Intersections: Amazing Tharu Women: Empowered and in Control

Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific
Issue 22, October 2009

Amazing Tharu Women:
Empowered and in Control

Subhash Chandra Verma

Introduction

The Tharu tribe is a famous tribal community of India and Nepal, a majority of them living in the Himalayan Tarai region on the Indo-Nepal border. In India, the districts which are populated by the Tharu tribe are: Udham Singh Nagar in Uttrakhand State, Pilibhit, Kheeri, Gonda, Basti, Bahraich, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh State and Motihari in Bihar State. The Dang, Chitwan, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Morng, Saptari, and Jhapa districts of Nepal are also populated by Tharu tribe members. More than 80 per cent of the Tharus of India live in Khatima and Sitarganj Tahsil in the Udham Singh Nagar District of Uttrakhand State. There are five tribes living in Uttrakhand State (Jaunsari, Tharu, Bhotia, Buxa, and Banraji) and the Tharu tribe occupies the second place in terms of population. The main occupations of this tribal community are agriculture, hunting and fishing, agriculture and forestry which form the mainstay of their economy.[1] Historically, they were the only tribe who could survive in the malarial jungles on the Indo-Nepal border. But as mosquito-control measures became successful, many others have migrated into this tribe's areas. The Tharu people have a deep affiliation with both the forest and the river. According to the Census of India 2001, the population of the Tharu tribe is approximately 169,209 (85,665 in Uttrakhand State and 83,544 in Uttar Pradesh State) in India. In Nepal this figure is 1,533,879 (6.75 percent of the total population of Nepal).[2]

This tribal community has many unique features in terms of their cultural and socio-economic systems. There are several clans in the Tharu tribe (called Kuri in their local language), some of the most important being: Badwayak, Battha, Rawat, birtiya, Mahto, Dahait, Rajia, Bunka, Sansa, Jugia, Buxa, Dhangra, and Rana. All of these are divided into low and high status.[3] Tharus follow the Hindu religion because they claim that they have Rajput blood in them and that they migrated from Rajasthan. This seems to be an interesting claim, because they do not have any known characteristics of Rajasthani Rajputs in their race and culture.[4] In 1941, Dr. D.N. Majumadar contested the supposed Rajput origin of the Tharus on the basis of blood group tests. It was found that Tharus have descended from the Mongoloid race.[5]

As mentioned above, the Tharu's profess Hinduism, but since they are a purely tribal community they worship mainly their tribal Goddess called Bhuiyan or Bhumsen alongside other Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The Government of India has categorised this community as a Scheduled Tribe.[6]

I propose to examine the positioning of women in the Tharu tribe in relation to family, social structures, customs and rituals and demonstrate, on the basis of empirical data, that Tharu women, who claim to have Rajput blood in their veins and are thought to be the descendants of Rajput queens, occupy an empowered space both in the family and the community. This is in stark contrast to the positioning of women in the urban metropolises of India (and other rural areas), where they are discriminated against, exploited, battered, raped and are forced to remain on the margins of the family-society power matrix. Women in the urban areas are still struggling for the rights and freedoms, which are enjoyed by the women of the Tharu tribe.[7]

Methodology

This study is based on a primary survey using direct/participant observation and interview methods to arrive at the conclusions. Available secondary resources, however, have also been used. Since this essay is related to the larger University Grants Commission (UGC) project I am engaged in, part of the primary survey data from that project has been used. The primary information was collected from twenty-five Tharu-dominated villages including: Tahsil Siatrganj and Khatima District Udham Singh Nagar in the State of Uttrakhand, India. A total of 1000 couples (forty couples between the 18 and 35 year age group from each village) were selected for interviews by a random sampling method. The selected samples cover 10 per cent of the total Tharu couples in twenty-five villages. The essay is presented in Exploratory and Analytic research design with the help of statistical methods. Some statements in this study are based on secondary data but the maximum results are derived from the primary data.

