Dalit Women as Political Agents: A Kerala Experience

Author(s): REKHA RAJ

Source: Economic and Political Weekly , MAY 4, 2013, Vol. 48, No. 18 (MAY 4, 2013), pp.
56-63
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly

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REVIEW OF WOMEN'S STUDIES

Dalit Women as Political Agents

A Kerala Experience

REKHA RAJ

Articulating dalit women's experiences by exposing the

developmental and social progress which, or so it has
operations of history by which their struggles were
The much-celebrated idea about Kerala has focused on its
been claimed, has enabled egalitarian modes of
co-opted, subsumed, misrepresented or sometimes
advancement for all social groups. The 1990s witnessed con
erased by mainstream debates and tracing the survival
crete challenges to such a presumption, with dalit voices
strategies by which these women have held attaining
outfresh audibility and force in the Malayali public
against
sphere. The crucial
political suppression and social isolation Èecome illusion of a socially developed "progressive" state
has been exploded through the convergence of critiques from
in contemporary dalit feminist struggles in Kerala. This
diverse marginalised political perspectives, especially those of
paper addresses a complex and vexed question that has
caste and gender.
been evolving and changing, especially in recent
In this paper, I will be attempting to address a complex and
vexed question that has beenthe
decades, namely, how to approach and understand evolving and changing in recent
decades especially, namely, how to approach and understand
specificities of dalit women activists' experiences in the
the specificities of dalit women activists' experiences in the
context of Kerala's politics and social movements.
context of Kerala'sThis
politics and social movements.
Interviews1 undertaken
enquiry attempts to understand the apprehensions and with dalit women activists in Kerala

conflicts within public life for dalit women provide

in me with a useful point
Kerala and of entry into this discussion.
The women we spoke to indicated that dalit women's experi
to show how the "public" itself differs according to
ences closely parallel the experiences of their male counter
one's location.
parts in many respects. Thus, dalit women (and men) have
consistently entered leftist radical politics, indeed, partici
pated in successive waves from the communist movement in
the 1940s and 1950s to the Naxalite movement in the 1960s,
1970s and after, and joined the different forms of alternate
"civil society" politics that emerged in the 1980s, apart from
their more varying roles within dalit politics. Whether in politi
cal or new social movements, we find that the dalit participants
failed to gain mobility precisely because they lacked the eco
nomic, social and symbolic capital to survive the different kinds
of repression or backlashes that each of these movements came
to face.

Narratives2 from the political field of Kerala show that gain

ing well-being through access to social development is largely
connected to public political action. This enables us to explore
the ways in which the very structure of such public actions
disallowed dalits, though they were major participants in such
interventions, from making any significant gains. Dalit women
were part of most of the visible forms of "public action" (such
as dharnas, mass demonstrations, strikes, and so on). But they
remained invisible in both the discourses and the organisa
tional structure of leftist politics at all levels. The field of poli
tics in Kerala was further transformed with the emergence of
alternate political mobilisations in civil society during the
Rekha Raj (rekha.rajy8@[Link]) is a writer, activist and researcher
1980s. Surprisingly, we find similar forms of participation-and
affiliated to the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.
exclusion continuing in these new political contexts as well.3

