Research Paper Social Sciences E-ISSN No : 2454-9916 | Volume : 7 | Issue : 1 | Jan 2021 SELF-HELP
GROUPS:
CHANGING
THE
DYNAMICS
OF
TEA
TRIBE
COMMUNITY
WOMEN'S
IDENTITY
IN
SONITPUR
DISTRICT
OF
ASSAM Krishna Mech M. Phil in Development Studies, 3rd Semester of The Year, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. ABSTRACT Women Empowerment is a vast concept in itself with various branches which emerges through various means and process for women in establishing a strong position in the society. Women in the society still stand in the last mile away group in various sectors in the society. With the advent of Modernization, they are gradually raising their standards through various means and building an individual identity of their own in the society. Women of vulnerable community are more prone to exclusion and exploitation in the society. Tea tribe community women are more vulnerable social group in the state of Assam facing ethnicity crisis and identity crisis as women. The formation of various Self- Help Groups for women is one of the various means of empowering this vulnerable group of women in the rural society. Women Self- Help Groups are changing the dynamics of the status of tea tribe community women in both social and economic fields. They are producing social entrepreneurs from this institution of women in the rural society who are building a different identity apart from their ethnicity. Women social entrepreneurs from this vulnerable community are transforming the rural society and their community especially through these institutions. Women social entrepreneurs through Self-Help groups are representing themselves as leaders of change for all women socially and economically. Self- Help Groups provides platform for women to explore various ways or means of solving problems related to development with innovative and new methods. Similarly, this Paper, has given emphasis on the role of Self-Help Groups in producing Women social Entrepreneurs from the Tea tribe community women despite of their marginality and their contribution in the socioeconomic growth locally of Tezpur region of Sonitpur District of Assam. KEYWORDS: Self –Help Groups, Social Entrepreneurs, Women Empowerment, Tea- tribe Community. INTRODUCTION: community is the most vulnerable and marginalized despite of their contribution Women in India belonging from varied communities play an important role in the in the socioeconomic of the state. In the present period, they are not only depend- society. From Historical period to the present modern period, Women of different ent on tea plantation industry for employment and are engaged in various formal communities have seen representing themselves as independent individual in the and informal sectors of the State. The women of this community have also been patriarchal Indian Society from the early period. Women consist of around 50% engaging themselves in various activities apart from participating in Household of the global population. They are gradually transforming themselves into an activities. important asset in all the sectors whether it is science and technology, politics, business etc. Not generally women, but women from the marginalized communi- The Tea tribes Welfare Department of Assam and India have introduced various ties like the tea tribe community women from Assam who was looked down as an Schemes and Policies for the Upliftment of this community and also for empow- “Invisible Hand” in the lives of the family and their spouses are also representing ering the women in the society. This Department has taken the responsibility for their individualized identity and their community in particular in various sectors the upliftment of the community in all sectors of the State. One of the policies that of the society. Earlier this marginalized community women were recognized as the Government of India under the banner of National Rural Livelihoods Mis- homemaker have transformed their misrecognition with a new identity of bread- sion have initiated for empowering the women and the upliftment of the eco- winner too. nomic sectors of the country through formation of the Self –Help Groups for both Men and Women. This institution was formed especially for the development of The tea tribe community of Assam who were bought as laborers for the British the rural areas. The origin of this Institution is from Grameen Bank of Bangla- companies for the tea plantation industry is a patriarchal community where desh, Founded by Mohamed Yunus. It was formed in 1975 in Bangladesh in the women of this community had no freedom to exercise their own decisions. But initial period which showed positive outcomes from Bangladesh and is still work- now, the scenario have changed for the women, as more women from this com- ing actively there. In India, NABARD initiated this institution in 1986-1987 for munity are coming out of their shell and raising their voices to be heard in the the rural development of the country. global field. They are reaching milestones in every phase of their life. There are many tea tribe community women who despite of their socioeconomic condi- Various states of India have established this institution for the rural development tions are participating more in every sectors equally with men. They are seen to of their villages. As Mahatma Gandhi; Father of our Nation emphasised more be more active and curious to learn and experience new challenges and grab importance on developing the Indian Villages both economically and socially so opportunities as compared to the men. In today's present society tea tribe