Effects of Economic Developmental Measures on the Quality of Life of Tharu Women

Abstract

Although the country has passed through many phases of development, what has remained unchanged is the relative backwardness of certain groups, areas or the sectors in the country.  Keeping these factors in mind, the present paper attempts to evaluate one aspect of the quality of life of the women of the largest Scheduled Tribe of Uttarakhand - the Tharu, viz, the economic aspect, in light of the developmental efforts being made by the government. For arriving at a conclusion, the level of women’s participation and awareness in the economic sphere has been analyzed.

        The paper is based on primary data collected, through interviews, discussions and observations on women of the Tharu of district Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand, during various months of 2009.

The paper ends with suggestions on ways to improve women’s participation and awareness in developmental plans and programmes and ways in which these schemes could be made more acceptable and beneficial for the concerned group, thus ultimately leading to a better quality of life for the womenfolk.