fact that there are oppressive practices like wife-battering prevalent in the
Dalit families.
However, “the beaten up wife has a right to make the attack public by shouting, abusing the
husband, and if possible by beating the husband in return”. The Dalit woman shouts back not
because of “democratic patriarchy” but because of the socio-economic situation she is trapped in.
The Dalit woman, more often than not is dependent on her own labour. She labours outside her
home from morning till evening.

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When she comes home, her husband will be waiting to snatch her hard-earned money which is
often the only source to feed the family. If she refuses to give him the money, the husband beats
her up. The woman shouts back; in the process of resistance, she might beat him back. This is
not because of democratic patriarchy in her family. There are certain debilitating stereotypes of
Dalit families in general and Dalit women in particular, which mar a clear understanding of her
location in Indian society.
Our self-perception is crucial for building our politics. I appeal to young Dalit women not to get
subsumed in the relatively macro-identities of mainstream progressive movements such as the
male Dalit movement or the upper-caste feminist movement. It is only by retaining our unique
voice within these movements that we can contribute meaningfully to these movements and
benefit from them. Giving ourselves a separate space does not mean we want a complete break
with these movements.

JAI BHIM

M Swathy Margaret is an intellectual in her own right. She has submitted a path-breaking
dissertation on “Writing Dalit Feminist Discourse through Translation: Translating Select
African American Short Stories into Telugu”. She is pursuing her PhD at CIEFL,
Hyderabad. She is also a research fellow at Anveshi, a Research Centre for Women’s
Studies.

DIKU: MAKING MEANING GLOBALLY

Dikus were the non-tribal money lenders, petty shopkeepers, forest contractors and Brahmins who were party to the
colonial exploitation of the forests. It was against this category of the people that Birsa Munda led his struggle. We
at INSIGHT have felt for a long while that all the categorizations surrounding caste has privileged the caste-hindus.
Whether calling them Brahmins (born of the head of Brahma), or caste-hindu, or dwija (twice born) we found that
we were unable to accuse them publicly (etymologically to categorize means to accuse publicly) of their exploitive
history.
It is with this word diku that it all falls into place. The word is expressive of the caste-hindus parasitic nature,
practices of usury and scant regard for nature. We have been using the word diku to denote caste-hindus except
when we are talking about specific divisions within them, since our January issue.
The reintroduction of this accusation has brought tremendous response. Although our contributors to this issue have
not used the word for various reasons, it has entered conversations, debates and academic discussions around the
world.
The excitement that this word has generated as only confirmed our belief that there is a need both political and
socially for such a word addresses upper-castes without giving them a privileged position and also exposes their
bankrupt historical presence.

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 History and Reform in the Women’s
Reservation Debate
It is important to trace the debates that
surrounded the women’s movement, both pre
and post independence, in order to understand
the issues now surrounding such important
question such as, the Women Reservation’s
Bill and why further ‘quotas within quotas’ for
other marginal women like Dalit, Muslim,
OBCs etc., are essential to annihilate the
hierarchy within the categories of women and
society.
Interrogating Women’s Issues in the 20th
Century
J.S. Mill was among the first to formulate an
evaluation of society according the position of
women as a group within each society.
Needless to say, he condemned Indian
religion, culture, and society for their rules and
customs. A number of western educated Indian
social reformers had, however, taken up such
issues as sati, child marriage etc.
The entire colonial women’s movement,
however, was adulterated with the ethos of
patriarchal traditions. Lakshmi Lingam argues
that the women’s issues were part of the social
reform movements, dominated by the ‘Hindu
nationalist’ male leader with an explicit
investment in cultural identity. This de-centred
location of the problems of women made it
impossible to deal with them explicitly.
Uma Chakravarti argues that as the high
caste/Hindu women started asserting
th
themselves in the early 20 century, many
women came out and established independent
autonomous organizations related to women
issues, such as education etc. Women like
Tarabai Shinde, Anandibai Joshi, and Pandita
Ramabai challenged the religious patriarchy of
7
Smita Patil
society and developed the process of self-
consciousness.
It is important to recognize that it certainly
helped some upper caste women to emancipate
themselves within the Brahminical social
order, as it provided a certain space in the
public sphere to acquire power, knowledge
and a specific position. However this process
resulted in the exclusion of Dalit as well as
other marginal women from the feminist
dialogue of sisterhood.
Moreover, one cannot ignore the parallel Dalit
social reformist movement that cultivated the
values of Jyotirao Phule and attempted to
recognize Dalit women’s issues.
For example, people like Shivaram Janba
Kamble through their magazine Somvanshi
Mitra addressed social, religious and economic
issues. He pointed out the plight of Dalit
women, especially Devadasi, Murali, and
Jogin and asked them not to practice these
professions. Responding to him Shivubai,
herself a Murali, replied to him that the parents
and community were responsible for making
the girl a murali. Instead of criticizing women,
a more comprehensive solution was needed.
Following this, Shivaram Janba Kamble and
others started a movement in which they tried
to negotiate with these social evils from
Shivubai’s point of view. Other reformers like
Vitoba Munpade, Kisan Faguji Bansode,
Kalicharan Nangawali and many others
contributed to the emancipation of Dalit
women. Nangawali established the first girl
school called ‘Putri School’ for Dalit girls in
Vidharba region.
Though the Mahar movement has given
recognition to Dalit women, but like the
colonial Indian social reformer, Dalit male
social reformers monopolized this movement
infusing it with patriarchal dominance.
The Ambedkarite movement was a different
and unique one, which organized Dalit women
for the first time in the history of Dalits. This
movement saw self-regulating claims by Dalit
women and sharpened their consciousness.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar acknowledged the
potential of women in general and Dalit
women in particular and addressed Dalit
women, asking them to join in the struggle to
eradicate untouchability.
In social arena, a number of Dalit women
participated in the struggle of Kalaram temple,
Mahad Satyagraha, Munusmiriti burning
programmes, opposition of Poona pact
including various other social evils in the
society.
Also, prominence was given to education of
Dalit girls. Thus, they also began to establish
independent forums for example ‘Dalit Mahila
Federation’ (founded in 1942) was a historical
landmark. This federation organized a number
of Dalit Women from many places. They
accepted Dr. Ambedkar as their leader and
Santabai Dani was elected as a District
President in Nasik of Scheduled Caste
Federation.
The Dalit women, however, failed to prove
themselves to be an independent entity in the
area of politics in the manner in which the
mainstream women’s movement efficiently
did.
For nationalists, Indian women were seen as
the personification of spirituality though the
idea of the ‘modern women’ was essential for
the nation. Partha Chatterjee has argued that
the nationalists simply granted the voting
power for women without any struggle for
suffrage while framing the Constitution. This
act, he argues, tries to dissolve the major social
problems of the women rather than
emphasizing the political involvement in the
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colonial state. However, I agree with Mary
John’s argument in which she points out that
Chatterjee does not reflect on the difficult
growth in the women’s movement in political
discourses.
Women and Reservation Debate: Pre-
Independence
The women’s question was more problematic
in the political discourse in the colonial period
(and after that) on reservation. The women
started educating themselves and raising the
question on social issues but remained in the
boundaries of womanhood and cultural values.
As far the questions and issues in politics were
concerned it remain restricted only with voting
rights. For example, age of marriage was a
major concern in the social domain and was
not seen in the context of politics such as
politics of sexuality or politics of gender. The
political focal point was on nationalist
discourse and franchise.
Moreover, on the reservation affair, different
women’s associations had different
perceptions. Congress leader Sarojani Naidu
was against the preferential treatment, either
nomination or reservation. In her insight, the
idea of difference might create a complexity
within women. It may provide a hierarchal
platform for categories within women. And the
main duty of women was to maintain
spirituality and it was to be spread worldwide
as a cultural reform.
On the other hand the position of Mutulakshmi
Raddy was unbelievable. She was the first
nominated member of Legislative Council of
Madras in 1926 by Women’s Indian
Association (WIA). Mutulakshmi was very
keen observer and equally well aware of the
problems of women such as economical
dependency, inheritance laws, marriage laws,
the Devadasi system and so on. And thus was
interested to use politics as a medium for the
upliftment of women.
She argued for reservation for women. One
can say that she was extremely sensible for
women in general and Dalit women in
particular as she herself was born to a Brahmin
father and Isai Velala caste (devadasi
background) mother. In her autobiography she
describes about how, while campaigning for
devadasis and untouchables, she experienced
biasness from her friends.
Although numerous women’s organization like
All India Women’s Conference (AIWC), The
National Council of Women in India (NCWI)
and the WIA had different stands on the
reservation question in the earlier stage, over a
period of time they spoke in one voice for
equality rather than for a preference of
privileges.
The blame for this goes to Gandhi, as he was
the main leader, who was responsible for
mobilizing women against reservation. In
1932, in the Second Round Table Conference,
all three women’s organization came up with a
memorandum demanding “Universal Adult
Franchise” and refused an earlier maneuver for
nomination and reservation.
As one observer remarked “the very method –
reserved seats –by which women were
accepted as part of the Indian Parliamentary
culture (under the terms of the Government of
India Act of 1935) was first vehemently
opposed by those nationalist women whom it
was later to benefit”.
The ‘Communal Award’ of 1932, specially
meant to provide separate electorates and
reserved seats to Muslims, Christians, Sikhs
and Anglo-Indians, made extraordinary
provisions for the depressed classes.
It is interesting to explore the reaction of
Women’s movement on it. It was decided at
that time that women would not interfere in
any party politics and independently react on
the ‘Communal Award’ and together think
about women’s dignity.
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As Rajkumari Amrit Kaur argued that women
are not keen on ‘communal splits’ within
themselves. Aruna Asaf Ali remarked that we
must give importance to the ‘preservation of
the unity and diversity of our country’. Thus,
the legislatures should protect shared thought
of country.
Minorities’ women gave mixed reaction as
Begum Sakina Mayuzada, remarked that the
act of preferring one community may cause
harm to other community. Begum Shah Nawaz
was in support of reservation and said that
political leadership is necessary for women to
change the society.
However, untouchability was to remain a
burning problem. Women’s movement was
greatly influenced by Gandhi regarding the
idea of untouchability. A special resolution
was passed condemning the practice of
untouchability and to work collectively to
eradicate untouchability. Thus, the questions
of untouchable men or women was not at all
actually seen through women’s movement, as
it was itself dominated with higher class and
caste women.
Thus, if we assess the overall women’s
movement in the colonial period, one can
argue that communalism and caste were the
major factors which damage the women’s
movement while raising ‘equality’ issues. And
Gandhi was directly responsible to motivate
them in this particular direction. One can see,
how one by one woman denied reservation for
women.
The 1935 Act, although it provided a specific
space for all who were historically
marginalized, the entity called ‘women’ was
not taken into account. Women’s organizations
were caught in contradictory proclamations of
the ‘unity of all women’.
Post Independence
The second phase of women’s movement
developed along multiple dimensions and
raised several questions; the question of
women’s reservation bill still prominent
among them.
The Constitution of India does assure equal
citizenship to all Indians irrespective of sex,
caste, creed and religion that are principally
based on liberty, equality, and fraternity. Then
why are women still always treated as
secondary? One has to also investigate that
why and how ‘we’ women are constantly
facing the repression of State? What kind of
solution do we have to solve women’s
oppression? These are not simple questions.
Women’s reservation might be an alternative
but it is certainly not an absolute answer. The
Women’s Reservation Bill becomes visible as
the 81st amendment in the year 1996. And it
actually raised fundamental issues for women
like representation, citizenship and its
correlation with politics. However, it is
interesting to explore why women have started
getting accommodation in the democratic
politics of India.
In 1974, a path-breaking report ‘Towards
Equality’ comes into existence under a
Committee on the Status of Women (CSWI).
It directly makes a demarcation between the
rural and urban women’s experiences. It
questions the declining sex ratio, rising gender
gaps in life expectancy, mortality, and
emphasis on economic contribution and puts
forth definite policy directions.
It suggests possibilities of gender justice by
suggesting alternatives to patriarchal society.
Finally, for the amelioration of rural women it
unanimously recommended the establishment
of seats for women, through the statutory
panchayat.
Further, the ninth plan brought a policy
framework called “National Policy for the
Empowerment of Women (NPEW)”. NPEW
principally discussed the socio-economic
conditions, health, nutrition, environment,
violence on women and so on, and gave the
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recommendation of 30% reserved seats for
women, at every stage of legislature.
Its recommendations were held up due to the
inclusion of an additional reservation of 33.3%
in rural and urban areas in government
associations. So, the debate was instigated in
1989 and was time and again deferred and re-
proposed
Finally, the demand for 33% reservation for
women in legislatures got included in the
election manifesto for all major political
parities during the 1996 general election. But
many regional political parties expressed their
disapproval, suggesting reservation within
reservation.
However, it is an important challenge to all
categories of women, in parliament, to think
and rethink electoral awareness in the
patriarchal society, especially, concerning the
significance of decision-making. On the other
hand, the secondary treatment in politics has
led to the realization that political targets can’t
be achieved easily unless reservation for
women is implemented.
On the question of reservation for women in
parliament and in state legislatures, two
positions can be put forward firstly favouring
and secondly against this.
The first argument says that all the political
parties by nature are patriarchal and reluctant
to support women candidates and that is why
reservation for women should be made
compulsory. This implies that once the number
of women increases in parliament then it is
easy to formulate a lobby and to act according
to their convenience and needs. The entire
country is under the hegemony of males in
parties, politics and public opinion. Laws are
easily passed in the Indian constitution but the
entire society is patriarchal, that leads to the
notion of inequality. As the quota system will
improve the socio-economic and political
standing of women and ensure the positive
representation of women’s apprehension in
political, developmental and decision-making
forums.
The other side chiefly says that it will be
contradictory to the principle of equality in the
Constitution. And that the interest of women
cannot be isolated from those of other
economic, social and political stratum. It may
further damage a unity and diversity of nation.
Moreover, similar political parties who
supported the reservation of seats for women
in local bodies are hesitant on the subject of
similar legislation, at the parliamentary level.
Could it be that enhanced representation of
women in the national parliament, spells a far
greater and immediate challenge to the
gendered status quo within the party political
system? Or conversely, is it that the pattern of
quota systems in India have shown that elite
based strategies of empowerment are less
helpful to groups seeking greater recognition
than those based on grassroots institutions?
Feminists react to affirmative action
differently. Some argue that in the political
process women’s participation can be drawn
along two strong lines. Firstly, it will make
democracy stronger. Secondly, it will
transform the oppression of women as well as
socially disadvantaged groups.
Dealing with the question of Dalits and other
minorities’ women is more complicated. With
respect to the OBCs, it is complicated to
accept women as representatives of political
identities, because in Indian politics caste,
class and religious identities exist along with
gender identifications.
Especially, in the Anti-Mandal incident, many
upper-caste women protested against the
reservations and expressed their anger that the
men from their community were not able to
secure jobs and made further claims that it will
destroy the future of their children. But today,
the agitations of the similar upper caste
women for the reservation in context of
parliament and state assembly are surprising.
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Some new alternatives have been projected
because the passing of the Women Reservation
Bill appears doubtful. The Election
Commission has proposed that all political
parties should reciprocally agree on the
percentage of seats where they will mandatory
field women candidates in parliamentary and
Assembly elections. But guarantees of ticket
do not mean the success of women in the
elections.
On the other hand, the harsh antagonism
between OBC and feminist leaders is
decreasing. Most of women’s groups accept
the principle of quotas within quotas, but only
a few groups are arranging to rewrite the
present Bill to include such quotas.
Nevertheless, this bill consistently appears in
every assembly debate as every political party
tries to publicly create a picture that each of
them is interested to provide an egalitarian
society. Recently the Prime Minister of India
declared that the bill would be discussed in
parliament very soon.
From this entire debate, one can argue that it is
important to have the reservation for women in
the legislature and the quota within quota must
be incorporated to bring out egalitarianism in
the society. Important questions still remain.
Significantly, even after implementing the
33% reservation for women how and what
kind of strategies could we have to evaluate
that all women (inclusion of categories too)
are actually being empowered. The
accountability of empowerment needs to be
measured from time to time. The Dalit or
Muslim woman should not imitate the similar
hierarchical approach of elite women as they
shift their class as is inevitable with political
empowerment.
Smita Patil is pursuing her PhD in Centre for
Political Studies, JNU.
 Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki !
‘Baal lambe karo, hamain ladko jaise baal
nahin pasand,’ says a father to his little girl
who is barely 10 years old.
‘Yeh nachti kya rehti hai, aaise nachti rahi toh
bade hokar nachne vaali banegi aur hamaari
naak katvaegi,’ is another dialogue the girl
grew up hearing, whenever she lifted her foot
artistically.
‘All girls convent school main padhaenge
bachon ko,’ so the girls of this family went to
a convent school because it was an all girls
environment and that this would earn them
better prospective husbands in future.
Another most commonly heard dialogue is,
‘Yeh jeans pehen ke kahan jaa rahi ho? Kapde
badlo!’ or ‘yeh taiyaar hokar kahan jaa rahi
ho aaj, koi khaas baat hai/kissi se milna hai,’
or ‘Yeh koi time hai ghar aane ka’ (only
fifteen minutes late from school/college), or
‘etni dair kiske saathn ghoom rahi thi?’ or ‘aaj
kal voh ladka bahut nazar aane laga hai es
muhalle main, zaroor koi chakaar hoga.’
I can almost sense many women out there who
will find the above conversations familiar.
Many men would have heard these comments
from their family members, friends or
relatives.
Somehow, middle class women gel very well
when it comes to talking like this about family,
family pressures, about these prescribed roles
and performances we have to live out since
birth through life and death. These norms
design our lives as soon as the baby’s sex can
be determined.
I agree that ways of living are prescribed in all
societies but my only problem is that these
12
Shaweta Anand
prescriptions should not become forced ones.
This is from where a lot of problems arise. Of
pushing tradition, forcing kids to emulate
elders and become like them once they grow
up.
Mothers want their daughters to be like them,
fathers want their sons to become what they
couldn’t in their youth. No wonder adolescents
have such a hard time in balancing a lifestyle
between what they really aspire to be and what
their family desires for them.
Why is sitting for the civil exams an unsaid
norm in JNU? Just because the form costs
forty bucks doesn’t mean every second person
wants to become a civil officer? Line laga ke?
Etna coincidence is not possible.
All sorts of choices made by Indian parents
become part of our tradition that is in reality a
passing on of accumulated sentiments in the
restrained lives lead by parents. It is at this
juncture that young girls and boys, practically
imbibe the differences of their class and
culture vis-à-vis others.
The need to ‘identify’ their group, to ‘belong’
somewhere is very strong in this age. The slow
realization of what makes them different from
others creeps in. Most girls prepare to get
married and boys have to soon start earning.
How predictable can Indian life get? Here
people spend all their lives killing those who
they really are while defending what they
‘chose’ to turn into.
One has to be a ‘rebel’ to express oneself
honestly, be it a man or a woman. Where is the
need to form ‘queer’ groups, giving people
names and separating them into groups? As if
the ones who are apparently conforming are
following the guidebook rule by rule.
Tradition therefore sounds very superficial for
me.
Even though I mechanically do what is asked
of me in family matters but I refrain from
getting totally involved. I don’t feel for it that
much. There are people all around us who
repeatedly brainwash themselves (for the sake
of conforming to societal norms and earning
desirable comments on public occasions) into
adapting to ways and means that are not
coming naturally to them.
We haven’t discovered these traditions and
rituals first hand or in accordance with our
times and requirements. We are blindly
becoming slaves of the gray matter and
creativity of our ancestors, who thought out
these ways of life to suit their times and their
purposes.
Most Indian women can be seen swelling with
pride while getting nostalgic about their
mothers who had sincerely followed tradition
all their life. They defend their traditional
relatives, bollywood films that largely
reinforce their beliefs and our society, where a
whimper of dissent is often heard for a brief
while.
Does that imply that there is no problem
within our society? Since there are no sounds
heard, men and women don’t have problems?
That woman is sitting happy and content at
home. They are happy to be jobless and they
Shaweta Anand is pursing her Diploma in NGO Management, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
13
celebrate their husbands exerting power on
them.
Most women (that I know) have done their
share of foul mouthing family. So I really
don’t know if we have a problem here?
Women usually get what they want to get.
They want to feel weak and dominated.
So men have made that possible over ages. We
can have a solution only when the problem is
acknowledged. But not many women mind the
treatment they receive from society. They have
their own subtler ways of letting out their
steam, if it is made in the first place.
I can vouch for a great number of women who
justify getting beaten up or justify their space
getting violated. Within the term violence, I
want to include irrational anger, use of crude,
sharp and abusive language, violation of the
rights and space of the woman. In fact,
anything that is meant to incite fear in women
of the house is an act of violence.
Scared people can never spread love; they can
only spread more violence. Actually, I feel
violent men too are a scared lot themselves, so
just throwing stones at them won’t help. They
too have been pressurized to accomplish tasks
that define their masculinity.
The net result of such a situation is that we
have a middle class society that is infested
with different behaviors prescribed for men
and women, they have different goals
(determined by the society) to be achieved in
prescribed age limits. Aren’t we bored yet?
 My journey that’s just begun
Sujatha Surepally