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 REVIEW OF WOMEN'S STUDIES

This provokes us to emphasise the need to probe more well as taking the form of mass movements against the
closely into the political processes and dynamics that made tion of land, demands for land rights and so on. Throu
dalit women's "politicisation" within mainstream and left dis- prolonged and multiple interventions the dalit intel
courses as well as within alternate political movements so succeeded in posing the caste question as a question o
invisible. This would require that the mechanics of this pro- cracy. In such dalit critiques caste was not merely a
cess and the "rules of the political field" be unearthed. Dalit experience of oppression but the history, myth and cultu
women activists' own accounts of their life and work and poli- social group. This caste identity, dalit writers argued, c
tical experiments, read alongside contemporary political his- community life in urban as well as rural settings (Sa
tory and social transformations in Kerala, clearly indicate the ana and Tharu 2011).
continued invisibility of dalit women in mainstream dis- Such political debates significantly altered the intell
courses. In other words, specific life histories of dalit women domain of dalits and to a certain extent the domain
illuminate the larger history of dalit women's absence-in- edge in the Malayali public sphere,
presence in Malayali politics.
In this paper I would like to look into a few instances, both Feminist Debates and Dalit Women
written and unwritten, where the experiences of dalit women The middle of the 1990s was crucial for the femin
who actively engaged with dalit politics in Kerala, especially ment as well. A feminist social critique began to dev
in recent years, are recorded. Here the attempt is not to solve nificantly in this period. The formation of different fem
the tensions between their public and private lives, much less women's organisations took place. In the 1990s, mo
to open a window onto some sort of pure and unmediated more research-based feminist writings began to app
"dalit women's experience". Rather, this enquiry attempts at towards the late 1990s and in the decade that follow
understanding the apprehensions and conflicts within public found space in mainstream Malayalam journals. A la
life for dalit women in Kerala and to show how the "public" tion of these were produced by women scholars t
itself differs according to one's location. metropolitan universities and research institutions, many of
whom had direct connection with the feminist movements in
Dalit Movements and Debates: A Brief Historical Outline Kerala (Devika and Sukumar 2006).
As dalit theorists have amply shown, the category "dalit" has In fact dalit women5 were present in crucial positions in
been historically arrived at, sociologically described and dis- these women's organisations, such as Kerala Streevedi and
cursively constituted (Guru 2005). The word "dalit"appeared Anweshi. Even so, the question of caste remained unaddressed
in the sociopolitical milieu of Kerala only after the 1970s. The or got marginalised in both feminist debates and practice,
late appearance of the term in Kerala has much to do with the These organisations largely posited essentialist claims of a
particular trajectory of the "renaissance that the state under- homogeneous womanhood, whether in discussions on women's
went which succeeded in camouflaging and silencing many work, sexual violence or the patriarchal oppression of women,
discourses besides the marginalised" (Dasan 2011). "The dalit Let me mention a few examples. A booklet published by Pra
movements which emerged in this period gave priority to and chodan, a feminist organisation from Thiruvananathapuram,
projected mass movements, unlike the obstinate caste and discusses "the limited social spaces allowed for women, which
community leaders of the earlier phase" (Baburaj 2008). Apart are designed in such a way that any men with an immediate
from the organisations based on prior imposed identities and relation with women, could control them with strict meas
categories given to dalits such as depressed classes, scheduled ures". Or again, the word "wife" (bharya in Malayalam) was
castes, harijans (discussed in K Satyanarayana and Tharu 2011) now glossed as "the one who needs to be dominated", by giv
from the 1960s till the middle of 1980s, dalits themselves moved ing up all the romantic attributions created around this posi
towards relatively new modes of theorising caste in the later tion (Indira, not dated). In her note on communal violence,
years. Most of them emerged in response to the left's failure in Sara Joseph writes, "the purity of blood theory of fascism
addressing caste experiences and tried to analyse the Indian chains the womb of women too. It's a patriarchal demand on
caste system by drawing on Marxism and Ambedkarism.4 women's choice that determines which caste, class, race, and eth
New dalit discourses were a phenomenon that first emerged nicity they could conceive in their wombs...Women perceive a
in the public sphere of Kerala during the 1990s, further taking biological capacity to deny all divisions of humankind. This
advantage of the conceptual apparatuses and terms from very natural law of reproduction is being controlled by the
"identity politics" and arguments foregrounding resources and chains of patriarchy for money, power and religious hegemony"
representation. These were more in the nature of initiatives by (Joseph 2002).
small groups, predominantly in the intellectual domain rather In her article on the women's reservation bill, Aleyamma
than mass based movements. These efforts and debates varied Vijayan observes: "The argument for the representation of
from themes such as the recovery of major historic figures; backward castes in Parliament is a good one. But is it not the
entering the savarna cultural sphere of Kerala; rereading re- responsibility of the political parties to ensure seats for the
form projects (Swamy 2011); struggling for equality in the women from backward castes? There is no separate reserva
Christian church (Yesudasan 2010); rejections of a narrowly tion for back word communities in Parliament other than the
economic interpretation of Kerala society (Kapikkadu 2011); as scheduled caste and scheduled tribe community (sc-82, ST-49

