Masculine Spaces

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Economic & PoliticalWeekly EPW NOVEMBER 22, 2014 vol xlIX no 47 41

Masculine SpacesRural Male Culture in North India

Prem Chowdhry

In rural north India, there are thriving and exclusive

all-male spaces in the villages which play an important

role in constructing gender identities. These extend

from the home to the public domain. Reserved and

used almost exclusively by the male population,

these are spaces where the power and legitimacy of

masculinity are displayed and cemented and where

men are at a distinct advantage in terms of deployment

of power. Masculinisation of space means an access to

and control over resources of various kinds material,

sociocultural, political and ideological. Signifying both

the symbolic and the material dimension of male

power, these spaces validate mens control at home,

in the village, community, and wider society while

asserting the caste and class hierarchies which are under

attack in post-Independence India. Circulating ideals

of gendered separateness, they make the presence of

males and the absence of females seem natural. This

masculinisation of spaces goes totally unacknowledged

and unchallenged even by those most affected. It has

merited little comment, discussion or condemnation

from any quarter.

I wish to thank Bhupendra Yadav for his insightful comments on an

earlier draft of this paper.

Prem Chowdhry ([email protected]) is former professorial

fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, and is

currently an independent researcher.

Patriarchy ensures the dominance of an all-male culture.

In rural north India, as observable in Haryana, the

strength of male culture is most noticeably visible in the

thriving and exclusive all-male spaces in the villages. Signify-

ing both the symbolic and material dimension of male power,

they validate mens power over women, while asserting the

caste and class hierarchies which are under attack in post-

Independence India. These masculine spaces are where tradi-

tionally men have congregated more commonly than womenand where men are at a distinct advantage in terms of deploy-

ment of power. These extend from the home to the outside

public domain. The most common are the gendered spaces like

the baithak(an outer apartment reserved for men correspond-

ing to a sitting room for visitors, etc); the chaupal (community

building); the traditional panchayat (council); or the leisure

time activities of males like consuming alcohol, smoking, card

playing or participating in male-oriented popular sports; or the

all-male army, which continues to resist the entry of females

into its combat ranks. To these spaces may be added public

utility places like the village streets which get reserved for pre-

dominant male-only use after a certain hour of the day. Circu-

lating ideals of gendered separateness, they make the presenceof males and absence of females seem natural.

Space has been shown to be gendered in many ways and its

importance in constructing gender identities in different cul-

tural settings is well recognised (Hoven and Horschelman

2005). Reserved and used almost exclusively by the male

population, these are the spaces where power and legitimacy

of masculinity are cemented and displayed. In these all-male

gatherings mens power and control at home, in the village,

community and wider society, is defended and continually

legitimated. This masculinisation of space means an access to

and control over resources of various kinds, material, sociocul-

tural, political and ideological. Exclusive male spaces connote

sharpening of certain aspects of masculinities like male bond-

ing, group solidarity, swearing, drinking, fighting and using

aggressive and sexually explicit language leading to abundant

use of abuses involving the female anatomy. Women are ex-

tremely vulnerable in these spaces as their presence there

invites attention, ridicule, sexual harassment and even greater

violence. Indeed, all such male gatherings act as means of con-

trolling women.

Curiously, this masculisation of spaces goes totally un-

acknowledged and unchallenged. There has been a notable lack

of attention to the connection between masculine identities


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NOVEMBER 22, 2014 vol xlIX no 47 EPW Economic & PoliticalWeekly42

and spaces. It has not merited any comment, discussion or

condemnation. On the other hand, women and space has mer-

ited attention for a considerable period. For example, in states

like Kerala and Bengal, issues of public and domestic space or

outer and inner space in relation to women have been of major

concern even in the colonial period (Devika 2006; Chakrabarty

1994; Chatterjee 1989). A recent in-depth study regarding

women and the use of public space in Mumbai and Delhi by six

authors draws our attention to the extent of openness or limi-

tations of these spaces, especially for its vast female working

population (Phadke 2007, 2013; Ranade 2007; Khan 2007;

Bedi2007; Vishwanathand Malhotra2007). In other words,

in India the importance of space for constructing gender iden-

tities has been investigated essentially in relation to women in

the cities and urban centres. This article seeks to unravel it in

relation to its rural counterpart and primari ly in relation to its

male population to emphasise how exclusive spaces in the

rural context emerge central to the overwhelming strength of

patriarchy and exercise of masculine power. The existence of

male spaces is a good index to the measure of strength andextent of patriarchy in a given region and society.

There is dire need for this issue to be recognised by socio-

political forces. When males and females do not have an equal

claim to public and/or private spaces and the latter are dubbed

as illegitimate users, and because of this, not infrequently, vio-

lence is inflicted upon them, it is clear that the ideas of justice

and an equal society are seriously lacking in rural areas. The

exclusive and restricted male spaces underline basic inequality

between the two genders. Exposure of these male spaces and a

demand for their opening out to include women would cer-

tainly be a move towards a just and democratic society and

polity. If we seek to transform unequal relations of gender it

may be useful to analyse the existing masculine spaces. Thisarticle is a move towards such an analysis. What follows is

based upon my personal observations and interviews with a

large number of people, both men and women, undertaken

during my fieldwork in Haryana spread over a period of three

decades and continuing.