Status of women in family and society

Indian anthropologists have mostly accepted the fact that women occupy a position of power in the Tharu tribe. In 1941, D.N. Majumadar used the term matriarchy to refer to the Tharu people. He wrote, 'The dominance of women, their rights to property, their maltreatment of their husbands, their active role in fishing, the chase and business negotiations, all these reproduce conditions of matriarchal society.'[8] The Khasas, with whom Tharus have interactions, also show the vestiges of strong, powerful women. So, it is possible that in the Tarai and the Himalayan region, among the aboriginal Tharus, a society in which women exerted considerable power existed in the past, which has profoundly influenced the cultural pattern of Khasas as well as Tharus.'[9] S.K. Srivastava has explained: 'Even today [1958] the position of [Tharu] women is not that of the family drudge as one may find in some lowly societies. They have considerable freedom and wield great influence in the domestic sphere. The majority of women in the crowded markets and fairs do all the marketing and move about freely, while their husbands only assist them in bringing the articles home, purchased by their wives.'[10]

Their burial custom includes the strange practice of burying men face down and women face up, which might also be interpreted as the superior position of women. A joint family system is popular in the Tharu community and, therefore, all the members live together and respect each other.[11] Males do not interfere in matters concerning women or in any of their activities. The oldest woman of the family has total sway on the family. Every family member has to get her permission for all economic, religious, and other activities. All the family members look after a woman during the period of pregnancy, and the family members provide enough time to her for rest and entertainment. Tharus feed more healthy food to a pregnant woman so that she will bear a healthy and handsome child.[12] Her husband or other family members never hurt her emotionally and every person tries to pay full attention to her.

It is important to note that Tharu women enjoy greater socio-economic rights and gender freedom, which is the product of the tribal social system, governing their lives and day-to-day living. Men have a great respect for all women, even in some of the families which no longer follow the joint family system, which was popular until recently. Tharu women wield power in the family set up, as permission of the mother, the wife or some other active woman of the family is compulsory for economic, social, religious, cultural and all other activities. The socio-economic rights of Tharu women are considered inviolable. Tharu women are hard working and actively assist their men in agricultural and other outside work. But interestingly, they are, by far, the best caregivers in the family. In short, they play an important role both in and outside the family, making a significant contribution to the cultural and socio-economic activities of the community. Tharu women keep their houses clean and decorated. They like to visit local markets, fairs and festivals. Even though this community has a patrilineal system, women have a high social and familial position, which is remarkable given that traditionally in the patrilineal system of social relations, women are inferiorised, both within and outside the family, where the patriarch calls the shots and makes the decisions. Even though Tharu community is patrilineal, women, untypically for India, occupy an empowered position.

Women-friendly marriage systems

The Tharus practiced various forms of marriage in the past but some of these have been given up. For example, marriage by capture (kaj), and marriage by purchase (dola) have come to be looked down upon by the community and are rarely resorted to these days. Marriage is obligatory for all adults—both males and females—as the unmarried do not enjoy a good reputation in society. Normally the single-wife system (monogamy) is practiced, but polygamy is socially recognised in Tharu society. However, it is not practiced on a large scale.[13] Tharus do not allow cross-cousin and parallel-cousin marriages, but there is no rule regarding the seeking of a bride from another village. Indeed, women can choose their marriage partners and can also enter into sexual relations at will. At present, alongside the traditional marriage, certain other forms of women-friendly marriage are also practiced: Love marriage is prohibited, but if during the period of courtship, the woman becomes pregnant, the man has to marry her, or else he would be punished. Mentioned below are the forms of marriage generally followed by the Tharus:

Chutkuta (widow re-marriage), is quite popular amongst Tharu people and does not carry any stigma. Sometimes, Chutkuta is practiced with a little difference in form: when a man marries a widow and begins to live with his wife at her home, the marriage is called Gharbaitha, meaning the man lives in his wife's home like a servant. In the Gharbaitha form of marriage, the man can use his wife's property but has no right of ownership to it. Since widow re-marriage is quite popular, the number of the unmarried in the tribe is very small. A Tharu widow can keep a Gharbaitha or Chutkuta husband, according to her desire. There is yet another form of widow re-marriage: the widow can marry her deceased husband's brother or cousin. This form of widow re-marriage is called Latta Dalana, which means the deceased husband's brother covers her head by a piece of cloth and promises to take care of her for the rest of her life. However, a widow is free to marry a person not related to her in any way.

