Position of Dalit Women in Rural India

Abstract

India is considered to be the land of villages and this indeed is true as sixty-five percent of its population still resides in the villages as was in the report of World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources in the year 2018. Most of its urban population too originated from the rural as they or their ancestors had migrated to the cities, as in 1960 the rural population of India was a whooping eighty-two percent as per the World Bank data. The Indian population is categorized on multiple grounds and these grounds decide the social, economic, and educational status of an individual, hence there is the presence of discrimination in the Indian society in one form or another. Discrimination in multiple forms has been practiced in India since time immemorial, eradication of which was one of the dreams of the constitution framers. Discrimination was done on the basis of caste and gender mainly and affected the financial holdings, education, and employment opportunity of the individual. The educational qualifications and financial well-being were dependent on the individual’s caste and gender. Discrimination on the basis of caste is one of the most practiced forms of discrimination in India. A caste is an age-old form of categorization in a hierarchy, membership into a caste is ascribed by birth and it can not be changed in any way. The Hindu population of India is divided into a five-fold hierarchy system namely, the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Shudras. The Shudras were considered to be the lowest whereas, the Ati- Shudras were considered to be out-castes i.e. they were outside the caste hierarchy, and hence were considered to be the Untouchables or ‘Dalits’. The caste system not only places individuals one over other in social hierarchy but also dictates the lives of the individuals as it provides for division of labour i.e. it prescribes occupational monopoly to every caste, the lower castes are prescribed to perform menial jobs requiring no expertise; matrimony rules, places of residence i.e. the caste system prescribes that individuals of the same caste should reside together and that such residences were to be located as per the status in the hierarchy and hence is the reason why Dalit localities are located outside the villages and prominent locations being occupied by Brahmins, Kshatriya, and the Vashyas. Educational qualification of the individual hence was dependent on the caste identity of the individual as the lower caste were supposed to be performing menial jobs hence no education was required for them, also they were considered to be untouchables and hence were discriminated in educational institutions as were not allowed to sit with the students from upper castes. Being deprived of education led to the economic exploitation of the lower castes. Hence, this age-old practice led to social, political and economic exploitation of the Shudras and the Ati-Shudras. Quota legislation in India entitles the scheduled castes to places in educational institutions, government employment, and legislatures. While these quotas were hailed as a major breakthrough in affirmative action, whether they have actually improved socio-economic conditions of the disadvantaged groups is one of the most debated topics in contemporary times. Gender is yet another ground for discrimination in Indian society. The Indian society is of patriarchal nature and hence the role and right of women is limited primarily focusing around household and housekeeping. Traditional Indian families rely on women for their housekeeping. Women had no right to get an education or to get jobs outside their homes. Pre-independent Indian society gave no right over immovable property to women. Therefore, women too had been exploited both economically and socially. Though seven decades have passed since India’s independence, incidents of caste and gender-based discrimination are often reported. This matter is to be looked into which deep concerns. Also, a little work had been done of the suffrage of women from the lower castes, as they are discriminated for belonging from lower strata of the society and for being a woman, hence they comprise the lowermost strata of the Indian society.