I was born in a middle class family of a first time. (Mine is not happy marriage and I
Telangana area in Andhra Pradesh. I was the was caught up in middle of new value systems.
only girl child in the family. I was one of the I am not going into details).
fortunate Dalit girls to be sent to school. Like
When I was doing my Mphil (Sociology),
many schools in the villages, we didn’t have
there was an invitation from the women’s
many teachers and quality education. There
organization Asmita to attend a summer school
was hardly any motivation from the teachers
on Gender, sometime back in 1994. It was an
or parents.
in-house training on gender and status of
I had dreams of becoming something in life women in the society.
when I grew up. But my ‘life’ took a different
The training really helped me to go further
turn when I was in teens when my father
with confidence, understand myself what I am,
passed away untimely and I was married in my
the pains I am going through. Even against all
20s. Before I could realize my interests and
odds I did not stop my education. I finished
focus on my pursuit, I was pushed into
my Bachelor of Education and registered for
marriage much before I realized what it was.
PhD which time and again got postponed for
I completed my Masters degree along with my want of time owing to pressures of work and
new wedded troublesome life. Post graduate family responsibilities of being a mother and
studies in Sociology gave me a different wife and all that.
window to look into my people and their
I was never aggressive with people. (May be
situation. It gave some vague ideas of
internalizing the pain is an inherited character
knowing the society better. That was the
for Dalit women living with troubles). I tried
beginning to gain closer insights into all the
my hand at Information Technology and
“reality” of the web of relations that keep
attempted to go abroad.
some oppressed and chained.
I borrowed lots of money to get trained which
I slowly started to see the face of oppression in
I had to repay over several years with hard
its varied forms like gender, caste, and class
work. But it was a failure and a waste of a lot
and what it meant for a woman for being born
of borrowed money. It took so many years to
into a Dalit house. Until then, I hardly knew
repay the loans. Today I ascribe this to lack of
what was to be a Dalit because of my urban
direction and escaping from problems. When I
background and relatively liberal family
look back into my past I laugh even today for
background.
doing such things.
It increased further when I became a mother.
But I value all those efforts and pains. I was
Life was nothing but uneasiness, irritation, and
happy at one stage when I realized that I
helplessness at that time. First time, I started
derived satisfaction in working for people like
thinking about myself- What am I doing? And
me and it also reflected my own unfolding
it led to the search to be something and also to
self. I finally decided to work for the people
be part of the efforts of my people who are
who are oppressed like me.
beginning to dream of a future may be for the

14
I joined a voluntary organization as Field
Coordinator. But that was a short-lived
experience as I could not digest the injustice
within the group. So I rebelled and I was asked
to leave within three months. Sadly, it was a
Dalit-headed NGO. I was again at a cross road
in search of suitable jobs in development field,
though I was doing my part-time consultancies
with some organizations.
An NGO friend advised me to register with a
group of sociologists through an NGO
Sadhana - to work for women and children at
Hyderabad. The same lacunas reappeared:
Lack of confidence, inability in writing and
communication, English speaking etc.
Few friends supported me and with their
encouragement I was able to work for couple
of years satisfactorily without earning
anything much. I did couple of Govt education
programmes and IGSSS (Indo German Social
Service Society) fellowship helped me to look
into domestic working children in slums of
Hyderabad.
There was again gender and caste bias in NGO
field. Managing the NGO, (less funding and
too many activities) had become burdensome
to me. I used to work on consultancies. That’s
where I involved myself totally in the work
keeping aside my personal problems.
I worked with Tribals, Dalits, especially,
children in almost all parts of A.P and Orissa.
Working with people taught me to look into
my life in a different angle. When I compare
myself with poor marginalized women and
their problems, my problems are nothing. I
got courage from them.
From there I never stopped though there were
many obstacles. Field works and trainings (in
Gender, Child Development, Counseling,
Management etc from reputed institutes like
NIPCID Delhi, CYSD Orissa, IGSSS) helped
me in shaping up my professional character.
15
What I learned was that working in the NGO
field is very difficult as there is insecurity of
job, lack of space to express our views. Also
managing field work and family pressures are
much more difficult if there is no cooperation
from the family. In the case of Dalit women,
they remain in lower levels because of their
educational background and sometimes due to
lack of skills. They are often targeted and their
every activity is eyed by many. I don’t think
the situation is same for the upper caste
women.
Another turning point in life was when I
became a lecturer (my troublesome education
finally helped me). My academic work started
with young minds and professors.
I involved myself in many organizations and
discussions along with teaching. My field
work in the development field helped me to
assess the students, helped me to prepare my
own module. My back ground allowed me to
focus more on Dalit and marginalized
students, and motivated me to look into
research aspects.
My development work continued more
conveniently along with the teaching. I tried
to organize youths with high motivation but it
took a wrong turn when the youth from all the
districts choose me as key person.
So called Dalit males refused to accept this. I
would say that they spoiled the moment by
blaming my personal life, same thing
happened to me when I was working for the
development of Telengana NGOs. This time
there were many, both men and women, who
also couldn’t tolerate my taking an active part.
I decided to keep myself away with the NGO
sector and work voluntarily in Dalit issues and
human rights. I joined the Human Rights
course at Hyderabad University, concentrated
more on youth, identifying the missing areas in
the urban education. With my contributions I
became a member, Board of Studies for two
years in Sociology Department, Osmania
University.
My work focused on involving youth in the
issues of caste, class, gender and incorporating
Human Rights concepts. My subject gives me
flexibility in looking into these issues.
In recent times, I have started training small
Dalit NGOs which lack the skills of fund
raising, communication and self confidence.
During these days I have presented various
articles in different seminars like Globalization
and Dalits, Status of Dalit Students in School
Education in A.P, Dalit Women: Technology,
Ecology and Development, Dalits and
Development Aid.
For the last 4 years, I am organizing exposure
visits and tours for my students to various
NGOs that are doing good work, organizing
talks with eminent personalities on gender and
caste, education, development etc with an
intention to motivate youngsters into social
work and nation building.
Now I am also involved in bigger forums like
Telengana Forums, Dalit Women Forum and
various youth groups. Due to the lack of
financial and collective support we are not
doing as much as we expected.
With my work and interest on Human rights, I
got the opportunity to visit Bangkok for 20
days’ training and workshop on Human Rights
with support of Human Rights Institution,
Washington in October, 2004.
Presently I am the only fellow chosen by
United Nations working group on minorities
from South Asia along with four other fellows
(April-June ‘05). Here, I am basically looking
into Dalits and their situation and national and
international mechanisms to protect their
Human Rights. I would like to work more on
women, children, human rights education in
the field of development.
16
At the end I would like to say a few words,
based on my experience:-
Today’s empowerment process is becoming
more independent, self-centered. We are
failing to spread or transform it. No one wants
to share the power or position. No one believes
in secondary leaderships and building up
resources unless we unite we cannot fulfill our
dreams. I believe in sharing, joining and
collective activities with the people who are
for Dalits and poor, especially women.
Education (quality, goal oriented education) is
very important for the Dalits or any other
marginalized communities. Though our
education is not promising any thing for the
future, girl children need to be given much
importance.
Human Rights perspective in all walks of life
is important to assert our lives as well as to
promote rights. As Dalit women, we suffer
triple oppression. We need to work and face
all the odds. Don’t ever stop the journey
before achieving your goals, try and try until
you attain them. We have to build confidence
among ourselves rather than depending on
others. I know it is very difficult but nothing
is impossible.
My male colleagues please understand the
need of our community; don’t ever discourage
women in the development field or any field.
Don’t target their personal lives; after all they
are also human beings. After all the ups and
downs, now I am confident about my life, my
self and my goals. My heart felt thanks to all
those who helped me in this journey.
Sujatha Surepally teaches Sociology at
Osmania University, Hyderabad. Presently she
is in Geneva as fellow of the United Nations
Working Group on Minorities from South Asia.
 “My restlessness grew and started
taking form quite early”
- An interview with Pushpa Balmiki

Pushpa Balmiki is the founder of Adharshila, an NGO working in the Tarai Region of UP. She
has represented Dalit issues on various national and international foras. She has been
instrumental in mentoring many grass-root level Dalit activists.

Tell us something about your background?

I was born in a Dalit family. My parents were
safai karmis (sanitation workers) and faced a
lot of hardships in bringing us up. Their daily
work was to clean and carry human excrement
out of private latrines. They used to get
leftovers or half-eaten food, or some times,
paltry sums of money on which all of us
survived. After my four older brothers, I was
the fifth child in the family. All our uncles,
too, had only male children. In the entire
family, I was the first girl child. For this
reason, everyone doted upon me and I enjoyed
a lot of attention. However, in the social world
outside the family, I was an object of
contempt. I could not play with the children of
our upper-caste neighbors. It was with longing
eyes that I watched them play and have fun.
My mother got married to an alcoholic at the
age of twelve. He used to beat her frequently.
At fourteen, she left him and married on her
own. But where could she have found a
refined fellow in the bhangi caste? My father
used to gamble and that created problems for
my mother. In order to rear her children, she
worked very hard. From 5:00 am till 3:00 pm,
she cleaned toilets and removed human waste.
We ate only one meal a day properly, in the
evening. In the morning, before going off to
school, we used to divide and eat the leftovers
of the previous night.
My mother never sent any of us to work;
instead she sent us to school even if we were
hungry. I used to see her crying for hours but
could not understand why. Once, when my
mother fell ill, my brother, who is now a
scientist in America, sold off his school books
and brought home some ration. Since then, he
constantly had to borrow books from his
classmates. We had to endure the most
extreme deprivations on account of the caste
system.
Somehow, I studied till Std. IX. Then my
eldest brother tried to arrange my marriage. I
always saw that though my mother did all the
work in the house, the men in the family took
major decisions. She silently suffered. Women
do hard labour, earn for the entire family, work
in the household also but are treated in an
inhuman way. Their alcoholic husbands beat
them throughout the night. Women get only
the leftovers after they have fed the entire
family. I found that the situation of women in
our society is deplorable and because of this I
started dreading marriage.
The oppression of women within the family
because of patriarchy and outside the family
because of the caste system, made me see
myself as an agent of social change. It was
then that I decided to fight.

17
Eventually, after a lot of struggle, I completed
my Bachelor’s Degree in Arts. Then I yielded
to the pressure and agreed to get married. I had
kept the condition that the person should not
be an alcoholic or gambler. Fortunately, my
husband had no such habits. He is also
struggling against caste-based oppression,
along with me. His career had been cut short
on account of his caste.
He was an accomplished athlete but because
he was from the bhangi caste, he was barred
from competing at higher levels, while his
juniors and upper-caste competitors, whom he
had squarely defeated in competitions, were
promoted and given excellent opportunities. I
married him in 1979 and since then both of us
have been working for social change. After
staying at my in-laws’ place for a couple of
months, I left it and joined a govt. school as a
teacher. My husband joined me soon and since
then we have been working on issues like land,
caste-oppression, labour and women
empowerment.
Tell us some of your experiences of student
days.
At the age of five, my mother enrolled me in
primary school. The teacher there was a high-
caste Hindu and despised me for my caste.
While correcting my note-book, she would
hold the pen from a distance so as to avoid
touch. There was a pitcher of drinking water in
my school for everybody’s use but I was
forbidden to touch it. I sat separately on my
own piece of mat. For every little thing, I was
scolded and shouted at. I was taking training in
B.T.C. in 1976. I was the only Dalit in the
class. My classmates despised me and there
was no social interaction between us. Besides,
they could not stand me eating with them.
Since when are you involved in Dalit
activism?
Since 1976, I have been working for this cause
incessantly at various levels. Now I have been
working in five states primarily for Dalit
18
women and have got positive results from 90
villages. I consider Lakhimpur as a model
district. In 1994, I shifted from Lakhimpur to
Lucknow. Here, I came across a leaflet
advertising a public exchange of ideas on
some issues like attitude towards women, caste
system, alcoholism, scientific concerns, etc. I
attended the programme, where I was elected
as State President, Women’s Wing of the
Indian People’s Science Movement. This is
how I came to understand that I could
effectively work through institutions, when the
other members and the govt. are supportive.
While working in this organization, I wrote an
essay on the subject of women. I received
several letters of appreciation from all over the
state. In 1995, I registered my own
organization, ‘Adharshila’. People have come
and gone but the organization is successfully
working despite financial strains. To
strengthen the movement, I have been
encouraging women to stand in the
forthcoming Panchayat elections and have
offered them my full support.
I exhort the youth to come up and fight against
discrimination of any kind. Inter-caste
marriages should be encouraged. Through a
special programme, I have been trying to
understand the mental state of oppressed
women in the states of Bihar, U.P., Rajasthan
and Andhra Pradesh. In U.P., I have been
working in Lakhimpur, Gazipur, Gaziabad and
Kanpur and have got tremendous response
from these places. I believe that politicians
have a crucial role to play in social change and
I appeal to them to work honestly.
Balmiki caste is still far behind on the road to
development primarily because they have not
yet incorporated Ambedkar’s philosophies in
their lives. However, gradually this
consciousness is growing. As far as entry into
politics is concerned, I am prepared to take on
the challenge and will not shirk my
responsibility.
Tell us about your experiences of running a
Dalit organization.
Between 1995 and 1998, I actively worked to
associate with several institutions in a
supportive network. But these institutions
offered neither good guidance nor reliable
information. Even voluntary service
organizations used the work of our
organization for their profit. They misdirected
us instead of helping us. In 1999, I associated
‘Adharshila’ with Lucknow’s ‘Educational
Partner’s Centre’ and finally received some
formal training and accurate information. Then
we trained a group of activists in that area who
worked for us without pay. Eventually, some
other organization took them away from us by
paying them salary. This organization which is
run primarily by upper-caste people has
oppressed several Dalit and women’s
organizations. I have some upper-caste
comrades here in ‘Adharshila’ but the upper-
caste people of the above-mentioned
organization have tried to woo them by saying,
“Why are you affiliating yourselves with a
bhangi? Come join us instead”.
Tell us about your experience of activism as
a Dalit woman.
I really feel great when women come to me
and express their wish to work with me and
support me. Lack of participation on the part
of men is a cause of pain. Though my mother
always supported me, my father and brothers
did not; they indeed discouraged me. I was
part of the creation of one ‘Dynamic Action
Group’. I was one of the organizers. An
election was held for seven conveners and I
was the sole woman convener. Because I was
This interview was conducted by R.B. Rawat. He is pursuing his MPA at Lucknow University
19
a woman, however, the men involved in the
leadership did not give me a chance and took
over the work that was my responsibility. I
was frustrated.
What have been your achievements and
losses, in retrospect?
I had nothing to lose- neither wealth nor
respect. But I had a great deal to gain-
including the two things I have just mentioned.
Respect I have, to some extent, gained
personally, but what I want is to achieve
fearless, dignified, respectable lives for the
entire Dalit community. This is my dream.
Awareness, education and independence are
all crucial for this, and these are the things I
am, through my organization, attempting to
attain. To some extent, there has been change
in the sweeper community. I have obtained
human resources, an institution and dignity.
Some people in society even take my name as
a model. The courage of the Dalits is growing.
The community’s elderly and its youth claim
me as their own and love me. On the other
hand, society’s anti-social elements- those who
earn their bread and butter by reinforcing
social inequality, sucking interest off loans,
bribing and taking bribes, striking deals with
the police, and committing thuggery- have
problems with me and are trying to attack me.
This is because they do not want social
change. Now I have three children– two sons
and a daughter- and my husband and mother-
in-law complete the family. At hand are not
only institutional responsibility and an office
structure, but young comrades, trustworthy
supporters, and people’s community.
“Coalition is the philosophy and need
of the hour”
- An interview with Du Saraswathi

Du Saraswathi is a Bangalore-based writer, poet, artist and an activist. Since her student’s days,
she has been involved with women’s groups, the DSS, peace movements and the struggle of the
farmers and the labourers. Here she interacts with Vijay on various issues.

