Dimensions of Social Exclusion

Dimensions of Social Exclusion:

Ethnographic Explorations

Edited by

K.M. Ziyauddin and Eswarappa Kasi

 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations,
Edited by K.M. Ziyauddin and Eswarappa Kasi

This book first published 2009

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright © 2009 by K.M. Ziyauddin and Eswarappa Kasi and contributors

All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN (10): 1-4438-1342-7, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-1342-6

 Dedicated to

“the sufferings of the excluded communities”

Rightly said

"The world is full of suffering; it is also full of overcoming it."

—Helen Keller
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ........................................................................................................ ix
Sanghmitra S Acharya

Acknowledgements ................................................................................... xv

Dimensions of Social Exclusion: An Introduction ...................................... 1

K M Ziyauddin

Chapter One................................................................................................. 7
Dalits and Social Exclusion—Understanding the Conceptualization
K.M. Ziyauddin

Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 23

Social Exclusion and Marginalization of Muslims of Delhi:
A Sociological Study
Azra Abidi and Ehtesham Hussain

Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 39

Rural Muslim Women and their Quality of Life in Birbhum, West Bengal
Sharmishtha Bhattacharjee

Chapter Four.............................................................................................. 63
Politics of Gender: Issues and Challenges of Muslim Women in India
K.M. Ziyauddin and Sheik Moinuddin

Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 93

History of People’s Empowerment in Modern India
Fasahat Shamoon

Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 111

Distance Education and Urdu Linguistic Minority:
A Case Study of MANUU
S.M. Rahmatullah
viii Table of Contents

Chapter Seven.......................................................................................... 129

Democratic Decentralization and Social Justice through Panchayati Raj
Institutions: The Constitutional Perspectives
Mushtaq Ahmad

Chapter Eight........................................................................................... 141

The Khasi Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh: Are they Marginalized?
Faisal Ahmmed

Chapter Nine............................................................................................ 169

Communal Violence, Police and Minorities in India
Zafar Minhaz, Md. Afroz and Mohd Asif

Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 189

Muslims of India—Challenges, Rights and Responsibilities:
A Need for Introspection
Salil Kader

Editors and Contributors.......................................................................... 197

 PREFACE

Social exclusion has several dimensions. It exists in various spheres and in

many forms. Race and caste have however dominated the discourse on
social exclusion. In its simplest understanding, social exclusion is lack of
access to resources and consequent inability to utilize them. It is further
accentuated by denial of opportunities which enhance access to resources
and their utilization. It can, therefore be experienced by anyone who is in a
position which is vulnerable to such impeding conditions. Thus, besides
caste and race, religion, age, gender, social position and occupational
hierarchy-are all potentially volatile to social exclusion. Stratification of
human populations occurs at various levels and in many forms. It has a
reflection of power dynamics which exist between people and also
between population groups. This drives some caste and religious groups to
be more advantaged as against others. The young and the elderly
population are likely to be less equipped as compared to the adults in the
sphere of work. The elders may be the dominating persons within the
household; making the young and the adults vulnerable. Similarly, the
gender roles are likely to put women at certain disadvantages vis-à-vis
men. Superimposing this with lack of access to education and
employment; other incomes; land ownership and political participation- all
are drivers to accentuate social exclusion. Thus, people who are socially
excluded are vulnerable. Social exclusion can happen to anyone. Specially
as society moves towards newer technological and economic progress, it
elevates and improves the opportunities for some people – and leaves
others behind. Individuals who belong to underprivileged groups or
minority social groups are at higher risk of facing social exclusion.

Although social exclusion is used extensively in the current debates on

equity and equitable access to resources and opportunities, it is, however, a
very vague concept. There are no common measures on social exclusion.
It is viewed as an umbrella concept for measures and policies for
combating unemployment, dependency and poverty. These are social
phenomenon which have different causes and consequences and often
involve different population groups. The causes of social exclusion have
been attributed to the economic and social changes in free-market
economies, and to weaknesses in government policies and services.
x Preface

The concept of social exclusion has its origins in France. The former
French president of the European Commission, Jacques Delors, promoted
this concept in connection with the poverty programmes of the European
Union in the beginning of the 1990´s. Since then, social exclusion has
become of major concern in the European Union and outside. The main
thrust on the concept of social exclusion in the region of its origin has been
for poverty alleviation and thus for addressing unemployment, low
income, poor jobs, homelessness, poor health, low qualifications and
leaving school early, gender inequalities, discrimination and racism,
handicaps, old age, divorce, drug abuse and alcoholism and to be living in
a deprived socio-economic area. Most of the debate has therefore,
surrounded the labour market.

Social exclusion is a universal phenomenon which has existed over time

and space. However, in India, social exclusion has been predominantly
used in understanding caste based discrimination. Caste is a unique
determinant of social exclusion in the Indian Sub-continent. There are
various forms of social exclusion experienced by the Dalits in different
spheres. Historically, the Dalits were deprived of education; right to
possess assets; and the right to possess weapons to protect themselves. The
code of conduct that deprives them of these rights- Manusmriti- was
written three thousand years back. The dalits experience the agony of
social exclusion very deeply in social, economic and political spheres. As
Gail Omvedt puts in her book titled Dalit Vision, and published by Orient
Longman, New Delhi in 2006:

The Dalits rights and dignity have often been abused by dominant vested
interests. It has been aggravated because of the continued animosity of the
dominant vested interests, growing assertions of the aggrieved and the age
long prejudice and the partisan attitudes of the state machinery towards the
Dalits.

There are instance where Dalits are not permitted to draw water from
common wells and hand pumps; separate utensils are used to serve them in
tea and food stalls, they are not allowed entry into the temples and Dalit
children are made to sit at the back of the classroom. The situation is even
worse in rural areas where the majority of the population and Dalits reside.
The constitution of India grants Dalits certain privileges that include
reservations in education, government jobs, and government bodies; and
protection against caste based discrimination. However, the upper caste
people have been demanding the withdrawal of these Acts by rendering
the argument of meritocracy and on the ground of the misuse of these Acts
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations xi

against the upper caste people. Despite these provisions and assumed
‘misuses’, Dalits are subjected to atrocities and social exclusion by the
dominant castes in order to maintain their caste superiority and display the
power dynamics. Rise in the incidence of violence against the Dalits is
also attributed to the increasing level of awareness and assertion among
them.

Therefore, social exclusion is related to lack of access to services and

goods offered by societies. Social and religious groups appear to
accentuate social exclusion by denying certain opportunities pertaining to
social and religious practices and access to services and resources. Caste-
base exclusion percolates through various opportunities for enhancing
access to resources- education, health care and work. Thus social
exclusion can be understood through three basic tenets of complete and
partial exclusion; and unfavorable inclusion.

In case of complete exclusion or complete denial of services and access to

resources; people are completely excluded from availing some services
and accessing resources for whatever reasons. Although, the state entails
to provide services to all without any discrimination, yet many are left
without any access to and utilization of resources. There are services,
opportunities and information to which access is denied completely to
certain groups of people.

Many a times some people have access to some services and not to other.
This is partial denial of services and access to resources. People are
discriminated by the services providers and co-users at the place of
services delivery in terms of priority and proximity. This is partial denial
of services and access to resources. It is evident in three ways-
Differential treatment by the service providers/resources owners
Differential treatment by the co-users of the services/resources
Differential treatment for certain services/resources

(a) Differential treatment by the service providers

and resource owners
There can be different types of service providers and resource owners-
public sector, private sector, non-profit/NGO sector. The providers can
have different interest and therefore the service provisioning can be
differential in terms of-
xii Preface

Providing no, less, or wrong information;

Providing discriminatory treatment at the place of delivery of services
and availability of resources;
Involuntary inclusion or exclusion in some schemes pertaining to
services and resources;
Discriminatory treatment during home visits by service providers and
resource owners;
Behaviour and attitude of the service providers and resource owners.

(b) Differential treatment by the co-users

of the services and resources
The co-users of the services and resources can discriminate in use of space
for waiting to get the services or access the resources. Their behaviour and
attitude can be derogatory, dominating and suppressing. They may not be
allowing the use of services or access to resources when it may actually be
due to the people from the excluded groups.

(c) Differential treatment for certain services

Excluded groups are not given the space to participate and interact like
others and express openly to the service provider. They are often assumed
to be incapable of any participation and thus decisions for them are taken
by others.

Unfavourable or forced inclusion for certain services access to resources.

Very often some people are forced to avail some services in spite of their
unwillingness. This is considered as unfavourable or forced inclusion.
There are evidences of forceful inclusion in certain services for some
specific groups. There could be forceful inclusion in participation in health
camps; sanitation and cleaning of the village; local self governing bodies
like Panchayats, in case of mothers.

Unlike the West, where the concept of social exclusion was evolved and
promoted, India has historically been multi-religious, multi-lingual, multi-
cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-racial community. With the technologies
advancing and economy marching forward, issues of social exclusion and
inclusion have become very important. Several factors come into play-
caste hierarchy neglects those at the bottom of the social ladder; a class
society ignores those from the lower classes; minority religions may
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations xiii

experiences discrimination from those adhering to the norms of majority

religious groups. Some ethnic and cultural societies may be marginalized
because they may not constitute core culture or ethnicity. The problem of
exclusion becomes much more acute in view of scarce resources. Even in
advanced economies exclusion both on the basis of race and class is a
well-known phenomenon. The African Americans in the United States of
America face racial prejudice even today and incidence of poverty among
them continues to be very high. Despite its level of development,
economic advancement and highly developed democratic institutions;
USA cannot claim total inclusion of all sections of society. White majority
monopolizes major chunk of all resources. Many Asian have richly
contributed to economies and services in the developed countries, yet they
experience social prejudices. They have not been fully integrated in social,
cultural and economic realms of their resident countries. Even if they are
citizens of these countries, they face social exclusion. Thus, social
exclusion is important universally. In most of the countries religious and
cultural minorities are experiencing social exclusion.

In case of India it has always been multi-cultural, multi-religious and

multi-ethnic for millenniums. People from different religious- Buddhists,
Jains, Christians or Muslims-all have existed in this country, unlike
western countries, where most have migrated from outside. Muslims who
came from Central or Western Asia centuries ago have embrace India as
their land. No Muslim in India is likely to have any knowledge of their
foreign origin and ancestry. Interestingly, those who came from outside
centuries ago were much smaller in number compared to an overwhelming
majority who converted from Indian stock. The Christians too are not of
foreign origin. Others, the Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs are all Indian origin.
In spite of this, social exclusion has been important for all minorities but
much more so for Christians and Muslims. Their exclusion from social,
cultural, economic and political processes poses various problems. In the
recent times, Muslims have faced social exclusion based on the prejudices
derived out of the terror acts done by some who claimed to profess this
religion. Media has highlighted reports how terror is being cultivated by
some of these groups. However, Islam teaches that all human beings,
irrespective of community or race, are children of the same set of primal
parents- As the Quran states:

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female,

and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not
that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the
sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. (Quran 49:13).
xiv Preface

This basic Islamic teaching about the whole of humankind being children
of the same parents stresses the need for consciousness of our common
humanity and of us being brothers unto each other. The world over,
religious symbols and markers- dress, hair style and facial hair, clothings
have been the target of fear, ridicule and some obnoxious judgments.
Wearing of turban and burqa and the recent most burqani- the swimsuits
which cover the whole body; sporting a beard- all have invited legal
judgment which have further accentuated the social exclusion which the
relevant population groups have been experiencing. In addition, these
judgments have also rationalized, in some inexplicable way, the fear of
these symbols and markers among common man, despite the fact that the
9/11 terrorists, the Parliament bomber-Afzal Guru and the young Kasab of
infamous 26/11 did not sport a beard!

The present volume has very timely addressed the issues of social
exclusion not only pertaining to caste but also to religion, tribe and gender.
It is a commendable work which has been put together in the form of
intensely research papers ranging from issues of dalits, minorities, Muslim
women, rural areas and tribes to the politics of gender. Given the present
regime of upward growth of the economy, it is essential for the state to
recognize the need of abandoning caste, religion, region and ethnicity
based social exclusion. The book propels the understanding further that
social exclusion had to be addressed for future technological advancement,
economic growth and development of the country.

Sanghmitra S Acharya
Associate Professor, Centre of Social medicine and Community Health
School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
110067
And Adjunct Associate Professor
(Fall-Spring Semester 2008-09)
Department of Sociology, College of Sciences and Humanities, Ball State
University, Muncie, Indiana (US)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to my institution Maulana Azad National Urdu University

(MANUU), which provided me space to look into the deeper on the issues
of social exclusion. Every born issue or tissue needs a womb to flourish
and get nurtured. The establishment of the Centre for the Study of Social
Exclusion & Inclusive Policy is one of the platforms, which gave me an
opportunity to work on social exclusion. This is very significant because
this centre is committed to work on the issues of excluded communities
and provide some understanding based on facts and figures to the
researchers and policy makers to use the data base for the equitable policy
formulations. I must thank to all my colleagues (Dr P H Mohammad, Dr
Farida Siddiqui, Dr S A Thaha, Nageshwara Rao, Mohasina Anjum and Dr
Masood Ali Khan) in the centre and especially Prof. Abdul Matin, the
Director, CSSEIP, who have been actively engaging in the critical
understating to the concept of exclusion and contextualizing exclusion in
Indian context, which helped me a lot and equally to other friends.

I thank all the contributors, who agreed to write these interesting papers
and bearing to accommodate all my feedback in their papers.

This is important note of thanks, to mention Dr Sanghmitra Acharya (JNU,

New Delhi) and her continuous support. Her effort to go through the full
manuscript to write the preface for the book is immeasurable. The mention
to express my thanks is also to Prof. Tulsi Patel, Delhi School of
Economics, University of Delhi, for her constant support and guiding me
critically on academic fronts.

My friend and co-editor of the volume Dr Eswarappa Kasi has special

name to be thanked for his continuous effort to bring this volume into
reality.

KM Ziyauddin
Hyderabad
August 2009
 DIMENSIONS OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION:
AN INTRODUCTION

K.M. ZIYAUDDIN

The present book discusses largely on the aspects of social exclusion in the
context of communities who have or have not yet been debated in the
mainstream development benefits. The contemporary understanding about
social exclusion has created interest among the academia and policy makers
to understand the problems from the perspectives of ‘the others’. The very
concept of social exclusion is not static; in fact, it is a process or the
processes of marginalization and discrimination in the everyday lives and
interaction. The term of exclusion has become a part of the vocabulary in
Europe and other developing societies like, ‘poverty’ or ‘unemployment’; it
is one of those words, which seem to have an everyday meaning and
underlying sense. It emphasizes very strongly on the social factors concerns
such as housing, health, employment and education. It excludes certain
communities and groups from interaction and access to social resources
through social arrangements, normative value systems and customs. The
exclusion based on Caste is one example and Patriarchy is another, which is
Systemic or constitutive exclusion. Having social, cultural, political and
economic ramifications, it is also complex and multi-dimensional concept.
These dimensions are interwoven and to be focused in the different papers
of this volume. It revolves around the societal interventions and institutions
that exclude, discriminate, isolate and deprive some groups on the basis of
group identities like caste and ethnicity. Interestingly, this book also looks
upon the problem from the ethnographic perspectives in the context of
religion, caste and gender discrimination, the declining hopes of the long
term unemployed and lack of access to jobs, linguistic marginalization in
educational institutions, constitutional failure in Indian context, tribal’s
exclusion, lack of health care services and many others.

Precisely, the book covers the wider spectrum of society and communities
living in various cultural set up. The multidisciplinary nature of the book
will be helpful for the students and researchers from sociology,
2 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: An Introduction

anthropology, historical and political studies, demography, social work and

gender studies in particular and humanities in general.

Discrimination and exclusion of marginalized groups are issues that are

increasingly receiving the attention of social scientists of late. This is now
widely accepted that developments in state and society in post independent
India have not conformed to the expectations as discrimination and
exclusion still persists in our society. With the retreat of the state from major
economic activities since the 1990s, the socio-economic gap between social
groups has in fact increased. Disparities among social groups have also been
the result of particular forms of discrimination and exclusion prevalent in
society. Discrimination and exclusion marginalizes certain groups from full
participation in the social, economic, political and cultural life of the
country1.

The denial of employment, equal wages and equal working relations, and the
denial of freedom to undertake an occupation or economic activity based on
freedom of choice are to be principally and practically implemented. It is
merely a cursory observation of the society rather every society has, in one
or another way, history of discrimination and exclusion. To illustrate this
debate, it would be necessary to quote Indian constitution. The Indian
constitution and legal framework recognize the principle of non-
discrimination and equal opportunity to all, irrespective of caste, race,
religion, colour, sex, ethnicity etc. despite several promises put forth by the
constitution, various forms of discrimination continue to persist in our
society because the constitutional remedy is often inaccessible to the SCs,
STs, and religious minorities, literally taking away the equally quotient of
their rights in terms of implementation.

The choice of the subject for this volume arose with the intention of
compiling multiple disciplinary prespectives and forms of exclusion existing
in the society. This was more imperative due to its both policy implications
and wider applicability in the discourse on social exclusion. Hence, the book
covers the issues of dalits, gender and especially Muslim women, role and
impact of Panchayati Raj Institution, communal violence, minority and
police, ethnic groups in south aisan societies, quality of life and rights,
challenges of Muslims in the 21st century and the impact of distance mode
education to the linguistic minority.

1
Caste and community based labour market discrimination: A Pilot study in
Noida, Working Paper Series 1, vol. 1, No. 01, PSDE, 2009. New Delhi: JNU.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 3

The book is an effort to bring the issues and debates concerning to social
exclusion and inclusive initiatives at various levels and strata among the
policy makers, academia and researchers. The contemporary society has
been witnessing the crisis and resilience in different aspects and forms as
well as this has helped the academia and researchers to talk about the
cornered, segregated and marginalized communities. The notion about
social exclusion varies from one to another society depending upon the
changing context. The genesis of social exclusion in the French society
helps us to understand the existing problems of the society in the forms of
addiction, drug abuse, homelessness, slums etc. Rene Leniore felt the
existing crisis of the French society and wrote thoroughly on the issues of
exclusion. Lenoire did not realize the importance of the given concept
which later became one of the relevant concepts to understand poverty and
discrimination worldwide. In fact Silver also wrote, dominant in France,
the exclusion is the rupture of a social bond between the individual and
society that is cultural and moral in her debate of ‘solidarity paradigm’.
The scholarly effect of the concept of exclusion not only created a positive
policy debate and initiatives rather reflected in practice of a few
governments like British government established a separate department of
social exclusion. Concepts like poverty, discrimination, marginalization,
deprivation could not do such influence which social exclusion could do
worldwide. Several studies conducted by ILO, World Bank and other
organization helped the on going research to look afresh. Amaratya Sen’s
paper presented in Asian Development Bank (1998)2 gave much deeper
meaning and acceptance to the conceptualization of social exclusion.

The chapters in the book provide relevant information on multidisciplinarity

nature of exclusion. First chapter tries to understand the social exclusion in
the context of dalits in Indian society. Ziyauddin, the author brings the
notions of exclusion while looking at the caste based discrimination deep
rooted in Indian social structure and in its context too. The exclusion of
dalits is one, and the exclusion of dalits engaged in scavenging doubles the
burden of exclusion. The chapter also brings the experiences of Bauri’s, a
dalit community, in Bokaro region.

The second chapter brings very interesting picture of policies and

programmes regarding health and education for Muslims in Delhi. Abidi
and Hussain do a critical study in the selected pockets of the densely

2
Sen, Amaratya. 1998, “Social Exclusion: Concept, Application, and Scrutiny”,
Working Paper, Social Development Paper No 1, June. Bangkok: Asian
Development Bank.
4 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: An Introduction

Muslim populated areas in the National Capital Territory Delhi. They have
come out with several facts and issues which have been ignored for years.
Sacchar committee, 2006, (Prime Ministers High Level Committee),
report of Indian government shows the intensity of exclusion towards
Muslims in India in the fields of education, health, employment and
banking credit.

Third chapter portrays the situation of Muslim, especially Muslim women

in the province of west Bengal. Sharmishtha uses quantitative and
qualitative methods and analyses her understanding about the women and
their work. What many problems women would face when the literacy and
education is not accessible to the majority of them. It will be thought
provoking to read about the rural Muslim women and their quality of life
in West Bengal. Her fieldwork was intensive and it is supported by
intensive case studies too.

The fourth chapter on politics of gender would help the reader to look into
the history of gender based politics in the context of Muslim women and
their participation in Indian politics. Ziyauddin and Shekh bring some
significant fact of Indian politics where the space for women has been very
least not because they could not participate in the system but because they
have been systematically sidelined from the mainstream political
participation. The facts and figures on the Muslim women participating in
the democratic structure helps to critically examine the critical aspects of
the so called “gender politics” in Indian society.

Fifth chapter provides a historical understanding of people’s empowerment

in India. Shamoon does help us understand the pre- independence structure
of people empowerment and narrates critically the post independence
phenomenon of people empowerment. Would not be any such problem to
consider this piece as a very interesting piece of work. The critical
interpretation of community development programmes and Panchayati Raj
Institutions is discussed widely.

S M Rahmatullah presents one of the significant chapters as the Case

Study of Maulana Azad National Urdu University in the context of Urdu
linguistic minority institution. The author has examined on the basis of
available data of the students pursuing their education through distance
mode of education. The impact and coverage of the education among Urdu
speaking community has been great for a small period of time. This is a
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 5

milestone decision came in 1998 in the context of linguistic development

of Urdu speakers in India.

Chapter on democratic decentralization and social justice through

Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) would be of great help to the reader. It
exposes the larger debate in the constitutional provisions and concerns
surrounding PRIs in India. Mushtaq brings a holistic dimension of the
PRIs and the constitutional provisions of Indian state. This is important to
look historically because constitution of India has sincere commitment
towards the inclusive growth of Indian citizen.

The ethnographic method used to conduct the study on Khasis in

Bangladesh brings unexplored dimensions of discrimination and exclusion
to this community. Faisal has tried to show the crude realities of being
denied access to mainstream development benefits and how ethnic
communities like khasis have been living without interacting with the
larger world. The narratives and in-depth interviews of Khasis members
tell the various stories of exclusion.

The ninth chapter written by Minhaz and Afroz sketches the communal
violence and minorities in India. This also deals on the role of police in
communal violence in the context of minority community in India. The
genesis of this problem and the contemporary issues are also discused
which will help the reader to understand the problem of communalism
critically in India. It is imperative to understand the about the need to have
representation of minorities in police and how police should be
accountable to all the citizens of India despite of their caste, class and
religious background.

In the light of the previous chapter, the last chapter is best to conclude our
understating with a note of looking every object critically and in a
scientific temperament. Salil, the Author, provides an interesting
explanation about the Muslims in 21st century India. How do we look the
rights and responsibilities of Indian Muslims, since the challenges faced
by the Muslims of India today are complex and can be divided into
internal and external challenges. It is an eye opening reading this piece
about the externalities and internalities of being a Muslims in India; a must
read chapter.
6 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: An Introduction

References
Akerlof, George. “The Economics of Caste, the Rat Race and other woeful
Tales” Quarterly Journal of Economics, XC.4. Nov. 1976.
Ambedkar, B. R. 1936, “Annihilation of Caste”, Bhim Patrica, Jallaunder,
(1987a), “Philosophy of Hinduism”, in Moon, Vasant (ed.), (1987).
Buvinic, Marya. (2005) , “Social Inclusion in Latin America”, in Social
Exclusion and Economic Development. Marya Buvinic and Jacqueline
Mazza, Eds. Balimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Dirks, Nicholas. (2001). Castes in Mind: Colonialism and the Making of
Modern India. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Haan, De. Arjan, (1997). “Poverty and Social Exclusion: A comparison of
debates on Deprivation”. Working Paper No. 2, Poverty Research Unit
at Sussex. Brighton: University of Sussex
Sen, Amartya, (2000), “Social Exclusion: Concept, Application, and
Scrutiny”, Working Paper, Social Development Paper No 1, June.
Bangkok: Asian Development Bank.
 CHAPTER ONE

DALITS AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION—

UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPTUALIZATION

K.M. ZIYAUDDIN

The term social exclusion has been a popular concept of the

contemporary scholarship. It is more debated in the context of
poverty and discrimination. India is such an example to show the
relevance of exclusion. The attempts to discuss the twin related
concept of caste discrimination and exclusion has been throughout
the post independent era. The paper tries to illustrate about the
Dalits who have been engaged in traditional occupation as
scavenging and cleaning night soil in the township of Chas and
Dalits have been excluded from the various benefits of life. It raises
some concern that why they have not been able to change their
occupation in sixty years of independence? The lower socio-
economic conditions of Dalits and the environmental living and
working conditions, compounded with their occupation, always
have a higher risk of getting exposed to various diseases. Since
there are very few efforts and studies which try to explore the
health situations of Dalits in India, this study attempts to provide
the input or fill the gap. It will provide a comparative
understanding of urban and rural community. Since the area of the
studied population is located in the vicinity of a township but the
rural population comprises native and dalits of Jharkhand. Social
exclusion is the term used to describe what happens when people or
areas are excluded from essential services or every day aspects of
life that most of us take for granted. Socially excluded people or
places can become trapped in a cycle of related problems such as
unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poverty, poor housing,
high crime, bad health and family breakdown. Thorat (2007) sates
that the deprivation of Dalits is closely linked with the processes of
caste based exclusion and discrimination.
8 Chapter One

Introduction
The term social exclusion has been a popular concept of contemporary
scholarship. It is more debated in the context of poverty and
discrimination. India is one such example that shows the relevance of
exclusion. The attempts to discuss the twin related concept of caste
discrimination and exclusion has been prevalent throughout the post
independent era. This paper tries to illustrate the Dalits who have been
engaged in traditional occupation as scavenging and cleaning night soil in
the township of Chas. By emphasizing how the Dalits have been excluded
from the various benefits of life my paper will raise concern as to why
they have not been able to change their occupation in sixty years of
independence. By elucidating the lower socio-economic conditions of
Dalits and the environmental living and working conditions, compounded
with their occupation, my paper will show that they have a higher risk of
getting exposed to various diseases. Since there are very few efforts and
studies which try to explore the health situations of Dalits in India, this
study attempts to provide the input or fill the gap.

Understanding Social Exclusion

Social exclusion is the term used to describe what happens when people or
areas are excluded from essential services or every day aspects of life that
most of us take for granted. Socially excluded people or places can
become trapped in a cycle of related problems such as unemployment,
poor skills, low incomes, poverty, poor housing, high crime, bad health
and family breakdown. The deprivation of Dalits is closely linked with
the processes of caste based exclusion and discrimination. Social exclusion
is the denial of equal oppurtinities imposed by certain groups of society
upon others which leads to inability of an individual to particiapate in the
basic poilitical, economic and social functioning of society (Thorat, 2007).

Over and above these semantic and terminological considerations, it is

now necessary to exmaine the meaning and use of the term social
exclusion.

Firstly, it is important to warn against the use and abuse of a concept that
has been qualified as a catch-all expression, a corner shop offering
something of everything, a buzz word that can be used on any occasion. It
has even been described as having become so trivialized that it is saturated
with meanings, non-meanings and misunderstandings (Freünd, in the
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 9

introduction to Xiberras, 1996). But it must have some merits, because 20

years ago almost no one used it, yet now it is on everyone's lips, from the
highest-ranking international officials to the lowest experts on local
projects in developed and developing nations.

Secondly, its use alongwith that of poverty and other related terms also
make it necessary to define it and delimit it. This is inherently hazardous,
as it is still a moving concept, and thus nebulous, equivocal, polyvalent
and polymorphous. In view of the risks involved in endeavouring to act as
an authority on the subject, it is, therefore, necessary to adopt a step-by-
step approach, based on its differentiation from other terms through a sort
of triangulation process.

In the first place, it should, perhaps, be pointed out that exclusion is related
to the dissatisfaction or unease felt by individuals who are faced with
situations in which they cannot achieve their objectives for themselves or
their loved ones. From this perspective, exclusion tends to have a certain
subjective content based on material facts. It should also be recalled that
exclusion from certain dominant fashions, customs and ideas may have a
positive side for some individuals, groups or communities, thereby
reinforcing their internal cohesion. In other cases, voluntary exclusion may
be a prerequisite for the stimulation of artistic or intellectual creativity, or
a more philosophical or religious life of reflection.

At the same time, it cannot be denied that most people can claim to have
been excluded from something (Estivill, 1998). But it may, perhaps, be
useful to retain the deeper meaning of the role of transgression in
generating exclusion. Any society, group or even individual establishes
and maintains rules that are more or less explicit, and in so doing creates a
basis for differentiation, whether or not they do so logically, between the
categories of I/we and you/they. There can, therefore, be no exclusion
without inclusion. In generic terms, they both allow a sense of belonging
and self-identification in relation to others. Self-definition also involves
defining otherness. And the narrower the self-definition, the more
exclusive it is. Applied to societies as a whole, this means that the stricter
and more closed they are, the more they exclude. The process is both real
and symbolic. The concept can, therefore, be enriched through sociology,
psychology and anthropology. For this reason, references may also be
sought in theories about organic linkages, 'anomie' and deviation, as
propounded by the classical exponents of social sciences, such as
Durkheim, Simmel, Tonnies and Max Weber, as well as the Chicago
10 Chapter One

school, which already in the 1930s highlighted the factors of aggregation

and segregation in large cities in relation to the social cohesion of
immigrants.

Individuals, groups and communities can shut themselves off, building

ever higher walls, by affirming their values in an authoritarian and
dogmatic fashion, which may, in turn, lead to the expulsion of those who
do not accept them or who are not recognized. History is full of cases in
which religious, ideological, political, cultural and ethnic motives have
given rise to successive processes of exclusion, the ultimate manifestations
of which are the destruction of others and genocide.

These historical examples should not be allowed to obscure the

characteristics of the current widespread phenomenon of exclusion, in
which both the paths of stigmatization (Goffman, 1963) and isolation
needs urgent attention. Prompted by debates in Europe on new forms of
poverty in the wake of the crisis of the welfare state, development studies
have started to explore the notion of social exclusion. It was promoted by a
research project at the International Institute in the mid 1990s (IILS 1994,
Figueiredo and de Haan 1998), originally as contribution to the World
Summit for Social Development, which produced a range of country
studies. An IDS Bulletin in 1998 focused on the subject, with an emphasis
on bringing together northern and southern debates on poverty (de Haan
1998), subsequently mostly disappeared from the debate at that institute,
but appeared for example in the writings of Amartya Sen (1998), and at
the conference on chronic poverty at the University of Manchester in
2003. Common to most of these writing is a definition that emphasises
that: a) poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, and b) on the
institutions and processes that are responsible for causing and reproducing
deprivation.

As could have been foreseen on the basis of the extremely important

conceptual work by Hilary Silver, interpretations of the concept have
differed greatly, and there may have been more conceptual critique than
empirical applications of the concept. Silver distinguished three paradigms
of social exclusion, depending in particular on the ways social integration
has been conceptualised, and associated with ‘theoretical and ideological
baggage’. In the ‘solidarity paradigm’, dominant in France, exclusion is
the rupture of a social bond between the individual and society that is
cultural and moral. The poor, unemployed and ethnic minorities are
defined as outsiders. National solidarity implies political right and duties.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 11

A ‘specialisation paradigm’, dominant in the US, and contested in the UK,

is determined by individual liberalism. According to liberal-individualistic
theories, individuals are able to move across boundaries of social
differentiation and economic divisions of labour, and emphasize the
contractual exchange of rights and obligations. In this paradigm, exclusion
reflects discrimination, the drawing of group distinctions that denies
individual’s full access to or participation in exchange or interaction. A
‘monopoly paradigm’ is influential in Britain and many Northern
European countries, and views the social order as coercive, imposed
through hierarchical power relations. Exclusion is defined as a
consequence of the formation of group monopolies, group distinctions and
inequality overlap.

I. Pattern of exclusion
This paper gives three types of exclusion in Europe: First, exclusion from
the labour market reflecting in rising numbers of long-term unemployed
and increasing difficulty of initial labour market entry; Second, exclusion
from the regular work, through the growth of precarious and part-time
employment relationships; Third, exclusion from decent housing and
community services, reflected in the banlieue phenomenon (which also
has ethnic and migrant connotations). In the European context, these three
types of exclusions are widely found but its forms may vary. Since
Exclusion carries different patterns, for some it may be exclusion from
land, for others exclusion from secure jobs and for some exclusion from
opportunities to develop skills, because all these patterns are linked to the
process of development.

1. Exclusion from goods and services: In this section, the author has
focused on the concern of poverty and it’s been viewed as an important
factor leading to exclusion in terms of low consumption levels, education
and health care. The location of public goods, its accessibility and ability
to pay are a few factors leading to exclusion; it is much true in the context
of education.
2. Labour market exclusions: It is noted very clearly that the processes
of social exclusion come through the understanding of the mechanisms at
play in the labour market. For most households, and especially for the
poor, labour earnings are the major source of income. Very true, it is,
employment provides social legitimacy as well as access to income.
3. Exclusion from land: The exclusion from land is a critical issue in
many developing countries and more over, it is widely associated with
12 Chapter One

poverty and insecurity. The author emphasises that land is not only a
source of livelihood but also of social integration in a broader sense. This
is more relevant to the developing nations where land is the prime source
of employment and livelihood.
4. Exclusion from security: The concept of security has multiple
dimensions. First is the physical security of the person in terms of safety
and freedom from the risk of physical violence. Second is the security of
livelihood and the third involves protection against contingencies i.e.
accident, ill health, death. In recent years UNDP has been emphasizing
more against eventualities in the frame of social insurance which is
becoming widespread.
5. Exclusion from human rights: The Post modern notion of human
rights is wider than the earlier understanding of freedom and rights. The
question may be different that the major advantage of the notion of
exclusion is that it considers both rights and welfare within a single
framework. This aspect makes it relevant in the present changing global
society.
6. Exclusion and macro-economic development: The central aspect of
this analysis of exclusion is the idea that it is embedded in the ways
societies function. Thus, differences in the development paths and in
macro-economic and structural adjustment strategies imply equally varied
patterns of social exclusion. Similar aggregate economic development may
lead to quite different patterns of income inequality, quite different
patterns of distribution of the benefits of the growth. In this the
institutional arrangements which mediate between economic and social
development are crucial. They may include or exclude, limit gains to a few
sectors or groups or spread advantage widely.

II. Special features of the approach

1. A multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary view: The notion of
exclusion links together both social rights and material deprivations. So it
encompasses not only the lack of access to goods and services which
underlie poverty and satisfaction of basic needs but also exclusion from
security, from justice, from representation and from citizenship. A central
idea is that exclusion has much to do with inequality in many dimensions-
economic, social, political and cultural. This broad framework not only
helps to identify the most important mechanisms and dimensions of
exclusion which vary from one situation to another, but it also provides a
basis for an interdisciplinary approach.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 13

2. A focus on process: Exclusion may describe a state but its particular

advantage is that it focuses on the process rather than on other dimensions.
It is very important to identify the process and factors which lead to the
process of exclusion. It talks about two situations: one which is permanent
exclusion in which groups live on the margins of society. The other is that
which is created and recreated by the operation of social and economic
forces in the society.
3. A focus on social actors and agents: There are processes which
include and exclude but there are also social actors who both include and
exclude. An important aspect of the treatment of social exclusion is to
identify these actors and understand how and why they exclude others.
Actors are social groups, state, enterprises, the military, local authorities,
religious bodies and local elites.
4. An impact at many levels: Exclusion can be understood at several
levels: nations, regions, institutions, social groups, individuals and the
whole world as a whole.
5. The term of inclusion: The simple talk on inclusion and exclusion may
be said good and bad respectively but the problem lies much deeper than it
appears. At times, there are efforts to include certain exclude groups or
population but they are not rejected by the larger groups. Inclusion of
certain group may not necessarily include them but that may exclude them
from other benefits as well. For instance, there is widespread trend for
increasing wage labour of women but on terms which are inferior to men.
Another example; rural-urban migrants may become incorporated in a
process of industrial development but with little social protection and loss
of community support networks.

Conceptualizing Exclusion in the context of Dalits

Amartya Sen draws attention to various meaning and dimensions of the
concept of social exclusion and this distinction is drawn between the
situations where some people are kept out and where some people are
being included. He described the two situations as ‘unfavourable
exclusion’ and ‘unfavourable inclusion’ (Sen, 2000). The ‘unfavourable
inclusion’ with unequal treatment may carry the same adverse effects as
‘unfavourable exclusion’. The concept of social exclusion essentially
refers to the processes through which groups are wholly or partially
excluded from full participation in the society in which they live (Thorat,
2007).
14 Chapter One

Within an Indian context, exclusion is witnessed in various forms and it is

much inter-related. It revolves around the societal interventions and
institutions that exclude, discriminate, isolate and deprive some groups on
the basis of group identities like caste, language and ethnicity. For
example, the nature of exclusion revolving around the caste system needs
to be understood and conceptualized. It is known to all that caste based
exclusion has formed the basis of various anti-discriminatory policies and
programmes in India.

The question is that why the social structure of India is unequal and
hierarchical- the answer lies in the organizational scheme of the caste
system in India by which the civil, cultural and economic rights of each
individual caste are pre-determined or ascribed by birth and made
hereditary. The most striking feature of caste system is that it provides for
a regulatory mechanism to enforce the social and economic organization
through the instruments of social ostracism or prohibition and reinforces it
further with the justification and support from the philosophical elements
in the Hindu religion (Lal, 1988 Ambedkar, 1987). The caste system
shows a fundamental discrimination in economic, social and civil spheres
of human life. It demarcates the line of discrimination based on caste
identity and the occupational association. Occupational immobility is a
serious concern while talking about caste and occupation because each
individual caste carries specific occupational identity. It refers to the
continuous discrimination based on occupation and the notion of pollution
attached to it. The benefits and rights are associated with the differential
ranking and hierarchical nature of caste system. The uniqueness of caste
system also manifests a differential social order in the society; the higher
the rankings, the higher the social benefits, and vice-versa.

It is also necessary to note that since civil, cultural and economic rights
(with special reference to occupation and property rights) of each caste are
ascribed, and are compulsory, the institution of caste necessarily involves
forced exclusion of one caste from the rights of another. This restricted
social arrangement obviously does not leave space for freedom to choose
any occupation and hence curtailment of human development results.

Caste based exclusion is witnessed and described as ‘living mode of

exclusion’. In other words, exclusion entails taking part in social,
economic and political life of a community. Therefore, the Dalits
(untouchables) located at the bottom of the caste hierarchy have much less
economic and social rights than the castes at the top of the order.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 15

Among various means and forms of social exclusion, the most severe form
of exclusion appears to be in the denial of access to basic needs like
health, education, housing and the land for common use. The group
carrying polluted and unclean occupations face continuous exclusion and
discrimination from participation in certain categories of jobs (e.g.
sweepers and scavengers are excluded from household jobs inside the
house). The caste and occupation based exclusion is structural in nature
and involves the denial of equal opportunities. Various studies on Dalits
show the continuous exclusion and discrimination in the past as well as in
the present times. Actually, the continuing faith in the notion of pollution
and purity by the higher castes associated with untouchability is reflected
in exclusionary and discriminatory behaviour of higher castes in the life of
Dalits in India.

A significant result in exclusionary practice is the restriction on caste

occupational mobility of Dalits. A study conducted by Action Aid (2000)
shows similar trend in Andhra Pradesh and observed that Scheduled
Castes (SCs) faced restrictions in efforts to change their occupation. Forms
of discrimination are very sharp in treatment in public/private health
clinics.

Looking into gender interface, women in the Dalit groups suffer triple
deprivation arising out of lack of access to economic resources, castes and
gender discrimination. For instance, thirty percent of the studied women
are engaged in unclean occupation such as scavenging and carrying night
soil which are considered to be degraded in nature (Ziyauddin & Acharya,
2005). Due to their association with these occupations, these women face
discrimination in social and economic sphere of life.

Need and importance of conceptualization

The lack of entitlement of economic and social power amongst the largest
chunk of Indian population, especially Dalits, shows a context of famines.
In Amartya Sen’s formulations, famine is not the result of drop in total
food production but its poor distribution. Social exclusion manifests itself
in diverse ways. Poverty has been a classical case of unemployment; hence
exclusion is an inherent part of poverty. There are several dimensions of
exclusion to name a few such as exclusion from housing, exclusion from
education, exclusion from health services, exclusion from housing and
exclusion from ownership and participation. In addition to these, we can
16 Chapter One

also witness gender-based exclusion, exclusion of old and infirm,

exclusion of physically disabled and exclusion of widows.

But this paper does not seek to discuss all these forms of exclusion rather
it deliberates on the process of exclusion of Dalits. Caste-based
discrimination is one dimension of exclusion but outcomes of this
exclusion carry a bundle of tyranny and tales. To name few- poverty,
unemployment, illiteracy and poor access to health care becomes a distant
dream to this largest section of the Indian masses.