1 Male Identification with the Village

Spatially, men dominate the village which they declare to be

hamara gaon(our village). In strong patrilineal societies like

that of Haryana the village and its land is taken to belong to

the male descendants of those who originally settled in the vil-

lage. This usage effectively excludes the women of the village,

whether daughters or daughters-in-law.Basing their claim on

patrilineal descent men claim that it is they who are indige-

nous to the village, i e, born and brought up there. All women

are outsiders: the betis (daughters) who are born there go

away from the village after marriage making them essentially

temporary members;1the brides who marry-in are not born

in the village; they are outsiders to the biradari (community)

or bhaichara(brotherhood) which controls the village affairs.

It is significant that the village biradari or bhaichara are in

essence male concepts as women stand excluded from

them.2 For cementing this male collectivity the overarching

ideology of izzator honour is used; fundamentally a male con-

cept it permeates every aspect of Haryanavi life and is basic to

its culture. It is regulated and enforced not infrequently

through the use of violence by the male members, in relation

to individuals or family or a group or even a community.

2 Gendered Geography: Household and the Outside

Male-dominated spaces are amply reflected in both the private

and the public sphere. The private sphere consisting of the

household is a highly gendered space. However, this is not

peculiar to this region as in many cultures the physical form of

the house is gendered, being literally and symbolically divided

into feminine and masculine halves (Domosh 2001). In Haryana,

most households of the landowning caste groups consist of

three distinct parts: theghar (living quarters), thegher(place

for cattle) and the baithak.3The two important aspirations of

the Haryana male are summed up in a common utterance

pukki roti aur pukki haveli (a well-cooked meal and a well-

built house). In fact, apart from the acquisition of agricultural

tools and machinery, the male priority lies in acquiring apukkaghar(solidly constructed house). On an average, in 1984-85a

peasant proprietors family was estimated to spend only 4% to

5% of its domestic budget on housing (Government of Haryana

1987: 5, 14-15). Now that average according to the figures avail-

able for 2004-05 has risen to 13.8% of its domestic budget

(Government of Haryana 2006: 88).

Although considerable differentiation exists within a village

and between different villages, even visually the rural land-

scape has changed noticeably over the years of my association

with this region; it has come to be dotted with pukka and semi-

pukka houses, more spacious than earlier. The material pros-

perity experienced under the green revolution and subsequent

semi-urbanisation and urbanisation has brought considerablechange. This change has also been acknowledged for other

green revolution regions like western Uttar Pradesh (Baker

and Jewitt 2007). Even among the dalits, for a variety of rea-

sons which I have dealt with extensively elsewhere (Chowdhry

2009), the upwardly mobile section has been able to build

pukka or semi-pukka houses and also own cattle. My field-

work showed that those among the lower caste and class

groups who can afford to tend to include a baithak as a male

space, a practice contrary to their male-female sharing in

common ethos visible earlier.

For the pukka houses, the inner quarter of the house, popu-

larly referred to as the ghar, is considered a feminine space.

However, the most popular ground plan for this ghar has at its

heart the dominant masculine space of the baithak. Located in

the frontal portion of the house, the baithak is the most impos-

ing part of the house and extends to the street the public

space outside linking the two spaces. Baithak is where power

is wielded and it may rightly be called the nerve centre of the

household where all decisions are made. This emphasis on the

acquisition of a baithak exclusive of ghar and gher underlines

the idea of men as negotiators with the extended world and

women as custodians of domestic culture within the home. This

division of space between the baithak and ghar, underlining


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the sex-segregation within the home, reinforces the con-

ventional distinction between the private and the public

observed outside.

This geographical segregation of the sexes gets an extra

edge since men are wary of staying too long in the ghar due to

fears of the risk of being feminised. Males who spend more

than the necessary time (generally spent in eating a meal) in

the ghar are called ghar ghusnoo (literally, home bound),

meant negatively, it is used in the sense of being petticoat

bound, i e, a male under the influence/domination of females.

Even the unemployed male youth, who constitute a very large

proportion of men in Haryana (Chowdhry 2005) do not wish

to spend time in the domestic sphere lest such derogatory

charges are made against them which treat them as feminised.

Their masculinity, already under challenge, is asserted through

a refusal to be in the domestic sphere comprising women and

by observing an active disassociation from the private space.

In fact, this escape from the domestic sphere is understood

to be a key aspect of the mens identities (Willott and Griffin

1997: 107-28). They would rather spend their time loafingabout even at odd hours outside the home, occupying the

streets. This has the effect of keeping out women from the

public space. Out in the streets these loafing unemployed

youth act as if they own the street or the street belongs to

them. They can also be violent or aggressive in their use of

sexually explicit language and abuses especially towards those

women who may wittingly or unwittingly breach the unwrit-

ten code of space and time socially recognised and observable

for them in the streets.4By focusing on the danger of these

spaces for women they not only reserve this privileged space

for themselves but also emphasise womens space at home.

