Maritime India Summit, 2016:-
About:-Maritime India Summit 2016 (MIS 2016) is a maiden flagship initiative of Ministry of Shipping, Government of India that will provide a unique global platform for investors to explore potential business opportunities in the Indian Maritime Sector.
The Summit will showcase exciting investment opportunities in:
- Shipbuilding, Ship Repair and Ship Recycling
- Port Modernization and New Port Development
- Port-based Industrial Development, Port-based Smart Cities and Maritime Cluster Development
- Hinterland Connectivity Projects and Multi-Modal Logistics Hubs
- Inland Waterways and Coastal Shipping for Cargo and Passenger movement
- Dredging
- Lighthouse Tourism and Cruise Shipping
- Renewable Energy Projects in Ports
- Other Maritime Sector related services (Financing, Legal, Design etc.)
India has 12 Major Ports, administered by the Central Government, and around 200 notified Non-Major Ports, administered by the State Governments. In 2014-15, out of the 200 Non-Major Ports, 69 ports were reported to have handled cargo traffic.
The infrastructure sector, particularly the Maritime Sector, is expected to grow significantly with the increase in international and domestic trade volumes. Since about 95% of India’s trade by volume is via the maritime route (Source : NTDPC), there is a continuous need to develop India’s ports and trade related infrastructure to accelerate growth in the manufacturing industry and to aid the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. Of the total navigable length of 14,500 km, 5200 km of the river and 4000 km of canals can be used by mechanized crafts. Freight transportation by waterways is highly underutilised in the country as compared to countries and regions like the United States, China and the European Union. India has recognized 106 waterways of which 6 are declared as national waterways. Economic viability of a waterway to carry traffic as an alternative to rail and road depends on its length which should be a minimum 500 km and 250 km for both cases respectively. Apart from this, it should have a large hinterland coverage area and potential in order to generate enough traffic on routes.
Globally domestic waterways are found to be cost effective as well as environmentally friendly means of transporting freight. This is also true in India – for instance, the cost of moving coal via coastal shipping is one-sixth of the cost of moving it by the currently preferred means of railways.
Key Initiatives
- Development of NW5 – The significance of NW5 lies in its location close to Talcher-Paradip region which is abundant in resources and industries and therefore provide opportunities for evacuation of different commodities including thermal coal, coking coal and iron-ore. Financial considerations in terms of revenue and expenditure for both the barge owners and IWAI present a strong case for moving cargo on NW5 after relevant infrastructural improvements. A number of steps in terms of infrastructural projects are required to be undertaken to make the project feasible. These include dredging to ensure minimum draft of 2.5-3 m and ensuring channel width of 55-60 m. Other steps include building atleast 5 barrages or navigational locks and a barge jetty/terminal at Paradip, Talcher and Kalinganagar.
- Development of NW4 – This waterway which connects the upcoming capital of Amaravati to the coastal parts of the state is extremely important for the development of new industrial hinterlands proposed under the various nodes of Visakhapatnam Chennai Industrial Corridor. The stretch will have a potential to transport 3-5 MTPA of bulk commodities by 2020.
- Development of NW2 – This waterway, stretching for a distance of 891 km from Dhubri to Sadiya, has immense potential to cater to the traffic in the north eastern region of the country. Basic commodities like foodgrains, fertilizers, etc. can be transported through the route.
- Development of NW1 – With a length of 1620 km, NW1 is the longest waterway in India. It is a stretch of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hoogly river system from Allahabad to Haldia. Key opportunities lie in 11 major power plants being located on the banks of NW1 with a cumulative capacity of 12,000 MW as well as multiple chemical and food exporters in UP and West Bengal.
India’s economy has surged ahead in recent years. The pressures of a growing economy have naturally pushed its transport system to full capacity. The movement of bulk commodities is one of the major responsibilities of India’s transportation system. Thermal coal alone accounts for around 61 percent of the freight volume on the Indian Railways and 24 percent of the seaport freight mix.Water currently contributes less than 10 percent to India’s modal mix. China uses its inland waterways to transport raw material and finished goods between Eastern and Western provinces; water contributes 24 percent to China’s freight modal mix. Australia carries 17 percent of goods through coastal shipping. In Germany, 11 percent of goods are moved through inland waterways and coastal shipping. A strong economic case for coastal movement can be made for most of the key commodities.
