Elected Dalit Women Participation in The Gram Panchayats of Gokak in Belgaum District

Volume 3, Issue 5(2), May 2014
I nt er nat io nal Jo ur nal o f M ul t idisc ipl inar y

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Volume 3
I ssue 5(2)
M ay 2014
S.N o
Page
No
1
1.
St at us of I nequalit y of H ealt h Facilit y at PH C Level: A

Compar at ive Study Bet ween Andhr a Pr adesh and
I ndia
N .Ravichandr an and ABSV Rangar ao
2.
Cr it ical Domains in t he Assessment of Agr o-EcoSyst em Sust ainabilit y and M anagement I nt er vent ion A Case St udy in Sout her n-Tr ansit ional Zone of
K ar nat aka
S. Ranganadhan and S.S.Sr eenivas
30
3.
M enace of Cor r upt ion
41
L avaniya Kaushik
4.
Rotation Basedmemory Less bist wit h Low Ar ea

Over head
D r usya J U and S.Pr abu Venkat eswar an
47
5.
Past Climat e t o Gr eenhouse Planet and t he West

Bengal Scenar io
Chandana D as
60
6.
I mpact of Ent r y Bar r ier s on Ent r epr eneur ial I ntent ion
H . C. Kot har i
70
7.
Effect of Select ed Pr anayama and K r iya on Academic

St r ess of School Going St udent s
U day Bhanu Kundu
81
8.
Wavelet Tr ansfor m and Adapt ive Thr esholding Based

Compr ession of ECG Signal
Pr ajakt a Kulkar ni, Kishor i D egaonkar
and Rupali T or nekar
94
9.
Role of Community
Development
105
Radio
in
Rur al
Women
F ar eed Ahmad
10. A St udy on Fishing Cr aft and Gear in Lower M anair
Dam, K ar imnagar Dt. Andhr a Pr adesh, I ndia
Rama Rao. K
113
11. Quest ion of Social Renaissance in I ndia - A

Compar at ive Analysis of Gandhi and Sr i N ar ayana
Gur u
Sajnesh. E.V
132
12. Effect of St r engt h Endur ance and Concur r ent Tr aining

on Leg St r engt h and BM I of College St udent s
A.Sur esh and M . Elayar aja
144
13. Secur it y on Andr oid Mobile Applicat ions

Seevivasan.A, Sat hiskumar .S
and Kar t hik.K
152
14. St at us of Ret ail Fish M ar ket s of Chor yasi Taluka and

Sur at Cit y
M ohini Gadhia, N ihar ika P. Shah
and Ekhalak Ansar i
170
15. Change M anagement Syst em and Cooper at ion M ON G

Public Libr ar y Syst em in Andhr a Pr adesh
T addi M ur ali
178
16. An I nt r oduct ion t o Cor por at e Social Responsibilit y

Vivek Rajbahadur Singh
189
17. CSR I nitiat ive and Role of I ndian Companies towar ds

Societ y
M r it unjay Kumar
204
18. Relevance of Gandhian Humanism-A Cont empor ar y

Philosophical Analysis
Geet ha K.P
220
19. Elect ed Dalit Women Par t icipat ion in the Gr am

Panchayat s of Gokak in Belgaum Dist r ict
Shiddappa M adar and M ohan A.K
231
20. Pust kalaya Vihin Vidhyalaya M ein

Boudhik Adhyanan
249
Chat ron
Ka
Bhuneshwar Choudhar i and Rekhr aj Sahu

21. Evolut ionar y Jour ney of I ndian H igher Educat ion and
Rasht r iya Uchachat ar Shikha Abhiyan (RUSA)
Kabit a Choudhur y and Biswajit D as
254
22. At t it ude t owar ds Sex Educat ion: A Compar at ive

Analysis wit h Special Refer ence t o Tr ipur a
Anjana Bhat t achar jee
265
23. A Review on Cloud Comput ing in Libr ar y Ser vices

