A Report on the Politics of Inclusion: Adivasi Women in Local Governance in Karnataka

Abstract

In India, devolution of power to local institutions is a principle that has been in public perspective since independence (1947). Affirmative action was considered as an important means to ensure that decentralized institutions became participatory, and disadvantaged sections could be represented in political institutions. The 73rd Amendment of the Constitution furthered the commitment to women in local governance by making provisions through reservation of seats. Seats have been reserved for women, Dalits (Scheduled Castes), and Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes)—groups that were earlier only marginally represented in governance. The inclusion of disadvantaged sections has in principle ensured equality of political opportunities. However, the outcome of these institutional changes has not met expectations. The skewed power relations in local governance is an indication that inclusion alone is not a solution to the earlier exclusion of different sections of the population from politics and governance.¹

References

The article is based on data collected for a Ford Foundation financed study titled 'Democratic Decentralisation and Participation of Women in Karnataka.' I would like to thank Anand Inbanathan and R. Siva Prasad for suggestions on earlier drafts of this article.

The term 'Scheduled Castes' is used to denote the lowest and most disadvantaged people in the Hindu caste system. The term 'Scheduled Tribe' (ST) refers to Adivasi forest dwelling communities. It is used as a technical term here to denote a certain group of people who have been conferred with certain special rights and benefits by the Constitution of India.

The 1993 Act is considered a retrograde step when compared to the 1983 Act, as fewer powers and resources have been devolved to the panchayats.

Friedman (1992) used four overlapping domains of social practice while discussing exclusion/inclusion. They are the state, civil society, the corporate economy, and the political community.

Adivasis comprise 4.25 percent of the total population in Karnataka. Although numerically not very significant, they are among the most economically backward sections of the population.

Crook, Richard and Manor, James. (1994) Enhancing Participation and Institutional Performance: Democratic Decentralization in South Asia and West Africa Report to ESCOR, Overseas Development Administration.

Department of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development. (2000) Scheduled Tribe Population in Karnataka, Government of Karnataka, Karnataka, India.

Friedman, John. (1992) Empowerment: The Politics of Alternative Development , Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge .

Inbanathan, Anand. (1999) 'Decentralisation and Affirmative Action: The Case of Panchayats in Karnataka', Journal of Social and Economic Development, July-December, 2 (2): 269-86.

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Karnataka Election Commission. (2000) Scheduled Tribe Population in Karnataka, Government of Karnataka, Karnataka, India.

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Vijayalakshmi, V. and Chandrashekar, B.K. (2000) 'Gender Inequality, Differences, and Identities: Women in Local Governance In Karnataka'. Working Paper 72, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.