Ghuspaith (marriage in which man is forced to marry woman) is yet another form of woman-friendly marriage. This is an interesting form of marriage as Ghuspaith means 'entry by force into the home of her lover.' If the woman wants to marry her lover, but the man refuses her proposal, she can forcibly enter into his house. After her entry into her lover's house, he has to accept her as a wife and if he does not, he has to suffer a huge payment in terms of wealth and also bear the punishment prescribed by the community. Normally the male accepts the woman as his wife to save money and his social reputation. It is noteworthy, that a man cannot resort to ghuspaith tactics to force a woman to marry him.

Uddari (Love marriage) is yet another form of marriage. Sometimes in this form the young man and woman go away together to another place if their parents will not permit them to marry. After some time they come back home or their parents search for them and accept them as wife and husband.

Statistical representation of forms of marriage in the Tharu community

Among the various forms of marriage, the regular Tharu marriage is the most popular among the Tharus. Table 1 shows that 91.6 per cent of Tharu people enter into regular marriage. The percentages of Chutkuta, Ghuspaith, and Uddari are 3.1, 0.9, and 4.4 respectively. The percentage of marriage by force is not large, because love marriage is also considered respectable and is accepted easily. Chutkuta marriage is still in practice because the poor unmarried men who cannot afford the regular marriage choose the option of Chutkuta or Gharbaitha marriage.

Table 1. Forms of marriage in Tharu communities

1	2	3	4	5	6
Widow marriage (Chutkuta)	Marriage by force (Ghuspaith)	Love marriage (Uddari)	Total of 1, 2 & 3	Regular marriage	Total interviewed couples
62	18	88	168	832	1000
6.2%	1.8%	8.8%	16.8%	83.2%	100%

Source: Personal Survey, 2007.

Divorce

Tharu women enjoy a lot of freedom in the matter of divorce, as compared to the other non-tribal communities and, therefore, they are relatively more empowered than men. A Tharu male cannot divorce his wife easily, whereas a woman can divorce her husband without any problem, if she wants to. The Indian anthropologist S.K. Srivastav explains, in the 'majority of cases, the woman divorces her husband at the slightest excuse, because she enjoys a more dominant position and can find another husband more easily.'[14] Therefore, there are more cases of divorce sought by women than by men. In our research women had divorced their husbands in forty-one out of forty-seven cases of divorce. A factor influencing a man not to apply for divorce is that he cannot get a second wife easily. If he manages to get one, he has to pay a large amount as compensation. Therefore, a Tharu male has to think carefully before he actually divorces his wife.[15] A Tharu woman can divorce on the following grounds: bad character of husband, impotency of husband, fear of co-wife, and better prospects of happiness with another husband. From among the 2000 couples we interviewed, there were sixty-eight divorce cases but it is noteworthy that all of them remarried soon.

Table 2. Cases of Divorce

SL. No.	Reasons for divorce	Number of cases	Percentage
1	Bad character of the husband	13	19.12
2	Impotency of husband	12	17.65
3	Fear of co-wife	10	14.71
4	Better prospects of happiness with another husband	10	14.71
5	Ill-treatment and cruelty of the husband	6	8.82
6	Bad character of the wife	8	11.76
7	Any other fault of wife	9	13.23
	Total	68	100

Source. Personal Survey 2007

Table 2 shows that it is the women who divorced their husbands in the maximum number of cases: 19.12 per cent of women divorced their husbands for their loose character, 17.65 per cent because of the impotency of husband, 14.71 per cent for fear of a co-wife and for better prospects with another husband, and 8.82 per cent for ill treatment and cruelty by the husband. This means that 75.01 per cent of women divorced their husbands, whereas only 25 per cent of men divorced their wives. For the loose character of the wife only 11.76 per cent divorced their wives as against 19.12 per cent when the tables were reversed. Overall the table indicates the empowered position of Tharu women in the matter of divorce.