Pawan Saini
281
24. I mpact of H and off

N et wor k
295
St r at egies on M obile Cellular

Sachin Gupt a
25. Subhashit as on Gemology
306
D inesh Babu Kanduk ur i
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VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5(2), MAY 2014
EL ECT ED D AL I T WOM EN PART I CI PAT I ON I N T H E GRAM

PAN CH AYAT S OF GOKAK I N BEL GAU M D I ST RI CT
Shiddappa M adar
M ohan A.K
UGC-JRF, Resear ch Scholar

Depar t ment of St udies in Social Wor k
Univer sit y of Mysor e
Manasagangot hri, Mysor e
Assist ant Professor

Depar t ment of St udies in Social Wor k
Univer sit y of Mysor e,
Manasagangot hri
Mysor e
I nt r oduct ion
The wor d Dalit was used for t he fir st t ime by M ahat ma Jyot ir ao
Phule in 1922. I t is ext ensively to r eplace wor ds like unt ouchable, At i
Shudr a, Scheduled Cast e, Out Cast es depr essed classes exunt ouchable, and so on. I ndian hist or y gives many inst ances wher e t he
Dalit s have been exploit ed by higher cast e people over the past
cent ur ies. Bet ween 1930- 1940, the Dalit movement led by Jyot ir ao
Phule and Dr . B. R. Ambedkar spr ead t hr ough t he count r y. At last,
under t he influence of sever al movement s, I ndia enact ed The
Pr ot ect ion of Civil Right s Act (ant i- unt ouchable) in 1955. People wer e
gr ant ed const itut ional pr ot ect ion against social, economical, and
cultur al discr imination, but even t oday, count less act s of violence and
discr iminat ion against Dalit s ar e r epor t ed by scholar s and t hr ough
var ious studies (Pat il, 2010). H owever , Dalit women ar e mor e
vulner able not only because of t heir gender , but also because of t he
social, r eligious, and cult ur al st r ict ur es which places t hem in t he lower
hier ar chy in societ y. N inet y per cent of Dalit s live in r ur al ar eas,
engaged as mar ginal labour er s, landless labourer s, bonded labour er s,
agr icultur e labour er s, et c. (Bhat t a, 2011). At t he same t ime, t he I ndian
Const it ut ion, under t he 73r d Amendment Act , 1993, also gives an
oppor tunit y t o women, Scheduled Cast e, Scheduled Tr ibes, and ot her
backwar d classes (OBCs) thr ough t he r eser vat ion quot a t o par t icipat e
in panchayat inst itut ions at t he gr assr oot s level.
231

Panchayat is an old concept in I ndia. I t has a hist or y dat ing back

4000 year s when the t r adit ional village gover nment exist ed. The wor d
Panchayat st ands for Panch or five elder leader s, who held t he st at us
of village gover nor s. N ow, Par t icipat or y Rur al I nst it ut ions (PRI s) have
been pr oclaimed as t he vehicles of socio-economic t r ansformat ion in
r ur al ar eas. The Panchayat syst em has been given a place in Ar t icle 40
of t he Dir ect ive Pr inciples of St at e Policy of t he Const it ution of I ndia
(Das, 2013). I n the case of K ar nat aka, t he Panchayat Raj syst em was
init iat ed fr om the M ysor e Local Body Act of 1902 and t he Village
Panchayat and Local Body Act , 1959 as a significant st ep in t he
democr atic pr ocess of a village. A major aspect of t his was t he
int r oduct ion of t he M andal Panchayat Act , 1983, which gr ant ed
r eser vat ions t o SCs, STs, and OBCs at t he gr assr oot s level. This
affect ed the power and funct ions of peoples par t icipat ion in t he local
democr acy. Aft er successfully enact ing t he K ar nat aka Panchayat Act in
1993, a t hr ee-t ier syst em, i.e., t he Zilla Panchayat at the dist r ict level,
t he Taluk Panchayat at the t aluk level, and the Gr am Panchayat at the
village level came in to exist ence wit h 33% r eser vat ion (M at hew, 2000).
I n the last t wo decades, Dalit women have had t o face many
challenges to ent er t he Panchayat Raj and assume political leader ship.
Since our societ y is pat r iar chal in nat ur e, a womans pat h t owar ds
pr ogr essive empower ment and decent r alizat ion cont inues t o be defined
by men. The t wofold r ole played by women in the Panchayat and
Family is appr eciable, as many st udies have pr oved t hat women
political leader ship is mor e effect ive t han of men. The syst em of
r eser vat ion has made it compar at ively easy t o par t icipat e in t he
par liament ar y elect ions, but st at ist ics show only 6-8% women
par t icipat ion. Local self-gover nance showed meager 18-24% woman
par t icipat ion fr om the socially depr ived gr oups (K undva, 2003).
232

