Development-Induced Displacement and Women: The Case of the Tehri Dam, India

Large-scale development projects often result in massive displacement of population. Based on an ethnographic study of the people displaced by the Tehri dam in India, the present paper examines the impact of displacement on women and demonstrates that their experiences of displacement and resettlement are qualitatively different from those of men. Displacement not only results in physical dislocation, but also in women’s disempowerment. Resettlement policies and programmes, in the Indian context, have largely remained gender biased and fail to take into account the differential experiences of women, making resettlement a difficult process for them. I argue for a better understanding of women’s experiences of development-induced dislocation and a subsequent refocusing of policy.