com- that they are not exploited by others. Similarly, for a country to develop not only munity women in Assam are aware of their rights and leave no stone unturned to the outer shell of the country should improve but the grassroot level development claim those rights. These women are transforming the lives of the other women also needs to be exercised i.e. Act locally and Think globally- Motto fits the insti- from their community who are still dependent on the male counterparts for mak- tutions working for the rural development. ing decisions. This is a kind of in-group favoring Bias an approach by Henry Tajfel and John Turner where individuals tend to built a social group among them- Self- Help Groups (SHGs) are considered that institution which forms a social selves and is biased for other individuals for the welfare of their own group. group of individuals as members of 10-20 for easy access to credits as this institu- Through this approach, the tea tribe community women in Assam are transform- tion is linked with Banks who provides credit as microfinance. This way both the ing the lives of their own community and the society too. Self –Help Groups and the Banking sectors are working in coordination with each other. Self- Help Groups are even formed and working within the villages of In Assam, Women of this community are being discriminated or misrecognised the tea tribe community women in Assam. These women despite of their margin- as weak and vulnerable by the native Assamese society. The Assamese society ality are active participants of these groups. Various Self- Help groups of Women identifies them as marginalized labour class who only fits or is credible for the tea are forming and actively functioning all over the states in India. This Institution plantation work and other unorganized sector labour. They are excluded from var- acts a facilitator for empowering and uplifting the women of various communi- ious opportunities based on their ethnicity. In Assam, Caste and Class based con- ties and the rural areas. flict is less as compared to ethnic conflict. Self- Help Groups of women in this community of tea tribe are reproducing In the Constitution of India, Article 15 of the Fundamental Rights also prohibits Women Social Entrepreneurs who are transforming the economic and social sec- the Discrimination on grounds of Religion, Race, Caste, Sex or Place of Birth. tors of the rural environment in Assam. The term Entrepreneur has been derived The tea tribe communities also known as Adivasi women in other parts of the from the French word entreprendre means to undertake. The term entrepreneur country are raising a silent movement through various revolutions and have suc- may be defined as a person who combines capital and labor for production. ceeded in it. The influence of this movement has reached the valleys of Assam where various community women live together under the umbrella of Unity is According to Cole, Entrepreneurship is the purposeful activity of an individual Diversity. Assam is known worldwide for its tea and natural beauty. The tea tribe undertaken to initiate, maintain of aggrandize profit by production or distribution Copyright© 2021, IERJ. This open-access article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License which permits Share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and Adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) under the Attribution-NonCommercial terms. International Education & Research Journal [IERJ] 26 Research Paper E-ISSN No : 2454-9916 | Volume : 7 | Issue : 1 | Jan 2021 of economic goods and services. ing the gap between the market and the society through these institutions. Women Entrepreneurs from this community play a very important role in the (Fraser, 2000) examines how the identity model of recognition is deeply flawed. field of social and economic sectors in the rural development. Emmerij (1995) Both theoretically deficient and politically problematic, it equates the politics of said, “Too much social without sufficient recognition with identity politics and, in doing so, encourages both the reifica- tion of group identities and the displacement of the politics of redistribution, Economic leads to bankruptcy and an end to growth; too much economic without important to the structure of welfare economics advocated in our major policy sufficient social leads to social unrest and also to an end to growth.” Women decisions. Social Entrepreneurs through this various Self- Help Groups are not only bring change through their innovative ideas the social environment but also the Eco- She even emphasises on how status model of recognition is similar to distinct nomic growth. These tea tribe Community women are nowadays recognized as dimension of recognition where recognition is related to the social norms of the social entrepreneurs who are Independent and forming a new identity for them- individuals and the distribution to the economic norms of the individual in the selves as social entrepreneurs for the rural society and the community. society, similar to Weberian conception on class as an economic category and Marxian Conception on class as a social category. Women of this community are taking responsibility of their community develop- ment and the rural society. These tea tribe community women who are closely Sintayehu Hailu Alemu, Luuk Van Kempen & Ruerd Ruben in their article connected to nature have even taken the responsibility to protect the environment Women Empowerment through Self-Help Groups: The Bittersweet Fruits of Col- through various sustainable activities in