The Indian Shipbuilding and Ship Repair industry primarily comprises firms that develop, build and repair – ships, underwater equipment and naval architectures for the shipping industry, fishing industry, naval defence and extraction of ocean resources. A growing Indian economy, favorable government policies and incentives framework, a long coastline and growing sea borne trade present a huge business opportunity within the Indian Shipbuilding Ship Repair and Ship Recycling industry.
Three marine clusters for India could include:
- Gujarat – Combining the steel cluster at Hazira, upcoming automobile cluster at Sanand, Shipyard at Pipavav, Ship-breaking yard at Alang, and Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.
- Tamil Nadu – Combining the automotive clusters at Chennai and Ennore and proposed new steel cluster near Chennai/Ennore.
- Andaman & Nicobar Islands – Marine cluster to leverage the potential of the region for tourism and possibly MRO services for ships passing through the international east-west trade route
Green initiatives for Major Ports:
- In order to promote the use of green energy at the Major Ports, the Ministry of Shipping has recently introduced an incentive scheme under which the Ministry will share up to 50% of the total project cost that promote the use of green energy, such as, waste water treatment, renewable energy generation and the use of Bio-diesel. Each Port will be given a financial grant up to Rs 25 crore (US$ 4 Million) for undertaking these projects.
Marine environmental pollution monitoring:
- Anti-fouling System Convention of International Maritime Organization has been incorporated in the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
- Anti-fouling certificates will be issued to all Indian vessels bearing 400 gross tonnage or more.
Use of bio-diesel at Haldia Dock Complex:
- Environment friendly, bio-diesel is used for operations of locomotives.
- It has resulted in reduction in the consumption of high speed diesel and in turn reduced environmental pollution.
Lighthouse Tourism
India has as many as 189 lighthouses dotting its vast coast line including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea. Steeped in rich maritime heritage, each lighthouse has a tremendous tourism potential.
The Ministry of Shipping through the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) has drawn up a programme for developing tourism in the land adjacent to 78 lighthouses, in the first phase, under Public Private Partnership (PPP). The key objective of this initiative is to enhance development of the existing lighthouses and its surrounding areas into a unique maritime tourism landmark. This initiative also offers investment opportunities related to development of hotels, resorts, viewing galleries, adventure sports, thematic restaurant and allied tourism facilities at the proposed lighthouse location
Facts and Figures of Indian Maritime Sector:-
- India is one of the fastest growing major economies in the world with an expected GDP growth rate of 7.5% in 2015-16
- India’s long coastline of 7,517 km and a navigable inland waterways of 14,426 km offers immense potential for development
- 4th most attractive FDI destination in the World as per UNCTAD
- Over the last decade, seaborne trade has grown at twice the global growth rate of 3.3%
- Maritime Container trade has grown at 6.5%, which is higher than the world average of 5.4% over the past 10 years (FY 2005 – 2015)
- Cargo traffic at Indian ports has doubled to 1 billion tonnes per annum over the last decade (FY 2005 – 2015) and is expected to reach 1.7 billion tonnes per annum by 2022
- US$ 2.6 Bn invested in Ports and Shipping sector between 2011 and 2014
- 150 + projects identified in Indian maritime sector offering numerous investment opportunities.
Major Ports in India:-
Ancient Ports of India:-
- Barygaza – which today is known as Bharuch in Gujarat;
- Lothal in Gujrat
- Muziris which today is known as Kodungallur near Cochin in Kerala;
- Korkai which is today’s Tuticorin;
- Kaveripattinam which is in Nagapattanam District of Tamil Nadu;
- Arikamedu which is in Ariyankuppam District of Puducherry
National Agriculture Market(NAM)
Background:-
Details :-
With nearly 58 per cent of its people continuing to depend upon agriculture for their livelihood, the critical role of the sector cannot be gain said. Agriculture sector is also highly vulnerable to the vicissitudes of nature that impact the crop enterprise at its production stage.
Further, the sector is also exposed to the current weaknesses of the agricultural marketing system. The annual income of a farmer depends upon both yield and the price that his produce fetches. While the Government has rolled out large number of programmes to improve yield levels on a sustainable basis, it recognises the need for creating a competitive market structure in the country that will generate marketing efficiency. Only when the market is integrated over space and time, can market efficiency be realised.
Integration of agri-markets across the country through the e-platform is seen as an important measure for overcoming the challenges posed by the present agri-marketing system namely – fragmentation of State into multiple market areas, each administered by separate APMC, multiple levy of mandi fees, requirement for multiple license for trading in different APMCs, licensing barriers leading to conditions of monopoly, poor quality of infrastructure and low use of technology, information asymmetry, opaque process for price discovery, high level of market charges, movement controls, etc. The need to unify the markets both at State and National level is, therefore, clearly the requirement of time, in order to provide better price to farmers, improve supply chain, reduce wastages and create a unified national market.
