A Report on the Politics of Inclusion: Adivasi Women in Local Governance in Karnataka

Abstract

In India, devolution of power to local institutions is a principle that has been in public perspective since independence (1947). Affirmative action was considered as an important means to ensure that decentralized institutions became participatory, and disadvantaged sections could be represented in political institutions. The 73rd Amendment of the Constitution furthered the commitment to women in local governance by making provisions through reservation of seats. Seats have been reserved for women, Dalits (Scheduled Castes), and Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes)—groups that were earlier only marginally represented in governance. The inclusion of disadvantaged sections has in principle ensured equality of political opportunities. However, the outcome of these institutional changes has not met expectations. The skewed power relations in local governance is an indication that inclusion alone is not a solution to the earlier exclusion of different sections of the population from politics and governance.¹