the Self – Help Groups. As said, 'With lective Apple Cultivation in Highland Ethiopia (2018) emphasised on the Self- great power come great responsibilities”. This institution has given the women Help Groups of Ethiopian Women through their active participation are empow- the power to take their own social and financial decisions for their family, com- ering the women of different tribes in the community level through their collec- munity and also for the society she resides. Empowerment means not only pro- tive apple cultivation which are producing positive outcomes in their business. viding the rights and facilities for the marginalized, but to make that individual Through this cultivation women are developing their rural livelihoods socially teach to fight for their own rights and freedom. There are three forms of Empow- and economically. The initial challenges that they were facing was male backlash erment; Power to- which is the Individual Power or control, Power with- is the from their spouses. collective power and Power within is the Capacity of the individual. Self- Help groups of this community in some circumstances are seen to lack in the collective According to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) are trying to increase power and in capacity to continue with the institution. their level of Entrepreneurial start-up efforts by helping women by encouraging them to engage in more entrepreneurial activities and be role models for other According to Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do much” women in general to be successful women Entrepreneurs. sums up the main objective of the Self- Help Groups as they are the tools for socioeconomic growth of the rural society and the community the women repre- Swapna Dutta in her article Women Entrepreneurship Development through Self sents. Now Self- Help Groups of women for the tea tribe community have Help Group in Assam (2016) discusses on the challenges and constraints that the opened a new platform for Women Social Entrepreneurs from the marginalized Women Social Entrepreneurs come across while handling the financial activities section to make a difference in the society with a new identity in Assam. and various social taboos from the society. AREA OF THE STUDY: Roy (2014) in the article “The Dynamics of SHG Business Model and The area of the study is compressed to local level which is Tezpur; a region from Women Empowerment: Sonitpur District of Assam. Tezpur is a historical place situated on the Banks of A Study on the Scheduled Caste Women in the Sonitpur District of Assam” have River Brahmaputra. The name Tezpur is derived from the Sanskrit words “Teza” emphasised the business model of SHG with respect to Scheduled Caste women meaning blood and “Pura” meaning town or city. in Sonitpur District of Assam. The results in the study showed that the SHG in this region have revealed the improvement level of Income in the Scheduled The purpose of selecting Tezpur from other regions of Sonitpur District is Caste Women and the empowerment through the business model of SHG in because the area is famous for Tea Plantations. The region is surrounded with a Sonitpur District. number of small and large tea gardens in the District. The population of Tea tribe community in these gardens and outside of these gardens is more as compared to Saravanan (2016) in the article “the impact of self-help groups on the socio- the other places of this District. economic development of rural household women in Tamil nadu - a study” explains the impact of Self- help Groups in empowering the Socio economic sta- Sonitpur is a prominent district which stands among the largest districts in tus of Women in Tamil Nadu. The SHG of Women in Tamil Nadu are empower- Assam. In terms of Area, it is the second-largest district of Assam after Karbi ing the poor and the weaker Households of women through various socioeco- Anglong District. It is spread on the Northern Banks of the Brahmaputra, the life- nomic ways have become significant in nature as this institution in this state are line of Assam. Sonitpur district has more number of tea gardens and tea produc- taking a silent movement in form to transform and change the lives of the poor tion industries both small and big in Assam as compared to the other districts. women. Here, also since the colonial period onwards, tea community workers have been migrating from within the states of India as plantation workers/laborers (District Suprabha K.R (2014) in the article “Empowerment of Self Help Groups (SHGs) Census Handbook, Sonitpur, 2011). towards Microenterprise Development” emphasised on the Self Help Groups playing a significant role in the development of the micro enterprise. This institu- Tezpur with its tea tribe community villages Baithabhanga, Dhekidal, Panbari tion has also taken the initiative to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals of falling under the Gram Panchayat Ghoramari are those tea tribe community popu- Alleviating Poverty from the rural areas through this institution. This institution lations who have shifted their occupation and their residence from the tea planta- promotes the self employment through various micro finance institutions in the tion gardens. The other sections who are still within the gardens are the Sonabeel rural Development. The study area of Dakshina Kannada district and Shimoga TE which falls under the Niz Gariamari Gram Panchayat. There are two sections district have been taken for the study purpose where various micro financial of tea tribe community in Tezpur; one who has assimilated themselves