For integration with the e-platform the States/UTs will need to undertake prior reforms in respect of (i) a single license to be valid across the State, (ii) single point levy of market fee and (iii) provision for electronic auction as a mode for price discovery. Only those States/UTs that have completed these three pre-requisites will be eligible for assistance under the scheme.
The e-marketing platform should promote reform of the agricultural marketing sector and apart from promoting free flow of agri commodities across the country should result in greater farmer satisfaction as the prospects for marketing of his produce would be significantly enhanced. He will have improved access to market related information and better price discovery through a more efficient, transparent and competitive marketing platform which gives him access to a greater number of buyers within the State and from outside, through transparent auction processes. It would also increase his access to markets through warehouse based sales and thus obviate the need to transport his produce to the mandi.
The Why , What and How:-
Why is the National Agriculture Market (NAM) a necessity today?
The purpose behind NAM is the creation of a common national market for agricultural commodities through an e-platform network. At present, agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) regulate market yards, limiting the scope of trading in agricultural commodities at the first point of sale where farmers bring in their produce following the harvest at a mandi located nearby. Mandis located across a state are not integrated and there are substantial transaction costs for moving the produce from one mandi to another within a state. Separate licences for each mandi are required for trading in different market areas within a state. This has led to a highly fragmented market and there is a high transaction cost for buying and selling agricultural commodities. Besides, it creates barriers for free movement of agricultural goods across the country.
NAM is an online platform with a physical market or mandi at the backend. Agriculture ministry officials say that NAM is not a parallel marketing structure but rather an instrument to create a national network of physical mandis which can be accessed online. According to the official document, NAM seeks to leverage the physical infrastructure of mandis through an online trading portal, enabling buyers situated even outside the state to participate in trading at the local level.
What is the government’s plan for developing NAM?
The electronic platform under NAM is being created through a special software developed by the agriculture ministry and the same is provided to each mandi—which agrees to come on board—free of cost. There are some basic criteria for a state to integrate into NAM. For instance, the concerned state must amend its APMC Acts by bringing in provision for electronic trading. Besides, states must provide a single licence to anyone willing to trade through NAM in a local mandi.
The agriculture ministry is aiming at integrating 200 markets in NAM by September 2016; 200 more regulated markets would be integrated with NAM by March 2017 and the rest 185 markets by March 2018.
How will NAM function and what are the benefits that it would bring?
NAM increases the choice for a farmer after he brings in his produce to a mandi. Local traders can bid for the produce, as also traders on the electronic platform sitting in other states. The farmer may choose to accept either the local offer or online. In either case, the transaction will be on the books of the local mandi and they will continue to earn the transaction fee. With more mandis coming onto the NAM platform, the volume of business will significantly increase, as there will be greater competition for specific produce, resulting in higher transaction fees for a mandi. Agriculture ministry officials say that the gradual integration of all major mandis into NAM e-platform would ensure common procedures for issue of licences, levy of fee and movement of produce.
Over 5-7 years, the ministry expects significant benefits through higher returns to farmers, lower transaction costs for buyers, and stable prices and availability to consumers. “NAM will also facilitate the emergence of integrated value chains in major agricultural commodities across the country and help promote scientific storage and movement of agri goods,” the official document on NAM notes.
Does this imply that various taxes and levies imposed by APMCs will be subsumed in NAM?
According to agriculture ministry officials, NAM—which is currently being implemented through the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (a body under the agriculture ministry)—would not lead to reduction in various levies imposed by states besides mandi taxes. However, because of single registration given to traders in a state, this would lead to payment of mandi taxes only at one place even if the concerned trader is buying commodities through the NAM platform in multiple markets across a state. The government is aiming at reduction in taxes and levies imposed by states in the next phase of reforms.
How will quality checks and payment systems work under NAM?
The concerned APMC—which has agreed to be part of NAM—will ensure quality standards of agricultural goods sold through its platform. NAM envisages harmonisation of quality standards of agricultural produce and provisions of assaying (quality testing) infrastructure in every market to enable informed bidding by buyers. By end-March, as many as 14 states amended their respective APMC Acts for making provisions for e-trading. These are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Telangana and Uttarakhand.
Are existing APMCs or mandis capable of handling NAM?
