GENDER AND WORK

The Patna -Gaya region was no exception to the general decline of

econoy !nder the ipact of colonial regie" #t had ad$ersely affected the
artisan as well as peasant failies" #t has %een pointed o!t that the decline in
ret!rns fro la%o!r and crafts led to increasingly wider and ore intensi$e
deployent of woen and children to proc!re s!%sistence
&
"
Patna -Gaya region constit!ted iportant an!fact!ring centre along
with its predoinant engageent in agric!lt!re" #n %oth of the eployent
of feale la%o!r force %ecae indispensa%le"
D!ring the agric!lt!ral season !ndo!%tedly the deand of la%o!r
increased treendo!sly" The c!lti$ation of rice in this region was the ainstay
of the econoy' therefore( intensi$e la%o!r ser$ice was re)!ired which
!nderpinned the iportance of la%o!r ar*et"
+
D!ring this period woen were
eployed in large n!%ers" Woen,s assistance was re)!ired in sowing(
transplantation and weeding" This was the period when woen were getting
wages e)!al to en when eployed in plo!ghing"
-
#n noral agric!lt!ral
seasons woen wages were lower than en" While woen earned four paisa a
an !sed to get seven paisa in a day in &.&&- &.&+"
/
0y &..1s it was reported
that these la%o!rers were paid always in *ind and they were getting + to +2
seers of coarsest and cheapest grain $al!ed a%o!t &2 anas and woen recei$ed
&
" 3aita 3en( Women and Labour in Late Colonial India,
4a%ridge( &555( p" 6&"
+
" Alo* 3heel( 73o!th 0ihar Geography and the Agric!lt!ral 4ycle8
Gaya and 3haha%ad in the Nineteenth 4ent!ry and Early Twentieth
4ent!ry9( IESHR( :::(&( ;an!ary-<arch( &55-( pp" .6-&&/"
-
" =" 0!chanan( p" 66."
/
" #%id"( p" 6>6"
+
a%o!t half of this rate"
6
E$en d!ring the faine of &.?/ when woen were
eployed in relief wor*( the rate of wages for an was + anas a day while for
a woen it was &-. paisa only"
>
#n the sall landholding failies the dependence !pon a faily la%o!r
was still higher for agric!lt!ral p!rs!its"
?
The fine rice which was exported and
cons!ed %y the local high castes was ostly freed fro the h!s* witho!t
%oiling" 0!t the poor people preferred %oiled rice" Po!nding of the rice was a
general ho!sehold acti$ity and it was in$aria%ly prefored %y the woen"
0!chanan had rightly o%ser$ed( the la%o!r falls on the woen' %!t ost
failies in easy circ!stances and of ran* ha$e sla$e woen"
.
#n the ho!se of
sall peasants( their woen perfored the h!s*ing operation at hoe" #n this
way they too* the ad$antage of paddy-rice price differential"
5
The rice h!s*ing
also too* place on coercial %asis and a good n!%er of woen were
in$ol$ed in it" The wi$es of the artist and tradesan( those who ha$e no land
entered into this $ent!re" They !sed to p!rchase ro!gh rice( and po!nded it for
the cons!ption of the tra$ellers and for large towns" Petty traders or 7beldiya
beparis in the co!ntryside also !sed to p!rchase s!ch rice in ro!gh state" Their
wi$es !sed to pond s!ch rice with the help of soe other hired woen"
&1
Three
6
" Report on the condition of lower classes of population in en!al(
4alc!tta( &...( p" >"
>
" 4ollection of papers to scarcity in 0engal for April( &.?/(
Go$ernent of #ndia( Deaprtent of Re$en!e( Agric!lt!re and
4oerce( no" $i( 4alc!tta( &.?/( p" >11"
?
" <itra( p" &?+"
.