M et hodology
The pr esent st udy is descr ipt ive in nat ur e which the r esear cher has
car r ied out to fullfil t he following object ives:
To st udy t he demogr aphic pr ofile of
t he Dalit
women
r epr esent at ives of the Panchayat .
To know the educational and economic condit ions of the

r espondent s.
To st udy t he r espondent s par t icipat ion in Gr am Panchayat

act ivities.
To st udy the pr oblems encount er ed by t he r espondent s t o

par t icipat e in Gr am Panchayat act ivities.
I n t his dir ect ion, t he pr imar y dat a has been collect ed fr om the
select ed populat ion using t he t ool of the int er view schedule; also
secondar y dat a was collect ed fr om var ious r eport s, viz., Depar t ment of
Rur al Development , Gover nment of K ar nat aka, and Zilla Panchayat s
Bullet in. The lit er at ur e has also been gather ed fr om published ar t icles,
books, and other gover nment r epor t s. Simple stat ist ical met hods have
been ut ilized like per cent age and aver age to car ry out the dat a analysis,
as t hese will help us t o under st and t he level of development among t he
r espondent s.
Result and D iscussion
I nt er pr et at ion gives a br oader significance to t he r esear ch
findings. Thr ough int er pr et at ion, the meaning and implications of t he
st udy become clear . No analysis is complet e wit hout int er pr et at ions,
and int er pr et at ions cannot be done without analysis. The st udy has an
equal number of r epr esent at ions of t he r espondent s, i.e., 25
233

r espondent s fr om ST (Scheduled Tr ibe) and 25 r espondent s fr om SC

(Scheduled Cast e).
Percentage
Age of the respondents

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
30
30
28
14
20-30
30-40
40-50
Age in years
50-60
Char t 1: Age of t he r espondent s

Char t one demonst r at es t hat major it y of t he r espondent s fall in
t he age gr oup of 30-50 year s, which const it ut e 60 per cent . About 26 per
cent of the r espondent s ar e in t he age gr oup of 50 year s and above.
Only 14 per cent belong t o the ver y yout hful age gr oup of 20-30 year s.
These figur es show that t her e is less par t icipat ion fr om elder s, and
mor e significant ly many of the younger gener at ion ar e act ive in politics.
I t is of significance to the nat ional polit ical scenar io t oo.
Char t t wo shows t hat 80 per cent of t he r espondent s ar e mar r ied
and ar e also associat ed wit h t he Gr am Panchayat act ivit ies, while
playing a dual r ole in bot h t he family and Panchayat. I t is also
significant t hat t he vulner able gr oup, i.e., widows, accounting for about
16 per cent , is also par ticipat ing in r ur al polit ics, while 4 per cent of the
r espondent s ar e unmar r ied.
234