Experts say that infrastructure available for NAM at local markets varies from state to state. The NAM platform is being supported by agriculture ministry, which is bearing maintenance costs for each mandi. The integration cost for local mandis and customisation of software, training, etc, will also be paid for by the ministry as a one-time grant of around R30 lakh at the time of accepting the mandi in the national network. However, the running costs of the software at the local level, staff costs for quality check, etc, will be met with the transaction fee to be generated through the sale of produce. The key reason behind this support is to avoid any upfront investment by the mandi when it integrates into NAM, and enable it to support the running cost through additional generation of revenue.
How will NAM operate in the current form?
The 21 mandis where NAM is being formally launched would offer trading in commodities such as chana, castor seed, paddy, wheat, maize, onion, mustard and tamarind. But fruits and vegetables, where there often are prices fluctuations, are yet to be included in the NAM platform. Besides, the country’s two biggest mandis—Azadpur (Delhi) and Vashi (Mumbai)—have not yet agreed to come on board. A number of states which have amended their APMC Acts are yet to make changes for allowing the sale of fruits and vegetables through e-trading platform. Farmers face price volatility in selling fruits and vegetables as these are perishable, while in case of other commodities such as grains and pulses there are several traders involved in procurement.
What needs to be done from here?
Experts say that as long as fruits and vegetables are kept outside the purview of NAM, the volatility in prices would continue, thus depriving farmers from getting better prices. Barriers hampering interstate transfer of agricultural commodities also have to be removed. High taxes and levies imposed by states such as Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh on agricultural commodities trade have to be brought down; this would boost interstate trade and farmers’ income.
World output faces risk of 3.9 % drop by 2021
The decline in oil prices has helped countries such as India improve their external positions, but low commodity prices have kept risks elevated in emerging market economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest Global Financial Stability Report.
- The financial stability report assesses the risks faced by the global financial system and the current edition surveys the issues that surfaced since October 2015.
- The spill-over effects of the growing uncertainty about China’s economy and setbacks to growth and confidence in advanced economies are other factors undermining global financial stability. These developments tightened financial conditions, reduced risk appetite, raised credit risks and stymied balance sheet repair.
- Global output could decline 3.9% by 2021 if action isn’t taken to address the risks faced by the financial system.
The main message of this report is that additional measures are needed to deliver a more balanced and potent policy mix for improving the growth and inflation outlook and securing financial stability. In the absence of such measures, market turmoil may recur. However, if timely measures are taken, world output could expand by 1.7%, relative to the baseline, by 2018.
The report identifies a window of opportunity in the current economic recovery to deal with what it calls a “triad of global challenges,” namely, the legacy issues in advanced economies, vulnerabilities in emerging markets and greater systemic market liquidity risks. IMF suggests that in advanced economies, banks must deal with bad assets and other legacy issues.
Recent Posts
- India’s telecom market has seen monopoly as well as hyper-competition.
- Twenty-five years ago, the government alone could provide services.
- Ten years later, there were nearly a dozen competing operators.
- Most service areas now have four players.
- The erstwhile monopolies, BSNL and MTNL, are now bit players and often ignored.
- India is ranked second globally—after China—in the number of people connected to the internet. However, it is also first in the number of people unconnected.
- Over 50% of Indians are not connected to the internet, despite giant strides in network reach and capacity.
- India’s per capita or device data usage is low. It has an impressive 4G mobile network. However, its fixed network—wireline or optical fibre—is sparse and often poor.
- 5G deployment has yet to start and will be expensive.
Context
Sunil Mittal, the chairman of Bharti Airtel, said recently that it would be “tragic” if India’s telecom-access market was to be reduced to only two competing operators. He was probably referring to the possible exit of the financially-stressed Vodafone Idea and the increasing irrelevance of government-owned operators, BSNL and MTNL. This would essentially leave the market to Reliance Jio and Airtel. A looming duopoly, or the exit of a global telecommunications major, are both worrying. They deserve a careful and creative response.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]Thus Far
The reduced competition is worrying. Competition has delivered relatively low prices, advanced technologies, and an acceptable quality of services. These gains are now at risk. There is a long way to go in expanding access as well as network capacity.
The Indian Telecom Irony
Vodafone Tragedy
Filling the gaps in infrastructure and access will require large investments and competition. The exit of Vodafone Idea will hurt both objectives. The company faces an existential crisis since it was hit hardest by the Supreme Court judgment on the AGR issue in 2019, with an estimated liability of Rs 58,000 crore.
The closure of Vodafone Idea is an arguably greater concern than the fading role of BSNL and MTNL. The government companies are yet to deploy 4G and have become progressively less competitive. Vodafone Idea, on the other hand, still accounts for about a quarter of subscriptions and revenues and can boast of a quality network.
