Writing Dalit women in political economy of agrarian crisis and resistance in Punjab

Abstract

In recent years, Punjab has witnessed significant political mobilisation of small-marginal peasants and agricultural labour in several parts of the state. The participation and leadership of Dalit women in these mobilisations is even more noteworthy. Punjab has been a centre of peasant struggles but these have been in the past the bastion of male farmers. Today this is changing in a significant way. In the recent agrarian mobilisations in Punjab, women, landless Dalit and marginalised farmers have been an integral part. These mobilisations are around issues of the rights of Dalits over village commons, their right to live in the villages even when the distribution of resources is such that it leaves them no ownership of the land they live on and till, the recognition that Punjab's agrarian crisis – evident in the suicides of peasants – is being borne also by the landless and, above all for ending impunity for sexual violence which women, and Dalit women in particular, endure as caste and patriarchal oppression. The coming together in these movements of labouring Dalit women and men and the immiserised small and marginal peasantry, including their women, are opening the possibility of building new solidarities and political alliances of the oppressed. These movements also return us to some of the long-standing questions in feminist politics and understanding around political alliances with movements which are presenting a critique of the contemporary mode of production and distribution and which, at the same time, are trying to grapple with caste and gender questions.

Notes

1 The study is based on primary data and field observations pertaining to 36 villages, spread over 12 districts of Punjab. Out of these 12 districts, 3 are from Majha, 2 are from Doaba and 7 are from Malwa. In all, there were 7669 households in the 36 sampled villages. Nearly 67% households are landless and 33% are land owners.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Navsharan Singh

Navsharan Singh. Address: International Development Research Centre, Asia Regional Office, 208 Jor Bagh, New Delhi, India. [Email: [email protected]]