Percentage
Marital status of the respondents

80
100
50
16
0
Married
Single
Widow
Marital status
Char t 2: M ar it al st at us of t he r espondent s
I n I ndia, t he nat ur e of t he family always influences the member s
of the family. N ear ly equal number s of r espondent s belong to the
nuclear family and joint family, i.e., 56 per cent and 44 per cent,
r espect ively. This pr oves t hat the nat ur e of t he family does not play a
significant r ole while assuming a r esponsible posit ion in the Panchayat .
Table 1: Occupat ion of t he r espondent s
Occupat ion
N o. of r espondent s
Per cent
Agr icult ur e labour er
42
84
Self- employed
12
Pr ivat e employee
Tot al
50
100
The main occupat ion of 72 per cent of our nation depends on

agr icultur e. So, as shown in Table one, along wit h household act ivities,
84 per cent of t he r espondent s ar e involved in agr icultur al labour . Only
235

12 per cent of the r espondent s ar e self-employed as in t ailor ing, basket

making, and chalk making. Ver y few (4 per cent ) ar e wor king in pr ivat e
banks as cleaner s. I t r eveals t hat due to lack of educat ion, t hey ar e not
in a posit ion to be self-employed or wor k in t he pr ivat e sect or .
Percentage
Respodnetans family annual income

60
40
42
12
18
24
4
20
0
6-9
9-12 12-14 14-17 17-20

Income on thousands
Char t 3: Respondents family annual income

Char t thr ee shows t hat 42 per cent of t he r espondent s family
income is bet ween Rs. 14000- 17000, while 24 per cent of t he
r espondent 's family income is bet ween Rs.12000- 14000. 30 per cent
have income bet ween Rs. 6000-12000, while only 4 per cent of t he
r espondent s ear n bet ween Rs. 17000- 20000. The for emost sour ce of
income is fr om daily wages. H ence, t he r esult shows that t he
r espondent s live below pover t y line (BPL). Mor e t he income, mor e t he
oppor tunit ies for women to par t icipat e in the Panchayat act ivit ies, and
t hey oft en get mor e r espect also fr om t he people ar ound t hem. So, t he
monet ar y st at us cont r ibut es to t he effect iveness of the r espondent s
per for mance.
236

T able 2: Respondent s savings habit
Savings H abit
N o. of r espondent s
Per cent
Yes
36
72.0
No
14
28.0
T ot al
50
100.0
Table t wo shows t hat major it y, const itut ing 72 per cent of t he

r espondent s, pr act ice saving ever y week. Only 28 per cent do not have a
savings habit. I t also demonst r at es t hat maximum r espondent s ar e
member s of Self H elp Gr oups which is play a major r ole in t he micr ocr edit finance at t he village level.
Percentage
Education qualification of the

respondents
100
86
50
12
0
0
1-7
8-10
Education in standards
Char t 4: Educat ional qualificat ion of t he r espondent s
237

Char t four r eveals the educat ional qualificat ion of t he

r espondent s. A lar ge number , i.e., 86 per cent are illit er at e. Only 12 per
cent have educat ion r anging fr om 1-7t h Std., and sur pr isingly one
r espondent is educat ed up to 8-10t hStd. A widely accept ed fact is t hat
educat ion pr ovides gr eat er st abilit y in t he polit ical activit ies of a
per son. I llit er acy can be a block for t he effect ive par t icipation of
women.
Reasons for discontinuing education

Family not
able to
provide fees
10%
Parental
ignorance
32%
Gender
discriminati
on
58%
Char t 5: Reasons for discont inuing educat ion

Char t five shows the r easons behind the r espondents
discontinuing t heir educat ion. Among t he t otal r espondent s, 32 per
cent have discont inued their educat ion due t o par ent al ignor ance
238