The truth of being marginalized in sphere of life is realized when we

locate the debates initiated by Mahatma Gandhi to abolish the practice of
untouchability during 1920s and 1930s. Though he did not bring the four
fold division of Hindu caste system into question the sincerity was shown
to improve the life of Dalits (achchuts) while being in the Varna Sytem.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar emerged as their leader and a Dalit icon in 1920s. He
never agreed on Hindu Chaturvarna system and said once, “The system is
neither knave-proof nor fool proof”. Before the adoption of the Indian
Constitution, there had never been any scheme to safeguard the interests of
Dalits; rather the continuous exclusion has been to make it more severe
and intense.

The most noticeable fact is that after nearly three quarters of Gandhi’s
effort and sixty years of independence, the condition of Dalits
(untouchables) does not appear to have dramatically improved. However,
this group of untouchable or Dalits are a large group of excluded
populations. Srinivas divides Hindu society into five-fold category with
the untouchables at the fifth rank as outsiders (Srinivas, 1952).

The basic question which arises is how to fit thousands of sub-castes or

Jati into this four or five-fold category. Ghurye mentioned about 2000
Jatis or sub-castes that have been practicing a traditional occupation and
enjoying certain aspects of cultural, ritual and juridical autonomy. The
birth in a particular caste group transforms the ascribed membership to the
individual. There is a certain autonomy given to a few caste groups but it
also restricts their world.

The birth in a certain family and association of certain castes with the born
child restricts the freedom of choice in all aspects of life. For example, a
cobbler’s son can only be a cobbler and there may be some peripheral jobs
he may do (for example, he may till land). He, in any case, can not be a
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 17

priest. Education was forbidden to untouchable as this may possibly

pollute the children of higher caste in schools. Dalits were and are away
from attending any social functions of higher castes. There could hardly be
a more telling form of hierarchy and social exclusion anywhere else in the
world.

In addition to this, Hindu theological notions of Karma (duty) and

Dharma (moral code) have contributed greatly to strengthening the idea of
hierarchy which is inherent in the caste system. This fact seems irrational
in (present) modern industrial society. If a cobbler does his duty in all
walks of life well and with devotion then in next birth he may be born a
Kshatriya or even a Brahmin. By the same token, a bad Brahmin may be
born a Shudra or an untouchable in his next birth. This only shows a little
flexibility in life’s mobility unlike the industrial society.

In fact, the distinction between castes has resulted in spatial segregation of

castes in a village in terms of their dwellings. The Brahmins as well as the
Dalits usually reside in separate cluster of dwellings. The notion of social
exclusion is therefore defined in a rather comprehensive and codified way.

A Brahmin may not do the job of a cobbler or a scavenger, nor may an

untouchable read the Vedas in a temple. As regards the notion of pollution,
we may look at an interesting account given by A. Aiyappan in his study
on the Nayadis in 1937. “ …A Nayar must keep 7 feet from a Nambudri
Brahmin, an Iravan must keep 32, a cheruman 64 and a Nayadi 74 to 124.
The respective distances between these lower castes are calculated by a
simple process of subtraction. The Iravan must keep 25 feet from the
Nayar and cheruman 32 feet from the Iravan.” [see Srinivas, 1952]. This
account would merely be comic if it were not the case that some above
mentioned notions are still prevalent though perhaps in a diluted form in
certain quarters of India (Nayak, 1995).

These facts agonized the Dalit leadership and forced them to rebel in the
past. The emergence of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is seen in the light of what
and how he felt the severity of discrimination and exclusion of Dalits and
in his own life as well1. The answer why Dr. Ambedkar fought throughout
his life to abolish and demolish the Hindu Chaturvarna lies in his
struggles and consistent writings on the issue of his own community.

1
See biography on Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar by Vasant Moon, 2002
18 Chapter One

Experience of the Bauris in Handi Cooli

A study conducted in the vicinity of Bokaro Steel City2 shows that many
people are still carrying their traditional occupation such as cleaning
toilets/privies (public and individual households), drains and sewerage and
removing the skins of carcass. They feel ‘secure’ to carry out their
traditional occupation rather than risking some new ventures. A small
settlement called Handi Cooli is inhabited with the community which is
engaged in carrying the filthy jobs still. Scavenging and carrying night soil
on their head is common among them. There are still a few houses with
dry latrines which provide some employment to the members of Bauri
caste.

There are twenty two castes listed in the Special issue on Scheduled Caste
and Scheduled Tribes in the Census of 1971 and 1981. They include:
Bantar, Bauri, Bhogta, Bhuriya, Bhumij (excluding North and South
Chotanagpur Division and Santhal Pragana District), Chamar/Mochi,
Dabgar, Dhobi, Dom/Dhangad, Dusadh/Dhari/Dharhi, Ghasi, Halalkhor,
Hari/ Mehtar/ Bhangi, Kenjar, Kuraniar, Lalbegi, Musahar, Nat, Pan/
Sawari, Pasi, Rajwar and Turi. Bauri is the second most populated caste
group in the district of Bokaro and in the state of Jharkhand. It is found
that large numbers of people are engaged in extremely degrading and
remedial jobs. However the larger aspects about their life lie in the tyranny
of being static in all benefits of state affairs. Taking a comparative view,
the Bokaro city has been growing to facilitate the life of the people but this
community has merely been addressed in the developmental policies. In
other words, the infrastructural development of Bokaro has not benefited
this area. Health centre is located far away and social accessibility is a gain
an area of negligence. The risk factor is associated with the fact that most
people are not aware of health, hygiene, education and housing problems
which adds to various existing problems. Thus, despite the economic
benefits which have accrued to the city’s population, the Bauris remain
socially excluded. Their levels of education and economic conditions are
poorer than those who do not engage in scavenging and other jobs marked
for them. Their health too is, therefore, laden with poor indicators as they
have differential access to all resources that affect health. All this further
accentuates their exclusion.

2
Ziyauddin, K. M. 2002. Health in a Dalits Community: A preliminary exploration
of a community in polluted occupation. New Delhi. M. Phil. Dissertation
CSMCH/SSS(unpublished)
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 19

Conclusion
A very significant way to say is that the ideas and weapons and the value
of these lie on how we use them. Exclusion and its discourse can be from
many possible ways, may be it is radical to restructure the entire system or
partial restructuring. The relevance of social exclusion has been
established in North especially in Europe but it is still to be recognized in
the south. An important aspect of the approach through social exclusion is
that it helps the state to reconsider the role of state. The other part of the
fact is that the excluded groups have to be able to formulate their own
need and integrate them in the process of policy definition. Institutions are
required to promote their effective representation and provide them
resources, autonomy and influence. One purpose of such policies would be
to build consensus around the “social project” which would determine the
social policies to be implemented. It will be far from the administrative
and centralized logic; the new policies would rely on the empowerment
and entitlement and assign a key role to the civil society.

The concept of social exclusion is undoubtedly very powerful. It includes

a wider category of population and debates about diverse notions of
poverty, hunger, unemployment and destitution. It is about all those who
are excluded from education, health care and ultimately the freedom that
an individual must have to recognize or control his or her life in a given
social setting.

We are concerned with the condition of all those excluded from the basic
means of livelihood or what Rawls has called “primary social goods”.
Social exclusion is fundamentally about inequality; there are individuals or
groups that are not “included”. ‘Dalits in India’ has been the case of
reference. Since the deprivation of these groups is closely linked with the
processes of caste, there is an urgent need to address the problem arising
due to caste discrimination and caste oriented politics.

The continuous exclusion of Dalits has been a focus to be addressed by the

government of India and it is far more difficult task for the state than anti-
poverty programmes. Thorat (2007) very clearly mentions that social and
cultural sources of exclusion such as stigma, deprivation, esteem and
denial of self respect and citizenship are rooted in social structure. In this
precept, exclusion and inclusion of certain group of people is addressed by
various state supported programmes but inclusion of Dalits has not been
the focus of the policies per se. The research in this area has been done at
20 Chapter One

different periods of time but the implementation of certain schemes is not

witnessed. Social exclusion is fundamentally about inequality, for, it
implies that there are individuals or groups that are “included”. The
historical legacy to legitimize the inborn inequality has been justified at
different pretexts. Then, it may be right to say when the socially better off
groups are excluded from the development process at the cost of
marginalized group like Dalits.

References
Dreze, Jean and Sen, Amratya. 1998. India: Economic Development and
Social Opportunity. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Dumont, Louis . 1998, Hom Hierarchicus: The Caste System and its
Implications. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Gandhi, Mahatma, 1994. What is Hinduism. Delhi: National Book Trust
Gupta, Dipnakar. 2000. Interrogating caste: Understanding Hierarchy and
Difference in Indian society: New Delhi: Penguin India.
Guru, Gopal (1997). Dalit cultural movement and dialectics of Dalit
politics in Maharashtra. Mumbai: Vikas Adhyayan Kendra.
Nicholas, B. Dirks. 2001. Castes in Mind: Colonialism and Making of
Modern India. Delhi: Permanent Black.
Moon, Vasant. 2002. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: National Biography.
Translated by Asha Damble. Delhi: National Book Trust.
Nayak, Pulin. 1995. Social Exclusion in India. Geneva:International
Institute of Labour Studies.
Puri, Harish, K. (ed.). 2004. Dalits in Regional contexts. Jaipur: Rawat
Publications.
Shah, Ghanshyam. 2004. Social Movements in India. New Delhi: Sage
Publications.
—. 2001. Dalit identity and Politics. New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Sharma, K. L. 1999. Social Inequality in India. Jaipur, Rawat Publications.
Webster, John. C. B. 1999, “Who is a Dalit?” in S. M. Michael (ed.)
Dalits in Modern India: Vision and Values. New Delhi: Vistaar
Publications.
Thorat, Sukhdev. 2006. Caste, Social Exclusion and Poverty Linkages:
Concept, Measurement and Empirical Evidence. A Working Paper.
Ziyauddin, K. M. 2002. Health in a Dalit community: A Preliminary
exploration of a community engaged in polluted occupation.
CSMCH/SSS, JNU (unpublished dissertation).
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Ziyauddin, K. M. 2009. Perception of Illness and Health among Dalits in

an urban fringe. International Research Journal of Social Sciences,
Puduchery, 2009, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 73-84
Ziyauddin, K. M. and Acharya, Sanghmitra. November, 2005. The Dalit
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 CHAPTER TWO

SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND MARGINALIZATION

OF MUSLIMS OF DELHI:
A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY

AZRA ABIDI AND EHTESHAM HUSSAIN

Visiting and observing a Muslim dominated area anywhere in India

would give anybody a dismal picture of various socio-economic
indicators of the plight and status of this community. The situation
in the national capital city of Delhi is no different. The paper
primarily discusses the social exclusion of Muslims living in Delhi
in reference to their health, education and other infrastructural
facilities they have access to. This survey based study also used
certain secondary data like the Pulse Polio Programme, NPSP and
WHO, 2007 data to bring home the point.

Careful analyses reveal that there is a wide gap between these

facilities in Muslim dominated areas of Delhi as compared to the
areas where non-Muslims are predominantly living. If the situation
is so in the national capital what would be the plight of Muslims in
the interior areas of India is anybody’s guess. Some pointers are
also given at the end of the study to correct the marginalization of
the Muslim population of Delhi.

Introduction
Various studies conducted during the past few decades amply show that
Muslims have been increasingly socially and economically marginalized
on the whole, although there has admittedly been some progress in some
small pockets. This limited progress, however, has been largely
independent of state efforts. In this aspect, the state appears to have
deliberately or otherwise played a somewhat indifferent and ignorant role
24 Chapter Two

and in some states, clearly hostile, attitudes towards Muslims’ socio-

economic and educational advancement. The percentage of Muslims in
regular employment, in both the public as well as the private sector, has
considerably dropped over the decades since 1947. Today the situation is
being made more serious as a result of the impact of globalization and
neo-liberal economic policies, landless laborers and artisans, a large
proportion of Muslims are the worst. According to official estimates,
Muslims account for roughly 14% (174 million) of the Indian population
(Census of India, 2001). Obviously, the economic and educational
marginalization of such a large section of Indian society should be a matter
of concern for all.

In March 2005 the Prime Minister of India appointed a high level

committee headed by retired justice Rajinder Sachar to report on the
social, economic and educational status of the Muslims of India. It is
hoped that the report being prepared by the committee will, if nothing else,
sensitize some policy makers to the urgent need to address Muslim
concerns. The Sachar Committee has been given the task of examining the
major questions i.e. in which state regions, districts and blocks of the
country do Muslims mostly live? What is the geographical pattern of their
economic activity? What are their asset base and income levels relative to
other groups across various states and regions? What is the level of their
socio-economic development in terms of relevant indicators such as
literacy rate, dropout rate, maternal mortality rate (IMR) etc? How does
this compare with communities in various states? What are the Muslims’
relative share in public and private sector employment/ what is the share of
Muslim Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in the total public sector
employment for OBCs in the various states in various years? Does the
Muslim community have access to educational institutions, health
services, municipal infrastructure, and bank credit? What is the level of
social infrastructure located in the residential areas of Muslims?

The committee was not charged with the responsibility of making any
suggestions for the amelioration of the living conditions of the Muslims
and even if it does make such suggestions, the government is not bound to
act on them. There is no mention of the specific problem of Muslim
women or of the dalit Muslims, who are clubbed together with backward
caste Muslims as other backward classes. The terms of reference ignore
the deleterious impact of the liberalized economic policies of the
Government on Muslim OBC artisan communities, who account for a
large section of the Muslim community. In principle, sustained and
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 25

targeted programmes to increase enrolment and ensure retention are

required for Muslims in India.

Before proceeding further in this regard we have to understand the term

‘social exclusion’ first. Social exclusion usually applies to groups or
sections of the society and individuals are typically excluded by virtue of
their membership of such groups. Social exclusion may implicate
systematic or pervasive discrimination and it certainly means that the
group or section so excluded cannot participate fully in the life of the
society (Robinson, 2007).

In modern India, I would seriously like to wish for a society where there is
no discrimination against a person because of his religion. I know that if I
deal with somebody at a professional or personal level, it would not make
a difference what religion the person belonged to. But reading the
newspapers and magazines, one is not so sure how true or realistic this is.
In talking to people casually, one is sure to find a person who would
differentiate between people based on their religion. The Sachar Report
conclusively proved that the bulk of Indian Muslims suffer from grave
deprivation in social, economic and educational opportunities because of
lack of access to education, health care and other public services and to
employment. The level of deprivation had gone to such an extent that in
certain sectors, Muslims are lagging behind Dalits (Islam, 2007).

All available data show that the literacy rate and educational status of
Muslims in India is particularly low. Literacy rate among Muslims is far
below the national average and this gap is greater in urban areas and for
women. The data are based on state wise figures in the recent Muslim
Women’s Survey conducted by Hasan and Menon (2004).

According to Imran Ali and Yogender Sikand ( Source-Action Aid India

and Indian Social Institute), overall Muslim marginalization since 1947 is
well known, and has been highlighted by numerous studies and even by
various commissions set up by different governments. Often, these
commissions were simply political gimmicks. They submitted their reports
and made various recommendations to the government to address the
marginalization of the Muslims. Yet, the government took little or no heed
of these suggestions, using the commissions simply as vote-grabbing
gimmicks in order to give the impression of being serious about Muslim
'backwardness', but, in fact, doing precious little about it.
26 Chapter Two

Many middle class Muslims, too, prefer living in such areas although the
levels of infrastructural provision are poor and even though they can
afford living in more 'posh', 'upper' caste Hindu-dominated areas. Often,
ghettoisation is promoted by the fact that Hindu landlords simply refuse to
rent out their houses to Muslim tenants.

Ghettoisation has crucial consequences on the economic and educational

conditions of Muslims and on relations between the different communities.
This fact emerges in a study on Indian Muslims in which these two authors
are presently involved, and jointly undertaken by Action Aid and the
Indian Social Institute, New Delhi.

Study of Four Areas of Delhi City

The Sachar Committee report on Muslim and survey of socio-economic
conditions of Muslims in India by Imran Ali and Yogender Sikand reports
have shown the visual pictures of Muslims in India, both survey have
covered almost all basic problems of material progress of Muslims. In
order to assist the Sachar Committee, Imran Ali, and Yogender Sikand by
providing it additional empirical and qualitative information, we have
choosen four assemblies of Delhi. The present study covered not only
material progress but also the feelings of Government staff appointed in
that area, what they thought about minority community, which types of
attitute they have and what they expect by minority community.

Sachar Committee Report and Imran Ali survey have large area of study.
To assist these reports we have surveyed four areas in Delhi i.e.
Seelampur, Karolbagh, Okhla and Kalkajee. We have chosen these
assemblies because each assembly has a unique quality in itself.
Seelampur has a huge migration of labour classes whereas Okhla has huge
migration of elite classes. Both these assemblies are highly Muslim
dominated area. On the other hand, Karolbagh also has the migration of
labourers from different parts of India due to market values and Kalkajee
has migration of both elite and business classes. In this survey we have
used recent 2007 NPSP and WHO data. Both reports Sachar Committee
and Socio-Economic conditions of Muslims in India are funded and time
bound research. Our survey of Delhi is not time bound and funded from
any where, this survey is our interest based survey. We spent four months
to know the real conditions of Muslims in these areas. We started in
September 2006 and completed in December 2006. In this survey we
chose two Muslim and two Hindu dominated areas. Okhla and Seelampur
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 27

are Muslim dominated assemblies whereas Kalkajee and Karolbagh are

non Muslim dominated areas. For estimated population we have used
NPSP, WHO 2007 data. Other informations are directly taken from the
field. To collect the information for this study we used primary and
secondary sources.

Objectives of the Study

We did a study in four areas of Delhi where Muslims live in substantial
numbers. The study was also conceived of as a means to mobilize and
encourage the general public; civil society activists and organizations
working on issues related to the Muslim community, to become more
sensitized to the dismal economic, educational and social conditions of the
Muslim masses. This is a desperately needed corrective, in the light of the
fact that many NGOs have been indifferent to Muslim issues, while the
few others that have engaged with Muslims have mostly done so simply
from the point of view of countering communalism.
The basic objective was also to highlight the plight of the Muslim
community in arguably the most modern and the capital city of India.

Findings of the study

In our survey we found that Okhla, a Muslim dominated area, has a
Muslim repersentative in the Delhi assembly, has only one Government
health centre, three M.C primary schools and two Government senior
secondary schools. The banking facilities, ATM facilities, Kendriya
Bhandar are not available in a satisfactory number. High power cut is
experienced almost round the year. Poor roads , drainage problem, garbage
problem, and MCD water supply is not available in most of the area of
Okhla.Residents of Jogabai, Shaheen Bagh , Abulfazal, Okhla vihar,Johri
farm and Batla house are dependent on borewell water and they purchase
drinking water .
28 Chapter Two

Population Indicator 1. Okhla Area

S No. Locality Population

1. SHAHEEN BAGH 22800
2. OKHLA VIHAR 13200
3. NOOR NAGAR 8700
4. OKHLA VILLAGE 10800
5. HAJI COLONY + JOHRI FARM + 15300
GHAFFAR MANZIL
6. PAHARI 1+ PAHARI 2 9600
7. TAIMOOR NAGAR 9900
8. KHIJRA BAD 18600
9. ZAKIR NAGAR +GHAFOOR 28200
NAGAR + MAHBOOB NAGAR
10. JOGA BAI 25800
11. BATLA HOUSE + AZEEM DAIRY 28980
TOTAL 191880
Source: Recent WHO data based on Pulse Polio activity provided by Ms. Priyanka
FV, WHO Delhi unit.2007

In this survey we have tried to know the actual conditions of Muslims in

health and educational fields. Their educational level and health status are
miserable. Government organization and NGO are not properly working
to uplift their status. Muslim NGOs in these areas are not in good number
to work for the betterment of the community. They are facing a lot of
problems regarding funds to work; they are dependent on chanda
(collections) which is not easy at all for an NGO to run. The health
facilities provided by government are out of reach of Muslims’ pockets. In
Delhi as per government rule an ANM is allotted per ten thousand people
for routine immunization. But Muslim dominated pockets are facing
problem in routine immunization facilities as no ANM is posted for this
area. What I have personally seen in a government maternity center during
my visit, is that some staff in centers behave very badly with the women.
They have a very arrogant tone. Partialities are also there as I have
observed that when a Hindu woman came late they cooperate. The Health
staffs vaccinated to the non Muslim community members even after the
closing time. But if a Muslim woman visits little late to the center for
checkup or immunization purposes they are scolded by the staff members
and moreover even the doctors have a loud voice for them. Fews health
personnel told that they always come late, and have no value for time. One
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 29

of the gynaecologist in center said to me that “these people watch

television and sleep late in night, thus they come late”.

I have divided this assembly into six areas for the convenience of my
study. These areas are- Jaffrabad, Chauhan Banger, Shastri Park, Gautam
puri, New Seelampur and Welcome. Jaffrabad and Chauhan Banger have
99.99% of Muslim population apx.. Welcome colony which comes under
Seelampur assembly also has 99% Muslim population while New
Seelampur has 40%. Shastri Park and Gautam puri have 50% Muslims
apx.

Population Indicator 2. SEELAMPUR AREA

S No. Locality Population

1. Jaffarabad 15160+14340+13165=
42665
2. Teemarpur+Seelampur 128780
3. Gautam puri 100000
4. Gautam puri houses 15778
5. Buland Masjid 31926
6. Welcome 59810
Total 320516
Source: WHO polio immunization activities, 2007

These data are taken from WHO polio immunization activities, in which
family is counted according to kitchen in a building. These data give
concrete information of the area and after every polio round they have a
revised data. In polio activities gali or blocks are allotted to the teams. All
teams have to go to each and every house to mark the houses. According
to Dr Raju Gupta (Surveillance Medical Officer, Delhi) information
related to household is very concrete and valid and no one could challenge
it, so I have taken the help of WHO data.

In this paper we have shown the exact numbers of health centers, school
and colleges. I have tried to find out the conditions of Muslims in this area,
and what type of health and educational facilities the governments
provide. The conditions of Muslims who are living in Seelampur locality
truly reflect the plight and picture as shown in the Sachar Committee
report.
30 Chapter Two

Table1- Educational Institutions in four Areas

Area No of No of senior No of colleges Polytechniques Total Estimated Voters

covered primary secondary /University (Govt.) population
schools schools
Male Female

Okhla 3 2 1 University 0 5 191880 95785 58610

Jamia Millia
Islamia

Total 154395

Seelampur 11 4 0 0 15 320516 60924 40626

Total 101550
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 31
Kalka jee 19 11 2 0 33 182672 70183 55014

Total = 125197

Karol 12 13 3 0 28 176364 55527 44419

Bagh

Total= 99946

Jaffrabad and Chauhan Banger have no single health center and there is no routine immunization in this area. Jaffrabad
and Chauhan Banger have only one government school each. In contrast the areas where Muslims are not in majority
have schools and health facilities more than the required rate. New Seelampur has five schools, two at senior secondary
level and three at primary level. Gautam puri has one primary and two senior secondary schools while Shastri Park has
two senior secondary schools and one primary school.
32 Chapter Two

Table No. 2 - Health related facilities in four Areas

S.No Area covered Govt. health Private Govt. Estimated Voters

center Hospital Hospital population

Male Female

1 Okhla 1 2( Holy O 191880 95785 58610

Family,
Escorts
Heart
Institute) Total 154395
2 Seelampur 4 0 1 320516 60924 40626

Total 101550
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 33

3 Kalka jee 7 3 1 182672 70183 55014

Total = 125197

4 Karol Bagh 11 2 2 176364 55527 44419 Total=

99946
34 Chapter Two

Population Indicator 3. KAROL BAGH AREA

S No. Locality Population

1. Regharpura 58752
2. Naiwala 26500
3. Jessa Ram 17112
4. Devnagar 74000
5. Total 176364
Source: Delhi Government

Table 3: Educational and Health Facilities in Karolbagh

S No. Name of School Name of Name of Hospital

(Total-3) College/Institute (Total-13)
(Total-6)
1. St. Thomas Khalsa College Three Delhi Govt.
School Dispensaries
2. Pitman Short Bharti Mahila College Joshi Hospital
School
3. Tytler School Hakim Ajmal Khan Three CGHS
Tybbia College
4. Indian Institute of Four MNCW
Packaging
5. Deen Dayal Research One MCD
Institute Maternity
6. Lakshmi DELHI
Mahavidyalaya TRANSCO LTD.
Hospital
Source: Delhi Govt. and India Education Websites
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 35

Table 4: Educational Facility in Kalka jee

S No. Name of Schools Name of College/Institution

(Total-4) (Total-2)
1. Kalka Public School, Deshbandhu College(DU)
2. New Green Field Acharya Narendra Dev College(DU)
Public School
3. Sarvodya Vidayalaya
4. Gurunanak
International School
Source: Delhi Govt. and India Education Websites

We can safely assume here that the health and educational facilities in the
Muslim dominated areas are lacking as compared to the non-Muslim
dominated areas in Delhi. If the situation is so in the national capital what
would be the plight of Muslims in the interior areas of India is anybody’s
guess.

Madrasas are one of the convenient options left for the Muslim girls who
have lack of the above-mentioned facilities. The contemporary madrasas
are hardly any different from the colonial madrasas. They still use the
colonial dichotomy to resist any state intrusion, which is the main
hindrance to its modernization. (Alam, 2006) Thus opting for a madrasa
education is not a healthy option.

A feeling of helplessness is seen among ordinary Muslims. In the absence

of an adequate political leadership, religious leaders were allowed to come
to the fore. A number of regional political parties in the recent past have
used Muslim religious leaders to assert the claim that they are champions
of their cause. The Government should take sincere efforts for the social
and educational upliftment of Muslims particularly Muslim women.

Overall, therefore, as these figures indicate, a very significant proportion

of Muslims has been deliberately or otherwise marginalized and left out of
the development process. There is an urgent need for the state as well as
civil society organizations to take a more pro-active role in addressing the
particular concerns of Muslim community at least in the national capital of
India.
36 Chapter Two

Conclusion and Recommendations

As the study suggests, Muslims are among the most marginalized
communities in Delhi in terms of health and educational facilities being
provided to them. This calls for urgent steps to ameliorate their conditions.
Some of our recommendations Vis a Vis the problem of Muslims social
exclusion is:
1. The Delhi government should take immediate steps to fill the gap
of educational and health facilities being offered to Muslim areas.
2. The Delhi Government should do collection of data on Muslim
social, economic, educational and political conditions.
3. Activists, organisations and policy-makers should make the data
available to the general public and for use. Such information
would need to be quantitative, qualitative as well as comparative,
so that conditions between Muslims and other communities can
be compared and policies suitably adjusted to ensure equity.
4. Much emphasis should be given to make the data keeping in
terms with gender, region, class, caste; linguistic groups etc. so
that all the Muslims are not treated as a monolith.
5. Development schemes by the government should allocate
resources in Muslim-dominated localities on a scale proportionate
to their population; it should be suitably made and implemented.
6. Development schemes must also be culturally sensitive so that
they are acceptable to the Muslim community. For instance,
enforced co-education after a certain level or Hinduised or anti-
Muslim biases in textbooks often act as a major hindrance to
Muslim, particularly Muslim girls', education. These issues need
to be sensitively addressed and approached.
7. In planning and implementing development schemes the
participation of the local community, including Muslims and
other marginalized groups, must be ensured.
8. Civil Society or NGOs should take a proactive action in the
Muslim dominated areas of Delhi and make their presence felt.
9. Sensitizing the Ulema of the madrasas to the existing social,
economic and educational problems of the Muslim community,
particularly the poor and women, so that they can help mobilize
public opinion on these through their lectures and literature.
10. Dialogue on Muslim social, economic and educational issues also
needs to be initiated with the media, politicians, bureaucrats, and
non-governmental organizations
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 37

References
Alam, Arshad (2006), ‘Beyond Rhetoric: Understanding Contemporary
Madrasas,’ Islam and Muslim Societies: A Social Science Journal, Vol.
2 No.6, New Delhi
Hasan, Zoya and Menon, Ritu (2004), ‘Unequal Citizens, A Study of
Muslim Women in India,’, New Delhi: Oxford University Press
Islam, Maidul (2007), ‘The Plight of Indian Muslims: Some Missing Links
in Sachar Committee Report and a Possible Alternative Model of
Affirmative Action,’ Social Action, Vol. 57 No.3, New Delhi
Metcalf, Barbara Daly (1995), ‘Too Little and Too Much: Reflections on
Muslims in the History of India,’ Journal of Asian Studies, Vol.54
No.4
Robinson, Rowena (2007), ‘ Marginalisation and Violence: Concerns for
India and Its Muslims, Social Action, Vol. 57 No.3, New Delhi pp233
‘Ghettoisation Of Muslims In India’,
www.countercurrents.org/comm-sikand
www.education.nic.in/policy/npe86-mod 92.pdf
www.unesco.org/education/educprog/50y/brochure/tle/146.htm
www.indiaedu.com/delhi/schools
http://delhigovt.nic.in/dept/health/lsthptl.asp
 CHAPTER THREE

RURAL MUSLIM WOMEN AND THEIR QUALITY

OF LIFE IN BIRBHUM, WEST BENGAL

SHARMISHTHA BHATTACHARJEE

The status of women in India has been subject to many great

changes over the past few millennia. From a largely unknown
status in ancient times through the low points of the medieval
period, today women try to hold equal rights as men in their
society.This chapter examines the social situation of Muslim
women in Rural Birbhum,West Bengal. The study seeks to explore
quality of life of Muslim women in the rural areas concentrating on
various parameters of their life situations which they face in their
public and private domain. It is been found that women still live
their lives within the four walls and appreciate their living. There
is deep sense among women to educate themselves and their
offspring’s. There is close proximity between the kin members
which help the women to bring about changes in the larger whole.

Introduction
The status and role of Muslim Women in India is inextricably linked to
political, economic and social survival of the Muslim community in India
to development in Indian society and to the position of all Indian women.

Islam, as a religion, regulates the sacred and secular practices of its people.
Islam was founded by Prophet Mohammad in the desert of Arabia in 600
AD as a reaction to polytheism of West Asia and spread like fire among
the tribal group of Arabia.

Originally, it created a nomadic society and its social structure was said to
be egalitarian in character and was not highly stratified, but when the
40 Chapter Three

prophet came to Medina, the nomadic economic structure of the Islamic

society changed into a mercantile, agrarian social structure, which was
more complex in organization. The Muslim considers the Holy Quran to
be the unchallenged immutable word of God as revealed by Holy Prophet.
The Hadith and Sunnah–traditional saying and deeds of prophet are
another source of law.

The Muslim social structure in India seems to have consisted of the core of
the traditional culture set up. However, with interplay of a number of
exogenous factors numbers of changes have taken place. As Imitiaz
Ahmed presents, Muslim groups are endogamous. The Muslims are
divided into four groups called the Sayed, Sheikh, Mughal and Pathan. He
writes that a close link between groups and hereditary occupation exists
which functions as the basis of economic interdependence of the groups.

Caste system is a divine product among Hindus but in case of Muslims the
division is a social product. Among the Indian Muslims, family largely
exists in the framework of patrilineal descent but differs in its forms and
functions. A patrilineal family is a tri-generational, commensally and co-
residential group formed by close patri-kins with their wives and
unmarried daughters. This group has a common budget, common
residence and common hearth. Within the Muslim community the
traditional ideal of segregation of series is common and is accepted as the
natural way of life in a patrilineal and patriarchal society. Women are
married off to bear male heirs to continue the line. This stereotype is given
legitimacy by the notions of honor and modesty that are widespread in the
society. Breaking the ideal of segregation is considered as a threat to
family honor as well as to women modesty. According to Zeyauddin
Ahmad, Muslims have been ordained to marry without fail; Marriage is
considered to be one of the sacred duties of Muslims. Prophet Mohammad
discouraged Rohbaniyat (celibacy) and asked his followers to marry and
multiply. He preaches that marriage is my custom, he, who dislikes it does
not belong to me. Marry and multiply so that they may be glorified in
self-community over other communities. Marriage in Islam derives its
legitimacy from the Shariat and is a contract.

For purpose of my research I broadly collected information on the

following aspects:
a) The type and nature of work the women perform inside and outside
their home,
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 41

b) The income of the women, and their material contribution to the

maintenance of the household,
c) The health condition of the women and the diseases they suffer from;
their awareness of family planning measures, immunization and access to
the modern medical facilities,
d) Their level of education and participation in political domain,
e) The women and their ritual world.

I selected one Muslim village of population of 140 households for my

study. The community under study is egalitarian in nature.

This village is situated under Ruppur Gram Panchayat of Bolpur-

Sriniketan Block under Bolpur police Station in the district of Birbhum.
Birbhum district is the north most district of the Burdwan division of West
Bengal. It lies between 23o 32’ 30” and 24o 35’ 00” north latitude and 88o
01’ 40” and 87o 05’ 25” east longitude.

The village adopted for empirical study is Surul village which is eight kms
away from Bolpur railway station. It is a big multiethnic village. The
hamlets dominated by the Muslim were selected for study.

The village is located under the same ecological environment and

agriculture is their primary occupation. This village has three Muslim
hamlets – one within the village, which is surrounded with houses of
Hindus, the second cluster behind the primary school of Sriniketan and
third in the fallow land towards Mohidapur. The Muslim clusters of Surul
are surrounded with the market, primary school and the Hindu hamlet on
the metal road.

The Muslims of the village are categorized as a minority community;

ideally they are egalitarian and perceive their society having no
stratification although Hindu caste-like group formations are now found
among the local Muslims. The Muslims of the hamlets are broadly divided
into Shia and Sunni. In the social hierarchy, the Shia is higher than the
Sunni. The Shia group is again divided into three endogamous sub-groups:
Sayed, Mughal and Pathan. The Sunni is locally known as Sheik. Sheik is
also an endogamous group. Of all these groups the Sayed are placed at the
top and the Sheik at the bottom while the Mughal and the Pathan are
placed at the middle. They even do not marry each other. Muslims also
follow the principle of hypergamy i.e. marrying above one’s own. They
42 Chapter Three

practice endogamous marriage to maintain the purity. There is also a strict

following of untouchability as in the case of Hindus (Subbanama, 1988).

Looking upon the demographic and physical set up of the village, there are
140 households in the Muslim hamlets in Surul, has a total population of
709, 359 males and 350 females.

Table-1: Total population of Muslims Hamlets of Surul

Category Population Percentage

Male 359 50.26
Female 350 49.74
Total 709 100.00
Source: Preliminary household survey.

In the village one can find both Kacha, Pucca and mixed (Kacha Pucca)
houses in the hamlets.

Table-2: Number of houses (Kacha/Pucca)/Mixed

S.No. Type of houses Number of houses

1. Kacha 107
2. Pucca 29
Kacha + Pucca (Mixed) 4
Total 140
Source: Preliminary household survey.

The 140 households in the village consist of only Muslim composition.

These are as follows.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 43

Table -3: Muslim compositions in the hamlets

Community Surnames Number of people

Muslims Miya 60
Meer 17
Badi 3
Ali 1
Box 1
Suffiuddin 1
Molla 4
Mustafa 4
Malik 1
Salim 2
Sakur 2
Rehman 2
Anarul 1
Habib 1
Sheikh 36
Ansari 4
Total 140
Source: Preliminary household survey.

The village has 140 households in total, 65 joint in nature, 60 nuclear

families, 10 extended nuclear families and 5 broken families. Broken
families are those which comprise of the father or mother with unmarried
children, Nuclear family consists of father, mother and unmarried children,
extended nuclear family comprises of father, mother unmarried children
with a relative and joint family consists of two married couple households
with their children.
44 Chapter Three

Table: 4 Type of families

Type of families Number of families Percentage

Joint 65 45
Nuclear 60 43
Extended Nuclear 10 8
Broken 5 4

Total 140 100%

Source: Preliminary household survey.

Out of 140 households, there are 71 landholding households and 69

landless households in the village.

Table-5: Number of landholding and landless households

S.No. Particulars Number

1. Landholding household 71
2. Landless household 69
Total 140

Table – 6: Land size of the landholding households

S. No. Category No.of Nature of

household farmer
1 Less than 1 acre ( 3 bighas) 35 Marginal
2 1-2 acre (3-6 bighas) 19 Small
3 2-4 acres (6-12 bighas) 13 Medium
4 More than 12 acres 4 Large
Total 71
Source: Preliminary household survey.

More educated households are found in the hamlet as compared to

uneducated.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 45

Table: 7 Education statuses in the village

Category Person Population

Literate Male 164
Female 160

Illiterate Male 70
Female 43

Total: 437
Source: Preliminary household survey.

In this village, maximum number of males and females has attained their
education till the middle level. One can also find graduates and post-
graduates.

Table: 8 Level of education in the (Muslim hamlets), Surul

S. Level of education Person Population Total

No.
1 Primary level Male 44 119
Female 75

2 Secondary level Male 40 80

Female 40

3 Higher secondary Male 36 56

level Female 20 Contd

4 Graduation Male 22 26
Female 4

5 Post-graduation Male 15 19
Female 4

6 Private Male 7 13
Female 6

Total 313
Source: Preliminary household survey.
46 Chapter Three

The percentage of non-working male and female population is high.

Working people are those engaged in organized or unorganized sector.

Table: 9 Working/Non-working population in the village

S. Category Population Percentage

No.
1 Working Male 108 166 44
Female 58

2 Non- Male 95 216 56

working Female 121

Total 382 100

Source: Preliminary household survey.

The income level rotates among 1500-2000 for males and 0-500 for
females. We can also find a number of people in series of 5000 & above,
as most of them are employees of the University.

Table: 10 Income level of working men and women in the village

Income level Male Female

0-500 12 23
500-1000 9 11
1000-1500 18 8
1500-2000 24 3
2000-2500 8 7
2500-3000 10 2
3000-3500 6
3500-4000 1 2
4000-4500 3
4500-5000 - 1
5000 & above 17 1
Total 108 58
Source: Preliminary household survey

The village has playground where the children play in the evening from
4pm. The Imam calls the children for religious education, which is must
for both Muslim girls and boys. Following are the facilities available in the
village.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 47

Table: 11 Facilities for the villagers

Facilities Number
Primary school 1
Aganwari centre 1
Drinking water:
Tube wells 2
German tubes 4
Wells 2
Sanitary facilities 13 (individual)
Source: Preliminary household survey

Villagers individually own facilities such as telephone, television,

refrigerator and electricity according to their necessity.

Table: 12 Facilities available in the families of the village

Facilities Number
Telephone 10
Television 41
Refrigerator 6
Maruti Car 2
Motor cycle 1
Electricity 60
Source: Preliminary household survey

Industry
There is an absence of small-scale industry in the village but, women are
primarily engaged in household industries such as Kantha work, which
they get from outsiders. Some families are also engaged in exporting the
material as well as exhibiting their material in fairs of Santiniketan and
Sriniketan. Leather, sole, batik products etc. are also being processed in
this village.

Agriculture and irrigation

Crops such as paddy, potato, wheat, onion, banana, spinach etc. is
cultivated.
48 Chapter Three

Table: 13 Cropping pattern in the village

Type of Crop Cropping month Harvesting month

Paddy June-July Nov.-Dec.
Onion Oct.-Nov. March-April
Potato Oct.-Nov. March-April
Wheat Nov.-Dec.-Jan. Feb.-March
Spinach Nov.-Dec. Jan.-Feb.

Village ponds, canal and the Maurakshi irrigation project fulfill irrigation
needs.

Festivals and Occasions

The villagers celebrate festivals such as Ed ul Fitr, Ed ul Zuha, Shabe-
barat and Moharram. The religious places in the village are the mosque
and astana.

Table: 14 Festivals in the Muslim hamlets

Festivals Bengali Calendar Month

Shabe-barat Agrahayan Nov.
Ed-ul-Fitr Agrahayan December
Ed ul Zuha Chaitra March
Moharram Chaitra or Baisakh March or April

The Muslims festivals are celebrated according to the location of the

Moon.

There is a tradition in the village to feed the Imam in Pala (rotation) or

Pala. The astana is also being cleaned in rotation by women.

Concentrating particularly on Muslim women, looking upon the social

arrangement of these women, marriage is done by parental selection which
is generally appreciated, but selection of mates within the community is a
common phenomenon. Marriage gives unequal rights to men and women.
Religion provided for free consent of both parties in the marriage, but in
practice it is a mere formality, so far as the girl is concerned.

The right of repudiation of marriage contact is with the husband.

Polygamy is permitted in Islam to the male members by the Holy Quran.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 49

Under this right there is a religious allowance for a man to marry four
times. A wife is given an inferior status and women through ages express
their unhappiness and resentment towards second marriage.