Sexual Relations

The married life of Tharu women is quite peaceful and women enjoy dignity and authority as wives. Generally, men do not force sexual intercourse on their wives without the latter's mood and consent. Tharu women are amorous and enjoy sexual activities but they never allow forced sex by their partners. Table 3 shows that there are only 9.40 per cent of Tharu men who indulge in sexual intercourse without the consent and mood of wife and the large majority (87.90 per cent) do not force sexual intercourse on their wives. Only 2.70 per cent of the respondents did not reply to the question on sexual relations. One reason for the peaceful married life of women is that the Tharus respect their women and do not like to upset them or hurt their feelings. It becomes clear that the Tharu women enjoy a dominant position in sexual activities and that they hold sway over their partners. Generally, Tharu men and women do not indulge in sex before marriage, but there is no strict rule prohibiting pre-marital sexual relations. Many Indian tribes have Youth Houses for the sexual training of their unmarried youth but there is no such system among the Tharus. Because of the joint family system, sometimes the Tharus find it difficult to have sex in the house and in that case they have sex in the forests or fields where they work daily. This tribe does not like the use of condoms or other means of family planning, because they like to have many children in the family. For the Tharus sexual activity is an important means of entertainment and that is a major reason why the men respect the women and women are given importance in their society.

Table 3: Status of sexual relations

SL. No	Type of sexual behaviour	Number	(%)
1	Men who never have sexual intercourse without the consent and mood of wife	758	75.8
2	Men who do have sexual intercourse without the consent and mood of wife	188	18.8
3	Not answered	54	5.4
4	Total couples interviewed	1000	100

Source. Personal Survey 2007

Crimes against women

In the non-tribal areas of Indian society, the rate of crime against women is high,[16] but the Tharu community is famous for its low rates of crime against women. In urban areas, a large percentage of crime, especially against women, is attributed to alcohol consumption, but this does not apply to the Tharu community. Even though both men and women make extensive use of wine in daily life, women remain comparatively safe in Tharu communities. Table 4 shows that only 13.8 per cent of women are affected by all types of crime as against the general violence statistic of 12.9 per cent. Therefore, Table 4 indicates that 0.90 per cent women are affected by serious crimes like murder, rape and serious physical violence. Of course, crimes against women are not non-existent in Tharu tribe, but they are low compared with other Indian societal groups.

Table 4. Status of crimes against women


Types of crime and number of affected women
Murder	Rape	Other Violence*	Other crime	Total crime	Non-affected women	Total
01	03	129	05	138	862	1000
0.1%	0.3%	12.9%	0.5%	13.8%	86.2%	100%

Source. Personal survey 2007.
* 'Other violence' refers to: psychological violence such as abusive language, sulking, and forms of psychological harassment.

Effects of modernistion on the status of Tharu women

The process of modernisation is affecting Tharu culture rapidly and is changing the status of Tharu women. As noted above, among Tharus, domestic violence and crime-against-women statistics have been very low. However, the Tharu tribe is now adopting some of the customs of other communities in which men hold dominant positions in gender relations. Consequently, certain rules and regulations are being incorporated into the socio-cultural system ostensibly to reform and improve the system, but actually, these rules and regulations seek to control the activities of women, which give Tharu men a dominant position vis-à-vis their women. Tharus have founded a Social Council, called Tharu Rana Parishad in local language, for social control. But this organisation is also working towards controlling women's activities. In fact, the Tharu Rana Parishad is the new form of the old Council known as Jati Sudhar Sabha. A male Tharu, Daulat Singh Rana of Nakulia village told me that Tharu Rana Parisad has passed some rules and regulations for women which change the old gender relations in the Tharu tribe. These are:

A woman is not to divorce her healthy husband easily.
A woman is not to move freely in the market and in the fair.
A woman is not to smoke or chew betel and tobacco in a public place.
Women must not rub oil on their bodies in a public place.
Women in their menstrual period are never to enter the kitchen or cook meals.
A woman is to give one year's grace period to her husband for his treatment of impotency before divorcing him.
A woman is to pay some compensation if she divorces her husband because of his impotence.[17]

All the rules and regulations mentioned above demonstrate that in modern times Tharu men are struggling for empowerment. It is an interesting paradox that whereas in the urban metropolises women's movements are trying to empower women, among Tharus, it is the men, who are attempting to gain some empowerment vis-à-vis the women. Whereas modernisation has proved helpful in enhancing the status of women in India in general, the Tharu women have been losing their dominant position because of modernisation. Earlier, crimes against women, such as, rapes, sexual harassment were unknown among the Tharus, but the situation is changing. With the onset of modernisation, some other communities are infiltrating their space and culture and changing the social scenario. Non-Tharu industrialists, landlords and contractors are grabbing Tharu lands and forests and are also committing crimes against Tharu women.

Conclusion

On the basis of the available information and data, it can be concluded that the Tharu community continues to be one of the few tribal communities of India in which women still enjoy a reasonably empowered status. Women live with fewer restrictions and enjoy respect in the family and in the community. They enjoy enough social and economic rights to give them autonomy in their day-to-day lives. Married life for women is peaceful and they have considerable freedom in sexual relations within the marriage relationship. Crimes against Tharu women continue to be quite low. Whereas women across India are struggling for their empowerment, Tharu women have long enjoyed an empowered lifestyle.

However, it should also be mentioned that the process of modernisation is adversely affecting the status of Tharu women. Modernisation has provided education, employment, a new lifestyle to Tharu women, but these benefits have come at the cost of losing some of their rights in the family and community. Tharu men are trying to control the activities of women. At a time when the movement for the empowerment of women is active in India and throughout the world, in Tharu society, women's position is moving in the opposite direction because men are actively working to undermine their power and status.

Appendices

Appendix 1. Forms of marriage in Tharu Communities


Name of Village	Number and types of marriage by self decision
Block Sitarganji	Remarriage (Chutkuta)	By force (Ghuspaith)	By love	Total	Regular marriage	Total couples interviewed
1– Lauka	02		05	07	33	40
2– TharuTisaur	01	01	01	03	37	40
3– Chaumela	03	02	03	08	32	40
4– Bamanpuri	01		06	07	33	40
5– Karghata	04		04	08	32	40
6– Sisauna	03	01	05	09	31	40
7– Nakulia	05	04	04	13	27	40
8– Ganganpur	02		01	03	37	40
9– Karghatia	05		06	11	29	40
10– Sainjani	03		02	05	35	40
11– Malpura	01	02	02	05	35	40
12– TurkaTisaur	01		06	07	33	40
13– Bhithaura	03	01	04	08	32	40
14– Baghaura	03		04	07	33	40
15– Pindari	04		01	05	35	40
16– Baruabagh	02	01	02	05	35	40
17– Baghauri	04		02	06	34	40
18– Khunsaria	01	02	01	04	36	40
Block– Khatima
19– Chanda	01		02	03	37	40
20– Paheniyan	03	01	05	09	31	40
21– Sahjana	01		02	03	37	40
22– Amaun	03		05	08	32	40
23– Bhudiya	01		06	07	33	40
24– Fallaya	04	03	04	11	29	40
25– NogavaThagu	01		05	06	34	40
Total	62	18	88	168	832	1000
Percentage	6.2	1.8	8.8	16.8	83.2	100

Source. Personal Survey, 2007.