Standing as a symbol of masculinity, the baithak emerges

as an exclusive male preserve rarely breached by the women inthe family except to perform a few essential chores required or

demanded by the men. The maximum part of the mans day is

spent here where he entertains, transacts business, does other

agricultural and market-related work. As this space assures

the material and symbolic survival of the family it becomes

the source of resources and prestige and hence superior to the

domestic. Exclusion of women leads to minimising the inter-

action between men and women and depriving the latter of

discussing, rationalising, questioning, partaking or influenc-

ing the decision-making process of the men in any way. This

space is also used by men for discussions of vi llage affairs, pol-

itics and economy as well as national politics. This exclusion of

females, who are not required to hold political opinions or are

considered incapable of holding them, underlines the work

and sphere of the domestic-alone for them. It reduces the

womens access to knowledge which is highly valued in the

public realm.

Chaupal is the public extension of the baithak. If the baithak

is the power centre of a household the chaupal is the heart of

the village. Traditionally, the chapaul, like the baithak, has

been a reserved space for males. Built on a somewhat grand

scale, generally on a high plinth, it has a spacious platform in

front and open space for the assemblage of the male population.

This is the space where village panchayats (both official and

non-official) are generally held and take important decisions.

Male villagers can be seen sitting here, smoking and playing

cards and discussing various local and wider issues. All official

and private functions are organised here. Although considered

the joint property of the vil lage, women can lay no claims to its

usage. Women are very rarely called or allowed in the chaupal,

unless they are summoned or are a part of an official delega-

tion or panchayat, etc. More recently the anganwadiworkers

also have the use of it. However, as men frown upon its use by

women, the latter in general avoid the chaupal, thereby con-

firming its for men only identity and use.

Apart from the main chaupal of the village, the men of the

other caste groups may have their own chaupals. The lower

caste groups especially tend to have their own chaupal as they

are not encouraged to use the chaupal of the dominant castes.

On their part, the lower caste groups are also unwilling to use

these as they are mostly located in the abadi(residential area)

of the higher castes. The dominant caste groups like the Jats on

the other hand spend lavishly on building more and more im-posing chaupal structures. For example, the Meham panchayat

constructed a mammoth chabutra (sitting platform) for their

chaupal in village Sisana, with a seating capacity of 2000.

3 Traditional Panchayat: Most Powerful All-Male

Organisation

One of the most important bastions of male power is the insti-

tution of the traditional panchayat wherein a large collection

of males come together to solve disputes relating to property

rights or inheritance, or caste and inter-caste matters, trans-

gressions in marriage and other sundry disputes which threat-

en the peace of the village or the immediate region. Although

very little is known about the working of traditional panchay-ats in contemporary timesthey remain an active force in rural

north India (Chowdhry 2004). What follows in these panchayat

meetings is claimed to be an open, fair and democratic deci-

sion in respect of a specific problem facing the community

members. However, in these exclusive male gatherings the

low-caste men can be generally seen sitting or standing on the

periphery of the male assembly, all huddled in one space and

not intermingling with the high-caste men.

A close observation of the proceedings suggests conduct

contrary to the claimed democratic one. On many occasions,

one of the concerned parties is not even present or is too thinly

represented. Women are not even allowed to enter the pan-

chayat premises although, more often than not, the decisions

taken there involve them in important ways. The traditional

norm regarding their attendance has been certainly broken in

certain cases albeit on very rare occasions.5However, it is greatly

frowned upon, discouraged and has never become a norm.

More recently, in view of the large-scale media and civil

society criticism the khap panchayats (traditional council

representing a geographical area inhabited by a wider group

of linked clans of Jats) have attempted to get a few women into

this all male assemblage (Chowdhry 2013b). The women

co-opted have essentially a token presence and are brought in,


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for all intents and purposes, to silence the rising criticism

against these traditional bodies. Handpicked by the khap they

have been instructed to keep quiet and speak only to support

the male speakers. There is absolutely no evidence of rewriting

the male-only rule of the panchayats.6 Clearly, masculinity

essentially lies in not sharing the exclusive male-assemblage

spaces with women. Even in the statutory panchayats the 33%

female representation guaranteed under the Haryana Pancha-

yati Raj Act of 1994, is hardly effective. The non-participation

of women in these official bodies due to family male proxy

attendance and the ineffectiveness of womens voices due to

the biased male attitude are well acknowledged facts

(Nagpal 2013).

In the traditional male collectives or community gatherings

what is at stake is the mens tough image and strong leader-

ship, both associated with masculinity. Such a leadership

closely monitors the discussion. Dissent is either ignored, kept

dormant or not allowed to surface in any effective manner.

The young males, very often the affected party, are not al-

lowed to voice their opinion, especially when any other oldermale member of the family is present. In rural north India, age

and experience are still respected, though change, howsoever

slow, now favours the youth. For example, the introduction of

different state structures, such as the elected statutory pan-

chayat, the election mechanism based upon equal citizenship

and adult franchise, has shifted the balance of power to much

younger, new socially mixed groups, who along with bureau-

cracy and police constitute the formal structure in post-

Independent India. A study of the leadership of the statutory

panchayats in Haryana shows that 77.5% of panchayat mem-

bers to be below 50 years of age (Singh 1985: 39). The intro-

duction of the green revolution involving new agricultural

technology, machines and contact with the outside world, takingand re-payment of bank loans, etc, has thrown up the role of

the younger men far more sharply than ever. All this suggests a

perceptible shift of power to the younger men in rural Haryana.