It has been adjudged the fastest, for three consecutive quarters, by Ookla, a web-service that monitors internet metrics. India can ill-afford to waste such network capacity. The company’s liabilities will deter any potential buyer.
Vodafone+MTNL+BSNL ?
A possible way out could be to combine the resources of the MTNL and BSNL and Vodafone Idea through a strategic partnership. Creative government action can save Vodafone Idea as well as improve the competitiveness of BSNL and MTNL.
It could help secure government dues, investment, and jobs. It is worth recalling here that, about 30 years ago, the Australian government’s conditions for the entry of its first private operator, Optus, required the latter to take over the loss-making government satellite company, Aussat. Similar out-of-the-box thinking may well be key to escape the looming collateral damage.
It is not trivial to expand competition in India’s telecom market. Especially since there are no major regulatory barriers to entry anymore. Any new private player will be driven largely by commercial considerations. Global experience suggests that well-entrenched incumbents have massive advantages. New players are daunted by the large investments—and much patience!—needed to set up networks, lure existing customers and sign new ones.
However, regulators and policymakers have other options to expand choice for telecom consumers. Their counterparts in mature regulatory regimes—e.g., in the European Union—have helped develop extensive markets for resale. Recognising the limited influence of smaller players, regulators mandate that the incumbent offer wholesale prices to resellers who then expand choice for end-users.
This has been virtually impossible in India. There is a near absence of noteworthy virtual network operators (VNOs) and other resellers. A key barrier to resale is India’s licence fee regime which requires licence-holders to share a proportion of their revenues with the government. Thus, resale could hurt exchequer revenues unless resellers are subject to identical levies. Understandably, the levies—and consequently additional reporting and compliance—is a disincentive for smaller players. The disincentive flows from levies based on revenues which comes with considerable costs of compliance. It would almost vanish if the levies were replaced by say, a flat fee computed objectively.
The ball is in the court of the regulator and the government. They have options. But will they take decisive action to exercise them? It will be ‘tragic’ if they can’t.
INTRODUCTION
Since most of the early scholars, researchers and historians were men, many aspects of society did not find a place in history books. For example, child-birth, menstruation, women’s work, transgenders, households etc. did not find much mention.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]Rather than building a holistic picture of the past, some select aspects such as polity and the different roles of men became the central focus of history writing. Women were confined to one corner of the chapter where a paragraph or two was devoted to the ‘status and position of women’.
Even the details of these paragraphs were hardly different from each other. This made it look like as if history (and thereby society, polity, economy and all culture) belonged to men while women were only a small static unit to be mentioned separately. Of course, there were some exceptions, but these were however rare. This practice is being corrected now and the roles and presence of women are being read into all parts of historical questions.
SOURCES FOR UNDERSTANDING GENDER HISTORY
Sources are the bases of history writing. From simple pre-historic tools to abstruse texts, everything can be utilized to understand life and roles of women in history. The presence as well as the absence of women from sources needs to be duly noticed, deliberated and argued upon and only then to be theorised upon.
Certain objects being directly related to the lives of women or depicting the ideas of the female principle are of central importance. These include but are not limited to female figurines, art objects, texts attributed to or authored or compiled by women, monuments created by or for women, various objects relating to their lifestyle, objects associated with women on account of their cultural roles and so on.
It has been rightly pointed out by Uma Chakravarti that much of the gender history written in early phase was a ‘partial view from above’. This referred to the utilization of select textual sources and focused only on relational identity of women. There were, however, a few exceptions.
GENDER HISTORIOGRAPHY
Amongst the many narratives propagated to denigrate Indian civilization and culture by the British colonial rulers, the condition of Indian women became a point of central reference. Various social evils that made the life of women miserable were pointed out and efforts were also made to introduce ‘reforms.’ Sati, child-marriages, imposed widowhood, polygamy, dowry, educational and economic inequality, purdah (ghoonghat) and many other practices prevailed during the colonial period that made the life of women difficult and pitiable.
Some practices affected women of higher social and economic households while others led to misery for poorer women. Many social reform movements were started in the 19th century to address these issues and contributions were made by Indian reformers as well as British officials and other Europeans.
Women in India came to be treated as a homogeneous category and over generalisation became the norm. While many communities in India practised widow remarriage and did not practise (much less forced) sati and while some practised divorces or separation, the image of the Indian woman who had been subjugated as woman, wife and widow became a dominant theme in history writing.
