Amchya Jalmachi Chittarkatha (The Bioscope of Our Lives): Who Is My Ally?

Author(s): SHAILAJA PAIK

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 44, No. 40 (OCTOBER 3-9, 2009), pp. 39-47
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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Chittarkatha
AmchyaJalmachi
of Our Lives): Who
(The Bioscope
SHAILAJA

PAIK__

the commonly-held view by

feminists and some dalit men that dalit

This paper questions

mainstream
women

for a

Arguing

are somehow more

women.

IsMy Ally?

'liberated" than high caste

Iargue that dalit women also face patriarchal

oppression, though ithas a specific quality. Under such

circumstances, who isa dalit woman's ally? The essay
focuses on the penumbra of debilitating circumstances,

of theparticular
which callfora further
understanding
contextofdalitfemininity
and oppressed sexuality.

Kumud

Pawade

taking

due

separate
has

for dalit

organisation
mainstream

accused

of the atrocities

cognisance

women,
of not

feminists

on

committed

dalitwomen (Pawade 1998:133-34). Also, itseems thatdalitmen

did/do not allow enough participationand representationofdalit
women.

Pawade

men

dalit

accused

of discriminating

against

dalit women:
thinking about equality across caste and class, men forget about
gender equality, this happens during talks of dalit struggles or politi
are merely tokens in the [political] movement,
cal agendas. Women
and in literary conferences. Even their sessions are scheduled towards

While

the end of the program when

dalit women

Thus,
-

the audience
to be mere

seem

literary or otherwise.

ment

This

has lost interest (ibid: 134).

in the move

appendages

of a renowned

experience

dalit

feministand other dalitwomen calls fora furtherintrospection

by dalitmen of theirpower playswhich are unmarked by gender.
Both mainstream
feminists and dalit men can be accused
of the
same crime - of
How have dalit women
dalit women.
divorcing

been "silenced"bymainstream feminismand by dalit patriarchy?

Under

such enervating

women?

I venture

circumstances,

to untwist

who

the matrix

are

the allies

of caste,

class,

of dalit
commu

nity,and gender by engaging some experiences of dalitwomen

inMaharashtra.
Mainstream

movements,

and

feminist movements

in particular,

seem to be misguided in their understanding of dalit women.

scholars share a notion that dalit women
Many dalit and non-dalit
are somehow more
I attempt to
"free" than high caste women.

question this postulate, and analyse the specificityof dalit

women's

Debates

is inspired by the title of Shantabai Ramble's

Chittarkatha (Bombay: Popular
autobiography MajyaJalmachi

Prakashan), 1986.
Iwant to thank Chitprabha Kudlu, David Hardiman, Eleanor Zelliot,
and Pravin who have discussed many arguments presented here. I

am in deep gratitude to dalit women who shared their

struggles with
me. Special thanks to Sharmila Rege, who has introduced me to Black
feminism and discussed many of these debates with me, in Pune! I am
indebted to some insightful comments and suggestions fromMrinalini
Sinha and Shefali Chandra. Many thanks to Gail Omvedt for coming
in at the lastminute, and instantly helping wr:th sources and some very
arguments.

Paik (paiks@union.edu)
is a visiting faculty member with
History Department, Union College, New York, USA.
Shailaja

Economic& Politicalweekly

I3SC3 October

3, 2009

with

patriarchy

and oppressed

sexuality.

in Indian Feminism: Politics of Caste and Gender

Joanna Liddle and Rama Joshi, in theirwork entitledDaughters

of Independence,delineate a historicalmaterialist approach in
dealingwith caste and gender.They are of theopinion that lower

The title of this paper

crucH

experience

the

caste women

are not secluded

like their upper

caste

counterparts

because theirmen depend on them forsurvival.Joshiand Liddle

also write

about

the non-sexual

and

the sexual

divisions

of la

bour. They suggest thatwomen of the lower castes are forced to

take upwork forwages. While addressing the issue of sexuality,
they state:
Lower caste women, by contrast, experience far fewer controls over
their physical freedom. The economic benefits and the social con
straints of seclusion are unknown to them. Sati was never demanded
of them, widowhood was no curse, divorce was allowed inmany low
er-caste communities and widows and divorced
people could re-marry
without disgrace (Liddle and Joshi 1986: 95-69 and 91).

vol xliv no 40 39

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SPEClM^ARtK
This analysis of Liddle and Joshi suggests that dalit women,
thougheconomically deprived, leadmore sexually liberated lives
caste women.

than upper

That was

1986, and

this is 2009, where

itties inwith the common parlance of some upper caste,middle

Some

caste women

upper

to be nauseated

seemed

with

proxi

mity to lower castes male or female; and also with the idea of
as

treated

being

servants

low class

for some upper

Further,

caste

(Chakravarti

1993:

130-58).

the very "linking ofwomen

feminists,

to suggest that dalit women

are better off,
and shudras togetherisone more evidence of the low position of
since "they [can drink and smoke, and can] abuse or hit back women".3 They appear to be more concerned with the linking of
women with the shudra than the subordination of the shudra.
theirdrunkenhusbands (Rege 2006: 6).
The romanticisingof dalitwomen's lives isalso a featureof the What happens to the shudrawoman in this subordination?
In fact, a clear departure
of dalit women
from the mainstream
writings of some dalit scholars. They claim thatdalit patriarchy
class women

ismore

seem

who

than Hindu

democratic

patriarchy,

that certain

arguing

customs likepaadapuja (worshippingthehusband's feet) are not

found among the dalits. They also note the prevalence ofwife

battering indalit families and declare that the "beatenwife has

the righttomake the attack public by shouting,abusing thehus
band and ifpossible beating the husband in return."1Though I
understand the underlyingmotive of criticising brahmanical
patriarchyand itsstrictcodes, it ishard to see how thiscan inany
way

be read as so-called

"democratic

how

can any patriarchy

be democratic

For that matter,

patriarchy".
in nature?

On similar lines, some dalit feministslikeUrmila Pawar2 have

the differences

analysed

brahman

between

dalit women.

and

She argues:
in contrast to the Brahman woman was not bound by
etc. The dalit woman was not
such as sati, child marriage,
confined to the fourwalls as the upper caste woman.
[...] She did not
address her husband or elders with imposed veneration (Pawar 1994:

customs

84-85).