" 0!chanan( pp" /5/-/56"
5
" 3!@ata 0ose( "easant Labour and Colonial Capital# Rural en!al
since $%%&( New Delhi &55-( p" &11"
&1
" 0!chanan( p" /5/-56"
-
woen !s!ally !sed to wor* together" #n a day they prepared rice worth Rs"+"
Th!s each one earned five paisa a day whereas an !sed to recei$e > paisa for
a day"
&&
Rice h!s*ing was an iportant so!rce of eployent for woen
d!ring nineteenth cent!ry"
&+
This not only added to the incoe of the faily
%!t the !se of 'dhen(i for h!s*ing was ideal for preser$ing the food $al!e of
rice grain( especially in thiaine content"
&-
A good n!%er of woen were in$ol$ed in parching and grinding"
harbhuna or Chabenafurosh were woen in$ol$ed in parching and !sed to
earn + paisa a day %esides recei$ing a little share of grain fro each" A few
were a%le to p!rchase grain( parch it in their ho!ses and retail it in their
shops"
&/
=loor grinding was an iportant ho!sehold wor*" #n Patna( flo!r was
prepared in hand ills in which %oth an and woen were eployed" #t was
an excr!ciatingly tiring @o%" 3o the people seldo wor*ed for ore than three
ho!rs in the early ho!rs of the day" They recei$ed +2 to - anas of grinding /1
seers of wheat( and two woen at the sae ill co!ld gro!nd +1 seers of
wheat in one orning"
&6
Woen la%o!rers were also re)!ired in opi! prod!ction" #n opi!
season( in the onth of <arch -April at the tie of flowering( corolla of the
flower !sed to get f!lly at!red( and woen !sed to detach the fro the
&&
" #%id"
&+
" <!*!l <!*her@ee( 7#pact of <oderniAation on Woen9s
Occ!pation- A 4ase 3t!dy of Rice B!s*ing in 0engal( ;ana*i
Nair(ed"( Women in Colonial India( Delhi( &55.( p" &.6"
&-
" #%id"
&/
" 0!chanan( p" >->"
&6
" #%id"( pp" >->->-?"
/
caps!le"
&>
Extraction of @!ice fro caps!le needs s*illf!l hand" This wor* was
!s!ally perfored %y the peasant and his faily"
&?
0esides assisting in the collection of dr!g( woen were also engaged in
the entire process of prod!ction" When dr!g dried( it fored into l!ps and
was wrapped !p with petals of poppy flowers( which was s!pposed to gi$e
opi! a delicate aroa" E$ery c!lti$ator was %o!nd to s!pply a )!antity of
petals proportionate to the cr!de opi! collected" Three )!alities of wraps
were recogniAed %y the go$ernent and were paid for at the rate often( se$en
and fi$e r!pees a a!nd"
&.
Cs!ally wife of the c!lti$ator prepared this"
&5
0!t if
the c!lti$ator was of high caste then he eployed hired la%o!r of this wor*"
+1
3oe woen !sed to earn oney %y preparing these co$ering"
+&
Third iportant econoic acti$ity of this region was cotton textile
prod!ction" An enoro!s n!%er of woen were eployed in this sector" This
ind!stry was organiAed on doestic %asis" A great deal of seed of cotton was
reo$ed %y woen who sp!n it and it was partly %eaten also %y woen( if this
had %een perfored %y hired la%o!rer %elonging to )huniya caste" Thro!gh
this exercise a an and woan co!ld earns Rs"- to / in a onth"
++
According
to 0!chanan spinners were excl!si$ely woen" A%o!t --1/+> woen( i"e"(
one fifth of the total pop!lation were eployed as spinsters alone and they
!sed to spin only a few ho!rs in the afternoon"
&>
" <"=" 0illington( Women in India, Dondon( &.5/( p" &/-"
&?
" 0illington( p" &//"
&.
" #%id"
&5
" #%id"( Boo*er( Bialayan ;o!rnal( p" .6"
+1
" 0illington( p" &/-"
+&
" 0!chanan( p" 6+>"
++
" #%id"( p" >/?"
6
On an a$erage estiate the whole $al!e of the thread that each lady !sed
to spin in a year was worth approxiately ? r!pees + anas and . paisas" Th!s
the ann!al $al!e created %y this acti$ity of woen total contri%!ted Rs"
+-(>?(+??"
0!t a siilar a$erage calc!lation the raw aterial at the retail price(
ao!nted to Rs" &+(.>(+?+ lea$ing profit of Rs" &1(.&(116 E for the spinners of
-2 r!pees each"
+-
These woen who sp!n fine thread excl!si$ely for the
ar*et earn !ch ore than those who sp!n on coarse yarn" 3pinning was not
considered as degraded wor* and woen fro all castes and ran*s were
in$ol$ed in it" They were considered as engaged in 7ho!sehold ser$ice9 rather
than a professional one"
+/
Therefore( d!ring eighteenth and early nineteenth
cent!ry woen spinners were not tied %y reg!lation or contract" 0engal
go$ernent considered that there is no class of people who depend !pon as a
profession" #t is generally perfored as a s!%sidiary eployent %y the
feale"
+6
=or the woen fro the poorer section( whose faily had not s!fficient
incoe( spinning was an iportant so!rce of s!%sistence for the" 0!t for the
woen fro the !pper castes( d!e to grad!al decline in earning( the high caste
failies s!ppleented the incoe of faily fro s!ch earning of woen"
+>
+-
" #%id"
+/
" Boe( 4ens!s( &..1( pp" 6?-6."