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REVIEW OF WOMEN'S STUDIES ;

and OBC-250). So the issue is not legal but rather one of women's subordination. But in spite of this developm
becoming powerful enough to strategically use the bargaining subtle mechanisms of caste were largely overlooked
power of the community to make sure that women from back alysing the women's question and feminist practice,
ward communities are getting more seats than upper caste
women. These unnecessary anxieties (regarding the reserva- History of Dalit Women's Politics
tion of backward caste women within the women's reservation The dalit women who initially associated with the
bill) are not out of concern that the community needs to get movement in Kerala came mostly from a dalit C
sufficient seats for their women counterparts, but result from background. They were active in dalit struggles w
the fear of losing existing constituencies" (Vijayan 1997). church and related institutions. The sort of exposure
In a close analysis of the literature and documents produced of social justice and equality, and the resources, tho
by mainstream women's and feminist movements, one could gre, they could access through their lives in Christia
easily find many topics that have been discussed such as glo- have facilitated their entry to the "general" political d
balisation, women's labour, sexual violence, sex work, gender is to be noted that the dalit women's organisations
relations, poverty, and so on. The observation of Annie Namala with foreign aid during this period were under the lea
is quite applicable to this context. "The practice has been to of the same women, who have not been part of the s
club dalit women issues under the caption of women's issues dalit movements. The support of protestant churche
and discuss them in general terms. They are analysed under lated institutions enabled such initiatives. Dalit Wom
the headers of women in higher education, dropout rates of ety (dws), Anweshi Dalit Women's Documentation
girl children, employment patterns of women, resource alloca- Dalit Development Centre (under the leadership o
tions to women, assets and landownership of women, rape Stephen, Resly Abraham and Achamma John, respe
and atrocities against women, man-woman relationships and came into being in this way. Initially, the dws fo
so on. In this, the movement has not been able to identify that income-generating activities and training for dalit wo
the face behind is that of a dalit woman. While the factors are fore intervening within locally generated caste tension
analysed, dalit women have not been integrated in to this also ran a tuition centre exclusively for dalit students,
analysis and focused up on" (Namala 2008). ter training programmes, along with a dalit study centre
It is also interesting to note that feminists have passively dalit literature camps which provided an ambience for
mentioned the differences of caste and class in these discus- thinking and academic studies. The first dalit women
sions6 (Vijayan 1995; Chandrika 1998). But in practice, caste also was one of their initiatives. Anweshi Dalit Wome
was never an active category necessary for the analysis of mentation Centre concentrated more on cultural in
women's questions. This is clear in the programmes and among dalits. They helped in organising "Terracotta",
agenda setting of feminist organisations, the struggles and dalit art festival in Kerala with a focus on traditional d
protests they undertake, and the discussions going on. I would Dalit Development Centre initiated small studies am
therefore go on to say that the essentialist claims on woman- and functioned as a training centre. All these orga
hood was not a simple universalising move for the purpose of concentrated on giving training for dalit women fo
strategising politics, but has been a more deliberate attempt to skills to help them to find better livelihoods. With all
appropriate the newly emerging criticisms in order to be "poli- tations arising out of the fact that they worked from
tically correct", while not taking any real steps to address welfare mode, their interventions made possible the en
"caste" as a question beyond tokenism. The ideological frame- new political subjectivity - dalit woman - into the di
works of these organisations are such that they have been and public life of Kerala,
inadequate in addressing the question of difference. Whenever
criticisms emerged from various corners, these organisations New Selves, New Arguments
failed to initiate constructive steps towards integrating these The end of the 1990s witnessed the emergence of m
critiques both in theory and practice. bates on dalit women's questions thanks to the writings and
With our entry into the 21st century, debates around worn- interventions of dalit women in Kerala. Emphasising the triple
en's questions started problematising the notion of a homoge- oppression that dalit women faced, and developing a critique
neous Malayali woman. These interventions ranged from of both dalit and feminist movements for being sexist and
queer articulations in Malayali life (Bharadwaj 2007); unrav- casteist, respectively, these debates foregrounded issues of
elling issues in Muslim women's self and the history of Muslim representation, development, dowry, education, social mobil
women's engagements in Kerala (Hussein 2009); the autobiog- ity, and so on, not dissimilar to dalit women's writings on the
raphy of a sex worker who addressed the complexities of man- national scene. On the whole, the oppression of the dalit
woman relationships and critiques of familial relationships in women in India echoes issues such as state violence, denial of
Malayali life (Jameela 2006); the history of the making of land rights, social and legal discrimination, infringement of
"good womn" and "bad women" in the history of Kerala, with an civil liberties, inferior status, dehumanising living and work
emphasis on various locations like caste and its contribution ing conditions, total impoverishment, malnourishment, bad
(Devika 2010). These shifts were concrete enough to challenge health conditions...(Manorama 1992). "We need to analyse
the mainstream feminist debates and their binary analysis of dalit women's issues at two levels, first they belong to dalit