Secondly, a western vision was placed over the non-western societies and hence interpretations were far removed from the context. For example, notion of stridhan was equated with dowry and little regard was paid to the provisions regarding its use and ownership by women.
The huge social stigma that came along with the selling of jewellery of the household (one of the main components of stridhan) was paid no attention to. Similarly, penal provisions listed by ancient texts for misappropriation of women’s property were not even looked into.
During the Paleolithic age, hunting and gathering was norm. However much importance was given to Hunting than gathering in all literature of history. Studies, however, show that hunted prey formed only 35% of the diet while gathering fruits and other edible material supplied the major portion. Gathering of food resources was ordinarily done by women. Since gathering was an important activity, more than hunting for game, it could point to significant role playing by women.
The gendered understanding of Harappan civilization is being built upon and various archaeological remains have been studied in this respect. The female figurines, idols of pregnant women, the statue of the ‘dancing girl’, various pieces of jewellery and personal belongings that have been discovered at various sites and offer useful insights on the public and private lives of women and men.
The statue of a girl obtained from Mohanjodaro has been called a ‘dancing girl’ on grounds of familiarity with the institution of devadasis in the later times. Such backward looking explanations are problematic.
There is a wide variety of terracotta female figurines that have been found at different sites right from the pre-Harappan times. Women figures are found suckling a baby, holding utensils, kneading dough, nursing infants, carrying objects like drums, seated figures for board games, with steatopygia (fat deposition on the hips and elsewhere), with floral head-dresses and in many other forms.
Even figurines of pregnant women are quite common. However, most of these have been uncritically associated with fertility, religiosity and reproductive ideas, and have been passed off as representations of the Mother Goddesses. While some of them were votive objects, others are held to be toys or other utilities. The focus on female form has been so stereotypical that women have been seen as associated only with home, hearth, fertility, sexuality and divinity. So much so that sometimes even male figurines in assumed womanly roles were classified as female figurines.
POSITION OF WOMEN IN EARLY INDIA
The first literary tradition in the Indian subcontinent (and the oldest in the world) is that of the Vedic corpus. From the four Samhitas to the Upanishads, we find many interesting references to women in various roles. Some of these women have left their mark on the cultural heritage to this day and are remembered in various ritual and social contexts. Their names, stories, some highly revered hymns, and other interesting facets are mentioned in the Vedic corpus.
The Vedic literature has been classified as Early Vedic and Later Vedic. The Rigvedic society and polity seems to be teeming with life and agro-pastoral economy was enmeshed in close kinship ties. Women as well as men participated in society, economy and polity. Some of the most revered hymns including the gayatri mantra are ascribed to women.
Various natural phenomena are depicted as Goddesses and they are offered prayers. While quantitative analysis highlights the predominance of Indra, Agni, Varuna and other male gods, the power and stature of the goddesses is equally well established.
Women participated in all three Vedic socio-political assemblies viz. Sabha, Samiti and Vidhata. They had access to education and were even engaged in knowledge creation. They could choose to be brahmavadinis with or without matrimony.
Hence, there is no reason to believe that they were only confined to home and hearth. T. S. Rukmani attempts to understand if women had agency in early India. Her work has highlighted many interesting details. The author acknowledges the fact that though the patriarchal set up put women at a loss, there were instances where women found space to exercise their agency.
She points out that though the texts like the Kalpasutras (Srautasutras, Dharmasutras and Grhasutras) revolved around the ideology of Dharma and there was not much space to express alternative ideas, still these works also find some leeway to express ideas reflecting changed conditions.
For example, there is a statement in the Apastamba Dharmasutra that one should follow what women say in the funeral samskaras. Stephanie Jamison believes that in hospitality and exchange relations, women played an important role. She says that the approval of the wife was important in the successful completion of the soma sacrifice. In another study it has been shown that women enjoyed agency in deciding what was given in a sacrifice, bhiksha to a sanyasin. The men had no authority in telling her what to do in these circumstances.
Vedic society was the one which valued marriage immensely. In such contexts, Gender Perspectives if a woman chose not to marry, then it would point to her exercising choice in her decision to go against the grain and remain unmarried.
Mention may be made of Gargi. She was a composer of hymns and has been called a brahmavadini. This term applies to a woman who was a composer of hymns and chose to remain unmarried, devoting herself to the pursuit of learning.
Similarly, in the case of Maitreyi, she consciously opts to be educated in the Upanishadic lore and Yajnavalkya does not dissuade her from exercising her choice.