r egar ding t he impor t ance of educat ion. A lar ge number of r espondent s,

which comes t o 58 per cent , expr essed gender discr imination, while 10
per cent of the r espondent s had t o discont inue because t heir family had
been unable t o pr ovide t he mat er ials or t he fees. So, t he r esear cher
found that due t o var ious r easons t he r espondent s had been depr ived of
t heir basic r ight t o education. These fact or s had an impact on their
per for mance in t he decent r alizat ion syst em.
The woman r espondent s who ar e holding differ ent positions in t he
Panchayat ar e supposed to be involved in var ious activit ies. But var ious
r easons like gender discr imination, illit er acy, lack of exper ience, et c.
become a stumbling block in per for ming t he mor e r esponsible act s like
planning, budget ing, decision t aking, et c. The r esear cher , by
under st anding t his challenge has made an at t empt to analyze some of
t he simple act ivities.
Activities
Cant say
(%)
Rar ely
Ver y often
T otal
(%)
(%)
(%)
L istening to people
1(2)
49(98)
0(0)
50(100)
Expr essing your
2(4)
48(92)
2(4)
50(100)
Clar ifying issues
1(2)
49(98)
0(0)
50(100)
Speaking on behalf
of the people
4(8)
42(84)
4(8)
50(100)
views
T able 3: Respondent s act ivit ies in t he Panchayat office

About 98 per cent of t he r espondent s said t hat t hey seldom
list en t o the people and 2 per cent cant say t hat t hey act ively list en t o
people. As far as expr essing t he views of the r espondent s in the
239

Panchayat ar e concer ned, 92 per cent say t hat they r ar ely expr ess t heir
views dur ing the meet ing, 4 per cent cant say whet her t hey ar e
expr essing any view or not, and 4 per cent expr ess t heir views ver y
oft en in meet ings.
Ar ound 98 per cent of t he r espondent s seldom make an at t empt
t o clar ify their issues; 2 per cent say that they cannot t ake any st and in
answer ing t his quest ion. 84 per cent of the r espondent s say t hat t hey
r ar ely speak on behalf of t he people. Only 8 per cent speak on behalf of
t he people. Respondent s who could not t ake any st and on the issues
account for 8 per cent . This st at istic gives us t he r eal pict ur e of t he
r espondent s modest par t icipat ion
Respondents' opinion on the opportunities

given to representative
76
Percentage
80
60
40
24
20
0
Yes
No
Char t 6: Respondent s opinion on t he oppor t unit ies given t o

r epr esent at ives
A lar ge number of r espondent s const itut ing 76 per cent feel t hat
t hey have been given sufficient oppor t unities t o expr ess t heir views in
t he Gr am Panchayat. At t he same t ime, 24 per cent of t he r espondent s
ar e of t he opinion t hat t hey ar e not given sufficient oppor t unit ies in t he
240

Gr am Panchayat. H er e t he int er pr et at ion can be t hat women

r epr esent at ives opinions ar e t aken in to consider at ion t o a lar ge
ext ent . Yet , owing t o ineffect ive administ r at ion and male dominat ion,
some women ar e not able to par t icipat e act ively in t he Panchayat
act ivities.
Decision making power in the pachayat activities
Myself
2
8
Behalf main/male
persons of my family
With community
myself
Panchayat
president/secretary
84
Char t 7: D ecision making power in t he Panchayat act ivit ies

When women r espondent s ar e select ed as peoples'
r epr esent at ives for t he Panchayat war d, they automatically get t he
power to t ake decisions on var ious act ivit ies. An at t empt has been
under t aken to st udy t he fr eedom enjoyed by the r espondent s t o t ake
independent decisions. Char t eight explains t he st at ist ics in this ar ea.
The r espondent s ar e of t he opinion t hat pr esident s have mor e
r ight to t ake decisions. This is cor r obor at ed by 84 per cent of t he
r espondent s. Only 8 per cent of t he r espondent s said t hat they make
t he decisions. About 6 per cent r espondent s make decisions in
241

consultat ion with the people of t he communit y, while 2 per cent

r espondent s said that t heir husbands t ake an act ive par t in making t he
decisions. These st at ist ics give a clear pictur e t hat ver y limit ed
number s of r espondent s ar e capable of independent ly t aking a decision.
Reasons for poor decision taking ability

48
Percentage
50
40
40
30
20
12
10
0
Insufficient
knowledge
Caste/gender
discrimination
Family
restrictions
Char t 8: Reasons for poor decision t aking abilit y