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 REVIEW OF WOMEN'S STUDIES

community, whatever issues faced by the community are her This gives us further insight into how women's h
issues also. Second, there are the problems facing her as a have rendered the experiences and lives of dalit wome
woman. But importance must be given to the caste experi- ible. Dalit women did not come under the term "wom
enees, because the issues faced by a group who had been struc- history written through such prejudices begins with th
turally oppressed is very complex, especially in the current riences and struggles of upper caste women. Their n
societal dynamics" (Baby 1997). "The prevailing situation in drive is their mobility from the kitchen to the performin
our society does not accept dalit women's right to self repre- (adukkalayil ninnu arangatheykku). But the struggle
sentation, self-organisation and self-emancipation. Dalit same period, undertaken by a section of women who
women have been in the forefront of the struggles for chang- denied human as well as womanly status, have yet
ing society. We don't find any dalit women represented in any space in these accounts. The history of slavery still hau
social history or women's history...In short dalit women are ex- women in the form of lack of resources and feelings
cluded from all fields of power"( Stephen 1997). riority (Stephen 2000).
Dalit women's writings produced much criticism of hegem- Thus, we find a different articulation of family and a dif
onic and feminist interpretations of family, marriage and ferent woman's self which were not present in mainstream
women's mobility. Here we could find a shift in articulating feminist debates, even those that foregrounded the complex
gendered experience from an assumed modern "subject" to a problems and changes associated with matriliny. Dalit
self, i e, precisely defined in terms of community identity. This women activists in this period see in the family a means to
politics of difference was the essence of dalit women's criti- attain social status and an institution which provides scope
cism. History plays an important role in determining the social for gaining both economic and social capital. The historical
status of specific groups. The history of slavery is the legacy of denial of family to the slave community kept dalit women
many dalit women in Kerala. Their ancestors went through the away from experiencing the emotional as well as material
experience of being bought and sold in the slave markets at the security of family that the upper caste community enjoyed
will and pleasure of their masters. Lovely Stephen's great through generations,
grand mothers were not allowed to believe in family - they
were mere breeders, not mothers (Stephen 1997). Resly Abra- Further Debates within the'Dalit Self'
ham observes, "dalit women are the owners of a unique and A recent shift in dalit women's writings focuses on question
rich culture which has survived through generations. In that ing the existence of a homogenous and unified dalit woman
tradition, dalit women enjoyed equal status with men in their and defines identity more as a political strategy of resistance
social lives. Dalits have been maintaining strong family rela- and self-definition. In my own work I have tried to explore
tionships and their life is rooted in community life. They had the complexities of the dalit women's self (Raj 2005, 2006,
their own art and music traditions, had a community life of 2012a). A significant issue here is the discussion on the gov
sharing and mutual understanding. But hegemonic religions ernment order9 which directed that the official caste of chil
such as Christianity and Hinduism made this culture inferior dren in an inter caste marriage would be the father's caste,
and weak. So only by recapturing our own culture, could we which I have analysed in relation to intersectional issues of
find a dalit woman's identity. The politics of dalit women is sexuality, choice and essentialist notions of dalit community,
highly linked with their culture. The search of dalit women's In practice, such an order denied the children of dalit women
liberation is closely connected with the development of strong within an inter-caste marriage the community protections
family ideals based on their cultural values".7 and benefits such as reservations and other kinds of educa
Latha T David, a dalit activist who was actively associated tional assistance. Dalit sub-caste groups strongly advocated
with the dalit women's organisations during the 1990s, says for the implementation of the order, because they saw the
"unlike other women, dalit women have strong bonds with very act of such dalit women as being against the interests of
their family. Even though the dalit community has recently the community. Their response effectively suggests a "pun
shown patriarchal values towards its women, it is important ishment" for those who walked out of the community by de
fer dalit women to set up families where the accumulation of priving them of the few facilities enjoyed by the community
wealth and social status can take place. We should recognise so far. Another argument in favour of the order was that the
family as a means for social mobility".8 children growing up in an inter-caste marriage have a much
Shilamma Simon has written better intellectual capacity due to the inheritance from the
higher caste father, hence that they were in fact unfairly tak
Nowadays, the term'woman'denotes an attractive body. But who will . , . , , . , .. , ... ,. , ,
' ' , , , , ,. , ' . . ing away the rights of real dalit children (te, dalit children m
accept Dalit women as women who are unhealthy due to the persist- o j o
ent poverty? But even in this pathetic situation dalit women were lead- endogamous families). These arguments ideologically deny
ers or actively participated in many crucial struggles in Kerala. But the dalit women agency over her body. They are also blind to the
histories never recognise these women. Even C K Janu who was in the "complex symbolic violence which the intercaste married
forefront of land right struggles led by adivasis, is not listed among dalit woman has t0 undergO and negates the right of such
social workers. In short, dalit women are never accepted as women. ^ ^ .
.A71_ , , „ j • * u «.•* 1 women to represent the community and to be the guardian
When the other upper caste women are dreaming of a beautiful r J °
future, dalit women are living with the worries about giving food to of her childr
their children thrice a day (Simon 1998). intercaste marriage as
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REVIEW OF WOMEN'S STUDIES =

