Caste–Gender Intersectionality and Atrocities in Haryana: Emerging Patterns and State Responses

Abstract

In the Indian society, the issue of gender and caste inequality has drawn considerable attention in the discourse of social exclusion. The complex relationship between these two culturally powerful identities in the context of violence and atrocities remains stubbornly in place. This article analyses the patterns and consequences of intersectional atrocities and the responses of state machinery in a specific sociocultural context, that is, in the state of Haryana. Despite showing faster economic development than other states, Haryana has been in the limelight for its traditions and customs conflicting with the freedom of lower castes (dalits) and women. The article draws evidence from the official data on crimes and information based on mainstream media reportage and documents of civil society organisations, to argue that a society, which culturally accepts caste and gender hierarchy and allows this culture to permeate in public institutions, accentuates the vulnerability of women from lower caste to structural, systematic and symbolic atrocities.