Cast e and gender discr iminat ion is st ill ver y much in pr act ice
and influences even t he women who ar e in posit ions of power . This fact
is ver y much manifest when we see t he st at ist ics t hat say t hat 48 per
cent of the r espondent s ar e not given t he fr eedom t o t ake decisions.
N ear ly 40 per cent of t he r espondent s say that family r est r ict ions
influences t heir ability t o t ake decisions and 12 per cent admit t ed that
t heir deficient knowledge has an impact on t heir decision t aking
capacit y, along with cast e and gender discr iminat ion.
242

T able 3: Respondent s par t icipat ion in Gr am Sabha

Gr am Sabha Par t icipat ion
F r equency
Per cent
Only obser ve
Repr esent people and speak and
12
t heir behalf
Pr epar ing t he agenda
I dent ifying t he beneficiar ies
Assembling people
All t he above
37
74
T ot al
50
100
10
Table t hr ee gives us a pict ur e of t he r espondent s

par t icipat ion in the var ious act ivit ies of t he Gr am Sabha. N ear ly 75 per
cent of t he r espondent s get involved by mobilizing t he people,
ident ifying t he beneficiar ies, pr epar ing t he agenda, speaking on behalf
of the people, and by obser ving what happens. 4 per cent only obser ve
in the Gr am Sabha which is consider ed inadequat e behaviour on t he
par t of a r epr esent at ive. A good number , being 12 per cent , r epr esent
people and speak on t heir behalf. I n fact , t his is t he r esponsibilit y t hat
ever y r epr esent at ive needs t o under t ake. 10 per cent of t he r espondent s
pr epar e t he agenda, ident ify the beneficiar ies, and mobilize t he people.
Wit h r egar d t o communit y cooper at ion, 68 per cent of the
r espondent s r eceive sat isfact or y cooper at ion from the people, 26 per
cent ar e not get t ing effective co-oper at ion, while a ver y small number of
243

r espondent s consisting of 6 per cent ar e get ting appr opr iat e suppor t.
The r easons behind t he poor co-oper at ion must be under st ood and
necessar y ar r angement s should be made t o incr ease t he level of cooper at ion. The r esear cher made an at t empt to find t he r easons to which
t he r espondent s answer ed that gender and cast e discr imination ar e t he
pr edominant fact or s for the lack of co-oper at ion fr om t he people.
I n addit ion to communit y accept ance, an at t empt was made to
find out t he r espondent s opinion r egar ding peoples accept ance of
t hem. I t was found t hat 94 per cent of the r espondent s wer e accept ed
by t he people and only 6 per cent did not accept t hem. When people
accept women as t heir r epr esent at ives t hey can wor k bet t er . Lack of
accept ance may become a challenge for t he women t o per for m their
dut ies effect ively.
T able 4: Opinion on t he skills r equir ed for good per for mance
Skills Requir ed
Good
Yes
No
N o. of
r espondent s
(%)
N o. of
r espondent s
(%)
46(92)
4(8)
50(100)
6(12)
44(88)
50(100)
4(8)
46(92)
50(100)
42(84)
8(16)
50(100)
T ot al
(%)
communicat ion
Conduct ing/
or ganizing
meet ing
Public r elat ions
Basic r eading and
r it ing skills
244

Communicat ion, conduct ing/or ganizing, public speaking,

r eading and wr it ing skills ar e just some of t he impor t ant skills t hat ar e
r equir ed when a woman or man is in any posit ion of power at t he
gr assr oot level. The r esear cher has t r ied t o analyse t he r espondent s
idea on t he r equir ement s of t he diver se skills. Table 4 shows t hat 92
per cent of the r espondent s, which is a lar ge major it y, have agr eed that
communication skills ar e impor t ant, while 8 per cent of said t hat
communication skills ar e not ver y impor t ant. As far as the skill of
or ganizing and conduct ing meet ings ar e consider ed, a shocking 88 per
cent ar e under t he impr ession t hat such skills ar e not r equir ed. Added
t o t hat 92 per cent ar e of t he opinion t hat t he skill of public
r elat ionship is not essent ial. 84 per cent have t he impr ession t hat
r eading and wr it ing skills ar e t he most r equir ed of a Panchayat
member . This was a ver y subst andar d r esponse fr om the r espondent s.
Awar eness of needing t hese skills and t he need for skill-based t r aining
has t o be given t o t he Panchayat member s.
T able 5: Challenges faced by r espondent s
Challenges
N o. of
Per cent
r espondent s
L ack of co-oper at ion fr om family
43
86.0
L ack of cooper at ion fr om
6.0
8.0
50
100.0
communit y
Religious r est r ict ions
T ot al
245