prolonged struggle for the withdrawal of the order did not 'All Women Are Upper Caste and All Dalits Are Men'
get much support, other than from some dalit groups and Between Construction and Self-Representations
women's groups, precisely because the demand of gaining re- Kerala witnessed many struggles led by dalit and
entry to one's caste identity does not sit well with the secular groups in the early years of the 21st century. The majo
idealisation of intercaste marriage, whose aim is for a caste- these struggles focused on land rights and some resist
less religion-less society. Rajani Janu has discussed the same sed development projects in the dalit and adivasi sett
problem in relation to the latest judgment by the Patna High sby the state (Muthanga land struggle, Kurichi strug
Court which says that the father be the natural guardian and also find the emergence of various dalit groups like D
that the caste of the father must be considered while giving a Sabha (dms), Dalit Human Rights Forum (dhrm), D
caste certifícate to a child born from an inter caste marriage, ice Society (dss) and Dalit Students Movement (dsm
This judgment is against dalit women's autonomy over her period. The audibility of the dalit sounds became m
body and will affect unwed mothers even more adversely, more voluble in these years as more and more dalit wr
How can one assume the caste of a child who does not even got published in mainstream magazines. Books on and
have an official father? In the context of adivasi unwed moth- writers received attention as well. Multifarious initiativ
ers this judgment is particularly dangerous. It is the best ex- also seen in theatre, cinema and the fine arts.12 Toget
ample to show how power mechanisms treat dalit women constituted a paradigm shift in Kerala's public sphere,
harshly when compared to mainstream women and dalit It was this vibrant ambience which enabled the emerg
males. Here we find a contradiction between the romantici- of new dalit woman activist subjectivities in the publi
sation of motherhood in our culture and how exactly society of Kerala. These new women activists were radically
treats subaltern women (Janu 2004). from the earlier dalit women activists who engaged with the
Resistance towards the stereotypical images of dalit women left and anti-caste movements. Instead of limiting themselv
and moving beyond the simplistic articulations of dalit women's to being silent supporters of these movements, these new po
self is thus present in contemporary dalit women's writing, tical agents have been active and strong. This is not meant
Explorations into the subtle choices that dalit women make, devalue the activists of earlier periods, but rather to note th
within the little space that they steal from a life ruled by the visibility of these newly emergent dalit and adivasi wom
hegemonies of caste and gender are being discussed. The am- political subjects, with most of them being full time activis
biguities of dalit women's self are struggling for articulation They recognise themselves as activists. I will briefly try to ma
(Raj 2012b). their experiences to critically analyse how the caste and gender
Alongside are emerging discussions of human rights per- biases restrain their self-represen
spectives relating to dalit women's life and their struggles, the which popular notions of women p
question of the right to education, right for better health, right exclusionary effects.
to stand against atrocities as in the context of Chengara land Contrary to earlier times these
struggle (Praveena 2008). Raising constructive criticisms of able coverage in media, especially
dalit feminist articulations in Kerala, Sonima observes that the the very modes of such represe
dalit feminism formed during the 1980s blindly followed the highly problematical. Though th
middle class framework of feminism which focuses more on invisibility, the way in which the
personal rights than on community rights, so that the dalit sentations did nothing to break th
feminism in Kerala failed to address some of the ground level or the exotic. It must be noted that
realities that dalit women were facing (Jacob 2012). Critical trayed as "women activists" but r
observations on the historic formation of a dalit Christian self They are always the carriers of com
and its gender ambiguities, it is argued that one cannot sepa- of the desired goals of the communit
rate belief and life of dalit women. Though dalits converted to less emphasised or noticed (Janu
Hindu and Christian religions from their ancestral modes of This imposed a limiting choice of
faith and worship, the caste system was retained within both which explicitly excludes the ca
religions. Even though dalits experienced discrimination in community leader that disallows
their churches, a dalit Christian woman's self is connected to debates on the women's question
belief in a peculiar way (Mathews 2012). Rereadings of the so- "women" does not become clear un
cial reform periods and the role of women as spiritual selves woman" is made, whether knowing
(Ambili 2010); powerful interventions in the field of literary is the case of dalit debates where gen
criticism10 (Sajitha 2012; Shinymol 2008) express voices that neutral until a reference to woma
are different and, at times, even oppose each other. These identities conventionally exclude
characteristics of contemporary dalit women's debates are Thus the referential forms in these
perhaps pointing to its strengths11 (Korote 2011; Raj 2007; Janu follows, such as "dalits and all wom
2004). Drawing on the new dalit feminist debates, I would like its". It is therefore tempting to dra
to look at few specific experiences of dalit women activists of the pioneering books in black w
in Kerala. the women are white, all the blacks are men, but some of us
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 REVIEW OF WOMEN'S STUDIES

