A Framework for the Gender Analysis of Development Induced Displacement: The Case of Tribal Societies in North East India

Development Induced Displacement (DID) has been an issue of intense debate in India. While existing research has studied the general impact of DID on subaltern groups, the role of displacement in reordering gender relations has not yet been systematically researched. Most research in this area has tried to understand the gendered aspects of displacement and has limited itself to an impact analysis framework alone, which fail to capture the nuances of “what” are the processes that lead to this transformation and “how” do they operate. The empirical context of this paper is North East India whose tribal societies have been frequently described as a relatively gender equal society as compared to the other parts of India, and on the acquisition of Common Property Resources (CPRs) under the Land law of India which has had devastating consequences for the tribal women. CPRs form the basis of tribal women’s high status, identity and autonomy and how the acquisition of CPRs reduces the tribal women’s status in these communities remains insufficiently researched. This paper is a ‘critique of the critiques of displacement’ from a gender perspective. The paper frames the discussion of the gendered impact of DID through an analysis of the way in which patriarchies in the discourses of the state and society works together in shaping a particular gendered experience for women (and men). It then analyse the failure of existing research to address the nuances of this reality in their discussion of displacement. The aim of the paper is to raise new questions and suggest an alternative framework. In doing this the paper not only problematises the existing findings of the impact of displacement in tribal indigenous women but also attempts to locate the cracks in the traditional social system that the discourse of displacement manipulates for its own benefit.