Appendix 2. Cases of Divorce


Name of Village	Reasons for divorce
Block– Sitarganji	Bad character of husband	Impotency of husband	Fear of co-wife	Better prospects of happiness with another husband	Ill treatment and cruelty of husband	Bad character of wife	Any other fault of wife	Total
1– Lauka			02			01		03
2– TharuTisaur				02			02	03
3– Chaumela	02							02
4– Bamanpuri		02		01	01			04
5– Karghata						02		02
6– Sisauna	04		01					05
7– Nakulia				02			01	03
8– Ganganpur		02					03	05
9– Karghatia					01			01
10– Sainjani		02	02					04
11– Malpura	01						01	02
12– TurkaTisar				01		01		02
13– Bithaura		02	01					03
14– Baghaura				01				01
15– Pindari			01				01	02
16– Baruabagh	02				01			03
17– Baghauri			01		01			02
18– Khunsaria	01							01
Block– Khatima
19– Chanda	02						02	04
20– Paheniyan		02		01				03
21– Sahjana	01				01			02
22– Amaun				02		01		03
23– Bhudiya		02			01			03
24– Fullaya						01		01
25– NogavaThagu			02			02		04
Total	13	12	10	10	06	08	10	68
Percentage (%)	19.12	17.65	14.71	14.71	8.82	11.76	13.23	100

Source. Personal Survey, 2007

Appendix 3. Status Sexual relations

Name of village	Men who never have sexual intercourse without consent and mood of wife	Men who do have sexual intercourse without consent and mood of wife	Not answered	Total no. of couples
Block– Sitarganj
1– Lauka	30	07	03	40
2– TharuTisar	31	06	03	40
3– Chaumela	29	08	03	40
4– Bamanpuri	34	05	01	40
5– Karghata	31	07	02	40
6– Sisauna	28	08	04	40
7–Nakulia	27	09	04	40
8– Gaganpur	29	09	02	40
9– Karghatia	28	10	02	40
10– Sainjani	32	08		40
11– Malpura	31	07	02	40
12– TurkaTisaur	31	09		40
13– Bhithaura	33	07		40
14– Baghaura	28	08	04	40
15– Pindari	26	09	05	40
16– Baruabagh	32	05	03	40
17–Baghauri	30	10		40
18– Khunsaria	33	04	03	40
Block– Khatima
19– Chanda	31	05	04	40
20– Paheniyan	29	08	03	40
21– Sahjana	28	10	02	40
22– Amaun	32	07	01	40
23– Bhudiya	32	08		40
24– Fullaya	30	09	01	40
25– Nogava Thagu	33	05	02	40
Total	758	188	54	1000
Percentage (%)	75.8	18.8	5.4	100

Source. Personal Survey, 2007

Appendix 4. Status of crimes against women in Tharu societies


Name of Village	Crimes affecting women
Block– Sitargani	Murder	Rape	Other violence*	Other crime	Total	Non-affected	Total women interviewed
1– Lauka			04		04	36	40
2– TharuTisaur			05		05	35	40
3– Chaumela		01	06		07	33	40
4– Banampuri			05	01	06	34	40
5– Karghata			04		04	36	40
6– Sisauna			06		06	34	40
7– Nakulia	01		04	01	05	35	40
8– Gaganpur			06		06	34	40
9– Karghatia		01	05		06	34	40
10– Sainjani			04		04	36	40
11– Malpura			05		05	35	40
12– TurkaTisaur			05	01	06	34	40
13– Bhithaura			05		05	35	40
14– Baghaura			04		04	36	40
15– Pindari			03		03	37	40
16– Baruabagh			05		05	35	40
17– Baghauri			06	02	08	32	40
18– Khunsaria			05		05	30	40
Block– Khatima
19– Chanda			07		07	33	40
20– Paheniyan			05		05	35	40
21– Sahjana			05		05	35	40
22– Amaun		01	05		06	34	40
23– Bhudiya			06		06	34	40
24– Fullaya			03		03	37	40
25– NogavaThagu			05		05	35	40
Total	01	03	129	05	138	862	1000
Percentage (%)	0.1	0.3	12.9	0.5	13.8	86.2	100

Source. Personal survey, 2007.
* 'Other violence' refers to: psychological violence such as abusive language, sulking, and forms of psychological harassment.

Endnotes

[1] Hari Dev Pradhan, 'Social economy in the Tarai [Tharus],' in Journal of the United Provinces Historical Society, vol. 10 (1937):59–76.