are brave" (Hull et al 1982). By way of analogy then "all the management company where I am working now is not
women are upper caste and all dalits are men".13 The observa- enough to send me as an anchor because of my black skin.
tion of bell hooks (hooks 1981) that in the political discourses rise them t0 send me as an anchor' PeoPle WÜ1 ñnd something
. . T, . , _ about my work done. And I am sure that my presence and appearance
in the 20th century just as in 19th century in the United States w¡u deflnitdy djsturb somebody there (Venu 2(m)
the term "woman" has been synonymous with "white women"
and the term blacks synonymous with black men are also rele- This demonstrates how the dalit female bo
vant in this context. We could simply replace the upper caste treated by the mainstream sensibility. This
women with women and dalit men with black men. This am- trivialisation and hypocrisy towards meritoc
bivalence signifies to the possibility as well as the limitations society. She also observes that the so calle
of these activists, in terms of how their identities are consti- Malayali secretly maintains her/his caste se
tuted and over determined. into visibility in intimate private spaces. "For example when
These dalit women activists are raising demands of the we upload photos on Facebook, many people like th
"general rights" sort, but they do not easily fit within the "set of and post positive comments. But in fact they wou
demands" that prior women movements have been raising for discussing negatively about the dark complexion
the last two decades. For instance, by prioritising the question unattractiveness of such bodies" (Venu 2012).
of land for dalit women, these activists are challenging the Entering into public life is considered to be one o
agendas of contemporary mainstream feminism in the Kerala tant markers of social as well as personal mobili
context. In fact, their emergence itself is as a critique of main- "acquired" space enables the exercise of a cert
stream discourses on rights and social equality. To take another power within the limitations allowed for by patriar
example, when dhrm leaders claim that they are Ambedkarite we seldom find this to be applicable to a dalit wom
Buddhists this is a strong enough statement that problematises Saleena Prakkanam shares her views thus: "I am
the usual feminist critiques of religion. movement and I am a woman leader, but who reco
Neither the media nor the authorities, not even the public does
Question of Agency so. It is very difficult to get attention for the words of a lower
A critical review of the constructions around dalit women activ- caste woman. Would anybody have sufficient courage to
ists by mainstream reports exposes how images are imposed Sreemathi or Ayisha Potti, as the police men do to me?"
and built around them. This is quite analogous to Patricia Hill occasion was her interaction with police officials at the dis
Collin's discussions of "controllingimages"14 in the context of headquarters at Pathanamthitta, Kerala, during the Ch
black women in the us (Hill Collins 1990), demanding particu- land struggle. In her autobiography she notes "I have
lar codes, both in public and private lives, in public actions, in enced the limitations of women during the Chengara stru
dress codes and even in the agenda settings of their movements, I was not allowed to take decisions in the committee in
negating room for fluidity in one's life choices or political inter- vanced stage of the struggle. Things worsened so much
ventions. For instance, during kudilkettusamaram (making huts committee members started directing me instead of say
and staying ) in front of the secretariat, one of the main allega- will do it together" (Saleena 2012).
tions against C K Janu was that she wore silk saris and appeared Another struggle Kerala witnessed recently was the
on TV channels with full make up, thus exemplifying the fact by the women's wing of the Kerala Dalit Federation (kdf)
that she is "funded"! Though the adivasi struggle succeeded in were protesting at the ashram guest house by locking
capturing the attention of the "general" public (possibly with guest house manager who had been allegedly harassing
assumptions of being a pure innocent child-like people who women subordinate worker there. This protest evoked cr
need the help of the mainstream to become adults), it exerted from the public as the protesters physically attacked t
an unconscious emotional demand on Janu to mimic the activist ager, an upper caste man, with a broom. The nature of t
model constructed by Kerala's dominant political practices. The test resulted in discussions on the violent form that it to
phobia created around the dress code of dhrm workers is ano- how non-violent it should have been and so on. The
ther case in point in this context. Their uniform, which is made who participated in the protest said that this attack wa
up of a black T-shirt with Ambedkar's image and blue jeans, only option left as they had tried all other Gandhian metho
destabilised the Malayali public's expectations. This is particu- no avail. There were also arguments in favour of the p
larly so in the context of media-driven images of dalit extremism. celebrating it as a typical dalit women's protest. But most o
Analysing the day-to-day experiences of these woman women were unaware of the consequences. It turned out
activists both in defined political spaces and undefined non- many of them simply obeyed directions given by the
political public spaces (where politics are nonetheless still fully counterparts. Many were imprisoned. This instance rai
at work) might further help to bring out the complexities of the important questions regarding dalit women's political
power relations they face. For instance, look at this narration tivity. First it reinforces the stereotypical notion of dalit w
by Saritha K Venu: as being aggressive. Second it leads to the question of agency,
. . , . , . ... , , ,, , 1, or rather its absence, for the participants of the protest.
Yes it is the merit that signifies, I do agree. I have good writing as well ' . . , .
as communicative skills in English, Hindi and Malayalam languages. I fr was the resistance by Chitralekha,
have an 'Akashavani certified' high quality sound too. But the event northern Kerala, which revealed the s
6l
Economic & Political weekly Q259 may 4, 2013 vol xlviii no 18