The law regarding polygynous marriage, according to the Holy Quran,

emphasized equal treatment to co-wives; the classical formulation of this
law does not prescribe this injunction. Nor is there any restriction on a
husband to acquire four wives at a time- the Quran has permitted
polygyny only under stringent circumstances and has ordered its
prohibition unless absolute justice is equally meted out to all wives. A man
can marry a woman from a lower group but not from a group higher than
that of his own. Speaking otherwise, a woman belonging to a lower group
can marry a man of a higher group. Polygyny is the rule, although most of
the married men of the hamlets are found to have single spouse. In relation
to divorce, it is generally believed that Muslim males can divorce at their
will just by repeating the words ‘I divorce you’ three times any time
without any witness. The Quaranic injunctions indicate that divorce has to
be pronounced in the presence of witness and all efforts should be made to
reconcile the marriage. Talaq or unilateral divorce provides a woman a
detrimental status in Islam. Women, who are divorced, are prohibited
participation in economic and social fields and have been a hurdle in the
way of realizing their property rights. Mehr is meant to be a security for
the wife against the possibility of divorce at the husband’s free will. It is
doubtful because women are not in a position to assert their claims to mehr
in the event of a divorce or widowhood particularly in consummates. A
very few women are able to assert their claim generally the amount
payable is negligible. There is no compensation for the insecurities
inherent in the system. Among the local Muslims, there is a custom of din
mehr by the groom to the bride before finalizing the marriage contract.
The amount of money in this contract varies from Rs.51 to Rs.501. Among
the Muslims, formerly the bride is selected and; mehr and dowry are
settled. On the marriage day, women smear turmeric and oil on the boy
and girl at their own place. The Moulavi gives the time of marriage and all
community men gather at the girl's place. The boy arrives and sits in a
different room. The Moulavi asks the girl and boy about the consent for
marriage separately. Kalma is read and community men are given sweets.
The contract is written down in the paper and the bride is asked about her
consent. A divorced woman may remarry but a widow is not allowed to
marry again. In the hamlet I found a woman who was living with her three
children after separation from her husband who is living in another village.
She is now living with her parents and doing needle (kantha) work for
50 Chapter Three

livelihood. Muslims observe austerities to uphold the community

ideology.

The larger perception is that a good woman in Islam is one who is fully
dependent on men for the business of living. She has no place in the
formal religious organization and legal affairs of the community. But
looking upon the education level of the women in Muslim community, it is
difficult to believe this perception.

Table: 15 The educational status of women

Category Muslim women

Educated 149
Uneducated 43
Total 192
Source: Preliminary household survey.

This table represents that women are more educated than being
uneducated. Mostly education is considered to be a major determinate to
judge their awareness about various aspects of life but at times it fails.

Table: 16 Level of education of women

Level of Education Muslim

Primary level (1-5) 75
Secondary level (6-10) 40
Higher Secondary level (10+2) 20
Graduation level (10+2+3) 4
Post Graduation level (10+2+3+2) 4
Private 6
Total Educated 149
Uneducated 43
Grand total 192

This table shows that women are primarily educated till the primary level.
Some have attended the secondary level and University level but their
percentage is very less.

The education of women working in various sectors of economy varies.

Women working as teachers or clerks in the government sector are
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 51

generally educated till the higher secondary level. Women who are
engaged in menial jobs in organized or unorganized sector and their
education hardly matters. Women confined to the household sphere differ
in education level and their age of marriage also is different. Among the
Hindus, girls generally get married at the age of fifteen, where they are
hardly educated till the middle level i.e., (Std. VI-VIII). Muslim women,
due to family pressure, perform the mother’s role from the childhood, such
girls do not get proper education. Among the higher caste Muslims in this
village investment on education for a girl child is not seen and it is
considered a bad investment as villagers feel that through education they
cannot get a job for themselves.

In relation to the role of women in the economic sphere, Muslim women

eminently serve the purpose of taming the women to accept and adhere to,
without protest, their traditional, dependent, subordinate domestic role
thereby refraining them from entering the labour market. Women avoid
work outside the home: most women who do work are forced to do
because of economic necessity and there is a great deal of prejudice
against working women. The task of women is generally restricted to the
domestic sphere: working, cleaning, sewing and childcare.

Table: 17 Type of work done by women who work outside

Type of work Muslims

(a) Cottage Industry
Leather -
Batik -
Needle work 30
Basket making -
Weaving -
(b) Entrepreneurship
Stationary shop -
Garment shop -
Vegetable shop 2
Milk Seller 4
Tailoring 1
Puffed rice seller 1
(c) Service in permanent basis (salaried job)
Anganwari cook 1
Hostel caretaker (Visva-Bharati) 1
52 Chapter Three

Public Works Department 1

Clerk -
Samavaya Samiti (Salesman) -
Primary School teacher 1
(d) Service in contractual / temporary basis …
Brick kiln worker - Contd
Paper mill -
Rice mill -
Mason -
(e) Service in monthly payment -
(contractual)

Maid servant 8
Gardener -

Working in leather private concern -

(f) Service in project based work -
Non-Governmental organization -
Elmhirst Institute 1
(g) Animal Husbandry -
Cattle rearing -
Poultry rearing -
(h) Seasonal labourers 7
Total 58
Source: Preliminary household survey.

Looking upon the work structure of Muslim women, it has been found that
their work place is within the four walls. These women are generally
engaged in needle (kantha) work. These women have learned the job from
their neighbours or in-laws. To get the work from women or men in
business, these women either take it from the same village in which they
live or neighbouring villages. These women go to the owner’s house to
get the work. The items to be prepared are designed by the owner and
colour of thread to be filled is explained by them. The owner gives them
thread for stitching. The cost of the thread is deducted from the wages.
After the work is done, if it is not up to satisfaction, the stitches are
destroyed by the owner and money is deducted from the wages. Then, the
same work is done by somebody else and the cost of labour is given to her.
Women generally do this work after completing their household chores. If
it is a joint family, in-laws sit together to perform the job and the money is
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 53

distributed within them. The women do not stitch only in Kantha method;
they also do other stitches such as Gujrati and Kathiawari in order to
make the items attractive. For the items which are being made, the cost of
labour is as follows: Dupatta – Rs. 100/-, Bed cover – Rs. 200/-, Woolen
shawls – Rs. 75/-, Sari (whole) – Rs. 500/-, Sari (Achal par) – Rs. 350/-,
Suit – Rs. 150/-, Bag – Rs. 30/- and Jacket – Rs. 80/-. If the cost of the
item made is Rs. 400/- then Rs. 25 is being deducted from it and then the
amount paid to the labourer is Rs. 375/-. The amount paid depends on the
item made and the thread which is being used.

Women engaged in stitching process in the village

The work being done here is at the women’s will in their spare time.
Women within the Muslim community also work as entrepreneurs. They
run such business as vegetable shops, selling milk and puffed rice. They
also engage in tailoring work. Women who run vegetable shops are
assisted by their husbands in getting the provisions from the market. They
earn around Rs.15-20/- per day according to the sale. Women who sell
milk or puffed rice establish a contact with people and provide them with
the product. At the end of the month they get their salary. Women who are
engaged in tailoring work mend and repair the clothes of villagers.
54 Chapter Three

Women in the Muslim community are also engaged in permanent jobs

such as anganwari cook, hostel caretaker, public works department and
primary school teacher. The anganwari cook prepares the mid-day meal
for the children attending the anganwari centre. The hostel caretaker takes
care of the boarders staying in the hostel. Women working with the public
works department sweep and clean the office and the primary school
teacher teaches the children till class fifth. All these women fall in the
category of Rs.1500-2000 or Rs.5000/-.

They receive their remuneration, at the end of the month. Clothes are
given thrice in a year. Muslim women are also employed in project work
that is operated by Elmhrist Institute in AIDS Project. They educate people
about AIDS and distribute precautionary measurers. They are paid every
month. No woman works in animal husbandry, but they work as seasonal
labourer in the time of sowing, harvesting and threshing of the crops. It is
daylong work and Rs.50 is paid per day. Women who are working within
Muslim community stay at home to serve / meet the need of the
household.

Although Muslim women are engaged in animal husbandry as an

occupation, they do cattle and poultry rearing at their houses for household
purposes.

Most Muslim females do needle (kantha) work. This work earns them
Rs.1500-2000/- month. The following table shows the monthly income
level of working women of the communities under study.

Table: 18 Working women’s monthly income level

Income level Muslims

0-500 16
500-1000 7
1000-1500 19
1500-2000 3
200-2500 9
2500-3000 1
3000 and above 3
Total 58
Source: Preliminary household survey.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 55

In the Muslim community, women give their earning to husbands and in-
laws. In some cases they keep it or keep salary information from their
spouse. Males, not females, tend to save money and have bank accounts.
In few instances where women save money, they often open accounts. For
Muslims, husband or in-laws maintain the accounts in 85% cases. There
are 5% joint accounts and 10% self accounts. Among Muslims men’s aid
to female is much less. Women generally do the work themselves. In the
time of need, they receive help from neighbours, and elder siblings. Elder
siblings play the role of a mother from a very young age.

If the child is an infant or a child, mother keeps her child in her lap and
does her work. When the woman goes to obtain the work from her
employer, she either carries the child with her or leaves, the child with a
neighbour or her in-laws or parents. The spouse generally cannot help in
this case as they are out in the morning.

Focusing briefly on the attitude of Muslims for medication the women

prefer private as well as government hospitals. Women, who work in
Visva Bharati, use the facilities; often they consult the Fakir of the village
or go the darga for medicines. All the communities also consult, to a
considerable extent, the local Kabiraj, homeopathy and the attending
chemists of the medical shops.

The types of medical services women choose for medication, and how far
education of women is important, has been presented in the following
tables.

Table: 19 Muslim women’s opinion about choice of medical services

(Age above fifteen years.)

Category Medication methods Total

Modern Methods Indigenous Method
Educated 139 10 149
Uneducated 36 7 43
Total - - 192

Similarly, in case of Muslims, educated or uneducated women form an

opinion of choosing modern methods of medication rather than indigenous
methods. They visit the Fakir and go to Dargas but it is very rare.
56 Chapter Three

Food habits among the Muslims in the hamlet

Table: 20 Daily food habits of Muslim community (Working women)

Community Early Morning Afternoon evening night

morning Before At the
coming work
to work place
Muslims Tea, Rice, Rice, Tea and Rice/Roti,
biscuit pulses pulses, puffed Pulses and
or and vegetable rice Vegetables
puffed vegetable curry
rice curry (boiled or
cooked),
non-veg.
according
to
possibility

Table: 21 Daily food habits of Muslim communities (Non Working

women)

Community Early Morning Afternoon evening night

morning Before At the
going to work place
work
Muslims Tea, Rice, Rice, Tea and Rice/Roti,
biscuit pulses pulses, puffed pulses
or and vegetables rice and
puffed vegetable (boiled vegetables
rice curry and
cooked),
non-veg.
(according
to
possibility
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 57

Food habits and routine is determined by the type of work they perform.
Most of the women stay at home, so food habits are elaborate. Muslims
consume beef in this hamlet. The mean height, weight and body mass of
working and non working Muslim women were taken into consideration to
measure their quality of life.

Table: 22 Mean height, weight and body mass of working women in

Muslim Community

Age- No.of Mean Mean Mean Remarks

group women height Weight BMI
(m) kg.
15-20 2 1.50 47 20.8 Normal
20-25 5 1.49 42 18.9 Normal
25-30 7 1.60 56 21.8 Normal
30-35 10 1.63 59 22.2 Normal
35-40 10 1.62 56 21.3 Normal
40-45 8 1.56 54 22.2 Normal
45-50 8 1.50 44 19.5 Normal
50-55 5 1.53 49 20.9 Normal
55-60 3 1.58 54 21.6 Normal
Total 58

Pregnant women
Mean Mean Mean Remarks
height (m) Weight BMI
kg.
Pregnant 29 1.60 62 24.4 Normal
(6 months of pregnancy)
23 (3 months of 1.65 65 23.8 Normal
pregnancy)

Lactating mothers
Category Mean Mean Mean Remarks
height (m) Weight BMI
kg.
Lactating mother 1.45 43 20.4 Normal
21(3 months baby)
17 (newly born) 1.42 31 15.3 Mal.nou.
58 Chapter Three

Table: 23 Mean height, weight and body mass of non-working women

in Muslim community

Age- No.of Mean Mean Mean Remarks

group women height (m) Weight BMI
kg.
15-20 2 153 46 19,6 Normal
20-25 5 1.60 56 21.8 Normal
25-30 10 1.62 56 21.3 Normal
30-35 7 1.56 54 22.2 Normal
35-40 8 1.55 51 21.2 Normal
40-45 8 1.62 58 22.1 Normal
45-50 10 1.63 60 22.5 Normal
50-55 5 1.55 52 21.6 Normal
55-60 3 1.55 53 22.0 Normal
Total 58

Women in Muslim community according to the body mass index enjoy

good health. Pregnant women and lactating mothers are looked after well
by the community.

Concentrating on ritual aspect of the woman’s life, religion makes the

husband head of the family and expects the wife to obey and serve him. In
Islam a woman is as much a believer as a man and (except in certain
bodily conditions such as menstruation) has an equal right to undertake
religious duties like praying and fasting. But a woman cannot be a priest
nor can she lead the prayers.Religion and rituals are the building block of
any community. Muslims also have their own practices.

All women following Islam as their religion have to offer Namaz five
times a day (known as Fajar, Zohar, Ashar, Magris and Isha). Quranic
education is given to children from the small age of seven. Religious
education is more important within the Muslim community.

Among the Muslims, when a woman is pregnant, in the fifth month of her
pregnancy she is given a shaad (feeding of the pregnant woman) at her
mother's place. The female members of the household do this ceremony. It
has been said among Muslims that if the mother's bleeding stops after the
Purnima or full moon, then she would have a son and if it is before the full
moon then she would have a girl child. After the child is born, on the
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 59

seventh day, the mother and child bathe and both stay in seclusion for
forty days. A woman can offer the Namaz (prayer) while she is pregnant,
but cannot do so in those forty days. After the pollution is over, she leaves
for her husband’s house where the first rice-eating ceremony is held. In the
sixth month, the child is fed the first grain known as Mukha Bhaat. Among
the Muslims also a son is preferred to a daughter.

Among the Muslims the boy is circumcised at the age of five. Elaborate
ceremonies are not performed but it is essential for all the males in Muslim
society. Among the Muslims, the deceased is clad with new clothes and is
taken to Kabristan. He is buried in the ground. Kalma is read and after
coming back, on the next day a feast is thrown to the villagers. On the
fourth day, a death milad is done (the gathering of people and reading of
Quran and feasting them). There is a strong belief among Muslims that
there is no birth after a man/woman dies. Other than celebrating the
turning point in the life cycle of an individual, which is marked with
rituals of symbolic expression of certain collective sentiments, all the three
communities celebrate their annual ceremonies all over the year.

Among the Muslims, apart from offering namaz five times a day
throughout the year, one can find them celebrating four festivals. Shabe-
raat is generally celebrated in the month of December. This is the festival
which offers and feeds people for the peace of the ancestors.

After Shabe-barat, Ed-ul-Fitr is celebrated after fasting for thirty days i.e.
eating before the sunrise and then eating after the sun set. This is done
after the calling from mosque. Women do not enter the mosque. On the
day of Eid, new clothes are worn, delicacies are prepared and offering is
done to the poor. The story behind this occasion is that Allah asked the
Prophet how many days his followers could fast. Prophet assured Allah
that his followers would fast for thirty days. Men and women who are
unable to fast during the 30 days of fasting before Eid, would complete
their fasting before seeing the moon of Moharram. During the time of
menstruation, women cannot fast, so the fasting is completed before
Moharram.

Ed-ul-Zuha is also celebrated by Muslims. The reason is the sacrifice of

the dearest one. The story behind this festival is the sacrifice of a Dhumba
by the Prophet.
60 Chapter Three

Moharram is being celebrated by Muslims in order to mourn for Fatima's

sons, Hasan and Husan. This mourning is not done by Hanafi, as they
prepare an astana and revolve it round the villages and delicacies are
prepared.

The Muslim women also have to read religious scriptures, say prayer
(namaz) to Allah.

Women’s right to inheritance provided in Islam is sufficient. Islam

introduced shares of wife, daughter, mother, sister and grandmother
general rule being that the female inherits half of what the corresponding
male would inherit. However, the women’s right to hold property is not
often upheld as practice.

This is largely due to their seclusion, lack of education and the prevalence
of customs and connections which in the Indian culture setting go against
women’s right. Although Islam has made acquisition of knowledge an
obligatory duty for every Muslim including woman to enable them to offer
prayers and recite the Quran, yet in practice it is largely restricted. The
seclusion of women among Muslims is an extreme form of segregation.
They have to face restrictions upon their free movement outside the home,
going out only when necessary with male escort and with a burqa (veil).

Thus among the Muslims, women primarily stay within the four walls.
They follow the strict rules of Islam and do not dare to talk upon it or on
the patriarchal order. If the woman is barren, she is not being accepted by
the community (Ahmad, 1991). Widows have to follow strict restriction
and domestic work is considered to be more important to the family as
compared to education for girls.

In relation to political participation it is found that Muslim women in these

hamlets have been suffering from a dual handicap of illiteracy and
confinement. Despite equal political status given to women by the
constitution, they do not come forward to take up the opportunity. Women
of this community are also adversely affected in respect of several
personal laws such as right of inheritance, conjugal rights, facility and ease
of re-marriage and right to own children. This village does not run any
self-help group but there is an existence of a Mahila Samiti to look into
problems of women. There are eight women in this Samiti who arrange
meeting to discuss some problems of women in the time of need. The
people of the Muslim hamlets interact with each other and with the Hindu
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 61

community at the time of need. These are closely knitted homogeneous

groups.

The Muslims are monotheist; the socio-political and cultural affairs of the
community are taken care of by their religious heads and other elderly
members according to the prescribed rules of their religious scriptures.
Among the Muslims the community values have a strong hold over
individual life and activity. The people of these hamlets are exposed to
wider culture and there is a close kin network in the villagers and provide
a good quality of life to their women.

References
Ahmad, Imtiaz(ed.). 1973. Castes and Social Stratification among
Muslims Monohar Book Service, New Delhi. 1983. Modernization
and social change among Muslims in India, New Delhi: Monohar
Publishers
Ahmad, Sarfarazuddin.1991.Rural Muslim in transition, New Delhi:
Commonwealth Publisher,
Anjum, Mohini (ed). 1992. Muslim Women in India, New Delhi: Radiant
Publishers.
Dube, Leela. 1992. Women in Matrilineal Muslim Community in Muslim
Women in India edited by Mohini Anjum, pp 99-111. New Delhi:
Radiant Publishers.
Fruzzetti, Lina, M. 1990. The Gift of a Virgin: women, marriage and
rituals in a Bengali society, London: Oxford University Press.
Hussain, Sahiba. 1990. Modernization among Muslim women in India: A
case study of Darbanga town in North Bihar, Centre for Study of
Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University. (Unpublished thesis),
New Delhi.
Jacobson, Doranne and Susan Wadley. 1977. Women in India: Two
perspectives, New Delhi: Manohar Publication.
Reddy,P.H. 2003. Religion, population growth, fertility and family
planning practice in India, Economic and political weekly, Vol.
XXXVIII, No. 33. pp. 3509-3512, A Sameeksha Trust Publcation,
New Delhi.
Rizwana, 2002. Health care management under decentralized system: A
study in West Bengal, Women Links, Vol. 8, No.4, pp. 9-12, Social
Action Trust, New Delhi.
Subbanama, Malladi, 1998. Islam and Women, New Delhi: Sterling
Publishers Pvt Ltd.
62 Chapter Three

Szalia, A. and F.M Andrew (ed.), 1980. The quality of life – Comparative
studies London: Sage Publications,
Urduhart, M. Margaret. 1987. Women in Bengal, New Delhi: Gian
Publishing House.
 CHAPTER FOUR

POLITICS OF GENDER:
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN INDIA

K.M. ZIYAUDDIN AND SHEKH MOINUDDIN

Gender is encompassing. Gender categorization forms the basis of every

individual as well as social relationship. It is the key ingredient to political,
social, and economic as well as cultural differentiation. Gender is the
study of inequality, imbalance, along with endorsement of the social fact.
‘Gender inequality’ is rooted in the social stratification which is based on
the roles and responsibilities assigned to men and women and the
differential valuation of their roles. Thus, the position of women and the
degree of empowerment is determined by the ways gender identities,
gender roles and gender relations are conceived at the family, household
community and societal levels (Gupta & Yesudian, 2006). It is political in
the sense that societies work according to certain pattern of gender
behavior and power relation. Gender politics comprises the ongoing
construction of the social gender relations. It is within this framework that
individual and groups act in all spheres in the society. Gender politics
would comprise the way social relations are constructed by individuals and
also the norms of the society as a whole. There are many actors who are
engaged in gender politics in a variety of ways.

The women’s movement in India goes back to 1920s, building on the 19th
century social reform movement. The women’s movement progressed
during the period of high nationalism and the freedom struggle, both of
which shaped its form. Among the many achievements of the movement,
the most significant were the constitutional guarantees of equal rights for
women and universal adult suffrage in independent India. However, these
marvelous constitutional guarantees did little to bring about social and
material change in the lives of most Indian women, and specially the
64 Chapter Four

Muslim women. Despite the longstanding and vigorous women’s

movement, patriarchy remains deeply entrenched in Indian society,
influencing the structure of its political and social institutions and
determining the opportunities open to women and men. A New Women’s
movement, articulated to mass and popular politics, emerged in the 1970s.
But till date the problems faced by women especially Muslim women in
field of education, job, family and society, to name a few, question the so-
called development in society. The negotiation and conflict between
patriarchy and the women’s movement are continuous. This paper
explores issues like employment, education and domestic violence
including sexual harassment which raises its ugly head threatening
humanity as a whole.

Like gender, politics is omnipresent. Andrew Heywood refers to politics as

the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general
rules under which they live (Heywood, 2002). Politics can be explained as
the intention and action either in favor or against. According to the new
ideology politics brings the world together for developmental cause rather
than just being involved in conflict. Adrain Leftwich defines politics as
one which comprises all the activities of co-operation and conflict, within
and between societies, whereby human species goes about organizing the
use, production and distribution of human, natural and other resources in
the course of production and reproduction of its biological and social life
(Leftwich, 1984). Gender politics in India involves a wider network of
social relations, economic factors, identity discourse, political movement,
as well as representation.

Here I would like to investigate the contours of gender relations in the

Indian context, emphasizing on the case of Muslim women. Though the
challenges like education, employment, and domestic violence are
paralyzing women all over the world, Muslim women are affected all the
more, being low in both public and private space. Muslim women live in
seclusion and seldom raise a louder voice than her Hindu counterpart. The
Islamist discourses emphasize on maintaining the authenticity of tradition
and seek to draw boundaries not only between the Muslim and non-
Muslim community but also between the “true” guardians of community
and the “internal other” (Kandiyoti, 1991). They hold that women must
remain ‘in their place’ for political and social harmony to prevail in the
society. Women, are thus, central to the larger political and moral
imagination, essential to the upholding of civic order and virtue
(Eickelman & Piscatori, 2004). A key dimension of Muslim politics is the
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 65

contest over the meanings attached to ‘women’ as symbol. In Indian

society the role of women is seen constricted within the four walls of the
household. In this sense her position seems to be the same as it was during
the medieval time. The only change which is seen is in her participation in
politics and the gradual demand for rights. But how far these led to
empowerment of women is a question in itself. In this context the case of
Muslim women becomes elusive.

Social movements have been quite popular throughout Indian history

when participation of Muslims was not lacking. The various facets of the
social movement in the colonial India have been well documented. During
the Khilafat movement for the first time Muslim women came out from
veil and participated to fight against the colonial power for a better a
future. Many gave up purdah (veil) and actively participated in the
swadeshi, and civil-disobedience movements. While the leadership of the
Muslim women’s movement, as with the movement in other communities,
tended to become identified with particular families; in Bombay the
activities of the women from Tyabji, Rahimtullah and Chinoy families, in
Punjab with those of Muhammad Shafi and Abdul Qadir (Lateef,1986),
the first phase of the women’s movement emerged in India in the 1920’s.
Immense changes had been initiated in the nineteenth century through the
social reforms which pushed for more radical changes in the variety of
roles women could play in society. The political and economic changes of
the nineteenth century had induced a societal reassessment as Indian
reformers and Christian missionaries combined to press for changes in the
status of women, beginning with education and raising the age of
marriage. However, these goals were stretched, in the later decades, to
include political participation besides an expanded role in social and
economic spheres. Although the movement’s leadership remained in the
hand of a few, it, nevertheless, provided opportunities to a variety of
emerging leaders to express their views and disseminate the message to
women’s group. The issue of Indian women in the political sphere first
emerged during this period over extending the franchise to women
(Karlekar, 2005) and finally through ‘The Govt. of India Act 1935’ Indian
women were eligible to practice franchise.

Although women, including Muslim women got right to vote, the situation
did not improve much. Women representation in the political arena is
minimal. After sixty years of independence we got our first women
president. Since 1970s many talks were held regarding the ‘Women
Reservation Bill’ i.e. thirty three percent reservations to women in the
66 Chapter Four

parliament, is still waiting to be implemented. Every Prime Minister

sympathized and agreed to the contents but it is yet to be cleared from both
the houses. The role of a parliamentarian is susceptible and very
unpredictable within the patriarchal ambiance and an era of coalition
governments.

I
In India the Muslim population is unevenly spread, in some pocket it is
dense and somewhere sparse. In states like Jammu & Kashmir, West
Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Kerela and Uttar Pradesh, Muslims are comprised
in a larger number. They are politically important and play an active role
in state elections. The number of Muslim population is valuable in these
regions as compared to the Northern belt.

In the parliament, number of Muslim women never crossed the double

digit. Only during 6th parliamentary election, representation of Muslim
women was around 16 percent within the women parliamentarians. Many
a times the number came down to zero, which is detrimental for the
community and also for the parliament where there is no representation
from Muslim woman.

Muslim women in Lok-Sabha and their percentage of representation

Lok Sabha Total Men Women Muslim Muslim % of

Election Seat MPs MPs Women Men Muslim
MPs MPs Women
1st (1952- 499 476 23 0 0
57)
2nd (1957- 479 455 24 2 8.3
62
3rd (1962- 543 506 37 2 5.4
67
4th (1967- 548 516 32 0 0
70
5th (!971- 553 527 26 0 0
77)
6th (1977- 559 541 18 3 16.7
79
7th (1980- 565 533 32 2 6.3
84
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 67

8th (1984- 571 526 45 3 6.7

89)
9th (1989- 531 503 28 0 0
91
10th (1991- 534 494 40 0 0
96)
11th (1996- 545 505 40 1 2.5
97
12th (1998- 545 501 44 0 0
99)
13th (1999- 545 498 47 1 2.1
04)
14th (2004- 545 500 49 2 -
Till Now
Avg 33.5 1.1 3.2
Source: www.parliamentofindia.nic.in

As the figures show the dismal picture of women’s representation in the

world’s largest democracy, the space taken by Muslim women is even
more depressing. During the first democratic election which was held with
many dreams and promises to the destiny, not even single Muslim woman
represented her case. The situation improved a little in the second
parliamentary election in which Mafida Ahmed from Jorhat constituency
(Assam) and Maimoona Sultan from Bhopal constituency (M.P)
participated in the democratic process. Although women representation
increased in the 3rd parliamentary election, it was not in the case of
Muslim woman. Only Zohraban Akbarbhai Charada from Banaskantha
(Gujarat) and Maimoona Sultan from Bhopal constituency (M.P) had won
the election. Subsequently in the 4th and 5th lok sabha elections the number
again came down and touched zero and after that in the forthcoming 6th
parliamentary election highest number of Muslim women managed to
win the election. Among them was Rashida Haque Chaudhary from
Silchar, Akbar Jehan Abdullah won twice once each from Srinagar and
Anantnag (J&K) and Mohsina Kidwai from Azamgarh and Merrut (U.P)
became victorious and pushed up the ratio. While in the 7th parliamentary
election only two Muslim women politicians, Mohsina Kidwai (Merrut)
and Begum Abida Ahmed (Bareilly), could manage to win election from
U.P. After them only Noor Bano managed to win from Rampur
constituency (U.P). In the 14th Lok Sabha election Mehbooba Mufti from
Anantnag constituency (J&K) and Syeda Rubab from Bahriach
Constituency (U.P) managed to win the election.
68 Chapter Four

Those managed to win the election in which all are from Congress party,
except Akbar Jehan Abdullah who belongs to National Conference party
and Mehbooba Mufti (Anantnag) from JKPDP, and they represented only
northern region in the parliament. In all only nine Muslim women have
served in the Lok Sabha in the past sixty years.

In the Upper House, the position of Muslim women is considerably good

as compared to the Lok-Sabha, except the few initial years of 1970’s when
there were no Muslim women in the house. And interestingly out of
thirteen members, ten belonged to Indian National Congress (I). Najma
Heptullah who was elected from BJP earlier belonged to the Indian
National Congress. Apart from election, three Muslim women were
nominated from the President of India.

The calculation of Muslim women, who have participated in the state

assemblies, has been more difficult. There is very little information of the
formative period. A carefully prepared list of past fifty years, shows only
twenty-six Muslim women, who had been elected to the provincial
legislative assemblies (Karlekar, 2005). This is indeed a low proportion
against the ideal number which should be in the assemblies. Most of them
started their journey with Congress tickets.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 69

Muslim women MPs in the history of Rajya Sabha

Name state Nominated(N)/ Party Tenure

Elected(E)
Begaum Aizaz U.P E Cong 1952-56
Rasul
Saddiqua Delhi E Cong 1956-58
Kidwai
Anis Kidwai U.P E Cong 1956-68
Aziza Imam Bihar E Cong 1973-82
Maimuna M.P E Cong 1974-86
Sultan
Hamida U.P E Cong 1977-79
Habibullah
Noor Jehan T.N E Cong 1978-82
Rezaak
Fathema Ismail T.N Nominated --- 1978-84
Najma Maharastra E Cong 1980-04
Heptullah BJP 2004-till
now(BJP)
Mohsina U.P E Cong 1984-
Kidwai
Sayeeda M.P E Cong 1986-92
Khatoon
Sayeeda --- Nominated --- 1988-92
Anwara
Taimur
Sabana Azimi ---- Nominated --- 1994-2004
Source: Karlekar, 2005
70 Chapter Four

Muslim women elected to the state assemblies

Name state Constituency Party Tenure

Sayeeda Assam Dalgoan Cong 1978-85
Anwara Taimur 1991-96

Begaum Delhi Matia Mahal JNP 1977-83

Khurshid BJP 1983-93
Kidwai
Tajdar Babur Delhi Barakhambha Cong 1983-93
Road 1993-
Mintoo Road
Avasha Gujarat Soamnath Cong 1977-85
Begaum
Saheb(Md Ali
Sheikh)
Noorjehan Gujarat Balasinor Cong 1985-90
Bhakta Babi
Tamiz ben Gujarat Kalupur Cong 1985-90
Qureshi
Hajra Begaum J&K Banihal Cong 1972-
Zainab Begaum J&K Amirkadal Cong 1972-
Sakina Akther J&K Noorabad JKN 1996-04
Mehbooba J&K Bijbehra --- 1996---
Mufti
Mukthar Unnisa Karnataka Narasimaharaja Cong 1985-90
Nabeesa Kerala Kazhakuttam Independent 1987-91
Ummal
Firoza Ahsan M.P Burhanpur Cong 1985-90
Ali
Sajida Begaum Punjab Malerkotla Cong 1972-77
1980-
Hamida Rajasthan Churu Cong 1985-90
Begaum
Zakia Rajasthan Tonk Cong 1985-90
1998--
Zeenath T.N Chepuk Cong 1991-96
Sharrifden
Hamida U.P Haidergarh Cong 1969-74
Habibullah
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 71

Kudsia Begum U.P Sandila Cong 1969-74

Indp 1977-80
Cong 1980-90
Mohsina U.P Masauli Cong 1974-77
Kidwai
Ashraf Imam U.P Mirzapur Cong 1985-90
Reshma Arif U.P Arya Nagar Janta dal 1989-93
S. Khatun W.B Basanti Cong 1967-69
Mumtaz Begum W.B Ratua CPM 1987-96
Rubi Noor W.B Suza Pur Cong 1991-
Khatun Mafuja W.B Kumarganj CPM 2001--
Source: Karlekar, 2005

A detailed examination of the Muslim women politicians reveals a high

degree of similarity in terms of family background, education, party
affiliation and even the legacy which she is carrying. Most of them belong
to elite families, like Mehbooa Mufti, Noor Bano, and Mohsina Kidwai.
All of them are from politically active families.

Since early 1980’s, India has witnessed a resurgence of politicized religion

in which Hindu and Muslim communal politics alike have given a central
place to gender issues. Women have figured as important signifiers of
differences between groups. Sometimes they have vigorously participated
in various communal projects, at other times they have spoken out against
communal identity. They heightened mobilization of women which has
become the focus of debate in analyzing the empowerment of women
(Hasan & Menon, 2004). Those who had access to power are few and
how far they can utilize their power for the good of the lot is what
becomes a major question.

Muslim women joined other women in the struggle for access to economic
resources, education and employment. The impetus of the women’s
movement lay somewhat diffused in the aftermath of independence
because most of the influential, educated money lenders of the northern
belt immigrated to newly created country-Pakistan. It is communal divide
and most painful for Muslim women where they lost their identity and, in
fact, even in both country is still wounding between identity. What is the
position of Muslim women in the past is almost eroded with time and the
partition zeroed their identity. Devoid of a national or visionary leadership,
the voices and experience of Muslim women came to be usurped by
Muslim males claiming to represent the community. The political
72 Chapter Four

opportunism of the latter, combined with the failure of state programmes

to alleviate women’s socio-economic status, left the majority of Muslim
women economically impoverished. With the dawn of twentieth century
the impetus of social reform generated an awareness of women’s issues
and provided solution within legal ambit. Including much ignited debate
like Shah Bano-Muslim personal law case created much furor across the
country.

Muslim Women and Education

The dilemmas faced by women in the society are not uniform. They are a
result of multiple factors which determine the drift of the whole cultural
complex. Among Muslim women, education from the very beginning was
considered a major obstacle. The level of women’s social status increases
positively with education, which could also enhance their social mobility.
A Muslim woman faces a number of constraints to access better education.
But at the same time with the unavailability of empirical data it becomes
all the more difficult to establish. Even after the sixtieth year of
independence we have no perfect mechanism to know the exact statistics
regarding the number and accessibility of education to the Muslim women,
while the constitution of India promised to provide universal education to
all children across the caste, class, and religion up to the age of fourteen
years. It was possible only after the constitutional amendment which
made it obligatory for the state to provide education. Therefore,
considerable progress has been noted in the current decade.

After a great hue and cry, the UPA government had to set up a high level
Sachar committee, to decipher the rate of level (to know their socio-
economics status). The literacy rate has increased in the last five decades,
but women still lagged behind men. The growth rate of male and female
across urban and rural areas is uneven. According to the census of India,
59 percent of Muslim are literate as against the national average of above
65 percent. Muslim women fare even worse in both rural and urban areas.
They have the lowest percentage for work participation and education.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 73

Women education level by Muslim community

Commu- Illiterate Non- Primary Middle Secondary Graduate

nity Formal and & above
Higher
Secondary
68.79 0.93 6.47 12.36 7.19 4.25
SC
ST 71.73 0.00 9.45 8.46 8.99 1.37
OBC 56.63 0.93 6.71 17.96 12.34 5.43
Others 36.32 0.56 7.42 27.15 16.87 11.68
Muslim 57.66 1.80 10.51 16.75 9.71 3.56
Total 57.55 1.80 7.43 17.27 11.08 5.74
Source: After Hasan & Menon, 2004.

Country wide survey conducted by Zoya Hasan and Ritu Menon (2004),
which comprised forty districts and is spanning in twelve states gave new
data regarding Muslim women. In primary survey reports, it was shown
that around 58 percent Muslim women are illiterate and mere four percent
are graduate and above and ten percent have passed secondary & higher
secondary. Around seventeen percent are middle class passed as compared
to the primary passed which is around eleven percent. And just around two
percent are getting any kind of non-formal education. The whole data
unveiled the Muslim women’s social status and her condition in terms of
education. The situation is dismal and needs remarkable effort to change
for better cause.

The study divided the whole Indian Territory into four regions including
both rural and urban areas. The rate of illiteracy is remarkably high in
rural- northern part of India i.e. eighty-two percent where as in rural- south
the rate of illiteracy is thirty percent. In the rural-west it is around sixty-
one percent and in the rural – east the rate of illiteracy is around forty-five
percent. However, the condition in the urban areas is a little better. The
rate of illiteracy is lowest in urban-south which is around twenty percent
and the rate is worse in urban-north where it is around fifty percent. While
in urban- east and urban-west the rate of illiteracy is twenty-eight percent
and thirty-four percent respectively. In the rural belt the ratio is a bit lower
than urban region and the overall rate for southern region is respectively
74 Chapter Four

high in comparison to other region among all classes of education. As

could be seen in the graph:

Muslim women education level across the rural India

Figure no. 1

In the urban region, among the Muslim women there are maximum
numbers of graduate and above. Those who have completed higher studies
are from the northern region which is around nineteen percent. For south
and west the rate is twelve percent and around ten percent, which is lowest
among the regions, is the eastern region. While in urban-south the rate of
higher and senior secondary is thirty percent which is better than other
region where the percentage is falling between the ranges of ten-twenty
percent which is, indeed, very low.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 75

Muslim women education level across the urban India

Figure no. 2

The graph comprehends the rate of literacy among Muslim women in both
urban and rural regions, taking into account the twelve Indian state
including forty districts where there is considerable number of Muslims. In
the rural belt, the numbers of middle class passed are larger except the
northern region. All the regions show remarkable decreases in rates of
illiteracy. The northern region shows slight improvement with respect to
other geographical regions. This is eventually the region to which almost
all the parliamentarians belong.
76 Chapter Four

Regional Distribution of women having ever attended school (percentage) by community

Community All Rural Rural Rural Rural Urban Urban Urban Urban
India North South East West North South East West
SC 30.38 10.95 50.00 54.93 36.36 32.79 80.65 65.62 59.09
ST 28.27 11.11 N.A 34.15 12.50 14.29 85.71 66.67 57.14
OBC 42.62 17.28 73.97 72.73 40.62 48.86 81.29 80.00 60.29
Others 63.20 41.38 80.00 63.08 62.50 73.68 84.38 77.23 76.06
Muslim 40.66 13.52 75.48 49.18 41.89 23.15 77.26 56.82 63.44
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 77

Muslim women who have ever attended school are around forty-one
percent and on regional distribution urban areas are doing well almost in
all communities. In rural-north it is around fourteen percent and seventy-
six percent for rural-south. In rural-east the rate is fifty percent and in
rural-west it is forty-two percent. Meanwhile, the rate is considerably
better in the urban regions where the rate is twenty-three percent in urban-
north and seventy-seven percent in urban-south. Subsequently, for east
and west the rate is fifty-seven percent and sixty-three percent
respectively. Therefore, on all India basis the rate of Muslim women who
ever attended school is indeed very low. There is a scope to change the
scenario across the Indian Territory.

Regional Distribution of Muslim women having ever attended school

(percentage) by community

Figure no. 3

Across the rural region the percentage of the Muslim women who ever
attended school is poor and is still below fifty percent, except the south
region where rate is comfortable and is reflecting a sign of improvementas
compared to other regions.
78 Chapter Four

Average Years of schooling

Region Muslim Hindu Total

women women
North 1.6 2.7 2.2
East 2.7 3.7 3.3
South 5.0 5.5 5.4
West 3.3 3.8 3.7
All- India 2.7 3.8 3.4

The actual status of Muslim women who could receive schooling is lower
than their Hindu counterpart in all geographical regions. It is quite low in
the northern zone.

Average Years of schooling from both community (Muslim and

Hindu)

Figure no.4
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 79

In India the average number of years for schooling that women have
received is indeed very low. Among Muslim this is 2.7 years and among
Hindus it is 3.8 years. The difference between geographical zones is
considerable and it indicates a huge gap in schooling between north and
south zone. While in the south and west the years of schooling are good.
Overall, the low average number of years of schooling of Muslim women
indicates a high drop-out rate among them.

II
Employment among Muslim women
Employment is gendered, in the sense that most women are occupied for
their livelihood but it is not recognized as work or productive in economic
terms. There are a few types of work which are recognized by the
government for official estimation of national income. Data for them are
described below. The data on women work participation rates show low
figures across the different fields of works.