Consequently, the older generation has been feeling a greater

need to assert itself and stand as leader of a united community

(Chowdhry 2005). In attempting to project such a community,

the traditional panchayat has been stressing a kind of aggres-

sive masculinity in which the youth loses out if he does not

subscribe to it. He is declared to be a weakling and effemi-

nate, unable to withstand the urban/western phenomenon.

Indeed, as opposed to those who quietly acquiesce to what-

ever is decreed in such gatherings there are a fairly large

number of men who are extremely vocal and belligerent in

supporting the decisions of the panchayat. These are mostly

drawn from among the unmarried/unemployed men in rural

society whose masculinity, for a variety of reasons, is con-

sidered highly suspect (Chowdhry 2005). The all-male pan-

chayat provides a space to them to demonstrate their mascu-

linity under the surveillance of other mens approval, in what

may be described as homosocial enactment (Kimmel 2001).

Men prove their manhood in the eyes of other men, not neces-

sarily through demonstration of wealth and other accomplish-

ments, as suggested by Michael Kimmel, but by supporting/

participating and implementing the decisions and by provid-

ing a popular and vociferous base to the dictatorial and uncon-

stitutional doings of this extrajudicial body and giving it legiti-

macy. This is a kind of public demonstration of their masculin-

ity which then gets established in relation to the evaluation of

male peers and male authority.

The decision of such a body, with the older generation

monopolising and directing its course, is projected and imple-

mented as a unanimous decision democratically arrived at;

dissenters are dismissed as men of no importance. This

united rural male strength acts as a united repressive force

and exercises ideological pressure on females and weaker

members of other castes, especial ly low-caste groups. In cases

where v iolence is resorted to, to implement the panchayats

decision, an even more effective weapon is placed in their

hands. The desire to enforce their domination and prove their

strength is an interest that cuts across males of different

upper-caste groups.

4 Public Spaces: Pleasurable ActivitiesThis ideology of separate spheres, public and private, has in

essence meant the unwillingness of men to recognise the full

and equal involvement of women in an important public

sphere, i e, agriculture. Significantly, unlike in the case of

men, this public space of agriculture for women is taken to be

a mere extension of their private space (Chowdhry 1993).

Work performed in the private space is not considered worthy

of acknowledgement.

Despite this association of productive work essentially with

men and not women, men can be seen to have ample leisure

time in the rural areas. And if leisure can be taken as a form of

capital then it is apparent that women have less of it, have re-

duced access to it, and are less able to negotiate their activitieswith it (Whitehead 2002: 140-43). Men on the other hand are

given to observing certain social norms and practices for their

leisure which are all-male, like hukkasmoking, sitting round

the fire in winter, card-playing, or playing popular all-male

sports, as well as drinking alcohol, especially visible in the in-

creasing numbers ofsharab ke adde (liquor joints) and dhabas

(local eateries). Being strictly male-oriented these have tended

to enlarge the nuclei of male assemblage in the public spaces.

The constant presence of so many men reinforces the ideology

of segregation of sexes, control of female mobility and domi-

nance of men.

A common sight in the villages is a group of men smoking

hukka while playing cards, surrounded by a couple of young

boys peering over the players heads to watch them play. Public

hukka smoking and sharing by males is also highly symbolic.

It is always shared among equals. It is a most powerful symbol

of inclusivity and exclusivity of caste. No high-caste man will

share his hukka with a lower-caste man since sharing it im-

plies the acceptance of the other mans equality, manhood and

also bestowal of honour and refusing to share it is considered

an insult. It means ostracism of an individual or a family or the

community. Hukka-pani bandh is evoked when people are

boycotted or expelled from the village biradari.


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Another pleasurable activity, also traditionally enjoyed by

Haryanavi males, is that of sports. Research by historians and

sociologists shows how important male-sport is in the consoli-

dation of various masculine images and lifestyle (Horrocks

1995). Popular sports that have traditionally existed in this re-

gion are located in combat and contact games like kushti

(wrestling), boxing, kabbadi, lathi ghumana(staff-wielding)

and athletics, all of which require a strong physique and

strength. Among these it is the sport of kushti, considered a

way of life that symbolises masculinity at its best. By working

on their bodies the wrestlers gain in status. Exhibition and

competitive kushti matches are frequently arranged on special

occasions like festivals, weddings and melas(fairs).

However, interviews with a cross section of people associat-

ed with wrestling have revealed that the dedicated attend-

ance at the akharas(wrestlers arena) has dwindled, though

thousands of them dot the villages. Unlike earlier when the

men came to build their physical fitness and muscles while

supposedly following a strict moral and ethical code under the

instructions of a revered guru, now the motivation is the land-ing of a job with the police force or in the paramilitary or

armed forces. Being wholly job-oriented, their adherence to

the required norms and the moral code of behaviour which

has been traditionally associated with the wrestling culture is

totally absent (Alter 1992: 201).Pehalwans, as these wrestlers

are called, are agreeable to being hired by real estate builders

or agents and businessmen, whenever there is a need to flex

muscle power. They are known to, for a price, assist anyone

who wants to grab land, get premises vacated or settle scores.

