Dalit Struggles in Marathwada

Sanjay Suman (CRY) shares how dalit empowerment is slowly ending caste
hegemony in Marathwada; November 10, 2008

Meena Londe is no longer who she used to be. Not so long ago, it was the
custom to hide if she saw a strange man in the vicinity. Talking to a man
who was not from the family was out of question. 'We were taught from
childhood that it's against the custom for women to come out and talk
freely', she says.

Coming from a dalit family did not make it any easier. Meena was used to
seeing her husband get beaten up for something as minor as asking for his
full wages from the dominant castes in the village. Decades of such
treatment had led to a feeling of general helplessness. All protests were
limited to remain within the family.

'This was the situation in which we found woman 5 years ago, when we
started work in the area', says BP Suryavanshi, from Kalapandhari Magas
Vargiya and Adivasi Gramin Vikas Sanstha (KMVAGVS). 'We would go almost
every day and try and talk to women separately, then gradually, as they
got used to the idea, in self-help groups. We realized that a lot of anger
and the will to change things was there, it only needed to be openly
expressed.' From this anger, women like Meena from Wangdari, a village in
Latur, Maharashtra, realized that the lands that they till on daily wages
are actually theirs.

Powered by this belief, villages in Wangdari started cultivating the
common pasturelands around the village collectively. This left the
dominant castes in the village outraged, 'They thought, these people who
were our daily wage slaves till yesterday, how can we let them become
self-reliant?�' explains Suryavanshi. The local power elite threatened men
from familys like Meena. 'But I stood in front of the men and told them,
'if you have the power try and touch my husband and then I'll show you
what we can do.' Recalls Meena.

Once, just as the men got tractors to work on the field, they were stopped
by the dominant castes. Meena and her friends came forward and said, 'If
you are afraid you be here , but we'll work on the field.' Following word
by deed, they all formed a group and went to the field for work.

A typical SHG meeting in the village comprises sitting together and
discussing various issues that they face in their day to day life, such as
the use of common water taps. In Wangdari, these women are now fighting to
get equal access to water since the so-called 'upper' castes try to
restrict their access.

The difference between Meena's group in Wangdari and other women can be
seen when we meet other women of the same caste who are still living in
the same traditional manner of extreme discrimination , where the women
are not allowed to come out of their homes or talk to strangers, for fear
of being tagged as a 'bad character'.

In a first, Meena recently stood for the Deputy Sarpanch elections.
Although she lost the elections, the very fact that a dalit women (the
last and the least of the village's citizens) could stand for elections is
a tremendous source of pride and faith for the community in general and
women in particular. They put up a spirited demand for equal wages, with
the result that are getting Rs. 40 - double of what they were getting
earlier and the same as men's daily wages. Since they have their own lands
to till now, an interesting aside is that the local 'upper' castes have to
plead with them to get any work done on their fields now. 'Earlier, they
would call us by our caste names, used almost like abuses, Aye Maan! Or
Aye Mahar! They'd say. Now they speak to us with respect and ask us, Could
you come today? The most important things is that now we know that getting
work is our right and not a favour.'

Nieghbouring villages like Dighol Deshmukh are taking a leaf from Meena's
book. A self-help group is forming fast. In Kajalhipargha, as many as 16
Mahila Gats have formed, with 10 women in each gat. The Mahila Gat gives
loans to the men whenever required, especially for emergencies like
hospitalization.

'If we don't do anything to improve our lot, we'll remain underdeveloped',
says Meena. The traditional clutches of helplessness and dependency are
forever gone from their lives, and now women like Meena are taking the
next steps by making sure children go to school and complete their
education.

thesouthasian.org/archives/2008/dalit_struggles_in_marathwada.html

------------------------------------

Replying to this email will send an e-mail to 10000+ members of Jharkhand Forum.
Also, it will be instantly published on 20 blogs of EI & Jharkhand Group.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Jharkhand Forum's Posting Norms http://jharkhand.org.in/posting_norms.htm

Add your ORG Name in Directory - http://directory.jharkhand.org.in

Wanna be an Internet Volunteer? go to: http://volunteer.jharkhand.org.in

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

YOU CAN HELP US: http://www.jharkhand.org.in/help-us-to-promote-jharkhand

MAKE FUNDING / DONATION APPEAL HERE @ http://FUNDING-APPEAL.blogspot.com

Get yourname@jharkhandi.com, Sign-up here http://email.jharkhandi.com

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Join Jharkhand Net @ http://network.jharkhandi.com to Make New Friends.

Learn more about Jharkhand Forum http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=vUe37cJ3BAA

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/Jharkhand/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/Jharkhand/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:Jharkhand-digest@yahoogroups.co.in
mailto:Jharkhand-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.co.in

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Jharkhand-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.co.in

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://in.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/