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REVIEW OF WOMEN'S STUDIES ;

deployment of dalit women's identity in Kerala. From Payyannur, movements have emerged as reactions and resistan
Chitralekha was one of the first women auto drivers to enter a local dynamics of caste and patriarchy. These loc
workplace dominated by men. Right from the beginning there ties of caste and gender and their implications for da
was strong resistance to her entry, with a three month delay in activists in dealing with a more visible "public life"
giving her membership to the autodrivers' trade union. When constant interactions with their community need t
she became a popular auto rickshaw driver, the resistance took stood. This exemplifies how flexible and, at times
a violence turn. On many occasions she was insulted with de- tory a dalit woman's self is.
rogatory caste names and finally they burned down her vehi- Most often these women are the "other" - leaving
cle, depriving her of her only source of livelihood. She contin- than to be either depicted as violent, aggressive,
ued with her struggles with the support of various dalit and women or as the poor victims of state violence
women's groups both inside and outside Kerala (Fact Finding caste exploitation. Thus activists are generally in
Report). The different stages of Chitralekha's ongoing strug- identify as exploited under the caste system, mak
gles shows us the strategic and appropriate use of one's identity claims and seeking recognition from the mains
and her transformation from a "victim self" in to a "political other words the interventions and demands made
agent" through the process of self-representation. In the initial dalit woman activists are articulated by the mains
stage it was a local struggle opposing the atrocities on Chitra- patronising generous manner that refuses these w
lekha, with the support of local human right activists and possibility of having individual interests not dete
small progressive groups. They then invited individuals from their context,
different organisations including dalit, and women's groups.
This support group helped Chitralekha to obtain a rented auto Towards a New Dalit Feminist Criticism
for her survival, followed by a new auto by collecting money Dalit women's writings and interventions in Kerala
from individuals and organisations all over Kerala. In the sec- resistance to the constructions imposed on them,
ond stage Chitralekha's struggle became more visible with the trying for an enabling self-definition. The strugg
support of the media. She could establish a good network with definition not only deconstructs the existing construc
those who politically supported her, including individuals, fem- dalit women but also challenges the authority of
inist groups, dalit groups, youths and other alternate political possess the right to define. This indeed is a strugg
groups. Through this she could strengthen her day to day strug- objectification and towards creative self-articula
gle by ensuring the interventions of her supporters in each oc- riences become primary factors in this process.
casion where she faced problems. Two documentaries made on way means a desire for the fixedness of an exper
tler and interviews published on online sites also helped in ject. As Bell Hooks (1989) points out, the articulat
reaching her struggle to the national level. There was a kind of authority of experience along with the critique of es
high alert in the sense that whenever Chitralekha was reported is the desirable position in self-definition. That i
of being harassed, the response of support came from nation definition must always be in process of critical self
wide groups. Even now her struggle continues. Unlike other is- which opposes reinscribing notions of an authen
sues which often fall under "general" issues familiar in feminist women's identity.
discourses, her struggles defied such generalisations and sue- To conclude, articulating dalit women's experien
ceeded in establishing the issue as a dalit women's issue in all exposing the operations of history by which their
its complex dimensions. The flexibility she was able to show in were co-opted, subsumed, misrepresented or
securing support from differing groups shows the possibilities erased by mainstream debates and tracing the sur
of a political subject transcending the usual stereotypes. gies by which these women have held out against po
This particular Kerala experience is unique. We hardly find pression and social isolation becomes crucial in cont
mass movements or large organisations in Kerala. Most of the dalit feminist struggles in Kerala.