Could you tell us about your experiences as
a Dalit student, in your college life?
I studied in a predominantly a brahmin
college, there were only brahmins around. You
could only see Dalits who had come through
the reservation category, other wise we could
not even step inside the college. Caste exist
very subtlety in urban areas, and is quite
discreet in the cities. For instance, the brahmin
girls avoid eating the food which we offer, I
never understood that previously. They would
say ‘no, we don’t taste other homes salt’.
How did they come to know you are a
Dalit?
By my caste certificate, they all knew about
that. I never talked about it. I first opened up
about my caste when I was in my 2nd year of
pre-university college. Jenny and Dr
Siddalingiah (from Karnataka Dalit Sangarsha
Samiti) came to our college for a talk. Jenny
sang and later Siddalingiah joined in. That
opened me up and I started to feel proud about
my caste.
How did you join the social activism?
It was in the college, from my NSS days, that I
began to share my experiences as a woman. I
began to recognize that patriarchal oppression
has been existing for ever. I felt this as a
woman. It was also around that time that I
began to realize what outlets were available
from this oppression and how to resolve this. I
got introduced to a women’s group called
Vimochana. There I mostly liked the songs
and street theatre, not just the theory or
lecturing. I feel it is the strength of all the
Dalits and this is how we relate to issues
around us. One Mr. K. Ramaiah used to write
the lyrics and someone would write the play
and perform in streets, raise money for next
performances. That’s how I related with the
issues around.
What have been your experiences as a Dalit
woman activist?
I first came in contact with Vimochana, which
was a center for most of the progressive and
radical forces. All the Dalits groups used to
meet there, even farmers groups too. I got my
exposure being with them. That was my
backbone in understanding my Dalit ideology.
I was also inspired by people like K. Ramaiah,
Devanur Mahadeva, my grandmother and my
parents.
You are involved in both feminist as well as
the Dalit movement in context of Karnataka

20
I have been emotionally attached with the
Dalit movement and have been closely
watching the movement and seeking guidance
from the people in the movement. I have been
working with pourkarmikas (Dalits who work
as scavengers in Bangalore Municipal
Council). It’s a really a self-respect movement
for the people of Karnataka. Comparatively,
the DSS (Dalit Sangarsha Samiti) is more
gender sensitive when compared to any other
movement, because when a girl was raped in
Kolar, K Ramaiah wrote a song and DSS took
up the case, campaigned all over Karnataka
not because she was a Dalit, but she was a
women, Even if you look at the constitution of
DSS, they talk of cultural roots and equality. I
feel its part of their culture.
What about the ‘mainstream’ feminist
movement?
They never took up caste as a serious issue.
Feminist movements were sympathetic,
showing solidarity but never took issues which
are directly linked to the issue of caste.
As a Dalit feminist how do you look at
gender and caste matters in social
movements?
It’s a limitation of these movements, but I
don’t look at it as a big flaw. I have gained
from both the Dalit and feminist movements.
Today for Dalits, class and gender questions
should be the important questions, for feminist
movements it should be caste and class, for
Marxists it should be caste and gender.
Feminist movements have identified with
other movements too, like DSS, KRRS and
anything to do with peace. We were the first in
Bangalore to organize anti-nuke
demonstrations. It is not just being sensitive
and sympathetic but also we should address
the issues of caste, class and gender which is a
burning reality, no peoples’ movement can
over look these aspects.
How do you look at the present status of
Dalit movement in Karnataka?
21
Once very strong, but now Dalit Sangarsha
Samiti (DSS) had split into many factions in
Karnataka. I do not have problems with the
splits. I think we should respect our
differences. I respect any kind of political or
ideological differences. But then we need to
examine carefully about these splits as how
much they are due to political differences and
how much are ego clashes. Before these splits,
DSS grew into a powerful cultural revolution
and also a pressure group. It came to be
noticed by the political parties.
I think the Janata Party was the first to start
using them, till then all the Dalits used to vote
for Congress so it was an asset to any political
party. Also there was no political clarity
amongst the Dalit movement itself. One of the
reasons for the splits could be that we could
not form a political party due to lack of
resources. The Dalit movement was built by
raising money from labourers by singing
songs; they were not in a position even to
support any political party, forget starting their
own. When Kanshiram first came to Bangalore
in 1984-85, he declared that DSS would be
destroyed. Sure enough, some from DSS
joined the Janata Dal and others BSP.
How do you see Dalit movements twenty
years from now?
The more inclusive we become the better for
us. It is dangerous for us to remain secluded. I
feel it is appropriate time that we start talking
of coalition. We should all know our
limitations and have patience. I hope by
another 20 years we realize the value of
equality but that would be the next wonder in
this world. I think we should all fight against
power centralization and any kind of
hierarchy. I believe in collective politics.
Tell us something about your writings
I published my first poetry collection in 1997.
I used to write before that too but never
published. It is called ‘Weave like a Spider’. I
got an award for that in Mangalore. In 1999, I
wrote a personal account about how I was
falsely accused in the bank where I was
working, describing the trauma which I went
through. It is called ‘What will I do now’
(Eggannu masdeere). I had got good responses
for both of my works. I also write a column
called Sanna thimmi in Kannada. It is about
Dalit women in villages and how they relate to
issues like globalization, women reservation
bill, concept of border, bomb, how they looks
at war or beauty pageants. It is quite satirical.
What are your views on the Women’s
Reservation Bill?
Why only 33%? Why not 50%? And definitely
for all other backward women too! Those who
have benefited should step back to make way
for the downtrodden. If we look at the present
statistics we see that people who have power,
who are well-read, those who hold positions in
the government are upper caste, upper class,
urban women. There is no doubt on this. Those
who have enjoyed the power should step back
to make way for the people who deserve it.
This applies even to Dalits too. The class
question is very important for Dalits. In the
background of liberalisation-privatisation-
globalisation (LPG) phenomenon, Dalits
should not seek answers only by being
[Vijay is an independent film maker, sculptor, painter and activist based in Bangalore]
22
emotional. They should also understand
economics, and by being practical, by looking
at our roots we can find answers. Let’s not
look at Oxford for the answer for this. The
people who have built the philosophy which
comes from hard sweat have much more value
than people sitting on an arm-chair.
Anything else you would like to say to our
young readers?
Looking back at my teenage days, I realize
that I was constantly fighting for a space. I
would not like someone rejecting our
viewpoint just because we were still young, we
should have the freedom to even speak
stupidly, so-called elders should respect our
stupidity and take the essence of what we
mean, keep the values which we believe. For
Dalits, it is always the inferiority complex
which they suffer from. Even I have suffered
from this, by feeling hesitant not to talk about
my caste. The first thing which hits our mind
is that we Dalits are drunkards, meat eaters,
dirty people, fools, even modern education
makes us feel more of that, but our real
strength lies in the fact that we belong as a
community. I would like to identify with that
kind of life - more collective and group living.
 “Kadhal Kondaen" - Sketching
Gender and Caste Relations

This article is written jointly by the students of MA, English Department, Pondicherry University
namely Shanthi V., Arthi G., Vidhya G., Dinesh, Bala Abirami & Catherina E. Batty

We generally say, "Everything changes, except city people. When he wants to go back to his
the concept of 'change'''. But how far we orphanage to escape this "ugly" environment,
change our outlook is the question. Even in Divya lends him her friendship. She is
our ' modern ' society the issues regarding attracted by his intelligence, takes him under
caste and gender discrimination still prevail. her wings and attempts to transform him into a
Therefore to think about a land devoid of all 'socially' accepted person.
these disparities has become a 'utopia'. This
The torrent of love that Divya showers on him
article attempts to show how the issues of
soon leads him to develop feelings for her. In
caste and gender are interconnected and how
the meanwhile, another man Adhi, who is in
caste plays an important role in determining
many ways a flirt, falls in love with Divya who
the status of men and women in the society
reciprocates his love though she abhors him in
through a critical analysis of the Tamil movie'
the beginning. Dejected Vinodh, in his
Kadhal Kondaen ("[I] Fell in Love")
obsession for Divya, kidnaps her to his
Kadhal Kondaen, the blockbuster of Tamil mysterious shelter in the forest under the
cinema of the year 2002, gained the director pretext of uniting her with her lover Adhi.
many accolades for his daring venture into a
The movie thus moves from college romance
"road not taken" both in the story and the
to a psycho thriller. Vinodh’s sexual
screenplay. The movie's success in spite of its
frustration grows day by day. Divya's affection
non-stereotypical portrayal of gender relations
and understanding nature changes him. He
is an important aspect of the movie. The
reveals to her about his nightmarish experience
complicated relationship portrayed in the
in a factory-cum-orphanage during his
movie between Divya and Vinodh (two
boyhood days and how his earlier girl-friend
protagonists) not only is unconventional in
Devi was molested and killed by the factory
Tamil cinema but also is regarded as
owner. When Adhi along with the police
something which is unacceptable even in
comes in search of the two, Vinodh tries to kill
today's society.
him. Later when he understands that Divya
The movie begins with the orphan boy, does not want to treat him as her lover but only
Vinodh, joining college in Chennai where he as a friend, he kills himself.
feels himself very inferior in status. Due to his
In the beginning of the story, we get a
lower status and idiosyncrasies, he is
stereotypical portrayal of women as sex
ostracized by his classmates. He does part-
objects and easy captives to men's luring as
time duty in hotels at nights, which exposes
can be seen from the introductory song of
him to the sexual perversion of the modern
Adhi and his discussion with his friends,

23
which changes as the movie progresses. In the
movie, there is no compartmentalization of
specific characteristics to a particular sex.
'Feminine' qualities like modesty, shyness,
chastity, which are mostly associated with the
heroine, are not given much importance.
Divya does not make a hue and cry when Adhi
kisses her to win a bet. She slaps him across
his face and there ends that incident. Similarly,
in another instance, Seenu, one of Divya's
classmates, attempts to rape her. While trying
to escape from him, she gets injured and is
hospitalized by Adhi and his friend. After this,
there is no talk about it and the story moves
casually with its love subject. The
conventional stereotypical heroine would have
caused a big scene as to what had happened to
her. But Divya completely forgets the incident.
It only serves as an initiator for the blooming
of the love between Adhi and Divya.
As Divya is not a stereotypical 'feminine'
heroine, similarly Adhi is not the macho man
as usual heroes are. He is portrayed as an
ordinary college boy with romantic
inclinations. A simple act like grabbing of the
heroine's hand or snatching her 'dhuppata' is
enough to boil the hero's blood to the highest
temperature. But Adhi, knowing that
somebody had tried to rape her, is not
prompted to take revenge. Instead he takes that
opportunity to express his love for her. This
shows that the trait of 'protectiveness' of the
usual heroes in the stereotypical portrayal of
man and woman is changing.
The feminine qualities like shyness,
nervousness are attributed to male characters
as well.In the beginning of the movie, Vinodh
is projected as a nervous wreck who finds it
hard to find a space in society. Divya's
friendship becomes a pathway to him to
establish his individuality and identity. But
this relationship makes him over possessive
and we find him depending on Divya mentally,
physically and financially. At one point of the
movie we find Divya lifting Vinodh and
24
nurturing him like a protective mother and, at
some other point, she emerges as a true and
faithful friend who gives him mental support
to bring out his hidden talents.
In all these instances, Vinodh is shown as a
shadow of Divya in the sense that without
Divya he has no existence. Even a vague
notion of losing her transforms him to be a
menacing power. This cannot be attributed to
his masculine power as he acts so only to
retain his position in her mind. Even Divya
does not consider him as a masculine figure.
This is evident from the way she kisses and
hugs him without any inhibition. She is bold
enough to bring Vinodh to her bedroom. The
question is whether the treatment would have
been similar if it was any of her other male
friends.
Even the notion of sexuality is not demarcated
in the movie. Both the male and female
becomes the object of sexual harassment. The
director has highlighted the victimization of
girls and boys through flashback in the
narrative where both Vinodh and his childhood
friend, Devi, are sexually tortured through
'forced sex’. This childhood trauma is so
intense in him that he brutally kills the
prostitute who makes sexual advancement
towards him. Both man and woman are
equally responsible for the corruption in the
society as we can find in the factory episode.
We get only a glimpse of the conventional
housewife in Divya's mother character.
Therefore in the movie, the traditional
stereotypical portrayal of gender is completely
erased and the director has redefined gender as
a broader category where nothing but
biological difference matters. Divya is
addressed as "angel" throughout the movie. It
does not mean "The Angel in the House". But
in the contrary, the human qualities like love
and caring for the unfortunate, understanding
the sufferings of others make her to be the
angel.
The concept of beauty, which largely The movie thus shows that even a secular
constitutes the meaning of angel, occupies institution like college shuns giving space for
only the back seat here. Of course, the heroine people from the so-called lower-caste society.
is exquisitely beautiful. But on noticing the Another stereotype of the lower caste is that he
costumes and the camera angles, one would is dumb and unintelligent. In that sense, the
find that the director has given more movie also consciously breaks this stereotype
importance to the feelings of the heart than her by making Vinodh go and solve the math
physical appearance. problem on the board. Therefore, in that sense
Vinodh is portrayed as having more merit,
Even though the movie does not seem to
being more deserving to be in the college than
portray any significant debate about caste at
the others. What he lacks is the cultural
the surface level, a little insight would reveal
capital-codes of behavior of ' polite society' or
the portrayal of the menacing caste distinction
upper caste-class society which is what Divya
that is prevailing in society. For Divya's father,
tries to give him. Through her friendship, she
he wishes the death of his daughter rather than
tries to make him acceptable to her society, i.e.
her marrying a boy of another caste.
'polite society', but is not very successful.
The director has shown the conflicts prevailing
Divya's attempt to 'socialize' him is also an
within the different castes and he seems to be
indication of her attempt to make him adapt
projecting Christianity as an all-encompassing
himself to 'modem' society. Vinodh, whose
religion, which provides asylum for people
shyness to mingle freely with girls and other
regardless of caste, creed, sex, etc. The movie
boys as could be seen in his hesitation to dance
gives the impression that Vinodh belongs to
in the discotheque and shake hands with his
the lower caste (as he is being sold in the
class-mate in the "Devadhaiyai Kandaen" song
factory and works as a bonded laborer), and
shows him trapped in restrictive traditional
the Christian orphanage and the priest provide
caste-class relations. This "traditional" Vinodh
him the shelter to live. The warmth of love and
cannot accept the "modern" Divya’s friendship
the extraordinary understanding of Vinodh's
as love. Divya has already broken away from
feelings by the priest emphasize this. When
the older generation’s norms by choosing her
Divya sheds tears healing his terrible
life-partner of her own and running away from
childhood experiences in the factory, we are
her house when she finds it as a hindrance in
shown the picture of Christ who sheds tears of
new modem paradigm.
blood.
It seems that the class-caste distinction is so
Though the caste difference is not seen among
strongly imprinted in people's mind that one
the college students, (i.e.) the younger
hardly recognizes its existence. Nobody in the
generation whose concern is on the economic
college suspects the relationship between
status of the individual, it is very much present
Divya and Vinodh as love. It seems all the
among the elder people who are portrayed as
people in the college as well as in the society
religious fanatics. Caste also figures in the
unanimously believe that a beautiful girl like
beginning when in the college, the lecturer
Divya will not choose an unhandsome, poor
scolds Vinodh and says all kinds of people are
and especially a lower-caste boy like Vinodh
now coming into colleges (a reference to
as her life-partner.
reservations) implying that Vinodh is
undeserving, uncouth, etc. and shouldn’t be in Their class-caste differences only allow for
a place like college. such relations as mother-child, protector-
protected, teacher-student but not a man-
woman relation especially sexual relation. As

25
already printed out, Vinodh is not even
considered as a 'man'- seen by the way her
strict father does not say a word when she
takes him into her bedroom and even later
allows him to meet her when she is locked in.
Adhi is at least recognized as a man and hence
a threat for the father.
So one way of looking at the kidnapping and
what follows is to see it as Vinodh's attempt to
make Divya see him as a man. Yet, Divya
steadfastly refuses to do so as is seen in the
way she touches and kisses him and in the
water song where she teaches him swimming.
Vinodh is driven to more desperate acts
because he feels he will lose her. We can also
see the ending as the only time Divya
equalizes Vinodh and Adhi by refusing to let
go both when they are hanging at the top of the
mountain. Finally, Vinodh relieves his hand
from her with the satisfaction that at last she
has got the message but is still not repulsed by
him.
The movie therefore portrays that class-caste
distinction also plays a cardinal role in
determining the "gender-vision" of the society.
The movie is surely a breakthrough regarding
its portrayal of male and female both of whom
are shown as holding equal positions and equal
independence in the society. The heroine is not
sidelined in the movie. Her role is as
commendable as the roles of the two male
protagonists.
But the ending of the movie is surely an
indication of a different type of gender
relations where the caste category determines
whether one is "man" or "woman" enough to
live in the society. Thus the movie seems to be
driving home in one form; they reappear in
some other form and thus assert their
inextinguishable presence in the society.

