The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests, under the Chairpersonship of Renuka Chowdhury, Member of Parliament presented its Two Hundred and Ninety-third Report on ‘Forest Fires and its Effect on Environment, Forests, Bio-diversity and Wildlife and remedial/preventive measures’ to both the Houses of Parliament on December 16, 2016.
Uncontrollable and devastating forest fires ravaged the Himalayan states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmirduring February-April 2016. In Uttarakhand alone, the forest fires destroyed nearly 4,000 ha. of forest cover across 13 districts, killed 9 and injured 17 people besides damaging the biodiversity and forest ecosystem beyond repair.
As many as 378 forest fires had broken out in Himachal. Also, the Riasi district in Jammu faced devastation including some forested patch of Trikuta Mountains where the famous Vaishno Devi edifice is enshrined. In view of the enormity of the forest fires this year in the fragile states in the Himalayan region, resulting in heavy loss of lives and extensive damage to the flora and fauna, the Rajya Sabha Committee decided to take up the subject for examination in May 2016.After 6 months, it has presented its recommendations some of which are of far reaching importance. The detailed recommendations are as below.
- The Committee observes that the funds released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to the States and UTs under Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely, Intensification of Forest Management, have shown a declining trend during the last few years, as is evident from the figures provided by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The Committee is at a loss to understand as to why, when most of the concerned States have been asking for additional funds under this scheme, the Ministry has not given priority to this sector. In view of the devastations caused due to the forest fires, particularly this year, the Committee recommends that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change should enhance its budgetary allocation under the Scheme and provide increased allocations under the Scheme to the affected States to enable them to take the requisite measures for prevention and mitigation of forest fires.
- The Committee has been given to understand that Forest Research Institute, one of the oldest forestry institutions in the country, has been undertaking basic research in forest management. However, there seems to be a huge disconnect between the research done by FRI and its usage by the State Forest Departments and other agencies. This has been corroborated by the fact that NDRF, when deployed in Uttarakhand to control the forest fire, complained of having used very rudimentary equipment, whereas FRI claims of having designed and developed efficient fire-fighting tools. Therefore, the Committee recommends to FRI to publicise among all State about the equipment developed by them with a view to control forest fires, so that the concerned States could procure the equipment and use them in case of forest fires.
- The Committee observed that a large number of posts of front line forest staff were lying vacant and expressed doubt about the preparedness of the state forest departments to combat forest fires. The Committee also observed that the recent forest fires may have resulted in adverse impact on many species and desired to know the efforts made by the Government in minimizing the loss. The Committee was informed that the Department was conducting regular surveys with respect to floral as well as faunal species conservation in the state and will undertake more studies focused towards areas where forest fires had been reported. The Committee was also informed that the State Forest Department was taking up soil and water conservation measures in affected areas to check possible negative impact on forests and water resources of the state. Further, a range of local species have been reserved which will be planted to minimize soil screened along with the contour trenches.
- The Committee notes that Indian Institute of Remote Sensing and Wildlife Institute of India have made some very useful suggestions regarding remedial/preventive measures for forest fires, disaster risk reduction, restoration of habitat, wildlife habitat improvement and post fire restoration work. The Committee recommends that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the concerned State Government should take these suggestions into consideration while formulating strategies for prevention, mitigation and fighting the forest fires as well as post fire restoration work.
- The Committee is of the opinion that agencies like NDRF should be deployed in fighting forest fires extremely rarely. Infact, State Governments should be asked to train their fire brigade staff to fight forest fires as they will be in a better position to deal with it. The Committee was informed that Himachal Pradesh has over 600 fire brigade staff. Likewise, all other states will be having their fire-fighting staff who needed to be trained to suit the occasion. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, on priority basis through Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, organize training of fire brigade officers of all the states and equip them with proper forest fire equipment so that they can rise up to the occasion in the event of forest fires and they do not have to depend on outside agencies like NDRF which has already enough duties to perform at national level. The Committee also recommends that the Government should also approach some other fire-prone countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia to understand as to how they deal with the problems of forest fires and study the use of other systems for fighting forest fires such as chemical fogging that is used in these countries.
- The Committee was constrained to note that interest and participation of local villagers/people in dealing with the forest fires and related incidents have gone down. The Committee is of the view that the key issue in forest management is the execution of activities at the grass root level and hence there is an urgent need to restore the social commitment and sense of belongingness of the people towards the forests and their involvement in planning and management of the forests. The Committee is of the firm view that this would also help in minimising the forest fire incidents in the country. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Central Government and concerned State Governments should take immediate necessary steps to involve the local communities, including women, self-help groups and members of Village Panchayats and ZilaParishads in forest management related activities. The Committee also recommends that the State Governments should also incentivise the local people/villagers by creating facilities for them such as schools, hospitals etc. as per the local requirements to motivate and encourage the people to come forward and participate in the process of saving our precious forests from forest fires.