A large number of akharas are also patronised by leaders of

different political parties. They are pressed into service at the

time of elections to either stop or intimidate certain people or

communities from exercising their franchise.With this perverted service being offered by them the

word pehlawan, once hailed as an epithet of honour, has now

come to be a pejorative word, even a dreaded one. It evokes

fear, resentment and contempt rather than respect. The more

ambitious ones among them have even joined politics. Others

are trying constantly to be accepted as the candidate of a rec-

ognised political party for contesting the elections. During my

fieldwork several names were disclosed as proof of this fact.

On the other hand, wrestling has also opened a career op-

tion for the youngsters; especially as this region has produced

a large contingent of gold-medallist, including a few women,

who have come up in the international competitions (Outlook

2012). It is not only wrestling but other sports as well, where

women have started participating and winning awards. Gen-

erously rewarded by the state, the sports policy followed in

Haryana since 2006 is geared towards encouraging sports by

rewarding deserving men and women, though not necessar-

ily by promoting a sports culture (Yadav 2010).

However, it must be remembered that the basic hegemonic

ideology of sport has been defined by scholars as male

(Saavedra 1997: 437-54). It supports male dominance not only

by excluding or marginalising women but also by naturalising

a connection between masculinity and the skills of sport,

aggression, physical strength, success in competition and ne-

gation of the feminine (Hall 2005). The history and spaces of

sport even in the West have been predominantly male and

sport grounds have been identified as a traditional spaces of

masculinity. Over the years in western societies several

factors in the context of changing institutional and societal

norms and values, commercialisation of sport, media cover-

age, increase in government funding, coaching and training

facilities leading to competitions have led to a steady flow of

females into what were previously male-dominated sports

and spaces (Hall 2005). Womens involvement in sports ques-

tions this version of masculinity and the power that emanates

from it. According to the critics, under such an ideology

female athletes put their femininity at risk, threaten the

social order and invite disapproval and hostility because they

act male (Bolin 2012).

Similarly in Haryana, there exists both derision and support

for the development of womens sports especially in view of

government funding, grants, and benefits with which sports-

women have been awarded. In Haryana, the physically power-ful and competent women who are desired for performing agri-

cultural work become suspect when they use this prowess in

another field, especially like that of wrestling and boxing. My

fieldwork threw up a lot of criticism, especially from the males

about female wrestlers who are accused of building their

muscles by lifting weights, wearing kachchas (underclothes)

exposing their bodies to the public and indulging in wrestling.7

The same opinion is held for boxing which some women have

taken up. Their opinion is summed up in who will marry

these girls? Some of the girls complained that they are even

discouraged from playing sports that might make them

manly. As in the West, this negative opinion shows threat-

ened masculinity in this region as well (Hall 2005).In a milieu where sport occupies an important social role

and the normative sport is male, entry of female athletes espe-

cially in certain select male sacred sports which have been

traditionally an exclusive preserve of men poses a critical

challenge. They have transgressed rigid gender boundaries.

Moreover, the presence of robust women athletes demon-

strates that sporting prowess is not naturally masculine (Bolin

2012). It therefore becomes all the more important for men

that, notwithstanding a few breaches, sports remain an all-

important site for the propagation of patriarchal and mascu-

linist gender politics.

5 Consumption of Alcohol: Growing Menace

In terms of popularity nothing can match the practice of

alcohol intake which is speedily increasing among males of

all ages. This adds more spaces and occasions, both social

and political, to the already existing male spaces and increases

a display of masculinity and aggression. This can be seen in

the growing sharab ke adde in Haryana which in many

ways have come to influence the masculine spaces in a pro-

found manner.

Drinking alcohol has always been an intrinsic part of rural

society. Places where alcohol is sold or where drinking takes


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place are exclusive male preserves. In such spaces mens com-

munity and power can be seen to be openly displayed and

dominant understanding of legitimate masculine behaviour is

defended and continually refurbished (Campbell 2000). This

public place, reserved exclusively for men, promotes the absence

or invisibility of others, not only women, but also among men

other men, notably lower-caste groups who may not be ac-

commodated in such spaces. They may buy alcohol but not nec-

essarily form a part of those who are drinking on the premises.

In the colonial period, the British Indian Armys influence

on alcohol consumption was a very decisive one. The one

taste which was deliberately encouraged in the army was

that of alcohol drinking, which came to be firmly associated

with masculinity and masculine behaviour. Many times the

easy availability of cheap or subsidised liquor led to heavy

drinking. It was related to the desire and need to suppress the

soldiers fears, reward their efforts, overcome their social inhi-

bitions regarding aggression and violence and help numb the

pain of combat (Goldstein 2001: 257).

The army recruits on their visits to their villages alwaysbrought back bottles of rum and whisky, relatively high in po-

tency compared to the home-brewed liquor, to be shared. Alco-

hol drinking also gained significance as it came to be associat-

ed with the martial heritage of not only the Rajputs, as de-

scribed by Jon Peter Dorschnver (1983: 35, 54), but generally of

the martial castes, as well as with the overriding concern

with their masculinity. As opposed to this the two reasons

advocated for the popularity of alcohol among the lower castes

and classes, in direct opposition to the higher castes and classes,

are economic deprivation and low self-esteem and an attempt

to overcome these, however temporarily. Retired army men in

the villages even now are stated to be the greatest consumers

of alcohol. They get pure liquor that is of high quality andmuch lower in price than the market. Army men are known to

sell this liquor at a profit.