Pawar furtherseeks to explode somemyths regardingthe gen

der question in relation to thedalitmovement:
[...] there was

a wide

gap between dalit and Brahman women on eco

levels. Along with caste based atrocities
nomic, social and educational
she was also constantly under the threat of rape, in the family she had
to tolerate the physical violence and other atrocities ofmen (ibid).
is a constant

there

ing of the liberation

women,

provides

Pawar

community.

that dalit women's

and

A myth is harboured

between

an understand

economic

"independence"

movement

the oppressive

economic

continues:
that unlike the brahman woman

the dalit woman

and stifling restrictions. The pain of the devadasi,

and the murali is ignored in this stand. In fact the
is yet to get recognition as a full and equal
in the household

human being (ibid: 94).

Thus,

Pawar

living under

upper

to my enquiry

Central

ing the dalit woman

as

caste

and

is this tension

sexually

and an account

"independent";

issues and

the particular

caste

lower

between

"liberated"

and

of the dalit woman

contexts

of a

important

respects worse

upper

caste women

public

arena

endogamy.
rights, and

as
On

are granted

long as
the other

are vulnerable

than upper
freedom

scholarship

women

patriar

they respect
hand,

the rules

dalit women

to state and

upper

Educated

of caste

and

do not have
caste

in the
class
many

domination

in the public, and dalit patriarchy in the private. Official data

reveals how dalitwomen are daily beaten up, especially by their
husbands. In thiscase,who should theyjoin hands with?

Much

is

of the

movement

and women's

and

networks.

kinship

This

scholar

and

on poverty

research

studies,

sociological

and

NGoisation,

women and their stigmatised labour, and so on. This invisibility

of dalit women

was

by several mainstream

noted

feminist writers

who pointed out how lower class and dalitwomen were largely
in many

Maithreyi

earlier

social

feminist
state

thus

Krishnaraj

sociologists,

historians,

Desai

Neera

writings.
that

"research

anthropologists

and

of indologists,
from

particularly

the pre-independence period provided descriptions of positions .

ofmiddle class/elitewomen" (Desai and Krishnaraj 1987: 7).4
Inorder to engage this invisibilityofmarginal women we need
to confrontsome historiographicalproblems inorder to grasp the
contradictions that lie at the heart of complex dalit lives.How
one

does

accounts'

selective

woman

dalit

normative

explain

active

of Maharashtra

continuous

2008).5

these backward
to these

Can

and

and

critical

we

solve

historiography
this problem

by

Can we

"visible"?

dalit women,

suppressed

discur

and marginalisa

histories

ignored

of the

significant

of the specific

of dis (appearance)

in conventional

feminist

occlusion

Another

agents?

is the investigation

(Sarkar

"voice"

give

and

historical

context

sive and material

and

historiographies

ignorance

as

that remains

question

them

by restoring

to history?Would not that be an additive to normative history

writings? I argue that the task of critical history ought to be to
investigatethe specificways inwhich this invisibility,
marginal
silence were

and

Burton

9 and

1994:

and

secured

20).6

to what
these

Answering

end

(Sarkar

2008:

would

questions

be

the topicof another paper, letme simplybegin to address some

economically

and work

to

class women's

reform movements.

movement

in family, marriage

India

as "oppressed,"

and middle

shiphas engagedwith caste issues throughsome anthropological

complexities

caste women.
to move

on nationalist

understand

both sexually and economically.The position of dalitwomen is in

many

in many

received

colonial

has been witness

has dealt with high caste patriarchy and the position of elite

isation

underlines

dalit woman's
chies.

have

making

is free from bondage

the deserted woman
woman

sues

the

during

History

caste

that upper

the predominance

occurred

movement.

in the national

tion of dalit women

of the

deprivation

movement

women's

times and

ignored

The dalit woman

Thus,

nationalist

given

here.
a history

has

of a

the inadequate

systematic

inquiries

rich women's
on

theorisation

into the nexus

movement;

the caste
between

however,

system
caste,

in India,
and

class,

patriarchy forwomen, particularly belonging to lowest caste

have

escaped

the attention

of mainstream

feminist

studies.

They

tend tomask rather than criticallyexplain the structureof caste

as

it intersects

2006).

with

Thus, women

(also

gender

in agrarian

see Chakravarti

situations

2003,

Rege

or of the lower castes

remain largely ignored (Desai and Krishnaraj 1987: 7; Sangari

and Vaid

1989:

patriarchy

was

40October

21-22).7

Some,

as pervasive
3, 2009

as we

have

seen,

for lower as for high

vol xliv no 40 Q2S9

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

even

deny

that

caste women.

Economic& Politicalweekly

Invoking of

Homogenising Gender:
'Sisterhood forWomen'

with their caste over and

In general,women in India identify
their gender.

above
writes

The

that upper

and women

have

Chakravarti

both

defended
of

was and is
theirhigherposition in society.She states, "patriarchy

a necessary

of class order

aspect

and

stability, women

social

then

would and did resist itsreformulation"(Chakravarti 1998: 236).8

She shows thatupper castewomen in the late 19thcenturymostly
alignedwith theirmen against the lowercastes.While this seems
a bleak situation for the late 18thcentury,the late 20th century
situation

not seem

does

caste women

upper

to be very different.

protested

For example,

the Mandal

against

when

provisions,

theydecried the increasingquotas thatwould deprive them of

upper caste husbands from the Indian Administrative Service
(Chakravarti2003: 1-3;Tharu and Niranjana 1999: 494-525). In
were

these women

other words,

not

to accept

ready

qualified

dalitmen as theirpotential husbands and alignedwith theircom

munity insteadof gender. Similar incidentsat Chunduru, Pimpri
Deshmukh, Khairlanji (Kannabiran and Kannabiran 2004:
249-60; Rege 2004: 93; Teltumbde 2008: 39-40), among others
have

been

testimonies
with

cooperating

caste

of upper

women's

assertion

by

caste men.

upper

with

caste

high

Susie

agendas.

Tharu,

Tejaswini

Niranjana, Kumkum Sangari, and Sudesh Vaid underline that

as middle

"women

class

and

caste

upper

has

long genealogy

that,historicallyand conceptually,goes back intonationalism as

well as social reform"(Tharu and Niranjana 1999: 502; Sangari
and Vaid 1989: 7, 8 and 18;Tharu and Lalita 1993: xix). Thus it
seems

that "all the women

middle
and

class

Hindu)
show

Niranjana

are upper
all

and
how

caste

the lower
late

the

(and by implication,
are men".9

castes

20th

Tharu

anti-Mandal

century,

woman aligns herselfabove all as a citizen of India ratherthan as

a genderedbeing, thusavoidinga "battleof sexes"withmiddle class

men. However, theclaiming of citizenship ratherthan sisterhood

with
also

dalit women

now

not only

op cit; Chakravarti

set them against

women

lower-caste/class

against

broad-based

dalit men
and

(Tharu

but

Niranjana

and

sectional

achievement.
"woman"

communal

[...]

and

premature

on

simultaneous

on a universal

this insistence

single

axis

of identification

of other axes

workings

still a noteworthy

was

differences,"

However,

based

like caste,

of

category

the

occludes

class,

community,

sexuality and gender for dalit women. These homogenising

effortshave certain problems for the gendering of the caste
question, for the understanding of dalitwomen whose histories
remain

largely unscrutinised.