- The Committee is in agreement with the view expressed by various representatives of Civil Society that small fires lit by the villagers in forest areas can spread and result in major forest fires. The need for taking up awareness campaigns among the villagers and exposing them to the devastating and horrifying results of such small fires cannot be over-emphasised. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change must impress upon the State Governments to take all necessary measures in this regard such as posters, slogans, campaigns in schools, hand bill etc. Since visual media is very effective in attracting people towards a cause, it is recommended that the devastating effects of forest fires should also be shown on electronic media in the form of short films, documentaries etc. to make the people aware of the horrifying impacts of forest fires.
- The Committee further recommends that short films/documentaries in regional languages should also be shown periodically and the campaign should be sustained at least period of three to five years so that it can impact the minds of the people and the society at large. The Committee also recommends that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds should also be used for advertisement and awareness campaigns. Further, there should be training and mock fire-drills in schools and colleges. There should also be a dedicated toll free telephone number for reporting incidents of forest fire in each state.
- The Committee is also of the view that people/tourists who come to the hilly areas from the plains, have little awareness about how to behave in the hills. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the State Governments should proactively work towards putting up public signage displaying the requisite messages in areas frequented by the tourists, to make them aware of the norms to be followed in forest areas.
Availability of fire-fighting equipment, kits and training to local people. - The Committee feels that apart from involvement of local communities in forest management and exposing them to devastations of forest fires, there is an urgent need to provide fire-fighting equipment to the people. Further, all persons deployed to fight the fires should be provided some back-pack kits which should contain water, packed food, fire-proof hand gloves and boots, breathing masks, first-aid kits etc. so that they could sustain themselves for longer periods while undertaking the job. Further, since fighting forest fire has its own intricacies, the local communities should be updated with new technology and trained on how to use this equipment so that they could work hand in hand with Government agencies in fighting forest fires, when required.
- Chir Pine needles, which are highly inflammable due to its high resin content, are a prominent factor in occurring and spreading of forest fires. The Committee is in agreement with the view expressed by representatives of some NGOs that the Chir pine needles should be removed and collected frequently. The Committee recommends that the State Governments should consider procuring sweeping machines to clear the roadsides of chir pine needles and dry leaves in vulnerable areas. Further, steps should be taken for incentivising the clearing and collection of pine needles. The Government should also try to involve school children, NCC, NGOs etc. in collection of pine needles. The local communities should also be encouraged by providing remunerative emoluments in the collection process. The Committee also recommends that broad leave trees should be planted in the forests and, after a period of five years, there should be systematic replacement of chir pine trees in the forests by broad leave trees as it has been seen that incidents of fires in latter forests are minimal as compared to chir pine forests.
- The Committee is further of the view that there is high resin content in chir pine needles and there is a need to explore as to how it can be used for other purposes. The Committee recommends that the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change should take up with the concerned Ministries of Government of India to explore as to how best to extract resin from these needles and how, apart from burning fuel, it could be used for other purposes.
- The Committee is of the view that activities relating to collection of pine needles can not only provide employment to a large number of unskilled workers in the hilly states but also get rid of the chir pine needles which play a vital role in spreading of forest fires. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change should take up the inclusion of work relating to collection of chir pine needles as one of the activities under MGNREGA with the concerned Union Ministry so that the State Governments can initiate further action in this regard without any hindrance.
- The Committee is dismayed to note the problems of encroachment of forest land by the people as well as the violation of forest conservation rules in Dehradun and Shimla. Some people purposefully cause fires to encroach on forest land, which sometimes spread to other areas as well. The Committee recommends that the matter needs to be administratively looked into by the concerned State Governments and ensure that there is no encroachment of forest land or violation of forest conservation rules. Municipal and town planning agencies in the States should take effective and practical steps to stop unplanned urbanization and encroachments of forest and open land. Local communities/villagers should be encouraged to report any such incidents to the concerned authorities immediately. The authorities should take prompt action in such cases. Forests are our national property and any attempt to encroach upon them and the consequent fire in forests, whether intentional or unintentional, should be strictly dealt with.Creation of check dams and ponds within the forests.
- The Committee feels that creation of ponds and water harvesting structures within the forest area not only reduces river bank erosion but can be a handy tool for supply of water for dousing forest fires. This would not only reduce dependence on helicopters for supply of water but also readily provide water to the locals within the forest area for fire-fighting. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change should impress upon the State Governments the need to reinvigorate the system of ponds and check dams within the forest areas, so that water is immediately available at hand for making efforts to douse the forest fires. This would also save crucial time which is wasted in bringing water from other far-off resources, and help try to douse the fire in its initial stages and check it from spreading further.