Women ar e usually not suppor t ed by t heir families when t hey

have t o be involved in per ipher al activit ies. I t is a major pr oblem and a
challenge faced by count less women. Even among the r espondent s of
t he pr esent st udy, t his pr oblem was exper ienced t o a lar ge degr ee. As
seen in Table 5, 86 per cent of t he r espondent s lacked t he co-oper at ion
of their own family, 6 per cent ar e depr ived of co-oper at ion fr om their
communit y, and 8 per cent have r eligious r est r ict ions placed on t hem.
I n r ur al and t r adit ion bound communicat ions, such r est r ict ions
on women ar e commonplace, but t hey should not block t he
development and gr owth of an individual. I nt er vent ions ar e needed t o
build up a suppor t ive envir onment for women r epr esent at ives who
come int o power t hr ough the r eser vat ion policy.
T able 6: Opinion on dual r ole in t he Panchayat and family
N o. of
D ual r ole in Panchayat and family
I nabilit y t o give t ime t o family
member s
L ack of t ime for household act ivit ies
I nabilit y t o par t icipat e in family
funct ions
T ot al
Per
r espondent s
cent
30
60
15
30
10
50
100
I ndian women ar e for ced t o t ake up mult iple r esponsibilit ies.

These incr eased r esponsibilit ies may r esult in confusion of r oles or t he
inability to per for m some of t hem. The r esear cher was int er est ed in
246

knowing how t he women r epr esent at ives play t he dual r oles, i.e., in t he
family and in t he Panchayat . So special at t ent ion was given t o see
whet her family r esponsibilit ies ar e affect ed or not and it is pr esent ed in
Table 6.
N ear ly 60 per cent of t he r espondent s are unable to spend t ime
wit h t heir families, 30 per cent lack t he t ime t o do their household
wor k because of the added r esponsibilit y of communit y ser vice, while
10 per cent cannot at t end family funct ions due to incr eased
r esponsibilit ies in t he Panchayat .
Conclusion
The r eser vat ion of one-t hir d seat s for women is a cour ageous
st ep t owar ds the empower ment of women. I t is quit e int er est ing t hat
women who have been wor king as labour er s, cleaning ut ensils, and
fet ching wat er , ar e legally per mit t ed to shar e a seat wit h t he males of
t he village in matt er s of decision-making. Const it ut ional provisions,
gover nment policies, social actions est ablishment of social safet y net s,
and awar eness of r ur al women combine t ogether t o pr ovide women
wit h the necessar y skills to enjoy equal oppor tunit ies. The Panchayat
Raj pr ovides a common for um for the social, economic, political, and
legal advancement of rur al women. N ow, women ar e mor e t han
nominal in the polit ical bodies and t his is an added st ep in womens
empower ment . Polit ical par t icipat ion is no longer dependent on t he
cast ing of vot es, but is a way of life. Thus, Panchayat Raj inst it ut ions
can act as a vehicle in car ing for t he people and making them r eal
act or s in nat ional r econst r uct ion.
Anot her r ealizat ion in t he r eal empower ment of r ur al women is
t he at t itudinal change in bot h men and women. The feeling t hat
women ar e meant for household activit ies and r ear ing childr en has t o
be r eplaced by an act ive and equal par t icipat ion by bot h women and
247