26
 “Dalit Feminism Needs Theorizing”
- An Interview with Prof Mary John, Women Studies Programme,
You include a section on the Dalit
movement in your course on Women’s
studies? What according to you is the
relation between the two?
Our understanding of this question is recent. It
was in the 90s, in the post-Mandal context,
that this relation emerged in a distinct manner.
The Mandal agitation played an important role
in bringing caste into the feminist discourse,
indeed into all social science discourses. Pre-
90s, I don’t think women’s programmes
included anti-caste histories. It is only
following Mandal that G.P. Deshpande
translates Phule and many feminists like Uma
Chakravarty start writing on caste.
The anti-caste movements have made
immense contributions to the creation of an
autonomous women’s consciousness. This
history was largely forgotten. It did not enter
into academics automatically. Growing up we
did not hear about the role Phule, Ambedkar
and Periyar played in the women’s struggles.
We only learnt about Ram Mohan Roy’s and
Vidyasagar’s interventions in widow
remarriage and sati prevention.
The interesting question is: How is this revival
of interest is taking place? There are no clear
answers but it has been a very productive
engagement. Some women have denied the
relation between these two lines of struggle.
There are bound to be such differences. Many
of us however, now teach these things in class.
What is the reaction of students to the
introduction of material relating to the Dalit
27
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
movement in the context of a women’s
studies class?
I have been offering this course for two years
now. There is a tension in the class. It is
understandable. Between 15 and 20 of my
students are girls (all upper-caste and upper
class) and four or five are boys mostly Dalits.
When there is a clear dynamic of gender, the
discussion is usually straight forward. But
when questions such as Dalit women in the
feminist movement or reservation in
legislatures for women arise, friction is
definitely generated. OBC women are absent
and this accounts for an experiential gap in the
discussions.
The discussions usually follow expected lines,
but the manner of dialogue is what requires
comment. It is surprising, but true that most of
the women, when they speak accusingly of
Dalit men in such discussions are unaware that
there may be Dalits in the class. It reflects the
complete lack of awareness about the manner
in which caste operates around them.
Socialization is essential to remedy this. There
is a need for politicization of such a lack of
awareness. It is also important to create spaces
where non-Dalits can realize roles as
supporters of the movement. Spaces where
there can be debate about what roles they can
play. In what way they can unlearn their caste
cultural behavior and mindset. This should not
be of a sentimental nature.
What is your opinion about Dalit feminism?
It is productive, necessary and will contribute
to the women’s movement as a whole. There is
undeniably a distinct nature of discrimination
faced by Dalit women. Dalit feminism also got
an immense impetus from the Mandal
agitation. Dalit feminism made women’s
movements to start taking notice of caste, but
it was largely unintended. Previously we used
to only talk about poverty in a general sense,
but now we have to engage with caste.
It has lead to the creation of the National
Federation of Dalit Women in 1994, lead by
Dalit women like Ruth Manorama, Kumud
Pavade and Vimal Thorat. They have done a
good job in raising consciousness about the
triple exploitation of Dalit women. It needs
more support though. There is some support
from non-Dalit women like V Geetha and
Uma Chakravarty. Still I feel that the critical
mass required to run this movement has not
been achieved.
The Dalit movement has also not played a very
supportive role to enable Dalit women. This is
in part due to some activists romanticizing
Dalit patriarchy by claiming that Dalit women
are free to work and to leave the house and to
beat their husbands etc. These are products of
her situation. They are not emancipatory. It is
important to recognize this. We need more
accounts of Dalit women themselves who are
able to theorize this.
Dalit feminism needs strengthening. Dalit
feminist theories are coming from non-Dalit
women and are being written in English. Dalit
women’s writing in the vernacular is emerging
as an extremely productive and intense field,
but this is still in the autobiographical or
biographical form and there is a need for
theorizing these accounts.
Why do you think that the student
movement in JNU is unable to appeal to
Dalit women much?
Interview was conducted by Sandali (MSW, TISS Bombay) and Anoop Kumar (Mphil, JNU New
Delhi)
28
There could be many reasons. I think the most
obvious is that most of them are first
generation college goers and have fought a lot
to get here. They carry many responsibilities
and their stakes in higher education are very
large. Maybe they just want to find a space to
survive. I have found through my experience
that the most silenced group in progressive
institutions like JNU is Dalit women. It is
much easier for Dalit men. Even in terms of
political rewards, a Dalit man can expect to
make the transition between student politics
and representational politics. That space is not
yet available for Dalit women, as Dalit
women. We have to imagine a space between
total silence and coming headlong into the
movement. This can only happen with
exposure to the works of Ambedkar, Phule and
the history of the anti-brahminical movement
and the relations of these to the women’s
movement.
We cannot end an interview without asking
our favorite question. What are your views
on reservations?
Reservations are a good thing. But I think that
the discourse has been dominated too much by
the pro-anti dichotomy. It is time to think
about this in a more nuanced manner. There
are definitely some dominant castes that need
to be de-reserved. The caste dynamic has
changed immensely. We should not ask as
academics, do we want reservation? But who
occupies what space in society? How has caste
translated itself into modern society? There is
only one place in which 100% reservation is
fulfilled, and that is political reservation and
yet most of the discourse even within the
movement is that this has not served the Dalits
cause in any great manner. How then should
we rectify this? How can we rethink this issue
in order to create an effective and active Dalit
political voice?
 “Need to redefine Dalit Movement”
Rajni Tilak is Executive Director of Centre for Alternative Dalit Media (CADAM) and Founder
Member of NACDOR. She is one of the prominent Dalit rights activist and India’s leading voice of
Dalit feminism as well.
To begin with, please tell us about your
family background
I was born in old Delhi, on 27th May, 1958 in
a family having very limited means. I came
from a family that was badly and wholly
coerced by Hinduism. My father was a tailor
whose ancestors migrated to Delhi from UP to
earn a steady source of livelihood. With all the
then-persisting problems my parents gave the
best education to all seven of us siblings – four
boys and three girls. But because of severe
poverty our higher education got shattered,
especially mine – being the eldest girl in the
family I had to take care of my younger
brothers and sisters. Once I aspired to become
a nurse but ultimately I had to change track
due to the absence of appropriate financial
support.
After passing my higher secondary (1975), I
joined ITI’s cutting and tailoring course at
Curzon Road. Since I was looking for some
skill development in order to feed my family, I
also joined a stenography course at the
Shahdara ITI. During these days, along with
other like-minded friends, I made a union for
girls, since the girls were discriminated on
many grounds over there, especially those who
were from deprived sections. There was the
problem of their scholarships, separate
sanitation was not available and they lacked
confidence while dealing with others. After
sometime I merged our union with the vibrant
left organization of the time - PSU
29
- An Interview with Rajni Tilak
(Progressive Students’ Union). Later on, we
split with them because of some political and
ideological problems. The Left in the name of
student mobilization was focusing more on
their own agendas for strengthening their
political parties and the core issues like
casteism and other problems of students from
deprived sections were not taken seriously.
How did you get initiated in Dalit
Movement?
Right after my disenchantment from the left, I
came to realize about my Dalit consciousness
and also that the Left is not seriously regarding
the core problem erupting out of caste
discrimination. Then I started reading
Ambedkar, Chandrika Prasad Jigyasoo, Mary
Taylor, Gandhi, Rahul Sanskritayan and a lot
of other authors. When I got in touch with the
Dalit movement, I found that it was at another
extreme.
While the Left was completely focusing on the
economic problems, the Dalit movement was
focusing only on problems of caste by
completely ignoring the problems of
patriarchy that is prevalent among the Dalits. I
started building my organization allying with
Bharathiya Dalit Panther in Delhi (1982).
Some of us also started a Dalit theatre group
called ‘Ahahwan’, and a students’ awareness
programme by establishing a Youth Study
Circle. During the 1980s, I also worked with
anganwadi workers and formed a union of
anganwadi helpers and workers at the national
level to demand regular pay scale. In this
union we have mobilized and organized about
4,000 women, but since we lacked any
experience to deal with such a big organization
it was soon co-opted by the Congress.
You are one of the leading Dalit voices in
the feminist movement. Could you please
tell us about your experiences with the
feminist movement?
During the infamous Mathura Rape Scandal
(1972), I along with my co-workers organized
a huge agitation all over Delhi, which we later
on converted into a successful women’s
liberation movement. Thereby, I got in touch
with ‘Saheli’, an autonomous women’s group.
Since the activists of Saheli were working in
many fields like sanitation, health, counseling
for family planning, providing shelter for
deprived sections, campaign against dowry,
eve-teasing, rape, molestation etc, I benefited
immensely from my experience with Saheli. I
learned how to work with fewer people more
intensively and constructively.
However, I also realized that the approach of
such feminist movement is not towards the
central problem of women that lies in the
villages, slums and other backward regions of
our country. The standards of so-called
mainstream feminist movement was restricted
to a certain class of women who while
enjoying their social status (economic
independence and upper-caste identities) were
not prioritizing the core issues related to the
problems of lower caste women. I perceived
that the problem lies in the leadership of the
feminist movement which was in the hands of
those women which were already socially
liberated.
Could you explain the difference and
similarities between the Dalit feminist
movement and “mainstream” feminist
movement?
30
We can seek the differences in the background
of both the movements and also in the
approach, priorities, agendas and philosophy
of both of them. While the Dalit feminist
movement has its ideals likes of Savitri Bai
Phule, Ambedkar and Jyotiba Phule, there is a
complete absence of any pronounced ideal in
the mainstream feminist movement. As far as
the similarities are concerned, it is true that the
women of every community are equally
suppressed by patriarchy. Patriarchy
dominates caste and class everywhere. It is
true that, to a great extent, Dalit women are
more affected by patriarchy, and it is also not
false that upper-caste women are fighting
against the injustices done by patriarchy.
Would you throw some light on the
contemporary Dalit feminist movement?
Nowadays Dalit feminist movement is quite
weak. Although we have 15 or 20 strong Dalit
women leaders working in different parts of
India, I still feel it is not enough. The Dalit
feminist movement lacks a strong structured
organization, to direct the movement more
rigorously. I perceive Dalit feminist leaders as
more in the role of subordination to other
movements instead of leading these
themselves.
Today we have a network of Dalit women
which is called the National Federation of
Dalit Women (NFDW). Through this network,
sensitization of other Dalit organizations is
pursued for the upliftment of Dalit women in
the Dalit movement as leaders. NFDW is
bringing a new front into focus – the front
which is really fighting for women’s
emancipation at the grassroots level.
To put it more concretely, CADAM (founded
in 1995) has played a greater role in
establishing Bharatiya Mahila Andolan. Since
1995, CADAM organizes Indian Women’s
Day for the promotion of women’s rights on
March 10, the death anniversary of the first
women leader of India, Savitri Bai Phule.
CADAM also organizes ‘Education Day’ to
commemorate the birth anniversary of Savitri
Bai Phule. We are also able to develop a vast
network through which we are able to train
many Dalit women.
What is required to mobilize Dalit women
to actively participate in the movement?
To bring Dalit women into the feminist
movement it is required to first sensitize them
about their being human and thereby infuse
them to participate at their local level; to
participate in decision making processes. Only
then will they be able to lead the others. It is a
lengthy process. Normally they have lots of
family burden on their shoulders which makes
it difficult for them to take active participation
in such activities. But somewhere they have to
realize that they too are human and have equal
rights to lead a dignified life. I am very
hopeful that given the situation Dalit women
will be the ones who will participate in large
numbers and lead the movement to its logical
conclusion.
Why is it that Dalit girls, especially those in
higher education, do not join the feminist
movement for their own cause?
I think it is because of the Dalit community’s
patriarchal nature. There is a very little
mobility for Dalit women. Child marriages are
still in practice. Those girls who are getting
into higher education lack confidence in
themselves. It is due to the patriarchal society
and also because of lack of exposure and the
constant pressure from their families to avoid
contact with others.
What are your views on the Women’s
Reservation Bill?
We have already done a signature campaign
among Dalit women across the country
regarding their concerns about the Bill. We
have also campaigned among MPs of different
parties. We met the PM in order to explain that
it is very pertinent and urgent to involve Dalit
31
women, minority women and OBC women to
make this Bill feasible otherwise this Bill is
going to be another instrument in the hands of
the state to oppress.
Are you satisfied with the progress made by
the Dalit feminist movement so far?
Of course, I am satisfied. After all in the last
50 years we have carved our own niche. At
least people listen to us now. It is we who have
really faced the problems and oppression in
Indian society. We know what are the basic
necessities and demands of women. I am very
optimistic regarding the Dalit feminist
movement and I hope a day will come, when
every single girl of this nation will realize her
potential.
But it is also true that despite making our
voice stronger, we are also lacking a collective
programme, generally in the Dalit movement,
and particularly in the Dalit feminist
movement. We require a constructive and
concrete programme to at least provide a
profound foundation. By adding to the works
of Jyotiba, Savitri Bai Phule and Ambedkar
our organization can strengthen its roots.
The Dalit movement’s aim earlier was to fight
Brahmanism, capitalism and patriarchy. Our
movement is now concerned with the urban
problems and thereby is restricting itself to
employment and reservation. Such an
approach can only empower an individual, but
it cannot benefit the larger and greater mass of
this country. Therefore there is an urgency to
redefine the goals and aims of Dalit movement
keeping in view the ideals propagated by our
icons. I feel that there is an urgent need to
build collective leadership which is visibly the
greatest weakness of the Dalit Movement.
Interview conducted by Moggallan Bharati
who is pursuing his M.A. in Centre for
Political Science, JNU
GSCASH

SENSITISING CAMPUS, PREVENTING ABUSE

The Gender Sensitization Committee against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) is one of the unique
institutions of Jawaharlal Nehru University. The institution has gone a long way in making our
campus provide women students with a sense of security and equality. Its presence works not
only as a deterrent, but also to provide a space around which issues of harassment, and abuse can
be addressed in campus.
The Supreme Court of India laid down the guidelines on the prevention of sexual harassment in
the workplace in its judgment on the case of Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan, 1997. Taking note of
it the JNU administration appointed a working group on Sexual Harassment under Prof Karuna
Channa on 5 September 1997. It prepared a policy against Sexual Harassment and as a result of
its recommendations the Gender Sensitization Committee against Sexual harassment (GSCASH)
was set up on 16 April 1999.
Major Functions
Gender Sensitization and Orientation -It helps in creating awareness and to sensitize the JNU
community on Gender issues by organizing seminars, talks, movie screenings as well as through
pamphlets and posters.
Crisis Management and Mediation- It assist in the mediation of crises arising out of incidents of
sexual harassment and sexual assault on the campus. It also coordinates with the campus security
services to devise ways and means by which a system of crisis management, that is both gender-
sensitive as well as prompt and effective, is put in place.
Formal Enquiry and Redressal- GSCASH shall be responsible for the formal redressal of
complaints of sexual harassment. It shall receive complaints, conduct time-bound enquiries and
recommend disciplinary action, if any, in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down
herein.
Composition
The committee has thirteen members of which at least half the members must be women:
- Two faculty members (at least one woman) specially elected to serve on GSCASH.
- Two Wardens (at least one woman) to be chosen by the Wardens to serve on GSCASH.
- Two students (preferably one day-scholar and one hostel-resident – at least one woman)
specially elected to serve on GSCASH.
- One officer and one staff member specially elected to serve on GSCASH.
- One representative each of the JNU Students Union and Teachers’ Association.
- One eminent woman academician from outside the University.
- One representative of an NGO with special experience in issues of sexual harassment.
- One counselor.

The JNU model is a standard for other educational institutions of the country to follow. It shows
the commitment to provide a place of work and study free of sexual harassment, intimidation or
exploitation.

32
 “IT IS COMFORTING”
- An interview with Kanika Singh

Kanika Singh is an elected student representative of GSCASH. She is pursuing her MA in Centre for
Historical Research, JNU. She joined JNU in July 2004 and was elected as GSCASH student
representative in November 2004 for a one year term.

What motivated you to stand for the post of lecture of Prof Kumkum Sangari (co-editor of
student representative in GSCASH? Recasting Gender) on ‘Framing Gender:
Feminism and Anti-feminism’. We also
Perhaps its unique nature was the main
invited Dr. Saida Hameed (Member, Planning
motivation. Before coming here I had no idea.
Commission) to speak on gender issues. The
When I joined JNU, Dr Kumkum Roy (Faculty
response from the student community towards
CHS) was the chairperson of the GSCASH. By
these two lectures was tremendous. Then,
interacting with her, I came to know about the
together with JNUSU we had organized
working and the utility of GSCASH. It
various programmes celebrating Women’s
encouraged me. Other than that, within my
Day. Right now we are working on plan for
friends circle there was always something to
sensitization activities for security personnel
talk about GSCASH and its impact in the
employed in JNU. We are also planning to
campus. My involvement in student groups
have billboards in various places in the
dealing with gender issues like Anjuman and
campus to sensitize students regarding the
Parwaz also helped me take this decision.
gender issue.
Moreover its apolitical nature also has lot to do
with my decision. As a student representative what responses
do you get from students?
What exactly student representatives in
GSCASH do? Warm responses, of course! Many a times I
am flooded with queries from students
We have to organize and coordinate all the
regarding the working of GSCASH. Students
programmes and activities of GSCASH. As
do take GSCASH very seriously. Lot of them
per the guidelines there are two elected student
come to me with their questions and I always
representatives and one student representative
try to satisfy them. Some of them even confide
is nominated by JNU Student Union. All three
and try to consult about their problems with
of us represent the student community of JNU.
me. I am quite satisfied with my job.
We are equal partners in all decision making
activities. What is your opinion about the ongoing
Dalit movement, particularly about the
Can you tell us about your recent activities
Dalit feminist movement?
with GSCASH?
My coming to JNU only gave me some
Recently we organized a very successful
exposure to the Dalit movement. I now
programme in the campus where we had film
understand that Dalit women have been facing
screening of ‘Unlimited girls’ followed by a