Dalit women are being taught to forgettheirdifferencesand

causes

these

ignore
. stream

of separation

feminist movement.

take these differences

and

It is my
turn them

and

with

suspicion

the main

that we

argument

to

have

into our strengths.

Personal

visions and experiential knowledge of dalitwomen will help lay

ground forradical political struggles.In order to do this,we need
to educate

ourselves

dalit women,

about

and

this has been

done

onlyvery recently.However,we should also understand that the

of "voice"

notions

post-enlightenment
their own

in feminist

Nonetheless,

problems.

scholarship

a few exceptions,

with

dalitwomen have been dealtwith only tangentially.

feminist movement

Indian

has

an upper

been

essentially

caste

andmiddle classmovement rightsince colonial times. Ingeneral,

such upper caste feminismhas been unable to criticallyengage

and confrontinequalities of caste of community implicitin that

or

subject

its worlds.11

feminist

White/mainstream

assertions

that "sisterhood is global" tend to deny the differentspaces that

are inhabitedby non-white, thirdworld women or dalitwomen,
in our case

(Bhavnani

of power

qualities

2001:

within

5; Sudbury

1998).12

In this way,

movement

the women's

ine

are masked.

The language of talking ingeneralised terms,forwomen, shields

the question of identity,agency, and how these categories are
constructed

contexts.

by their complex

Some

mainstream

femi

nist scholars fail to understand that beyond sisterhood there is

still caste.

was

Caste

movement

2003).

was

of women

identity

problematic, [...] the very act of imagining a collective identity

forwomen on thebasis of a shared cause thatpotentiallybridged

have

There is a longhistory in India of the identificationofwomen's

self-assertion

I agree with Mrinalini Sinha that "celebrationof an inclusive

and

see them as a bulwark

strongly, as they

institutions

patriarchal

feminist

progressive

caste men

Uma

feministsseek to educate dalitwomen on how theyare exploited

by theirown fathers,husbands and brothers.

and

rarely

they assumed

discussed

in the

that caste

identities

Indian
could

women's
be

tran

There aremany such evidences of incidents

which illustratethat scended by the universal/larger identityof sisterhood among
a
becomes
hidden
issue,being glossed over in the interest women
gender
(also see Rege 2006).
of the community.

Such

incidents

point

out

that "gender

identity"

in India needs to be investigatedfurtherin order tomake it a

political

category. Do we

to re-conceptualise

need

women's

studies

and rethinkthepresumptionsonwhich the feminist

movement is
based in India?We certainlyrequire some ideological questioning
the

regarding
community,

and

of gender,

intersectionality
the ongoing

struggle

caste,

over what

class,

religion,

constitutes

the

legitimateterrainsof feministtheoryand enquiry in India.

Some

mainstream

feminists

argue

munity
cutting

that "oppression

is the fundamental
across

classes

Economic& Politicalweekly

of women

that dalit women's

by men

first

reality of women's
and

EQ53

castes".10
October

Thus,

3, 2009

of their own
oppression
some

in India

struggle

is unique

in its own way,

explicit acknowledgement and analysis of racial differencesand

the specificitiesof "gender" oppression in the contextofwestern
feminism.13

These

the 1990s14

also

debates
resulted

between

feminists

in the formation

from the 1970s and

of some

autonomous

black women's-organisations.

loyaltymust be to theirgender, and urge them to see theway in

which theyare being exploited by theirown community.They
underscore

dalit women's

The

but does finda homologous strugglebywomen of "colour" and

others in theus and theuk who have demanded visibilityand an

com

in India,

mainstream

In the contemporaryglobal system,we can learn fromcertain

homologous movements in differentparts of theworld. Such an
exercise would
of wider
even
caste

social

institutions
are

seem

strange,

but itwould

communities,
for that matter.

different,

the

sharing
Though

circumstances

vol xliv ko 40 41

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

the creation

encourage

memories,

histories,

and

the contexts

of race and

of the rise

of feminist

in India are different, we may

movements

the movement

between

parisons

learn

from some

women

of non-white

com

in the west,

and thatof thedalitwomen in India,which can create a space for

an enriched feminist theory and for a greater liberation for
women

in general.

Some Indian feministshave attacked high caste patriarchyfor

but not on the grounds

its oppressiveness,

of caste.

Such

incidents

take place even todaywhile discussing feministagendas, where

specific oppressions are totally blanked out. At best, these

feministsand theirkind of feminismpay merely lip service to

those (dalit)women who are daily beaten down,mentally, physi

cally,psychologically and spiritually.Such feministframeshave

failed to critically interrogatedalit women's subordination as
"Dalit"

and

notions

as

"Women".

is missing

What

is an adequate

of patriarchy

from the mainstream

appreciation

of the social,

cultural,and political specificitythatgoes into themaking of the

dalitwoman and the dalit community,and of thepower relations
and inequalitythatare tiedwith the rankedhierarchy.
to some

Analogous

some male

feminists,

dalit

have

scholars

made a ratherdifferent
move, in that they try to subsume the
category

of "gender"

under

that of the "caste"

collective.

Reaction

of some dalit men to feminism (in general) and dalit women's

feminism(in particular) has been notoriouslynegative. They ac

cuse thatdalit feminismmay divide thedalitmovement and that

itwould be a powerfuldeterrentto the growthof an autonomous
dalitmovement. They remainunmarked by the categoryof "gen
der" and argue

are dalits,"

that all "women

ing into the same

trap as some

feminists

thus once

again

fall

they have

did. However,

a good intentionto do this: to forgesolidarityin the fightagainst

the oppressive caste system.But in followingthisdiscourse, they
turna blind eye to the fact that the vast majority of high caste
women have no such gendered solidaritywith dalitwomen, and
also thatdalitwomen face certain "caste" specifichandicaps.

