Caste Class and Gender : A Sociological Study

Contents: Preface. 1. Bonded by caste and gender: the feminization of poverty in rural India. 2. Gender and caste in parliament. 3. Grassroots politics colloquium on identity and politics in India. 4. Changing attitudes regarding the Indian caste system. 5. Women of the world. 6. Literacy rate and gender gap in Scheduled Castes in India. 7. The gender of the nation allegoric femininity and women’s status. 8. Gender based violence in India-a never-ending phenomenon. 9. Economic and cultural position of lower castes and women in India. 10. Feminism, poverty, and grassroots movements in India. 11. The concept of equality and the caste system. 12. The ethnicity of caste. 13. Poverty in rural India: caste and tribe. 14. Gender governance and the feminization of poverty. Bibliography. Index.

“Since obtaining independence in 1947, Indian Governments have been deeply concerned with widespread poverty and have implemented various anti-poverty schemes. However, rural poverty remains persistent, with the headcount ratio being 30.2 percent in 1999/2000. Particularly troubling is the concentration of rural poverty in India in the ‘Scheduled Caste’ (SC) and ‘Scheduled Tribe’ (ST) populations. The presence of such disparity in the incidence of poverty and wide spread discrimination against scheduled groups have long histories in India.” (jacket)