33
severe exploitation in this society. Apart from
being women they are also victim to caste
based discrimination. So they are the worst
sufferers. In my opinion, the Dalit movement
including Dalit feminism has an important role
to play to end all kinds of discrimination in the
Indian society.
Many cases handled by GSCASH attract
much attention of political parties and of
the administration. What happens in such
cases? Does GSCASH face pressure and if
so how does it deal with this?
GSCASH is a recommendatory body and the
University administration is the decision
making and executive arm. There have been
several cases which have been politicized. But
Interview was conducted by Anoop Kumar, Mphil, School of International Studies, JNU
‘Common concern’
Possible Framework for Dalits and Women
Social movements, both old and new, have
always surfaced in response to discrimination
and exploitation. Some of them are very
successful and some of them failed badly.
Though failure of certain movements cannot
be totally attributed to the mishandling of
movements by designers and executers, it
seems to me that one of the main reasons for
the failure is that these movements were lead
in an isolated manner. These isolated attempts
always facilitated suppressive forces to carry
on with their fragmentation program. Social
movements led by minority forces did not
open doors for other minority forces to come
and join. As a result, they always met with
failure.
34
we have been able to withstand any kind of
pressure. I have not personally dealt with such
cases but have heard of them. Currently the
main bone of contention between GSCASH
and the administration has been the Ashok
Mathur Committee Report (regarding the
reframing GSCASH and attempt to undermine
its authority). The recommendations have not
been made public by the administration yet for
fear of protest. The stand of GSCASH is that it
should be made open.
What has been the difference in JNU since
the institution of GSCASH?
It has certainly acted as a deterrent and is able
to create awareness. Personally I feel it is very
comforting for a woman to know that it exists.
Y. Srinivasa Rao
All minority sections in India have one
common concern i.e. fight against constant
marginalization and exclusion from certain
processes (e.g. development). Out of this
‘common concern’, it is possible to design an
ultimate movement that would put maximum
pressure on suppressive forces. In case of
women’s and Dalit movement, since they have
some commonalty in their fight, there is a
strong possibility of crafting a movement that
would solve some long standing issues. It is
important and necessary to devise such
commonality.
In India, lower caste people and the upper
caste women (if not at every sphere of life) are
equally subjected to the cruelty of Hindu caste
system and social order. Though the upper
caste women, in a sense, as being wives and
mothers of households enjoy all facilities
inherent in the upper caste women identity, but
as ‘women’ she faces the same problem what
every other women facing in India.
In 19th century, influenced by English
education and enlightenment, women of upper
castes started negotiating with male-dominated
society to get some self-respect, dignity, rights
and identity, but now influenced by the
feminism and radical feminism they started
questioning the authority of patriarchal system
and began to claim equal share in all sphere of
life. In spite of all these efforts, women’s
movements are yet to register an impressive
victory in India. However, it is visible that
women of upper caste are the first to question
the authority of Hindu social order in which
women are subjected to discrimination from
the beginning to the end of their life. Their
journey from being submissive to the societal
authority to that of much more radical women
is a long one. Similarly, position of Dalits is
also the same. They are designers of many
social movements. Through these social
movements they aimed to question the
exploitation based on caste system by which
they have been subjected to discrimination for
generations. So women and Dalits have a
common platform for fighting against the
common enemy i.e. Hindu social order.
In the decade of eighties, Dalit movement and
women’s movements emerged as the struggles
of serious identity politics. The debate in civil
society influenced the politics of Andhra
Pradesh in a significant way. In the name of
identity politics, Dalits and women are sharing
the same theoretical platform to assert which
may result in bringing these two communities
on to one platform. It cannot be seen as
definite and a permanent arrangement between
women and Dalit groups. But it has to be seen
as an important, workable and a possible
option for achieving common goals.
35
To substantiate my argument of ‘common
concern’, I would like to present one of the
important student political movements in the
University of Hyderabad, as a case. The
university harbors students from all parts of
country with different socio-religious and
cultural backgrounds and histories. The
women of the campus, like the men, are a
combination of upper and lower castes and
also a combination of upper, middle and lower
classes. Most of them belong to educated
families of upper caste or women belong to
middles class families. They are the first
generation women being exposed to or
learning about the discriminative nature of the
Indian male dominated society and Indian
social system.
Among them upper-caste progressive women
and Dalit women are very vocal in their protest
against discrimination at university level. Most
of the women who are active in voicing their
concerns at the university level are students
from humanities and social sciences. For some
mysterious reasons women from science
streams are always silent. Anyway, there is
some kind of sociological explanations why
women from social sciences and humanities
are active and why science streams students
are not.
The Dalit student community is able to
question caste-based discrimination in the
campus which surfaces all the time at regular
interval in sophisticated forms. Sometimes
they are able to get elected to student union
body positions. With the help of likeminded
progressive populace of the campus they are
quite successful at many instances. Apart from
getting educated, they took part in many
movements at national level and also led
movements from this university and made
them national ones.
In all these movements, progressive women
played an important role by directly
participating in the movement and by taking
part in the scripting and constructing of such
movements. Thus there has been a long time
relationship between these two communities at
the political level. It is also possible to see this
in the visible participation of Dalits in the
women’s representation movement.
In University of Hyderabad, as like any other
university, men are more in number. However,
compared to any other university, percentage
of women students is quite high. They amount
to some where around 25% of the total student
community. Since they are in considerable
number they felt the need for having women
student representatives in student union body
for addressing their concerns. But for a long
time neither university authorities nor the
male-dominant student community agreed to
reserve a position for women community.
University authorities ruled out the necessity
of creating a position.
Though they have been asking for this position
for long time, it was in 2001 the University
women came strongly with a demand to create
a permanent women representative post in the
student union body. They undertook dharna
for almost ten days. It was one of the longest
student led movement in the history of
university. Women and men of ‘upper’ caste
and Dalits joined hands to fight for the cause
and also they maintained enthusiasm to the
end of the movement. Women’s representation
movement was perfect example for devising a
workable combined social movement. These
model movements can be formed at both state
and national level.
After women started the movement with
dharna, on the very next day Dalit student
associations of the campus - Dr. B.R
Ambedkar Students Association and Dalit
Students Union - supported women’s
representation movement. After some seven to
eight days of dharna, the university constituted
a committee to look into this matter.
Y. Srinivasa Rao is pursuing his Ph.D. in History, Indian Institute of Technology Madras
36
Unfortunately, this committee itself was
consisted of men and women who were
against the idea of the creating positions for
women students. Anyway, after day long
negotiations with the committee, finally both
parties agreed to settle the issue by conducting
voting. At this juncture, the student
community divided into two groups. On one
side was the combination of Dalit and
progressive men and women and on the other
side was the anti-Dalit-women combination.
Though the result of the movement was
realized when committee pushed the idea of
voting, Dalits and women did not give up till
to the end. On their side, anti-Dalit-women
group generated massive support and worked
hard to defeat women and Dalits. Finally in the
number game, Dalits and women lost the
battle. However, one of the important points to
be noted here is that, they might have lost in
the number game, but they both (women and
Dalits) led one of the successful movements in
the history of the campus. They might have
lost in the battle where the fight was between
minority and majority, but this movement
resulted in creation of workable frame work
for achieving long term goals.
This sense of togetherness (common concern)
has to be seen in the context of unifying
minority forces for achieving a set goal within
the given context. Spectacular character of this
new combination is that, if adopted, it has
power of solving some long standing issues.
Working on this platform would certainly
benefit each other. In the present scenario,
where the oppressive force is stronger,
amalgamation of minority forces is an absolute
necessity. Post-modern social movements
must be based on common concern agenda and
they should be organized on comprehensive
manner with unlimited space for
accommodation of all minority forces.
 Negotiating Caste and Gender
An Experience of Andhra Politics
In the decade of eighties, Dalit movement and
women’s movements emerged as the struggles
of serious identity politics. In the name of
identity politics Dalits and women are sharing
the same theoretical platform to assert their
identity. The Dalit movement brought the
issue of caste and its oppression to the
forefront, the women’s movement brought the
issue of gender and its oppression. Both of
them are critiques of liberal politics of
‘universal man’ and to certain extent the
politics of class struggles. At least in Andhra,
both the movements have understanding in
countering the ideology of left struggles. Both
the struggles succeeded in establishing their
own philosophical position and in taking their
struggles further. The struggles generated good
amount of literature.
The conscious Dalits consider that women too
are the oppressed people and victims of the
same upper-caste hindu ideology which is
patriarchal in nature. So the Dalit groups
consider the women too as a ‘Dalit’. The
conscious upper-caste women of the women’s
groups too felt to extend their support for the
struggles of Dalits. From the women’s group
of Asmita, writers like Volga and Vasanta
Kannabiran endorsed that the term ‘Dalit’
connotes conscious people who are struggling
against the dominance of caste, religion and
patriarchy. The word Dalit came into existence
with struggle. It is the symbol of struggle. For
the broad based alliance in fighting against
common enemy these kind of attempts are
necessary.
But in practice there are conflicts between
these, i.e. between Dalits and women in
37
Dr. P. Kesava Kumar
society in general. There are questions and
confrontations on the issues of women
reservation, issue of obscenity and rape of
women and the question of usage of language
in literature. It provides the understanding that
‘Dalit’ and ‘women’ are not a homogenous
category. As K. Sanjeevi points out, even
though they are Dalits, men are always men,
but never be women and the same applies to
women. It is a fact that there exists patriarchy
among the Dalit men and caste hatred among
the non-Dalit women.
In this paper I would like to look into, besides
their struggles targeting the hindu social order
as a source of oppression for the both in
different forms, the tensions prevailing among
the upper-caste women and Dalit men in their
everyday life experiences. Further I would like
to extend my argument to how the women as
moral capital are used by upper-caste men to
counter Dalit political assertion. If there is the
need to build up the movements to counter the
hegemony of dominant classes/castes by
creating the hegemony of the oppressed, it
needs a healthy dialogue among all the
oppressed sections of Indian society.
In the context of increasing claims of Dalits
and women (upper-caste) to gain access to
public institutions, the problems are generally
posed as the conflict between the two. On the
one side women entering the universities are
from relatively better economical positions
compared to men in general and Dalits in
particular. They pretend to be ‘independent’,
‘self assertive’, ‘confident’ and are able to
‘speak in English’. Where as Dalits mostly
come from rural areas and are the first
generation to enter universities. The cultural
environment for the Dalits is new and at the
same time soon they become assertive because
of the influence of ongoing Dalit struggles.
They are painted by others as ‘unskillful’,
‘reservation fellows’, ‘black’, ‘ugly’, ‘non-
meritorious’ and ‘manner less people’. In the
class room they are projected as ‘dumb’,
because they can’t speak in English. There is
an attack silently going on psychologically.
There is a general hatred towards the Dalits in
the period of competition for resources and
opportunities.
It is generally believed by the upper-caste
students that the Dalits are grabbing their
opportunities without having much merit. On
the other side any assertion of Dalits has been
seen as negative, violent, undemocratic and
anti-development. Women from upper-caste
back ground also ascribe to such attitude. In a
caste-dominated society, any proposals from
the lower caste boys to upper-caste women
have been dubbed as indecent and vulgar and
not worth acknowledging. For Dalit men in the
emotional front, the access to upper-caste
women is socially and culturally restricted.
Women too share their prejudice against
Dalits. The large scale mobilization of upper-
caste students can be seen against the Dalits at
the time of Mandal agitation in which women
student have played an active role.
Rural India is in no way different from the
university. At most the difference may be in
the form. For the upper-caste men of the
village, Dalit women are easily available and
vulnerable prey. Everyday there are sexual
harassment and rapes on Dalit women going
unnoticed. There is no chance for Dalit women
to protect themselves from the sexual
exploitation. The state and its machinery:
police, judiciary never pays any serious
attention to the issues of violence against Dalit
women. In case of Dalit men, the response is
quite contrary.
38
In post independent India most of the conflicts
between Dalits and upper-castes are in some
way or other connected to women. One way or
other Dalit men assert in public space by
making themselves visible. The upper-caste
women always feel threatened psychologically
that somebody will attack them. While
walking at public places they feel insecure.
This somebody may be read as the image of
rowdy. It is obvious that their imagination
meets the lower caste men. It is the popular
perceptions that ‘rowdies’, ‘goondas’,
‘criminals’ are essentially drawn from lower
castes. This situation also coincides with
upper-caste women’s objections against
obscenity in films. The films of nineties depict
the aggressive, masculine subaltern hero in
mass cinema pursuing fleshy, well-nourished
white skinned female bodies. Exactly these
situations received enormous public approval
as obscene frames. The middle-class upper-
caste audience seeing it says that the theatres
are no more places for decent people to sit in
these days since the films are more obscene.
In contemporary times, Dalits are self
asserting and struggling for their rights. They
demand self respect and dignity for their life.
With the rise in Dalit consciousness they are
resisting the dominance and cultural
hegemony of upper-castes. The upper-caste
people are unable to tolerate this kind of
situation. They are attacking the Dalits both
physically and psychologically. In most of the
cases they are justifying their attack that these
Dalits are harassing (their) women. Women
are used as a moral capital in settling scores
with Dalits. They suddenly transform
themselves as saviours of women. In public
press they circulate this kind of concerns for
women. In fact, these are the same people who
are responsible for the oppression of women
along with nurturing the ideals of caste system.
The classic example for this is Tsundur
massacre, where eight Dalits were killed in the
year 1991 by upper-caste Reddy community.
In response to this Dalits organized rallies and
challenged against upper-caste dominance. To
counter this, upper-caste people mobilized all
their fellow people on the pretext that Dalit
activists raped their women and sexually
assaulted them. By doing this they not only
consolidated their base and mobilized support
in their favor, at the same time they succeeded
in minimizing the support for Dalit victims
from the progressive non-Dalit sections. The
women groups were forced to maintain
silence.
The issue of women’s reservation bill
generated much debate in the realm of politics.
There is a serious confrontation between
women groups and Dalit groups. It is argued
that though the women population is half of
the nation, there is no proper political
representation for women in legislative bodies.
The bill is proposed in parliament by one
government after another and till now the bill
is not passed. There are many reasons for the
delay. One of the reasons is consideration of
sub-quota for Dalits/OBC in the quota of
women reservation.
The Dalit leaders and the leaders from
backward communities are stressing for this.
They put forward the argument that in the
name of women, mostly upper-caste women
will enter into the Parliament. The lower caste
women will be marginalized forever. Further
they argued that women are not a homogenous
category. They too are divided in terms of
caste, religion, class. The women’s groups and
some of the women parliamentarians like
Mamata Banerjee countered this argument
that, political parties are not sincere enough in
this issue and are finding strategies to not to
pass this bill.
The women leaders mainly argued that
irrespective of the caste, the patriarchal
dominance and exploitation is everywhere. For
this Dalit men are no exception. The feminist
leader Vasanta Kannabiran, like many other
women activists of the country, felt that let the
39
women reservation bill pass in the parliament
in existing form. Later one can discuss about
caste (OBC women) and religion (minority
women).The leaders who are arguing for the
passing of the bill only after incorporation of
sub quota for OBC, Dalit and minority women
are considered and propagated by the women
activists as ‘anti- women’.
They are being accused of not being sincere to
the women’s cause. Further, these women
leaders are shouting at them that all women are
same, ‘why do you people create division
among us, which are not there.’ The media too
helped them to portray leaders like Mulayam
Singh, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Kanshiram as
‘villains’ in this whole episode. It is the well-
shared opinion in media and upper-caste
middle class that these Dalits are ‘fools’,
‘jokers’, can’t speak English properly, and
don’t have either skill or eligibility to rule the
nation; because of them our Indian politics has
become corrupt, criminalized, and violent; all
together moral values are degraded, etc. Their
anxieties and aspirations are considered as
nonsensical and undemocratic.
One should not forget that these lower-castes
leaders not only challenged the hegemony of
upper-caste in politics, but also gave new
meaning to the Indian politics. It is a known
reality that these leaders have more experience
and access to their respective castes than the
upper-caste women. In a society where the
social relations are defined/ constructed on the
basis of caste, it is uncontested truth that
people (women) within the caste will speak
wholeheartedly than with upper-caste women
who come from cities. It doesn’t mean that
there is no dialogue between Dalit women and
conscious urban upper-caste women.
Dalit women are victims of both caste
dominance and patriarchy along with poverty.
Caste dominance relatively plays a more
important role than patriarchy in the liberation
of Dalit women. There is a criticism against
the feminist groups that they are urban-
centered and mostly confined to the problems
faced by upper-caste women. They are not in
touch with the problems of rural women. In
particular, problems of Dalit women are quite
different from the urban upper-caste women.
By realizing this, the organizations of women
in affiliation to revolutionary parties got
activated. Anti-arrack struggle of women is
one such example in this context.
Politically conscious groups of Dalits and
women are mutually sensitive to the concerned
issues. They understood that contradiction
between the two are delicate and need creative
intervention. There are occasions in Andhra of
supporting each other by correcting their
positions. They treat the contradiction between
them as friendly contradiction. I would like to
mention two such occasions, one is in literary
debate and other women’s reservation issue in
University of Hyderabad. (For an extended
version of the reservation issue in Hyderabad
University see Y. Srinivasa’s article on
Common Concern in this issue).
One such occasion was when the feminist
writers objected the words of slang used by the
Dalit writers and asked them to correct this.
They appealed to Dalit writers to reform their
language since most of the slang or obscene
words in their writings are targeting the
women. They are centered on the body parts of
women. They are the words of insult to
women. They too agree that Dalit women are
being raped and sexually humiliated by upper-
caste men, the anger of Dalit men can be
understood. Let the Dalit women speak how to
retaliate to such situations. They cautioned the
male Dalit writers to think about the words
used by them like- ‘we will rape your mothers
and sisters’.
As the feminist writers said, ‘to take revenge
in religious and caste conflicts, the bodies of
women are being used as an instrument. In the
liberation struggles if women are seen as
instruments of revenge instead of the
40
individual, then what meaning we are giving
for the liberation struggle? Can’t we think
about other alternatives than imitating the
language of the enemy? We can’t win the
battle with oppressors by using the tools of
oppressors’.
In Telugu literature, the feminist writers
conceptualized the body politics in their
writings. Female body is identified as a site of
oppression. They countered the patriarchal
constructions of women bodies. From feudal
time till date, men controlled the women
through the ideology of patriarchy. To sustain
this rules, Hindu social order played a vital
role. The philosophies and religious doctrines
contributed to the subordination of women and
allowed the hegemony of male dominance.
Patriarchy strengthened its foundation by
continuing the caste system.
Ambedkar realized early on that the patriarchal
system is inseparably related with caste
system. The freedom of women, status of
women in family and civil society is directly
linked with the Hindu caste system (or its
absence as the case may be). This caste is
sustained through the maintenance of
hierarchy and the principles of endogamy.
Endogamy rules out any interaction and
intermarriage with the other castes. Ambedkar
foresaw that women are centrally located in
the struggle against the caste system. He
proposed the Hindu Code Bill in parliament
for the codification of laws in empowering
women socially and economically.
The Hindu Code Bill discussed Hindu
Marriage Act, divorce and inheritance of
property rights for the benefit of women. This
bill was opposed vehemently by caste-hindus.
There has been no difference even fifty years
after this episode. But the upper-caste hindus
succeeded in using women to counter the
Dalits. This can be seen in the case of
women’s reservation issue and Tsundur
massacre issue. The hindu upper-caste pick up
the liberal language (contrary to its spirit) to writers against the common enemy. In this
negate the claims of Dalits. effort women and Dalits should maintain
exclusiveness in articulating their problems
At the same time there are attempts on the part
and political position and at the same time
of the conscious forces of Dalits, women and
should maintain inclusiveness of all
progressive groups to come together. This can
progressive groups in building the struggles
be seen in the case of struggles of women
against oppression and hegemony of dominant
representation in students union of university
castes and classes.
and mutual reciprocation of feminist and Dalit

Dr. P. Kesava Kumar is a Lecturer in Philosophy Department, Pondicherry University

“That I am not inferior was always in the mind”

- An Interview with Dr. Vimal Thorat

Dr. Vimal Thorat is a Reader, Hindi Department, IGNOU, New Delhi. She is currently the President of
Dalit Lekakh Sangh (Dalit writers’ Association). She is one of most prominent Dalit activists in the
country.

Tell us something about your background. developing relationship with the family; they
never came home.
Basically I belong to the Nalwada village of
Amravati, Maharashtra. I have mostly stayed Could you narrate some experiences of your
in the urban areas because of my father’s job. student life?
My father was in the police and was the first
I did my schooling from a govt. school. There
sub-inspector of the Mahar caste from that
was this convention in my school that students
region. In those times, the wave of Ambedkar
kept their lunch boxes close to the blackboard.
movement had gripped the imagination of the
Once, to solve a question asked by the teacher
Dalits, especially the Mahar caste. My father
in the class, I moved towards the blackboard.
was a product of that movement. He inculcated
Just then, my fellow-students, protested saying
Ambedkari samskaar (Ambedkar’s
that my touch would defile their lunch. The
philosophy) in his children. He was a fearless
teacher, sharing similar feelings, asked me to
officer and people acknowledged him as one.
be away from the board. On the other hand, I
However, social relations with his upper-caste
used to keep my tiffin box inside my bag. In
colleagues were minimal. Even upper-caste
school picnics, I always had food separately. I
constables did not have any social interaction
was bright in studies and mixed well with my
with my father. His colleagues lived in the
classmates but still there was a distance. On
vicinity but there was no attempt towards
the occasions of Ganpati utsav or Sharda