Articulating the Dalit and

Woman's

Non-Brahman

Problem

exploits women
her

Seconding

husband's

of different
endeavours,

castes

(Phule

Savitribai

1991:111-14).
Phule

under

lined the significanceof challenging endogamy and suggested a

bahujan

alliance

shudras

of all women,

and

ati-shudras

against

Muktabai Salve, a Mang girl student in Jotiba Phule's class

roomof 1855wrote about the "GriefofMahars andMangs". While
comparing the experiences of giving birth fordalit women and

brahmanwomen, Muktabai underlines the particularities of the

experiences of dalitwomen: "ourwomen give birth tobabies and
theydo not even have a roof over theirheads. How they suffer
rain and

cold! Try to think about

it from your own

experiences"

(Tharu 1991;Bhagwat 1997; Chakravarti 1998). This call to expe

rience the lifeof a dalitmay not be supported by scholars.How
ever,

Iwant

feminism

and

to draw

attention

the hurdles

the specific script of dalit

it.Are not dalit women
with

towards

associated

"women"who sufferthe pains ofwomanhood? Tarabai Shinde's

polemical textA ComparisonBetweenMen and V/omen,published

kunbis

(Shinde

2004).15

In a similarvein, Ambedkar's theoryof caste underlined the

theory

of the origins

ceived

of "women

of the

as

of women.

subordination
of the caste

gateways

con

He

inter

and

system"

linked the struggles of fightingcaste with that of recovering

dalit women's
and

at Mahad

during his speech

women..Thus,

to caste

due

and

he directed

satyagraha,

to the specificities

attention

oppression

of women's

subjection
as "women"

their subordination

and as "dalit" (Ambedkar 1973: 5-22; Pardeshi 2003: 346-62).

For Ambedkar,

was

"marriage

at the

Furthermore,

liability."

1942Manila Parishad inNagpur,he said, "don'tthrustit (marriage)

on your girls, it hinders (my emphasis) a girl's progress. After
a woman

marriage

be an equal

should

and a friend of her

partner

husband. She shouldnot be the slave of thehusband" (Pawar and

2000:

Moon

89). Ambedkar

long as itwas
not

would

thus, not opposed

was,

into at a relatively mature

entered

a girl's educational

impede

In this way,

age.
He

progress.

so

tomarriage,
also

it

expected

a relationshipof friendshipand equality inmarried couples. He

them to be "equal

wanted

tain the same

they entered

reveal

tomain
too. How

organisations

experiences

everyday

partners were

These

partners".

stance when

ever, dalit women's

not

that this may

happen inpractice.We have already dealtwith Kumud'sargument.

Ambedkar

Nonetheless,

also

that a married

believed

woman

should focus on fulfillingher familyrole firstand foremost.He

sought to link the emancipation of dalitwomen througheduca
tionwith the internaltransformationof the culture and ethos of
the family,thusmaking thepersonal political. He envisagedways
inwhich theycould do this,while at the same time, supporting
the movement.

In his Mahad

to cook

refuse

in 1938, he asked women

speech

for their men.

carrion

He

also

instructed

to
dalit

women not to tolerateor cooperatewith theirmen folkiftheyact

against

the decided

104-05;

Pawar

of the community

pledge

2000:

and Moon

to underscore

more

the nationalist

a separation

inscribe

90).

This

(Keer

and

the "private"

how

to once

for women,

agenda

between

70-71,

1962:
tended,

emphasis

"public"

spheres of life,and to confinewomen largely to the former.In

this,Ambedkar inferredthat the firstplace of thewoman was
within

the household;

the wise

she,

to occupy

had

mother,

her

self as a partner to the husband and nurturerof (her) children

(sons).
These

brahmanism.

non-brahman

among

patriarchy

ever,

The revolutionaryreformerJotiraoPhule brilliantlyarticulated

the specific,overlappingand gradedways inwhich brahmanical
patriarchy

in 1882 underscored the conflictsalong gender lines, attacked

brahmanical patriarchy, and also called for introspection of

This

created

conjectures

forwomen

paradoxes
are

true today when

within

the movement.

dalit women

are allowed

"limited"powers in the private and public. However, in order to

"true Ambedkarites"

be

we

need

to understand

that Ambedkar

did his best forhis times,and nowwe need to go beyondAmbed

kar's certain ideological formations in order to understand the
complexitiesof our society,towrite our histories, and tomake an
intervention

in the politics

Ambedkar's

of our times.

fight against

atrocities

towards

was

women

also

reflectedin thevows of theneo-Buddhists.He embracedBuddhism

at a meeting
One

in 1956,

of the vows,

inwhich

"I shall abstain

he gave

22 vows

from alcohol"

to the Buddhists.
protected

women

who are subjected to the violence of alcoholic husbands. Dalit

working classmen frequentlydrowned themselves in alcohol and
beat

up dalit women,
42 October

3, 2009

so the embracing
vol xliv no 40

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

of Buddhism
1323

was

a new

Economic& Politicalweekly

to dalit women.

hope

sons

and

spouses

asked women

Ambedkar

if they were

not

He was

drunkards.

to feed

their

mother.

of the opinion

that the new religionwould definitelyrender better and equal

justice towomen. He said that itwas Buddha who gives equal
status

towomen

the cause

men

alongside

of women's

and

liberation"

(Ambedkar

a pioneer

was

that Buddha

in

14, 18-25).16

1965:

This call of Ambedkar is reinforcedeven today.The Buddhist

women

at the "Dhammadiksha

Suvarna

Mahila

Bauddha

Jayanti

Sammelan" (Golden Jubileeof theConversion toBuddhism, Bud

dhistWomen Conference) held inNagpur on 10October 2005,
praised theman-woman equality inBuddhism and invitedBud
to live up to this humanitarian

dhists

ideal.

