In February 2002, the Supreme Court of India passed an order prohibiting state governments and also tribals and other traditional forest dwellers from removing dead, dying trees and grasses and trees felled by winds.
This was followed by a handbook being distributed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) prohibiting tribals and other forest dwellers from utilizing forest produce for their livelihood needs.
In 2004, a Central Empowered Committee (CEC) was appointed by the Supreme Court mandated to prevent any foliage removal in protected forests such as in sanctuaries and national parks. In this, instead of negotiating and protecting forest dwellers and tribals and defining their rights over forests, tribals and forest dwellers were declared by the CEC as encroachment and recommended their immediate eviction.
The Centre for Equity Studies (2007) reports that India’s protected areas are inhabited by about 4 million people in total, who depend on the forests for crucial livelihood needs such as food and firewood. Here, instead of eviction, protecting forest dwellers and their rights over forests can become a more important issue in policies regarding forest conservation.
Legislation in India for Forest Conservation
The chief legislative document in India for forest conservation is the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, which was enacted on October 25th, 1980 (GoI, 2013). This was followed by many amendments to the Act, a framework provided in the form of Forest Conservation Rules, 2003 and also various guidelines which have been issued from time to time. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 is also supported in forest conservation in India by other legislative documents such as the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the National Forest Policy, 1988.
The Act is said to provide for the conservation of forests over the entire territory of India except for the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The Act provides for extensive powers for the Centre over State Governments in the case of forest conservation. State Governments would require prior permission from the Centre to derecognize reserved forests, use forest land for non-forestry purposes, assign forest land by lease to private entities, and to clear forests for re-afforestation. The Centre appoints an advisory committee to deal with matters relating to forest conservation under the provisions of the Act. This allows the MoEF a more streamlined framework with which to approach forest conservation.
The enactment of the Forest Conservation Rules, 2003 succeeded the Forest Conservation Rules set up in 1981 (GoI, 2013). The Forest Conservation Rules, 2003 established a detailed framework for interpreting the various provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. This is accompanied with guidelines, one of which concerns the development of forest land occupied by tribal populations.
The guidelines say that settlements of forest dwelling communities should be treated at par with revenue villages, which is a step back against considering some of these communities as an intrinsic part of the forest.
Dr. V. K. Bahuguna, Inspector General of Forests, differs with the MoEF&CC view, in that he explicitly mentions that the conflict between the State Governments and forest dwelling communities over forest resources is not in the interests of forest conservation for the MoEF, who instead tend to separate forest dwellers from the rest of the forest. Bahuguna instead says that the development of tribal communities and protecting forest dwellers should be included as an essential part of forest conservation (V.K. Bahuguna, 2013).
Forest Conservation and Protecting Forest Dwellers
After the 2002 Supreme Court order that banned forest dwellers from gathering dead, dying trees and grasses and trees felled by winds, the MoEF&CC rescinded to draft a Bill that would define minor forest produce and provide for their acquisition by forest dwellers.
The MoEF in 2004 announced the introduction of a draft Bill named the State/Union Territory Minor Forest Produce (Ownership of Forest Dependent Community) Act, 2005 (The Hindu, 2004). The Bill has however, has remained a draft Bill, especially with the introduction of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which opened up a new framework of providing rights to tribal communities and protecting forest dwellers.
The draft Bill introduced by the MoEF aims to provide for the acquisition of minor forest produce, thus protecting forest dwellers’ daily livelihood activities in gathering essential resources from forests. By minor produce, what is specifically defined is all non-timber produce from forests as notified by the home State/Union Territory as minor produce.
This can include items like honey, wax, lac, tusser, etc and excludes the unrestricted cutting of wood as firewood. It also excludes the hunting of wild animals, especially protected species, although animal products such as honey and wax can be extracted, apart from domesticating certain animal species.
The identification of candidates for endowment under this Act is dependent on the State / Union Territory Government’s identification of forest dependent communities, who can also make rules for carrying forward the provisions of the Act. The Act also permits trade in this minor forest produce, which is a practise common among many forest dwelling communities.
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 however, has become the watershed legal document in terms of guaranteeing rights to tribals and other forest-dwelling communities. The Act recognizes the rights of occupation of forest lands by forest dwelling and tribal communities even when their rights are not recorded, with the stipulation however that the occupant must have lived in the forest with at least 3 generations of lineage since 13.12.2005, with one generation being 25 years.
The Act fixes a maximum area of 4 ha for occupation of forest land, including rights for lands falling under national parks and sanctuaries. The Act allows for self-cultivation of forest land and usufructuary rights over minor forest produce falling under the aforementioned area for forest-dwellers belonging to the Scheduled Tribe category. The Act provides for in-situ rehabilitation of Scheduled Tribes who have been evicted or displaced from their forest-dwelling habitats.