41
utsav, I was allowed to participate in cultural
programmes but not in rituals. Teachers also
played their part in perpetuating this.
How did you deal with such situations?
I used to feel angry and frustrated. Once I gave
vent to my anger by tearing the books of my
fellow upper-caste students. I was a Buddhist
child and have no memories of any Hindu
ritual being performed in my house. The
philosophy of benevolence, forgiveness and
peace, propagated by the Buddha, gave me
confidence. That I am not inferior was always
in the mind. As a result of the Ambedkarite
movement, people had fear in their minds that
practice of discrimination against the Dalits
might land them in trouble. The leaders of the
Republican Party of India were very effective.
They gave direction and form to the movement
and made it grassroots-oriented. Ambedkar
Jayanti was celebrated in govt. schools.
Ambedkar’s consciousness was always in the
mind since childhood.
How did the other Dalit students behave?
They were silent, subdued and hardly
questioned anything. Besides, they were not
encouraged by the teachers. I was good at
studies as well as sports and the experience of
having been brought up as a Buddhist child,
had enhanced my self-confidence. I used to
speak on their behalf and advocated their
concerns.
I did my graduation from Nagpur University.
The environment was quite congenial there. I
did not experience any kind of discrimination.
In course of discussions, more often than not,
the issue of reservation came up. I always felt
that scholarship given to the SC/ST students is
an incentive. It is our right. Percentage of Dalit
students in the college was quite low; they
were mostly from the middle-class. I used to
participate in a lot of extra-curricular activities
like drama and debate though I was not
involved in the Dalit movement in those days.
In retrospect, I regret the delay of my
42
association with the movement because of my
father’s stringent rules.
How did you come to know about the Dalit
Panther’s movement?
At that time, the Dalit Panther movement was
gaining ground. However, media was not
projecting it in a favourable light. They
themselves did some private publications. I got
to know about them and their working through
their literature. In college, non-Dalit students
boycotted Dalit students who talked about the
Dalit Panthers. The spread of the movement
was restricted to Pune, Mumbai, Aurangabad
and Nagpur since there was a dearth of leaders
in the rural areas. My husband, Mr. S.K.
Thorat was the general secretary of the Dalit
Panther movement. He was then teaching in
Aurangabad University. After marriage, I
came in direct contact with the movement. I
joined MA in what is now known as Dr. Baba
Saheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and
started participating in the movement. I was
working especially on issues specific to
women. Then because of difference in
ideologies, the movement got divided. Both of
us, my husband and I, felt that it was
unfortunate. The movement was in its full
form in Siddhartha College, Mumbai and
Milind College, Aurangabad.
In 1977, I came to Delhi and joined JNU as a
student of MA. The environment here was
liberal but since this was a hub of Marxists, we
used to have regular confrontations with them
on the issue of caste. My husband together
with friends founded the Ambedkar Study
Circle. A reading group was formed and
regular meetings were held on Sundays to
discuss Ambedkar’s works. I participated
enthusiastically in the anti-emergency
movements as I saw it as a brazen attempt to
hit at the roots of democracy. The student
community of JNU was not supportive of the
Dalit movement and could not see the issue of
caste as being different from class. However,
as time passed, we were able to convince some
of them; they started accepting the image of
Ambedkar as a social democrat. In 1989, I
joined IGNOU as a lecturer of Hindi, while
doing my Ph.D. in JNU. In my earlier student
life I used to write love poems but the
exposure to Dalit movement made me to write
on social issues concerning our lives. Initially I
wrote in Marathi then shifted to Hindi.
How did you join the Dalit women’s
movement?
In 1989, the First Conference on Dalit Women
called ‘Women’s Voice’ was organized by
Ruth Manorama. The conference was attended
by 92 Dalit women activists. Later, we
organized 4-5 meetings per year. In this way,
an attempt was made to create a platform for
the hitherto silenced voices of the Dalit
women. It was felt that mainstream women’s
movement had been sidelining this issue for
long. Till 1995, Dalit women were not a part
of mainstream women’s movement. In 1985, a
group of 100 Dalit women, including students,
intellectuals and grassroots activists formed
the ‘Jagruti Mahila Parishad’. The then
President of India, late Shri Gyani Jail Singh,
encouraged them. The Parishad took out
rallies, distributed pamphlets, etc. In one of the
rallies, they shouted slogans against
scavenging. They tried to bring forth the issue
of untouchability but in all the meetings, they
faced stiff resistance. Ruth Manorma
mobilized 700 Dalit women to form the
National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW)
on 11August, 1995. At one point of time, there
were 50,000 members in the organization.
How is Dalit feminism different from
mainstream Indian feminism?
Mainstream feminism takes ‘women’ as a
category, a homogenous entity, whose
intensity of exploitation might vary but the
form remains the same. However, I feel that in
all areas- socio-cultural and economic-
exploitation of women takes on different forms
because of the interplay among the different
43
axes of social stratification- caste, class and
gender.
What are the main activities of the NFDW?
It deals with the socio-cultural and economic
issues of women. We bring out statistics on the
atrocities of Dalit women and analysis of the
kinds of atrocities. The members here coined
the term ‘triple exploitation’-a qualitatively
different kind of exploitation of Dalit women,
(i.e. on the basis of caste, class and gender).
International conferences like the Beijing
Conference, Durban conference and World
Social Forum gave us a platform to share our
concerns with the rest of the world.
NFDW is also a member of the Asia Women’s
Forum. Besides, mainstream feminist
movement, even Dalit movement is silent on
the issue and is therefore, in my views, an
oppressor. Dalit male activists do not want to
talk about it. The organization, therefore,
primarily works in the fields of advocacy and
awareness generation through information
dissemination among Dalits as well as non-
Dalits. We work in a human rights framework.
Many small and large groups are working in
this area but the effect is not very substantial.
Women’s participation in political parties,
literary platforms or social groups is not much.
There are no specific policies/programmes to
combat atrocities on Dalit women.
NFDW is also doing networking of different
women’s groups. Rigorous ‘Leadership
Training Programmes’ among Dalit women
are being conducted in some states. Because of
these efforts by the organization, participation
of women has increased. The main reason
behind this is the creation of a platform where
they can speak fearlessly. This has also led to
enhancement in their confidence. In Dalit
literature, women have written more
autobiographies and can be seen as asserting
their identity by utilizing this space. Feminist
angle in their works can be discerned, which
are definitely not an effect of Western
Feminism, as many of them are still not
exposed to it. For example, Shanta Kamble’s
writings, which speak of social justice and
equality, seem to be an effect of Buddhism and
not Western Feminism.
Have you had any experience of
discrimination in your college days?
I had given my entrance for M. Phil. in
JNU. A list of 20 students was taken out as
successful candidates. However, the admission
of the last 10 candidates was not taken. After
JNU Student Union called a strike for 3 days,
all the students except me were given
admission. I approached the SC/ST cell and
we gheraoed the office of the Dean since the
decision to withhold my admission was taken
by the Dean instead of the Academic Council.
After 6 months of agitation, the then VC (ex-
President KR Narayanan) gave an order in my
favour. Since then, I have resolved to fight
against discrimination. Something similar
happened at the time of submission of my Ph.
D. This was the turning point of my life; since
then I have believed in struggle.
What kind of resistance was encountered by
the Dalits in the field of literature?
Dalit literature is realistic, based on day-to-day
experiences. The critics dismissed this genre
saying that it does not conform to the rules of
aesthetics. Also, that it uses abusive language
and has a tendency towards sentimentalism.
They said that non-Dalits can write Dalit
literature as well. Though internationally it has
received acclaim, there is still not much
acceptance of Dalit literature in the Hindi belt.
Do you think that Dalit movement is male-
dominated?
To a large extent, yes. Dalits, who are leading
the movement in the NGO sector or politics,
are more often than not, male because of
which Dalit women’s movement remains 40
years behind. There is struggle for space in
both Dalit as well as mainstream feminist
44
movements. On the one hand, Dalit society is
patriarchal and on the other, there is not much
understanding among mainstream feminists
owing to their different socio-cultural
conditions and lack of similar experiences.
Therefore, the battle is two-pronged.
How do you think Buddhism has led to the
emancipation of women?
In our culture, there is no prevalence of dowry,
sati and other such oppressive Brahminical
systems, which are employed to maintain
purity of women in the Brahminical Social
Order. Buddhism was the first socio-religious
organization which included women in its
sanghas. A woman is thought of as an
intellectual entity. Buddhism was liberating for
the women, who found themselves trapped in
the Vedic structures. Ambedkar legalized this
process of emancipation by introducing the
Hindu Code Bill according to which women
got the right to property, polygamy was
banned and adoption was allowed. The
Brahminical Social Order had long denied
these. Ambedkar’s philosophy gave respect
and a sense of identity to the women.
What, according to you, is the reason
behind lack of participation in student’s
activities among Dalit women students?
Most of the Dalit women students come from
middle-class backgrounds. Despite financial
constraints and family pressure, they come
here with the specific aim of completing their
education. Rise of individualism with the
notion of success makes them turn apathetic to
such causes. However, I feel activism has
increased in the rural areas where the women
do not have middle-class aims. Consciousness
has increased and the major contribution is of
Dalit media which is working incessantly to
create a space in people’s minds. As of now,
there are at least 450 magazines and
newspapers on Dalit issues in India, which is
an achievement in itself. Role of urban middle-
class towards creating awareness through
writings has been important.
What is your take on the Women’s
Reservation Bill?
I strongly feel that there should be quota for
SC/ST, OBC and the minorities within the
quota of 33%. Mainstream feminists say that
let us first get the share and then we will
divide amongst ourselves. But how can we
trust them that we will get our share? Who are
they to decide?
What is your opinion about the overall Dalit
movement in the country?
In the last 10 years, there is a perceived
increase in the awareness level which has been
made possible by the incessant efforts of the
“LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY”
We have very little biographical information
about Muktabai. We know that she studied at
the school in Pune founded by Savitribai and
Jotiba Phule and she wrote an essay, on the
condition of Dalits, in 1855, while she was
fourteen. Of what happened to her later, or
indeed of any of her other writings, we have
no record. Yet through her vivid and acerbic
polemic we get an unmistakable impression of
her intelligence and self confidence. For an
untouchable, and a woman at that, to write “O
MANG MAHARACHYA DUKHVISAYI
(About The Grief of the Mangs and Mahars)
45
people associated with the movement. This
difference is not because of token
representation in politics but is a product of
social movements. What people want is socio-
economic change and that is what the Dalit
activists are aiming at. Protest against manual
scavenging and the phenomenon of devdasis,
and advocacy for land rights are some of the
issues which have been taken up by the
movement. Women’s voice has definitely
strengthened because of the movement.
Interview was conducted by Sandali (MSW,
TISS Mumbai) and Anoop Kumar (Mphil,
JNU New Delhi)
Our Icon
- MUKTABAI (1841-?)
learned pandits, wind up the selfish prattle of
your hollow wisdom and listen to what I have
to say,” would be surprising even today. In
Muktabai’s time it was awe-inspiring. Her
essay was originally published in 1885 in
Dnyanodaya, an Ahmednagar journal. The
essay was reprinted in the Dnyanodaya
Centenary Volumes, edited by B.P. Hivale, in
1942. It is probably the earliest surviving piece
of writing by a mang woman, an
“untouchable” from Maharashtra.
If one attempts to refute, on the basis of the Vedas, the argument of these Brahmins, the great
gluttons, who consider themselves to be superior to us and hate us, they counter that the Vedas
are their own property. Now obviously, if the Vedas are only for the Brahmins, they are
absolutely not for us.
Teach us, O Lord, thy true religion so that we all can lead our lives according to it. Let that
religion, where only one person is privileged and the rest are deprived, perish from the earth and
let it never enter our minds to be proud of such a religion.
These people drove us, the poor mangs and mahars, away from our own lands, which they
occupied to build large mansions. And that was not all. They regularly used to make the mangs
and mahars drink oil mixed with red lead and then buried them in the foundations of their
mansions, thus wiping out generation after generation of these poor people.
Under Bajirao’s rule, if any mang or mahar happened to pass in front of the gymnasium, they
cut off his head and used it to play bat ball with their swords as bats and his head as a ball, on
the grounds. If the victim managed to save his life and Bajirao came to know about it, he used to
say, “How dare they save their lives? Do these untouchables expect Brahmins to hand over their
duties as revenue officers to them and to start roaming with their shaving kits, all over the town,
shaving the heads of widows?” With such a remark he used to punish them.
Second, were these Brahmins satisfied with prohibiting the knowledge of writing to us? No. Not
them. Bajirao went to Kashi and died a dusty death there. But the mahars here, no less
untouchable than mangs, have absorbed some of his qualities through their contact with him,
and consider themselves to be superior to the mangs, so much so that they do not allow even the
shadow of a mang to fall over them.
Do the merciless hearts of these Brahmins, who strut around in the so-called holy places, ever
feel even a grain of pity for us when we suffer so much grief on account of being branded as
untouchables. Nobody employs us because we are untouchables. We have to endure miseries
because we do not have any money. O learned pandits, wind up the selfish prattle of your hollow
wisdom and listen to what I have to say.
When our women give birth to babies, they do not even have a roof over their houses. How they
suffer in the rain and the cold! Try to think about it from your own experience, suppose the
women suffer from some puerperal disease, from where could they have found money for the
doctor or medicines? Was there ever any doctor among you who was human enough to treat
people free of charge?
The mang and mahar children never dare lodge a complaint even when the Brahmin children
throw stones at them and injure them seriously. They suffer mutely because they say they have to
go to the Brahmin houses to beg for the leftover morsels of food.
Alas! O God! What agony this! I will burst into tears if I write more about this injustice…

Extract from Susie Tharu and K Lalitha (Eds) Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present: 600
B.C. to the Early Twentieth Century (New York: Feminist Press, CUNY, 1991) p 215-216

46
 LETTERS WITH INSIGHT

Ramchandra Guha’s criticism shows that people don’t want to face reality. The article from the
technical institute exposes the dangerous social & educational scenario of Vedic Indian
education.
Jayant Biswas (jayantsays2003@rediffmail.com)

I am delighted to receive new issue of Insight with improved printing and definitely the content.
Please keep it up. It is long way to go for a magazine highlighting the plight of Dalits in this
country. Good Luck
Dr. N K S More, Lucknow

Thank you for saying that DV has been an inspiration to you. We are doing our duty in
supporting you. We support all those fighting for their human rights. However, we request you to
involve Dalit women in all your work. When we addressed your meeting there were hardly any.
Manuwadis burn their women and have all contempt for them but we can’t follow them. But in
our tours round the country, we find the same tendency. Dalit movement is totally male-
dominated. In Dalit Voice, we hardly get any articles from Dalit women. We are deeply worried.
As young Dalit intellectuals you have to set the example. Please bear this in mind when you
bring out the next issue devoted to “Caste and Gender”.
V.T. Rajshekar, Editor, Dalit Voice

I read Anoop’s article, it is good. I feel proud, when I think about him. But I have one point to
make. If each of the “broken people” starts talking about their own story then think about... As
far as I’m concerned I say that every Dalit talk about what happened to him, then nothing new
happens.
B. Ravichandran, CIEFL, Hyderabad

I am very glad that you have made your on-going war against Hindu Nazi terrorism a success. I
am very happy about your new issue. The contemporary issues you have touched on were good.
“Gay ka huddi” the Hindi poem was nice. Try and increase the printing quality. Also try to
include some great scholars’ writings. My dream is to gather all Dalit graduates under one
umbrella and fight together for our people. I have established “Dalit Graduates Association”
(DGA) though that is in the initial stage. I am inviting every Dalit graduate to join us.
I am hoping Insight will serve this purpose. Insight should reach every Dalit graduate and ensure
that he works for his family (jati). Most Dalit graduates think that after their graduation they
should settle well in his life, it is OK but they also want keep their jatiwalas away and more over
they think that if they want to develop and be respected by everyone in the society then they have
to do this. What a shame on our part, we are neglecting our own family members.
The whole Dalit community has great hopes for Dalit graduates, but in reality, they simply
betray them, and forget about them. They don’t have interest in politics. We have put an end to

47
this. We should direct our own community, which ever may be our field of work and what ever
may be the faith we are following, where ever we may be, we have to think of our people first.
DGs must come together and fight for our own people. This is the dream of our father Dr. B R
Ambedkar. If we miss this theory and do that and this, we will never get to rule our own land, we
will remain slaves.
Vijaykumar, Kakatiya University, Warangal, AP

The present question is globalization and Dalit. The politics of globalization should be analyzed
very seriously. In solidarity,
C K Vishwanath, Kunnur, Kerala

I am hoping that some of you have been involved in the NCERT’s recent curriculum review (see
the NCERT website for details) in which there has been a special focus group on “problems of
scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students” chaired by Dr. Padma Velaskar of TISS, Mumbai.
Specifically I feel that school textbooks do introduce various biases at an early age and can also
be effective in countering these biases.
Jayashree Ramadas, (jram@mailhost.tifr.res.in)

I am a student of TISS. I got a chance to read your Jan/Feb edition recently. I must say it is a
brilliant attempt at creating a platform for the silenced voices of the Dalits. Some of us here in
TISS have been thinking about creating such a space. You must be aware that TISS is a
‘professional’ institute. Though the dictum of ‘personal is political’ is taught in the class, its
actualization in one’s life is not encouraged. The engagement with issues revolves around
assignments (for the most part of our lives in TISS, we are doing assignments) and classroom
discussions. Believe it or not, both these platforms are orchestrated mostly by the teacher
concerned! We sometimes find ourselves out of place here and have been in search for an outlet
within the institute. Though it is extremely difficult for the students to come together because of
the schedule here, we are hopeful that we will get the support of some, if not many. I would be
grateful if you can send us some information about how to start the journal. Though I have done
my MA in English Literature and have an experience of writing, I have no clue about how to
start a journal.

Sandali, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

Insight’s last issue on Nationalism is indeed full of thought provoking information. It would have
been beneficial had Milind Awad’s article DIKU NATIONALISM had been included in the
Hindi section also for countrywide circulation. Kindly let me know if it is available in Hindi. I
am taking out some Xerox copies of the English one for being sent to my intelligent friends who
know English.
S. Akhtar U. Patel, Khanpur, Bharuch

48

SING. FOR OUR FREEDOM SINGS WITH YOU
[This article is second part of series of articles on revolutionary Dalit singer Gaddar]
“Bullets will not silence (Gaddar) voice nor will they pierce the heart of the song
The song had been wounded but it will recover soon…”
(Quoted from a poster released after the brutal attack on Gaddar)
In the present context popular, mass-based,
cultural forms of resistance has to play many
roles. The general notion is that poor people
only need bread and their whole struggle
revolves around bread only. This is half the
truth. In reality, they have also to fight against
caste-oppression, gender oppression,
communalism, corruption and more, to regain
their self respect and their right to lead an
honourable and dignified life. Hence the
struggles of women, Dalits, Tribals must not
be limited to bread alone. We are very proud
that in Gaddar we find this much needed
totality and vision.
Gaddar’s theatre emerged from the peoples’
need and against socio-political deprivation of
Dalits, Tribals and other backward sections of
the society. It is true that art never changes
society, but, as Habib Tanvir argues, it
possesses the way for social change. Gaddar’s
Jana Natya Mandali is also a harbinger of such
change. He conceived JNM as an instrument in
bringing socio-political change to benefit the
exploited masses.
JNM is certainly not the first in this direction.
There have always been some forms of
49
VOICES
B. Prakash
peoples’ theatres (like Eknath’s Bharul) which
raised their voice, vented their anger and tried
to raise awareness against exploitative
brahminical ideas as well as feudal oppression.
The whole struggle of the poet saints
(predominantly from Dalit and other lower
sections of the society) should be seen as a
forerunner of such cultural resistance against
brahminical-feudal social order. But over time
their revolutionary zeal was lost and people
forgot their social messages.
JNM has its seed in the Telengana struggle,
which started in 1946 and lasted for over five
years. Although this armed struggle was
suppressed by the newly-independent Indian
state and the Nizam’s Razakars, its values
went deep into the consciousness of the
masses. It remained alive in the form of new
cultural forms. One of them was Praja Natya
Mandali (PNM) which was formed with clear
objectives of mobilizing peasants and other
exploited sections of the society and to prepare
them to struggle for uprooting the traditional-
exploitative socio-political order.
Due to various splits in the communist
movement, it also got divided and lost steam.
But the 1970s saw a new upsurge of peoples’
struggle, especially in Andhra, reviving again
the cultural movement of protest.
Revolutionary Poet Subba Rao Panigrahi and
many other poet singers emerged. Subba Rao
created a popular form called Jamukulakatha.
It created an impact in the Srikakulam region
of Andhra Pradesh. The content and style of
this form was folk oriented and used the local
dialect. It became so popular that local feudal
elements started opposing it vehemently and
Subba Rao was killed in a police encounter.
This failed to dampen the spirit of masses.
Immediately a group of students came into
forefront and challenged the literary and
cultural figures of Andhra who benefited from
the status quo and believed in ‘art for art sake’.
On 4July 1970, Virasam (Viplava Rachaytala
Sangam, Revolutionary Writers’ Association)
was formed. The legacy of Subba Rao was
carried forward by Cherabamda Raju. He
became the first poet-singer of the Naxalbari
movement. In such turmoil JNM was formed
in 1973. Gaddar and Narasinga Rao were
founders of this cultural group in support of
the ongoing peasant’s movement.
JNM cannot be categorized as a theater, dance
or song group. It is multi-ways of
communication and expression of cultural
identity. Some basic methodology on which
JNM is working are as follows -
Folk form as an important tool - Right from
its beginning JNM understood the
effectiveness of folk as the best form to reach
the rural masses. It took popular forms like
‘Oggu Katha’, ‘Veedhi Bhagotham’, ‘Yellama
Katha’ and ‘Rytu Cooli Vijayam’. Thus it was
able to communicate its message to largely
illiterate masses effectively.
From the Masses to the Masses - JNM
maintained an organic link with the masses in
molding and remolding its cultural tools to
perfection before presenting them to a larger
audience. To write a song on a particular
section of the masses, JNM activists would
live with them for several days to have a first
hand knowledge of their life.
Song as a powerful Weapon - With Gaddar, a
great singer as well as composer, songs are a
very important part of JNM activities. Songs
come from day to day lives of workers,
peasants, students, laborers etc. Normally they
are composed in a satirical manner so as to
have maximum impact on the masses. Several
of JNM’s songs based on railway workers,
rickshaw drivers, rising prices of essential
commodities, and other daily chores of the
masses, are already termed as modern-day
classics as they are hugely popular.
Artists from the below – It always tries to
choose artists from the lower section of the
society. JNM firmly believes that artists are
not necessarily born but made. The art which
emerges from the lives of poor section of the
society does not differentiate between the
Lokadharmi and Natyadharmi. They are
capable of presenting their ideas very
powerfully.
The popularity of JNM is to be seen to be
believed. Through its performances it touches
the heart of the masses and raises political and
social consciousness among them. More often
it tries to inform them of the real causes of
their miserable lives in a simple yet effective
way. Gaddar along with other members have
become a phenomenon in AP and other nearby
areas. Thousands of people gather to listen
Gaddar and JNM even when there is huge risk
of state backlash.
Yet the people there love Gaddar so much that
state government was forced to give
permission to Gaddar to hold performances in
the open. One such performance of Gaddar
was attended by lakhs of people that too in the
capital city of Hyderabad. Every song sung by
Gaddar is a warning to the state as well as to
feudal-brahminical elements of the society to

50
mend their ways otherwise the time is soon
coming where they will have to regret.
Gaddar chose four predominant popular art
forms for the purpose of conscientisation and
to further revolutionize the society. These
forms are - Song, Oggukatha (a song Ballad),
Drama, other miscellaneous folk forms.
Songs as the expression of human emotions
like -
I. Oh peasant you got to the
Field of the land lord
At the early hour of dawn
You return home around midnight
Having relentlessly worked
From dawn to the desk
Never you had the fruits
Of your labour
Never the sufficient food
You had in your life
II. Ours is the village
Ours is the street
Ours is the hamlet
We are there for every work
Who is Dora?
Why is his domination?
Hammer is ours
Knife is ours
Another very important medium of
communication is called Oggukatha. It has
been a popular mode of popularization adopted
by JNM. This is a form in which song, music
and dance co-exist inseparably. The language
is local both in dialect and structure; and its
images are spontaneous and rustic. Moreover
it is more related to the experience of the
pastoral communities of the region. The
performance consists of three to six member
groups and it goes on narrating the arduous
experience of the populace.
Among the three performers, one would be the
leader and also the main singer. Other two
interpret the main song by raising several
questions. The main singer would answer
51
these questions either through a narration or
through a song. It is carefully designed
towards a fast expression, a frequent feature of
the popular conversation in the villages. These
singing performances are supplemented by
musical instruments like Damurukam,
Maddila, Dolu, Kameera etc. These
performances are generally performed for
longer duration. These performances,
sometimes, go on for hours together.
So Gaddar and his JNM group have all the
ingredients to be called popular theatre.
According to Brecht, “we have people in mind
who make history, change the world. We have
in mind a fighting people and therefore an
aggressive concept of what is popular. Popular
means intelligible to the masses, adopting and
enriching their forms of expression, assuming
their stand point, confirming and correcting it,
relating to their traditions and developing
them”.
Initially it was thought that use of traditional
art forms by Gaddar and his group would
make conscientisation difficult. But through a
serious concern for revolution in favor of
exploited masses JNM and Gaddar refuted this
and disapproved the fact propagated by some
progressive writers that feudal and irrational
contents are interwoven into various folk
forms and hence are of no use for the much-
needed revolution.
JNM, unlike other peoples’ theatre group, is
not merely a group of performers but it is also
fighting with the people, for the people. So
where other progressive groups have no real
mass support and are in constant search for the
conscious audiences, JNM has succeeded in
penetrating deep inside the masses and leaving
a deep impact on them by making them more
conscious about their plight.
One of the qualities of JNM which I admire
the most is about their whole process of
peoples’ participation and their control of the
process. Any popular theatre may be
participatory in the sense that local people are
involved in producing it, but unless they
control the selection of content and the whole
educational process they may become willing
accomplices in their own domestication.
Participation as mere performance is no
guarantee of progressive change: unless they
control the popular theatre process they may
be used as mere mouth piece for ideas
produced by others which mystify their reality
and condition them to accept a passive,
dependent, uncritical role in an inequitable
social structure.
Many peoples’ theatre groups are not able to
grasp the ground realities and tend to
generalize things superficially. In the name of
rejecting tradition, to show themselves as more
progressive, they tend to reject peoples’
culture. Therefore they are also rejected by the
people. Amidst this critical situation of
peoples’ theatre movement JNM has provided
us an alternative by playing the role of
conscientising the masses under Gaddar, an
organic intellectual.