Continuing his struggleagainst caste and gender inequality,

Ambedkar presented theHindu Code Bill on 12August 1948.This
bill was

revolutionary,
caste

ters, abolished
underscored
also

in that it guaranteed
in matters

the principle
that some

note

and

of marriage

of monogamy

and

caste women,

upper

to daugh

property

and

adoption,
We

divorce.

strongly

this

bill. Insteadofpraisingthisbold pro-woman initiative

byAmbedkar,
castes

the upper

him

called

the "Modern

in a sarcastic

Manu"

(Zelliot

2003:

Pardeshi

204-17;

2003:

There

346-62).

is

stillno adequate legislation to guard the rightsof Indianwomen

ingeneral. It shows that thework of feministsstillhas a longway
to go

in India.

tional norms
to exist

the dalit women's

exceptions,

her

and masculine

Shantabai

independent,

reiterates

1971; Chanana

such case was

Another

case

to feminine

relating

and was

her work,

assertive,

(see also Kapur

how

the tradi

duties

continue

had

obtained

2001).
who

Kuchekar,

a good job as a result of her education. She emphasised that

women have tomanage everything,and work hard to get out of
themundane rut. She and her daughter revealed that theydid
not enjoy equal statuswith theirmale counterparts.21
They felt
that theiremploymentwas taken forgranted; therewas nothing
or unusual

special

respect within

it to command

about

the family. Their

was

rather, their oppression

any

grievances

not addressed;

in a different

renewed

or

status

special

were

fashion. These

women fulfilledtheirroles in the familyand atwork with equal

is not a dalit-specific

priority. This

were,

itwas

however,

problem;

prev

however,

move

to voice

prepared

their grievances

in these

re

Did theyexpect a negative response?

spectswithin the family.22
fear maltreatment?

they

Or were

they even had a case

whether

woman

their bayichijaat,

tomake,

being

in life? How

caste,

unsure

themselves

they

acculturated
do we

to accept
and

articulate

write about the lessvisible and theunutterableoppression?

Some
seated

for a few notable

Except

and

self-confident

Did

way and ridiculedhim fordonning themantle of a Yajnavalkya or

Parashar

she enjoyed

Although

alent in the dalit families that I interviewed.Few informants

should

opposed

were a reflectionon thehard lifeand continuing low statusofher

dalit men

cannot

brahmanical

that some

dalit men

the stronghold

escape

of patriarchy.

codes

were

who

of some

Kirti Waghmare

interested

deep

reported

in marrying

her

sug

gested that shewould not be able to practisemedicine in a her

It
to
also
remains
ar
be
well-documented
and
clinic aftermarriage.23 Kirti readily rejected such offers.I noted
investigated.
chived. Iwould call upon both feministsand dalits fora critical this tendency that prevailed amongst some middle class dalit
of caste, power
men ofwanting theirwives to conformto themodel ofVictorian
and patriarchy.
Divorced
from
introspection

ment

in the Ambedkarite

how do dalit women

feminist movements,

mainstream

era has not been

and post-Ambedkarite

live under

the shadows of dalit patriarchy?Do dalit men live up to their

"Ambedkarite ideals" which they keep harping upon? Let us
address these questions by lookingat theirprivate lives.
AmchyaJalmachiChittarkatha: Contesting Dalit Patriarchy
I engaged

dalit women

with

three generations
cation
years

and

of various

in the same

I carried

professions.
and

2000-02,

that

itwas

not easy

dalit women.

Itwas

bands

in the presence

mous

informant

and Nagpur
to gain an insight
of the in-laws
not

could

of middle-classness

These

dalit men,

different

levels of edu

castes

through

control

fieldwork

during

the

of coercion

2004-2006

in

the family

found

(Maharashtra).171
into the married

to question

difficult

them about

and
her

One

husbands.
tears

lives of
their hus

and

anony

narrated

her

storyof being kicked by her husband.18A few like Shantabai

were

Kuchekar

very

shy.19

It seems that education and employmentdo not bring about

radical

in most men
are no exception.
and dalit men
20
an
unmarried
from the third
Kadam,
engineer

changes

Prakshoti

generation, said thatdalitmen should look at theireducated and

wives

employed
understand
to change."

from a different

the hardships
She declared:

perspective:

of these
"I want

employed
a man,

who

"dalit men
women.
will

must

They

have

be at par with

me, will understandme. Further,ifI cook forfourdays he should

be

able

to cook

for three days

Economic& Politicalweekly

at

E3353 October

least."
3, 2009

thebeliefs and practices of some dalits. This is especially trueof

some of thosewho are seeking upward mobility. Dalit women
have always been working outside in the fields; thenew pheno

groups,

in the years

the cities of Pune, Mumbai,

ideology and norms of chas

tied to the household
to underpin
continue

larger brahmanical

women,

menon

out my

for some months

tity,pativrata

at times from

age

family, with

The

domesticity.

Prakshoti's

comments

thus

called

a constant

this attitude

their

Patriarchal

on a woman's

is changing.

When

by upper

and

application

norms would

income.

families

dalit women.

oppression

of consent

production

to dalit women.
to survive

for domesticating

reproduced

not allow

In general,

realised

however,

that their finan

cial burdenwould lessen ifboth the sexesworked, theyallowed

women

towork

I interviewed

in public.
one

"Ambedkarite"

who

is the leader

of the sc-st

teachers union at a college in Pune. On being asked about his

wife's

profession

I am happy

and

advancement,

he replied:

isworking with a good bank. She is

doing
well; however, I do not approve of her promotions, advancing ahead at
the cost of my family. I am a "staunch Ambedkarite"
[emphasis mine]
and believe thatmy wife should take care of the
family first.24
There was

that my wife

another

such

"Ambedkarite"

who

said:

I already talked tomy wife about her service and her promotions when
I proposed to her. I did not and do not
support her promotions as that

call on transfers to different places [even remote

places] in the
state. Iwant my family to be together, not scattered. Hence, Iwould
not support her promotions.25

would

vol xliv no 40 43

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

to me,

Pointing
cause,

you

he further

are doing

"at least you are working

said,

your bit; my wife

not even

does

for a

read any

thing,she does not have to do MPhil. or a PhD forthatmatter, so

why bother?We are happy the way we are." Some farcical

receiving end of oppression all the time, some of them found

their "middle-paths"28to keep their families and their indivi
duality growing.They confidentlyand consideratelybecame well
versed in the tarevarchikasrat (balancing act) forthehappiness of

Ambedkarites used the "Babasaheb Ambedkar" mask; appropri

theirfamilies.
ate some ideas ofAmbedkar inorder to justifytheirmotives and
That this internalcritique of dalit patriarchy indalit politics is
selfishpatriarchal beliefs. At times theyhold back their "better much needed isbeyond doubt. Gopal Guru argues that the expe
and in some cases act without
their wives.
rience of dalitwomen shows that local resistancewithin dalits is
halves",
consulting
man
in
second
the
bank
this
controlled
his
wife's
case,
Especially
important.Such assessments of dalit politics by activists and
never
to
account
but
he
his
Nor
showed
her.
did
the
wife
social
scientists
that the movement
is at crossroads
in
account,
recognise
have any courage to ask about it; thatwould be blasphemy.The
prevailingattitude is that ifthehusband ispromoted, it isnatural
forthewife to followeven ifshe has to give up her job. The same
does not apply ifit is theotherway round.