There is also a noticeable increase in the number of social

occasions where drinking is popularly expected, accepted and

allowed. These extend from festivals like Holi and Diwali to

other celebratory occasions leading to a segregated gathering

of males from females. For example, drinking liquor has

become a must for the men gathered at the birth of a son; at

the marriage of a son and when a man lands a job, especially a

government job. All male friends demand liquor for celebrat-

ing such an important occasion. To these may be added the

increasing demand and popularity of having a party. Strictly

confined only to men these parties are essentially for alcohol

consumption. However, the largest consumption of alcohol is

to be found in the village panchayat elections. A candidate for

the position of sarpanch (headman) arranges on an average

Rs 3 to 5 lakh worth of country liquor to be distributed among

the potential voters. A victory celebration again means an

all-male-liquor party.

The consumption of liquor is enormous and is said to be

growing. During 1981 and 2006-07, foreign liquor consumption

rose 8.13 fold and wine and beer 10.12 fold (Statistical Abstract

of Haryana 2010: 558-59). Not all this alcohol is consumed in

Haryana itself, as the state is an exporter of spirits and beer to

other states. But even if we take the consumption of country

liquor alone, locally known as tharra,the increase in its con-

sumption has been startling: from 14,20,345 in 1966-67 to

49,93,664 proof liters in 1980-81 an increase of 351.58%. In

2006-07 (when the figures are available) it stood at 5,75,40,753

proof litres a rise of 1,152.27%. This excludes the enormous

illicit distillation carried out in the state.

Although the figures are missing, many vouch for an in-

crease in the number of sharab ke thekke (licensed liquor

shop). The existing practice shows the licensing and setting up

of one such shop within a radius of every 10 km and opening of

small retail shops every 3 km. Mostly located near the bus

stops or the residential areas of the villages, liquor has the

busiest sale in the period between 6 pm and 9 pm a time

when no woman can be seen near these shops. However,

liquor is freely available not only in the legally sanctioned

spaces but also in the vegetable and tea shops, being sold in

small pouches or in glasses priced at Rs 2 and 5 per pouch. It is

well known that even schoolboys buy these pouches and con-sume the contents. Their attempts at becoming a man by

drinking alcohol start early. The declining age group of

alcohol consumers is a constant worry among the Haryanavi

populace. This menace has provided a basis for periodic

anti-alcohol agitations spearheaded by women (Chowdhry

1994: 257-59).

How do men see their drinking, and what explanation or

justification do they offer? Some of the answers given by men-

related essentially to their being men and their masculinity:

(a) it is considered necessary for them to loosen up after a hard

days work and drinking helps in that; (b) it helps them to

build up necessary social capital and male solidarity, i e, male

bonding based upon their caste and biradari; (c) men com-plained of the demands and expectations placed upon

them as men and their response to these. Such a rationalisa-

tion exposes extreme gender inequality in household expendi-

ture, which is exclusively reserved for men to decide. Indeed,

wasteful expenditure on drinking, at the cost of household

expenses, has been variously commented upon by the feminist

authors as creating gender injustice (Vera-Sanso 2002).

6 Army: A Closed Preserve of Men

An important exclusive masculine space can be located in the

army profession. For army recruitment in the colonial period

the British had structurally and ideologically identified with

and privileged those trends of existing masculinities in this

region which suited their power structure and empire

building. They actively promoted a constellation of marital

caste status, landownership, dominant caste syndrome and

good physique or physical strength to successfully recruit a

majority of men from the dominant caste of this region

(Chowdhry 2013a).

After Independence, the Indian state threw open army re-

cruitment to different social segments among males regardless

of region, class and caste groups and allotted recruitment

quotas to different states of India according to a certain (not


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SPECIAL ARTICLE


known) percentage of male figures of recruiting ages. How-

ever, according to the army officers, despite this opening up

of the army, by and large, the same classes and castes of

people continue to be recruited as in the colonial past. The

others are known to be largely recruited in the non-combat

forces. Women especially have been kept out, or allowed in

very limited numbers and in very limited fields.8The following

analysis of the anxiety faced by the army personnel in guard-

ing the all-male character of the army is largely based upon

the interviews held in the National Defense Academy in

Dehradun where I had gone in February 2010 (Chowdhry 2010).

There is a strong belief among army men that combat, by

nature, is a male occupation; the army is a male space and

combat the most masculine of all aspects of war. The resist-

ance to womens recruitment in the army, especially in the

fighting units, has to be looked at as the army mens desire to

preserve the fundamental aspect of their identity, i e, army as

a male domain. Almost all men asserted that fighting is a

mans job and should remain so. In a May 2012 radio inter-

view the then army chief, V K Singh and now an MPof theBharatiya Janata Party, who hails from the Bhiwani district of

Haryana, candidly commented: since the soldiers of the army

are overwhelmingly drawn from the rural areas it would be

very difficult for them to serve under a lady officer; they are

just not used to taking commands from a lady.

Army service, considered the privilege of men, means de-

fending not only the nation and its boundaries but also women

and children. Nations are symbolised by women and states by

men. The male citizens, associated with the state, must protect

the mother earth, i e, the nation. Accommodation of women

challenges these familiar roles. The resistance of men is there-

fore a sharp reaction to the perceived menace these women

pose not only to the exclusive male spaces but also to the tradi-tional equilibrium of assigned male-female identificatory roles.