B. Prakash is pursuing his MA in the School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU, New Delhi

VOICES is a column on contemporary art, culture and literature. It is an attempt to interpret

cultural politics and the ongoing arts-related movements of the marginalized groups of the country.
It is also a small step towards resisting the Diku hegemonisation of the arts as well as strengthening
more egalitarian forms of art and culture. In the next issue we will try to elaborate on Bhikhari
Thakur who became a legend for developing Bidesia style of theatre in Bhojpuri language.
We request our readers to provide information regarding artists, their arts or related to folk
culture which you find neglected in ‘National’ Culture. Such contributions will help us to fulfill the
objectives of this column.

52
 Fear of History in MJ Akbar’s India
Shamuel Tharu

M J Akbar, Nehru: The Making of India, (New Delhi, Penguin, 1988)

There are many things to say about M J

Although Akbar pays lip service to the
Akbar’s book. But we have neither the time
“terrible” nature of untouchability, there is no
nor the inclination to go into all of them. What
imagination in his analysis. It is almost
was shocking and pertinent for us was the
impossible for him to see beyond the need of
manner in which he represents Babasaheb
the ‘united’ nation. This desire overcomes his
Ambedkar in the book and what this means to
ability to recognize the castiest nature of this
the manner in which we represent secular
nation that he is supporting. It is also
discourse in India today.
surprising that he gives the entire agency to the
This is a classic, in the terms of rewriting the machinations of the British. It is almost as
national movement’s history in a diku light. though the British create the anti-diku
Even an “enlightened” Muslim is unable to movement in India. This is logically unsound.
reclaim our pre-independence past without The anti-diku movement has to essentially be
falling prey to the Gandhian aura. He must against the dikus. There is no space within the
shout loudest about the Muslim League, deny diku world for a self-respecting Dalit.
the uniqueness of the Muslim identity and
Even the dikus do not use such language. They
subsume it within Gandhi’s India. Just as the
oppose Ambedkar and call him caste names.
Dalits and Adivasis have to buy into an anti-
But to accuse him of wanting to create a
Muslim location to enter the national
Buddhistan is news to us. Ambedkar claimed
discourse, in this manner the Muslim must buy
the Indian nation. He claimed it in the name of
into an anti-Dalit and anti-tribal location to
liberalism and equality. He was not looking for
enter into the national discourse.
a separate state. Such an interpretation is
Let’s get back to the book. Mr. Akbar sees the suspiciously reflective of a fear of partition, of
creation of the Dalit identity as an aborted the guilt of partition. Not having a say in being
child of the British attempt to create born a Muslim, he has had to live with
Ambedkar as a Dalit Jinnah. According to accusations, directly or indirectly, of his
him, it was only because Gandhi was the great identity being responsible for the partition.
man that he was (and anyone less than Gandhi
It is this social constitution of his identity that
would not have been able to achieve it) that he
makes him view all identities that do not flow
managed to prevent the creation of a
seamlessly into the diku “secular” nation as
Buddhistan in 1932. Even if we ignore the fact
threatening partition. And this must necessitate
that Ambedkar only begins to consider leaving
a reaction of vocal resistance from him. It is
Hinduism publicly in 1935 and this results in
almost as though he is atoning the fact that he
his considering Islam, Christianity, Sikhism
is a Muslim and therefore different in the
and deciding on Buddhism only in the 1950s,
hindu state, by denying the Dalits their
it is impossible to ignore the implications of
difference from that same state.
such an interpretation.

53
This fear of leaving the nation as described by the light of the fact that Ambedkar had been a
the dikus is reflected in his recounting of the strong fighter for the presence of Dalits in
Hindu Code Bill. In Akbar’s version, Nehru decision making fora. He would not abandon
was besieged by the diku right and by the such a location without immense thought.
right-wingers within the Congress. He was
The pity about Akbar’s book is not that he
deserted by Ambedkar at the time when he
mis-represents Ambedkar’s role in the national
needed support most. Akbar contradicts
movement and in the making of the liberal
himself almost immediately quoting Nehru as
state. It is that he is trapped in the secular
saying that he was not in a mood to
discourse by the diku nationalist discourse.
compromise on the Bill.
This will have its fall out in his interpretation
If this was so, why did the departure of of reservations. I would be surprised if Akbar
Ambedkar suddenly made Nehru compromise supports reservations in the government or
with the Bill. Further, most versions of history reservations within reservations in the
show that Ambedkar was crucial in drafting Woman’s Reservation Bill.
the Bill as the Law Minister and he lobbied for
There is hope, of course, in the Pasmanda
it and tolerated immense caste abuse in the
Muslim Mahaj where Dalit and OBC Muslims
public sphere for his role in drafting that Bill.
are reclaiming Islam as their own and are
In fact it was Nehru who was trying to
doing so with the legitimacy that they are of
postpone the Bill to avoid an electoral
the soil. They do not need the diku validation
backlash. It was only when Ambedkar saw
of their presence and refuse the guilt of
Nehru as dilly dallying over the Bill and
partition forced on them.
attempting to break the Bill up to appease the
dikus that he resigned in frustration and
protest. It is important to see his resignation in

Shamuel Tharu is pursuing his Mphil in Security Studies, JNU

Insight now reaches 46 major universities and institutions across the world. It is
also making inroads into NGOs people movements. We have received quite a
good response from the Student Community.
Looks like we’re on our way to making a difference.

54
Dalits in Nepal: Politically Manufactured Karma
The facts on the ground
Dalits are groups of people considered as
ritually impure and imagined as living apart
from the “mainstream society”. This poorly
understood community is called untouchables
or Dalit, a term borrowed from India. The
literal meaning of Dalit in the Nepali
dictionary is “the person who is suppressed”.
An intellectual Dr. Drona Prakash Rasali
proposes the word “Karmajan” to refer to, in a
more dignified manner, the people of
occupational castes in Nepal.
In the context of Nepal, there is no consensus
on definitions as well as on the number of
Dalit communities. Based on prevailing social
practices, the National Dalit Commission
identified 22 major castes as Dalit. In 1997,
Dalit Vikas Samiti identified 23 various
cultural groups as Dalits, and Dalit Ayog
(formed in March 2002) forwarded the Bill to
the government identifying 28 cultural groups
as Dalits in Nepal.
There are three distinct groups of Dalits in
Nepal: - 1. Hill Dalit. 2. Newar Dalit. 3. Tarai
Dalit.
The jats (castes) consisting the Hill Dalit are
Kami (metal smiths), Sarki (leather workers),
Damai (tailors, musicians), Gaine (singers)
and Badi (village entertainers).
The Newar Dalit consists of Chyme, and
Halahu, considered as untouchables, belonging
to the Newar community, which is centered on
Kathmandu valley. They belong to the Austro-
Asiatic and Mongoloid stock speaking Newari,
a Tibeto-Burmese language. The Tarai Dalit
group is same as the Indian Dalits racially and
culturally; they constitute the majority of the
55
Suresh Singh
people that have moved to the plains of Nepal
mainly from the neighboring areas of Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar before and after the Indo-
Nepal Treaty of 1950. The proportion of upper
castes: Brahman, Rajput, Bhumihar and
Kayastha — to this caste groups is not more
than 1.6%. The Dalit castes are: Chamar,
Musahar, Tatma, Khatwe, Dusadh, Dhobi,
Dom, Pasi, Paswan and Halalkor.
Manufacturing Untouchability
In 14th century, Jayastithi Malla of
Kathmandu valley legally classified the
Newari people into 64 castes to maintain the
class hierarchy and division of labour for easy
extraction of revenue. In the western and
central mountains of Nepal, terms such as
Kami, Sarki and Damai existed depending on
the nature of arts and crafts that the people of
the Mongoloid and the Austro-Asiatic descent
followed. There is no evidence of these
comprising the castes.
In 16th century, we hear of few Kami, Sarki,
and Damai along with the brahmans
accompanying Dravya Shaha from Lamjung to
settle in Gorkha. Gradually, this mountainous
region emerged as a constellation of scattered
principalities.
Expansion of agriculture and clearance of land
was accompanied by the Shakti or Devi
worship serving as a fertility cult. With regular
taxation and the maintenance of an army, the
military officials and priests controlling the
land created inequalities- resembling a sort of
feudalism.
The people performing manual labor came to
be looked upon as impure and those abstaining
from it became purer; by the 18th century the
artisans and craftsmen in this region came to
be regarded as untouchables. The idea of
sanctity or purity became the dominant
discourse in society, contributing to the idea of
God and religion, and molding the idea of
people’s existence.
The royal brahman priests used to play central
roles in diplomacy of conquests and relations
among the Rajas through the medium of letter
exchanges and the news transmitted by
reporters and spies, who were also the
brahmans. The killing of a brahman and a guru
was considered as a mahapapa (great sin) and
mahaapradha (great crime); these are also
mentioned in the medieval inscriptions. Thus,
a brahman was not given death sentence for
his crimes.
Five types of serious punishments were
awarded to criminals called panchakat-
confiscation of property, degradation from
caste, banishment, mutilation and death.
Degradation of caste was the most severe
penal action for the brahman; his holy thread
was torn off, head shaved and a small pig was
hung on his neck; another way was to make
him drink wine and eat pork. He was declared
as an untouchable, considering it as equivalent
to death. Crimes like murder, spying, and
conspiracy against the state committed by a
brahman were punished with caste
degradation. This punishment was inflicted
often on those, regarded as the enemies of
Gorkha Raj.
We can see few popular instances: the jaisi
brahmans of Belakot had planned to hand over
the crown prince Pratap Singh Shaha of
Gorkha to Jaiprakash Malla of Kathmandu. On
discovering it, King Prithvi Narayan Shaha
degraded the jaisis from their caste to
untouchable status, got them killed and their
property was confiscated. In 1837, the
physicians (brahmans) who were suspected of
56
poisoning the prince as directed by Bhim Sen
Thapa were made untouchables.
In the 19th century, the process of hinduisation
and sanskritisation was accelerated and
enforced by the state. Certain existing
practices like cross-cousin marriage (with
maternal uncle’s daughter), levirate, and
marrying the elder brother’s widow including
the widows of cousins were declared illegal
for the brahmans and khasas (Chhetris) during
the primeminister-ship of Bhimsen Thapa who
defined these relationships as incest. Sati, child
marriage, and widowhood were imposed.
The Muluki Ain: Criminalization of
marriage practices
In 1853-54, Prime Minister Jung Bahadur
Rana introduced the legal code called Muluki
Ain. This divided society into Tagadhari-
Upadhyaya, Thakuri, Jaisi, Chhetri, and
Sanyasi; Matwali (communities to whom
alcohol is not a taboo). These were in turn
arranged into enslavable and unenslavable;
Pani nachalne chhoi chhito halnu naparne
(touchable but water unacceptable).
Further distinctions were made for Muslims,
Europeans- Britons and Newar castes. Outside
the mainstream society were the pani nachalne
chhoi chhito halnu parne (water unacceptable
and untouchable) Sarki, Kami, Sunar,
Chunara, Hudke, Damai, Gaine, Badi,
Chyame, Halahu. Except the last two Newar
Dalits, the Hill Dalits are listed in accordance
with the existing terms associated with works
under the untouchable realm.
The Ain uses the term ‘untouchable’ and
‘lower caste’ for them in the chapters
consisting of rules and regulations and not as
separate castes. Nowhere, the Ain treats them
as a part of the society but as casteless people.
In the Muluki Ain, the chapter titled “Dharma
adhikar ko” is full of stipulations, on violation
of which, the tagadhari was degraded to the
untouchable status. The crimes for such a
punishment in Ain are - Adultery, sex with
untouchable, marriage with untouchable, a
woman undergoing abortion, accepting rice,
pulse and water from untouchable, and from
the people of Jhana pana sect (heretics), revolt
or conspiracy against the state (only brahmans
were made untouchables for this crime, others
were killed), and marriage and sex relations
with the relatives (especially cross-cousin
marriage and marrying the widow of elder
brother).
The royal authority used to appoint the
Dharmaadhikars or the judges from the
upadhyaya brahman caste. The person accused
of a crime was presented before the court of
the Dharmaadhikar who would brand him as
an untouchable. Such a person could re-join
his caste after a purification ceremony but he
had to obtain a certificate called patiya from
the judge to undergo such a ceremony on
payment of heavy fine and in most of the cases
his property was confiscated by the state.
According to the Ain, the Judge could issue
such a certificate only to those persons who
had committed the crime “unknowingly”.
Crimes like marriage with the untouchable and
conspiracy or revolt against the state were
unpardonable and no patiya could be issued
for these crimes. If it was found that the
accused had committed the crime in full
consciousness, the judge could issue patiya
only through royal permission; the accused
had to approach the palace and prove his
innocence to get the permission and this was
not an easy task for every one. The Ain did not
spare the judge also; if he issued the certificate
before branding the accused as an untouchable
and had taken rice or water from him, the
Judge himself would be dismissed and
degraded to untouchable status. The officials
who had assisted him also face the same
punishment; if the officials and state
functionaries helped the accused person in
getting certificate by taking bribe then they
would have to submit to the same fate.
57
This Muluki Ain continued till 1963 but the
degradation of caste through marriage with
untouchables still continues in Nepali society
everywhere.
Untouchable Brahmans
Untouchability was equivalent with death, and
the untouchables were out of the social system
as casteless. Large number of brahmans, and
few thakuris and chhetris who had become
untouchables were worried about their status
and for the future of their children. They tried
to create a space in a society or a system by
creating an identity, which could be possible
only by forming themselves into castes and by
strengthening their castes.
This they did, by converting the existing terms
associated with work into castes- 1. Kami-
Sunar, Tamta, Chunaro, Od, Lohar. 2. Sarki. 3.
Damai. 4. Gaine- Gandharba. Population size
and the economic status were the factors for
arranging these castes into high and low. The
larger the number of brahman clans the higher
the caste- they became Kami if they were
having the largest number of degraded
brahmans and the gaine if the lowest. In course
of time, the caste became a self-enclosed unit
limiting social intercourse with other caste
including messing, marriage, etc.
Demography
The size of the population of Dalits ranges
from 2 million to more than 4.5 million in
various sources. The censuses are not of much
help. The total population of ten Dalit groups
as enumerated in the 1991 census was
2,201,781 (11.9%) of the total population of
Nepal. But the census has not provided figures
of many Dalit groups in the Newari
community and the Tarai community. The
census of 1991 and even the latest census
(2001) have put all the Newar Dalits under the
ethnic/linguist designation of their larger
group. Some of the Newars have protested
their inclusion in the list but they do not seem
to represent the sentiment of the concerned
people as a whole.
According to the 1991 census, Kami ranks the
highest (43.8%) among all Dalits groups with
5.2% of the Nepalese, and damai- 2%. The
lowest number or the minority group (less than
5,000 in number) is gaine. In the Tarai, the
chamars have the highest number. The females
outnumbered males by little more than 0.6 per
cent. The young population (below 15 years)
accounted 44 per cent of the total population.
According to the Human Rights Watch (2004),
some NGOs estimate Dalit population at 4.5
million or 21 per cent of Nepal’s population.
The Dalit activists cite the figure of 25% that
also includes the “touchable but water
unacceptable” jats of Newars: - Kasai, Kushle
(Kapali), Dhobi, Pode, and Kulu.
The censuses identify the bahun (brahman),
thakuri (rajput) and the chhetri (khasa) as the
major groups of Nepal. The 1991 census gives
the figures as: - bahun- 14%, thakuri- 1.62%,
and the chhetri- 16.05%. The census of 2001
keeps the bahun population at 12.74%, thakuri
at 1.47% and chhetri at 15.8%. Censuses
include the hill Dalit people in the bahun and
chhetri castes, which is facilitated, as almost
all the clans of the Hill Dalit are same as that
of bahun and chhetri such as adhikari, koirala,
khannal, etc. We can see that the thakuri is
shown in less numbers- 1.62% (1991) and
1.47% (2001) because the hill Dalit castes do
not have more than three or four similar clans
as that of thakuri; so it is not possible to
include the large number of hill Dalits in
thakuri caste.
In the Karnali region and the far-west, khasa is
the largest ethnic group, having its own
language and shamanism as a religion. During
the 17th and 18th centuries, a small section of
elite had emerged in it called thread-wearing
khasa belonging to the clans of thapa, basynat,
khadga, and karki. These elites had undergone
the process of Hinduisation and
58
Sanskritisation; in 1854 they were given the
title of chhetri (derived from Sanskrit
kshatriya) and included in the tagadhari
category by the Muluki Ain. The descendants
of the chhetris from the magar or gurung
women are considered as matwali chhetri, and
in most of the cases they take the caste of their
mothers; those chhetris who marry bhote
women also are granted the matwali status.
But the large numbers of khasa who follow
shamanism are untouchables belonging to the
caste of Kami.
Academic Categorization as Discrimination
Scholars like Dor Bahadur Bista do not have
the courage to write this fact; they only say
that they are khasa or khas- shamanic and
alcoholic. Their silence is understandable that
they want to suppress the history of the large
chunk of Dalit population. During the 12th and
14th centuries, a vast khasa empire existed
including the western Nepal, Uttaranchal,
Ladakh, and parts of Tibet bordering Nepal
centered sometimes at Sinja and sometimes at
Dullu. During 15th centuries, it broke up into
small confederacies that were swallowed by
the thakuri kingdoms. The khasa mallas were
admitted into the thakuri caste, the small elite
from four clans into chhetri and others who
follow chamanism as kami. After the
archeological excavations by Giuseppe Tucci
and Yogi Naraharinath, and their books The
Discovery of the Malla (1962) and Preliminary
report (1956), and Itihas Prakash (1956), no
research has been undertaken on the khasas.
Thus, depriving the Dalits their past.
Development index
The Nepal Human Development Report 2004
says that 15% Hill Dalits were landless and
43.98% of the Terai in 2001. About 54% of
Dalits depend on agriculture. Caste- based
traditional work (such as blacksmiths,
leatherworkers, tailors etc) is becoming
unimportant due to rudimentary skills of the
traditional workers not being able to cope up
with technological advancement. Regarding
the economic condition, TEAM Consult
(1998) found the population below the poverty
threshold level being highest among
untouchables (68%), followed by the
Tagadhari (61.3%) and Matwali (58.5%). The
highest proportion of Tarai Dalit has food
deficiency (46.4%). Many of them also have
debts from buying additional grains. The main
economic activity of majority of Terai Dalits is
wage labour.
The domination of tagadharis and small
number of matwali in the public sectors has
developed the coalition for institutional
corruption and nepotism, creating difficulties
for competent Dalits to get into the public
services. This leads them to seek space in
private sectors, and in showing their talent
independently in music and film industries.
Popular folk singers- C.K. Rasaily and Late
Jhalakman Gandharba, Deepa Jha, renowned
film director Tulsi Ghimire, and renowned
music composer Ranjit Gajmer, etc are few to
name. The illiterates and under-graduates
move to India, Gulf countries, Malaysia, and
Japan, etc for short term and long term jobs.
The Human Rights Watch (2004) saw Dalits
serving only as a vote bank for the political
parties. The gender issue is taken in its narrow
sense as ’femininity’; it is a systematic trick
that again brings power to the same
households; tagadhari and matwali women
would get more opportunities. While Dalit
women are neglected and oppressed in a
double jeopardy resulting from caste and
gender discrimination.
Academic misconceptions and research
avenues
There is a pre-conceived notion that Dalits are
poor and suppressed. Scholars tend to
exaggerate, and the Dalit activists, except few,
have not been able to study the situation and
condition in rural areas where 85% of the
59
Nepal Dalits live, because most of the activists
live in cities and towns (mostly Kathmandu
based) and tend to rely on the imagination,
media- electronic and printed words. For
instance, writers say Dalits are denied cow
milk; here they suppress the significance of
buffalo domestication. In Nepal buffalo is the
animal yielding milk, but it is printed on
papers that it has role in only 65% of the total
national milk production.
Cow in Nepal is small and does not give much
milk that is used for religious purposes, and
cow is reared for worshipping and for gift in
marriages, and ceremonies to pandits,
daughters, sisters, etc. It costs only 500- 700
rupees. Activists and scholars should go to
villages and study the situation radically. Two
or three villages can be taken for fieldwork
and studied. Attempts at taking study of a
district or even a large area consisting of
several villages would lead to generalizations
because different conditions exist at different
places. Economic status of Dalits and other
castes should be compared in a village without
any pre-conceived notion.
In the villages of central and western Nepal,
for instance in Syanja and Palpa, hardly any
economic difference exists between the hill-
Dalit, matwali and the tagadhari. In the far
west- such as the hill villages in Dailekh, and
Jajarkot, one can see that Dalit households are
on the top of the barren hills, while non-Dalits
have captured all fertile land. There is also a
typical pattern: a poor Dalit will raise a female
young buffalo calf or dry buffalo cow owned
by a tagadhari landlord on very unequal
contract. Once the buffalo is confirmed for
pregnancy, its owner takes it away. The
family, which worked hard to make the buffalo
pregnant, never gets chance to taste its milk.
This region is one of the poorest in Nepal,
resulting in conflicts for land, cattle, green
pastures. Dalits are viewed as socially inferior
by everyone, which makes them vulnerable to
the competition for resources. Even the
brahmans are forced to compromise and
sometimes move to other areas due to the
behavior of the landlords. Often, we can hear
of a poor brahman saying, “Khas doesn’t let us
live in peace, they do not respect Brahmans,
they are a demonic race.
Reservations
Dalits in Nepal need a separate identity of their
own for their well-organized movement; this
can only be achieved through constitutional
recognition with a provision of reservation for
them like in India. The Tribhuvan University
had announced 15% student quota in
professional courses like BE and MBBS for
Dalits as per the government’s directives in
2004. But the Supreme Court’s verdict given
by a division bench of Justices Min Bahadur
Rayamajhi and Anupraj Sharma annulled TU
Board’s decision stating that any reservation
for the socially and economically backward
class should be made only after formulating
relevant laws.
Dalits have established various non-
government organizations to fight against
caste based discrimination getting aid from
international agencies such as World Bank,
European Union, USAID, and more than
hundred INGOs like Action Aid Nepal, etc.
The Hill Dalit dominates NGOs, and for the
youngsters it has become a career option.
According to the INSEC magazine Informal-
June 2004, the Kami caste people are
controlling 75% of the NGOs followed by the
Damai- 17%.
Temple entry
In 1963, through the promulgation of New
Civil Code (Mulki Ain), degradation of caste
and discrimination were made illegal. Soon
after this, Dalits made attempts to gain access
to the Pasupatinath temple. The government
reacted quickly and stated that the caste
Suresh Singh is pursuing his Mphil in History at the Kurukshetra University, Haryana
60
system was not abolished. It cited Section 10
of the subject entitled Adal ko (on disciplinary
matters), it warned, “those who indulge in
actions prejudicial to the social customs and
traditions of others will be punished”. The
punishment granted by the section was
imprisonment for one year or a fine of Rs.
1000.
In Nepal many Dalits personally visit temples
especially in urban areas and worship there but
they are not allowed to enter if they make
declaration and come to streets to gain access
to temple. In other words, temple entry
movement is not about Dalits just wanting to
be inside the temple, but it is about a symbolic
action for being treated equal with other castes
in public places like temples. This is a fact that
other caste people also clearly know, and
hence they retaliate to stop the temple entry
movement from succeeding.
Monarchy or democracy?
The caste rules and hierarchy among the castes
are not based on mutual agreement. These
exist in a society because they are the part of a
system even if the Constitution of the
Kingdom of Nepal, 2047 (1990), Article 11(4)
forbids discrimination against Dalits. One can
say the recent Royal takeover of country’s
powers for the King’s direct rule as an
absolute monarch is conceivably a setback to
the ongoing Dalit movement, though its effects
are not only on Dalits in Nepal but also every
sphere of the country’s well being. Another
view is that had it been under a Monarchy, the
Supreme Court judges would not have
gathered courage to stop the TU’s decision to
give reservation to the Dalits when the
Government had directed the TU to do so. One
can remember that during the monarchy, Hira
lal Biswakarma was a Dalit Minister for a long
time.
 Celebrating Ambedkar Jayanti in Bonn
Dr. Maren Bellwinkel-Schempp