- Fire lines are areas which are cleaned of vegetation for stopping or slowing down a fire in forest areas. The creation of fire lines is critical in wildland fire fighting, because without fire lines, a fire can quickly get out of control. The Committee is of the view that such traditional methods of containing forest fires have stood the test of time and should not be dispensed with. While use of modern technologies for fire alerts etc. is definitely a welcome step, under the present circumstances, over-dependence on technology at the cost of traditional methods should not be encouraged. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change should emphasise upon the State Governments that the traditional forest operations for scientific management of forests including forest floor clearing, controlled burning and creation of water harvesting structures should be reviewed and utilised effectively. The Committee notes that the traditional fire lines are not being cleared due to lack of funds at the disposal of the State Governments. The Committee, therefore, also recommends that adequate budgetary allocations should be made by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the purpose and State Governments should ensure that fire lines, which play a crucial role in preventing spread of fires, are cleared regularly. The Committee also recommends that seasonal training, if required, should be provided to the local people including panchayats and zilaparishads for clearing of fire lines, before the onset of forest fire season.
- The Committee recommends that instead of fire watchers, forest workers and CCTVs, the use of Drones should be encouraged for forest surveillance and monitoring. These drones should be deployed systematically in a day three to four times, or as felt necessary. This would enable the authorities receive much faster information since the drones will be able to go into the interior of the forest areas and send updates of the happenings inside the forests. The State Governments can equip the fire watchers with new technologies so that they can detect any suspicious or untoward incidents and report them to the concerned authorities immediately. This would not only ease the pressure on fire watchers who are pitifully paid and have to sit observing the forests in all climatic conditions but also provide more authentic and accurate data to the Government. It would also enable the State Governments to evolve a quick response system.
- The Committee is shocked to note the gross underestimation of losses due to forest fires. The Government estimation in Himachal Pradesh comes to INR 470 per acre and in Uttarakhand it is INR 400 per acre. The Committee is at loss to understand who will be the actual beneficiary of this gross underestimation. The Committee, therefore, recommends that an independent agency having impeccable credibility must be roped in by the Ministry to estimate the losses in real terms and properly and earmark budget for compensation.
- The Committee is in agreement with the views expressed by the representatives of Civil Society that the impact of forest fire on biodiversity is grossly underestimated and the loss of wildlife was not even by accounted for. The Committee is at loss to understand as to why the Zoological Survey of India and Botanical Survey of India, which are also the arms of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, did not take up any studies on loss of biodiversity of the forest fire affected areas. Even the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change did not take any initiative in this regard. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has also stated that National Biodiversity Authority can take up studies in future on the effect of natural calamities/disasters including forest fires, and remedial/preventive measures thereof on a need basis. The Committee hopes that in future, the Ministry would take a more proactive approach in this regard and recommends that Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change should ask its concerned organisations to undertake, on priority basis, assessment of loss of biodiversity due to forest fires and devise plans to prevent loss of bio-diversity in the event of forest fires so that corrective and preventive measures in this regard could be initiated at the earliest. The Committee further suggests that the Ministry should consider making National Biodiversity Authority the nodal agency for coordinating the efforts made by the different organizations in this regard.
- The Committee is also aware of the availability of natural assets like medicinal and herbal plants in our forests. The Committee feels that there are adequate nurseries in hilly areas which are the banks of medicinal and herbal plants. The Committee is of the view that the Government can also consider incentivising the forest dwellers to grow medicinal plants in the plains. As such it would become a source of earning for local people. Accordingly, in case of occurrence of incidents of fire, they would be worried about their source of income, as a result of which they will take care of the areas and work to ensure that there are no cases of forest fires.
- The Committee is of the view that after forest fires, the earth around the affected areas and the roots of the trees become weak and loose. This also contributes to the landslides in the affected areas in the rainy seasons after the forest fires. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change should impress upon the State Governments that after the forest fires have been brought under control, a quick response system should be put in action and immediate necessary steps should be taken for minimizing the occurrence of landslides in the affected areas. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change should also issue suitable guidelines to the State Governments in this regard.
- The Committee notes that almost all the State Governments have expressed resource crunch and inadequate budgetary allocations to effectively invest in protecting our forests from fires. The Committee observes that in the context of forest fires, the needs of Himalayan states are distinctly different from the other states. The whole country depends upon the services of the Himalayan region since they contribute much more to the forest cover of the country. Accordingly, the Committee recommends that the budget of all the states which are in Himalayan region should be demarcated separately from other states, with specific objectives in mind and the policies and programmes and it should not be clubbed with other states, without taking into account the specific demands of the Himalayan ecosystem. Further, there should be an accelerated system for the devolution of funds to these States to enable them to prioritize the requirements of prevention, mitigation and fighting the forest fires.
- The Committee strongly feels that in this background the ball is in the court of the Central Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to plan to remove dead and fallen tree even in the protected forest areas. The Committee recommends that in the light of Supreme Court order of 1996, the Central Government is bound to persuade the State Governments and approve their Working Plans for salvaging dead and fallen trees with a view to avoid induced forest fire in future.
The Committee is of the view that forest fires have become an annual feature in the country and have a devastating effect on environment, forest, biodiversity and wildlife. The Committee feels that there is an urgent need to devise a policy with regard to prevention and mitigation of forest fires and recommends that Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change should, at the earliest, come up with a national policy on the subject.
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- 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.