Articles by Gabriele Dietrich

Mukkuvar Women: Gender Hegemony and Capitalist Transformation in a South Indian Fishing Community by Kalpana Ram; Kali for Women,
THROUGH a micro-study on one particular fishing village near Colachel in Kanyakumari district, Kalpana Ram's book on the Mukkuvar women makes a much wider contribution to the discussion on the relationship between economy and culture and the concrete linkages between caste, class and patriarchy. She also gives very detailed insights into the daily lives of a south Indian fishing community and the gender specific transformation which capitalism has brought about. The author tries to overcome the economism of an orthodox Marxist position which tends to see women's situation in class-reductionist terms. At the same time she also goes beyond the 'cukuratism' of western anthropologists, who tend to dwell on stereotyped cultural patterns and miss out on the economic dimension and concrete historical changes brought about by capitalist penetration. She also make a valuable contribution in the sense that she renders visible a community differentiated from the caste society of agricultural villages and outside the mainstream of Hindu culture, at the same time representing characterise variations of south Indian kinship systems and perceptions of feminine power which are part of Tamil culture as a whole At a time where political force rapidly try to bulldoze our culture into a brahminical form of Hindu nationalist books like these give a heartening insight into the cultural creativty and resilience of micro- comunities.

reportedly in response to directives from the home ministry The governor is also reported to have promised to tour the terror-torn areas in the state.

quality and to gain confidence and cooperation of investors and are opposed to any action by workers which will harm the ultimate interests of workers and the country.

Contributions to Feminist Ethics Gabriele Dietrich Speaking of Faith: Cross-Cultural Perspective on Women, Religion and Social Change edited by Diana L Eck and Devaki Jain; Kali for Women,

EVER since the historic Supreme Court judgment of July 10, 1985 on the Bombay pavement and slum dwellers case (Olga Tellis and others vs the Bombay Municipal Corporation) and the Tamil Nadu slum dwellers case (K Chandru and others vs the State of Tamil Nadu), it has become obvious that slum evictions touch upon the very survival of people. The right to life, guaranteed in Art 21 of the Constitution, as the court acknowledges, cannot be separated from the right to livelihood. Thus, slum eviction, wherever it does not provide liveable alternatives within the reach of the workplace of people has a tendency to become genocidal. Remarkably enough, the judgment nevertheless endorsed evictions, leaving them however open to challenge: "The State may not, by affirmative action, be compellable to provide adequate means of livelihood or work to the citizens. But, any person, who is deprived of his right to livelihood except according to just and fair procedures established by law, can challenge the deprivation as offending the right to life conferred by Article 21." The trend towards eviction in the big cities like Bombay, Madras, Bangalore is alarming and it has spread nowadays to smaller towns like Mysore, Hubli, Ballary, Madurai and others. All this is done in the name of 'development; 'public health', and 'city beautification'. The monsoon deadlines have run out, new stay orders are being fought for or have been obtained. At present a controversy is on whether the new stay order for Tamil Nadu issued in the middle of December is valid for the whole state or only for Madras. In the meantime, evictions do take place on a limited scale and the movement for the defence of the rights of slum dwellers is gathering strength. The question arises whether this people's movement can develop liveable alternatives.