International Journal Advances in Social Science and Humanities
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CASE STUDY
Elected Tribal Women Representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions in
Karnataka: A Study of Mysore District
Ashok Kumar H
1*, Mohan Kumari HM
21Institute of Development Studies, University of Mysore Manasagangothri, Mysore, Karnataka India.
2Independent researcher, Mysore, Karnataka India.
*Corresponding Author: E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Tribal women play the significance role in every society of that particular composition of population. India has one of the largest tribal concentrations in the world. Prior to the adoption of Indian constitution the tribes were variously termed as aboriginals, adivasis, forest tribes, hill tribes, primitive tribes etc. Up to 1919, the tribes were included under the head of depressed classes, the Indian Franchise Committee in 1919 accorded a separate nomenclature for the census reports in 1931 primitive tribes; 1941 tribes and 1951 scheduled tribes. In most cases except for a few exceptions like Parha (village heads) system, the posts of the village heads were hereditary. Thus they belong to a particular tribe. In the modern Panchayat System the people directly elect the Panchayat functionaries and this is seen to be more progressive while also standing the test of the Constitution of India. The women were seldom involved in the decision-making process under the traditional system. In most cases women can‟t head the village or inter-village organizations. This paper concentrated on the main objectives of to identify the decision making in PRIs, to study that where women are enjoying their roles and responsibilities and to identify the problems faced by tribal women elected representatives of the PRIs.
Keywords: Tribal women, Panchayati Raj Institution, Political participation and decision making.
Introduction
The contemporary development discourse in India is characterized by numerous drawbacks and skewed developments. Tribal concerns and more specifically that of tribal women is one such domain. Numbers of scholars have raised this issue in their own ways. Mehrotra, for example, emphasizes that the gender blindness of tribal development policies fail to address the specific needs of women due to their heavy emphasis on fixation and achievement of quantitative targets. They fail to realize that the problems of tribal women are linked to their status in their community, which often discriminates against them in terms of education, health and employment, political participation and other such specific needs [1].
India has one of the largest tribal concentrations in the world. Prior to the adoption of Indian constitution the tribes were variously termed as aboriginals, adivasis, forest tribes, hill tribes, primitive tribes etc. Up to 1919, the tribes were included under the head of depressed classes, the
Indian Franchise Committee in 1919 accorded a separate nomenclature for the census reports in 1931 primitive tribes; 1941 tribes and 1951 scheduled tribes.
As per the 2001 census, the tribals inhabit in almost all the states and union territories. The government has identified more than 630 tribal communities in the country. Scheduled tribes have been divided into three major groups based on their distribution in three well-defined zones viz., the southern, the central and the northeastern zones.
Southern zone consists of the part of peninsular India, south of the River Krishna. The tribes in this zone appear to be the most ancient inhabitants of India. Now, they are called as the Todas, Paniyans, Kurumbas / Kurubas, Kotas, Soligas, Malayalees, Kadars, Kanichars,
Mutheevans, Mannans, Irulas, Uralis,
some of the more primitive and isolated tribes like the Kadars, the Irulas, the Paniyans, and the Uralis. Their livelihood based on hunting, food collection and gathering. The village headman adjudicates the disputes of the tribal communities. The structure of society is based on the matriarchal character and there is, or was till recently evidence of polyandry among the Nilgiri tribes.
The central zone has provided refuge for the aboriginal population from time immemorial and it consists of the plateaus and mountainous belts between Indo-Gangetic basin in north and the Krishna River in the south. The Juangs, Kharias, Hos, Santhals, Gonds, Bhils, Mundas, Oraons, Birhors, Bhuiyas, Saoras, Khands, Baigas and Kols are the major tribes found in this region. They conform to the pattern of Austroloid characters. Shifting cultivation is the prevalent of food production. Community life is organized with village councils under headman. Contact with low country people and other persons of the surrounding areas have led to a considerable degree of assimilation of Indian ideas and religious rites among these tribes.
The Northeastern zone consists of the sub-Himalayan region and the hills and mountain ranges of northeastern India of the Tista valley and the Jamuna-Padma portion of the Brahmaputra valley. The main tribes found in this zone are the Nagas, Khousis, Gares, Mistruis, Limbus, Lepehas, Daflas, Abors, Mitims, Bodo and the Kuki-Lushais. The Mongoloid characters found among them.
Definition of the Scheduled Tribes
The word „tribe‟ has been defined clearly in the Constitution of India. Article 342 of the Constitution of India empowers the President to draw up a list of scheduled tribes in consultation with the Governor of each State subject to the revision by the Parliament. Accordingly the President has made orders, specifying the scheduled tribes in the different states of India. In post-independence period, the decision as to which community is a tribe and which one is not taken by the administration and not by the social scientists. Thus any community, which is listed in the schedule of the Constitution as a tribe is known as the scheduled tribes in India.