terms of ideological
Asha

Thorat,

Vidyut

on this issue. Guru,

debates

Jyoti Lanjewar,
Sharmila

Bhagwat,

among

Rege,

many

Pawar,

Pawade,
Nalini

Ladhake,

others

underline

Lokhande,

Pradnya

the silence on the subject of caste-based patriarchies fordalit

Iwas amazed with the use of the label "Ambedkarite" that women and call for an internal critique of patriarchy in dalit
these men applied to themselves. This was definitelynot the politics, in order to foster political radicalism.29 Rege, a non-dalit,
"Ambedkarite"ideal of companionshipwhich we have dealtwith
calls upon higher caste/class feministswho may propagate
in the earlier

Iwant

Also,

pages.

that we

to reiterate

to go

need

beyond specificAmbedkarite formulationsinorder tounderstand

and

our social

transform

Further,
that "upper

caste,

ful", and very

towards

tracted

hence
women.

brahman

Thus,

at

been

in this declara

implicit

that "dalit women

tion is the allegation

have

(dalit men)

they

are dark,

ugly, and

dalit men

among

marriages

and brahman

this has

women;

parallelswith the increasingnumber ofmarriages between Afri

can American

men

and white

women.26

These

dalit men,

to strengthen

in order

feminists
Some

1998: ws-45).30

(Rege

have

indeed

agreed

Towards Building a Radical Dalit Woman's Movement

After

inar

ticulate",According to such dalitmen, this is themain reason for

more

as dalit

themselves

to try to do so.31

are "fair", "beauti

women

brahman

especially

a notion

harbour

scholars,

including

"articulate";

"re-invent"
the movement

relations.

some dalit men,

brahmani (brahmanical) feminism to be self-reflexiveand to

who

some

the mid-1970s
tried

tion ofwomen

qua women.

centrist movements

leftist and

to evolve

courageously

to address

programmes

The

women's

Left party based

have

the condi
organi

sations have been severelycriticised for some of their ideologies

which

have

need

to note

different women's

ignored

their economic

however,

questions;

and work-related

issues,

we

this has

led

seem to be Manuvadi, following the code ofManu, not only fall to emergence
lower class
of grass root women's
groups
among
into the trapsof the largerbrahmanical ideologyof condemning women which included tribals and dalits. They have supported
movement
and have
taken part
in
also
shudras, dalits, and dalit women; but they fail to deploy their parityakta women's
critical

agency,

consciousness,

such obnoxious
castes who

have

brahmanical
similar
and

allegations.
such

once

map

bio-genetic

tions of "beauty"

codes

again

emulate

and

of inequality

between

brahman

and
a

reproduce
women

are very subjective.

"articulation"

It is against such dalit male idiosyncrasy,that I noted some

feministstreaks in a fewwomen likeUrmila Pawar and Kumud
whose

Pawade,
awareness

and

as a result of their

unhindered

flowed

responses

of my project

their own

I discovered

experiences.

how thepicture changed fromlove, tono love.Urmilamentioned

all such incidents inher autobiographywhen she feltlike "asaa
raag aalaa,

ani

to get so angry

naaral

tyachya dokyat
and

felt like breaking

a coconut

[I used

vaatala

phodavasa

on his head]".27

The very fact thatUrmila Pawar expressed this in a detailed

account

written
"silenced"

after her husband's

of the society,
a man will
which
ety,
the same."

adjust

speaks

of the

Such

to be happy.

and

"We cannot

a woman

not have

are

has

to. [Such

Indian women

Though

most

who

to society.

answerable

them as it is the

leave

to answer

to this soci
All men

is patriarchy].
have

been

of these women

trained

were

to

at the

fronts with

raised

They

of women's

other

left or dalit-oriented

like gender

topics

of alcoholism,

anti-price
issues,

and

oppression
land

rise,
so on

women's

within

groups.32

classes

rights forwomen,

(Sen

Kumar

2004;

because

subsuming
1993:

99-105;

1999:111-16).
rural mass-based

The

peasant

Shetkari

movement,

Sangha

tana led by Sharad Joshi,had established a broad alliance - the

Samagra Mahila Aghadi,which forover a decade had the largest
mass base among women, and did the biggestwork in land for
women in the state (Omvedt 1993). The socialist feministgroups
which were stronglyinfluencedby the left,discussed issues such
as wages

for housework,

the double

burden

the nature

ofwomen,

ofwomen's work and thenature ofpatriarchy in India (Ray 1999:

117).The Janawadi Mahila Sanghatana, with its activities of
politicisingdomestic violence, fightingfor tenants' rights,equal
wages
Though
tasks,

that they were

believed

and others underscored:

nature

are

volumes

dalit women.

All my respondents
Pawar

death

broader

Ray

that the no

they fail to understand

Moreover,
and

caste

of breaking

rich histories

hegemony,

dalit women.

and thinking when

they make
It is ironical,
indeed, that the lower

for equal

work,

the party women

even

internally many

in "consciousness

is involved
have

higher

raising".

the above-mentioned

accomplished

level women

activists

of the

parties (cpi or cpi(m)) have been very criticalof theirparties but

would refuse tomake thispublic (Kumar 1993:110).33
It is only recently

that the mainstream

and women's

movement

and studies seem tohave opened their tritiyaratna (thirdeye) to

focus on the tensions

between

the "different"

feminisms

(Kamble

1986; Rege 1998). There have been effortstowrite about and

44October

3, 2009

vol xliv no 40

This content downloaded from 121.241.25.137 on Fri, 22 May 2015 10:12:15 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

CQQ3 Economic& Politicalweekly

theorise dalitwomen's oppression in their interwovenhistories

(Velaskar; Tharu and Niranjana; John and Menon), towrite a
more

nuanced

of unequal

understanding

ran and Kannabiran).

