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Gender,StateandWomen’sActivisminIndia
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sometroubledyearswhenitcutitselfofthemovement.Tebaseoftheparty
thatthecommunistwomenhelpedcreatewaslaterusedtofightforequal
rightsandjustice.9Tefirstthreeparliamentshadanunusuallylargenumber
ofvocalandarticulatefemaleparticipants,whoraisednotonlythedemandsof
womenbutalsotheissueofequalityandjusticeofvariouskinds.
Tecommunistparties,fromthe1950s,notonlyprovidedwomenleader-
ship,butalsokeptthewomen,squestioninthecentreofpoliticaldiscussion.In
fact,thecommunistsinsomesenseretainedthesocialquestionastheirmain
agenda.However,withthesplitinthecommunistmovementsin1964and
emergenceofmanynewvoiceswithintheleftmovement,whichquestioned
theoldassumptionsoftheMarxistparties,newideasandorganizationalprin-
ciplestoarticulatethedemandsofcommunitiesandgroupsbegantoemer-
ge.Withthegradualscenarioofeconomichardshipsinthe1960s,thelethal
combinationoffamine,foodscarcityanddevaluationallwenttowardsmaking
economiclifehard,anditwaswomenwhoborethebruntoftheeconomic
crisis.Tesituationdidnotimproveuntilthelate1970s.Tis,combinedwith
thedisenchantmentwiththelegalandjudicialsystemofthestate,created
spaceforradicalizationofthewomen,smovementacrossthecountry.
TisradicalizationwasmanifestedthroughmovementsliketheShahada
movementintheDhuliadistrictofMaharastra,wheretheexploitationofthe
localBhiltriballandlesslabourersbythenon-triballocallandownerswasthe
keyissue.Toaddtothewoesofthetribals,successivedroughtsandfamines
lefttheirmarkinMaharastra.Tevariousexploitativepracticesofthelandow-
nersandmoneylenderspushedthetribalpopulationintheareatotakeextre-
mestepsofprotest.Toughthemovementhaditsoriginsinthelate1960s
throughtraditionalfolkways,i.e.singingbhajans,the1970ssawacomplete
metamorphosiswhenthenewlyinspiredleftleadershipjoinedthemovement
andBhilwomenweremobilizedgraduallyandinlargenumbers.However,in
thecourseofthemovementitwasrealisedthattheissuesthatwerecentralto
womenintheseareaswerenotexactlywhattheorganizationhadinitiallyen-
visaged.Forexample,thecentreoftheSahadamovement,whichstartedofas
protestagainstthesexualexploitationofwomenagainstthecontractors,gelled
aroundissuesofequalwagesforwomen.Temovementgraduallyshiftedto
coverissuessuchashigherwagesandanti-alcoholism,becauseitwasfound
thathusbands,habitofdrinkingliquorerodedthedomesticeconomyandwo-
menhadtostrugglemoretokeepthehouseholdgoing.Moreover,alcoholism
9InTelanganainAndhraPradeshorinKakdwipinBengalandinmanyotherparts
womenwerethemajorfigures.