+6
" #ndia Office Record( 0engal coercial and 3hipping
4ons!ltation( &?.5( Range &66( Fol" ?/( pp" >+->-"
+>
" 0agchi( p" 61."
>
R"4" D!tt pointed o!t that at the terination of the nineteenth cent!ry
wea$ing and spinning were practically dead"
+?
0!t this process had %eg!n
earlier" There was a decline in the deand of fine cotton goods which
ad$ersely affected the econoy of woen spinners who were spinning fine
cotton thread"
+.
#n textile prod!ction woen are engaged( apart fro spinning( in
winding the wrap and dyeing" Those woen who were eployed for winding
!sed to wind ."6 pon
*+
in a onth and were $al!ed at -G r!pees' each pon
!sed to %e a%o!t ?> s"w" a seer( therefore( ."6 pons wo!ld s!ggest s"w"61H&11"
The &+ s"w" of the ,asar sil* wrap was a$ailed for & r!pee" Per onth which
was worth / r!pees -&H6 anas- #t was estiated that s!ch efforts yielded a
profit of ?2 anas to the warp winders"
-1
0esides there were other woen li*e
utabanwaiya
.$
( e%roiders
-+
who depended on this ind!stry"
--
Their econoic
condition worsened with the drastic decline witnessed %y the textile ind!stry"
Cnli*e the !pper echelons of the society( this is iportant to notice( the woen
fro the artisanal failies were %earing the responsi%ility of ho!sehold and
along with it also shared the %!rden of h!s%and,s occ!pation" People fro the
Dora and 0angsphore caste wor*ed with %a%oos" 0oth h!s%and and wife
!sed to earn > paisa in a day" + paisa was the cost of %a%oo" They wor*ed +>
days in a onth and earned for a faily of fi$e( incl!ding two wor*ers( Rs" />
+?
" R"4" D!tt( ,he Economic History of India ,#(&
st
p!%&51/( ,N"
Delhi( &551( p" &>+"
+.
" 0!chanan( p" >/."
+5
" Grierson( p" /+6"
-1
" 0!chanan( p" >6&"
-&
" #%id"
-+
" 3" AAia%adi( /a0sh1i1"aidar( Patna (n"d" p" +&?"
--
" 3inha( p" 6&."
?
in a year"
-/
Washeran and his wife earned +? r!pees &6 anas in a year" When
they were eployed at copany9s factory( in a onth they co!ld wash and
%leached two %ells and co!ld gain -5 r!pees in a year"
-6
Woen fro 2!rahari
caste were also not li$ing in secl!sion and too* acti$e part in the %!siness of
their h!s%ands"
->
Woen fro %ar%er caste !sed to ser$e the woen of !pper
caste failies and recei$ed allowance for e$ery $isit"
-?
Chamars wi$es
generally ser$ed as $illage idwi$es" 3he !sed to recei$e one ana and +
sidhas
-.
a day for her ser$ice"
-5
These woen p!rs!ed their occ!pation
independently" "anibharin were ostly woen fro the 3ahar caste- #n
places where woen, were to a$oid p!%lic appearance( and expected to
perfor ost of the ho!sehold wor* except fetching water( "anibharin were
hired" These "anibharin recei$ed wages at the rate of half an ana and a%o!t
fo!r seers of grain ho!se per onth for s!pplying one !hara of water daily" 0y
wor*ing three ho!rs daily these woen co!ld earn a%o!t 5 anas and a%o!t half
a maund of grain per onth"
/1
There were also woen( who o%ser$ed purdah
and also earn oney thro!gh their occ!pation" They $isited the ho!se of elites
in the town and sold their prod!cts li*e toys( edicines etc" ost of these
woen were <!slis and %elonged to distressed failies" <any of the were
-/
" 0!chanan( p" >++"
-6
" #%id"( pp" >&>-&?"
->
" Risely( Caste and ,ribes of en!al( #( p" &&"
-?
" Grierson, /otes on the )istrict of 4aya( p" &&+"
-.