In a patriarchal society with culturally assigned subordinate

position, and in a relationship dominated by men, if women

were to perform what men perceive as a masculine function,

it is bound to be resisted. When women attempt to enter the

army, especially as officers, they threaten to undermine the

hegemonic masculinity of the organisation and stand to

undermine its masculine ethos; and as one officer put it, to

effeminate the sturdy men by making them behave out of

character (male). Women officers in charge of male soldiers

and subordinates are seen as transgressive and unnatural

women who are out of place and who are denying their

femininity. In other words introduction of women in the

army would lead to a denial of the basic characteristics of both

masculinity and femininity. Another army officer from

Haryana commented:Admiyon jaisi aurautein kis ko chaihiyen

hain? (who wants women who are like men?) In other words

they are averse to both, i e, militarisation of femininity and

feminisation of the military. These notions of masculinity/

femininity are totally at odds with the rules of modern rights

of equality.

The reservations of the Haryana males are summed up by a

panchayati member candidly recorded on camera:Ab yeh keh

rahe hain ki ladkiyon ko bhi fauj mein bharti ker do. Bhai voh

mahina apna mahavari sambhlegi ya bachchon to sambhalegi

ya fauj mein ladaee karegi, bandook uthayegi. Bkilkul dimag

kharab ker diya he inhone(Now the demand is that the girls

must be recruited in the army. Brother, you tell me would

these girls be able to manage their menstruation every month

and look after their children, or pick up the gun and fight in

the army? Surely, they are out of their minds).9Similar senti-

ments regarding those difficult days of the month for women

were expressed by an urbane army officer. The armymens op-

position clearly emanates from their desire to prevent the es-

sential male character of the army and their sense of mascu-

linity which lies in the combat role itself, from being diluted.

Unofficial army culture, I was also confidentially informed,

encourages sexist and homophobic attitudes considered a

part of natural masculine behavior. The use of coarse lan-

guage and swearwords is common in the army, as in other

male spaces. It actively excludes women, denigrates them,

treats them as sexual objects, abuses and ridicules them. Army

men show an almost universal obsession with sexual banterand humour. Women officers revealed that they had to listen

to endless references to sex in both formal and informal situa-

tions and felt harassed on account of it. Refusing to change,

the men asserted: If women have been allowed in, let them

adjust to the existing pattern of our behaviour. This attitude

creates tension which is sexual in nature. Indeed, the rising

cases of sexual harassment in the army are a case in point,

underlining the unsafe nature of the all male spaces. The

overwhelming absence of women from combat thus serves

to reinforce the gender division that exists in the civilian

society between males and females and helps generate patri-

archal stability.

7 Conclusions

Social and economic changes in the villages and extensive

urbanisation with an increasing merger of boundaries be-

tween city and villages along with gender neutral common

spaces have aroused great anxieties, especially among the

male populace. The point of debate in the villages is: How do

they (the local populace) want to see themselves? As a carica-

ture of the urban? Or with a different identity, especially as

the urban is largely looked down upon in the rural areas?

Increasing urban spaces are also problematic as they are rela-

tively emancipatory in both class and caste terms and thus cre-

ate great uncertainty around gender issues. Masculine identi-

ties in Haryana are in certain respects empowered by moder-

nity while women are perceived to have become a central

problematic to be constrained. In the urban-rural overlapping

areas there has been an erosion of the male space like the rural

male claim to the exclusive use of the street after dark, or in-

crease in the number of working women and their mobility

during unorthodox time periods. At such times men drink-

ing in groups, swearing, fighting, gambling, or just standing

or lurking at street corners, watching passers-by, especially

the odd woman, are a menacing site for women. The increas-

ing visibility of women on the streets has in many respects


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SPECIAL ARTICLE


accompanied an increase in crime against them since in many

ways it is a reaction to a perceived loss of masculine control

over this space. This perception has led to disquiet and

discomfort among the male populace; their inability to han-

dle this erosion has turned the village collective noticeably

resentful.

The fractures in the vil lage community its economy, polity

and society have led to a profound nostalgia for an unreach-

able concept of the past. The present day self-assertion of the

community through khap panchayatsis symptomatic of that

need. From time to time masculinity in rural areas needs to be

confirmed and recognised. Such occasions are provided by any

challenge, perceived or real, that may be thrown at them.

These occasions are used to reclaim or reassert the traditional

form of masculinity. The tough stand taken by the male collec-

tive in the khap panchayats on the so called honour crimes is

a case in point (Chowdhry 2004). These present-day happen-

ings have rejuvenated the discourse around tradition and the

ideal of a stable community and stressed the preservation of

the ideal space, which is nothing but an exclusive masculinespace. Such spaces police and reinforce the boundaries of

gender. The unwillingness of males to change their all-male

spaces in the village or accommodate women for instance

shows an endeavour to maintain structures of power duirng

times of change.