NOTES the immense presence of dalits in the public Kerala. A conversation with them reveals the
aspect of these struggles but who were excluded fact that their caste identity was subsumed in
These interviews were done by Praveena K P
in decision-making bodies of these groups and these groups. They were rather considered as
and myself as part of a research project titled
their intellectual activities. women activists by themselves and their
"Gender Governance or Governing Women?" co-workers.
SEEDIAN, for example, has a vital role in the
Centre for Development Studies Thiruvanan
history of dalit movements in Kerala, which
thapuram. The study focused on various levels
One of the pioneering books on gender and so
formulated a new theoretical perspective for ciety Sthreeyum Samuhavum: Oru Linga Padavi
of dalit women's participation in dalit move
the caste question in the 1970s (Satyanarayana Kazchappadu written by Aleyamma Vijayan
ments. Forty women from various organisa
and Tharu 2011). Dalit intellectuals tried to ends with the note that "caste, class and patri
tions and struggles were interviewed. make a break with Naxalite movements and
archy are equally oppressive-submissive struc
Slogans, songs and stories on different strug
later the break with Marxism itself through tures that have both a material and ideological
gles and movements especially those from left
SEEDIAN. Adhasthitha Navothaana Munnani, base. So the struggles and movements have the
ist groups celebrate the gains which unpri
another organisation formed by Marxist Lenin necessity to realise the interrelations of these.
vileged sections of society accessed through ists, also worked from within a Marxist frame The women's movement cannot alone find a so
different public actions. work, blending it with the caste question. lution to women's issues. We need to associate
Dalit men and women were also active in other Achamma John, Resly Abraham and Inayam with other social movements and political par
alternate movements such as environmental mal were the founder members of Kerala ties in order to build a casteless, class less, gen
movements and struggles, and struggles Sthreevedi - a prominent network of indivi
der equitable society" (Vijayan 1995). In the
against developmental projects. We could see
duals and autonomous women groups - in book titled Keralathile Sthree Vimochanathinte

62 may 4, 2013 vol XLViii no 18 QEE3 Economic & Political weekly

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 REVIEW OF WOMEN'S STUDIES

15 An unpublished interview with Saleena Tharufed.), No Alphabet in Sight: New Dalit

Charithram written by C S Chandrika, it also
discussed about the issue of caste and dalit Prakkanam in 2007. Writing from South India, Dossier - 1: Tamil
feminist criticism of caste (Chandrika 1998). and Malayalam, Penguin Books.
Most of the articles published in mainstream Korote, Simi (2011): Pratheekaatmaka Moolad
journals in Malayalam on women's topics pas hanavum Himasayum, Pachakkuthira, Issue 6,
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alising the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Issue 6.
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Jameela, Nalini (2006): Njaan Laingika Thozhilali Delhi: Penguin Books).
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represented in the conventional usage of the
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term blacks and women. Although it may be
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true that some people mean to include black
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in which the term is used actually suggests
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Janu, C K (2011) : "We Need to Build Huts All Kerala,
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Again and Again", interview with C K Janu by Almond Books).
(Crenshaw 2006). Rekha Raj in Satnarayanan K and Susie Tharu- (2010): Baliyadukalude Vamshaavali (Thiru
14 In her essay "Mammies, Matriarchs and Other (ed.), No Alphabet Sight: New Dalit Writing vananthapuram: Prabhath Book Bouse).
Controlling Images" Patricia Hill Collins gives from South India, Dossier, Tamil and Mala- (2011): "Towards a Prologue to Dalit Studies" in
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can woman. "Portraying African American
Joseph, Sara (2002): "Koduvaalum Garbhapa bet in Sight: New Dalit Writing from South
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women as mammies, matriarch, welfare recipi
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Joseph, Boby (2011): "Thozhil Meghalayile Dalit
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also discussed the ways in which the black Issue 2. vananthapuram: the Book Makers).
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terms of western standards of beauty. Critique" in K Satyanarayana and Susie avum" in Sakhi Newsletter, Vol 1, No 1.

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