Performance of Dalit Women Panchayat Presidents (A Study with Reference to Namakkal District in Tamil Nadu)

  • J Jayaseela Part time Research Scholar, Department of Political Science and Development Administration, Gandhigram Rural Institute-Deemed University Gandhigram, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

In thedaily news and magazines we read many cases about political exclusion of Dalit women Panchayat Presidents in Tamil Nadu. But still hundreds of cases related to this report remain unreported. Panchayatraj administration is male-dominated with low participation by women in spite of the provision that one-third of the members have to be women. Political minorities stayed away since they felt they wouldn't be'heard', scheduled castes and tribes did not feel encouraged to participate since political leaders were frequently from the higher castes. The gender and caste bias have thus had serious impact on the participatory nature of this system. In general people of the Scheduled Castes are discriminated, exploited,and placed at the bottom of caste society eventoday. Women Panchayat Presidents are ill-treated from different dimensions. All these victimization are manifested in different forms and finally may lead to extreme forms like suicide, female infanticide and abnormal behavior. The panchayati raj, after the enactment of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, brought in measures to overcome these past indignities,and provided a quota within ordinary seats and among the office bearers of the panchayats.

Dominant caste and Dalit men help them to be elected and then take the control, menacing and threatening them. The voice of Dalit Women Panchayat is not taken seriously. And when women are chased away, no actions are taken, everyone refuse to provide them assistance. There are major weaknesses in the current interpretations and implementation of reservation in Panchayat Raj which reduce the ability of panchayat to fulfill core objectives of equitable development and social justice. So, the political participation of Dalit Women should not be viewed in isolation. Creative ways must be explored, with Dalit Women, Non-Dalit Women and Dalit men to capitalize on the success stories of Dalit women’s political leadership. Efforts should be taken to lead a supportive environment for these women’s political participation in the society in order to promote human rights and equality for all. The present study is proposed to be descriptive one based on primary and secondary data collected from appropriate sources and the tool of interview schedule administrated on the chosen respondents.

Published
2018-01-20
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