men. Br inging women in t o power is t hus not only a mat t er of equalit y,

but also of cor r ect ing the unjust and unequal r epr esent at ion. Polit icalr e-st r uct ur ing is the key to economic gr owt h. Thus, I ndia has t o offer
oppor tunit ies t o women t o change t he face of political leader ship and
ensur e t hat t hese ar e t he spaces wher e women can safely go to
negot iat e for power .
Refer ence:
1. Bhat t a, Savit a (2011). Dalit , t r ibals and human r ight s, New Delhi:
Adhyanan Publicat ion and Dist r ibut ions.
2. Das, Rekha (2013). Decent r alizat ion in I ndia-t he panchayat raj I I .
Samaja Kar yada H ejjagalu, 5(6), 28-33.
3. George, Mat hew (2000). St at us of panchayat h r aj in t he st at es and
union t er r it or ies of
I ndia. New Delhi: Ashok Kumar Mit t al
Publicat ions.
4. Mishr a, A.D. & Dadage, M.S. (2002). Panchayath r aj: Gandhian
per spect ives. New Delhi: Naur ang Rai for Mit t al Publicat ions.
5. Pat il, Smit a (2010). Dalit asser t ion in societ y, lit er at ur e and hist or y
(edt .) T r anscending orbit s of Dalit womens minor r eview. Orient
Black Swan: H yder abad.
6. Shar ma, S.R. (1994). Panchayati raj and educat ion in I ndia. New
Delhi: Mit t al for Mit t al Publicat ions.
248

Elected Dalit Women Participation in The Gram Panchayats of Gokak in Belgaum District

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Elected Dalit Women Participation in The Gram Panchayats of Gokak in Belgaum District

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Volume 3, Issue 5(2), May 2014

I nt er nat io nal Jo ur nal o f M ul t idisc ipl inar y

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Prof. Josef HCHTL

Department of Political Economy

Prof. Alexander Chumakov

Prof. (Dr.) Sohan Raj Tater

Chair of Philosophy Department

Prof. Fidel Gutierrez Vivanco

Prof. Igor Kondrashin

The Member of The Russian Philosophical

Dr. Zoran Vujisi

Prof. P.D.Satya Paul

Dr. Momin Mohamed Naser

Dr.E. Ashok Kumar

Prof. Roger Wiemers

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Depasar State Institute of Hindu Dharma

Dr. Bipasha Sinha

S. S. Jalan Girls College

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Dr. K. John Babu

Department of Journalism & Mass Comm

Dr. H.N. Vidya

Dr.Ton Quang Cuong

Prof. Chanakya Kumar

I JM ER, Jour nal of M ultidisciplinar y Educational Resear ch,

St at us of I nequalit y of H ealt h Facilit y at PH C Level: A

M enace of Cor r upt ion

Rotation Basedmemory Less bist wit h Low Ar ea

Past Climat e t o Gr eenhouse Planet and t he West

Effect of Select ed Pr anayama and K r iya on Academic

Wavelet Tr ansfor m and Adapt ive Thr esholding Based

11. Quest ion of Social Renaissance in I ndia - A

12. Effect of St r engt h Endur ance and Concur r ent Tr aining

13. Secur it y on Andr oid Mobile Applicat ions

14. St at us of Ret ail Fish M ar ket s of Chor yasi Taluka and

15. Change M anagement Syst em and Cooper at ion M ON G

16. An I nt r oduct ion t o Cor por at e Social Responsibilit y

17. CSR I nitiat ive and Role of I ndian Companies towar ds

18. Relevance of Gandhian Humanism-A Cont empor ar y

19. Elect ed Dalit Women Par t icipat ion in the Gr am

20. Pust kalaya Vihin Vidhyalaya M ein

Bhuneshwar Choudhar i and Rekhr aj Sahu

22. At t it ude t owar ds Sex Educat ion: A Compar at ive

23. A Review on Cloud Comput ing in Libr ar y Ser vices

24. I mpact of H and off

St r at egies on M obile Cellular

25. Subhashit as on Gemology

(Dr.Victor Babu Koppula)

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH