SPECIAL ARTICLE

Masculine Spaces
Rural 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 (chowdhryprem@gmail.com) is former professorial
fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, and is
currently an independent researcher.
Economic & Political Weekly

EPW

NOVEMBER 22, 2014

vol xlIX no 47

atriarchy 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. Signifying 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 postIndependence India. These masculine spaces are where traditionally men have congregated more commonly than women
and where men are at a distinct advantage in terms of deployment 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 corresponding 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 predominant male-only use after a certain hour of the day. Circulating ideals of gendered separateness, they make the presence
of 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 cultural 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, sociocultural, political and ideological. Exclusive male spaces connote
sharpening of certain aspects of masculinities like male bonding, group solidarity, swearing, drinking, fighting and using
aggressive and sexually explicit language leading to abundant
use of abuses involving the female anatomy. Women are extremely 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 controlling women.
Curiously, this masculisation of spaces goes totally unacknowledged and unchallenged. There has been a notable lack
of attention to the connection between masculine identities
41

SPECIAL ARTICLE

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

condemnation. On the other hand, women and space has merited 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 limitations of these spaces, especially for its vast female working
population (Phadke 2007, 2013; Ranade 2007; Khan 2007;
Bedi 2007; Vishwanath and Malhotra 2007). In other words,
in India the importance of space for constructing gender identities 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 primarily 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 and
extent of patriarchy in a given region and society.
There is dire need for this issue to be recognised by sociopolitical 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, violence 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 certainly 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. This
article 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 village. 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 indigenous 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;1 the 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
42

ideology of izzat or honour is used; fundamentally a male concept 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: the ghar (living quarters), the gher (place
for cattle) and the baithak.3 The 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 wellbuilt house). In fact, apart from the acquisition of agricultural
tools and machinery, the male priority lies in acquiring a pukka
ghar (solidly constructed house). On an average, in 1984-85 a
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 available 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 landscape has changed noticeably over the years of my association
with this region; it has come to be dotted with pukka and semipukka houses, more spacious than earlier. The material prosperity experienced under the green revolution and subsequent
semi-urbanisation and urbanisation has brought considerable
change. 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 reasons 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 fieldwork 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, popularly 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 imposing 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
NOVEMBER 22, 2014

vol xlIX no 47

EPW

Economic & Political Weekly

SPECIAL ARTICLE

the sex-segregation within the home, reinforces the conventional 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 loafing
about 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 unwritten code of space and time socially recognised and observable
for them in the streets.4 By 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 in
the 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 interaction between men and women and depriving the latter of
discussing, rationalising, questioning, partaking or influencing the decision-making process of the men in any way. This
space is also used by men for discussions of village affairs, politics 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.
Economic & Political Weekly

EPW

NOVEMBER 22, 2014

vol xlIX no 47

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 village, 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 delegation or panchayat, etc. More recently the anganwadi workers
also have the use of it. However, as men frown upon its use by
women, the latter in general avoid the chaupal, thereby confirming 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 imposing 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 institution 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, transgressions in marriage and other sundry disputes which threaten the peace of the village or the immediate region. Although
very little is known about the working of traditional panchayats in contemporary times they 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 decision 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 panchayat 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.5 However, 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,
43

SPECIAL ARTICLE

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 Panchayati 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 leadership, 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 allowed to voice their opinion, especially when any other older
male 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 panchayat, 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 bureaucracy and police constitute the formal structure in postIndependent India. A study of the leadership of the statutory
panchayats in Haryana shows that 77.5% of panchayat members to be below 50 years of age (Singh 1985: 39). The introduction of the green revolution involving new agricultural
technology, machines and contact with the outside world, taking
and 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 aggressive masculinity in which the youth loses out if he does not
subscribe to it. He is declared to be a weakling and effeminate, unable to withstand the urban/western phenomenon.
Indeed, as opposed to those who quietly acquiesce to whatever 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 considered highly suspect (Chowdhry 2005). The all-male panchayat provides a space to them to demonstrate their masculinity 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 necessarily through demonstration of wealth and other accomplishments, as suggested by Michael Kimmel, but by supporting/
44

participating and implementing the decisions and by providing a popular and vociferous base to the dictatorial and unconstitutional doings of this extrajudicial body and giving it legitimacy. This is a kind of public demonstration of their masculinity 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 implemented 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, especially low-caste groups. In cases
where violence 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 Activities

This 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 reduced access to it, and are less able to negotiate their activities
with 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 hukka smoking, sitting round
the fire in winter, card-playing, or playing popular all-male
sports, as well as drinking alcohol, especially visible in the increasing numbers of sharab 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 dominance 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 implies 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.
NOVEMBER 22, 2014

vol xlIX no 47

EPW

Economic & Political Weekly

SPECIAL ARTICLE

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 consolidation of various masculine images and lifestyle (Horrocks
1995). Popular sports that have traditionally existed in this region 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 associated with wrestling have revealed that the dedicated attendance 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 landing 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 recognised 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 option 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. Generously 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 necessarily 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,
Economic & Political Weekly

EPW

NOVEMBER 22, 2014

vol xlIX no 47

aggression, physical strength, success in competition and negation 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 coverage, 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 questions 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 sportswomen have been awarded. In Haryana, the physically powerful and competent women who are desired for performing agricultural 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 threatened 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 especially 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 demonstrates 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 allimportant site for the propagation of patriarchal and masculinist 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 profound manner.
Drinking alcohol has always been an intrinsic part of rural
society. Places where alcohol is sold or where drinking takes
45

SPECIAL ARTICLE

place are exclusive male preserves. In such spaces mens community 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 accommodated in such spaces. They may buy alcohol but not necessarily 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 inhibitions regarding aggression and violence and help numb the
pain of combat (Goldstein 2001: 257).
The army recruits on their visits to their villages always
brought back bottles of rum and whisky, relatively high in potency compared to the home-brewed liquor, to be shared. Alcohol drinking also gained significance as it came to be associated with the martial heritage of not only the Rajputs, as described 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 and
much 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 celebrating 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
46

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 consumption 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 increase 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 consume 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 menrelated 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 complained of the demands and expectations placed upon
them as men and their response to these. Such a rationalisation exposes extreme gender inequality in household expenditure, 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 recruitment 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
NOVEMBER 22, 2014

vol xlIX no 47

EPW

Economic & Political Weekly

SPECIAL ARTICLE

known) percentage of male figures of recruiting ages. However, 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.8 The following
analysis of the anxiety faced by the army personnel in guarding 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 resistance 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 interview the then army chief, V K Singh and now an MP of the
Bharatiya 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 defending 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 therefore a sharp reaction to the perceived menace these women
pose not only to the exclusive male spaces but also to the traditional 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
Economic & Political Weekly

EPW

NOVEMBER 22, 2014

vol xlIX no 47

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).9 Similar sentiments regarding those difficult days of the month for women
were expressed by an urbane army officer. The armymens opposition clearly emanates from their desire to prevent the essential male character of the army and their sense of masculinity 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 language 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 banter
and humour. Women officers revealed that they had to listen
to endless references to sex in both formal and informal situations 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 patriarchal stability.
7 Conclusions

Social and economic changes in the villages and extensive

urbanisation with an increasing merger of boundaries between 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 caricature 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 relatively emancipatory in both class and caste terms and thus create great uncertainty around gender issues. Masculine identities in Haryana are in certain respects empowered by modernity 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 increase in the number of working women and their mobility
during unorthodox time periods. At such times men drinking 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 increasing visibility of women on the streets has in many respects
47

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 handle this erosion has turned the village collective noticeably
resentful.
The fractures in the village community its economy, polity
and society have led to a profound nostalgia for an unreachable concept of the past. The present day self-assertion of the
community through khap panchayats is 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 collective in the khap panchayats on the so called honour crimes is
a case in point (Chowdhry 2004). These present-day happenings 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 masculine
space. 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 coeducational 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 resolutions have become yearly rituals now and are aimed at snatching 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 necessary for bringing up real men who, according to the advocates 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 masculinise the school.
Whether it is schools, baithak, chaupal, leisure activities,
liquour drinking, sports, or the all powerful traditional panchayat, 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 matters? It is difficult to find answers. Masculine spaces are reflective 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 symbolic spaces, how do we expect changes in the social structures 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-transformatory. An attack on the culture of all-male exclusive spaces which
seeks to normalise asymmetries as natural and inevitable
would be an attack on all-male power and patriarchy itself.

REVIEW OF RURAL AFFAIRS

June 28, 2014
Emergent Ruralities: Revisiting Village Life and Agrarian Change in Haryana
Surinder S Jodhka
Vulnerability, Forced Migration and Trafficking in Children and Women:
Biswajit Ghosh
A Field View from the Plantation Industry in West Bengal
Link between Food Price Inflation and Rural Wage Dynamics
Atulan Guha, Ashutosh Kr Tripathi
Estimating 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,

Economic and Political Weekly,
320-321, A to Z Industrial Estate, Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013.
email: circulation@epw.in
48

NOVEMBER 22, 2014

vol xlIX no 47

EPW

Economic & Political Weekly

SPECIAL ARTICLE

Notes
1

The customary rules regulating marriage in

most parts of northern India are based upon
caste endogamy on the one hand, and village
or territorial exogamy, on the other. There is
very strict observance of these norms for marriage purposes. The widespread phenomenon
of the so-called honour killings is directly related to the breaches in these customary
norms. For details, see Chowdhry (2007: 92138).
The term biradari is variously defined according to its usage. McKim Marriott, for instance
notes that the term biradari refers not to just
one concrete structural unit at the village level
but rather to patrilineal connection, real, putative or fictional, at any level of segmentation
(1962). In the context of a caste group, a biradari is a social group made up of males who
believe they are descended from a common
male ancestor which makes them equals and
brothers. But used in the context of the village,
biradari and bhaichara refer to the entire village, theoretically overriding differences of
caste, class and creed. In reality it effectively
excludes the lower-caste groups. Territorially
this may extend from a single village to a group
of villages.
For a comprehensive account of the rural
households in Haryana and the function that
each space performs, also see Chandhoke
(1990: 223-65).
For a graphic description of a Punjab village
street after dark as an essentially male space
and dangerous for women see Chopra (2003:
36-49).
For example, in a July 2000 case of Ashish and
Darshana in village Jondhi, Darshana was
compelled to confront the caste panchayat
twice and directed to comply with the panchayats decision. Her ghungat (veil) was lifted
back to turn her into a beti from a bahu
(daughter-in-law). See Chowdhry (2004).
Recently, in April 2014, Satrol Khap panchayat
held in village Narnaud in Hissar even opened
a Mahila Wing (womens wing), with a woman
leader as its head, as a part of this khap. However, Inder Singh Mor, the khap head, openly
stated that this was being done to erase the
reputation of the khaps being anti women
(Indian Express 2014: 1, 4). Also, many caste
panchayats have been on the war path about
this opening out.
As part of their training, female wrestlers have
to wrestle with male wrestlers, leading to close
body contact while wearing, as one man put it,
hardly any clothes.
Since the early 1990s, women have been serving in wings of the armed forces like legal, education, engineering, ordnance, intelligence,
signals, air traffic control but only as shortservice commission officers with a maximum
of 14 years.
Stated by a member of the caste panchayat
Dhara Singh. Source: documentary film (2012)
by Sawhney: Izzat Nagri ki Asbhya Betiyan,
on resistance against honour crimes.

Refrences
Alter, Joseph S (1992): The Wrestlers Body: Identity
and Ideology in North India (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Baker, Catherine and Sarah Jewitt (2007): Evaluating 35 Years of Green Revolution Technology
in Villages of Bulandshahr District, Western
UP, North India, Journal of Development Studies, 43(2): 312-339.
Bedi, Tarini (2007): The Dashing Ladies of the
Shiv Sena, EPW, XLII (17): 1542-48.
Bolin, Anne (2012): Buff Bodies and the Beast:
Economic & Political Weekly

EPW

NOVEMBER 22, 2014

Emphasized Femininity, Labor and Power Relations among Fitness, Figure and Women
Body Building Competition 1985-2019 in
Adam Locks and Niall Richardson (ed.), Critical Readings in Body Building (London and
New York, Routledge), 29-57.
Campbell, Hugh (2000): The Glass Phallus:
Pub(lic) Masculinity and Drinking in Rural
New Zealand, Rural Sociology, 65 (4): 562-81.
Chakrabarty, Dipesh (1994): The Differencedeferral of a Colonial Modernity: Public Debates on Domesticity in British India in David
Arnold and David Hardiman (ed.), Subaltern
Studies, VIII (New Delhi: Oxford University
Press), 50-88.
Chandhoke, S (1990): Nature and Structure of Rural
Habitation (New Delhi: Concept Publishing
Company).
Chatterjee, Partha (1989): The National Resolution of the Womens Question in Kumkum
Sangari and Sudesh Vaid (ed.), Recasting
Women: Essays in Colonial History (New Delhi:
Kali for Women), 233-49.
Chopra, Radhika (2003): Encountering Masculinity: An Ethnographers Dilemma in Radhika
Chopra, Caroline Osella and Filippo Osella
(ed.), South Asian Masculinities: Context of
Change, Sites of Continuity (Delhi: Women
Unlimited), 36-59.
Chowdhry, Prem (1993): High Participation and
Low Evaluation: Women and Work in a Green
Revolution Province in India (Haryana), EPW,
XXVIII (52): A135-A148.
(1994): The Veiled Women: Shifting Gender
Relations in Rural Haryana (Delhi: Oxford
University Press).
(2004): Caste Panchayats and the Policing of
Marriage in Haryana: Enforcing Kinship and
Territorial Exogamy, Contributions to Indian
Sociology, 1-42.
(2005): Crisis of Masculinity in Haryana: The
Unmarried, the Unemployed and the Aged,
EPW, XL (49): 5189-98.
(2007): Contentious Marriages, Eloping Couples: Gender, Caste and Patriarchy in Northern
India (Delhi: Oxford University Press).
(2009): First Our Jobs Then Our Girls: The
Dominant Caste Perceptions on the Rising
Dalits, Modern Asian Studies, 43 (2): 437-79.
(2010): Women in the Army, EPW, XLV (31):
18-20.
(2013a): Militarized Masculinities: Shaped
and Reshaped in Colonial South-east Punjab,
Modern Asian Studies, 47 (3): 713-50.
(2013b): Guardian or Saboteur? The State and
the Right to Choice in Marriage, Journal of
Law and Social Research (Copenhagen): special
issue on law and runaway women, 4: 7-28.
Cloke, Paul (2005): Masculinity and Rurality in
Hoven, Bettina Van, and Catherine Horschelman (ed.), Spaces of Masculinities (London and
New York: Routledge), 45-62.
Devika, J (2006): Negotiating Womens Social
Space: Public Debates on Gender in Early
Modern Kerala, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies,
7 (1): 43-61.
Dogra, Chander Suta (2013): Manoj and Babli: A
Hate Story (Delhi: Penguin Books).
Domosh, Mona (2001): Architecture and Planning in Philomena Essed, David Teo Goldberg
and Audrey Kabayashi (ed.), A Companion to
Gender Studies (Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing), 475-83.
Dorschner, Jon Peter (1983): Alcohol Consumption
in a Village in North India (Michigan: UMI
Research Press).
Goldstein, Joshua S (2001): War and Gender: How
Gender Shapes the War System and Vice-Versa
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
vol xlIX no 47

Government of Haryana (1987): Family Budgets of

Cultivators in Haryana, 1984-85 (Chandigarh:
Economic and Statistical Organisation, Planning Department).
(2006): Family Budgets of Cultivators in Haryana,
2004-2005 (Chandigarh: Economic and Statistical Organisation, Planning Department).
Hall, Michael (2005): Shifting Spaces of Masculinity in Bettina van Hoven and Catherine
Horschelman (ed.), Spaces of Masculinities
(London and New York: Routledge), 155-64.
Horrocks, Roger (1995): Male Myths and Icons:
Masculinity in Popular Culture (Great Britain:
Palgrave Macmillian).
Hoven, Bettina van, and Catherine Horschelman,
ed. (2005): Spaces of Masculinities (London
and New York: Routledge).
Indian Express (2014): Storm in a Khap: First
Woman Member Aims to Bridge Gender Bias,
Delhi, 25 April.
Khan, Sameera (2007): Negotiating the Mohalla,
EPW, XLII (17):1527-33.
Kimmel, Michael S (2001): Masculinity as
Homophobia: Fear, Shame and Silence in the
Construction of Gender Identity in Stephen M
Whitehead and Frank J Barrett (ed.), The Masculinities Reader (Cambridge: Polity), 266-87.
Mangan J A and J Walvin, ed. (1987): Manliness
and Morality: Middle Class Masculinity in
Britain and America 1800-1940 (New York: St
Martins Press).
Marriott, McKim (1962): Communication: Rejoinder to Rhoda Metraux, Journal of Asian Studies, 21 (2): 263-65.
Nagpal, Ritesh (2013): Womens Empowerment in
Haryana: Role of Female Representatives of
Panchayati Raj Institutions, Asian Journal of
Multidimensional Research, 2 (6): 1-16.
Outlook (2012): Weekly Magazine, New Delhi, 6
August, 48-50.
Phadke, Shilpa (2007): Dangerous Liaisons:
Women and Men Risk and Reputation in
Mumbai, EPW, XLII (17): 1510-18.
(2013): Unfriendly Bodies, Hostile Cities:
Reflections on Loitering and Gendered Public
Spaces, EPW, XLVII (39): 50-59.
Ranade, Shilpa (2007): The Way She Moves: Maping the Everyday Practice of Gender Space,
EPW, XLII (17):1519-26.
Saavedra, Martha (1997): Sport in Philomena
Essed, David Teo Goldberg and Audrey Kabayashi (ed.), A Companion to Gender Studies
(Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing).
Sawhney, Nakul (2012): Izzat Nagri ki Asbhya
Betiyan (The immoral daughters in the land
of honour) documentary film.
Singh, Hargian (1985): Panchayati Raj Administration in Haryana (Gurgaon, Indira Publications).
Statistical Abstract of Haryana, 2008-2009 (2010):
(Chandigarh: Department of Economic and
Statistical Analysis).
Vera-Sanso, Penny (2002): Masculinity, Male Domestic Authority and Female Labour Participation in South India in Cecil Jackson (ed.), Men
at Work: Labour, Masculinities, Development
(London: Frank Cass), 179-98.
Vishwanath, Kalpana, and Surabhi Tandon Malhotra (2007): Shall We Go Out? Womens
Safety on Public Spaces in Delhi, EPW, XLII
(17): 1542-48.
Whitehead, Stephen M (2002): Men and Masculinities (Cambridge, UK, Polity Press).
Willott, S and C Griffin (1997): Wham Bam, Am I a
Man? Unemployed Men Talk about Masculinities, Feminism and Phychology, 7 (I): 107-28
Yadav, Bhupendra (2010): Haryanvi Jats as Indian
Sports Icon, EPW, XLV (52): 36-38.

49