" #%id"( Grierson(ihar "easant Life( p" -6>"
-5
" Grierson( /ote on the )istrict of 4aya , p" &&+"
/1
" #%id"( p" &&/"
.
excellent in e%roidery wor* and sold their cloths for >1 r!pees or ?1 r!pees"
/&
Diterate woen earned thro!gh copying"
/+
This appears that in the earlier part of the nineteenth cent!ry there "was a
scarcity for doestic feale ser$ants except widows and old woen"
/-
There
are instances where we find the wages of the yo!ng woen e)!al to those of
en"
//
Therefore in any eases children of the poor were %ro!ght %y the
wealthy for ser$ants"
/6
0esides the there were feale sla$es who were
fre)!ently eployed as doestic ser$ants"
/>
#n the E!ropean ho!seholds
woen fro lower castes( ostly fro Hari cast E a caste of sca$engersI were
eployed as doestic ser$ants"
/?
A large n!%er of woen were engaged in inferior professions" <irasin
were woen fro a distinct caste" They were perforers of !sic on certain
occasions" Generally they perfored in gro!ps of fi$e or six and earn Rs"+ to
Rs"&1 for an e$ening perforance of singing and dancing"
/.
#n s!ch category(
there were also soe indi$id!al perforers who earned !p to &111 r!pees for
three night perforance"
/5
Prostit!tion was an iportant econoic acti$ity"
3hatris and Ram5ani woen were in$ol$ed in it" 0!t they a!gented their
n!%er of p!rchasing girls fro any caste and order" #n Patna any prostit!te
/&
" AAia%adi( pp" +&>-&?"
/+
" #%id"
/-
" 3"" 3en( p" .&"
//
" <artin( Eastern India(" &+6"
/6
" <artin( Indian Empire( p" 61>"
/>
" <artin( p" &+6"
/?
" B!nter( pp" 6&-6+"
/.
" 0!chanan( p" 6/+"
/5
" #%id"
5
failies %ecoe )!ite rich"
61
Rich people aintained conc!%ines openly"
Woen fro certain professional castes( widows( ad!lteresses and aid
ser$ants were dragged into it"
6&
This is iportant to notice that woen fro the
poor strata of the society were iportant to s!ppleent their faily incoe
s!ch as c!tting of f!el in the @!ngle and the li*e"
6+
They f!rther added in the
incoe of the faily thro!gh ar*eted their faily ho!sehold wor*s" 0esides
h!s*ing paddy( spinning( they sold ca*es of cowd!ng f!el( a %as*etf!l e$ery
two or three days in hot weather cost + gora*hp!ri paisa Ea third of an anaI" #n
$illage this was worth of &1 anas for a onth while in town they co!ld earn !p
to a r!pee in a onth"
6-
Grierson estiated that artisans in Gaya deri$ed //
percent of their earnings fro s!ppleentary acti$ities( of which woen
contri%!ted at least -1 percent"
6/
Woen9s wor*s were( not less iportant than the en" They were
in$ol$ed in those econoic acti$ities where they were p!tting not less ao!nt
of physical la%o!r than ale co!nterparts" 0!t they discriinated in ters of
wages" =eale la%o!r was not free for the doination of patriarchal
a!thority" #n sit!ations where eployer of a %o!nded la%o!r needed they co!ld
also clai the lao%!r of his wife and children"
66
Cnfree la%o!r of 3amiya
syste was a for of agrestic sla$ery" While a la%o!rer did not ha$e any
property to ortgage then he ortgaged his la%o!r on lease for 55 years"
6>
This
61
" <" <artin( p" &+?-+."
6&
" R"R" Diwa*ar( ihar,hrou!h the 2!es( p" >.>"
6+
" Grierson( /ote on the )istrict of 4aya, p" &+&"
6-
" 0!chanan( p" 6/+"
6/
" Grierson( /ote on the )istrict of 4aya( p" &+&"
66
" ThornerJThorner( Land and Labour( 0o%ay( &5>+( p" -."
6>
" Gyan Pra*ash((onded Histories#4eneolo!ies of Labor Servitude
in Colonial India, 4a%ridge(&551( p" &+"
&1
property less gro!p of people did not ha$e any property %!t they clai la%or of
their woen as their property and it was ortgages"
6?
Th!s we find that woen of different stat!s and social hierarchy were
engaged in $ario!s *inds of crafts and ser$ices in the nineteenth cent!ry" <ost
of the tie they were s!ppleenting the faily incoe %!t occasionally soe
woen p!rs!ed wor* independently"
6?
" Keya!ddin Ahad( A <id-Nineteenth 4ent!ry 4ase of Dong
ter Dease not 3ell of B!an %eing( Indian Historical Review( x$(
no" &-+6( ;!ly &5..( pp" +?>-+.1"