Work participation rate among Muslim women

Community Self- Wage- Salaried Unpaid None Total

employed worker family of
workers them
SC 3.97 21.02 2.11 2.57 70.33 100
ST 0.71 23.77 2.08 10.22 63.22 100
OBC 4.03 11.22 1.10 4.79 78.86 100
Others 4.13 6.12 2.81 1.02 85.92 100
Muslim 3.67 13.44 1.83 3.37 77.65 100
Total 3.67 13.44 1.83 3.37 77.65 100
80 Chapter Four

Employment by Muslim women

Figure no.5

Among the Muslims, the work participation like wage worker/ employee
is largest which is followed by self-employed groups. The work
participation rate for Muslim women is low as compared to the Hindu
women. Among the Muslim women, the number of self-employed persons
is merely 2.70 percent. This reflects the empty hand and financially weak
position which had pushed the community in the margins. While the
percentage for the wage worker is high in respect to other positions, which
is around 7.58 percent. The percentage of salaried worker is unprecedently
low i.e. less than 2 percent. The percentage of persons working as unpaid
labor is also around two.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 81
Reg- Cate- Embroidery/ Milchi Agricultural Unskilled Skilled White Others Total
ion gory tailoring ng work work job collar
North Rural 12.00 4.00 20.00 20.00 24.00 16.00 0.00 100
Urban 30.99 0.00 1.41 23.94 15.49 18.31 8.45 100
South Rural 11.11 0.00 22.22 27.78 5.56 5.56 27.78 100
Urban 12.28 5.26 0.00 28.07 8.77 17.54 26.32 100
East Rural 12.12 6.06 18.18 18.18 18.18 18.18 9.09 100
Urban 29.73 - 2.70 35.14 8.11 13.51 10.81 100
West Rural 12.00 - 32.00 12.00 20.00 4.00 20.00 100
Urban 27.63 - 2.63 21.05 6.58 10.53 30.26 100
82 Chapter Four

Salaried/Wage Work by Muslim Women

The data available are carefully prepared after Hasan and Menon who
made a distinguished effort to unveil the Muslim work participation across
the country. Among Muslim community embroidery/ tailoring is
considered as a tool of earning for the family as it needs little skill and
even without proper schooling it could be done. In the urban-east and west
the work involves many families i.e. around thirty and twenty-seven
percent. In the urban zone this profession is much more popular than in the
rural zone. Only in the southern zone the profession involved around 12.28
percent. While in the rural belt it is considered as a method of livelihood
among the community.

Salaried/ Wage Worker by Rural Muslim Women

Figure no. 6

Running animal husbandry business is less popular among the Muslim

women. In the north zone it is little popular among rural people which is
around four percent. It may be the religious background which put a
restrain to do the work. Agricultural activities are one of the most popular
occupations among the Muslims. In the north, the rate of involvement is
around twenty percent and in the south it is twenty-two percent. While in
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 83

the east, the rate is around 18.18 percent. And in the west the rate is quite
high i.e. around thirty-two percent. Among Muslim women the rate of
participation in unskilled or casual work is quite high across all parts of
the country. In the north including both rural and urban the average rate is
twenty percent. The urban-east region experiences higher rate of unskilled
or casual work in the country, this is around thirty-five percent while in the
urban-west region the rate is twenty-one percent.

Salaried/ Wage Worker by Urban Muslim Women

Figure no. 7

Among skilled jobs the rate is comparably slight better than in the other
categories of work. Muslim women seem to more skilled, as the
percentage in the rural-north is around twenty-four percent and sixteen
percent in the urban locality. In the south the rate is bit a low and in the
rural-east rate of skilled labor is eighteen percent whereas in the urban-east
it is around 8.11 percent. In the west rural the involvement rate is around
twenty percent. Even the number of white-collared jobs among Muslim
women is a bit high in the north region i.e. around sixteen and eighteen
percent for rural and urban population. In the eastern region the rate is
eighteen percent for rural and thirteen percent for urban population. In the
west zone it is low as compares to other zones in the country. Meanwhile,
the working condition of Muslim women is not good across the country
84 Chapter Four

although her Hindu counterpart is comparatively better placed in all

spheres including the public and private space.

III
Sexual Harassment
In India there is hardly a day when there is no violence against women.
The data given below confirm the crime rate against women.
Unfortunately, there are no specific data which reveal the crime against
Muslim women within the constraints of the four walls and across the
territory.

The case of Imrana and Guddia (U.P.) as indicators shows the shocking
condition of women in Muslim households. Imrana was raped by her
father-in-law and subsequently the issue which was raised was whether her
relationship with her husband was ‘jaiyaz’! The fact that she was raped
was not the relevant question. She was raped and even without getting her
consent, the clergy announced that now she become the wife of her father-
in-law within the ambit of Shariat Rules. So there was no question of
punishment as there was no offence done by the father-in-law. The issue
of sexual harassment was carefully evaded and she was forcibly separated
from her husband. Similarly, the case of Guddia was more or less between
two men, of whom one went missing during Kargil war. Subsequently she
was forced to go for another marriage. When her first husband came back
the issue of owning wife became more relevant than her wish or
happiness. She was forced to break her second marriage. Unfortunately in
the whole episode she became pregnant and after her delivery she passed
away peacefully. Therefore, both these stories made much hue and cry and
forced the clergy and the noble of the Muslim society to think regarding
the subjects rather than announcing ‘Fatwa’ (a binding Islamic law)
immediately.

In India every minute a woman is suppressed by male in various ways. She

is raped, molested, kidnapped, and killed for dowry besides sexual abuses
in workplace.

Every 26 minutes a woman is molested.

Every 54 minutes a rape takes place.
Every 4 minutes a woman is kidnapped.
Every 10 minutes a woman is burnt to death over dowry.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 85

Every 7 minutes a criminal offence against women takes place.

Dowry deaths have gone up from 5,513 in 1996 to 6,917 in 1998.
Cases of rape from 14,846 to 15,031.
Torture from 35,246 to 41,318.
Molestation from 28,939 to 31,046.
Sexual harassment from 5,671 to 8,123.

Source: http://www.comminit.com/baseline/baseline2001/baseline-301.html

The violence against women especially domestic violence is one of them

in which women suffer the most. ‘The MWS (Muslim Women’s Survey)
reported that approximately twenty percent of respondents had
experienced verbal and physical abuse in the marital home, over eighty
percent of it at the hands of their husbands’ (Hasan & Menon, 2004).

After several demands, the government of India brought in the ‘Protection

of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005’ which came into force on
October 26, 2006, to check domestic violence. Like domestic violence,
women generally do not raise their voice against sexual-harassment. They
are made to believe that it is unethical on their part to protest as they are
seen as the one who had invited the trouble. In India it is commonly
believed that the social status of Muslim women is poorer than other
communities. The data regarding domestic violence against women are the
same for both Hindu and Muslim women as per MWS and NFHS
(National Family Health Survey, 1998-99) report, ‘although the MWS
shows that Hindu women experience greater levels of violence than
Muslim in all four zones’ (Hasan & Menon, 2004). ‘Police records show
high incidence of crimes against women in India. The National Crime
Records Bureau reported in 1998 that the growth rate of crimes against
women would be higher than the population growth rate by 2010’ (Menon,
Sen, and Kumar, 2006).

As per MWS, ‘Muslim women, too, better off in the west and south zones,
with the south zone reporting the lowest percentage- 10.94’ (Hasan &
Menon, 2004). By NFHS, Tamil Nadu at the top list lists around forty
percent for women beaten and physically mistreated from the age of
fifteen years upwards and followed by Meghalaya at 31.1 percent; Orissa
28.9 percent; Bihar 26.6 percent; and J&K and U.P at 22 percent each. The
lowest percentage is reported from Himachal Pradesh followed by Gujarat
and Kerala at ten percent.
86 Chapter Four

Even in Indian society women remain the subject of exploitation during

communal conflicts. During communal conflict, women are considered as
soft target rather than providing them safe passages. According to Mukul
Dube (through internet), the violence against Muslims which began in
Gujarat on February 28, 2002, the same day after the Godhra incident, has
been called one-side and state- sponsored and has been linked to a
pogrom. Neither gender was spared, nor any age group. One form of
violence, though, could be directed only against women and girls. Rape
often took the form of gang rape and was followed by mutilation and
finally by the destruction of evidence through the burning of the victims.
But some victims of rape were left alive, and for an excellent reason.

‘Domestic violence is not confined to wives, but includes mothers,

daughters, sisters, widows, divorced women living in the home, as well as
those who are in an informal relationship with the accused, including a
bigamous relationship. It covers all domestic relationships in a 'shared
household'. A shared household is very broadly defined to include one
where the abused person lives singly or with the abuser’ (Kapur, 2006). In
terms of domestic violence - which is widely recognized to be increasing
in India - the incidence cuts across caste, class and community. According
to MWS survey finds that over fifty per cent of the reported violence
(which may, of course, be different from the actual incidence of violence)
is among the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe households, which
also happen to be the poorest of the poor. Muslim women are third (after
Other Backward Castes) at eighteen per cent. What is possibly more
significant is that husbands were identified as the primary predators in
more than eighty per cent of cases.

Conclusion
The challenges and issues of Muslim women are wide and inevitable
across the territory and require an immediate attention for improvement.
The role of Muslim women in Indian politics is very limited and marginal.
The representation of Muslim women is just above one percent which is
considerably alarming, while her Hindu counterpart is doing well which is
around thirty-three percent. Unlike other politicians, among the Muslims,
the business of politics is confined to a few families and surrounded by a
few localities having higher proportion of Muslim population. In sixty
years of independence there are only eight females who could manage
their path to the parliament. The representation is even low in different
state legislative and which is around twenty-six by number.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 87

In the Muslim community, education is one of the fronts where the

community is lagging behind and more than fifty percent people of the
community are below literacy level. All the regions- north, east, west, and
south more or less pose the same level of challenges and issues which they
have to overcome.

The employment status of Muslim women is also lower than expected.

Employment is one of the important sectors which provide a powerful tool
for better future. Across the rural belt the higher rate of participation in
agricultural activities is acknowledged, while self employment like
tailoring, embroidery, and animal husbandry are also made by a number of
people. While the percentage of Muslim women as wage worker, salaried,
and unpaid family worker is quite low.They are running family with
others’ sources.

The violence against Muslim women is quite known in the society due to
‘introvert social status’ (living within four walls and misusing the meaning
of Sharia, an Islamic code of law) and therefore it is difficult to
acknowledge the social problem. Even the domestic violence is not
confined to any particular relation rather it is found across all the
relationships among female members within ‘purdah’.

The reasons for the degraded position of Muslim women lie in a variety of
reasons. Her role in politics is quite limited and therefore one may see it as
one of the reasons of her backwardness in education, employment
andinability to protest domestic violence. Thus, unlike other challenges,
these may be quite known challenges which should be tackled under
systematic involvement. Her participation in politics and other social cause
are to be enhanced to low down both the intra and inter inequality in the
society, spatially.

References
Eickelman Dale F. & Piscatori James (2004) Muslim Politics, Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
Hasan Zoya and Menon Ritu (2004) Unequal Citizen: A Study of Muslim
Women in India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Hasan Zoya and Menon Ritu (2005) In a Minority: Essays on Muslim
Women in India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kandiyoti Denis(1991) ‘Islam and Patriarchy: A Comparative Perspective’
in Nikki Keddie and Beth Baron (eds) Women in Middle Eastern
88 Chapter Four

History: Shifting Boundaries in Sex and Gender, New Haven and

London: Yale University Press
Kapur Ratna, ‘India: We can End All Violence against Women’, The
Times of India, November 21, 2006, N.Delhi.
Karlekar Karin Deutsch (2005) Muslim Women in Indian Politics 1947-
2002, in Hasan and Menon (2005), (eds) In a Minority: Essays on
Muslim Women in India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Lateef, Shaeeda. (1986). Muslim Women in India, London: .Zed Books.
Menon-Sen, K. and A. Shiva Kumar (2001), Women in India: How Free?
How Equal?, Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in
India, New-Delhi. www.un.org.in//wii.htm.
Moinuddin Shekh (2007) ‘Media Space and Gender Construction: A
Comparative Study of State Owned and Private Channels in Post
Liberalisation Period’, M.Phil Dessertation submitted to Department of
Geography, Delhi: University of Delhi.
Gupta and Yesudian (2006) Evidence of Women Empowerment in India:
A Study of Socio- Spatial Disparities, Geojournal, Springer
Netherland, vol. 65, no.4:365-380.
http://www.sacw.net/DC/CommunalismCollection/ArticlesArchive/MDub
e08032005.htmlIn
http://www.comminit.com/baseline/baseline2001/baseline-301.html
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 89

Appendix
Regional Distribution of women’s education in Rural- North

Community Illiterate Non- Primary Middle Secondary Graduate

Formal and & above
Higher
Secondary
SC 88.06 1.00 1.99 4.98 1.99 1.99
ST 88.89 0.00 0.00 11.11 0.00 0.00
OBC 82.72 0.00 1.57 10.47 2.09 3.14
Others 58.62 0.00 3.45 17.24 10.34 10.34
Muslim 83.58 3.02 2.35 4.58 4.25 2.23
Total 82.29 0.71 2.00 8.46 3.18 3.35

Regional Distribution of women’s education in Urban- North

Community Illiterate Non- Primary Middle Secondary Graduate

Formal and & above
Higher
Secondary
SC 65.67 1.64 4.10 12.30 9.02 7.38
ST 85.71 0.00 0.00 14.29 0.00 0.00
OBC 51.14 0.76 4.92 18.18 11.36 13.64
Others 25.26 1.05 3.16 12.11 21.58 36.84
Muslim 74.36 2.74 2.57 4.56 6.97 8.80
Total 49.37 1.22 3.94 13.74 13.25 18.47
90 Chapter Four

Regional Distribution of women’s education in Rural- South

Community Illiterate Non- Primary Middle Secondart Graduate

Formal and &above
Higher
Secondary
SC 46.88 3.12 12.50 18.75 12.50 6.25
ST
OBC 24.66 1.37 16.44 30.14 23.29 4.11
Others 20.00 0.00 5.00 40.00 25.00 10.00
Muslim 23.64 0.75 14.01 39.23 18.21 4.20
Total 29.07 1.52 13.64 29.73 20.57 5.48

Regional Distribution of women’s education in Urban- South

Community Illiterate Non- Primary Middle Secondart Graduate

Formal and &above
Higher
Secondary
SC 17.74 1.61 8.06 22.58 33.87 16.13
ST 14.29 0.00 14.29 28.57 42.86 0.00
OBC 19.42 0.00 9.35 29.5 31.65 10.07
Others 15.62 0.00 3.12 28.12 34.38 18.75
Muslim 22.14 1.04 11.02 35.85 20.83 9.11
Total 19.09 0.54 8.87 29.16 30.51 11.83
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 91

Regional Distribution of women’s education in Rural- East

Community Illiterate Non- Primary Middle Secondart Graduate

Formal and &above
Higher
Secondary
SC 45.07 0.00 16.09 25.35 8.45 4.23
ST 65.85 0.00 14.63 4.88 12.20 2.44
OBC 22.73 4.55 13.64 22.73 36.36 0.00
Others 35.38 1.54 15.38 36.92 10.77 0.00
Muslim 50.10 0.82 19.51 18.58 9.65 1.33
Total 45.12 0.96 16.44 23.30 12.32 1.86

Regional Distribution of women’s education in Urban- East

Community Illiterate Non- Primary Middle Secondart Graduate

Formal and &above
Higher
Secondary
SC 34.38 0.00 20.31 21.88 17.19 6.25
ST 33.33 0.00 33.33 33.33 0.00 0.00
OBC 20.00 2.50 12.50 32.50 17.50 15.00
Others 23.76 0.00 8.91 25.74 28.71 12.87
Muslim 41.72 1.45 16.26 25.46 10.84 4.26
Total 28.60 0.61 14.09 25.98 20.73 10.00
92 Chapter Four

Regional Distribution of women’s education in Rural- West

Community Illiterate Non- Primary Middle Secondart Graduate

Formal and &above
Higher
Secondary
SC 63.64 0.00 0.00 13.64 18.18 4.55
ST 87.50 0.00 0.00 12.50 0.00 0.00
OBC 56.25 3.12 9.38 15.62 12.50 3.12
Others 37.50 0.00 0.00 43.75 12.50 6.25
Muslim 56.66 1.45 14.29 20.10 5.08 2.42
Total 60.27 1.18 4.05 19.78 11.29 3.43

Regional Distribution of women’s education in Urban- West

Community Illiterate Non- Primary Middle Secondart Graduate

Formal and &above
Higher
Secondary
SC 40.91 0.00 0.09 25.00 0.09 15.91
ST 42.86 0.00 14.29 0.00 42.86 0.00
OBC 36.73 2.94 8.82 22.06 16.18 13.24
Others 23.94 0.00 9.86 25.35 26.76 14.08
Muslim 34.88 1.79 8.75 28.77 18.65 7.17
Total 33.88 1.79 9.34 24.22 19.32 12.45
Source: Hasan & Menon, 2004.
 CHAPTER FIVE

HISTORY OF PEOPLE’S EMPOWERMENT

IN MODERN INDIA

FASAHAT SHAMOON

Introduction
The origin of the term ‘empowerment’ can be traced to the concept of
power to see the relevance of its use for the study of people’s
empowerment. The concept of power in political sociology can be best
understood by Max Weber who had the largest influence on the
sociological study of power to which he assigned a wide significance in
every major social domain. He wrote, “Now: classes’, ‘status groups’ and
‘parties’ are phenomena of the distribution of power with-in a
community”. Weber off-quoted definition of power as follows: “In
general, we understand by ‘power’ the chance of a man or a number of
men to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance
of others who are participating in the action” (Weber 1978: 926). The
conception of power referred to above-power as that which some have
over others’ corresponds to what may be called the zero-sum approach to
power. Some have power to the extent that others are without it, the more
power some have and the less others’ have of it. The concept of
empowerment becomes relevant when those in power share power with
others so that they participate in decision-making.

Empowerment is derived from the word “Power” as used above. The

prefix “em” is attached to the noun “Power” to create a verb. According to
Webster’s New World Dictionary (1982), this prefix is used to form verb
meaning “to make, make into or like, cause to be”. Thus, “to empower” is
to make or cause power. Yet, the actual definition offered for “empower”
are “to give power or grant power, give ability to, enable, permit”. These
definitions all refer to a process where by power is given/ gained, or
permitted. Yet, power must be developed or taken by the powerless
94 Chapter Five

themselves, as well as being granted. It is possible both for individuals or

groups to empower themselves as well as being the recipients of power
bestowed by others. The definition of “empower” as a transitive verb
relates back to the connection of the prefix “em” to the noun “Power”.
This can be defined as to gain Power, to develop power, to give, grant, or
permit power. The noun “empowerment” which is not listed in Webster’s
New World Dictionary (1982), refers to the process by which Power is
gained, developed or given. People move from a condition of relative
powerlessness to relative power through the empowerment process. Those
in power give power to others who gain or develop power and so they are
the recipients of power granted by the powerful. Those in power share
power with others so that they participate in decision making.

People’s Empowerment in Pre-Independence Period

History of People’s empowerment can be traced back to the period
immediately after mutiny of 1857 when Sir Syed Ahmad Khan wrote a
book “Causes of Indian Revolt” in 1858. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan said The
Shock of the Indian mutiny had forced the Government of India and the
British Government to consider ways and means of establishing closer
contacts with the Indian Public, so that a similar tragedy may not occur
again. He was of the opinion that the mutiny of 1857 was the result of the
gulf between the people of India and the British government, because the
British government never knew the needs and the wishes of the Indian
people, and the people had no means of protesting what they might feel is
not right for them, and people thought that all the laws and regulations
which they passed was nothing but a source of exploitation which they
never liked. So Sir Syed wanted to fill the gap between the people and the
British government by suggesting the nomination of non-official Indians
on the council of governor-general, by doing this the bond between the
two will be strengthed which would avert evils such as mutiny in the
future (Ghram 1885:39). Sir Syed Ahmad writes, “These evils were
resulted in India from the non-admission of the natives into the legislative
councils of India. Government could never know that the in advisability of
laws and regulations which it passed. It could never hear as it ought to
have heard the voice of the people on such a subject. The people had no
means of protesting against what they might feel to be a foolish measure,
or of giving public expression to their own wishes. But the greatest
mischief, lay in this, that the people mis-understood the views and the
intension of the government. They mis-apprehended every action, and
what ever law was passed was mis-construed by men, who had no share in
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 95

the framing of it, and hence no means of judging of its sprit…. when the
Governor’s and the govern occupies relatively such a position as this, what
hope is there of loyality or of good will? Granted that the intension of the
government were excellent, there was no man at hand to correct the errors
which they had no one of their own number among their member’s of the
legislative council. Had there been these evils that have happened to us
would have been averted. The more one think’s the matter over, the more
one is convinced that here we have one great cause which was the origin
of all smaller causes of dis-satisfaction”. (quoted in Ghram 1885:37-38).

Sir Syed suggested the nomination of the non-official Indians on the

council of the Governor–General and this would lead to participation in
decision-making and so a beginning was made in sharing power with the
people. The then Governor–General accepted this suggestion on the
condition that the non-official Indians were to be concerned only with
legislative matters and the Government of India Act of 1861 was passed.
These councils were subsequently to be established at the local level to
form the bases of local-self-government or Panchayat Raj in India
(Mahajan, 1986:38).

The resolution of 18th May, 1882, of Lord Ripon, a British viceroy, led to
the people undertaking the management of their own affairs and so to their
empowerment. He was rightly credited with the enunciation of a new
philosophy of developing the capacity of the peoples for self-help, which
could be done only by people’s education through participation in local
government. It was also necessary to share power with the growing
number of educated people who would then be able to share the burden of
the work and to improve efficiency. The resolution embodying this
doctrine has been hailed as the Magna-charta and Lord Ripon, it’s author,
as father of local self government in India (Maheshwari 1971: 17;
Ventatrangaiya & Pattabhiram 1969:109). A document of such historic
importance is worth quoting:

“In advocating the extension of local self government, and the adoption of
this principle in the management of many branches of local affairs, the
Governor-General in council does not suppose that the work will be, in the
first instance, better done than if it remained in the sole hand of the
government district officers. It is not primarily with a view to
improvement in administration than this measure is put forward and
supported. It is chiefly desirable as an instrument of political and popular
education. His Excellency in-council has himself no doubt that in course
96 Chapter Five

of time, as local knowledge and local interest are brought to bear freely
upon the local administration, improved efficiency will in fact follow…. It
is not un-commonly asserted that the people of this country are themselves
entirely indifferent to the principle of self-government, that they prefer to
have such affairs managed for them by government officers. The
Governor-General in council does not attach much value to this theory. It
represents, no doubt, the point of view which commends itself to many
active and well-intentioned district officers, and the people of India are,
there can be really no doubt, remarkably tolerant of existing fact’s. But as
education advances there is rapidly growing up all over the country an
intelligent class of public – spirited men whom it is not only bad policy,
but sheer waste of power to fail to utilize…. The annual reports of every
government tell of an ever-increasing burden laid upon the shoulders of
the local officer’s. The cry is every where for increased establishments.
The universal complaint in all the departments is that of over-work. Under
these circumstances, it becomes imperatively necessary to look around for
some means of relief, and the Governor-General in council has no
hesitation in stating his conviction that the only responsible plan open to
the government is to induce the people themselves to undertake, as far as
may be, the management of their own affairs, and to develop, or create, if
need be, a capacity for self-help in respect of all mater’s that have not, for
imperial reasons, to be retained in the hands of the representatives of
government” (quoted in Maheshwari 1970: 17-18).

Reforms projected by Ripon were ignored by government and district

officers who were responsible for putting them into practice, the local
daroga and bania were the real bosses in the villages and the local
leadership was not concerned while formulating the policy but rather this
policy was impose from above, unfortunately therefore, Lord Ripon
resolution, often described as the milestone on the roads of Indian self-
government or panchayat raj, remained a dead letter for a long time
(Purwar 1960: 46-47). The next step in the history of people’s
empowerment was the report of the Royal commission upon
decentralization which was appointed by the government in 1907 and
published in 1909, the then secretary of state of India, was alarmed at a
gigantic stature of over centralization and he took a serious note of it, and
called it a great mischief. He attributed it to a widening gulf between the
officials and the people of India. The commission recommended that it is
most desirable, alike in the interests of decentralization and in order to
associate the people with the local tasks of administration, then an attempt
should be made to constitute and develop village panchayats for the
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 97

administration of local village affairs and became a instrument of people

participation (Malaviya 1956: 221). The proposals and suggestions of the
commission were favourably commented by the Government of India. But
the officials found some practical difficulties to implement in different part
of the country. They were not willing to share power with the people as it
would weaken the hold of bureaucracy on them. The bureaucracy was
inefficient for not doing even the little that was suggested in the report of
the Royal commission on decentralization for people participation.
(Mathew 2000:4).

The development of local-self-government institutions or panchayat raj got

further fillip with the introduction of Montague-Chelmsford Report which
made local-self-government a ‘transferred subject’ under the scheme of
Drarchy (Kazi 2002: 69). To make local-self-government really
representative as well as responsible, the Montague-Chelmsford Report on
the Indian constitutional reform’s had suggested that there should be, as
far as possible, complete popular control in local bodies that is peoples
empowerment and the largest possible independence for them outside
control (Khanna 1972: 29). Notwithstanding this professed objective of the
montague-chelmsford scheme, it did not make Panchayat’s institution
democratic and vibrant instrument of people’s empowerment, due to
various constraints, both organizational and fiscal. The most significant
development of this period was the establishment of village Panchayats ‘n’
number of provinces. However, these statutory Panchayat’s covered only a
limited number of villages and had, generally, a limited number of
functions and did little for people’s empowerment. (Mathew 2000: 5).

The Government of India, showing its willingness to practice what it

preached for empowerment issued a resolution on the 6th, May, 1918,
which supported the principles enunciated long before by Ripon and
decentralization commission. The resolution affirmed the policy of
minimum interference in the affairs of local-government or panchayat raj.
The resolution of 1918 approved the proposals of establishing departments
of local-self-government or panchayat raj in the provinces. And it was in
pursuance of the policy contained in the British Governments famous
announcement of August 20, 1917, that the Government of India Act of
1919 was passed and enforced in 1920. All the provinces passed their
respective Acts to revive and resuscitate Panchayats so as to ensure people
participation in local affairs (Purwar 1967: 53). Yet, this attempt also did
not lead to the sharing of power with the people and there continued to be
the concentration of power in the hands of government officials.
98 Chapter Five

It was Gandhiji’s vision of Grama Swaraj (village republic) which laid the
foundation of the real sharing of power with the people independent of
government control. Gandhiji thought not only of political autonomy of
the village but also economic autonomy. He felt that the grant of such
autonomy to the village would form the bases for the economic and social
development of the country. The government of the village will be
conducted by the Panchayats of five persons annually elected by the adult
members of the village, male and female, possessing minimum prescribed
qualifications. Panchayats will be the legislature, judiciary and executive
combined, to operate for its year of office and with (%) minimum
government control. As Gandhiji put it “My idea of village swaraj is that it
is complete republic, independent of its neighbours for its vital wants, and
yet interdependent for many others in which dependence is a necessity.
Thus the village’s first concern will be to grow its own food crops and
cotton for its cloth. It should have a reserve for its cattle, recreation and
playground for adults and children. Then if there is more land available it
will grow useful money crops, thus excluding ganja, tobacco, opium and
the like. The village will maintain a village theatre, school and public hall.
It will have its own water works ensuring a clean water supply. This can
be done through controlled wells or tanks. Education will be compulsory
upto the final basic course. As far as possible, energy activity will be
conducted on cooperative basis. There will be no caste, such as we have
today with their graded untouchability. Nonviolence with its technique of
Satyagraha and non-cooperation will be the sanction of the village
community. There will be a compulsory service of village guards who will
be selected by rotation from the register maintained by the village. The
government of the village will be conducted by the Panchayat of five
persons annually elected by the adult villagers, male and female,
possessing minimum prescribed qualifications. They will have all the
authority and jurisdiction required. Since there will be no system of
punishment in the accepted sense, this Panchayat will be the legislature,
judiciary and executive combined to operate for its year of office. Any
village can become such a republic without much interference, even from
the present Government whose sole effective connection with the villages
is the exaction of village revenue. I have not examined here the question of
relations with the neighbouring villages of the centre, if any. My purpose
is to present an outline of village government. Here there is perfect
democracy based upon individual freedom. The individual is the architect
of his own government. The law of nonviolence rules him and the
government. He and his village are able to defy the might of a world, for
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 99

the law governing every villager is that he will suffer death in the defence
of his and his village’s honour” (Gandhi 1963:3).

Panchayati-raj found the corner stone of Gandhiji’s vision of a democratic

India after independence. He felt that people’s voice should be reflected in
our independence through panchayats, and therefore, the greater is the
power of panchayats, the better it is for the people (Hirway 1989: 63).
Despite Gandhiji’s vision, it is a paradox that India’s commitment to the
establishment of a democratic republic in the constitution did not include a
provision for panchayats. When Gandhiji learnt that the constitution did
not have any provision for panchayats, he felt that it must be included if
India was to become a true democracy (Mathew 2000:5). The reason for
non inclusion of panchayati-raj in the constitution was its criticism by
many who questioned the utility of these bodies. Among them was B.R.
Ambedkar, the architect of Indian constitution, who believed that the
villages were so ridden by caste and factional conflicts that it made
effective functioning of Panchayats impossible. Ambedkar’s view was
based on experience of casteism in a village which could also be the view
of all those who belong to the lower caste as Ambedkar put it “a sink of
localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism”
(quoted in Tinker 1963: 97). It was Ambedkar’s opposition to Panchayats
that it was not put in the legally enforceable part of the Indian constitution
and, upon Gandhiji’s insistence, that it was included in the article 40 of the
Indian constitution as one of the Directive Principles of state policy.
Article 40 says “that state shall take steps to organize village panchayats
and endow them with such power and authority as may be necessary to
enable them to function as units of self-government.

History of People’s empowerment in Post

Independence Period
The history of Panchayats so far reveals that these institutions hardly had
any powers and functions to perform. The focus immediately after
independence was not much on people’s empowerment through
panchayati-raj but on development of all sections and so in March 1950,
the planning commission came into existence and began to plan for large-
scale economic and social development. It was soon realized that no
development could be achieved until it is backed by the development of
villages, since 80% of the people live in the villages. The planning
commission, therefore, thought of shaping the village development
programme, so as to attack the five giants of Hunger, Poverty, Disease,
100 Chapter Five

squalor and Ignorance through a self-help programme of community

development (Dayal 1970: 3).

The community development programme started on October 2, 1952, with

the launching of 55 community projects- each consisted of 300 villages
and population of 16.4 million. Each of the 55 projects covered about 300
villages with an area of about 450 to 500 square miles, a population of
about two lakhs and a cultivated area 1, 50,000 acres. With-in few months
of launching of these pilot projects, it was felt that there should an
extension of the community projects and so the National Extension service
programme was formulated and put into operation on October 2, 1953. It
was planned to cover 5,000 Blocks each comprising of about 100 villages and
the numbers of blocks went on increasing from year to year till Octob 2, 1963,
in the meantime the entire country was covered with community Development
Block’s (Desai 1969: 612 & Dayal 1970:3).

The committee on the plan project, a high powered body was constituted
by National Development council, under the chairmanship of Balwantri G.
Mehta appointed in 1957 to study the functioning of community
development Programme. The team toured several parts of the country to
examine and assess the work and to recommend to the Government of
India so as to what more need to be done to make the programme a
success. The team in its report submitted at the end of December 1957,
had tried to find out what needs to be done to make the performance match
with the promise (Dayal 1970:9 & Mesheshwari 1963: 9-10). The report
revolutionized the entire thinking about the community development as
well as the rural local government or panchayat raj. It was undoubtedly an
outstanding and important land mark in the field of people’s empowerment
i.e., people’s participation in decision making (Sharma 1987: 18-19).

The team did not try to conceal the bitter truth and admitted that one of the
least successful aspects of the community development and the National
extension work was its failure to evoke popular imitative (Mehta 1957: 3).
The team pointed out “local peoples have not shown any enthusiasm or
interest in the community development or National Extension service
work. While an attempt had been made to harness local initiative, it failed
because no attempt was made to create a representative and democratic
institution which will supply the local interest, supervision, and care needed to
ensure it success. It was necessary to consider the needs and wishes of the
local people and for this it was necessary to create local self-government or
Panchayat raj (Mehta 1957:5).
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 101

The team laid emphasis on immediate decentralization of power which had

not yet taken place below the state level. It was of the opinion that it can
be effected by a devolution of power to a local body or panchayat which,
when created, will have the entire charge of development work with its
jurisdiction. Development must be controlled and directed by popular
representatives of the local area (Mehta 1957:7). The Balwantray Mehta
committee report gave a blue print for panchayat raj which was to serve as
the institutional framework of people’s participation in India. They
suggested a three-tier scheme with Panchayats as the base, Panchayat
samitis as the intermediate tier, and Zilla Parishad at the apex (Dayal
1970: 21). The Panchayat should be a directly elected institution with
provision for the cooption of two women members and one member each
from the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes. The report suggested that
the Panchayat samiti which would form the most important unit in the
three tier scheme should have a jurisdiction co-extensive with a
development block (Mehta 1957:17). Its members should be indirectly
elected by the village Panchayat together with two women members and
one member each from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (incase their
population exceeds 5 percent of the total population) as co-opted
members. The Panchayat samiti may co-opt two local residents who have
shown special aptitude in the rural development work, besides, number of
seats equal to 10 percent of the number of elected seats filled by the
representative either by co-option or by election (Mathur 1981: 22).

According to the report that there should be Zilla Parishad (highest body
of PRIs) at the district level, mainly with a view to achieving the necessary
coo-ordination between the Panchayat samitis with the district, the Zilla
Parishad was to consist of the President of Panchayat samitis, member of
parliaments and state legislative and district level officer of the
developments (Mathur 1981:23 & Haldipur 1981:166). The team further
pointed out that if this experiment of democratic decentralization was to
yield maximum results, it was necessary that all the tiers of the scheme,
viz., village Panchayat, Panchayat samiti and Zilla Parishad should be
started at the same time and operated simultaneously in the whole district
(Mehta 1957: 128).

The recommendations of the study team in favour of a system of

democratic decentralization were considered by the National Development
council in January 1958. The council emphasized that the foundation of
any democratic structure had to be democracy in the village, and endorsed
the recommendation of the team. It was, however, left to the state to work
102 Chapter Five

out the structure, best suited to its conditions. This point was further
affirmed by the central council of local-self-government when it suggested
that the evolution of this genuine transfer of power to the people may be
left to the state governments. Accordingly, the state governments were
evolving their own pattern of democratic decentralization. Subsequently,
the term ‘democratic decentralization’ was given up and the term
‘Panchayat raj’ was adopted (Dayal 1970: 23-24; Maheshwari 1963: 9-10
& Maheshwari 1970: 77). Almost all the state governments accepted
Balwantray Mehta’s famous proposal for ‘democratic decentralization’, it
was enthusiastically incorporated in the emerging consensus on National
development in India. However although no less a person than Shri
Jawaharlal Nehru, the free India’s first prime minister lent his personal
support towards statutory institutionalization of the Balwantray Mehta
study team’s proposals. Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the Panchayat raj
measure in Rajasthan on October 2, 1959 in impressive ceremony at Nagar
(Dayal 1970: 26).

The Mehta committee was followed by K. Santhanam (1963) to examine

the issues of Panchayat raj Institutions. The committee observed since
1957, the functioning of Panchayat raj Institutions was marked with
various short comings and the desired results could not be achieved. The
people’s participation in the activities of the PRIs was limited. They did
not identify themselves with these instructions, and even Panchayats did
not make attempts to ensure their involvement in decision-making process.
Many panchayats were superseded and elections were not held for many
years. Rather, the whole process of development through Panchayats gave
an opportunity to the rural elites to emerge as center of powers, and there
usually was an alliance between local representative and government
functionaries at the local levels. It further discouraged the rural women
and other disadvantaged groups for meaningful participation in decision-
making and implementation process. Also, the state governments and the
local political elites did not make positive steps to strengthen these local
institutions (Gupta 2004: 29).

The establishment of first ever non-congress government at the center in

1977 dedicated to a belief in a polity that ensures decentralization of
economic and political power has provided yet another opportunity for re-
invigoration of people’s empowerment through panchayat raj Institutions
(PRIs) in India (Mathur 1981: 169-170). The committee on Panchayat Raj
Institutions was appointed by the Government of India in 1978, with Shri
Asoka Mehta as its chairman to enquire into the working of Panchayat Raj
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 103

Institutions and to suggest measures to strengthen them, so as to enable a

decentralized system of planning and development to be effective. The
terms of reference of the committee, inter alia, required it to examine the
working of Panchayat raj institutions in regard to mobilization of resources
as to plan an implementation of the scheme for rural development in an
objective and optimal manner, and in looking after the participation of
women and other weaker section of the society (Shukla 1981: 194).

The committee took a keen note of the numbers of changes in the

panchayat raj institution that has been unfolding during the past two three
decades. The story of the ups and down of Panchayat raj Institutions was
well brought by the Ashoka Mehta committee (1978) when it identified
three phases in the life of Panchayat raj, starting from its inception till
1977: the phase of ascendancy from October 2, 1959, to 1964, the phase of
stagnation 1965 to 1969 and the last phase 1969 to 1977. After 1977, the
decline was even more rapid for this sorry pass, three arguments could be
put forward. First, the Panchayat raj collapsed due to the weight of its own
inner contradictions. Second, the system was inherently sound beyond
anyone’s control. Third, the ruling elite deliberately ‘killed it’ (Mathew 1994:
3-4).

If we looked at the first time phase (1959-64) all the states had passed
panchayat acts, and by the mid 1960s Panchayat had reached all parts of
the country. There was an enthusiasm in rural India and a feeling gripped
the people that they had a say in the decision-making affairs which affect
their daily lives. Those were the promising days of Panchayat raj
Institutions in India. There was a younger and better leadership emerging
through Panchayat Raj Institution and there was a fairly high degree of
satisfaction among the people with their working (Mathew 1994:8-9). This
enabled a large number of people to acquire leadership at the local levels
because, in the earlier traditional, socio-political set-up they had no access
to the political or administrative organs. It was also felt that conferring of
power on people’s representatives had improved the attendance of teachers
in primary schools, while block administration had become more
responsive, people voiced their grievance before the Pradhans and got
relief through them, and above all petty corruption, both among the
subordinate staff as well as among the newly elected leaders, had declined,
the former because the block staff had come under the Panchayat samiti
and the latter because the public reputation of the Pradhans was crucial for
them to get re-elected (Mathew 1994: 9-10).
104 Chapter Five

The rejoicing of the people was short-lived because second phase started
after there was a stagnation of Panchayat raj- Nehru’s death in which
political leaders were determined to end the threat to their leadership from
the village, mandal or district leader ship. They paid only lip service to the
Panchayats. The bureaucracy in alliance with local powers, state and
central level politicians, began to discredit the new system highlighting its
shortcoming. It saw in these local bodies the domination by the upper or
dominant castes, corruption and even in aptitude. In the third phase 1964-
1977 for about thirteen years after that, from 1964 to 1977, Panchayat raj
remained the whipping boy of all those who wanted to discredit the
decentralization of power. This phase marked a sharp decline in panchayat
raj (Mathew 1994:15). In view of this decline in 1985 G.V.K. Roy
committee was constituted to examine various aspects of PRIs. After
evaluating the function of local bodies, the committee made some
observations. The committee suggested for integrated rural development.
It has to encompass all economic and social development activities
handled by different agencies at the field level. Panchayat raj Institutions
should be activated and given the necessary support so that it can become
an effective organization for handling local development. The committee
also suggested that the election to the local bodies should be held
regularly. The Rao committee was followed by the L.M. Singhvi
committee. It was constituted by the government of India, Department of
Rural Development in 1986. The committee suggested that it considered
the constitution of gram sabha for encouraging democracy at the grass root
level. The committee recommended that the PRIs have to be viewed as
institutions of self-government which would naturally facilitate the
participation of the people in the process of planning and development and
as a part of the concept of self government. The committee envisaged and
recommended that the Panchayat raj bodies should be constitutionally
recognized (Gupta 2004: 31-32).

The constitutional recognition for panchayat-raj bodies was required

because state governments were not enthusiastic about the creation of
Panchayati-raj bodies and to share power with them in their states. In fact,
some states have taken power back from the Panchayati-raj institution,
giving more power and functions to PRIs than what was essential so as to
make them viable and responsive institutions which required constitutional
support (Sharma 2004: 150). Hence the 73rd constitution Amendment was
passed bolster and buttress the PRIs in the country.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 105

The 73rd constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 came into force on 24th
April 1993. Women’s empowerment was one of the major objectives of
73rd constitutional Amendment Act which provides reservation of one-
third of seats for women in panchayat raj Institutions. In the sense it’s
being an enabling and necessary, though not sufficient condition for
empowerment, the 73rd constitutional Amendment is a milestone in the
way of women assuming leadership and decision-making positions, as it
makes such a role mandatory and universal for the whole of India (Mishra
1997:21; Mathew 2000: 9-10). The Act provides for the establishment of
Panchayats in every state with the following features:

Gram Sabha: The Article 243A of the 73rd constitutional Amendment Act
envisages for the constitution of gram sabha with the objective of
providing participation to people in the decision-making process. The
gram sabha means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral
rolls relating to a village level. The gram sabha may exercise such power
and perform such functions at the village level as the legislature of a state.

Constitution of Panchayats: For having uniformity in the pattern of

panchayat structure, the Article 243B provides that there shall be
constituted, in every state, panchayats at the village level, intermediate and
district levels in accordance with the provisions of this part. But for a low
population state, not with standing anything in clause (1), panchayats at
the intermediate level may not be constituted in the state having a
population not exceeding 20 lakhs.