Most of the definitions of tribes are confusing and vague. There is haziness and the definitions are never precise. Some of the definitions of the word tribe are given below.
An East Asian Conference defined “ A tribal community as forming a group of people generally constituting a homogenous unit, speaking a common language, claiming a common ancestry, living in a particular geographical area, generally they are lacking in scientific knowledge and modern technology and having a social structure based on kinship”.
According to Oxford Dictionary “A tribe is a group of people in primitive in barbarous stage of development, acknowledging the authority of a chief and usually regarding themselves as having a common ancestor”.
“A tribe is a collection of families or groups of families bearing a common name, members of which occupy the same territory, speak the same language and observe certain taboos regarding marriage, profession or occupation. A tribe is ordinarily an endogenous unit, is a political unit in the sense that the tribal society owning a political organization of its own.
“A tribe as the social unit larger than the local group with which the families of a local community almost have a sense belonging”. Other author opines that “the tribe is generally refers to territorial communities living in isolation of hills and forests”.
Apart from the Scheduled Tribes, there are 75 indigenous groups in India known as „Primitive Tribal Groups‟. The Tenth Plan of the Central Government observes that these vulnerable communities have experienced a „decline in their sustenance base and the resultant food insecurity, malnutrition and ill-health has forced them to live in the most fragile living conditions and some of them are even under the threat of getting extinct‟. In Karnataka, the Koragas of Dakshina Kannada district and the Jenu Kurubas who are concentrated in the districts of Mysore, Chamarajnagar and Kodagu are classified as „primitive tribes‟.
qualitative difference as they are making the state sensitive towards issues of poverty, inequality, and gender injustice by bringing their experience of governance of civic society in to governance of state.
Objectives of the Study
To identify the tribal women‟s participation in decision making in PRIs.
To study the women are enjoying their roles and responsibilities regarding participation.
To identify the problems faced by tribal women elected representatives of the PRIs at the time of taking decision.
Methodology
Rationale selection of the sample Hadies in H.D. Kote, Hunsur and Periyapatna taluks in Mysore District. The office of the members in the two villages‟ panchayats in each taluks is reserved for women candidates belonging to Schedule Tribes. Individual case studies of the Panchayat members were recorded by conducting personal interview and probing into various aspects of their achievements and constraints. The filed investigation was conducted by administering a detailed questionnaire and through personal interviews. The main tool of data collection was carefully prepared questionnaire for the various categories of sample respondents who included, women panchayat members of the sample villages and Male representatives of the sample villages.
Table 1: Taluk wise distribution of tribal population in Mysore district
Taluks Hadies No. of Kuruba Jenu Kuruba Kadu Yarava Soliga Hakki Pikki Gerasia Dongri Total
H.D. Kote 114 16761
(47.79) (100) 2430 (94.33) 1547 (52.46) 2630 (31.51) 512 - (51.67) 23880
Hunsur 51 11329
(32.31) - (5.67) 93 (32.89) 1649 (68.49) 1113 (89.59) 396 (31.55) 14580
K.R. Nagara - - - -
Mysore 1 - - - 518
(10.33)
- - 518
(1.12)
Nanjanagud 5 1195
(3.41) - - (0.80) 40 - - (2.67) 1235
Periyapatna 30 5783
(16.49) - - (3.52) 176 - (10.41) 46 (12.99) 6005
T. Narasipura - - - -
Total 201 35068
(100) (100) 2430 (100) 1640 (100) 5013 (100) 1625 (100) 442 46218 (100)
Source: Annual Report 2011-12 DSO, Mysore
Table 1 shows that talukwise distribution of tribal population in mysore District. H.D. Kote taluk had the highest number of 23,880 tribes which accounted for 51.67 per cent. Followed by Hunsur taluk with 14580 (31.55), Periyapatna taluk with 6005 (12.99%), Nanjanagud taluk with 1235 (2.67%) and lowest tribes in Mysore taluk with 518 which accounted for 1.12 per cent. K.R. Nagara and T. Narasipura taluks was no tribal population.
The table also shows that distribution of sub category wise of tibes. As per annual report 2009-10 Mysore District has the highest of 35,068 June Kuruba tribes, followed by Soliga tribe 5013, Kadu Kuruba tribe 2430, Yarava tribe 1640, Hakki Pikki tribe 1625 and lowest number of 442 Dongri Geresia tribes.