with the Institutions were formed with the help of the Self- Help Groups in both the dis- natives and resides in villages outside of the tea gardens and the other is that tea tricts. tribe community who are residing within the tea gardens of Tezpur. There are various literatures on the role of Self- Help Groups by various OBJECTIVES: researchers but not much literature has been witnessed on Self- help Groups as 1. To study the socioeconomic contribution of the Tea tribe community the platform of producing Women Social Entrepreneurs as another significant Women through Self- Help Groups in Tezpur. role this institution play and with respect to tea tribe community women in Assam who are vulnerable and marginalized ethnic group in comparison to other 2. To study the role of Self- Help Groups in the formation of Women social native communities of Assam. Entrepreneurs from the tea tribe community in Tezpur. METHODOLOGY: REVIEW OF LITERATURE: Descriptive survey method was used for the study on Self- Help groups produc- According to Karl Polanyi in his book “The Great Transformation” (1944), he ing Women social entrepreneurs from the tea tribe community in Tezpur and the emphasises the presence of both market and society for the development of both socio economic contribution for the development of the region.. In-depth inter- the sectors as “Market Society”. The market is unworthy if there is no society and views and discussions were organized among the tea tribe community self help society is also unworthy without market. Similarly, For Self- Help Groups of Group members from selective Groups with majority women belonging from the Women of tea tribe community, the institution requires financial assets for the community. The secondary sources were also referred from various journals, arti- development of the rural society and the members which is provided by several cles, magazines, web etc. The interviews questionnaire was semi- structured in rural banks who are benefitted economically and also benefitting the society form. through these groups. The transformation requires the coordination of both the finance and the society. FINDINGS AND RESULTS: According to the secondary Sources of National Rural Livelihoods Mission Women as Social Entrepreneurs are balancing both the sides and are also bridg- Report, Assam has 33 districts, 219 Blocks and 258772 numbers of Self-Help 27 International Education & Research Journal [IERJ] Research Paper E-ISSN No : 2454-9916 | Volume : 7 | Issue : 1 | Jan 2021 Groups of women. Sonitpur District is one of the Districts of Assam with 10525 3. Panbari is a majority tea tribe community village with only one Self- help Self –Help Groups of Women of which Scheduled Caste – 816, Scheduled Group under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission. Although there are Tribes- 1380, Minority- 2538 and others- 5791 and 7 blocks. other small groups of women which works like Self help groups of Women and are directly the groups formed by any private or commercial Banks like The survey study is from the Block Balipara from Tezpur of Sonitpur District. Bandhan Bank initiated Bandhan group giving loans for small enterprise to Balipara consists of 2040 number of Self- Help Groups of Women with Sched- the individuals. uled Caste- 77, Scheduled Tribe- 342, Minority- 486 and others- 1135. Balipara has 18 Gram Panchayat of which Ghoramari Panchayat have 10 villages under it Pratibha SHG: This group consists of 11 members of majority Tea Tribe com- with 106 Self –Help Groups of Women, Scheduled caste- 2, Scheduled Tribe- 43, munity women. Its formation was in 15/2/11.This group is active in various Minority- 2 and Others- 59. activities. The women here are aware of every opportunities introduced for the village and their community and bring those opportunities in implementation for From 10 Villages of Ghoramari Panchayat, 3 villages are selected for the study the development of their village and the people. Despite of individual develop- with majority of Tea tribe community Population. They are Baithabhanga, ment many community or collective action is seen from the Group; construction Dhekidal, Panbari with 9, 18 and 1 Self-Help Groups of Women Respectively. of village roads under the Panchayat schemes, Mini Bank within the village for savings, community temple (Namghar), engaging in Angadwadis, education, Baithabhanga Village has Scheduled Tribe-1, Others-8 Self-Help Groups; building free houses, sanitary latrines, free electricity for the marginalized sec- Dhekidal with Scheduled tribe- 12, Minority- 2 and others- 4 and Panbari with tion etc. The women here engage themselves actively not only in the community others-1 Self –Help Groups. activities but also in political activities. 1. Baithabhanga- Durga SHG- others- 10; This Self- Help Group is a 10 mem- The other Gram Panchayat of the same Block Balipara is Niz Goroimari consist- ber group of Women who belong from both Tea tribe community tribe and ing of Village Niz Goroimari and Sonabeel TE which falls in the Tea estate. Muslim. Mostly Tea tribe communities in Assam fall under the category of Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Caste unlike other states consisting of 1. Village Niz Goroimari consists of both Scheduled caste and Other Back- Adivasi community falling under Scheduled tribe. The date of formation of ward Class population under which the tea tribe community falls. One sec- this group was 1/11/2015 and most of them have BPL and APL cards accord- tion of the Niz Goroimari village where tea tribe community is in majority is ing to their