Caste and GenderPapers

Sharmila Rege responds to and extends Gopal Guru's argument, proposing Dalit women's experience as a critical standpoint rather than a fixed boundary of difference. The essay matters for Indian feminism, anti-caste politics, and feminist epistemology.

Gopal Guru's short intervention is a key starting point for Dalit feminist debate. It argues that Dalit women cannot be represented adequately by either upper-caste feminism or male-dominated Dalit politics, because caste, class, and gender together reshape experience, political organization, and knowledge.

Uma Chakravarti's classic essay develops the concept of Brahmanical patriarchy, showing how caste order is reproduced through control over women's sexuality, marriage, inheritance, and kinship. It is essential for understanding Indian gender history, caste violence, and anti-caste feminism.

Agarwal critiques essentialist ecofeminist claims through Indian cases, shifting attention to land, class, caste, labor, and control over resources.