The statement in the Rigveda that learned daughters should marry learned bridegrooms indicates that women had a say in marriage. Though male offspring is desired, there is a mantra in the Rigveda, recitation of which ensures the birth of a learned daughter.
Altekar refers to the yajnas like seethayagna, rudrayajna etc. that were to be performed exclusively by women. Some of the women were known for their exceptional calibre, for example, from the Rigveda Samhita we find mention of women like Apala, Ghosha, Lopamudra, Gargi, Maitreyi, Shachi, Vishwavara Atri, Sulabha and others.
Women have not only been praised as independent individuals but also with reference to their contributions towards their natal or marital families.
The Later Vedic literature shows the progression towards a State society with a change in the organization of the society and polity. The chief comes to be referred to as bhupati instead of gopati. However, within the twelve important positions (ratnis) mentioned, the chief queen retains a special position under the title mahisi.
The importance of the chief queen continued as gleaned from several references to them in the Epics, Arthashastra and even in coins and epigraphs from early historical times.
The other Samhitas also refer to women sages such as Rishikas. The wife is referred to as sahadharmini. Brahmanas or the texts dealing with the performance of the yajna (Vedic ritual), requires a man to be accompanied by his wife to be able to carry out rituals.
For example, Aitareya Brahmana looks upon the wife as essential to spiritual wholesomeness of the husband. However, there is a mention of some problematic institutions as well.
Uma Chakravarti has pointed towards the condition of Vedic Dasis (female servant/slave) who are referred to in numerous instances. They were the objects of dana (donation/gift) and dakshina (fee).
It is generally believed that from the post Vedic period the condition of the women steadily deteriorated. However, Panini’s Ashtadhyayi and subsequent grammatical literature speak highly of women acharyas and Upadhyayas.
Thus, the memory and practice of a brahmavadini continued even after the Vedic period. The Ramayana, Mahabharata and even the Puranas keep the memory of brhamavadini alive.
Mention may be made of Anasuya, Kunti, Damyanti, Draupadi, Gandhari, Rukmini who continued to fire the imagination of the poets. Texts show that the daughter of Kuni-garga refused marriage because she did not find anyone worthy of her.
The Epics also mention women whose opinions were sought in major events. For example, after the thirteen years of exile, while debating upon the future course of action regarding the restoration of their share, the Pandavas along with Krshna asks Draupadi for her views. Similarly, when Krishna goes to the Kaurava’s court to plead the case of Pandavas, Gandhari is called upon to persuade her sons to listen to reason.
Since a woman taking sanyasa was an act of transgression, one can explore women’s agency through such instances. In the Ramayana, Sabari, who was the disciple of Sage Matanga, and whose hermitage was on the banks of river Pampa was one such sanyasin.
Such women find mention in Smriti literature and Arthashashtra. Kautilya’s prohibition against initiating women into Sanyasa can make sense only if women were being initiated into sanyasa. He advises the king to employ female parivrajakas as spies.
Megasthenes mentions women who accompanied their husbands to the forest, probably referring to the Vanaprastha stage. Another category of literature called Shastras that comprises of sutras (aphorisms) and the smriti texts (‘that which is remembered’) becomes important in the postVedic period.
These textual traditions cover many subjects relating to the four kinds of pursuits of life referred to as purusharthas (namely dharma, karma, kama and moksha). In all these texts we find very liberal values and freedom for both women and men.
The setting up of a household is seen as an ideal for men as well as women (though asceticism for learning is equally praised for both). For example, Apastambha Sutra opines that rituals carried out by an unmarried man do not please the devatas (divinities). Similarly, Manusmriti provides that ‘for three years shall a girl wait after the onset of her puberty; after that time, she may find for herself a husband of equal status. If a woman who has not been given in marriage finds a husband on her own, she does not incur any sin, and neither does the man she finds’
Thus, we see that women enjoyed choice in matters of matrimony. It is interesting to note that unmarried daughters were to be provided for by the father. In fact, daughter is stated to be the object of utmost affection. Should a girl lose her parents, her economic interests were well looked after. It was provided that from their shares, ‘the brothers shall give individually to the unmarried girls, one-quarter from the share of each. Those unwilling to give will become outcastes’
With regards to defining contemporary attitude towards women, Apastambha Sutra prescribed that ‘All must make a way for a woman when she is treading a path.’ Later Dharmashastra also makes similar statements.
Yagnavalkyasmriti mentions that ‘women are the embodiment of all divine virtues on earth.’ However, there are several provisions that look problematic.