Composition of Panchayats: As per the Article 243 c, the legislature of a

state may, by law, make provisions with respect to the composition of
Panchayats. As regards the representation in the Panchayat, it has been left
to the state legislature to provide for the representation of:

• The chairpersons of the panchayats at the village level, in the

•
panchayats at the intermediate level,
The chairperson of panchayats at the intermediate level, in the

•
panchayat at the district level,
The members of the house of people and the member of the

•
legislative Assembly of the state,
The members of the council of states and the member of the
legislative council of the state.
106 Chapter Five

The chairperson and other members of panchayat whether or not chosen

by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayats area,
shall have the right to vote in the meetings of Panchayat. The Act further
provides that the chairperson of a Panchayat at the village level shall be
elected in such a manner as the legislature of a state may, by law, provide,
and a panchayat at the intermediate level or district level shall be elected
by, and from amongst, the elected member’s thereof.

Reservation of seats for weaker sections: In order to give representation

to weaker sections in the panchayats, the Article 243D prescribes that the
seats shall be reserved for the scheduled castes and scheduled Tribes (SCs
& STs) in every panchayat and the number of seats so reserved shall bear,
as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number to be filled by
direct election in that panchayat as the population of the STs in that
Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area and such seats
may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a panchayat. Not
less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause(1)
shall be reserved for women belonging to the SCs or the STs as the case
may be. Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for
women belonging to the SCs and the STs) of the total number of seats to
be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women
and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in
Panchayat. The offices of the chairpersons in the panchayat at the village
or any other shall be reserved for the SC/STs and women in such a manner
as the legislature of the state may provide by law. The state legislatures
can make provisions for reservation of seats in any panchayat or office of
chairpersons at any level in favour of backward class of citizens.

Duration of Panchayats: In order to provide the stability to the

Panchayats, the Article 243 E stipulates that every Panchayat, unless
sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue
for five years from the date appointed for its first meetings and no longer.
No amendment of any law for the time being in force shall have effect
causing dissolution of a Panchayat at any level.

Disqualification for Membership: The Article 243F has providd that a

person shall be disqualified for being chosen as and for being a member of
panchayat if he is so disqualified by or under any law for the time being in
force for the purpose of election for the legislative of the state concerned,
provided that no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is les
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 107

than 25 years of age, if he has attained the age of 21 years, if he is

disqualified by or under any law made by the legislative of the state.

Power, Authority and Responsibilities of Panchayats: In order to

enable the Panchayats to take up the task of the preparation of plans for
economic development and social justice, and the implementation of
schemes. For economic development and social justice, the legislative (as
per Article 243G) of a state may, by law, endow the panchayats with such
powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as
institution of self-government.

Powers to Impose Taxes by and funds of the Panchayat: Enhancing the

own income of Panchayats has been duly recognized by the Act, and so
the Article 243H envisages that the legislative of state may be by law
authorize a panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes, duties,
tolls and fees in accordance with such procedure and subject to such
limits. It may also make provisions for making such grant-in-aid to the
panchayats from the consolidated funds of the state.

Constitution of Finance Commission: The Article 243I envisages the

constitution of state Finance commission to review the financial position
of the Panchayats and to make recommendations as to the principles which
should govern: (i) the distribution between the state and the panchayats of
the net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the state, (ii)
the determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be
assigned to, or appropriated by the panchayats, and (iii) the grant-in-aid to
the panchayats from the consolidated fund of the state, the measures
needed to improve the financial position of the panchayats.

Audit of Accounts of Panchayats: As contained in the Article 243J; the

legislative of a state may, by law, make provisions with respect to the
maintenance of account by the panchayats and the auditing of such
accounts.

Constitution of state election commission: For ensuring the fairness of

the election process, as per Article 243K, State Election commission will
look after the supervision, direction and control of the preparation of
electoral roll for, and the conduct of, all elections to the panchayats. It also
envisages that the legislative of the state may make provision with respect
to all matters relating to, or in connection with, election to the panchayats.
108 Chapter Five

The 73rd constitutional Amendment Act, if implemented sincerely, are

capable to strengthen PRIs in the country. The timely election by state
Election commission distribution of finances by finance commission, and
greater representation of weaker sections are such provisions which will
enhance power and function of Panchayati-Raj Institutions (PRIs). Thus,
the approach of this amendment is the creation of meaningful and viable
PRIs to serve the purpose of promoting peoples empowerment in rural
India. This is the only way to share power with the people so that they
participate in decision making.

References
Dayal, Rajeshwar. 1970. Panchayati-Raj in India. Delhi: MetroPolitan
Book Co. Private Ltd.
Desai, A.R. 1969. Community Development Projects – A sociological
analysis, in Desai, A.R. (ed.) Rural Sociology in India. New Delhi:
Popular Prikshan.
Gandhi, M.K. 1963. “Village Swaraj” (compiled by H.M.Vyas),
Ahmedabad: Navjivan publishing House, 1963, P.3.
Ghram, G.F.I. 1885. The life and work of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.
Edinburgh: William Blackwood.
Gupta, D.N. 2004. Decentralisation Need for Reforms. New Delhi:
Concept Publishing Company.
Haldipur, R.N. 1981. “On Remodelling Panchayati-raj” in Chaturvedi,
T.N. and R.B. Jain, (eds) Panchayati-Raj. New Delhi: Indian Institute
of Public Administration.
Hatim, Shahida. 1998. Empowerment of women: Problems and Prospects.
New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications.
Kazi, Syed Sultan. 2002. “India’s Mixed Experience”, Competition
Wizard, February.
Khanna, R.L. 1972. Panchayati Raj in India. Ambala Cantl: The English
Book Depot.
Mahajan, Vidya Dhar. 1986. Constitutional Development and the National
movement in India. New Delhi: S. Chand & Company Ltd.
Maheshwari, B. 1963. Studies in Panchayati-Raj. Delhi: Metropolitan
Book Co. Private Ltd.
Maheshwari, S. 1970. Local Government in India. New Delhi: Orient
Longman Ltd.
Malaviya, H.D. 1956. Village Panchayats in India. New Delhi: Economic
and Political Research Department, All India Congress Committee.
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Mathew, George. 1994. Panchayati – Raj from Legislation to movement.

New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
—. 2000. Status of Panchayati - Raj in the states and union territories of
India. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
Mathur, P.C. 1981. “Panchayati-Raj”, New Delhi: The Indian Institute of
Public Administration.
Mehta, Ashok. 1978. Report of the committee on Panchayati – Raj
Institution, New Delhi: Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation,
Government of India.
Metha, Balwantray. (1957). Report of the team for the study of community
project and National Extension Service, New Delhi: Government of
India.
Mishra, S. 1997. “Women and 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act”,
Social Action, Vol.47. pp-15-16.
Purwar, Vijaya. Lakshmi. 1967. Panchayats in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow:
Tej Kumar Press.
Santhanam, K. 1963. Committee on Panchayti – Raj Institutions, New
Delhi: Government of India.
Sharma, M.L. 1987. Gandhi and Democratic Decentralization in India,
New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications.
Sharma, Manoj. 2004. “Local Government: Rural and Urban”, New Delhi:
Anmol Publications Pvt., Lid.
Shukla, K.B. 1981. “Panchayati Raj Revisited”, in Chaturvedi, T.N. and
Jain, R.B (ed.) Panchayati-raj. New Delhi: Indian Institute of Public
Administration.
Tinkar, H. 1963. The village in a frame work of development. In R.
Braibanti and J.J. Spengler; (eds), Administration and Economic
Development. Durham: Duke University Press.
Venkatarangaiya, M. and Pattabhiram, M. (eds). 1969. Local Government
in India: Select Readings, Bombay: Allied Publishers.
Webex, Max. 1978. Economy and society, Barkely: University of
California Press, 2 Vols.
Webster, 1982. New world Dictionary: Second College Edition. New
York: Simon and Schuster.
 CHAPTER SIX

DISTANCE EDUCATION AND URDU

LINGUISTIC MINORITY:
A CASE STUDY OF MANUU

S.M. RAHMATULLAH

Indian Constitution has ensured the equality of all the citizens. It is

the responsibility of the state to preserve, protect and assure the
rights of minorities and create atmosphere for the versatile
development of all the communities. Since independence, India has
achieved significant growth and development, reduced poverty and
improved the levels of literacy, education and health. But all the
religious communities and social groups have not shared equally
the benefits of the growth process. “Among these, the Muslims, the
largest minority communities in the country, constituting 13.4 per
cent of the population are seriously lagging behind in terms of most
of the human development indicators”. There exists a wide socio-
economic and educational gap between the communities. So far as
education is concerned, “it shows that Muslims are at a double
disadvantage with low levels of education combined with low
quality education; their deprivation increases manifold as the level
of education rises. It is in this background that an attempt is made
in this paper to present the scenario of Distance Education and
assess the role being played by the Maulana Azad National Urdu
University (MANUU), Hyderabad, which has been selected as a
case for study, for the educational development of learners of Urdu
linguistic minority community.

Introduction
Promotion and protection of the rights of minorities, according to the
United Nations Declaration on the rights of minorities, contribute to the
112 Chapter Six

Political and Social stability of the countries in which they live, promote
the dignity and equality of all individuals and ensure participatory
development and democracy. However, if development processes are
misdirected and some groups and minorities lag behind in the development
process, pressures are likely to be built up and intensify and have opposite
effect on the development of the countries. It is, therefore, but natural to
take care of the interests of all groups of the society including the
minorities in the countries.

Indian constitution ensured the equality of all the citizens. It is the

responsibility of the state to preserve, protect and assure the rights of
minorities. Since independence, India has achieved significant growth and
development, reduced poverty and improved the levels of literacy,
education and health. But all the religious communities and social groups
have not shared equally the benefits of the growth process. “Among these,
the Muslims, the largest minority community in the country, constituting
13.4 per cent of the population are seriously lagging behind in terms of
most of the human development indicators”1.There exists a wide socio-
economic and educational gap between the communities. So far as
education is concerned, “it shows that Muslims are at a double
disadvantage with low levels of education combined with low quality
education; their deprivation increases manifold as the level of education
rises.”2 The National Policy on Education, 1986, revised in 1992 envisages
paying more attention towards the education of the educationally
backward minorities in the interest of equity and social justice.

It is in this background that an attempt is made in this paper to present the

scenario of Distance Education, assess the role being played by the
Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad, which
has been selected as a case for study, for the educational development of
learners of Urdu linguistic minority community and state categorically
what the system of Distance Education should acquire. The objectives of

1
A Report of the Prime Minister’s High Level Committee on Social, Economic
and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India- November, 2006,
Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, p.2.
2
Ibid, p.50.
*Dean, School of Arts and Social Sciences, HOD, Department of Political Science
and Public Administration, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad.
Paper presented in an International Conference on Open and Distance Education:
Frontiers, Challenges and Strategies, 23-25 August, 2007 at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Open University, Hyderabad.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 113

the case study are to build a body of knowledge in distance education,

promote deeper and wider understanding of its functioning, facilitate the
development of conceptual framework in it, bring to the notice of the
readers and authorities involved in it, the important issues, problems and
challenges of distance education and be helpful in exploring the key
strategies for open and distance education in an emerging IT driven
knowledge society to ensure quality education to the Urdu linguistic
minority community in particular and informal learner in general.

Open and Distance Education – A Scenario

To provide quality education to the existing population and make
arrangements for the education of ever increasing population, in any
country, is not a simple task. It requires innovative paradigm shift in the
policy of education. Over the years, there have been a number of
experiments in the field of education. America, Britain, Canada, Australia,
Thailand, Hong Kong and European countries have evolved the system of
Open and Distance Education. In India too, the system of Distance
Education has been building in–roads slowly but steadily and making use
of “the new communication technology to support the inter-personal
communication and the printed books”. 3 The Kothari Committee (1961)
has favoured non-formal education and observed that this would reduce
the capital costs of education to a substantial extent. The Indian National
Policy on Education has also clearly recognized the importance of Open
University and Distance Learning. It says, “The Open University System
has been initiated in order to augment opportunities for higher education
and as an instrument of democratizing education.”4 The modern
institutional beginnings of the system of distance education in India can be
traced to the establishment of institute of correspondence courses by the
Delhi University in 1962. Twenty years after the establishment of this
institute, the first Open University known as the Andhra Pradesh Open
University, which was later renamed as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open
University was established in1982. With the establishment of Indira
Gandhi National Open University in 1985, a new era in distance education
began in our country. Now, apart from National and State level
Universities, a number of constituent units started by different universities

3
G. Ram Reddy, “Role of The Media in Distance Teaching”, The Indian Journal
of Public Administration, New Delhi, Vol.XXXII, No.3, July-September, 1986,
p.618.
4
National Policy of Education-1986, Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Government of India, New Delhi, 1986, pp.15-16.
114 Chapter Six

are also providing the open forum for distance education in our country.
There are as many as 14 Open Universities, 110 Constituent Units of
distance education in different universities, 64,838 Counselors, 441
Programmes, 3863 Courses, 4388 Study Centers and 111 Regional Centers
of distance education.5 Further, the distance mode is also extensively used
for education at the school level and the open schooling is becoming very
popular in recent years. Moreover, it deserves to be mentioned especially
here that MANUU, a national university, has got the unique distinction of
offering Certificate, Diploma, Under Graduate and Post Graduate
programmes in Urdu medium through distance as well as formal models of
education, catering to the educational requirements of the Urdu speaking
population of our country. The University is offering research programmes
also through formal mode of education. The open universities and the
institutions of distance education are getting popularity day by day
because they “serve relatively dispersed student populations. In so doing
they liberate the student from the constraints of space, time (and often age)
associated with conventional provisions permitting him a degree of
flexibility as to the regularity, timing and location of his study activities.”6
It is in brief, the scenario of distance education all over the world in
general and India in particular.

A Case Study
In spite of the fact that all the constitutional rights and privileges are
available to the minority communities and in accordance with the article
29 in general and article 30 in particular, they are provided with linguistic,
cultural and educational rights and privileges, there is educational
backwardness, particularly, in Muslim minority community. It is in this
background that MANUU, a Central University established in1998 by an
Act of the Parliament and having an all India jurisdiction, is getting
considerable importance as it is catering to the educational needs of such
Urdu speaking people of our country and Urdu expatriate population who
have either not got the opportunity of getting into school or discontinued
their education long back or unable to get admission in the reputed
institutions of higher education. The Act empowers the University to
provide education through both the distance and campus modes of

5
See for more details, Prof. Santosh Panda, ‘Evaluation of Distance and Online
Learning: Organization and Delivery’, IGNOU, New Delhi.
6
Anthony Kaye, “Origins and Structures”, in Anthony Kaye and Greville
Rumble,eds, Distance Teaching for Higher and Adult Education , London, Croom
Helm, 1981, p.18.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 115

education. The mandate and objectives of the University, as per the Act,
are to promote and develop the Urdu language, provide higher education,
technical and vocational education in the Urdu medium and to provide
focus on women’s education. “The University has been granted several
special schemes and grants from the University Grants Commission, a
testimony to the fact that this young national institution has academic
strength and potential”.7

MANUU has initiated its distance education activities right from its
inception through the Directorate of Distance Education by offering B.A.,
in Urdu medium at 15 Study Centers with a student enrolment of 2550.
However, keeping in view the changes and requirements of the time, the
University has initiated a number of courses. Today the university has a
number of courses on offer through distance education in Urdu medium
and has 65,000 students on roll at 108 Study Centers8 and it is making all
efforts to reach out to the Urdu medium students not only within the
country but also in such pockets where there are large numbers of Asian
settlers. An examination centre of the University for Distance Education
Programmes has been established at Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) in 2006 and
the University has resolved to establish another examination centre at
London to cater to the educational requirements of Urdu expatriate
population. Further, eight Regional Centers, one each at Delhi, Patna,
Bangalore, Bhopal, Darbhanga, Kolkatta, Srinagar and Mumbai and five
Sub-regional Centers, one each at Lucknow, Jammu, Sambal, Nuh and
Hyderabad, have been established to provide academic and administrative
support to the distance education students.9 Moreover, the University has
uniquely partnered with the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New
Delhi by entering into a memorandum of Collaboration which empowers
the University to adopt, translate and offer any course of IGNOU into
Urdu. Details of the courses offered by MANUU through distance mode of
education, students enrolled, sex, category, rural, urban background, social
and marital status of the students, support services provided by the
University to them and the faculty position in the Directorate of the
Distance Education of the University have been given below in different
tables.

7
K.R.Iqbal Ahmed, MANUU- A Profile, 2007, Hyderabad, p.3.
8
Directorate of Distance Education, MANUU, Hyderabad.
9
Ibid.
116 Chapter Six

Table I: Courses Offered by MANUU through Distance Education.

Sl.No. Name of the Duration Eligibility

Programme Min/Max.
1 M.A.(Urdu) 2 Years Any graduate from a
4 Years recognized University
2 M.A. (History) 2 Years or institution which
4 Years the University has
3 M.A. (English) 2 Years granted equivalency
4 Years
4 B.ED. 2 Years Any graduate from a
4 Years recognized University
with a minimum of
two years in-service
experience as teacher
in Govt. School.
5 Bachelor of Arts(B.A) 3 Years Any person who has
9 Years completed 10+2 from
6 Bachelor of 3 Years recognized State
Commerce (B.Com) 9 Years /Central Board
7 Bachelor of Science 3 Years OR
(BZC) Botany, 9 Years Any person who has
Zoology, Chemistry completed 18 years of
8 Bachelor of Science 3 Years age as on 31st August
(MPC) Mathematics, 9 Years and qualified in the
Physics, chemistry eligibility Test
conducted by the
University
9 Diploma in Teaching 1 Year Any graduate from a
English 4 Year recognized University
or institution which
the University has
granted equivalency
10 Certificate Course in 6 Months 18 years of age to be
Food and Nutrition 4 Years completed as on 31st
August
11 Certificate Course in 6 Months 18 years of age to be
Proficiency in Urdu 4 Years completed as on 31st
through English August
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 117

12 Certificate Course in 6 Months 18 years of age to be

Proficiency in Urdu 4 Years completed as on 31st
through Hindi August
13 Certificate Course in 6 Months SSC or its equivalent
Functional English for 4 Years
Urdu speakers
14 Diploma in Mass 1 Year 10+2 or its equivalent
Communication and
Journalism
Source: - Directorate of Distance Education, MANUU, Hyderabad.

The Table I indicates that the University is offering more than a dozen
courses through distance education. The gender-wise number of students
enrolled in different programmes and the gender and category-wise
number of the students have been shown in Table II & III respectively.

Table II: Gender-wise Enrolment of Students, 2006-2007

Name of the Total Students

Course Male Female Total
UG Courses 9811 10275 20086
PG Courses 3332 2304 5636
Certificate 252 103 355
Courses
Total 13395 12682 26077
Percentage 51.37 46.63
Source: - Directorate of Distance Education, MANUU, Hyderabad.
118 Chapter Six

Table III: Gender-wise Enrolment of SC, ST, OBC and OC Students, 2006-2007

Name of the SC ST OBC OC

Course M F T M F T M F T M F T
UG Courses 65 18 83 576 278 854 930 859 1789 8240 9216 17456
PG Courses 25 23 48 127 59 186 626 262 888 2532 1967 4499

Certificate 4 5 9 0 1 1 37 31 68 210 65 275

Courses
Total 94 46 140 703 338 1041 1593 1152 2745 10982 11248 22230
Source: - Directorate of Distance Education, MANUU, Hyderabad
T=Total, M=Male, F=Female
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 119

The Table II indicates a very positive and encouraging trend that nearly 50
percent female students are acquiring education from MANUU through
the distance mode. The Table III shows that apart from the students of OC
and OBC, the students of SC and ST are also getting benefited from the
educational programmes of MANUU though the programmes are being
offered in Urdu medium. The Table IV, given below, exposes that except
in two years, the number of students enrolled in UG programmes of the
University has been increased every year since the inception of the
University.

Table IV: Year-wise Students Enrolment in UG Programmes of

Distance Education

Year No. of Students Enrolled

1998 2551
1999 2583
2000 4438
2001 4345
2002 6320
2003 7200
2004 7300
2005 9538
2006 9785
Total 54330
Source: - Directorate of Distance Education, MANUU, Hyderabad.

The rural-urban background and social and marital status of the students
have been displayed in Table V.

Table V: Rural-Urban Background and Social and Marital Status of

the Students-2006

Name of Background Social Status Marital Status

the Rural Urban Employed Unemployed Married Unmarried
Programme
M.A. 1338 1044 525 1857 1078 1304
Urdu
M.A 342 461 160 643 270 533
.History
M.A. 400 825 375 850 506 719
English
120 Chapter Six

B.A. 4144 4255 1778 6621 1918 6481

B.Com 78 264 44 298 39 303

B.Sc (MPC 314 734 99 949 103 945

& BZC)
Diploma in 13 20 15 18 18 15
Teaching
English
Certificate 4 33 9 28 17 20
Course in
Food &
Nutrition
Certificate 22 41 34 29 36 27
Course in
Proficiency
in Urdu
through
English
Certificate 4 17 0 21 0 21
Course in
Proficiency
in Urdu
through
Hindi
Certificate 9 54 0 63 30 33
Course in
Functional
English for
Urdu
Speakers
Diploma 0 105 0 105 0 105
in MCJ
Total 6668 7853 3039 11482 4015 10506
Percentage 45.91 54.09 20.92 79.08 27.64 72.36
Source: - Directorate of Distance Education, MANUU, Hyderabad
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 121

The Table V indicates that when compared to the students of urban areas,
the students of rural areas are, as usual, less in number. It warrants the
opening of more study centers in rural areas. The Table further shows that
the University is very much useful to the employed and married persons,
as a large number of them are acquiring education through the mode of
distance education from this University.

The Table VI, given below, indicates the programme profile and shows
that the University has prepared the study material for all the programmes,
established a number of study centers and appointed counselors and a
good number of faculty including non-teaching staff is also available in
the Directorate of Distance Education of the University.

Table VI: Programme Profile, Support Services and Faculty Position

including Non-Teaching Staff at HQ

Programme Year Study No. of No. of Faculty Position

of Material Study Counselors including non-
Launch Available Centers teaching staff at
H.Q
Yes No
B.A. 1998 Yes -- 108 1944
B.Com 1999 Yes -- 5 70
B.Sc (MPC 2001 Yes -- 20 300
& BZC)
M.A. 2004 Yes -- 43 344
Urdu
M.A 2005 Yes -- 18 144
.History
M.A. 2006 Yes -- 33 132
English
Certificate 2000 Yes -- Self Study -- Director
Course in Professor-1
Proficiency Reader- 6
in Urdu Lecturer-12
through Regional
English Director (H.Q)-
Certificate 2000 Yes -- Self Study -- 1
Course in Assistant
Proficiency Director-1
in Urdu Assistant
through Registrar-1
Hindi Section
Certificate 1999 Yes -- Self Study -- Officer-1
122 Chapter Six

Course in Asst. Section

Food & Officer-2
Nutrition n U.D.C.-4
Certificate 2002 Yes -- Self Study -- JOA-4
Course in Office
Functional Attendant-1
English
Diploma in 2004 Yes -- Self Study --
Teaching
English
B.Ed 2004 Yes -- 10 150
Programme
Centers
Diploma in 2006 Yes -- 4 36
Primary Programme
English Centers

Source: - Directorate of Distance Education, MANUU, Hyderabad

A comprehensive picture of the programmes on offer in MANUU through

distance education, sex and caste wise enrolment of students and the
details of the physically handicapped learners is shown in Table VII.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 123

Table VII: A Comprehensive Picture of the Programmes Offered, Gender and Caste –wise Students Enrolled
and number of PH learners, 2006-07

Name of the Total Students SC ST OBC OC PH

Course T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F
B.A. 1Yr 8385 4137 4248 36 31 5 395 280 115 693 384 309 7261 3442 3819 60 37 23
B.Com. 1 Yr 339 277 62 0 0 0 2 2 0 12 11 1 325 264 61 4 4 0
B.Sc.1Yr 1045 511 534 1 1 0 1 0 1 97 42 55 946 468 478 4 4 0
Total 9769 4925 4844 37 32 5 398 282 116 802 437 365 8532 4174 4358 68 45 23
B.A. II Yr 5763 2660 3007 21 18 3 288 177 111 573 296 277 4881 2169 2712 31 18 13
B.Com. II Yr 179 149 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 175 145 30 0 0 0
B.Sc.II Yr 605 299 306 0 0 0 2 1 1 49 19 30 554 279 275 0 0 0
Total 6547 3108 3343 21 18 3 290 178 112 626 319 307 5610 2593 3017 31 18 13
B.A. III Yr 3201 1440 1761 25 15 10 164 114 50 306 147 159 2706 1164 1542 36 15 21
B.Com. 96 78 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3 2 91 75 16 0 0 0
IIIYr
B.Sc.III Yr 569 260 309 0 0 0 2 2 0 50 24 26 517 234 283 0 0 0
Total 3866 1778 2088 25 15 10 166 116 50 361 174 187 3314 1473 1841 36 15 21
P.G.I Yr
M.A. Urdu 2353 1444 909 21 10 11 106 83 23 399 280 119 1835 1071 764 40 30 10
M.A. History 801 435 366 2 1 1 23 8 15 90 69 21 686 358 328 11 6 5
M.A. 1202 759 443 19 11 8 45 36 9 157 123 34 981 589 392 16 7 9
English
Total 4356 2638 1718 42 22 20 174 127 47 646 472 174 3502 2018 1484 67 43 24
P.G.IIYr
M.A. Urdu 1280 694 586 6 3 3 35 23 12 242 154 88 997 514 483 16 15 1
M.A. History
Total 1280 694 586 6 3 3 35 12 242 154 88 997 514 483 16 15 1
124 Chapter Six

Certificate Courses
CFN -07 36 24 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 2 32 22 10 0 0 0
FE -07 56 36 20 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 4 1 50 32 18 0 0 0
PIU(E)-07 63 43 20 8 3 5 0 0 0 21 16 5 32 23 9 1 1 0
PIU(H)-07 65 26 36 1 1 0 0 0 0 32 10 22 29 15 14 0 0 0
TE(Diploma) 33 22 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 1 28 18 10 0 0 0
-07
D.J.C-07 105 101 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 104 100 4 0 0 0
Total 358 252 103 9 4 5 1 0 1 68 37 31 275 210 65 1 1 0
T=Total, M=Male, F=Female
Source: - Directorate of Distance Education, MANUU, Hyderabad.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 125

Additionally, in order to assess that how far MANUU is providing

opportunity to become graduates to such students who have not passed the
examination of Intermediate (10+2), the data pertaining to the educational
background of the fresh batch of 2006-2007 who got admission in the first
year under graduation courses of the University, have been collected and
analyzed for study. It is surprisingly encouraging to note that as many as
36.40% of the learners who did not possess the qualification of
Intermediate are pursuing the courses. The findings of the Study are
presented below in table VIII.

Table- VIII: Students pursuing UG courses with and without 10+2

qualification (2006-07)

Name of Name & Total No. of No. of % of students

the Year of Students Students students without 10+2
University the Enrolled with 10+2 without qualifications
Course qualification 10+2
qualification
MANUU, Under- 9783 6222 3561 36.40%
Hyderabad Graduate,
Ist Year
2006-
2007
Source: - Directorate of Distance Education, MANUU, Hyderabad.

The study proves that in order to implement the objectives of the Act
effectively, the University is striving to offer the programmes, which are
relevant in the present day society, so that soon after the completion of the
programmes, the students of MANUU can get employment and compete
with the best in the market. Further, it is evident from the study that the
University is adopting a multi-media approach for teaching and learning
by supplying the printed course material in self instructional format and
providing facilities for continuous face to face tutorial and counseling
services at the study centers. The above tables point out that the University
is contributing a lot to the educational development of masses and moving
closer to its mandate, mission and responsibility. Further, the tables
highlight the comprehensive picture of what the University has achieved in
distance education within its short life of about a decade and serve as a
pointer to the things that are yet to come its way.

To conclude, it can be said that looking back at the achievements of the

last one decade, MANUU has gained a prestigious position in the society
by providing ample educational opportunities to the Urdu linguistic
126 Chapter Six

minority through the mode of distance education and that it is marching

ahead successfully with the basic philosophy of empowering the Urdu
speaking population by providing as wide an educational and intellectual
exposure as possible. “Likewise, encouraging responses are being
regularly received from students who successfully completed distance
mode programmes of MANUU. They are not only successful in getting
new jobs but are also being promoted in their respective organization. The
programmes of the University are reaching to farthest corners of the
country by distance mode, thus making impact on their social status”.1

What should be the Acquisition of Distance Education?

Human resource is the most potential and critical of the inputs that go into
the development process of the country. As such, proper education and
development of the resource has assumed considerable importance. But it
is generally felt that the classes meant for the counseling of the learners, a
large number of whom possessing secondary education only, are very less
in number, whereas, the syllabus prescribed for them is very heavy. As
such, it wants immediate attention and necessary action on the part of
authorities concerned of the universities and institutions of distance
education. At the same time, they should also take care that mass
education should not dilute the quality of education.

The new economic policy of the government demands for closer linkages
between the Universities and industries and the former are called upon to
re-orient and redesign their courses to cater to the changing needs of the
employment market. The productivity can be increased only when the
manpower is properly trained and managed on professional lines. Keeping
in view the policy shift of the government towards liberalization,
privatization and globalization, the schools of Distance Learning should
constantly strive to meet the ever increasing manpower needs of the
educational institutions, business and other sectors through revamping
syllabus of different subjects and restructuring the old courses.

The review of the opportunities of distance education in India indicates

that the research base in this field is very poor. As such, it warrants
devoting considerable human and financial resources for promoting the
activities of research in open and distance education. The authorities of

1
A.M. Pathan, “From the Vice- Chancellor’s Desk”, in MANUU Urdu University
News Magazine, Hyderabad, Issue No. 11, July, 2006, p.28.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 127

open and other universities offering the non-formal programmes should

take care of this aspect and provide proper opportunities and infrastructure
for promoting the activities of research in distance education.

In the system of Open Learning much dependency is there on foreign

technology and their standard software application systems. As such, in
order to suit the requirements of Distance and Open Learning of our
learners, it is but natural to develop our own software in Urdu and other
Indian languages.

The Universities should prepare Audio and Video lessons of different

programmes for distance education and make provision for the replay at
study centres.

Financial constraint is one of the main barriers to pursue education. It is

particularly so with regard to the learners of Urdu linguistic minority
community. Hence, it is desirable to make provision for the remittance of
programme fee by installments.

Some Universities of our country have been able to get time-slots from the
All India Radio and Doordarshan to fulfill the educational needs of the
society. All the Open Universities and the Universities offering distance
education programme should get time-slots from the All India Radio for
airing their programmes and the government should come forward to help
the Universities in opening their own channels for telecasting their
programmes for their students registered under the mode of distance
education.

Moreover, it is necessary to establish a full-fledged Centre for the

production of audio-visual facilities in universities offering the
programmes of non-formal education.

In addition to it, it is pertinent to have publication division in Universities

and institutions offering different programmes through distance mode of
education.

In recognition of the need for training as an essential aspect in the

development process, the Universities offering the distance education
programmes should set up the centers for staff training and development
so as to provide in service training to all its employees and organize
128 Chapter Six

workshops and seminars on management of study centers for the benefit of

the staff members of the study centers.

Flexibility in structures and operational arrangements, quickness in

response and innovativeness in teaching-learning processes are the prime
requisites of distance education institutions. The authorities concerned
should constantly strive to acquire and maintain these characteristics.
Otherwise, the potential of the system will not be fully utilized and targets
achieved.

Above all, in order to innovate and improve the institutional performance,

provide academic and administrative support to the learners in terms of
study centers management, students support services, self instructional
material delivery and use of technology and ensure quality in education, it
is necessary to have networking and collaborative arrangements among
national and international providers of distance education. The authorities
of the Universities and institutions of distance education should, therefore,
give prime importance to this aspect and take care of it.
 CHAPTER SEVEN

DEMOCRATIC DECENTRALIZATION
AND SOCIAL JUSTICE THROUGH PANCHAYATI
RAJ INSTITUTIONS:
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVES

MUSHTAQ AHMAD

The Constitution of India is a historic socio-legal document

embracing the aspirations of the people belonging to a multifaceted
heterogenous society. Undoubtedly, it is the Volksgeist, the spirit of
the people of India. Indian Constitution, lex scripta, is an elaborate
artistic tapestry of ‘intentions and institutional structures’.1 Hence
the aim of the Grundnorm, the Constitution, is the establishment of
an “egalitarian policy well entrenched in social justice”, as
engrained in the preamble.As an institutional set up, the objective
of organization of Village Panchayats was to provide a base for
democratic decentralization of adminstrative set up to attain the
desired end of Welfare State. In this paper an attempt has been
made to discuss in Constitutional perspective the role of
Panchayati Raj Institutions in democratic decentralization and
social justice

Introduction
The preamble declares in unambiguous terms that it is the people of India
who have adopted, enacted and given to themselves the Constitution. It
declares, therefore, that the source of authority under the Constitution is the
people of India. India is a democratic state. The term “democracy” in its

1
Reddy, J.V., Article 21-Has the Supreme Court Gone Too Far, (New Delhi, AIR
Journal, 19 XI, 2001) p. 289.
130 Chapter Seven

broadest sense embraces, in addition to political democracy, also social and

economic democracy. Secondly, the policy stated in the Preamble by the
framers of the Constitution of India, sought to secure to citizens of India
Justice—social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression of
faith and worship; equality of status and opportunity, and to promote among
the people of India fraternity; assuring dignity of the individual and unity
and integrity of nation. These expressions are given content by the enacting
provisions of the Constitution particularly by Part III, the fundamental rights
and Part IV, the Directive Principles of State Policy.2 Sikri, C.J., observed: 3
“It seems to me that the preamble of our constitution is of extreme
importance and the Constitution should be read and interpreted in the light
of the grand and noble vision expressed in the Preamble”.

The Constitution provides for republican democracy at the national level

in the form of its bicameral parliament and by making the Council of
Ministers collectively responsible to the House of the people. The same
basic pattern of parliamentary institutions is replicated at the level of states
which form the Union of India. In the quasi-federal framework of India’s
Parliamentary democracy, the creation of Panchayati Raj Institutions
(PRIs) and their organisation was, however, left to the general directive
embodied in Article 40 of the Constitution in the following terms:
The State shall take steps to organize Village Panchayats and endow them
with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to
function as units of self-government”.4

The concept of Panchayats was a part of the philosophy of ‘Purna Swaraj’

and ‘Gram Swaraj’. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru breathed into
those concepts an inexorable and practical patriotic impetus during the era of
struggle for Independence. The dawn of independence provided the real
opportunity for materializing the dream of democratic decentralization in our
country to help rural communities to improve their economic and social

2
Pandey, J.N., Constitution of India, (Allahabad, Central law Agency, 2001), p.
30.
3
Kesavananda Bharti v, State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461.
4
Article 40 came to be discussed and inserted somewhat belatedly on 22nd Nov.,
1948 as Article 31 (A) in the Draft Constitution of India in Chapter IV, the
Directive Principles of State Policy. Schedule 7, List II (State List) item 5. reads:
“Local govt. i.e., to say,, the constitution and powers of municipal corporations,
improvement trusts, district boards, etc., and other local authorities of local self-
government or village administration”—is another place in Constitution where
‘Local Govt. is mentioned.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 131

conditions. The basic conviction that Village Panchayats could play an

important role in the social transformation and implementation of
development programmes could not be ignored so easily. What the founding
fathers of Constitution wanted was to bestow a certain amount of power to
make the villages self-contained and self-governing. They rose to champion
the cause of the ‘Panchayati Raj’ as a necessary pre-requisite of rural uplift
and development, resulting in making numerous provisions in the Constitution
particularly in the Directive Principles of the State Policy. The objective of
organisation of Village Panchayats was to provide a base for democratic
decentralization of administrative set up to attain the desired end of ‘welfare
state’.5

Considering that the preamble has been, or can be, regarded as the key to
the constitution,6 its basic value thrust—‘human dignity’, ‘equality’,
freedom’ and justice’—should constitute the point of departure for
articulating the conceptual premises of any institutional structure, like
Panchayati Raj, having a distinct political salience.7 While making his
concluding speech in the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949
Dr. B.R.Ambedkar said:
“We must make our political democracy a Social Democracy as Political
Democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it Social
Democracy”.8

What does this Social Democracy mean? It means a way of life which
recognized liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life. These
principles are not to be treated as separate items in a trinity. They form a
union of trinity in the sense that to divorce one from the other is to defeat
the very purpose of democracy. “In politics, we will have equality and in
social and economic life, we have inequality…. How long shall we
continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? By
independence, we have lost the excuse of blaming the British for anything
going wrong…”9

5
Hassan Shariful; Panchayati Raj—Constraints in Democratic Decentralisation, in
D.R.Mighe and R.S.Rajput (ed.) Panchayat Raj in India—Democracy At
Grassroots, (New Delhi, Deep and Deep Publishers. 1984), p. 103.
6
Re Berubari, AIR 1960 SC 845.
7
Shiviah,M., Panchayati Raj:A Policy Perspective,(Hyderabad,NIRD,1986),p.1
8
Ambedkar, B.R., C.A.D.XII, p. 978.
9
Ibid.
132 Chapter Seven

Planning for Development

With a view to convert political democracy into a social and economic
democracy or in other words to resolve the contradictions referred to
above, India entered into a process of ‘Planning for Development’ under
the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru in 50s. The colonial and feudal past of
this country and the stagnation caused thereby in all fields of activity left
no alternative but to bridge the gulf between reality of backwardness and
constitutional promise enshrined in Articles 38 and 39 through
instrumentality of planning for development of social order in which
justice—social, economic and political shall inform all the institutions of
national life. The First Plan document emphasized the need of establishing
over a period of years Panchayats for villages providing for civic and
economic activities.From the very First Plan document till date, an
imperative for people’s involvement in the process of planning through
PRIs has been continuously emphasized. This is the rationale of
‘democracy at the grass-roots’.10 The core of the first Five Year Plan was
the agriculture development, as we were required to import food grains
from U.S.A in 50s. Along with “Grow More Food Campaign”, the
hundred villages were brought under a ‘block’ and the Community
Development (CD) programme was launched in 1952 as the first strategy
of the Planning. The recommendations of Balwantrai Mehta Committee
(1957) inter-alia were that unless development administration was placed
squarely under the local representatives of the people, it would not be
possible to kindle the local enthusiasm for local development. This is the
genesis of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).11

It is a basic premise in India’s Five Year Plans that, ‘through democracy

and widespread public participation’, development along social lines will
secure rapid economic growth and expansion of employment, reduction of
disparities in income and wealth, prevention of concentration of economic
power and creation of the values of a free and equal society—these are
vital objectives.12 A clear shift in recent economic thinking in favour of
basic needs and quality of life, where satisfaction and participation loom

10
Meghe, D.R., Democracy at the Grass-roots: An Indian Experience in
R.S.Rajput and D.R.Meghe (ed.), (New Delhi: Deep and Deep, Publications,
1984), p. 26.
11
Id., at p. 27.
12
Planning Commission, Third Five Year Plan (New Delhi, 1962) p. 9.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 133

large, the Panchayati Raj then should be accepted not just as an ‘article of
faith’, but as a sound economic proposition.13
According to Ihering:
“Law is but a part of human society. Its purpose is to further and protect
the interests of society. The problem of society is to reconcile selfish with
unselfish social purposes and to suppress the former when they clash with
the latter”.14

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of modern India, considering the

present precarious predicament, remarked:
“The first task of this Constituent Assembly is to free India through the
new Constitution, to feed the starving people, and to clothe the naked
masses and to give every Indian the fullest opportunity to develop himself
according to his capacity”. This is essentially the object of Article 21, right
to life.15

This recognition gave rise to the ideal of social justice and preferential
treatment to the underprivileged. Hence the aim of the Grundnorm, the
Constitution, is the establishment of an “egalitarian policy well entrenched
in social justice”, as enshrined in the Preamble. It is true that at the level of
Local Government the exercise of plenary powers of government does not
arise; local government can,, therefore, be considered to be far closer to
being an administrative structure as well. It would be more correct to say
that Panchayati Raj is a development administration plus a political
component; the elected functionaries/representatives manning Panchayat
Raj Institutions, brought into being and shuffled through democratic
processes, have, besides their stipulated administrative responsibilities, a
distinct political role, and contributions flowing therefrom. These
contributions can be summed up under two conceptually related
propositions: ‘empowerment’ and ‘consscientisation’. This not only means
change in the rural power structure and socio-political development in the
direction of the value system—‘human dignity’, ‘equality’, ‘freedom’, and
‘justice’— embodied in the Preamble, but an important aspect of the
complementarities vis-à-vis economic development. The agenda of
Panchayati Raj as an institutionalized lobby is ‘rural development’.
Panchayati Raj, then (inclusive of rural development administration as an
integral part of the local government) would be an aspect of the overall

13
Supra note 7.
14
Supra note 9 at p. 289.
15
Id. At p. 290.
134 Chapter Seven

strategy of rural development management. Some national priorities—like

removal of poverty and illiteracy, a richer life for all, a just socio-
economic order, and a well managed polity—are loud and clear.16

Article 40, which provides for the organisation of Village Panchayats, was
never implemented seriously by some state governments because of its non-
mandatory nature. The Panchayati Raj Acts were adopted by the State
Governments for economic development and social justice but they were
implemented half heartedly. But since 1987, serious thinking had been on to
find out ways and means to revitalize these institutions and serious attempts
were made by the Central Government,17 to involve PRIs in the main stream
of Indian politics. Ultimately the Constitution 73rd (Amendment) Act, 1992
was enacted to provide constitutional status to PRIs.

