Impact of industrialisation led displacement on tribal women: A case study of the oraons of Rourkela

Women tend to get effected differently by displacement than their male counterpart due to their unique relation with their land, kinship networks and common property resources. While on one hand the displaced women tend to lose their traditional rights and networks due to displacement, on the other hand gender bias in rehabilitation processes leave them further powerless. Consequent industrialization brings in new social systems challenging the tribal women for further adjustment. It is therefore important to study the status of tribal women who were displaced due to industrialization. This article studies the women of the displaced Oraon tribe of Rourkela, who had to evacuate their lands in the 1950s and the 60s to make way for the Rourkela Steel Plant. Post-displacement, the members of the tribe were resettled in different locations within and around Rourkela. Gradually, these locations developed as urban, semi-urban and semi-rural or rural settlements. A sample of300 respondents was drawn from different types of settlement to assess the long term impact of displacement. Interview and focus group discussions with the respondents and observations made by the researcher were recorded. The study points to a positive relation between the level of industrialization and urbanization and the educational and economic status of tribal women. However, an inverse relation between level of urbanization and financial self-reliance of women was observed.