(Kannabi

patriarchies

efforts are being made

More

in "theorising

as primary forall time and in all places (Moraga and Anzaldua

1983; Amos

and Parmar

1984:

the nature

3-19). Thus,

of brahman

women's oppression may be different from that of the dalit

not

and

women,

or more.

less

the

However,

of

oppression

feminism"(Geetha 1991;Chakravarti 2003; Rao) and of thinking brahmanwomen ismediated by brahmanical privilege, theyare
of the need of a wide range of feminisms in India (Chaudhari).
complicit in theirpower and situationof advantage, unlike dalit
to
It is crucial
and of their disadvantage.
Otherworks ofM SwathyMargaret, Mehmi and Rege underline women's
oppression
understand this central relation of power and privilege that
the need to analyse our histories of silence, the selective amnesia
movements
to focus on "differ
sustains it; themarked advantage of being the dominant, the
and institutions
of mainstream
ence".

covers

(2006)

Rege

of all these authors.34

the work

that women

argue

lutionary

castes who

in dalit

born

should work

agenda

in their revo

believe

an

towards

independent

2006:

(Rege

struggles

6s-66).35

I enthusi

Though

we

movement,

should

understand

that con
challenges
dalit women.

the many

We

therefore

to

need

are

the dalit woman's

about

ambivalent

question,

andwhose strugglesdo not engage with the forcesof patriarchy

on a social

scale.
not the mainstream

Should

astically support this path-breaking agenda for dalit women's

the mainstream.

hence

take to taskmainstream feministsand dalitmen who (likeHindu

reformers)

"hearth

of theirown", ratherthan align themselves to any political party

or mainstream

and

normative,

Many dalit men and women, dalit and non-dalit feminists

feminist movement

and

other po

liticalpartieswho share their interestsand agenda support such

dalit women's

endeavours?

are dalit men

Also,

dalit

supporting

women in fightingatrocities committedby upper castes? How

stantly
so
their
with dalitwomen's struggles?It is only
from
herself
discusses
these
hurdles
economic,
Kumud,
many dalitmen identify
and
health
the
contradictions
and complexities inherent
cial, political,
cultural, educational,
(Pa
perspectives
by understanding
wade 1998: 134-36).Another significantquestion that remains is indalitwomen's locationwithin various structures,by lookingat
how andwhen will dalitwomen fightthesehurdles?
their local context and constitution,
that dalit men
and upper
stare

I came

in the face of the "dalit of the dalits"

across

some

sometimes

who

respondents

challenged

the patriarchal leadership,making spaces for feminism in the

dalitmovement, and at other timesprivilege theirdalit-bahujan
over

identity
overcome.

ing dalit women

fied agenda
maintain

However,

gender.

Kusum

there were
lamented

Gangurde36

as stooges/puppets

and

movement.

for the women's

fronts and

token women's

to be

hurdles

many

that dalit men

were

that there was

no speci

Many

these were

us

not different.

can we

for dalit women

a strong

talk about
under

chul

separate

these devitalising

(mud

circumstances?

Fur

and

stove)

Who

is

the dalit women's ally in these transformationsand politics of

our times?
Some

dalit women

educated

cases.

ological
writer

the podium.

Ambedkar
women.

We

from the slums and

activist

noted
she, a

left the stage when

ascended

when

One

This

how

condemn
consider

a famous

dalit woman

woman

less educated

very

the lowly
them as path

brahmanical

attitude

we
should

upon

our own

that dalit

feminism

look down
note

sisters

and

cate

gory; it is rivenby caste and class differences.In thiscase,who is

the "real" friendof a dalitwoman? Kumud Pawade herself ends
her essay

on the note

that, "the day dalit women's

organisations

culture

histories,

in their own

self-hood

as caste

of

the diversity

dalit

and

lives,

identity as well

to resources

identity

to

is intrinsic

and power

unlike

brahman

women

the dalit men

together with

possible

for

towards

the suffering

caste oppression.
It is
against
to develop
and empathy
sympathy
that being a dalit entails.
oppression

the outsider
and

I argue for a porous struggle, thus building many bridges

borders

is not a homogeneous

personal

to understand

need

the specific

and theycannot risk strugglingagainst both sexism and casteist

tendencies. Their struggle is with dalit men against sexism

which

our community?

class,

Sexual

access

minimal

across

some dalit men as well as

is found among
disparaged
we then label ourselves
as "true Ambedkarites",

castes,

the understanding of the dalit woman. Dalit women have

activist

Should

We

of dalit

religion,

contexts.37

and
class women

dalit middle

educated

of dalit women.

experiences

ther,Gangurde complained that the [dalitmen and dalit v/omen

and theirmovement] youthwere vikhurlele (split and spread
out). How

Inmy view, it is importantnot to subsume dalit feminisminto

the overarching rubric of Indian feminism, for one needs to
comprehend the specificcontextof the femininityand oppressed
sexuality

parties

political

caste middle class women devise effectivepolitical challenges

and action.

feminist

and

movements,

or boundaries

dalit

and

the

and

movements,

not be defined

here may

fixed. Such

an agenda is to forge informedand engaged solidaritiesamong

ourselves,

in order

In particular,

to contest

dalit women

all sorts of and forms of brahmanism.

reach

may

out to,

be reached

out,.and

by otherwomen. In thisway a linkmay be forged between

feminist historians.

In the course of the interviewsInoted thatmost of thewomen,

as devotedwives, spoke verywell of theirhusbands in the con
fines of the familial. They maintained theirmaryada and re

deal with these challenges successfully, [itwould be understood

within
that] thatwould be a su-din,a good day" (ibid: 136).
mained
their "acceptable
boundaries".
Men
fear domina
Thus dalitwomen face complex and overlapping difficulties. tion from more highly educated women.
However
things are
One has to take intoconsideration the differentformsof oppres
gradually changing,we are definitely in differentand better
sions

that different women

lies in ranking

oppressions.

tive or essentialist
feminist,

face. Thus,

it seems

One

should

be aware

tendency

(whether

it be Marxist,

to grasp

one

of oppression

and

theoretical

or cultural

Economic& Politicalweekly

nationalist)

to posit

tSSEH October

3, 2009

that the danger

kind

of such

reduc

times

compared

being

formed,

to our mothers.
created,

and

these understandings

casteism,

and

Identities

reformed
and

of the everyday

also

over

of dalit women
time. Dalit men

those of rampant

constrictions

vol xliv no 40 45

This content downloaded from 121.241.25.137 on Fri, 22 May 2015 10:12:15 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

are
need

sexism

of dalit women's

Some women

lives.

agreed

that they could

engage

in a compan

mentioned

ionable relationshipwith their husbands, however unequal it

was.