Constitution 73rd Amendment and Social Justice

The statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill preceding the
amendment traced the need for the changein thus:
Inspite of the PRIs having been in existence for a long time these
institutions have not been able to acquire the status and dignity of viable
and responsible people’s bodies due to number of reasons.18

16
Shiviah, M., Panchayati Raj: A Policy Perspective, (Hyderabad: NIRD, 1986) p.
17.
17
This process led to the formation of a series of steps on the part of the Central
Government, which include the appointment of G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985),
L.M. Singhvi Committee (1986), Chief Secretaries Conference (1988), Thungon
committee (1988), Five Workshops of District Collectors (1987-88) and Chief
Minister’s Conference (1989) for the purpose of acceding a constitutional base to
this institution. Accordingly the Constitution (64th Amendment) Bill, was
introduced in the Lok Sabha in July 1989 to provide constitutional status to PRIs.
The Bill was only passed by the Lok Sabha but fell in the Raja Sabha. In 1991, the
new Congress Government headed by P.V. Narasimha Rao introduced yet another
Bill—Constitution (73rd Amendment) with the support of all major parties the bill
was passed by the both the Houses of the Parliament in 1992 and the bill thus
passed because the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 and thereby giving
Constitutional Status to PRIs. The Act came into effect from 24th April 1993.
According to 73rd Amendment all the State laws on Panchayats had to be amended
by or before 24th April 1994.
18
Constitution (73rd) Amendment act, 1992—Objects and Reasons—Digest of
Central Acts, 72 (Vol. 30, 1993) Parts IX and IXV were added to the Constitution
by the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 and the Constitution (74th
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 135

The objects and reasons of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992
makes it clear that the purpose of this Act is to fulfill the mandate of
Article 40. Part IX was added to the Constitution by the 73rd Constitutional
Amendment consisting of 16 Articles and the Eleventh Schedule to the
Constitution.19 Part IX of the Constitution specifies the basic structure,
composition, powers, functions, financial position and election procedure
of PRIs. Article 243 of the Constitution is the ‘Key’ to the whole scheme
of devolution.

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment mandates that Panchayats must be

constituted in every State with Three-tiers, namely, at Village, intermediate
(block) and district level.20 The Amendment provides that the Panchayat
bodies will have an assured duration of five years, with elections
mandatory after this period.21 However, one thing is to be noted that
according to the Amendment the establishment of Panchayats and the
devolution of necessary powers and authority on the Panchayati Raj
institutions (PRIs) are vested in the State Governments. Article 243G,
provides that subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature
of a State may, by law, endow the Panchayats with such powers and
authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as an institution
of self-government. Such law may contain provisions for the devolution of
powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats subject to such conditions as
may be specified therein, with respect to—

i. preparation of plans for economic development and social justice;

ii. the implementation of schemes for economic development and
social justice as may be entrusted to them including those in
relation to the matters enlisted in the Eleventh Schedule.22

The 73rd Amendment introducing Article 243 E-243 O and adding a new
part—Part IX to the Constitution is a major step in the direction of
implementing Article 40 so as to provide Constitutional sanction to
democracy at the grassroots level. The salient features of 73rd Constitutional
Amendment are:

Amendment) Act, 1992 popularly known as the Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika
Constitution Amendment Acts.
19
Constitution of India, Articles 243, 243 A-243 O
20
Id., Art. 243B. However, States having population of upto twenty lakhs have
been given the opinion of not constituting the Panchayats at the intermediate level.
21
Id., Art. 243E.
22
Id., Art. 243G.
136 Chapter Seven

a) three-tier structure of Panchayats at village, block and district level;23

b) direct election of members of Panchayats at each level;24
c) five year tenure for every Panchayat and in case of dissolution elections
to be held within 6 months;25
d) appointment of State Election Commission for each State;26
e) appointment of State Financial Commission by every State to review
financial position of Panchayats’27
f) powers, authority and responsibility with respect to the preparation of
plans and the implementation of schemes for economic development and
social justice (including those listed in the 11th Schedule)28
g) power to impose taxes, funds and fees and raise funds;29 and
h) reservation of seats for SCs/STs and reservation of 1/3rd of total seats
for women.30

In State of Uttar Pradesh v. Pradhan Singh Kshethra Samiti,31 the

Supreme Court held that the PRIs are only financially and administratively
viable units which can undertake the schemes of development relating to
matters mentioned in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.

The Eleventh Schedule mentions as many as 29 items/matters, some of

which are necessary to be enumerated here to point out the ambit and
scope of powers, responsibilities and functions of PRIs as administratively
viable units of local self-government which can undertake the schemes for
economic development and social justice. They are: (1) Minor irrigation,
water management and watershed development, (2) Social forestry, (3)
Small scale industries, (4) Khadi, village and cottage industries, (5) Rural
housing, (6) Roads, culverts, bridges and other means of communication,
(7) Rural electrification, (8) Poverty alleviation programmes, (9)
Education, including primary and secondary schools, (10) Technical
training and vocational education, (11) Markets and fairs, (12) Health and
sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres and dispensaries,
(13) Women and child development, (14) Social welfare including welfare

23
Constitution of India, Art. 243B
24
Id., Art. 243C
25
Id., Art. 243E
26
Id., Art. 243K
27
Id., Art. 243I
28
Id., Art. 243G
29
Id., Art. 243H
30
Id., Art. 243D
31
AIR 1995 SC 1512.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 137

of the handicapped and mentally retarded, and (15) Welfare of the weaker
sections and in particular of the SCs and STs etc. etc.

Are PRIs in a Position To Provide Basic Minimum

Needs To Rural Masses?
Keeping in view 29 subjects of the 11th Schedule of the Constitution (which
are also related to ‘basic minimum needs /services) State Government had to
transfer these functions to Panchayats along with finance and functionaries.
Provision of certain basic services to the rural population remains the
foremost priority of policy prescriptionists in a country characterized by
significant inter-State and intra-State disparities in resource endowments and
delivery systems. The overall quality of life of the people in the rural sector
is conditioned by the extent to which reasonable standards of basic services
are made accessible to them. As a country makes strides in socio-economic
development and ensures higher standards of living to its people, the nature
of requirements of the people and the expected services from the
government would get enlarged. In India, despite huge public investment
made since the advent of development planning, we have yet to provide for
a large majority of the villagers, access to safe drinking water, preventive
health care in the form of sanitary and drainage facilities including solid and
liquid waste disposal, electric power including street lighting, primary health
facilities, all-weather road connectivity and primary education. Many of
these basic services, termed “core” services, usually belong to the legitimate
functional domain of local governments by their very nature of being civic
services.32

Unfortunately, the existing status of these services is such that while their
standards in the urban sector need ‘upgradation’, several rural localities do
not at all have access to these services. In fact, considering the size of the
rural area , there is greater urgency and need for provision of minimum core
of these services rather than ‘upgradation’ of the services that exist in a few
localities. The issue of ‘upgradation’ would become relevant only when the
minimum is assured.33

32
Choudhary R.C., “Normative Estimates for Basic Services in Rural India”, (New
Delhi, Ministry of Rural Development, Kurukshetra, Vol. 50, No. 12, Oct. 2002) p.
7.
33
Id., at p. 8.
138 Chapter Seven

The Eleventh Finance Commission (EFC) had also dealt with the issue of
basic minimum needs/services in respect of local bodies. According to the
EFC Report (2000), the ‘core’ services, here were, identified as primary
education, primary health rural roads, drinking water supply, sanitation and
street lighting. The assessment of the requirement of funds was estimated as
Rs. 1, 42,128 crore for a period of five years for Panchayats for operation and
maintenance of these ‘core’ services alone.34

The Planning Commission has brought out the National Human

Development Report, 2001. According to this Report, a brief sketch of the
status of the ‘minimum basic services (MBS) indicates that despite efforts
made in successive Plans towards providing these basic services to the
people, a considerable section of our population is still without these basic
needs.35 In this context the question which arises is that what should be
done?

34
Report of the Eleventh Finance Commission (2000-205), Government of India,
July 2000.
35
National Human Development Report, 2001, (issued in March 2002), Planning
Commission, New Delhi: Govt. of India.
This Report, interalia, contains a wealth of data on various indicators of
development. Let us see the present status of these six (6) minimum basic services
(MBS) identified as Primary Education, Primary health, Rural Roads, Drinking
Water Supply, Sanitation and Street Lighting which are covered under Pradhan
Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) launched in 2000-2001. This yojana focuses
on the creation of social and economic infrastructure with the objective of
improving the quality of life of the people living in rural areas. We can take them
one by one.
As per the 2001 Census rural literacy rate was 59.21, among males, it is 71.18
and among females, 46.58, at the national level. Among Schedule Castes and
schedule Tribes, it was very low as the following data shows.
The data shows the acute inequality between marginalized groups and the rest.
In States like Rajasthan, literacy among Schedule Tribes women is as low as 4.42
per cent.
The percentage of persons not expected to survive beyond age 40(1991) in
rural areas as 18.13 in case of male, 21.00 in case of female and 19.60 in case of
persons. In the same reference period, infant mortality rate in rural areas was 84
per thousand. During 1998-99, the percentage of birth attended by health
Professionals in rural areas was merely 33.50. The percentage of fully vaccinated
children aged 12-23 months in 1998-99 was merely 36.60.
As per the 1991 Census, 55.54 per cent of rural households had safe drinking
water facility. The percentage of Scheduled Tribe households with safe drinking
water facility was 41.11. According to the Annual Report of the Ministry of Rural
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 139

Keeping in view 29 subjects of the 11th Schedule State Governments had

to transfer these functions to Panchayats. But majority of the States /UTs
have neither devolved functions/finances nor provided functionaries to the
Panchayats pertaining to 29 subjects of the 11th Schedule despite
constitutional mandate. Similarly, District Planning Committees, which
are among others supposed to integrate and coverage schemes and
programmes at district level, have also not been constituted in all States
according to the Report of the Task Force.36

This historic amendment has generated great expectation and has been
widely welcomed because it would restore freedom, autonomy, power and
self-governance to the people; enlarge and deepen democracy in the
country; and facilitate people-centered participatory development. Now
people can demand accountability from their representatives. The primary
role of the Panchayats will be in the area of development, planning and

Development, as on 29.1.2002, of the total habitations of 1422664, 17917 were not

covered. 147791 were partially covered under any source of drinking water.
For every person, ownership of a house provides significant economic security
and dignity in society. According to the 1991 Census, around 3.1 million
households are without shelter and another 10.31 million households live in
unserviceable Kuchha houses.
As mentioned earlier under PMGY, States have been asked to earmark a
minimum 15 per cent of the total investment for Nutrition. This shows the
seriousness of the problem. In this context, the Human Development Report
brought out by the Planning Commission commented: “Over half of the Children
under the age of five years in India are moderately or severely malnourished, 30
per cent of new born children are significantly under weight and nearly 60 per cent
of women are anaemic. This is despite the country having attained self-sufficiency
in food production for well over a decade, with mounting public food stocks at its
command”.
On the access to electricity, successive Five Year Plans have laid specific
targets for extending the coverage of electricity to households. However, the
progress has not been satisfactory as statistics reveals. According to 1991 Census,
only 30.54 per cent of rural households had access to electricity in their houses. In
case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, only 21.84 per cent and 19.70 per
cent households respectively, had access to electricity.
A brief sketch of the status of the minimum basic services (MBS) indicates that
despite efforts made in successive plans towards providing these basic services to
the people, a considerable section of our population is still without these basic
needs.
36
Report of the Task Force on Devolution of Powers and Functions upon
Panchayati Raj Institutions, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India,
August 2001.
140 Chapter Seven

implementation of programmes of economic development and social

justice.37

K.Ramaswamy J in Samatha v.State of Andhra Pradesh38 relying on

declaration of “Right to Development Convention” which has been
adopted by the United Nations and ratified by India, held that right to
development is a fundamental right. India being an active participant and
signatory thereto, it is its duty to formulate its policies—legislative or
executive, to accord equal attention to the promotion, and to protect the
social, economic, civil and cultural rights of the people, in particular, the
poor, the Dalit and tribes as enjoined in Article 46 read with Article 38, 39
and right to life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.

Conclusion
The Constitution of India being a dynamic entity responds to the changes
reflected by the needs of the people. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment
is such a response to make such a new era in the recent history. It is not an
exercise to divide power between bureaucrats and local level institution,
not even an attempt to generate rural leadership. It is a move for the
exercise of higher democratic values and to recognize entities below the
State as ‘Constitutional entities’ with widest scope for participation. They
will exercise their right to determine their politico-economic destiny at all
levels,—national, state and local, so that socio-economic benefits may
reach sufficiently to weaker sections of the society. The people may plan
for social and economic development. Thus the 73rd Constitutional
Amendment provided for an instrument of democratic decentralization at
grassroots level. Now the Panchayati Raj can conveniently be called as
the only suitable institutional vehicle for planning and implementation of
programmes pertaining to social justice and economic development.A
great deal of responsibility rests upon them. It will help in harnessing the
available manpower and human resources in rural areas towards the
development of the country. But mere legislative enactment does not
ensure effectiveness and viability of Panchayati Raj Institutions in the
states.For any Act for its success people’s cooperation, initiative and
understanding is imperative.

37
Lathwal P.S., “Panchayati Raj: An Instrument of Social Justice”, (Kashmir
University Law Review; December 1996), p. 145.
38
(1997) 8 SCC 191.
 CHAPTER EIGHT

THE KHASI INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

OF BANGLADESH:
ARE THEY MARGINALIZED?

FAISAL AHMMED

Indigenous people remain among the most disadvantaged groups in

Bangladesh. Their land, culture, values and traditions are
threatened by the mainstream society. The Khasis are not
exception. The status of this indigenous group in Bangladesh tends
to be subordinated, effectively marginalized, isolated and
minoritised, in comparison to majority population of the state as a
whole. The adverse economic condition, cultural aggression,
exclusion from national policy renders the situation of Khasi
indigenous people as much more vulnerable as the majority people
of Bangladesh. The locations of most Khasi villages are isolated
and therefore tend to be neglected from development activities of
the government and from national policy making. This places their
position in Bangladesh society at a natural disadvantage and there
remain various problems and issues to solve. The present study
carefully identifies their problems and needs of sets of
recommendations for the improvement of the overall welfare of the
Khasis.

Key Words: Khasi, Indigenous, Bangladesh, Marginalized

Introduction
Bangladesh is a culturally diverse country and home to a large number of
indigenous people, who are often among the most marginalized and
vulnerable groups in society. More than 45 indigenous communities from
different ethno-linguistic groups have been living in different parts of
142 Chapter Eight

Bangladesh for many centuries. Khasis are one of the disadvantaged

indigenous groups living in Sylhet region of Bangladesh. The Khasis of
Bangladesh are experiencing exclusion, negligence and human rights’
violation. Historically, these people have struggled to make the
Government acknowledge their concerns. Their circumstances and needs
are, as a result, largely unnoticed by the governmental bodies of
Bangladesh. Fundamental human rights enjoyed by mainstream groups do
not reach these people and their laws, values, customs and perspectives
have been eroded by the influence of mainstream culture (Ahmmed and
Singh, 2007).

Ethnic identity informs the self-concept and life-style which provides a

distinct way of assessing and addressing their problems. As an indigenous
group with distinct characteristics from the majority people of Bangladesh,
the Khasi indigenous community requires a separate research focus. The
first phase of this article endeavors to explore the nature of the problems
of the Khasi people. Since the research available on this issue is negligible
and fails to address the problems faced by Khasi community, the author
believes that this paper makes a significant contribution towards
addressing this gap. The framework of the research places an emphasis on
the nature of the problems and any associated coping mechanisms among
the Khasi indigenous group of Bangladesh.However, the main objective of
this article is to present the reality and challenges of Khasi life to prove
their marginal status. The Khasi indigenous community is a specific group
with very specific needs. Their isolated, remote, hilly and under developed
settlement have received little attention at a policy and service level.
Without understanding the community it is difficult to initiate policies and
services that can have a real impact on the Khasi community. Using
participatory learning, the article explains the community in a way to
enable policy makers, planners and development workers to have a clear
picture of this community. By exploring manifestations of discrimination
and negligence against indigenous people, this paper seeks to further the
understanding within the UN system and among civil society
organizations that unfairness against indigenous people is mediated by
various aspects of identity and their interactions. It is expected that this
text will contribute to discussions and serve as a bridge between multiple
arenas and/or political movements.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 143

Methodology
With the objectives of an in-depth exploration of the problems experienced
by the Khasi community, the research project used qualitative
methodology designed to identify meanings and a pattern of relationships
in ethnic social life. The design followed the guidelines of ethnographic
research. Since the findings of a research are heavily dependent on reliable
data sets and their analysis (Patton, 1990) this research focused heavily on
the field work phase. During the fieldwork the researchers stayed,
interacted and participated in every possible aspect of the lives of Khasi
indigenous population. This study was designed to make use of both
naturalistic observation and interview narratives to explore the lifestyle of
Khasi indigenous community from within their natural environment. The
study followed in-depth, open-ended interviews and direct observation
along with informal and formal discussion as techniques for collecting
data from the participants. Four focus group discussions (FGD) were also
conducted.

Are they marginalized?

Is the Khasi indigenous group marginalized? The predicaments of their life
indicate that the answer of the question is ‘yes’. Their life is not easy
going due to several circumstances. Being indigenous and innocent, these
people are always prays of discrimination, exploitation and abuse by the
majority people as well as the government agencies. They have little
access in government welfare services, existing laws does not work
impartially for them. Development activities always discriminate them.
They have become an isolated identity. The following findings of this
study prove their marginal status.

Access to Safe Water and Sanitation

The absence of adequate government health facilities, the isolation of the
hilly habitats and the lack of any help seeking behavior etc are identified
as major factors behind not having modern medical facilities among the
Khasis. More than half of the population does not have any access to safe
drinking water. Such restricted access is caused by their geographic
location; the high peaks make it impossible to fix tube wells for pure
drinking water and there aren’t the financial resources to pipe safe
drinking water from the plains. Government pays less attention to this
community and there are no water and sanitation initiatives targeting this
144 Chapter Eight

community. This means that most of the community must collect water
through traditional ways which are unsafe and harmful to health. Open
water falls and low-hill water holes are the traditional sources of water.
The way these sources are made and maintained can induce illness.
Natural hole-water contains one kind of black dirty mud which is not
visible to the naked eye. The author lived for a few days with the Khasi
people who live on high hill peaks. After suffering from drinking water
contamination he examined the water using water purifying solution, with
horrific results. Six hours after applying the solution to a pot full of water,
a black and thick muddy film lay on the surface of the water. Although
the author was unable to undertake a full chemical examination it was
clear that the water was unsafe. The community people try to protect their
water hole by making a temporary corrugated iron shed, but the source
itself is not fresh. Water collects in the hole from its source in the hills
where germs and dirt are prevalent. Water born diseases are common
among the Khasis especially among the elderly and children. To
compound this problem water falls fail to supply water in a dry season
leaving down-hill water holes as the only source of water. Collecting water
is a laborious task mainly done by women. They usually carry a water pot
balanced on their head. The weight of one pot on their head and another
under one arm is about 80 liters and the women climb up around two
hundred feet high slope (about seventy degree) path. They have to climb
several times a day to collect enough water for the family. In a few cases,
especially for those who are financially solvent, they can deploy people as
daily laborers whose job is to lift water from the downhill water hole. I
found one Punjee where people collect water from an open water fall
through using a pipeline. This has similarities with the modern day urban
water supply system. First they make a big size water tank inside the
Punjee and connect it from the waterfall with a pipeline. The water is
preserved inside the tank and houses in the Punjee are connected with the
tank through other pipelines. Although this system has reduced their
struggle for water, it is entirely subject to the seasonal pattern of rainfall.
When waterfalls dry, it is rendered useless. The Punjee noticed that though
they spent a large amount of money of their own, this system does not
work during the dry season. Very small sections of Khasi people live on
plain lands who have access to tube well water. It should be noted that not
all plain land Khasis have access to fresh drinking water. A few of them
also use waterhole water as they can not afford tube wells It should be
noted that, waterholes are the only source of water for the hill dwelling
Khasis and they use the same water for all purposes including drinking to
taking a shower. A few of them rarely use canal water for bathing. These
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 145

canals flow through the passage between two hills with 20-30 centimeters
deep water which falls from rocks of the upper hills. In addition to the
danger of unsafe water, due to poverty the majority of the population
cannot afford hygienic sanitary latrines and they use a katacha latrine, and
an open place as a toilet. Although the government has declared its
mission towards a hygienic sanitation facility for all by 2010 and various
development agencies are working on water and sanitation problems, this
community is deprived of those services.

Health and Access to Health Services

Access of health services is dependent upon the geographical location of
the community. Hill dwellers are comparatively disadvantaged to the plain
land dwellers. My study covers both localities. Though health centers,
clinics or hospitals are not within a close proximity to the Khasi Punjees,
plain land dwellers have better access to the hospitals, clinics or health
centers. However, their level of access depends upon the economic
capacity and the contact with urban system. As most of the community
people have little or no contact with urban centers and many people can
not communicate with majority Bengali people due to language barriers,
they are hesitant to go to urban hospitals.

Among the plain land Khasis we found that about sixty per cent of the
population do not have access to modern medical facilities. A section of
this population depends upon Khasi traditional treatment methods. A few
people do not seek any treatment due to poverty and a belief that sickness
will be cured automatically. Child and infant mortality rates are very high
in the Khasi community. The community suffers directly from lack of
access to medical help. This is particularly true for pregnant women as
medical attention is extremely difficult to arrange. During pregnancy about
sixty per cent of the community does not visit a medical professional for
regular check-ups. We explored the reason for this and most of the people
believe that regular check ups are not essential. Poverty, lack of medical
facilities close to their community and unawareness are other contributory
causes. We did not find any government medical sub center within Khasi
territory. But most of the Union Parishads in the country have such
medical centers. Most of their birth plans are traditional and involve risky
home births. All of these adversities result in a typical trend of high birth
rate and high child mortality. Nearly forty one percent of the participants
reported early death of their young children. This trend causes them to
have more children. Thus, the Khasis have a high rate of population
146 Chapter Eight

growth. Agricultural economy of the Khasis is mainly dependent on

physical labor. The widespread belief is that if someone is lucky enough to
have many children it is easier to cultivate more land which will bring
more economic prosperity to the family. Additionally, most of the Khasi
people are not aware of the concept of family planning and contraception.
Within the communities contraception is rarely used and about 70% of
families have more than three children, ranging from three-years-old to
ten-years-old. Although the government and NGOs implement population
control programs, it is not evident among the Khasis. These factors result
in large number of children per family.

A few people go to medical professionals whose offices are located in the

sub-district or district headquarters. However, all members of the
community are conscious about the immunization of children and have
immunized their children mainly through the government’s temporary
immunization stations. Those who go to urban centers and receive
modern medical facilities, avoid government hospitals and health centers
due to their complicated administrative formalities. Despite the expense
they seek private clinics or private practitioner medical doctors. As the
poorer section of the community cannot afford such expensive treatment
they go to the local quacks and medical shopkeepers. This results in
frequent sickness among the community. At the time of our investigation
we found more than forty per cent of the community was suffering from
various illnesses. High blood pressure, chest pain, dust allergy, skin
infection, tuberculosis and gastric problems are among the major diseases
that affect community people. A recently conducted study (Ahmmed,
2007) indicates that peoples life expectancy is low, only about 4.5 per cent
of the population crossed the age of sixty which is about half of national
statistics (about 7.5 per cent).

Indigenous people inhabiting their ancestral territories face particular

threats as a result of neo-liberalism and development aggression. The
Khasis are no exception in this regard. We found a serious environmental
degradation in the Jaflong area which is inhabited by a large number of
community people. The Government is leasing nearby Peyain river as a
stone quarry for the mainstream businessmen and they are collecting
stones at an alarming rate. This is creating massive river erosion and a
large portion of Khasi people’s land is disappearing every year resulting in
prevalent landlessness. Collected stones are crashed on the bank of the
river using stone crushing machines which create noise and dust pollution
throughout the air of Khasi inhabited areas. We discussed the matter with
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 147

medical professionals and chemical experts. They reported that this

pollution has a serious affect on health. Children and older people are
affected by various types of diseases- headache, chest pain, bronchitis and
tuberculosis and skin diseases have become common illnesses. Older
people of the community reported that-
“We did not have these diseases at high rate as you see now a day. It has
started after the establishment of stone crushing industry. We can not
sleep; we do not have fresh air to breathe. Our trees and crops are being
damaged by the dust.”

Health experts also identify the cause of many diseases as the effect of
dust and noise of stone crushing machines.

In Bangladesh all health centers and facilities are located in urban centers
or in union parishad headquarters. Almost all of the remote isolated hilly
Khasi habitats do not have access to the urban centers due to the lack of a
modern road infrastructure. Almost all of the Punjee dwellers have to
walk around three to six kilometers of muddy or hilly paths to reach a road
where vehicles pass. It is impossible for a sick person to walk this long
and impassable path. There are no health centers in the Punjee’s
community; they tend to rely upon traditional treatment. If a patient’s
health becomes critical, other community dwellers go to adjacent resource
centers medical vendors and bring medicine as per the vendor’s advice. If
the medicine does not work, they will arrange a primitive community
vehicle, a bamboo basket in which the sick person will be seated and four
to six persons will carry the basket hung from a long stick of bamboo.
After reaching the highway they can arrange a vehicle to go to the health
complex. If a critical situation arises at night, they have to wait until sun
rise as it is impossible to carry the patient by the traditional and primitive
vehicle. This is because muddy and hilly paths remain unsafe at night;
snakes, elephants, buffalo or other animal may attack the group. This time
delay often results in fatalities of community members in need of
emergency medical support, such as the elderly and pregnant women.
Another problem related to the access of health service is the hostile
attitude and environment of government health centers. Khasi people
frequently experience humiliation and exploitation from the health staff of
government hospitals. Corrupt health workers charge peculiar fees and
harass them if deny to pay. One of the victims gave a statement as follows:
“A Few days ago I went to Kulaura Thana Health center. Just after
entering the corridor a lower level health staff grabbed me and offered any
kind of support I need. I refused him, but he was forcing me. At last I had
148 Chapter Eight

to give him money. I know treatment is free of cost, but I had no way
except paying money to the man. This is not my personal case only, if any
one of our community goes there, s/he has to face the problem. Moreover
we do not get good treatment from there. Many of our people can not
communicate clearly with health staffs in Bangla and therefore health
problem can not be shared with health staffs correctly. This
communication gap works as barrier to proper diagnosis and treatment. ”

Taking advantage of Khasi people’s naivety and innocence, hospital staffs

who are the members of the majority Bangalee community try to exploit
them. To avoid such humiliation Khasi people usually avoid government
hospitals and health centers. There is a missionary hospital in the Kulaura
area which is a popular and reliable treatment place for the Khasis.
Although government hospitals are closer in distance than missionary
hospitals, almost all the Khasi people go to the missionary hospital. A
Khasi community leader reported-
“Our people go there because there is no fear of humiliation. Hospital’s
environment is good, everybody behaves nicely. A few health staffs can
understand our language and Khasi sick person can explain his/her
problem clearly to the health staffs. It is less expensive also. Hospital’s
environment is so excellent that our people can think it as their own
place.”

The nature of health problems is found to be different compared to the

plain land Khasis. As previously mentioned, there is an acute crisis of safe
drinking water among the community. Water-born diseases such as
jaundice, diarrhoea, pneumonia and typhoid are the common illnesses
suffered by these people. Though there is no environmental pollution in
the hilly areas, a large number of the elderly are suffering from
tuberculosis. Smoking is the major cause identified by the physicians for
tuberculosis patients. Malnutrition is strongly prevalent among the
children. We made the following assumptions for such health problems;
firstly - failure to arrange available and nutritious food due to poverty,
secondly – there is no easy access to fresh food on a regular basis due to
their remote dwellings. They usually resort to buying food from the mobile
shops that visit their community occasionally. Potato, dried fish, egg,
lentils are popular food that they buy from mobile shops. Lack of
knowledge about nutrition is another cause, people eat less vegetables and
are accustomed to eating a higher than healthy amount of animal protein.
Carbohydrates are also eaten at a high rate. Though we have seen a few
billboards displaying the government’s Nutrition Program, people are
unaware of the meaning of nutrition. No members visit the medical centre
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 149

at the time of pregnancy and almost all of the people consider giving birth
a natural process. They usually do not give any additional care to the
future mother. This attitude means that the feotus often does not receive
adequate nutrition for healthy development. The age of marriage is another
significant factor that affects physical wellbeing. We found that about
seventy five per cent of marriage occurs between the ages of fifteen and
twenty four. Women are getting pregnant at a lower age which bears a risk
for both the baby and the mother.

Education: Reality, problems and prospects

The Khasi understanding of the importance of education for life is a
comparatively new phenomenon. Their life style is simple and they work
hard to produce crops to sell in order to buy other essential items. Their
remote habitat encourages isolation from other communities; however the
modernization of the country is beginning to impact upon their traditional
way of life and their values. They are beginning to encounter different
challenges and outside influences bring new complications. More
importance is being placed upon education.

Despite having a deep interest in education, Khasi children encounter

different challenges in the classroom. The Government of Bangladesh has
introduced compulsory primary education for all children of the country.
2015 has been determined as the target year to ensure that all children can
complete primary education. To achieve this target new schools have been
established and a large number of teachers has been recruited. Students are
receiving reading materials free of cost; poor students are receiving food
security under the program of food for education. The allocated budget for
education has increased substantially over the last few years. Although
these initiatives have a very positive impact on the primary education of
the country, the Khasis do not benefit from this program. Government
primary schools are usually a significant distance from the Khasi
community. However, this has to some extent been subsidized by the
Christian Church. Many of the Khasi villages have primary schools
operated by missionary NGOs. Though higher education is rare among the
Khasis, the number of primary school enrollment among the children is
satisfactory. Almost all of the children of both plain and hill areas go to
primary school. But unfortunately this progress is found to be
unsustainable. About forty per cent of the children of both areas leave
school before completing primary education. We observed that the number
of drop-out increases with the increase of grade. Like many other
150 Chapter Eight

indigenous groups the Khasis have their own language and alphabet.
Children talk in their mother tongue at home yet school uses Bangla as the
mode of instruction. As a result, most of the Khasi children can not adjust
to the school environment outside their community. We asked a boy why
he left school and he replied-
“I can not understand reading. It seems to be very hard to me. Fearing
punishment I did not say it to my teacher. On the other hand I can not
communicate well in Bangla, so how can I explain my problem to my
teacher who does not know Khasi!”

As most of their parents have very poor or no education, children do not

receive parental support in carrying out home work. Fearing punishment
they truant from school which can eventually lead to their completely
dropping out. Many children from poor families have to help their family
by engaging in various activities. To the very poor Khasis, children’s
schooling is perceived as a waste of money and time and they prefer their
children to work instead of sending them to school. Without the aid of
extra children’s income or help it is difficult for the family to have enough
income to feed all family members. A poor mother explained why she can
not send her daughter to school regularly-
“I have child one year of age. I survive on day laboring; usually work in
my neighbor’s betel leaf farm. I don’t have anybody except my school
going girl who will take care of my one year kid when I am at work. So I
can not send her school regularly. When I don’t have work and stay home,
she can go to school. I know it hamper her education. But, what can I do!
If I don’t go to work, my family income will be reduced and my husband’s
income is not sufficient to fulfill our minimum needs.”

Though a few Punjees have schools at a closer distance, most of the Khasi
inhabited areas do not and their children have to travel long distance on
foot to reach the school. This creates a disinterest towards education
among the children. For the few Khasi students who complete primary
school, high schools are a significant distance from the Punjee. Although
there are a few missionary high schools at Kulaura and Sunamgonj area
where shelter and food is provided, most of the Khasi children do not have
the opportunity to attend due to the limited coverage. There is a shelter
home in Sylhet city for the Khasi children. This Church based shelter
home offers only limited capacity compared to the demand and it only
gives shelter to students of the Protestant faith. A father of a ninth grade
student shared his anxiety regarding the future education of his son-
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 151

“My son is a good student. He goes to school crossing five kilometers path
by bi-cycle. Though it is laborious he has deep interest on education and
he wants to take higher education. I am also interested. But we do not have
any college closer to our community where he will be able to go from
home regularly. I will have to arrange shelter for him. But I don’t know
who will help me and how will it be arranged. I have nobody in urban
center who will cooperate me so that my son can get admission to college
and continue his education.”

Since Khasi people do not traditionally have connections with urban

centers, most of them can not organize shelter for themselves. In
Bangladesh almost all of the higher education institutions are located in
urban centers or in suburban areas. Despite having capacity and an interest
in higher education, many Khasi children fail to pursue higher education
because they do not have shelter closer to the schools. Although a few
higher educational institutions have dormitories for their students, in most
cases Khasi people do not reach the required level of education. Most
children fail to continue education up to twelfth grade which is the primary
requirement of the enrollment in higher educational institutions.
Additionally, children are usually less able to pass the competitive
enrollment test due to inherent challenges faced throughout their primary
education. The quality of their primary education is poor; teachers are
often inadequately educated themselves. Missionary organizations recruit
community members who are less educated as teachers so that students
can learn in their mother language. Though a few teachers are recruited
from outside the Khasi community, they tend to belong to other
indigenous communities and have a poor educational background. So
naturally the children’s learning foundation remains undeveloped and most
of them cannot compete against mainstream children for places at higher
education institutions. Surprisingly, in a few cases students are reluctant to
receive the facilities provided by higher education institutions. This is
mainly because different mainstream culture is difficult to adjust to. We
found one boy who left Dhaka University after one year of enrollment
where he had managed to gain admission despite competing with
thousands of mainstream children. ‘I did not feel good there’ was the
simple answer as to why he had left university.

Earning Activities: Controlled by Others!

The Khasi people have less educational qualifications and skills to meet
the needs of modern occupations. This compels the younger generation to
follow their ancestral occupations. With the exception of a few school
152 Chapter Eight

teachers and NGO staff Khasi presence in private and government sectors
is almost absent. Their economy and livelihood is primarily agriculture
based. Their livelihood is mainly based on one crop- betel leaf. Though
orange, pineapple, paddy, betel nuts and banana are produced by them on
a small scale; it does not bear any significant role in their traditional
agriculture based economy. In the plain lands of Jaintiapur areas, the
Khasis produce paddy and other food grains along with betel leaf. Many of
the families rear domestic animals, particularly pigs. Some people make
agricultural instruments from smelting iron. A small number of handicrafts
artists are also found among them. More than half of the Khasis in our
study areas reported that their crops are not sufficient to fulfill their family
needs. The hilly landscape is not suitable for any kind of cultivation other
than betel leaf. They can not even produce vegetables on most of their
lands. Betel leaf is their main cash crop and any other occupations are
associated with this crop. Lack of higher education and skills; disinterest
towards jobs outside the community because of a fear of discrimination
are the major reasons why Khasis rarely leave their community in search
of work A few people engage in community based small businesses. A
few of the Khasis are solvent enough to operate a medium sized business;
they fear loss of capital and exploitation by majority people. Khasi betel
leaf cultivation is different from mainstream people’s betel leaf cultivation
and the quality of their product is different and as a result has a special
demand in the national market.

Middle men or syndicates control the price and marketing system of their
betel leaf and often will receive a higher income than that received by
Khasis. As it has become an established and attractive income source of a
few majority people, they encourage Khasis to focus on betel leaf
cultivation as their sole source of livelihood. These middlemen are known
as Paikers to the Khasis and are also the source of loan for cultivation.
Paikers distribute loans amongst poor Khasis in return for betel leaf. This
system enables Paikers to exploit innocent Khasis many of whom are even
less aware of the accounting system of the debt that they received from the
Paikers. In a few cases we have observed that Paikers are taking all
produce as the repayment of debt year after year and claiming that the debt
is yet to be fully returned. If a poor Khasi asks why his/her debt is not
fully returned, Paikers usually argue that all of the betel leaf that has been
given to them is to repay only the interest of the total debt and the
principal amount remains outstanding. This man made cycle of debt is
severely affecting Khasi people’s economic life. One of our participants
noticed that:
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 153

“We have been suffering from the cycle of debt for the last four years. We
have accounted that the amount of betel leaf taken by the Paiker for the
last four years, its price will be more than double of the cash that we took
as debt from him. But he is arguing that the amount of product we are
giving him as return of debt covers only the interest of the debt and the
basic amount that we took remains intact. He is taking almost half of our
product and we are in big trouble with our family members. Rest of the
product is not sufficient to fulfill our minimum demand. We have planned
to sell a piece of Johoom to any solvent neighbor in order to return the
debt to the Paiker. We have only three pieces of Johoom. After selling one
piece, our income will be reduced and we will have to face poverty. But
there is no way, we want to get release from the Paiker. ”

The research explored the reason why the Khasis go to the Paikers for
loans. Firstly, within the community there is no alternative to get a lump
sum of money. Secondly, Paikers are always moving around their
community and it is a hassle free method to receive money with no
documentation and no agreements. Although Khasi people easily accept
these terms, the trap of Paikers’ debt has severe economic ramifications
with little alternative on offer. Although micro credit has gained an
international recognition for changing poor people’s lives, it offers a very
limited contribution among the Khasi community. Caritas, a Christian
Missionary organization operates small scale micro finance program
among the Khasis. As most of their credits are short term installments,
most Khasis do not want to receive credit from them. However, very few
of the Khasis who are engaged in community based small businesses have
taken loans from local NGO’s and Gramen Bank. As they have regular
income and can pay weekly installments, they are able to take the loans.
Yet they claimed that most of their income goes towards paying off the
interest of the loan. As the rate of interest is very high (about twenty one
percent in most cases) and their income from business is very low, this
claim is substantiated. Nowadays only a few NGOs are initiating
activities, mainly on issues like health, sanitation, human rights and
education. With little knowledge of the community, these organizations
often fail to inspire confidence amongst the Khasis. We observed that
almost all of these proposed initiatives are for the personal benefit of those
organizations rather than the community they serve. Thirdly, most of the
Khasi people are not eligible to receive government agricultural loans.
Mortgages of land documentation as security for loans are compulsory
from any government bank. As Khasi traditional land ownership system is
not recognized by the government and they do not have land
documentation acceptable by the bank, they are excluded from any
financial loan opportunities. Government loans could be the most
154 Chapter Eight

appropriate source for the Khasis as they have a comparatively low

interest rate and are payable over long term installments.

An elderly Khasi person reported that the Paikers fix the price of betel leaf
earlier that they can collect a higher quantity of betel leaves from the
Khasis in payment of the debt. This pre-fixed price is always lower than
that of the regular market price. Therefore, Khasis are exploited in two
ways because they are paying a higher rate of interest and are forced to sell
their product at a pre-determined lower price. This process benefits the
majority people only and the Khasis are getting poorer as a direct result.
Although a few Khasi Punjees have market access, they avoid going
because the Market Authority charges high tax intentionally to prevent
Khasis coming to the market to sell their products directly. Middlemen and
whole sellers sometimes make technical delays to payment and even deny
payment saying that there was no transaction. In our research area nobody
had sold their produce directly at the market. Their products are sold
inside their farmland and all of them reported that the price they get from
the middlemen and businessmen are lower than the market price. This
system restricts Khasi people’s economic development. Another
dimension of this exploitation is that Khasi people are forced to sell their
products at a lower price whilst they are forced to buy their essential goods
at a higher price. As Khasi people usually do not produce essential items
like rice, seed grains, vegetables, fish, cloth etc. they have to buy those
items from majority people. Habitually Khasi people prefer to avoid going
outside their territory as a result they do not have contact with the urban
based competitive market where essential items could be bought at a
reasonable price. Here they have another problem- as most of them can not
communicate smoothly in Bangla (mainstream language of Bangladesh),
urban based business men can easily identify them as indigenous and
exploit them by charging a high price. Although a few of the Khasis are
experienced and can negotiate and bargain with the mainstream business
men, most of them can not do that mainly due to the language barrier. Our
observation concludes that the Khasi people’s economic life is controlled
and determined by the majority Muslim population and as they are
surrounded by the majority, there is no way to escape this problem. This
led to acute poverty among the Khasis. Although a small section of
Khasis have substantial financial resources, most of them face hardship.
The majority of the community people have to borrow from their
neighbors or relatives.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 155

Few Special Problems that make them marginalized

Like all other indigenous groups in Bangladesh, the Khasis life, livelihood
and culture is under a constant threat. They are vulnerable to the fast
changing socio-economic condition of the country. Although this is a
community which requires unique policies and initiatives the current
national projects fall short of addressing their needs. Instead, many
policies and programs of the government have compelled or forced Khasis
to be landless, jobless as well as rootless. Struggle for survival is not a
new phenomenon for any indigenous group in Bangladesh. Their rights as
citizens of the country are violated from different powerful corners.
Mainstream Muslim people subordinate Khasis because of their minority
and indigenous status. Government bodies show hostile attitudes and have
a tendency to exploit indigenous communities. As a participant observer
we have seen how these innocent people are experiencing a challenging
life. However, we would like to present a few significant problems of this
community that indicate their marginal status.