These rights are heritable but not transferable and importantly stipulated that no member of any forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes can be evicted or removed from the area the person holds rights in, which although is subject to verification. The Act recognizes Gram Sabhas as competent authorities for initiation of procedures for rights under this Act.
The Act is a huge landmark, for it for the first time clearly demarcates the rights of tribal communities in India over forest land. This makes the Act invaluable in preserving the cultures of tribal communities in India and also in correcting the historic alienation of tribal communities from land that has in many instances left them with a diminished identity.
The Bill became an Act in 2007, but for most forest dwellers, their rights are yet to be recognized. There is persistent conflict over the Act between the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
On the one hand, MoTA is trying to protect the rights of forest dwellers, while on the other hand, erratic resource extraction in forests by forest dwellers is earning them the MoEF’s wrath. Evictions are happening in many areas in India, with the state of Assam recording the eviction of about 40,000 families alone.
The Supreme Court’s 2002 order in effect is also having a detrimental effect for example, on the livelihood needs of people living in the Forests of Don in the Harnatand Range, turning traditional forest dwellers into encroachers into the forests. India’s national parks and sanctuaries were declared protected areas after the 2002 Supreme Court order as per an amendment in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, where animal resource extractions from these areas without permissions would be encroachments by forest dwellers and tribal communities.
The current quagmire presents a conflict of interest between protecting forest dwellers and working for their welfare and with forest conservation.
The Forest Rights Act, 2006 is also frequently accused of leading to the destruction of forests by conservationists. In a study carried out by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the Forest Rights Act, 2006’s provision of allowing cultivation on forest land has led to the conversion of tracts of forest into agricultural farms. This is accompanied with the provision of rights over the ownership and disposal of minor forest produce in forests based on their traditional methods.
The study utilized GIS technology to carry out satellite assessments of land in Maharashtra. TERI also claimed that these practices had led to a reduction in the carbon sequestration capacities of land under forests in India. An assessment was made of the impacts of the change in land use on ecosystems and the vulnerability of the people.
According to the Parliamentary Committee on Petitions, 16th Lok Sabha in their 9th and 18th Report, the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 has led to an encroachment of about 16.21 lakh ha of forest land.
Many conservationists claim that the Forest Rights Act, 2006 will prevent the demarcation of inviolate spaces in nature free from human interference, which is necessary for wildlife conservation sometimes, with tiger conservation being a case in point. Although the Forest Right Act, 2006 lays out a procedure for resettling of people when required in order to protect wildlife, often the problem is a lot of arbitrariness in implementation along with changing habitats for animals.
Many conservationists also see the clause of allowing cultivation in forest land as an elaborate land distribution scheme that can also be appropriated by people who are not genuine forest dwellers. One could argue that allowing cultivation in forest land might encourage people to encroach less on wildlife habitats, but food habits are most likely to be largely defined by tradition notwithstanding the conditions imposed by modern civilization. In this light, the MoEF’s plan to define non-timber minor forest produce narrowly among populations that adhere more to tradition than modern machinations is bound to be incredibly inconsistent.
What has happened is that the cultivation enabled by the Forest Rights Act, 2006 has created a windfall for otherwise very poor and marginalized populations without ownership or access to land in mainstream agricultural locations.
Given that that the tribal question is one of identity, any legislation regarding protecting forest dwellers and tribal communities must offer a cohesive and structured approach that is balanced to all the peculiarities that might arise in dealing with forest dwelling populations. When the dynamic quality of tradition arises out of its peculiarities, an all encompassing modern legal instrument can only create certain ambiguities interpreted in terms of its affiliations to the modern superstructure.
For example, allowing commercial dynamics in non-timber minor forest produce might impose an unfair economic model instead of protecting forest dwelling populations and their right to consume forest resources, who might be motivated instead to participate in an unfair balance of trade, moving instead towards exploitation of forest resources than traditional subsistence livelihoods.
On the one hand cultivation of forest land under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 might place stresses on forest ecosystems due to excess extraction of forest water for example, while the food habits determined by tradition are likely to remain the same. On the other hand, limitations placed by being able to extract only non-timber minor forest produce while commercially activating these at the same time might mean legal commercial exploitation of forests while in the informal space traditional ways of life, although suppressed, could conti
Both point towards one important thing – protecting forest dwellers means synchronization of policy with their tradition as regards their habitat. This synchrony is possible if policy abandons unilateralism and a balance is found between policy, the traditions of forest dwellers and the forest habitat and ecosystem. The more synchrony is achieved, the better the chances for conservation of both forest ecosystems and forest dwellers, which only a balanced and equitable policy environment can provide.
Receive Daily Updates
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.