On one hand, we have reverence assigned to the feminine (divine and worldly) and important roles being played by them, on the other hand we have questionable provisions and descriptions like right to chastise them through beating or discarding.
The post-Vedic phase from 6th century BCE onwards is also rich in literary traditions with ample depictions of women. Interestingly, we have an entire body of literature that is ascribed totally to women who became Buddhist nuns. These are referred to as Therigathas i.e. the Songs of the Elder Bhikkhunis (Buddhist Women who joined the Sangha).
The Arthashastra Gender Perspectives gives us information on women who were engaged in economic activities of various kinds. They formed a part of both the skilled and the unskilled workforce. They were into professional as well as non-professional employment.
Some of their vocations were related to their gender, while the others were not. There were female state employees as well as independent working women. Similarly, some of them were engaged in activities which though not dependent on their biological constitution are nonetheless categorized as women’s domain, e.g. domestic services etc. Some of them were actual state employees, while some others were in contractual relations with the State. For example, we have female bodyguards and spies in the State employment.
Jaiswal suggests that these women perhaps came from Bhila or Kirata tribe. Female spies were not only to gather information and relay it to proper source, but also to carry out assassinations. However, a closer look at the text shows that there were different classes of female spies engaged for different purposes. Amongst others ‘women skilled in arts were to be employed as spies living inside their houses’. Others were required to work as assassins. Some were to the play the roles of young and beautiful widows to tempt the lust of greedy enemy.
We also have various Buddhist and Jaina traditions giving us some glimpses of the ideas and institutions of the times. Apart from the orthodox (Vedic and Brahmanic) and heterodox normative tradition we have many popular texts like the Epics in Sanskrit and Jatakas in Pali.
Even Prakrit language has many interesting narratives and poetic texts. The Therigatha by the Buddhist nuns are an interesting literary source that provides us with a glimpse of various women who attained arhantship or similar other stages of Realisation.
The deliberation on the age and deterioration of the body by Ambapali, the non-importance of sensual or bodily pleasures by Nanda, Vimla and Shubha etc points towards the intellectual and spiritual engagements and attainments of women.
It is interesting to note that an absolutely contrary picture is presented by the Jatakas wherein more often than not, women are depicted as evil. It is important to note that women were given an evil aura mostly in their roles as wives or beloveds.
Both the texts and the archaeological remains have been studied by various scholars and opposing interpretations are not rare. For example, on one side Sita (from Ramayana) and Draupadi (from Mahabharata) have been seen as victims of the patriarchal order; on the other hand, they are also represented as selfwilled women.
Draupadi after the game of dice presents herself as a forceful and articulate woman. It’s her wit that saves her husbands from becoming slaves of the Kauravas. Her incensed outrage at the attack on her modesty, her bitter lamentations to Krishna, her furious tirade against Yudhishthira for his seeming inability to defend her honour and many more such instances show her to be an aggressive woman. This persona is juxtaposed to her representations as an ideal wife elsewhere. However, Draupadi is never idealised as a perfect wife who endures the most severe trials without complaint. This honour is reserved for Sita in the Ramayana. She is also presented as a victim like Draupadi and voices her concern at her fate openly. However, her aggression is directed inwards as indicated by her action against the self which culminate in her union with the mother Earth.
Are the limited number of hymns ascribed to the Vedic women a signifier of their general status? Are the goddesses merely representational with no connection to the ideas and behaviour towards women? Did only princesses choose their spouses? Are the warrior women an exception? Such searching questions need to be addressed with due diligence.
While women studies are a good development there is a need to expand the horizons to include other varieties of human existence. We have narratives of fluid sexuality in various texts. The one year of Arjuna’s life spent as Brihallana and rebirth of Amba as Shikhandi are some interesting instances. The artefacts found at the site of Sheri Khan Tarakai include visibly hermaphroditic figurines. There is a need to understand the notions of the feminine, masculine, neuter, and other forms of gender and sexual identities. These will have ramifications for understanding the ideas of conjugality, family, community, society and even polity and spirituality.
CONCLUSION
Human civilisations were built by men as well as women, however, history writing has a huge male-bias. Women were confined to questions of status and position that were largely evaluated in terms of their roles in the domestic sphere.
Their treatment as wives and widows became a central focus of most research alongside their place in ritual or religious context. This made them peripheral to mainstream history. This was questioned by various scholars from time to time and led to the development of gendered understanding of history. Focusing attention on women’s history helps to rectify the method which sees women as a monolithic homogeneous category. Writing gender history has helped in building an image of the past that is wholesome and nuanced.