Land Related Crisis

Khasi traditional economy is reliant upon land. Historically, they had land
under their control and they cultivated crops without any interruption from
the majority community. Now the scenario is different. Indigenous
people’s land has become an easy target to the majority people and
government itself. The indigenous people’s land ownership system is
governed by their own traditional laws without written documents which is
not in accordance with the national system of land ownership. Government
and mainstream people have taken this opportunity to uproot indigenous
groups from their ancestral land. Although the process of up-rooting the
Khasis from their ancestral land was started in the British era, the severity
of its nature has become more acute now. In 1950 the State Acquisition
Act and Tenancy Act was launched which made it an obligation to
produce legal land documents which was simply not possible for most
illiterate Khasis. In addition, the people had an assumption that their land
ownership will remain as they are using and occupying it ancestrally.
Under the provision of Tenancy Act the state was authorized to collect rent
from the tenants directly and tenants were obliged to prove tenancy by
documentation based on regular payment of rent. Khasis ancestral lands
known as Khas land (land which has no individual ownership and
therefore is under government ownership) and acquired as forestlands.
This legal process has thrown the Khasis from their ancestral homeland
156 Chapter Eight

and they have become identified as illegal occupants of government land

by the government. Constant pressure and uprooting by the Government
Forest Department and District Administration has created severe tension
among the community with no alternative people trying to legalize their
lands. Humiliation, fraud, and exploitation have become parts of their life.
As most of the Khasis are illiterate, they have to rely on somebody who
has the capacity to contact government officials. Montri or Village
Headman usually performs this responsibility. A huge amount of money is
required for this purpose. Community people contribute amounts relative
to the amount of land under their control. This collective fund is used for
all members of the community. This process creates uncertainty, poverty,
frustration and extra pressure on the Khasi traditional, poor economy. In
many cases this has become an endless process and a large portion of their
income is spent without any fruitful solution. One of the Khasi Montri
reported:
“I have to go to the government forest department office and court
regularly. This struggle has stated fifteen years ago and we find no ray of
hope yet. We are giving money to the forest department officials, lawyers
are also paid regularly. But ultimate result remains negative all the time.
We have to convince (by giving money as bribe) district officials and
forest department officials. Side by side we have to handle legal
procedures that require huge amount. This process is a big burden for our
survival. Government’s positive attitude could safe us.”

Fortunately a few of the Khasi Punjees have gained valid documents of

land after a long history of struggle, deprivation, humiliation and
exploitation. It should be noted that these valid documents of land have a
special character, the ownership of Khasi lands are never transferred to
Khasis; the government merely leases the land for a certain period of time.
This means that after the lease is expired they have to renew the contract
which is dependent upon the willingness of the government officials. In a
few cases, forest officials have taken land from the Khasis and are leasing
it for a specific period. In a few cases their lease contract is cancelled
without any valid reason. So they are always at the risk of being uprooted,
many Khasi people reported to us.

The Government has various mechanisms to uproot the Khasis from their
ancestral land. So called development projects like Eco-parks and reserved
forest are established on cultivable land of the Khasis. This process
threatens Khasi existence and they fear that if such projects are
implemented frequently, their traditional livelihoods will diminish as it
totally depends upon land and forest. The natural forest land will also be
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 157

severely affected by these projects. In Muroichora Punjee of Kulaura area

the Government initiated a plan to establish an Eco-park despite strong
objection from the community people. The then Prime Minister of the
country tried to convince the Khasi leaders saying that this project will
develop their area and provide new livelihood opportunities and further
more they will not be uprooted from the area. But the Khasis were not
satisfied with the Prime Minister’s reasoning and eventually the project
was abandoned because of tremendous pressure from the civil society and
the strong movement of the Khasis and all other indigenous communities.

Forest department officials are another threat to the Khasis because they
claim Khasi land as government forest land; set a boundary and thus
uproot Khasis from the land. In many cases land which Khasis have been
cultivating carefully for many years and is at the point of harvesting is
suddenly occupied by department officials without any notice. Notably,
legal procedures are never followed. It has become a profitable business
for the corrupt forest officials. After occupying Khasi land, they sell the
large trees in the name of re-forestation. Local timber smugglers have
connections with these corrupt government officials.

Khasis’ land is occupied and grabbed not only by the government; a

section of mainstream Muslim population who are local political leaders,
members of local gangs and tea estate owners are other perpetrators. This
is achieved by a variety of fraudulent activities such as forging documents.
Forged documents are made with the aid of corrupt government employees
of the land department. Using fake documents the criminals force the
Khasis to leave their land. In a few cases gangs forcefully occupy Khasis’
land and forcefully compel the owner to buy the land. In this process
owners are buying their own land. One of our key informants reported:
“Many of our lands are occupied by the mainstream Muslims making fake
documents. These documents are made on various fake grounds. For
example, someone is told that his/her land was sold by his/her father or
mother and he was not aware of the exchange. When a Khasi wants to sell
his/her land he/she falls into the trap of the gang. As most of the Khasis
are illiterate and therefore use finger print instead of signature in any
documents and these documents have been made in a way that land has
been registered more than that was sold. Even in a few cases they are
forced to sell their land and documents are made in a way so that the buyer
can claim double or triple the amount of land that was really sold. Corrupt
government officials help gangs in this regard”
158 Chapter Eight

Tea estate owners sometimes create pressure among the Khasis to sell
their land using local gangs to intimidate Khasis. The gangs sometimes
use death-threats, sometimes they harm their children and women. In
addition, they expand plantations on Khasi land forcefully taking support
from local politicians and gangs. With minority status, Khasis are unable
to access support to prevent these situations. If they resist a false case is
issued against them and they have to experience untold sufferings.

Although river erosion is a natural process, in the Jaflong area of Sylhet

which is well known as a tourist zone and an area where a large number of
Khasi people inhabit erosion rates have accelerated. As previously
discussed the government is leasing the Peyain River to extract stones and
the river is eroding at a rapid rate, leaving many Khasis landless. The
Government is earning revenue and mainstream Muslim people are
making business using the river which flows into the Khasi land. Khasi
people reported that if the government does not stop leasing the Peyain
River, a major portion of their land will disappear.

Insecurity of Crops
As a minority and indigenous group, the Khasis are always under threat of
violence and exploitation from the majority population. Getting direct and
indirect support from the government authorities, a group of so-called
powerful and influential mainstream people have victimized the Khasis in
various ways. Their only livelihood betel leaf farms are frequently
damaged without reason. Khasi people consider it an ill motive and it is
only to harm them. Sometimes miscreants uproot or cut-down betel leaf
trees entering farms at night. One of Khasi Montri viewed,
“The day before yesterday I found that almost half of the trees of my farm
are cut by a sharp weapon. I know who did it. I can say you that the man is
not the member of our community. He has damaged my one and half years
betel leaf trees which could be under production in just five or six months.
I had a huge investment on it. I will have to experience a big loss. But I
can not get any remedy. If I go for justice I will be mistreated and
extended torture will be increased. This is a common misdeed done by
them. They enjoy our pain. ”

It should be mentioned that we investigated the affected farm with our

own eyes just two days after the incidence. Although the Khasis failed to
identify its cause, they describe it as an ill motive by the Muslim majority
whose aim is to harm the Khasis. We also found a judgmental attitude
among the majority people towards the Khasis; suggesting that they
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 159

(Khasis) are solvent and have occupied a huge amount of forest land. Such
a resentful attitude might have a link with these harmful activities. We
shared our observation with the Khasi leaders and they assume such
grudges may be behind this. Privately, Khasis have another observation-
the majority people think that if humiliation, torture, threat and harmful
activities continue over a long period, the Khasis will leave their land and
will arrange shelter in another place and the majority people will be able to
occupy all the lands and property of the Khasis easily. In addition to this
problem, their crops are frequently stolen. Local gangs and hooligans are
responsible for this misdeed. We found another pattern of harmful
activity done by the majority people- a few of the majority people own
giant elephants and buffalos that are not enclosed within the Khasi
territory. These animals cause huge damage to Khasis betel leaf farms.
These animals are used as the vehicles for smuggling wood from hilly
forest land. One night we were sleeping inside a bamboo made house
located inside a Khasi village. Suddenly a giant buffalo rushed inside the
betel leaf farm very close to the house and started its bullying activity. In a
few minutes it positioned itself near our house and started to make a
horrific sound. We were afraid and started shouting and seeking help. Our
house owner responded and saved us. In the morning we found that the
buffalo had damaged many betel leaf trees. The owner of the farm told us
that this is not for the first time; the same attack has occurred several
times. The same misdeeds are being done by the elephants also. Khasi
people told us that although the elephants stay downhill, sometimes they
climb up high in search of banana trees and damage the banana plants in
their search for food. One morning we found an elephant inside the banana
garden of a Khasi. He and his children were trying to resist the elephant
but the giant beast did not listen to them, it left the garden after satisfying
its hunger. The Khasis try to solve the problem through mutual discussion
and have appealed several times to the owner of animals and local
government authorities. But none of them has taken responsibility to stop
it, the Khasi people have reported. Smuggling timber is another threat for
the Khasi livelihood. Mainstream people are cutting down Khasi owned
large sized trees forcefully or secretly at night. These trees are used as the
base for cultivating betel leaf and thus vital to their cultivation process.
Even after guarding their farmland, the Khasi people failed to protect trees
from local gangs. They reported that these local timber smugglers are
under the shelter of local influential politicians and the corrupt officials of
forest departments. All of them get a share and that is why they protect the
interest of the smugglers. As most of the Khasis lands are disputed, the
law enforcement agencies do not respond favourably to the Khasis’ pleas
160 Chapter Eight

for assistance. Given this reality, most discussion and negotiation with the
local government authorities bears little positive impact, one Khasi leader
told.

Discrimination from developmental activity

Developmental activity can discriminate against indigenous people. Being
under-developed deprived and neglected indigenous communities face
different problems on a different scale to other communities. The severity
of their problems is more acute than that of the majority population. Side
by side the problems vary from community to community, region to
region. Therefore every community requires special attention according to
their specific needs. Here in Bangladesh, development agencies both
national and international are more interested in working for the
development of the indigenous people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
region. Government has established a separate ministry for the
development of indigenous people which focuses on Chittagong
organizations and its ministry is named as the “Ministry of Chittagong Hill
Tracts Affairs”. As a consequence most of the development activities for
the indigenous people are Chittagong region based and a large number of
indigenous people who are surrounded by other parts of the country are
deprived and left-out from the initiatives. Their needs unrecognized, the
indigenous people are disengaged from such developmental programs.
Remote hilly forest areas of the Sylhet region where the Khasis have
historically lived, has not gained attention both from the government and
non-government development agencies. International development
partners and agencies are also reluctant to initiate development programs
for this isolated community which has special needs to resolve. Although
Christian missionary organizations have a few programmes on education
and micro-credit, their coverage is not sufficient. Most of the Khasi
children can not afford higher education mainly because of the lack of
opportunity. Government has rural infrastructure development programs
operated by Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) but
almost all of the Khasi villages do not have any road communication
where any kind of vehicle can be employed. Due to this poor infrastructure
the Khasis are marginalized in terms of any developmental aid. The
Government also has a water and sanitation programme for the villagers
which likewise does not extend to Khasi inhabited areas. Almost all of the
Khasi villages are without any electricity facility. Despite living very close
to a quasi-modernized society the Khasis are leading a relatively primitive
life. Government has various types of community development activities.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 161

They have a separate ministry named the Ministry of Social Welfare

which has various activities for the development of disadvantaged people.
Unfortunately we have not seen any such activity among this community
although they have related problems to resolve. They are offering old age
allowance and widowhood allowance among the poor. We found nobody
among the qualifying Khasis who has been selected and has received such
support from the government. We asked one of the local self-government
representatives who have a role in selecting persons for old age
allowance? Why Khasi older people are excluded from the list? We also
asked why the Khasis are excluded from the Vulnerable Group Feeding
(VGF) and the Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) programs? “Khasis
are not poor; they can afford everything on their own. Old age allowance
and those (VGF and VGD program) are for the poor and that is why they
are excluded,” he replied. “You will see nobody among the Khasis who
has come to us for assistance”- he claimed. We shared the views of the
representative with the Khasis. Most of them told us that there is a naive
assumption among the majority people that the Khasis are rich and as he
(the representative) is a member of the majority community, he holds the
same misconceived beliefs. However, they agreed with the statement that
despite having acute needs they do not go to the representatives for any
kind of help. But, they explained its reasons- the Khasis have long
experienced negligence and exploitation from the majority people and this
process has created a long-term distrust and wariness. Khasi people never
believe that majority people will help them with any issue, rather they
(majority people) will harm them if they find any weakness. So they
usually avoid majority people and try to solve their problems on their own.
We wanted to know why they don’t elect their own representative at
Union Parishad (local self-government elected by the people) level. As
their population is small and they know they will not get support from the
majority people, they avoid it; was a common reply. We found a Khasi
person at Putichara Punjee who contested as a candidate of Union
Parishad Member. Unfortunately he was defeated against his opponent
who is a Muslim. But the difference of vote was very small, villagers
reported. As they don’t have representation at local level leadership, most
of their needs are unreported, ignored or misinterpreted and that is why
any development project does not embrace our community - one of the
Khasi young community leaders observed. Although local government
department recruits local representatives in their standing committees for
ensuring people’s participation of development activities that are
undertaken for local development; none of the Khasis was selected for any
of those committees. We tried to explore its cause and asked locally
162 Chapter Eight

elected representatives but they failed to provide response. It is only

because of our indigenous status-the Khasis observed.

Mistreatment and abuse of human rights

Being a member of an indigenous community is a great problem
throughout the globe. Their rights as citizens of the country are always
ignored and they are placed in a lowly, marginalized position by the state
itself. Although Bangladesh ratified the ILO Convention on the Tribal and
Indigenous Peoples, it still fails to recognize their needs and their
problems in its national policy and development programs. Whilst Ethnic
identity is ignored, basic rights are withdrawn because of prejudice based
on ethnicity. It seems that ignorance, extortion, exploitation, abuse and
negligence are their fate. The Khasis of Bangladesh are no exception. Our
extended observations reveal that the Khasis are ignored and neglected
from all sections of the broader Bangladeshi society. Majority people
always take advantage of their simplistic lifestyle and generally abuse
Khasis physically, psychologically and materialistically. It is the latter
cause that motivates and drives the abuse. Article 27 of the Constitution of
the People’s Republic of Bangladesh states that - all citizens are equal
before the law and are entitled to equal protection of law- (Saunderson,
2006). But the reality is different and in many cases it seems that laws are
not for the protection of the indigenous people. And the Khasis are no
exception. After being humiliated and tortured Khasis can not apply for
justice. We found one of the victims whose land was forcefully occupied
by a majority person and he was further tortured by the law enforcement
authority and at last he had to give-up hope for justice. He shared with us
his sufferings,
“My paddy farm was located adjacent to the land of a majority Muslim.
Suddenly he grabbed half of my land without any valid reason. He made a
fake document describing that my father sold the land to his father about
twenty years ago. When I protested, he, along with his gangs beat me and
my brother. Following the incidence I went to police for justice. Before I
got to the police my opponent rushed there and filed a case against me that
I had attacked him and abused him when he was cultivating his own land.
Given this reality just after my arrival to the compound, police arrested me
and my brother. We tried to explain the truth and requested them to file a
case against my perpetrators. But they did not take the case, tortured us
throughout the night inside the Thana and next day they produced us to the
court. Before producing court, they demanded a bribe from us but we
failed to arrange the large amount. My family members and community
people deployed a lawyer for us but the bail was rejected; we were thrown
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 163

into jail. We had to pay a huge amount of money to the police to get
released from jail. Most of my community people know my story and they
fear to go to police for justice. If some one goes he must experience the
harsh treatment. My land dispute is still unsolved and am spending lot of
money. The land is still occupied and I don’t know its future.”

Even if they go to the local elected representatives who have responsibility

to arbitrate any feud created locally, they are ignored by the
representatives. Human rights of the Khasis are frequently violated both
by the Government Forest Department and majority Muslim population.
Labelling the Khasis as illegal occupants, the Forest Department suddenly
attacks them, destroys their farm lands and finally uproots them from their
ancestral place. Incidence of killing for land is not unusual also. In 2003 a
Khasi man was shot dead by forest department officials. He was sentenced
to death as he was reconstructing his demolished home that was bulldozed
by the forest department officials claiming Khasi villagers land as
government land. After this incidence his family did not get justice and
the Forest Department occupied the whole village where about twenty
Khasi families were living, on their ancestral homeland. Destroying forest
in the dark of night, forest department officials frequently file fake cases
against Khasis stating that the Khasi is a thief and he has sold government
timber. We found another kind of fake case issued by government
officials. Khasi inhabited areas are closely attached to the neighboring
Indian border and there is a naive assumption that there are Indian terrorist
organizations in Nagaland and Assam and that they have deep connections
with the Khasis and therefore the members of those organizations
undertake Khasis’ shelter. With these suspicions in mind, law enforcement
agencies carry out frequent raids upon many Khasi villages, especially in
the Kulaura area, and consequently arrest many innocent Khasi villagers
labeling them as hosts of ‘foreign hooligans’. Although all investigations
fail to prove the assumption, it frequently happens and innocent Kasis
have to experience torture under the custody of police. Along with police,
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) members whose duty is to protect land borders,
attack Khasis in a particular way- when the Khasis go to the local market
to sell their products (mainly betel leaf and betel nut) BDR members arrest
them along with their products accusing them of having smuggled their
products from India. Despite knowing the truth, BDR frequently harasses
them. This reality forces the Khasis to avoid direct market access and
therefore they do not get competitive market prices for their products. The
Khasis view law enforcement agencies as targeting indigenous
communities in order to receive an easy bribe.
164 Chapter Eight

Towards a better future: the Khasis Views

Khasi indigenous community is an increasingly marginalized group in
Bangladesh, suffering numerous violations of their rights as equal citizens
of the country. This text has provided first hand accounts and analysis of
the current situation faced by the Khasi community. Based on the adverse
socio-economic and cultural circumstances that have been identified, we
have explored their needs and expectations for their own development.
Khasis are an inherently self-dependent community and tend to use intra-
community resources to resolve problems. This trend is partially attributed
to a community reluctance to look for help outside their community and
more significantly, to governmental agencies failing to address the needs
of the Khasi community which has created distrust between the Khasis and
governmental agencies. As a result, Khasis perceive governmental
agencies such as forest departments and district administrations as
forcefully taking Khasi land and initiating unsubstantiated legal claims
against Khasis. Our analysis of the project participant's expectation of
developmental needs was structured by dividing the responses into the
party or source they are expecting the development initiative to originate.
It is evident that about 45 percent of the participants do not expect any
development initiatives to originate from outside the community. The
common reason for this attitudeis as follows: "as nobody will help, so why
should we go for help?" There is strong evidence of self reliance in the
community due to the attitude that a change in their lives will need to be
perpetrated by the community itself. Such self reliance is manifested in an
emphasis on community people being educated, conscious and hard
working. The remaining 55 per cent of participants identified different
expectations for the origin of development initiatives. They stressed that in
allocating government development activities, they should be treated
equally with the majority population. They noted that their infrastructure,
roads and water, medical and sanitation facilities require substantial
improvement by the Government. A few participants felt that the
government needs to tackle the river erosion that is encroaching the Khasi
land. The establishment of schools is another important expectation of the
government. The growing problem of Khasi Land appropriation should
fall to the Government for problem solving and drafting new policies and
legislation to protect Khasi owned land. Corruption amongst Government
Officials and the Governmental Forestry Department was also mentioned
as a significant factor which prevents Khasis from gaining equal
representation in Bangladesh. This is emphasized by a Khasi Montri:
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 165

“Corrupt forest officials have made our life miserable. They frequently
harass us based on fake and funny arguments. They sell forest timber and
blame our people and file fake case against our people. It has become a
regular practice. Sometimes they torture us without any reason. Our
women are not secure also; they are frequently harassed when they go into
the forest to collect firewood. Government should take steps against these
criminals who are destroying valuable forest land and creating trouble at
our simple life.”

In addition to government initiatives Khasi people expect that non-

government development agencies take some steps to provide micro
finance with long time installments, health facilities within the
communities and more schools. An educated member of the Khasi
community suggested that NGOs can introduce an integrated approach
with various activities addressing Khasi people distinct needs so that the
overall socio-economic and cultural development can be achieved.

Possible interventions and concluding remarks

The vulnerability of the Khasi community poses the need for dramatic and
drastic attention both from the government and non-governmental
development organizations in order to initiate sustainable development
efforts for the Khasis. Similar to other indigenous groups in Bangladesh,
they are struggling to establish their rights. However, many of their
circumstances are more acute than other indigenous groups. Given these
realities it is essential to develop policies and programs which are
designed to accommodate their distinct characteristics. The Government
of Bangladesh must conduct a review of national policies and laws that
have adversely affected the rights of the Khasi indigenous people. The
Government’s development projects such as Eco-parks and reforestation
are uprooting the Khasis from their ancestral land and having a negative
affect on the environment. The land tenure system should be modified in
line with the UN system so that indigenous people are not uprooted by
government agencies. Khasis life and livelihood is inherently dependent
upon land, therefore, a coherent approach to solving land related problems
mitigating land will significantly alter the current situation. Civil society
can play an active role in this regard by not focusing upon only the
indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts but also the indigenous
people in the Sylhet Division. Electronic and printing media have also paid
less attention to this issue and are reluctant to focus on indigenous people
from the Sylhet division. It is essential to change such factional attitudes.
166 Chapter Eight

As there is an acute shortage of development initiatives, new programs

should be initiated that can provide education, health care and capacity
building for the Khasis. These initiatives should be affordable and
culturally sensitive to the Khasi community. Development Training in
occupational skills is essential for Khasis so that they can engage in
different income earning activities other than the main source of income
which is betel leaf cultivation. A unique provision of micro finance should
be introduced to accommodate for a longer installment period than the
current trend of short term installment periods. This will, hopefully, save
them from taking loans from local middlemen with very high interest
rates. The safety and security network should be established and
developed both internally and externally so that the Khasi community can
enjoy life and practice their distinct culture without fear of torture,
exploitation and humiliation. Khasi culture is often revered as a national
asset with dance shows held national and regional cultural programs but
steps should be taken to ensure that Khasi culture is practiced, protected
and preserved. Road infrastructure, safe water and sanitation facilities
should be developed and improved as a priority to ensure that basic human
needs are met. Government and non-government development agencies
must focus their attention on the Khasi community so that they are not
continually discriminated from the ongoing development initiatives and
social services. Representatives from the Khasi community should be
selected during development initiatives so that they can identify
community members who are most in need. This process will also ensure
Khasis active participation in development which has a very positive
impact in integrating the project within the community and ensuring the
project has successful and effective results. Project should be initiated to
protect environmental pollution and degradation at Khasi inhabited areas.
Khasis have a long experience in preserving and protecting forest lands in
the interest of their own livelihoods, the government should take
advantage of this and engage Khasi people in forest development activities
that can benefit both the government and the Khasis. A separate ministry
should be set up to deal solely with indigenous people’s issues or the
Ministry of Chittagong affairs should be termed as ministry of Indigenous
affairs so that it is inclusive to all indigenous communities throughout the
country. Researchers and academics have a responsibility to conduct
intensive research and document indigenous people’s lives and livelihoods
so as to disseminate the information to authorities which will be able to
take appropriate measures to protect indigenous people’s rights and to
improve their lifestyle.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 167

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Bangladesh. Sylhet: Ethnic Community Devlopment Organization
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Ethnic Affairs. Volume I, Page 29-42. Sylhet: Ethnic Community
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Barch, Hamlet (1974). Meghalaya. Shillong: North-East India News and
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Bhattacharjee, J. B. (1984). Changing Khasis: A Historical Account in
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Chowdhury, J.N. (1998). The Khasi Canvas (A cultural and political
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Giri, Helen (1998). The Khasis under British Rules (1824-1947). New
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Minority Rights Group.
 CHAPTER NINE

COMMUNAL VIOLENCE, POLICE

AND MINORITIES IN INDIA

ZAFAR MINHAZ AND MD AFROZ

Abstract

India is a Secular, socialist and democratic country having composition of

number of minority communities dwelling in its womb. This is a country
which is governed by a single constitution and her constitution contains
detailed provisions on the protection of the individuals and individual
rights. The constitution has provisions to create several democratic
institutions which govern the functioning of the social system. Keeping this
functional order in consideration, police has been created as one of the
very crucial institutions in Indian state. The primary role of the police is
to maintain the harmonious structure and nature of Indian society and
also to help in smooth functioning of the living mode of the members in the
society and according to the given freedom in the constitution. The Police
in India have been responsible to protect the life, property, dignity of all
the citizens of this country as they are the executives who have to carry the
status quo given in the constitution for the minorities.
In spite of all several provisions in the constitution of India, there are a
widespread feeling today that the rights of minorities stand unprotected
and feeling of inequality and discrimination is high among the minority
communities in India.
The paper presents a critical overview of the problem of communal
violence in India after independence and helps the reader to understand
the role of police in carrying the spirit of harmony among the minorities.
The paper also informs about need to have representation of minorities in
police and how police should be accountable to all the citizens of India
despite of their caste, class and religious background.
170 Chapter Nine

Introduction
India is a Secular, socialist and democratic country having composition of
number of minority communities dwelling in its womb. It is the birthplace
of some major and ancient religion of the world and also other famous
religions have established themselves on its soil and became a part of its
family. There has been considerable interaction between various
communities residing in India. There are eight major religious
communities residing in India namely: Hindus (82.2%), Muslims (11.8%),
Christians (2.6 %), Sikhs (2%), Buddhist (0.7%), Jains (0.5%),
Zoroastrians (0.3%) & Jews (0.1%). These are the approximate
composition of various religious communities in India and the indigenous
people or Adivasis whose beliefs, rituals and recourses are uniquely
associated with their forest and ancestors constitute around 7.8% of the
population though many indigenous communities have close affinity with
Hinduism, sizeable populations among them are converted to Christianity
and Islam.

India is a country which is governed by a single constitution and her

constitution contains detailed provisions on the protection of individual
and individual rights. The constitutions strongly advocate for the “Equal
protection of Law & Equality before the law” (Under Article 14) and the
courts have the power to declare any law as invalid passed by the
parliament or the state assemblies if they contravene the constitution.
Articles 25 to 30 in part III of the constitution extend these guarantees to
all categories of minorities – religious, cultural and linguistic. Article 25
related to the freedom of conscience and religion. All persons are equally
entitled to profess, practice and propagate religion subject to public order,
mortality, health and other provision of that part. The Indian state is
secular in the sense that it is meant to treat all religions equally and keep
its distance from every one of them.

Article 51 A of the constitution imposes a positive duty on citizens ‘to

promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all
people of India transcending religion, linguistic and regional or sectional
diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 171

Role of Police
The Police in India have been responsible to protect the life, property,
dignity of all the citizens of this country as they are the executives who
have to carry the status quo given in the constitution for the minorities.

In spite of all these provisions in India, there are a widespread feeling

today that the rights of minorities stand unprotected. Despite the
safeguards provided in the constitution and the laws in force, there exists a
feeling of inequality and discrimination among the minorities. There is a
general feeling that the police, who are meant to protect them, actually
play a blatantly partisan role against them especially during the period of
communal violence anywhere in the country. Justice Madan Commission
report on Bhiwandi riot (1970) observed1 ‘Discrimination was also
practiced in making arrest and while Muslims rioters were arrested in large
numbers, the police turned a blind eye to what the Hindu rioters were
doing. Some innocent Muslims, who went to take shelter at Bhiwandi
Town Police station, were arrested instead of being shelter and protection’.

Justice B.N Srikrishana made the following observations in his report on

Bombay riots 1992-932, ‘the Commission is of the view that there is
evidence of police bias against Muslims which has manifested itself in
other ways-harsh treatment given to them, failure to register even
cognizable offences by Muslims complaints and the indecent haste shown
in classifying offences registered in ‘A’ summary in cases of the
miscreants. That there was a general bias against the Muslim in the minds
of the average policemen was evident in the way they dealt with the
Muslims and even accepted by V.N Deshmukh an officer of the rank of
additional commissioner’.

‘Police officers and men, particularly at the junior level, appeared to have
an inbuilt bias against the Muslim, which was evident in their treatment to
the Muslim suspects and victims of riots. The treatment given was harsh
and brutal and on occasions inhumane hardly doing credit to the force. The
bias of the policemen was seen in the active connivance of police
constables with the rioting Hindus mobs on occasions, also with adopting
the role of passive onlookers on such occasions, and finally, in their lack
of enthusiasm in registering offence against Hindus even when the accused
were clearly identified.’
172 Chapter Nine

While there are a number of useful studies on Hindu-Muslim violence in

India, the report of Vibhuti Narain Rai is important as it was authored by a
serving senior police officer of Uttar Pradesh, which has a record of
persistent Hindu-Muslim violence. The author studied the role of police in
the Hindu-Muslim violence during the pre-independent and post-
independent periods in Kanpur (1931), Ranchi (1967), Ahmedabad (1969),
Bhiwandi & Jalgaon (1970), Banaras (1977), Jamshedpur (1979), Meerut
(1990), Bhagalpur (1989), Ayodhya (1992) and Mumbai (1992-3).

His main findings with respect to the role of the police in these cases were
as follows:

i). The police behave partially during most riots. In all the riots discussion
in the study, the police did not act as a neutral law enforcement agency but
more as a ‘Hindu force’.
ii). Perceptible discrimination was visible in the use of force, preventive
arrest, and enforcement of curfew, treatment of detained person at police
stations, reporting of facts and prosecution of cases registered during riots.
Muslims by and large consider police as their enemies rather than their
protector.
iii). An average policeman does not shed his inherent biased and
predetermined beliefs at the time of his entry into the force, and this is
reflected in his bias against Muslims during communal violence.
iv). The perception by Hindus and Muslims of the police during communal
strife is diametrically opposed. Hindus view policemen as their friends
while Muslims as their enemy.
v). The expectation of Indian society from an average policeman is
communal. The policemen are believed to be protector of the interest of
the minority community.
vi). The inimical relationship between police and the Muslims make them
over-react in a confrontation like situation3.

Thus, there is clear evidence from various studies which indicate,

particularly during communal violence and the preventive measures taken,
has been far from desirable. It is shameful to state that a large number of
police officers have not just failed to control riot but a number of them
have actually given culprits their active support.

Similarly in 1982, N. C. Saxena, the then joint secretary of the National

Commission for Minorities reported after inquiring in Meerut riots4, ‘The
district administration best perceived threat to public peace only from
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 173

Muslims…the order from the senior officers in the district to the police
could be summarized in one phase: Muslims must be taught a lesson; the
Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) which is a state controlled armed
unit responsible to maintain Law & Order and the civil Police have
faithfully implemented this policy.

Carrying out a study on the attitudes and perception of the magistrates and
senior police officers about various communities, Saxena made the
following conclusions:

a). Muslims are excitable and irrational people who are guided by their
religious instincts.
Where as Hindus, on the other hand, are law abiding and cooperative with
the police in controlling communal riots.
b). Riots are started by the Muslims and they invariably take the first
opportunity to strike at the other community and the police.
c). In all the previous riots in the country before the current riot, Muslims
took the upper hand which resulted in huge loss to the Hindu community.
Therefore there is a moral versification if in the current riot; casualities on
the Muslims side are heavier.
d). State government attaches a great deal of importance to ensuring quick
control of rioting. Since Muslims are aggressive, it is necessary that they
are taught a lesson through arrest, firing and degrees of third degree
methods.

The study further reports that ‘the PAC treats Muslims as monsters,
criminal and suspects’. It has led to loss of faith among Muslims in the
fairness of administration. They have started patronizing anti-social
elements for their defense and in the recent riots, attacks on police from
the Muslims have also increased. Police-Muslim confrontation, if not
checked, may lead to terrorism just as in some countries like Thailand and
Philippines, where Muslim terrorism has assumed an alarming proportion.
The Sixth report of the National Police Commission (NPC) in 1981 looks
into the communally prejudiced attitude and behaviour of the Police and
the problem of social composition of the Police force, which makes the
following observations5:

We also heard of stringent criticism from many responsible quarters that

the police do not often act with impartiality and objectivity. Several
instances have been cited where police officers and men appeared to have
shown unmistakable biases against a particular community while dealing
174 Chapter Nine

with the communal situation. Serious allegation of highhandedness and

other atrocities, including such criminal activities as arson, looting,
molestation of women etc, have been leveled against the police to protect
the citizens. There is evidence to suggest that in one riot (Muradabad), the
police resorted to uncontrolled firing, killing many people of the
congregation and later indulged in looting and arson, when some of their
colleagues were assaulted by the crowd. In another incident, it is alleged
that a group of anti-social elements was able to brutally kill many person,
including women and children, while the Police was present in the
vicinity. In yet another recent incident, it has been alleged that the force
ran amuck after one of their colleagues was stabbed. All these incidents
are only symptoms of the underlying malaise. The failure of leadership
coupled with the low morale of the force leads to such undisciplined
reaction from the force. It has been clearly mentioned in the Prime
Minister’s 15 point programme for Minorities that “The State
Governments are being advised that in the areas which have been
identified as communally sensitive and riot-prone, District and Police
officials of the highest known efficiency, impartiality and secular record
must be posted. In such areas and even elsewhere the prevention of
communal tension should be one of the primary duties of DM and SP.
Their performance in this regard should be an important factor in
determining their promotion prospects” and also “Good work done in this
regard by District and Police officials should be rewarded”6.

Also in the anti-Sikh riot of November 1984, which was followed by the
assassination of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh
bodyguards, the death toll of the Sikhs killed in Delhi was 2,733 or one in
every 30 seconds. This was also one of the most well organised communal
riots in connivance with the ruling party. Despite the submission of reports
by three commission of enquiry- Justice Ragannath Misra Commission
Report (1987), Jain-Agarwal Committee report (1990) and Justice R.S
Narula Panel report (1994), all of which had indicted 72 police officers,
two union ministers and a congress MP, no prosecution has been initiated
against any one of them so far. It is well known that the Delhi carnage was
instigated by local Congress party MPs with the passive complicity of the
security forces7. Also there are some sporadic incidents of violence against
the Christians against their missionary act of which one infamous incident
is Graham Staines; an Australian missionary was torched to death along
with his two young sons inside a jeep in Orissa.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 175

In the year 2002 India experienced its greatest human rights crisis in the
decade- it orchestered violence against Muslims in the state of Gujarat that
claimed at least two thousand lives in matter of days. On Feb 27, 2002 an
allegedly Muslim mob attack on a train at Godhra railway station carrying
Kar Sevaks from Ayodhya on board in which 58 people were died though
the investigations are still going on for this incident. In the days to follow
Govt officials and local media branded the Muslims as terrorists while
armed gangs were set out on a four day retaliatory spree. In the post-
Godhra violence Muslims’ homes, places of worship and business were
systematically destroyed. Hundreds of women and girls were gang-raped
and sexually mutilated before being burnt alive. Police is the only main
visible organ of the state on whose shoulder responsibility lies to control
these riots but the role of police in controlling all this lawlessness is highly
objectionable and they on many instances abetted the rioter to do their act
fearlessly. Many victim of the violence have reportedly said that they
heard the slogan from the rioter that “ Yeh Andar ki Baat Hai Police
Hamere Sath Hai ”, attackers roam with impunity threatening more
violence if any one dare to speak against them.

The Gujarat pogrom poignantly brings out the malice that is engulfing
police of our country in a communally charged atmosphere. During the
continued communal violence in Gujarat, Chief Minister Narender Modi is
reported to have said: ‘I am absolutely satisfied with how the police and
the government has handled the backlash. I am happy the violence has
been largely constrained’8. But the violence that continued unabated
proved the chief Minister wrong. A conscientious civil servant says that
any riot like situation can be stopped within three hours if there is a
political will among the civil and political administration. It is also
pertinent to note that while there were both higher and lower police
officials who functioned as communal agents. There were also other police
officials who tried to uphold the law to name a few Rahul Sharma, DSP
Bhavnagar and Rajiv Ranjan, DSP Patan, who tried to protect the minority
community and its establishments in the Gujarat pogrom-2002. But they
were penalized and harassed in different ways by the political
establishment. Instead of glorifying their act they were presented bangles
to humiliate them that they were not men allegedly by the members
belonging to Sangh Parivar9. Also there was one IPS officer Mr Harsh
Mander who after seeing the highhandedness of the Police and Politicians
in brutalities had resigned from the post and launched an NGO Aman
Biradari for the Relief and Rehabilitation of the victims of communal
176 Chapter Nine

violence in Gujarat and elsewhere so this is the other side of the same
coin.

Representation of Minorities
There is a debate going among the Experts, Intellectuals and Activists that
if the Police in our country, which is not proportionally represented, have
the right proportion of people from all the communities especially from
Minorities then it will be one of the remedies for the removal of atrocious
role of police against minorities. This will help in shedding the biased
attitude as well as ill will against the Minorities but is that a real remedy
for the problem or not is a debatable issue. Justice VM Tarkunde
recommended reservations for Muslims in the recruitment of Police
constables and officers, as well as in Para-military forces and intelligence
gathering and prosecuting agencies to the extent required for neutralization
of communal biases in all the wings of Law-enforcement machinery. Most
of the intelligence agencies and paramilitary forces in India do not mirror
the diversity of the national population. According to renowned journalist
Inder Malhotra “as a matter of deliberate policy, the Government has been
virtually excluding Muslims from what are called sensitive and strategic
services, such as certain section of the armed forces, some departments of
the police, especially Intelligence, and the like. Since, 1970, there seems to
have been some change in this policy but not enough”10. For example, in
1993, the Union Minister of State for Home confirmed that there has not
been a single Muslim in the RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and IB
(Intelligence Bureau) personnel 11. Contrary to the principles of secularism
enshrined in the constitution, the government does not have Muslims
working in the intelligence Bureau (IB) and the RAW”, according to
Murali Krishnan as well12. In the words, a former CBI director, Vijay
Karan “It is sort of an unwritten code, everybody knows about it and it is
accepted as a fact”13.

The issue of socially diverse composition of the police force and other
institution of Governance is the most neglected one in the country. Under
the false plea of Secularism, community-wise data are generally not
published. But there is no denying the fact that Muslims are under-
represented in most central and state forces at all levels and in all the area
of operation. Apart from the Durban declaration and POA 2001, to which
India is a party, which require socially diverse composition of all
institution of Governance especially state forces and the judiciary, the
National Commission to review the Working of the Constitution
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 177

(NCRWC) in its Report (2002) has made strong recommendation for

carrying out’ special recruitment of persons belonging to the under-
represented minority communities in the state police, para-military forces’.
The commission holds the view that ‘this will instill confidence among
minority populations as well as help them to develop responsible attitudes
towards security issues confronting the nation’14. In 1983 Prime Minister’s
Fifteen Point Programme on Minorities emphasized the need for such
special recruitment. The following were its specific recommendations:

(i). In the recruitment of Police personnel, state government should be

advised to give special consideration to minorities. For this purpose, the
composition of selection committee should be representatives.
(ii). The central government should take similar action in the recruitment
of personnel to the Central Police Forces.

The National Police Commission (NPC) also felt that there is a strong
case for encouraging the recruitment of members of the minority
community and other weaker section at various levels in the police force.
The following observation of the NPC needs attention15:
We would reiterate here our views already expressed in para 19.30 of our
Third Report that the composition of the personnel in the police system as
a whole should reflect the general mix of communities as exists in society
and thereby command the confidence of the different sections so that the
system would function impartially without any slant in favour of any
community. In this regard the senior officers, particularly in position of
command have an important role to play. If they act in a correct and
impartial manner and also discourage emphatically any partial or biased
behavior on the part of their subordinates, they can by their example instill
confidence in the minds of the people regarding the ability and impartiality
of not only themselves but of the entire force.

The Home Ministry’s guidelines for governments of all states and union
territories to promote communal harmony issued on 22 October1997
makes the following recommendations:

It has been commonly observed that the presence of minority community

members in the police force deployed in communally sensitive areas goes
a long way in winning the confidence of minority communities. This is of
vital importance. The following steps which were recommended from time
to time, should be taken earnestly:
178 Chapter Nine

(1). Launching of special campaigns to recruit more members of

minorities in the state police force.
(2). Creation of composite battalions of armed police which should include
members of all religious communities including SC\ST s, for exclusive use
in maintaining communal peace and amity in the sensitive areas.
(3). Starting of special training\orientation programmes for states police
force with a view to maintain communal harmony.