[2] Census of India, 2001, online: http://censusindia.gov.in/, n.d., accessed 27 July 2009; 'About Nepal: People and Culture', in Naturally Nepal, n.d., online: http://www.welcomenepal.com/promotional/main.php?menuid=1&submenuid=154253162511, accessed 4 March 2009.

[3] A.C. Turner, Census Report of United Provinces of India, vol. XVIII, 1931, p.599.

[4] N. Kumar,'A genetic survey among the Rana Tharus of Nainital District in Uttar Pradesh,' in Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society, vol. 3, nos 1–2 (1968):39–55.

[5] D.N. Majumadar, 'The Tharus and their blood group,' in Journal of Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 8, no. 1 (1941):33–43. 'The term 'Mongoloid' (or Oriental) is a racial category used to describe people of East Asian origin. Its use originated from a variation of the word 'Mongol', a people who are considered one of the main proto-populations for the race. The classification is primarily useful when studying human prehistory, and in forensic analysis of human remains, in which 'Mongoloid' denotes a particular racial skull type.' SV Mongoloid, online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoloid, accessed 3 June 2009. See also, Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Paolo Menozzi and Alberto Piazza, The History and Geography of Human Genes, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.

[6] Scheduled Tribes (Adivasis)—are the indigenous rural communities who are officially considered disadvantaged and are granted special treatment. They are explicitly recognised by the Constitution of India. For more information see, 'Indian Scheduled Tribes,' in Indianet Zone, 1 February 2009, online: http://www.indianetzone.com/37/indian_scheduled_tribes.htm, accessed 27 July 2009; 'Minorities at Risk Data: Assessment for Scheduled Tribes in India,' on Centre for International Development and Conflict Management, University of Maryland, MD, 2000, online: http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=75011, accessed 27 July 2009.

[7] Statistics on the status of women in India can be found in a report commissioned by the United Nations: 'The status of women in India,' in Women and Drug Abuse: The Problem in India, 2003, online: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/india/publications/women_Book-6-5-03/09_statusofwomeninindia.pdf, accessed 3 June 2009.

A group from Ohio University explained that:

Globalization and Women in India

[8] Majumdar, 'The Tharus and their blood group,' pp. 33–43, p. 33. The historical high status of Tharu women is, even in the 21st century, referred to as a 'matriarchate.' As Jeff Yarborough noted, 'up until recently (and quite unique in a region where gender discrimination is the norm) Tharu society was matriarchal with women holding a higher status level than males.' See Jeff Yarborough and the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP), 'Tharu,' on The Advocacy Project Blogs, 26 June 2007, online: http://www.advocacynet.org/blogs/index.php/2007/06/26/tharus?blog=84, accessed 29 July 2009.

[9] S.K. Srivastava, The Tharus: A Study In Culture Dynamics, Agra: Agra University Press, 1958, p. 87.

[10] Srivastava, The Tharus, p. 88.

[11] V.K. Kochar, 'Size and composition of families in a Tharu village,' in Vanyajati,vol. 11 (1963):99–106.

[12] Hari Dev, 'Birth customs among the Tharus,' in Man in India,vol. 12 (1932):116–60, p. 116.

[13] S. Mathur, 'Marriage among the Tharus of Chandanchowki,' in Eastern Anthropologist, vol.20, no. 1 (1967):33–46. Polygamy is allowed only for Muslims in India. Since Tharus are Hindus, polygamy is illegal. That said, however, in the far-flung areas of the country, where the traditions and customs of a community are followed, law is ineffective to the extent of being non-existent. If nobody reports 'offenses' to the police, or files a case in the court, then such practices go on unchallenged—the laws of the land notwithstanding.

[14] Srivastav, The Tharus, p. 161.

[15] Srivastav, The Tharus, p. 161.

[16] A 2003 United Nations Report on the Status of Women in India states that

The status of women in India

Women and Drug Abuse: The Problem in India

[17] Srivastav, The Tharus, p. 107.

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