H.D. Kote taluk have highest of 16761 Jenu Kuruba tribes which accounting by 47.79 per cent,
respectively. It is observed that highest number of tribes are situated in H.D. Kote taluk, Hunsur Taluk and Periyapatna taluks in Mysore District. And other taluks like Mysore, Nanjangud taluk are lowest. The K.R. Nagara taluk and T. Narasipura taluks are not having tribal people.
Women in the Panchayati Raj Institution
of Mysore District
The political representation of women the contribution of Phillips has been important in reasoning that the foundations of representation need to move from a “politics of ideas” to a “politics of presence”. Phillips has four key arguments for a politics of presence; first, the importance of symbolic recognition, second, the need to tackle those exclusions inherent in the party-packaging of political ideas, thirdly, the need for a more vigorous advocacy for disadvantaged groups, and fourthly, the importance of a politics of transformation in opening up a full range of policy options [2].
Some objections have been raised against the concept of politics of presence. Accordingly these consist out of three main arguments; the fear of undermining social cohesion, the undermining of the basis for political accountability, and the turn to a more deliberative democracy [2].Phillips own main caution is that a system of representation following the politics of presence is not enough on its own: “Changing the gender composition of elected assemblies is largely an enabling condition but it cannot present itself as a guarantee.” [2].
In research on representation of women an important image of presence, due to gender related structures, and is in itself not a sufficient feature to receive the possibilities for an active participation of women. In political bodies, the women get posts “filled with responsibilities but without power”. Authors note that a difference between normal power and effective power, where problems based on gender is hinder elected women. In an attempt to analyze these problems has created a framework where she identifies the obstacles that women elected to parliaments face.
The Tribal women representatives are identifies with socio-economic, psychological and political
obstacles in PRIs. Socio-economic obstacles like;
Lack of financial facilities, Lack of education facility and choice of professions and Constraints of domestic tasks and professional benefits, psychological problems are Women‟s low self-confidence, endorsed by certain cultural patterns which do not facilitate women‟s access to political
field and Lack of media, and publicity to women‟s contributions in panchayats and poltical constraints are Lack of political party support, including financial and other resources to fund women‟s campaigns and boost their political, social and economic credibility, Type of election system as well as the type of quota provisions and the degree to which they are enforced, Many of PRIs according to male standards and political attitudes and Lack of coordination with and support from women‟s organizations.
Findings of the Studies
The history was made in Mysore District when fifty five per cent of seats at the Panchayati Raj level were won by women after thirty long years. It has also seen that the three-tier Panchayat elections were finally concluded in Mysore District, generating great enthusiasm and participation at the grassroots with more than seventy percent polling and importance of participation of women and youth. It also saw the participation of the backward classes and especially the tribal women in the scheduled area. In most cases except for a few exceptions like leader (village heads) system, the posts of the village heads were hereditary.
Thus they belong to a particular tribe. In the modern Panchayat System the people directly elect the Panchayat functionaries and this is seen to be more progressive while also standing the test of the Constitution of India. The women were participating in the decision-making process under the traditional system. In most cases women can‟t head the village or inter-village organizations. While the Panchayat extension scheduled Area (PESA)provides for reservation of seats for women at different tiers of PRIs as a result of this women has been coming with great excitement and participating in the political forum. Women also contested from unreserved seats as well and elected. But it has also very true that they are not actually enjoying their rights and duties what in the PESA act provides so far. All the decisions and judgments in Panchayats have been taken by their respected husbands or mens.
and selling intoxicants in the village despite all their concerns and unity on the issue. The traditional system seems to be basically operating at two levels, village and inter-village. While the modern system talks of three-tier structure, village, Taluk and district level which is more democratic and decentralized in nature.
But in Mysore District particularly in tribal areas elected women representative are still in disorder and confusion for their rights and duties. As even in the traditional System the posts of the village heads were hereditary, and divisions were made only on the basis of tribes, the non-tribes were being excluded from holding the offices. This appears to an important point in the context of the raging controversy over the reservation of seats in the Schedule region of the District. However a closer look at the Act would suggest that provisions empowering Gram Sabha has their own fault lines [3-9].
Conclusion
It has helped for build up their confidence and they can now think of wresting there, due to position of the local politics. This is a great effort from the tribal women, because they have become the guardians of good practices but they have been able to check corruption in the area to a large extent through a self monitoring process.
There are needs for the interventions in strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions with concentrate on capacity building, promoting and empowering new leadership of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe womens. There is essential for evaluation of the reservation criteria and impact of Elected Tribal Women Representatives on the Panchayats functions and leadership with reference to Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Extension to Schedule Aras) Act.
References
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