Similarly the senior Police officer Vibhuti Narain Rai, is of the opinion,
based on his thorough empirical study, that it is only by increased
representation of minorities, especially Muslims, in the police either
through reservation or by developing some in-house methodologies, could
their biased attitudes responsible for hostile behavior towards Muslims be
neutralized or rectified. Justice D Madon’s observation that “it was
necessary that in recruitment to the police adequate representation was
given to minorities” is well known. But if we look at facts and figures in
all states of India including Muslim-majority Jammu& Kashmir, Muslims
are underrepresented in the police and in all but one state (J&K) for which
data have so far become available; they constitute a larger proportional
share of prisoners. The Sachar committee’s findings have added weight to
what have long been said that the under-representation of Muslims in
Police forces across the country has contributed to institutional
Communalism and a persistent failure to defend the community’s basic
Human Rights. It is to be noted that two of the states with the best record
of containing communal violence in the post-Independence period – West
Bengal and Kerala have a poor record on ensuring adequate representation
of Muslims in the Police while a little over a quarter of the population of
West Bengal is Muslims, the third highest figure after Jammu & Kashmir
and Assam just over 7% of the police force is drawn from the Muslim
Community. Kerala, where almost 13% of the police force is Muslim, does
somewhat better but that figure also falls short of proportional
representation of Muslims. Indeed the percentage point gap between
Muslim representation in the police force and among the general
population is worse in West Bengal and Kerela than in Gujarat and
Maharashtra. Andhra Pradesh has succeeded in ensuring more than
adequate representation for Muslims in the Police, but not in containing
communal violence or bias. Of the Andhra Pradesh Police 77,850
personnel of which 10,312 are Muslims, making it only where the
community has a greater representation in service than the population as a
whole but Hyderabad city has seen some of the worst and most sustained
urban communal violences in India. So what lesson ought to be drawn
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 179

from these data? Perhaps the most important one is that some of the
discourse on the role of the police in communal violence suffers from the
same biases it sets out to critique. There is no evidence to suggest that
police forces necessarily advocate the interest of their co-religionist. The
largely Sikh Punjab Police ferociously put down Khalistan terrorist groups
in Punjab and contrary to popular myth, the Muslim majority Jammu and
Kashmir police has long been at the cutting edge of counter terrorist
operations targeting Pakistan based Islamist groups. Similarly Hindu
majority police forces have often demonstrated their skill at preventing or
rapidly terminating communal violence16. It is to be understood that
communalism and communal violence are fundamentally political
phenomena. Even if there is zero representation of Muslims in police force
but political situation is congenial to communal harmony, there will be no
outbursts of communal violence. And, on the other hand, even if there is
over-representation of Muslims in the police force, there is absolutely no
guarantee that there will be no communal violence. It is interesting to note
here the findings of the study done by an IPS officer VN Rai on the
perception of police neutrality during the Hindu-Muslim riots in India17.
The questions were asked to the riot-victims of both the communities.
When they were asked how they found police during communal riots?
Then 97% of the Minority victims replied as ‘Enemy’ whereas 71% of
Majority victims replied as ‘Friend’. And when they were asked will you
approach police for help during communal riots? Then again 73% of
Minority-victims replied in negation whereas 93 % Majority victims
approached for their help. The normal and logical reaction of a citizen
during a situation like riot, when their life, dignity and property are in
danger, should be to approach the police. The reasons behind this are very
simple. The police is the only visible arm of the state which is presented in
the street during communal violence. A large number of Muslims are
apprehended to approach the police during the gravest hour of their lives,
which indicates their distrust on the men in uniform. Their behavioral
pattern is fraught with serious consequences. Lack of faith in the police
may amount to lack of faith in the state itself.

Police Reform Policy

Reforms in the Police policy are long over due after Independence in
largest democracy of the world and it is a matter of surprise that the Police
in India still govern by the colonial Police Act of 1861 which was meant
by the ruling colonial masters to suppress the people of the country who in
180 Chapter Nine

their view were mere subjects not citizens. The 1861 Police Act is colonial
hangover on our executive system.

Of late concerns have been raised to shed that hangover to make it a reality
and efforts are made regarding this but the voices are raised for the
reforms since mid 1970s - the post emergency period. In the year 1979
National Police Commission (NPC) submitted its Comprehensive report
dealing with almost every aspect of police reforms. The commission was
set up after the country witnessed the two years of emergency from 1975-
77 during the reign of Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then PM of India, in which
the Fundamental as well as other rights are blatantly violated. ‘Emergency
period’ of 1975-77 witnessed perhaps the most oppressive character of the
police in Indian history. Mrs Indira Gandhi faced the threat of losing her
power by a judgment of a high court, which declared national emergency
and suppressed all democratic processes in the country. Not only were all
opponent of Mrs Gandhi brutally treated by the police but its power was
also misused for populist measures. Police force was used in the anti-
encroachment drives, forced sterilization programs and even for bringing
crowds to Mrs Gandhi’s son Sanjay political rallies. Moraji Desia of
Janata Party came to power after defeating Indira Gandhi of Congress (I).
These opposition parties have tested bitterly the emergency period
especially at the hands of Police so they constituted a separate commission
to make an overhaul of the whole Police system. National Police
Commission (NPC) report is complete and comprehensive in itself NPC
had recommended certain steps. On the one hand, it had talked about
reducing Political interference in the police work while, on the other, it
had suggested some strong investigations against the rioters. It is a pity
that the Police leadership comes under pressure from their political bosses
as the latter virtually have complete control over their selection, promotion
and transfer. Those police officers seen as defying the wishes of the
politicians are often shunted out. The political bosses thus managed to
push the police as much as possible to suite their interest. Police act as the
policy enforcer of the ruling establishment rather than the law enforcing
body. The NPC has recommended setting up of the state security
commission (SSC) and the state security commission has to submit the
periodic report every year to the state legislature and not to the political
executives, who might have had vested interest. The State Security
Commission, which should be constituted at the state level, should
comprise the following members:
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 181

Chief Minister/Home Minister as Chairman

Lok Ayukta/Member State Human Rights Commission
High Court Judge (Retd.) nominated by Chief Justice
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly
Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary (Home)
DGP as ex officio Secretary

The Commissions functions would include:

a) Laying down broad policy guidelines and directions for the performance
of preventive and service-oriented functions of the police;
b) Evaluation of the performance of the State Police every year and
presenting a report to the State Legislature
c) Functioning as a forum of appeal for disposing of representations from
any police officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police and above
regarding his being subjected to illegal or irregular orders in the
performance of his duties;
d) Functioning as a forum of appeal for disposing of representations from
police officers regarding promotion to the rank of Superintendent of Police
and above; and.
e) Generally keeping in review the functioning of the police in the State.

The Commission would thus, on the one hand, lay down the broad policies
and the framework within which the police must function and, on the other
hand, act as a shock absorber between the government and the police to
ensure that there is no extraneous pressure on its functioning. The
Commission must be a statutory body and its recommendations binding on
the government.

This was to help the police during crises like riots and regarding the
investigation of the riot cases, the NPC had suggested establishment of
special squads i.e. comprising officers of proven integrity- under the state
CID, which would vigorously investigate the cases and ensure punishment
for the culprits. The tendency to withdraw cases on the pretext of
promoting communal harmony between the communities never proves
effective and has to be discouraged, the NPC had said.

The other area of reform relates to the use of force and firearms by the
police for mob-control, including communal tension. The police has been
routinely using lethal weapons for controlling even unarmed mob- without
any intent or capacity of the mob to pose any threat to life. The manuals on
riot control encourage such use of firepower even at the initial stage for
182 Chapter Nine

deterrence. There is a need to prescribe the UN Basic Principles on the use

of Force and Firearms by the Law enforcement officials19.

On 22nd September 2006, the Supreme Court of India delivered a historic

judgment, in Prakash Singh and Others Vs Union of India and Others,
laying down six practical directives to kick-start the police reform process.
The Court’s directives are binding on all state governments to frame
appropriate legislation. The Supreme Court in connection with this PIL
had set December 31st, 2007 as the deadline for the central and state
governments to implement seven proposals that have been part of the
recommendations made by various commissions and committees,
including the PADC and also set January 2007 as the deadline to file a
compliance report. The most important directives of the Supreme Court
are Directives 1 and 6 on setting up State Security Commissions and
Police Complaints Authorities. Separate from the push coming from the
Supreme Court, the Manmohan Singh government had set up a Police Act
Drafting Committee (PADC) to draft a new Model Police Act, commonly
known as the Soli Sorabjee Committee. The committee's work and its
model Act also provides a sound legislative guide for state governments to
follow in forming their own Acts. Many states are under the process of
drafting new Police Acts while some have already passed them. Many
states have made statements that they support the spirit of reform behind
the Court’s directives, but have made several arguments against immediate
implementation of the apex court's directives, particularly in their current
form. A point to note is the complete lack of transparency, community
consultation or civil society input in this process by most states. In many
states, members of the public are completely unaware that their state
government is in the process of reforming the police laws. The first
directive of the Supreme Court on the police reform process is that States
should constitute a State Security Commission to ensure that the State
government does not exercise unwarranted influence or pressure on the
police. The State Security Commission is also expected to lay down broad
policy guidelines and evaluate the performance of the state police. In
determining the composition of this Commission, governments may
choose from any of the models recommended by the National Human
Rights Commission, the Ribeiro Committee or the Sorabjee Committee.
The second and third directives require the Director General of Police to
be appointed through a merit-based, transparent process. He and some
other police officers are also to have a minimum tenure of two years.
Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Nagaland have argued that
fixed two-year tenure for the DGPs, irrespective of their superannuation
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 183

date, will block opportunities for other eligible senior officers, who will be
demoralised. Further the directives take away the right of the government
to transfer police officers to meet administrative exigencies, they feel.
Fixed tenure is not important for good performance and short tenure does
not result in inefficient functioning feels Andhra Pradesh. The fourth
directive is that investigation and law and order functions of the police
should be separated. The fifth directive stipulates that a Police
Establishment Board be set up, which will decide all transfers, postings,
promotions and other service-related matters of police officers of and
below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and make
recommendations on postings and transfers of officers above the rank of
Deputy Superintendent of Police. A Police Establishment Board will
duplicate existing systems, would run contrary to the democratic functions
of the government and result in the creation of a separate power center,
comprising bureaucrats who are not answerable to the people, say Gujarat
and Uttar Pradesh.

The sixth and last directive is very significant as it calls for the setting up
of independent Police Complaints Authorities (PCA) at the State and
district levels to look into public complaints against police officers in
cases of serious misconduct, including custodial death, grievous hurt or
rape in police custody. It is necessary especially to look into the role of the
police during communal and religious violence. According to the Soli
Sorabjee Model, the State-level PCA is to be chaired by a retired judge of
the High Court or Supreme Court, to be chosen by the State government
out of a panel of names proposed by the Chief Justice. It must also have
three to five other members (depending on the volume of complaints)
selected by the State government out of a panel of names prepared by the
State Human Rights Commission, the Lok Ayukta and the State Public
Service Commission. Members of the PCA may include members of civil
society, retired civil servants or police officers or officers from any other
department. Similar authorities are to be constituted at the district-level to
be chaired by a retired district judge.

Nagaland initially maintained that the commission of excesses by the

police is a very rare occurrence. Andhra Pradesh has opined that the
establishment of Complaints Authorities may lead to the police being
demoralised, failing to implement various laws and becoming ineffective
out of a fear of being prosecuted by yet another agency. Gujarat, Uttar
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu feel that creating new
District and State Complaints Authorities would duplicate the work of
184 Chapter Nine

existing fora and would be a financial burden. It would cost over Rs.40
crores to the exchequer, says Karnataka.

Karnataka also states that there are five different independent institutions
like the Lok Ayukta, SC & ST Commission, Backward Classes
Commission, Women’s Commission and the Minorities Commission,
which look into the grievances against the police personnel apart from the
departmental committees headed by an IGP (Human Rights & Grievances)
and that these state institutions “effectively and fully meet the sprit behind
the directives issued by the Hon’ble Court regarding police complaints”
and the government has already initiated steps for constituting the State
Human Rights Commission. Never mind, that all these existing bodies are
toothless with only recommendatory and no binding powers. In total
negation of Directive 6 on the State-Level Complaints Authority,
Karnataka has submitted that it shall consist of only currently serving
officers, namely: the Chief Secretary to the Government as Chairperson,
the Principal Secretary, Home Department, the Director General of Police,
and a police officer nominated by the Government not below the rank of
Inspector-General of Police as members and the Inspector-General of
Police (Grievance Cell) as the Member-Secretary.

Police Accountability
The concept of accountability is of paramount importance in the institution
like Police especially in a largest democratic set up like India. The voices
are raised to make our police force more accountable and transparent in its
actions. Insulating the police from the unhealthy political influence is one
thing and making it accountable is another. Establishing independent
civilian control is quite another. In a country where the poor face torture
by the police on the day-to-day basis, it is imperative that civilian control
be clearly spelt and credibly independent so as to act as a deterring
safeguard against police.

Some important recommendations of the National Police Commission

(NPC) need to be implemented urgently at the State level to check any
further deterioration in the policing system affecting the lives and liberties
of the citizens: (i) constitution of a statutory commission in each State
called the State Security Commission; (ii) laying down broad policy
guidelines and directions for the performance of preventive tasks and
service oriented functions by the police. The State Security Commission
should have the Minister in charge of Police as Chairman and six more
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 185

members. Two of these should be from the State Legislature (one from the
ruling side and the other from the opposition) and four should be
appointed by the Chief Minister, subject to the approval of the State
legislature, from amongst retired High Court Judges, retired senior
Government officers and eminent social scientists or academicians.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had also called for
reforms as it felt that "an efficient, honest police force is the principal
bulwark of the nation against violations of human rights" And one of the
measures for this purpose was to provide a statutory tenure of office for
the Chief of Police in the state.

Thereafter the Ribeiro Committee was constituted in May 1988. But its
recommendations remained in cold storage. Again we have the
Padmanabhaiah Panel constituted by Government in January 2000, but the
same inertia continues21. Now the Soli Sorabjee Committee has drafted the
Model Police Act 2006. It has also recommended creation of a state level
accountability as well as district level authorities to ensure police
accountability. Many senior police leaders as well as state governments
have unfortunately frowned upon the creation of these mechanisms. But
their objections do not stand scrutiny. Senior police officers should draw
lesson from international experience. The oversight mechanism, if they
function properly, will enhance police credibility, restore public
confidence in police and also ensure fair play for the police officers. There
is a lack of public confidence in the police force ability to investigate
complaints against its own members. Public demands for civilian
supervision of the police stimulus from the widely held perception that the
police cannot police themselves. There are strong reasons in favour of
civilian review of police complaint. First complainants feel more
comfortable and free to air grievances. Second, a civilian’s perspective
promotes fairness. Third, greater objectivity and thoroughness in
investigation leads to higher number of substainted complaints and more
appropriate disciplinary action against corrupt officers. Indeed civilian
review is critical to the legitimacy of the police. Its purpose is not simply
to punish errant police officers but to demonstrate to the public that it
functions as a responsible institution. Police accountability is required to
be fixed and enforced in accordance with the norms of democracy, which
mean supremacy of the rule of the law. The police must be made
accountable to the law of the land and answerable to the people through
Parliament and State legislature. The inability of the internal
accountability mechanism world over to prevent the abuse of power by
186 Chapter Nine

police has given rise to the need for external accountability mechanism
having expertise, experience and stature to scrutinize police actions and
look into the citizens’ complaints. This role has been assigned to the
National and State Human rights commission constitutes under the
Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. These bodies are meant to ensure
“better protection of human rights” by effectively dealing with the
complainants of (a) violation of human rights and (b) negligence in the
prevention of violation of human rights by public servants including the
police personnel22

Conclusion & Suggestion

Police reforms in India are critical now, more than ever before because
there is an urgent need to formulate a system to develop an honest, neutral
and non-communal police, which must uphold the law of the land and
should be free from any fear, favour and political meddling. Commission
after commission and one agency after another have continually been
stressing the need for this9. The police are meant to protect the political,
civil and other rights of the Minorities and other weaker sections of the
society against any physical violence. For that purpose they are more
likely to succeed if they are, impartial and neutral, not wholly at the mercy
of the Politicians and the politicians are best checked if the people are able
to monitor police work at the cutting edge without the power of command
but with the power to exposé suspected malfeasances to universal gaze. At
the same time an overhaul of the criminal justice system is absolutely
necessary in that ordinarily talented but honest and diligent policeman can
bring all manner of criminals to book through due process of law but with
a greater degree of certainty and in real time and there by discourage
putative miscreants.

Representation of Minorities in the Police force is also one possible

solution of the problem, sincere efforts should also be made to make our
Police force adequately representative of personnel belonging to minority
community that will act in winning the confidence of the people of the
Area in which the police force is deployed and also provide them
employment.

State Govternments must enact new Laws for reorganizing the Police
making it to enjoy functional independence and accountable to law, as is
envisaged in the Model Police Act 2006, framed by the Drafting
Committee headed by Mr Soli J Sorabjee10.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 187

Police organization can certainly help the reform process if they can
discover the reason why they could not redeem their image when there
was no political interference and when police officers had secure tenures
and evolve procedures to overcome the problems and if they could pay
greater heed to rewards and punishments so that they reflect commitment
to public good rather than loyalty to the superiors. They also need to pay
much greater attention to intangibles like organizational cultures and
leadership at the police station and district levels to make reform measures
more meaningful.

References
Reports of the Commission of Inquiry into Communal Disturbances at
Bhiwandi, Jalgaon and Mahad (1970) by Justice D.P Madan.
Reports of the commission of Inquiry into the Riots of Mumbai 1992-3 by
Justice B.N Srikrishna, Chapt II, Chapt IV.
V.N Rai, ‘Combating Communal Conflict: Perception of Police Neutrality
during Hindu-Muslim riots in India’, Allahabad: Anamika Prakashan,
1999.
N.C Saxena, ‘Reports on Meerut Riots 1982’, in Iqbal A Ansari (ed)
Communal riots, The state & Law in India, New Delhi: IOS, 1979,
p.365.
Sixth report of the National Police Commission (NPC), 1981.
Prime Minister’s 15 point Programme for Minorities: 1983
See People Union for Democratic Rights and People Union of Civil
Liberties (PUDR&PUCL), who are guilty? Report of a joint enquiry
into the causes and impact of the riots in Delhi from 31st Oct to 10 Nov
1984, New Delhi.
Times of India (TOI), 1 March 2002.
‘Gujarat Carnage: Protector has become predators’, Social Action, Vol
52(3), 2002b.
Frontline,"Bias and the Police”, 16 December 2006.
V.N Rai, ‘Combating Communal Conflict: Perception of Police Neutrality
during Hindu-Muslim riots in India’, Allahabad: Anamika Prakashan,
1999.
V Kannu Pillia, ‘Reforms Now’, Communalism Combat, September 2002.
Iqbal A Ansari, ‘Need for a National Campaign for Police Reforms’,
Human Rights Today Vol IX No1, Jan-March 2007.
Inder Malhotra, “What ails the Indian Muslims?” The illustrated Weekly of
India,22 April 1973.
188 Chapter Nine

“No place for Muslims in RAW & IB?”, Communalism Combat,

September 1993, p.3.
The Telegraph, Calcutta, 18 March 1994.
Ibid, and Vir Sanghvi, “Indian Muslims in the Intelligence Agencies” The
Sunday 27 March-2 April 1994, as cited in Muslim India (May 1994),
p.226.
Reports of the NCRWC, Chapter 10,para10.11.2 (d).
Frontline, “Bias and the Police”, 16 December 2006.
Rajinder Sachar ‘Reforming the Police’, PUCL Bulletin, November 2002.
Chaman Lal, “Policing the Police”, Dialogue, Vol 6 No 1, 2004.
 CHAPTER TEN

MUSLIMS OF INDIA—
CHALLENGES, RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
A NEED FOR INTROSPECTION

SALIL KADER

Indian Muslims, irrespective of which part of the country they inhabit, are
faced with certain challenges that are common to the community. This
paper divides these challenges into internal and external challenges, with
the onus of tackling the internal challenges falling squarely on the
community itself. The paper stresses on the need for introspection on the
part of the community and the urgent need for the rise of an educated,
balanced and liberal leadership. While Muslims of India have equal rights
as any other citizen of the country, they should never forget that rights go
hand in hand with responsibilities - responsibilities towards themselves
and towards the nation. This paper looks at what the community needs to
do to discharge these responsibilities.

Introduction
The Muslims of India and their faith in Islam have been pushed into focus
due to a series of incidents of national and international importance. The
last decade of the 20th century saw a series of militant attacks perpetrated
by groups claiming to be guided by the Islamic concept of
‘jihad’Attention. These jihadis couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Nevertheless, these abominable acts of mindless violence resulted in
Muslims the world over being looked at with suspicion and the term
‘terrorism’ getting suffixed to the great religion, Islam. It is ironical that
Islam, the essence of which is derived from the root ‘salaam’ meaning
‘peace’ (Ali, 1978), is being censured just because the jihadis claim to
derive their ideological support for their activities from Islam.1 Peace is so

1
Islam in its secondary sense also means submission.
190 Chapter Ten

essential to Islam that Muslims even greet each other with the words
‘Assalaam-u-aleikum’ i.e. ‘peace be upon you.’ How then could a religion,
which literally means peace, be the basis of all the bloodshed and carnage
unleashed by these jihadi groups in different parts of the world? In my
opinion one could not have coined a better oxymoron than the term
‘Islamic terrorism’!

Muslims in India in the 21st century

The history of Islam in India is well over a thousand years old today. It has
blended beautifully into the background of its adopted land and
contributed immensely to the formation of a composite Indian culture and
the building of the Indian nation. But this Islam and its practitioners are
not a homogeneous entity as is widely believed. Bearing in mind factors
like the immense religio-cultural diversity of India and the long history of
Islam in this country, the resultant myriad of Islamic expressions seen in
India are only natural. As elsewhere, but perhaps to a greater degree, Islam
and Muslims in India took on different forms as they sought to adapt to
different local cultural contexts and environments. Nevertheless, Muslims
in India have responded well to the challenges of living as a minority in a
religiously plural society. But this process of assimilation into the Indian
society has not been an easy one and the challenges that Muslims of India
face today continue to exist with the constantly shifting national and
international state of affairs. Under these circumstances, the response of
the Muslim community of India to these challenges, both internal and
external, should be one that reflects its maturity and age; a response that
exhibits the collective wisdom of the community and the noble teachings
of the Holy Quran and the Prophet (pbuh). As the 130 million strong
community takes up the task of responding to these internal and external
challenges, it expects its rights as natural citizens of India to be honoured.
But while making a demand for equitable rights they should not forget that
juxtaposed with rights are duties and responsibilities to the nation. They
should at no point of time be found shirking from fulfilling these duties
and responsibilities.

The Challenges, Rights and Responsibilities

The challenges faced by the Muslims of India today are complex and can
be divided into internal and external challenges. The internal challenges
can be defined as those challenges, which stem from issues and problems
within the community. A cursory glance at the condition of majority of the
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 191

Muslims in India will reveal the low levels of literacy and high levels of
poverty prevalent in the community. These are the biggest internal
challenges that the Muslims of India face today and the keywords in
tackling these internal challenges are education and reform with a capital
‘R’. The economic and social backwardness among the Muslims can be
compared only with that of the dalits, who find themselves at the lowest
rung of the social ladder in Indian society (Mahar, 1998; Michael, 1999).
Statistically speaking, it has been a long time since a religion-based survey
was carried out to highlight the situation that various communities in India
find themselves in after more than five and a half decades of gaining
independence from the colonial rulers. But certain researches carried out
in the last two decades help us in deriving some conclusions about the
socio-economic condition of the Muslim community in India. It was way
back in 1980 that the then Prime Minister, late Mrs. Indira Gandhi
appointed the acclaimed Gopal Singh High Commission on Muslims and
Dalits.2 Though some might argue that the findings of this Commission are
obsolete, it cannot be denied that the Report does give some idea of the
status of the Muslims in India. The report submitted in 1983 showed that
while 66.6% dalits lived in thatched houses, 65.9% Muslims too occupied
thatched houses (Engineer, 2002). 22.6% dalits had access to piped water
whereas only 19.4% Muslims could avail this facility. The poverty head
count among the dalits was 50, while among the Muslims it was 43. In the
sphere of education too the figures were rather gloomy. The percentage of
literacy among the dalits and Scheduled tribes was about 40 % while
among the Muslims it was 50%. The school enrolment rate among
Muslims was only 62 %, almost at parity with the dalits. As regards
matriculates, the total percentage of matriculates among Muslims was a
dismal 5.9 % while among the dalits it was marginally lower at 4.9 %.

A more recent survey carried out by the National Sample Survey

Organisation, an autonomous Government agency, has compiled and
published the socio-economic data according to religion that it collected
during the course of its national surveys of consumption expenditure
during the 50th and 55th rounds in 1993-94 and 1999-2000. It brings to
light even more startling statistics.

2
Mrs.Gandhi’s favourite poll slogan of garibi hatao (root out poverty), arguably
the most successful poll platforms of recent times, was the stimulus for such an
inquiry into the status of Muslims and Dalits in India. Ironically, the garibi still is
widespread despite the newest BJP zinger ‘India Shining.’
192 Chapter Ten

The socio-economic profile that the NSSO estimates paint of the Muslim
Indian is a depressing one. In all major socio-economic indicators, the
members of India's biggest religious minority are, on the average, worse
off than members of the majority community (NSSO Report, 2000;
Reddy, 2002). Firstly, they spend less on items of daily consumption
because they apparently earn less. The incidence of poverty is, therefore,
likely to be higher among Muslims than Hindus. Secondly, literacy rates
are substantially higher among the Hindus and a Hindu boy or girl who
goes to school is more likely to go on to college than a Muslim. Thirdly,
working Muslims are to be found more in casual labour and seasonal
occupations than Hindus. Fourthly, among those with access to land a
Hindu household is more likely to be cultivating larger plots. Lastly,
unemployment rates are higher among Muslims than Hindus. This overall
profile is true of both men and women, in rural and urban India and in all
States. Moreover, the disparity between the majority and minority
religious groups in most cases widened during the 1990s. The only
reassuring feature that emerges from the Report is that the sex ratio among
Muslims is better than that of the Hindus. These figures clearly illustrate
the state of affairs within the Muslim community of India in the last
decade and quite obviously there is nothing much to cheer about.

The stats and figures of the surveys mentioned above demonstrate that
when it comes to core issues like consumption, education, employment
and land holding, etc., the gap between the two largest religious groups in
India is growing wider. This has led to a sense of despondency among the
Muslim community and a feeling of alienation in the minds of the people.
Nevertheless, Muslims should beware this feeling of hopelessness because
despondency is held unlawful in Islam. The Quran is explicit on this point:
‘Truly no one despairs of Allah’s soothing Mercy, except those who have
no faith’ (The Holy Quran, Surah Yusuf, Verse 87)

There is clearly no room for dejection here and therefore it raises some
important questions for the Muslims who feel dispossessed, powerless and
totally hopeless about their state of affairs. The decree of Allah is for His
people to stand up to, and fight this misery that they find themselves in. If
this is the command of Allah, what then prevents the Muslims of India
from playing the role desired of them at present? Are they doing enough to
resist the situation that they find themselves in? Answers to these
questions will bring out solutions to the aforementioned internal
challenges, which the Muslims of India face today.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 193

As already mentioned, reform is the keyword on the said path of

development but the call for reform has often been met with resistance
from sections within the community. This is because of some inexplicable
reason, reform and change have often been confused with or taken to be
demands for revision of the Holy Quran and the teachings of the Prophet.
This is not true. Reform by no means calls for any alteration or
amendment to the holy texts and should not be treated as blasphemous.3
The call for change is in fact directed at reforming those Muslims who
have deviated from the path of Islam thus bringing disgrace to their faith
and community. This brings us back to the question of the internal
challenges, which we briefly delved into earlier in the essay.

The importance of education for the development of a community or

nation has been underscored by the advancement achieved by most
developed countries. Education dispels ignorance and is a possession,
which cannot be measured or quantified. It broadens the vision of any
community and sets it resolutely on the path of progress and development.
This is why Islam attaches such great importance to knowledge and
education. When the Holy Quran began to be revealed, the first word of its
first verse was 'Iqra' that is, read.

“Read: In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher Who created...”

(The Holy Quran, Surah Al-Alaq, verse 1)

Thus education, according to the Quran, is the starting point of every

human activity. All the books of hadith have a chapter on ilm
(knowledge).4 According to one tradition, the ink of a scholar’s pen is
more precious than the blood of a martyr, the reason being that while a
martyr is engaged in the task of defence, an alim (scholar) builds
individuals and nations along positive lines. In this way, he bestows upon
the world a real life treasure The Prophet asked Muslims to go up to China
to acquire knowledge. Now China obviously was not the centre of Islamic
knowledge in those times. Hence it is clear from this context that the

3
The Holy Quran has quite clearly laid down how a Muslim should lead his life:
…and We have sent down to thee the Book explaining all things, a Guide, a Mercy
an Glad Tidings to Muslims.( Surah An-Nahl, Verse 89)
At the same time there is freedom of practising ijtihad (creative interpretation) in
Islam. No one, not even most orthodox ‘alim, can deny its legitimacy.
4
A tradition or the collection of the traditions of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam,
including his sayings and deeds, and his tacit approval of what was said or done in
his presence.
194 Chapter Ten

Prophet not only exhorted Muslims to acquire Islamic knowledge but

worldly knowledge as well. Moreover, the Prophet’s words also establish
the importance of education for Muslims as enshrined in the Islamic
traditions. It also confirms the nature of education espoused by the
Prophet, viz. religious and worldly, both. But it has been observed that
majority of Muslims in India have a tendency of giving more importance
to religious education (dini ta’alim) imparted at the madrasa (religious
school), over secular education. This couplet says it all:

Hamein dunya se kya matlab, madrasa hai watan mera

Marenge hum kitabon par, waraq hoga kafan mera (Wajihuddin, 2003)
(I don’t care about the world, madrasa is my country
I will die for the sake of books and pages will become my shroud.)

These lines are illustrative of the outlook of some sections of the Muslim
community of India. While the significance of the madaris and makatib
(schools) 5 and their role in imparting religious and traditional education to
the lay Muslim cannot be overlooked, the demands of a modern society
necessitate a fresh outlook towards education. The Muslim community of
India has to realise that society in the twenty first century is going to be
more competitive and cut-throat. Keeping this scenario in mind one can be
sure that in future most jobs will be in the private sector where skill and
potential productivity will decide who gets which job. Therefore, our
educational priorities must reflect these realities and most of our efforts
and resources should be directed towards educating the poorest of the poor
and the illiterate. Educational institutions run by Muslim minority
organizations should ensure that their syllabi are up to date with the needs
of the society and industry. Students passing out of these institutions
should be competent and well trained. Recent studies have demonstrated
the pre-eminence of primary education over secondary and higher
education for social and economic upliftment. The “social rate of return”
on investment in primary education is double that in higher education and
one and a half times that in secondary education (Dasgupta, 1993: 90). The
message here is clear: stronger the base, more durable the superstructure.

Truly speaking, the movement to fight these challenges also has to come
from within the community. Unfortunately, the lack of quality leadership
to direct such a movement has been the bane of the Muslim community of
India. If the truth be told, it is the incompetence of Muslim leaders, which
has given rise to this unfortunate situation. Today it is the Muslims

5
Madaris is plural for madrasa. Makatib is plural for maktab.
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 195

themselves who are being made to pay for the crass ineptitude of leaders
who launched movements based on shallow politics instead of creating
among their followers a balanced political awareness and a sense of
responsibility towards their community and nation - something for which
there is a crying need. The self-proclaimed leaders of the community like
Imam Bukhari of the Jama Masjid of Delhi have done more damage to the
image of the community than the right-wing Hindutva forces, which thrive
on inciting an anti-Muslim sentiment. Just recently we had the case of
fifty-four Muslims being excommunicated and their marriages nullified by
a priest, Mufti Abdul Quddus Rumi in Agra after they reportedly
expressed the view that singing Vande Mataram was not un-Islamic!
Among those excommunicated were Mutwallis (heads) of two mosques.
Does the community need such leaders who do nothing to unchurch those
practicing discrimination in the name of caste, something that finds no
place in Islam but pass nonsensical fatwas against Muslims singing the
national song? The answer is an emphatic no.

Even when some of these leaders travel abroad, all they do is portray a
picture of Muslim oppression and discrimination at the hands of the
majority community. This whole exercise is apparently to plead for more
‘funds’ for the alleviation of the sufferings of the Muslims in India. Most
of these funds go into the construction of madaris which do not give
importance to secular or professional education. Moreover, this mindset
does nothing in terms of endearing the Muslims to the rest of the country
who feel that the Muslims are not loyal to their motherland. If Muslims, on
the other hand, were to play a positive international role - which is by all
means possible - they would see a sudden and radical improvement in their
image all over the country. One way of doing this is by taking up the cause
of India and its fight against jihadi groups at international fora, like the
Organisation of Islamic Conference, where problems related to the
Ummah are discussed. India is not a member of the OIC and naturally an
Indian Hindu will not be allowed an opportunity to take the rostrum. It is
only Muslim groups who can gain entry into this organisation. Moreover
by playing such a positive role not only would the Muslim community of
India be seen as national and political assets but also no longer would they
be regarded as liabilities. And most importantly they would be seen as
significantly contributing towards the task of nation building.

It is time Muslim intellectuals and academicians seized the reins of leading

the community into their own hands and took it on the path of
development and reform – reform which is aimed at purging the
196 Chapter Ten

community of its shortcomings and converting it into a strong and vibrant

society which is identified not by its ‘minority status’ but by its
contributions to the nation.

References
Dasgupta, Partha (1993) An Enquiry into Well being and Destitution. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Mahar, J. Michael (ed) (1998). The Untouchables in Contemporary India.
Jaipur: Rawat Publications.
Michael, S.M. (ed) (1999). Dalits in Modern India: Vision and Values.
Delhi: Vistaar.
Engineer, A.A. (2002) Indian Muslims - Fifty years in independent India-
an evaluation. Secular Perspective. February 16-28
Reddy, C. Rammanohar (2002, September 12). Deprivation affects
Muslims more. The Hindu
National Sample Survey Organisation Report No.468 (2000) Employment
and Unemployment among Religious Groups in India. Government of
India
Wajihuddin, Mohammed (2003, October 12). Modernise the Madrasa. The
Indian Express. Mumbai Edition
 EDITORS

K M Ziyauddin is presently working as Assistant Professor & Assistant

Director at the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive
Policy, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad,
India. Before joining the present assignment, he has served faculty in the
Department of Sociology, at Jamia Millia Islamia and Hamdard University.
He worked with several National and International Research projects on
the issues of HIV/AIDS, Child Labour and Education, Workers in
Unorganized and construction sector, Displacement and development,
rural development etc. he is life member of several bodies/societies-
Indian Sociological Society, International Journal of Research and Social
Sciences, IASSH, SAMAR Foundation and Society for Applied Economic
Research. He received several scholarships during his study which also
includes ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship in 2006.
Email- [email protected]

Eswarappa Kasi, Guest Faculty in the Department of Anthropology,

University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad- 500046, Andhra Pradesh, India. E-
mail: [email protected]. He is a Life Member of a number of
professional bodies. His interests include Anthropology of Livelihoods
and Natural Resource Management, Tribal and Marginal Communities and
their Development. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed
journals. His forthcoming book titled ‘Anthropology and Development in
a Globalised India: An Ethnography of Sericulture from the South’ is with
the press of Cambridge Scholars Publishing (CSP), UK. His edited volume
titled as ‘Ethnographic Discourse of the Other: Conceptual and
Methodological Issues’ with Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh C. Malik
(CSP, 2008). He is a guest- editor of a Special Issue of Man in India on
'Issues and Perspectives in Anthropology Today' jointly with R. Siva
Prasad. He is also co-editor of Theory and Practice of Ethnography:
Readings from the Periphery (Rawat Publications, Jaipur, in press) with
Ramesh C. Malik. He is the editor of Rethinking Development Discourse
in the 21st Century India (Serials Publications, New Delhi, 2009).
198 Editors and Contributors

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr Azra Abidi is presently Assistant Professor in the department of

Sociology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She completed her doctoral
research from Lucknow University .U.P India. She has been teaching for
almost two decades to the students of Sociology at different capacity.
Apart from few research papers, She also published three books titled as
“Conservative and reformative teachers”, “Samaj aur Samajyat (in Urdu
language)” and “Samjyat Ka Mutaleya (Translated in urdu, NCERT, New
Delhi)”. She is associated other Institution as well - NCERT, IGNOU,
NCPUL, MANUU, URDU ACADEMY.OPEN SCHOOL.
Email- [email protected]

Ehtesham Hussian completed M A in sociology and now pursuing his

doctoral research in sociology from the Department of Sociology, Jamia
Millia Islamia, New Delhi. he has worked with WHO research project on
Immunization Porgrammes in India.

Dr. Sharmistha Bhattacharjee obtained M.A. in Sociology with first

class and first rank from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She is M. Phil
in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. She
obtained her Ph.D. from Visva Bharati, Santiniketan in the year 2007.
During her studies on sociology over a span of ten years she has carried
out extensive field work and research. She is a recipient of merit
scholarship during M.A. studies, and qualified NET (UGC) and SLET
(W.B.). She has served as an Academic Associate in Organizational
Behaviour area at the Indian Institute of management, Ahmedabad; and
credited a Fellow Management Programme course on Macro
organizational behaviour from the same. Dr. Bhattacharjee is presently
working as a lecturer with the Jaypee Institute of Information Technology
University Noida. She is an author of Rural Women and their Quality of
Life. Email- [email protected]

Shekh Moinuddin is presently Delhi based Research Fellow and teaching

as a guest lecturer kalindi college, University of Delhi. He finished his
M.A. and M. Phil. in Geography from the Dept. of Geography, Delhi
School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi. He has published and
presented paper on Muslim women and gender politics. His M. Phil
 Dimensions of Social Exclusion: Ethnographic Explorations 199

dissertation was valued as an important piece of work on media space and

gender construction in television soap opera. He is also associated as
Associate Director in ICSSR project "the role of Madarsa in education and
development in Mewat district: A spatio-temporal studies", in the
Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
Email- [email protected]

Dr. Fasahat Shamoon has finished his Masters in Social Work from
Aligarh Muslim University, and then worked on his doctoral research
which was considered to be a good piece of work. He has several years of
experience and also published few research papers. Presently he is
working as a research Analyst in the Department of Social Services,
Government of UK.
Email- [email protected]

Prof. S.M. Rahmatullah, born in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh,

did his Post – Graduation in Public Administration from S.V University,
Tirupati and Ph.D form Osmania University, Hyderabad. He served as
Lecturer and Reader in Public Administration in Islamic Arts and Science
College Warangal and presently serving as Dean, School of Arts and
Social Sciences and Head, Department of Political Science and Public
Administration, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad. He
has participated in a member Local, Nation and International Seminars,
Conferences and Workshops, Chaired sessions and presented papers,
published a number of articles in Urdu, English and Telugu in journals,
Souvenirs and News Papers and written five books as co-author. Three of
his books, as co-author, and an article are being published.

Dr. Mushtaq Ahmad Dar is senior Assistant Professor of Law in

Directorate of Distance Education, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India.
He finished his Masters in Law and then he was awarded doctorate degree
in law. His doctoral work was well appreciated which was on Panchayati
Raj Institutions in India with Special Reference to J & k. Beside his long
teaching experience in the university of Kashmir, he also practiced as an
Advocate at J & K High Court which has been seen in his interest of
publications. His books include; Law on Consumer services (ed.) 2003
Panchayati Raj in India : A Socio-Legal Study,2008 (under print), he also
published various research papers on the issues of women in Panchayati
Raj, legal awareness and decentralization in India.
[email protected];
200 Editors and Contributors

Faisal Ahmmed, PhD is Associate Professor of Social Work, Shahjalal

University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh. His main areas
of research interest are ethnic minority aging, indigenous peoples, child
labor and violence against women. He has published a number of articles
in different national and international journals. He also has published three
books include State of the Rural Manipuris in Bangladesh; Social Work:
Concept, History and Philosophy and The Khasi Indigenous Peoples of
Bangladesh: Health, Education and Life Strategies. He is working on
indigenous issues for social justice through research and publications. Dr.
Ahmmed is working as the Editorial Chair of the Annual Review of Ethnic
Affairs, the only specialized journal in Bangladesh which publishes
research articles on indigenous issues. Email- [email protected]

Zafar Minhaz is a Research Scholar at Aligarh Muslim University,

Aligarh, India. He has keen interest on the issues of Muslims as minorities
in India. He is also associated with several organizations working on the
issues of minorities in India.

Md Afroz, a serious scholar, is Pursuing his M Phil/PhD from Academy

of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He completed
his Masters in Public Administration and Graduation in Sociology from
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He had been associated and worked with
several research projects. Email- [email protected]

Mohd Asif is Research Fellow in Human Rights from Aligarh Muslim

University, India.

Salil Kader is presently working as Cultural Affairs Specialist, U.S.

Consulate General Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. He served as
Assistant Professor in History, Directorate of Distance Education,
Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad, India.
He has also published several papers on the Muslims and issues
concerning to civil societies. Email- [email protected]
Ph: +91 40 4033 8348, http://hyderabad.usconsulate.gov/.