Some

of the

second

and

third

generation

NOTES
1 Kancha Ilaiah has a whole chapter dedicated to
"Marriage, Market and Social Relations" (Ilaiah
1996: 20-35). Official data suggests that almost
27.4% of SC women have been beaten or physi
callymistreated since the age of 15years, in 25.2%
of cases by theirhusbands. See theNational Crime
Records Bureau's Crimes in India 2003 Report
(New Delhi, 2004), as available online on http://
ncrb.nic.in/crime2005/home.htm-figures.
2 Urmila Pawar, and her daughters - Malavika and
Manini, Borivili,Mumbai, 5-7 September 2004.
3 Desai and Krishnaraj (1987), p 33. Shudras are the
lowest strata in the fourfold division of Hindu
society. Unlike the untouchables, Shudras are
touchable. Emphasis ismine.

4 Neera Desai and Maithreyi Krishnaraj (1987), p 7.

These two authors say that theirwork is a text
book forwomen's studies in the institutions of
higher learning, providing a review of the rela
tionship between family, economy, education
and health.
5 See Mahua Sarkar'swork on exploring thecontexts
of the specific invisibilitiesand marginalisation

learners

also

ofMuslim women
Sarkar 2008.

that their statuses

were

no

less than

their husbands,

and thatdalit familieswere changing and granting independence

and greater

freedom

in late colonial Bengal

towomen.

in

6 See Sarkar 2008, p 9 and Antoinette Burton's

analysis of the "constitutive power" of the
trope of Indian womanhood in the "shaping of
....imperial discourses" in Britain in Burdens of
History, p 20.
7 Sangari and Vaid argue that dalit women have
been suppressed in the earlier literature.
8 There were many newspaper reports of this inci
dent. IAS stands for"Indian Administrative Serv
ices," the highest cadre of Indian bureaucracy
which all middle classes aspire to enter.
9 This conjecture finds it parallel to the western
case inwhich, "all women are white and all men
are niggers."

10 Madhu Kishwar in discussion with Jaya Jaitly in

"Samvad", The Times of India, 15August 1998. I
have borrowed this quote from Sonalkar 1999,
PP 24-25
11 My argument is endorsed byTharu and Niranjana
1999, P 497
12 Bhavnani 2001, p 5. Also see Sudbury 1998 foran
overview of these arguments among white

feministsand thirdworld feminists in theUK.

13 Newman 1999; P H Collins 1990, and works of
black feminist scholars Bell Hooks (2000), Angela
Davis (2001), Kimberly Crenshaw (1994) under
line thisview.
14 An insightfularticle by Clare Hemmings is criti
cal of an insistentnarrative of feministthoughtas
a relentlessmarch of progress (Hemmings 2005),
PP 115-39-1 thankAngie Willey, my graduate col
league at Emory forour discussions on the first
version ofmy paper.
15 Also see Bhagwat 1997,O'H^inlon 1994 foran ex
tended analysis on thispiece.
16 Ambedkar (1950). Reprinted (1965), p 18, esp see
pp 14, 18-25.Ambedkar examines Manu and his
Manu Smriti, which imposes various disabilities
onwomen.
17 I conducted interviewswith some predominant
SC communities in the cityof Pune. I do notwant
to enter into the difference in these castes here. I
interviewed three generations ofwomen mostly
belonging to the same family, thus it is a family
history.However, fromthis sample Ihave selected
only few interviewsforthepurposes of thispaper.

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QEC9

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18 Anon, 12July2006, Mumbai.

19 Shantabai Kuchekar (name changed), 8 January
2002, Pune.
20 Prakshoti Kadam (name changed), 10April 2002,
Pune.
21 Shantabai and Shobha Kuchekar, 8 January 2002.
22 Sometimes when Iwas talking to thewomen in
the presence of their husbands or in-laws, they
could not voice theiropinions openly. One anony
mous respondent.changed the place of our inter
view. We went fromher living room to her bed
roomwhen we came to such discussions. 15Au
gust 2004
23 Dr KirtiWaghmare (name changed), 12Novem
ber 2004, Pune.
24 Anon, 7 February 2002, Pune. I do not want to
name him.
25 Anon, 2 July2006, Pune.
26 This view and the succeeding discussion erupted
once again ina recentmajor conference on "Dalit
Studies", held at a leading institution in theUS.

27 Urmila, Pawar, Aaydaan (Popular Prakashan,

Mumbai, 2003), and in her interview, 7 Septem
ber 2004.
28 My usage of the term,"middle-paths" here draws
upon the Buddhist philosophy of "middle-path,"
that propounds a balanced lifebetween extreme
austerities, and extravagance and indulgence;
this is the "Noble EightfoldPath" of rightoutlook,
rightaims, rightspeech, rightaction, rightmeans
of livelihood, righteffort,rightmindfulness, and
rightconcentration.
29 Numerous writings of dalit women, some dalit
men, some non-dalit feministshave underscored
this view. Also see Rege, "DalitWomen Talk Dif
A Critique of'Difference'",
WS-39-WS-46.
ferently:
30 Rege's recentwork Writing Caste/Writing Gender
underlines the significanceof dalit women's voice
and literature.
31 See works of Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid
(1989),Uma Chakravarti (1998,2003), Kannabirans
(2003), Bhagwat (1997), Rege (2006), and so on.
32 I am very grateful toGail Omvedt for readily pro
viding this information.The StreeMukti Sangha
tana (affiliatedmostly with Lai Nishan Party),
Mahila Federation or AIDWA (CPI), Janawadi
Mahila Sanghatana (CPI(M), Purogami Stree
Sanghatana, StreeMukti Andolan Sampark Sami
ti (a broad leftistalliance arising out of 1975 Stri
Mukti Sangharsh Parishad), Shramik Sangha
tana, StriMukti Sangharsh Calval (affiliatedwith
Mukti Sangharsh and the Shramik Mukti Dal),
Samagra Mahila Aghadi (Shetkari Sanghatana),
Purogami Stree Sanghatana (mostly Andhra
based) are some examples.
33 Radha Kumar, The History of Doing, p. 110 and
personal communicationwith Gail Omvedt
34 Rege provides an excellent review of these devel
opments in Rege (2006) Writing Caste/Writing
Gender, pp 64-65, 67-71.
35 This agenda of "talking differently"was articu
lated as a "separate hearth" fordalit women and
was severely criticised by the Left and non-dalit
feministson various grounds: threatof being "au
tonomous organisations divorced fromparty poli
tics, identitarianpolitics limited to the experien
tial" and so on.
36 Kusum Gangurde, leader of women's RPI wing,
Borivili (W), Mumbai, 21 July2005.
37 I extend the thirdworld feminist renderings to
thecase ofdalitwomen in India. I am drawing upon
works ofMohanty (1988), pp 61-88;Mohanty et al
1991;Lorde 2003, pp 25-29.
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