Women's alienation - Bibliothek der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

154 Pages·2009·1.34 MB·English

by  Balaji Pandey

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Balaji Pandey
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Introduction
Women’s Alienation
Land Less Development
Balaji Pandey
© Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2009
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
ISBN: 81-7440-066-4
Design and printing:
New Concept Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Email: [email protected]
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, India office, for its collaboration
to make this study possible. We would also like to express our thanks to
Damyanty Sridharan, Senior Adviser FES, for her cooperation in this
endeavour.
Our sincere thanks to Dr. Ram Dayal Munda, Prof. Ramesh Saran and
Dayamani Barla in Jharkhand; Ilina Sen, and Shashi Behen in Chhattisgarh and
Prof. Asha Hans and Amrita Patel in Orissa for their support in conducting
case studies and also for helping us in identifying areas for field study. Our
special thanks are due to Ginny Srivastava, Kanchan Mathur, Virendra Vidrohi,
Ashok Mathur, Bhanwar Singh, Dr. K.N. Joshi in Rajasthan and Awadhesh
Kaushal, Hem Gairola, Sreedhar, Dr. Dinesh Pratap Singh, and Pushpa
Chauhan in Uttarakhand for their valuable discussion and consultation with
our study team.
We are also indebted to the displaced women activists who are leading
various struggles against land alienation for allowing us to study the processes
and strategies they adopted to continue the struggle. We are also indebted
to the women victims alienated from their land in Dhinkli Gram Panchayat
of Udaipur for sharing their traumatic experience and ongoing struggles for
protecting their land.
Study Team
Balaji Pandey
Jagabandhu Das
Suresh Sahu
Santosh Kiro
Jitendra Chahar
Raghu Tewari
iv
Foreword
Projects varying from multi-purpose dams, reservoirs, power plants or any
other industries have led to large-scale displacement, destruction of livelihood,
cultures and also the physical environment. While local communities were
adversely affected, the issue of women in such situations has never been
considered. Women are the worst victims of displacement. They have no
property rights on the land which provides their livelihood and thus they
are not entitled to compensation when this land is no longer within their
reach. Although women have participated in large numbers in the protest
movements against the development projects inducing displacement, yet
they have not been equal beneficiaries in the rehabilitation packages. The
visible effect of this has been migration, violence and trafficking, disruption
of culture, values and social practices.
In this context, it is very crucial to raise questions of equity, fairness, justice
and equality before the law and in practice in the matter of distribution
of benefits and burdens. Some projects like the Narmada Valley Project
have received national and international attention due to sustained efforts
of dedicated women and men and organisations. However, there are
innumerous Narmadas which need similar attention. The present study is one
such attempt to do so. Its main objectives are to document land alienation
processes in the states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan and
Uttrakhand , and its impact on women’s livelihood. It highlights organised and
peaceful efforts by women to resist land grabbing (own as well as common
property) and assesses what coping mechanisms women have adopted for
survival.
v
In order to facilitate the discussion on crucial issues related to the
development process in India, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung publishes a
series of books and papers of which this publication is a part. The Friedrich-
Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is a non-profit, NGO supported by the Government of
Germany. Aiming at the strengthening of democratic structures, the FES
promotes training and policy oriented research programmes in Germany and
in cooperation with partner organisations - in more than 100 countries across
the world. The India office of FES works with policy makers, academic and
research organisations, trade unions, and NGOs. Within the overall gender
approach the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality Project of the
FES aims at the economic and political empowerment of women. Facilitating
workshops and round tables, action based research and publications are an
integral part of this work.
Damyanty Sridharan
Senior Adviser
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
India Office
vi
Contents
Acknowledgements iii
Foreword v
Introduction 1
Impact of Aggressive Growth 13
Organised Response 34
Process of Land Alienation 65
Jharkhand 65
Chhattisgarh 70
Orissa 77
Uttarakhand 85
Rajasthan 101
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations 123
Select Bibliography 131
Selected FES Publications 140
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