In this connection it is interesting to note that the village

and the community collectives have been working towards

cleansing certain spaces which are showing sure signs of

breaches and safeguarding them as masculine spaces. In the

shared domain of aspirations to economic development and

emphasis on education, cultural modes have emerged as

all important. The major thrust of the khap panchayats in

this connection has been their attempts to put a stop to co-educational schools in the villages. On 21 March 1993 a sarv

khap panchayat held at village Sisana in district Sonepat,

unanimously passed a resolution against setting up of co-ed

schools. It acknowledged the danger of mixing of the sexes

and considered it to be morally reprehensible. Such resolu-

tions have become yearly rituals now and are aimed at snatch-

ing away the public spaces available to females. This demand

for all-male schools is not only to protect the girls or prevent

forming of intimate associations, but also because it is neces-

sary for bringing up real men who, according to the advo-

cates of this view point, are threatened by the inclusion of

females (Mangan and Walvin 1987). Clearly, a call by the

khaps for segregating boys and girls is an attempt to masculi-

nise the school.

Whether it is schools, baithak, chaupal, leisure activities,

liquour drinking, sports, or the all powerful traditional pan-

chayat, masculine spaces exercise most cogent control over

those who are left out of these spaces, women especially, and

curb their democratic and human rights. These masculine

spaces impose social distance and limit the interaction of

women with those who control economic resources, wield

power and make decisions. What can be done to remedy mat-ters? It is difficult to find answers. Masculine spaces are reflec-

tive of the society that produces them culturally and sanctifies

them (Domosh 2001).As symbols of that society, can they

change without society being changed? Can we hope to

change society by changing the symbols of that society? On

the other hand if women do not even have access to these sym-

bolic spaces, how do we expect changes in the social struc-

tures and conditions? It cannot be denied that as power relates

to control of both symbolic as well as material goods, the two

are strongly interlinked. A change in the exclusive nature of

these spaces has the possibility of encouraging a change in the

desired direction and being potentially gender-transformato-

ry. An attack on the culture of all-male exclusive spaces whichseeks to normalise asymmetries as natural and inevitable

would be an attack on all-male power and patriarchy itself.

REVIEW OF RURAL AFFAIRSJune 28, 2014

Emergent Ruralities: Revisiting Village Life and Agrarian Change in Haryana Surinder S Jodhka

Vulnerability, Forced Migration and Trafficking in Children and Women:

A Field View from the Plantation Industry in West Bengal Biswajit Ghosh

Link between Food Price Inflation and Rural Wage Dynamics

Atulan Guha, Ashutosh Kr TripathiEstimating Rural Housing Shortage Arjun Kumar

Financial Literacy in Rural Banking: Proposal for an Alternative Approach Sukanya Bose, Arvind Sardana

Generating Agrarian Dynamism: Saurashtras Lessons for Vidarbha Tushaar Shah, Yashree Mehta, Vivek Kher, Alka Palrecha

Punjabs Small Peasantry: Thriving or Deteriorating? Sukhpal Singh, Shruti Bhogal

Growth in Indian Agriculture: Responding to Policy Initiatives since 2004-05 Bipin K Deokar, S L Shetty

For copies write to: Circulation Manager,

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email: [email protected]


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Notes

1 The customary rules regulating marriage inmost parts of northern India are based uponcaste endogamy on the one hand, and villageor territorial exogamy, on the other. There isvery strict observance of these norms for mar-riage purposes. The widespread phenomenonof the so-called honour killings is directly re-lated to the breaches in these customary

norms. For details, see Chowdhry (2007: 92-138).

2 The term biradari is variously defined accord-ing to its usage. McKim Marriott, for instancenotes that the term biradari refers not to justone concrete structural unit at the village levelbut rather to patrilineal connection, real, puta-tive or fictional, at any level of segmentation(1962). In the context of a caste group, a bira-dari is a social group made up of males whobelieve they are descended from a commonmale ancestor which makes them equals andbrothers. But used in the context of the vil lage,biradari and bhaichara refer to the entire vil-lage, theoretically overriding differences ofcaste, class and creed. In reality it effectivelyexcludes the lower-caste groups. Territoriallythis may extend f rom a single village to a groupof villages.

3 For a comprehensive account of the ruralhouseholds in Haryana and the function thateach space performs, also see Chandhoke(1990: 223-65).

4 For a graphic description of a Punjab villagestreet after dark as an essentially male spaceand dangerous for women see Chopra (2003:36-49).

5 For example, in a July 2000 case of Ashish andDarshana in village Jondhi, Darshana wascompelled to confront the caste panchayattwice and directed to comply with the pancha-yats decision. Her ghungat (veil) was liftedback to turn her into a beti from a bahu(daughter-in-law). See Chowdhry (2004).

6 Recently, in April 2014, Satrol Khap panchayatheld in village Narnaud in Hissar even openeda Mahila Wing (womens wing), with a womanleader as its head, as a part of this khap. How-

ever, Inder Singh Mor, the khap head, openlystated that this was being done to erase thereputation of the khaps being anti women(Indian Express 2014: 1, 4). Also, many castepanchayats have been on the war path aboutthis opening out.

7 As part of their training, female wrestlers haveto wrestle with male wrestlers, leading to closebody contact while wearing, as one man put it,hardly any clothes.

8 Since the early 1990s, women have been serv-ing in wings of the armed forces like legal, edu-cation, engineering, ordnance, intelligence,signals, air traffic control but only as short-service commission officers with a maximumof 14 years.

9 Stated by a member of the caste panchayatDhara Singh. Source: documentary film (2012)by Sawhney: Izzat Nagri ki Asbhya Betiyan,on resistance against honour crimes.

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