The Platform Dalit Solidarity in Germany
(DSiG) celebrated its annual convocation on
the 16/17 of April 2005 in Bonn. The Platform
Dalit Solidarity was founded in 2001 in
support of the Dalit cause in connection with
the Anti Racism Conference in Durban. Since
then, DSiG has been supporting the issue that
caste discrimination is acknowledged as a
form of racism by the UN. Fortunately, this
bore fruit. On its 61st session, the UN
acknowledged that caste discrimination is a
special case of discrimination based on
occupation and decent.
This year’s convocation of the DsiG had the
title:” Dr Ambedkar’s Critique of Hinduism
and the Abolition of Caste.” The Chief Guest
was Bhagwan Das, L.L.B., close associate of
Dr. Ambedkar, founder of “Dalit Solidarity
Peoples”, practicing Buddhist and author of
many books projecting Dalit issues. Bhagwan
Das gave the inaugural speech on “History of
the Dalit culture and religion from the
beginnings until the Dalit revival today.”
Other noteworthy presentations were of Heinz
Werner Wessler on “Paul Hacker and his
concept of Inclusivism”.
To choose Bonn as place for the annual
convocation was not accidental. Bonn has a
very special link with India and with the Dalit
cause -
Bonn is called “Benares of the Rhine”,
because the first Department of Sanskrit
studies in Germany was founded at Bonn in
1818. Dr. Ambedkar enrolled at Bonn
University in 1921, obviously with the
intention to study Sanskrit. Dalit Sahitya is of
special interest at Bonn, represented through
Assistant Professor Dr. Heinz-Werner
Wessler. He is also an active member of the
DSiG.
Bonn is a medium size town, situated on the
river Rhine. It is the former capital of
Germany and the birthplace of famous
composer Ludwig van Beethoven. In Bonn,
Germany’s first and most distinguished chair
of Sanskrit studies was founded in 1818. The
first chair holder August Wilhelm von
Schlegel stood in the tradition of German
Romanticism, which combined language
studies with a deeper quest for universal
knowledge and understanding.
Unaffected by colonial ambitions, there was a
deep veneration for the “Language and
Wisdom of the Indian People” as the title of
Friedrich von Schlegel’s book suggests. He
was August von Schlegel’s younger brother
and his book got published already in 1808, a
decade before the first chair of Sanskrit studies
was founded.
German Sanskrit studies can be regarded as a
transgression of traditional Indian learning.
Teaching and learning of the Holy Scriptures
of the hindus was the privilege of the upper
three varnas. Neither foreigners (mlechas), nor
shudras or Dalits were allowed neither even to
listen to the Vedas nor to learn Sanskrit. But
German Sanskrit scholarship democratized
exclusive brahminical learning. Famous
Sanskrit scholar Max Muller, who taught at
Oxford University, translated the holy
scriptures of the hindus from Sanskrit into

61
English. That made the Vedas accessible to Sanskrit scholar of his times. He taught at
everybody. Bonn University from 1889 to 1922.
Dr. Ambedkar was not allowed to study But how did Dr Ambedkar get in touch with
Sanskrit in India. Within the course of his Hermann Jacobi? In 1913/1914 when
studies in the US and Europe, Dr. Ambedkar Hermann Jacobi was visiting professor at
wanted to make up for this shortcoming. Calcutta University, Dr. Ambedkar had just
Therefore he intended to study in Bonn. He left for the US to take up his studies at
registered at Bonn University on 29 April Columbia University. The contact must have
1921 (and not in 1923, as Dhananjay Keer had been established through letters and
stated in is book: Dr. Ambedkar, Life and correspondence, while Dr. Ambedkar was in
Mission p. 49) London, working on his thesis at the London
School of Economics. (There is still a box of
The following entry in his form reads as
old handwritten letters at the Department of
follows -
Sanskrit studies, which nobody has deciphered
Father’s profession: General; Religion: Hindu; yet.)
Previous Universities: Bombay, Columbia,
Well, they might have met personally during
London; Number of Semesters: 18; School
Dr. Ambedkar’s brief visit to Bonn on the
leaving certificate: Yes; Subject: Economics;
occasion of his registration at Bonn
Date of Birth: 14.4.1891; Place of Birth:
University. But Dr. Ambedkar never took up
Mhow; Home Town: Bombay; District:
his studies in Bonn. Contrary to Dhananjay
Bombay. So he delightfully upgraded his
Keer’s claim he did not study at Bonn
father’s military rank. Noteworthy is also his
University for three months. He only came to
religious affiliation- at the early stage of his
Bonn on the occasion of his registration. As he
life- certainly before he was contemplating on
did not attend any classes, he was taken off the
the question of conversion, he wrote hindu
university register on 12.1.1922.
under the heading of religion.
Intentions and plans apart, Dr. Ambedkar’s
Dr. Ambedkar registered for Economics with
project of Sanskrit studies at Bonn University
the clear intention to submit a thesis in
remained unfulfilled. German Sanskrit studies,
Sanskrit studies. In his handwritten CV he
represented through Hermann Jacobi, certainly
stated that he knew German well, because he
played a supportive role in Dr. Ambedkar’s
had taken it as a minor at Columbia
endeavor to study in Germany. But for his
University: He continued: “I would like to
scathing attack on Hinduism as well as his
mention that the University of Bonn through
most creative cast of Buddhism he had to rely
the kind help of Prof. Dr. H. Jacobi granted me
on translations and secondary sources. And
to submit a Ph.D. thesis in case I show
many of those Sanskrit texts were translated
adequate performance and I am enrolled for
by German scholars.
three semesters there.” Professor Hermann
Jacobi (1850-1937) was the leading German

Dr. Maren Bellwinkel-Schempp has researched extensively, among other things, on the Dalits in
Kanpur

62
 JNU celebrates Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s
114th Birth Anniversary
Every year in JNU the celebration of Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Birth Anniversary is a
special and important event. It has become a
cherished tradition in the campus to celebrate
this day for a span of a week as Jai-Bhim
Saptah. This year also keeping the tradition
alive, United Dalit Students Forum celebrated
this day from 11th to 14th April 2005. Public
meetings, cultural programs, rallies and a film
show were organized during the Jai Bhim
Saptah in order to commemorate Babasaheb
Ambedkar’s 114th Birthday.
On 11th April 2005, the inaugural function of
Jai-Bhim Saptah was organized at Kaveri
Mess. Presiding over the public meeting on
“Dr. Ambedkar and his Relevance in
Contemporary Society” Prof. Gopal Guru
noted that Ambedkar will be relevant till the
time we would not be able to establish the
norms of society on the principles of Liberty,
Equality and Fraternity. Speaking on the same
occasion Dr. Vivek Kumar observed his
relevance in preserving the sanctity of
democratic institutions which Dr. Ambedkar
had built so laboriously. On behalf of the
UDSF, Sumit Mhaskar convened the meeting.
The next day, a cultural evening was organized
at Ganga Dhaba. This occasion was marked
with a good presence of the JNU student
community. UDSF invited a cultural group
‘Pahal’ who performed a realistic street play
“Amma” depicting the plight of a Dalit woman
in doing her job as scavenger in a government
office. A group of JNU students also presented
Bhim Geets in their regional languages. Dr.
63
Harish Wankhede
Vimal Thorat, Convener NCDHR, New Delhi
and members of Dalit Sahitya Sangh graced
the occasion with their presence.
On the third day of Jai-Bhim Saptah, UDSF
organized three Programmes. It commenced
with a poster exhibition at Ganga Dhaba with
the help of NACDOR and NCDHR. That night
a public meeting was organized on the issue of
“Reservation in Public Sector”. Speaking on
the issue, Prof. S.K. Thorat highlighted the
reasons for a reservation policy in the private
sector. He gave empirical evidences of many
developed countries who endorse the same
policy to fight discrimination.
Following the public meeting, the Jai-Bhim
Rally was organized in which more than 200
JNU students participated. Slogans like Jai-
Bhim, Manuvad Ho Barbad and Baba Tera
Mission Adhura, Hum Sab Milke karenge
Poora were raised during the procession,
reasserting the commitment of JNU students to
carry forward the struggle of Ambedkar for a
more just and humane society.
The day of 14th April was of course very
special one. The first programme of this day
began at early in the morning, by paying our
floral tributes to Dr. Ambedkar at Students
Union Office. Along with general students,
faculty members from both JNU and Delhi
University were also present and offered their
tributes to Dr. Ambedkar. A group of students
thereafter went to Parliament House under the
banner of UDSF to offer their homage to the
Statue of Dr. Ambedkar. The third programme
of the day, a ‘Get-together’ was organized by
INSIGHT at Tapti Mess. It was a meeting
point of students to greet each other on this
occasion.
The final programme was the screening of
Jabbar Patel’s film “Babasaheb Ambedkar” at
KC OAT. During this year’s Jai-Bhim Saptah,
the participation of general students in all our
programs was positively noted. Secondly, new
stream of Dalit student activists also evolved
who worked energetically to make this Saptah
a successful event. Thirdly, this event was also
useful in rejuvenating the almost defunct
UDSF with new blood. And finally the
successful completion of Jai-Bhim Saptah
demonstrated the unity and commitment of
Dalit students of the campus in carry
forwarding the message of Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar.
There is no doubt that celebration of Birth
anniversaries of our great leaders are very
important events, as these are the days when
Harish Wankhede is pursuing his Mphil at the Centre for Political Science in JNU, New
Delhi
MALIGNING AMBEDKAR ON HIS BIRTHDAY BY
INAUGURATING MULTI-MEDIA EXHIBITION ON GANDHI
It is a well-known fact that the 14th of April is
celebrated as Ambedkar’s Birthday and
various programmes are organized by the State
and non-State organizations to mark the
occasion. Today, Ambedkar is not the
Ambedkar of yesterday, who was made to rest
in oblivion but is better understood and more
64
we show our gratitude and sense of
responsibility towards the mission of social
change. These alternative celebrations are our
cultural capital against the domination of diku
culture. But giving sole importance to such
events and neglecting the basic problems of
our general life would be a false tribute to our
great leaders.
There are many issues pertaining to the Dalit
students of JNU, ranging from financial
assistance to faculty appointments. We should
activate our energy through out the year in
deliberating and contesting the Dalit issues for
a positive culmination and not only in
celebrating Saptah. UDSF at this juncture
should introspect and deliberate over the need
of Dalit students’ Movement in JNU and how
it is going to provide leadership to other
movements outside the campus in times to
come.
Dr. Narendra Kumar
respected not only by his followers but by his
ideological opponents as well. It is expected
that the Head of the Government (Prime
Minister) will do something concrete and
better for the legendary hero whose birthday
comes on a particular day and not for someone
else, especially not for the one whose
ideological contradictions were and are well
explicit.
In this case, the Prime Minister paid just floral
tributes to Ambedkar statue at Parliament
House on this Birthday and immediately after
that inaugurated a Multi-Media Exhibition on
‘Eternal Gandhi’. The trouble is not that
something was done for Gandhi, but nothing
substantial was done to commemorate
Ambedkar who deserved more than floral
tributes at least on his Day.
We may not see it as a serious matter to be
pointed out. But as a conscious young citizen,
it needs to be considered a serious lapse on the
part of the PM in particular and PMO in
general because if PM had nothing substantial
to recognize Ambedkar’s contributions than he
could have avoided this day to reaffirm
Gandhi’s contributions, especially in the light
of Gandhi’s position on the monstrous social
evils such as Varna and Caste System. In
contrast, Ambedkar’s whole life was crusade
against these.
We are still paying a heavy price because of
Gandhi’s opposition to Babasaheb and his
crusade against caste based exploitation
suffered by the Dalits. It’s not that Gandhi did
not speak against social ills related to caste.
But he merely paid lip service and was dead
against the provisions which could have really
emancipated Dalits (one glaring example is
that of blackmailing Babasaheb for signing
Poona Pact). He was great supporter of caste
system and perceived it as the only factor
which provided the much needed strength to
Hinduism. He has said, “I believe hindu
society has been able to stand because it is
founded on the caste system”. He refused to
see the exploitative character of Hinduism. He
addressed untouchability but spared the system
of caste in whose roots the former prospers.
Dr Narendra Kumar teaches Political Science at Motilal Nehru College, Delhi University
65
When confronted by Babasaheb, Gandhi
changed his tracks but still thought the caste
system to possess ‘limitation’ and not
‘restraint’ and suggested to combine castes. He
said, “….the best remedy is that small castes
should fuse themselves into one big caste.
There should be four such big castes so that
we may reproduce the old system of four
varanas.”
On the contrary, Babasaheb was very clear
about the exploitative nature of caste when he
said, “…You cannot build anything on the
foundation of caste…..Anything that you will
build on the foundation of caste will crack and
will never be a whole.” Babasaheb regarded
castes to be anti-national in the first place
because they bought about separation in social
life and also generated jealousy and antipathy
between caste and caste. He did a great service
to the Indian nation by engaging with
revivalist Gandhi and exposing his
obscurantist thoughts. Through his erudite
scholarship, he clearly exposed the fallacies of
chaturvarna which Gandhi preached as a
solution to end caste-based discrimination in
Indian society.
Today, when there is intermixing of
professions among majority of the castes, it is
difficult proposition to adopt division of labour
based on caste or Varna as suggested by
Gandhi. And a personality who glorified these
evils and suggested their revival should not be
given more space, especially while celebrating
the day of a legendary personality, who
vehemently spoke, wrote and acted against the
old social order. And if we do so then we are
not only undermining but also washing away
the vision of the icon whose contributions are
of more relevance and need recognition on his
Day.
66