family condition. This group is linked to the Assam Gramin in a marginalized condition as compared to others of the community. Ini- Vikash Bank providing credit to the poor rural families for their individual tially they were not engaged and willing to engage themselves in any Self- and collective development with 2% interest which becomes accessible for Help Groups as most of them were Wage laborer in the village who earns the individual to take loans as compared to any direct loans from the Banks. their income with difficulty. But later on they realized the importance of the Self – help Group makes the banking system affordable and accessible for institution and have come forward to uplift their situation through this the rural society and the families of the members. This Group Consists of a Group. They became aware that these Groups are the facilitator of various President, Secretary and Treasurer. There is no biasness in the selection of policies of Government and through this they would be able to claim their this post as after every 3 years every woman gets an opportunity to make rights and financially also they would become stable as it is linked with the decisions and be leader of the Group. Most of the women of this group are Banks. wage labour and Brick kiln Worker who are in a very marginalized condition and so the push factors from the family condition have made them partici- KrishnaSHG: This is one of the Self – help Groups of Women and is recently pate in this group activities with monthly collection of Rs.100 from each formed in 20/9/2019 under National Rural Livelihoods Mission lined to UCO member and from which they would be able to take internal loan in any emer- Bank. Majority women are from the BPL category as they are poor and casual gency situation and invest that money in any productive group activities. labour. As this group is new in nature, it has been introduced to various new Most of them are also engaged in this group as these groups are connected schemes and policies of the Government regarding community activities and indirectly to the Gram Panchayat and these Panchayat act as the facilitator of development. Schemes and policies of Government to the Self- help Groups. On interviewing women from this SHG, most of them are satisfied and are Sonabeel TE: This is the tea estate area which also covers the Niz Goroimari asking for more improvement in the implementation of the policies from the Panchayat with Tea tribe community population of Other Backward Class fol- Government. lowing both Christianity and Hindu Religion. Majority belong to the BPL cate- gory. They get the perks from the tea estate authority and also the Gram Saraswati SHG: This group consists of 10 members from both Tea tribe Panchayat from the Government so they are considered to be in a much better Community Women and Muslim Women. This Group was formed in position as compared to the tea tribe community population who are outside this 1/2/2016 and it is also linked to the Grameen Vikash Bank. The women in estate. this group are both BPL and APL card holders. These Group women have invested the grant from the Government in construction of their roads for 1. Asha Kiran Self- Help Group: This is one of the many groups in the Tea better transportation and communication. They have even utilized the grants estate. It was formed in 6/3/2004 under the National Rural Livelihoods Mis- in Angadwadis for the health and well being of women and children. sion. This Group is still as active as the others in both financial and social sec- tors. Most of the activities seen in this estate of this group are Poultry farm- On interviewing the women from this Group, they mentioned about being ing, other crops production, and other policies regarding education, health, engaged financially and socially by bringing the government schemes on housing, road construction etc. Scholarships for the students of the tea tribe community in their village. They even engaged the job card holder wage laborer through the MNREGA 2. Anjali SHG: This Group consists of 10 members with majority following in providing them with employment regarding any development from the Christianity religion under National Rural Livelihoods Mission. It was Group. formed in 25/2/2015.This group also engages itself in preaching Christian- ity and is engaged in missionaries along with other individual and collective 2. Dhekidal Village have many ST category Self- help Groups and Tea tribe activities for the development of the women and the community and in large Community Self- help Groups. frame the society. Jyoti ASG is one of the Self- help groups in this Village where the women of Every Self- help Groups have their own unique manner of functioning and pre- the groups have started in engaging inVermi compost within the group mem- senting their community. One common similarity is the collective action that the bers and is still active in process. This group was formed in 1/8/2013.This women engage in through these institutions. Most commonly, every group group have provided employment through this initiative to various women engages in Horticulture, pig feeding, cow feeding, and fisheries according to wage earner from their community in employment. During Covid 19 this their convenience. These villages in the study area are known for Human- ele- group was given responsibility of making masks along with other Self- Help phant Conflict every year during Harvesting Season, where Elephants attack the Groups from the Panchayat and distributes it in the village for free. The mate- villagers and damage their houses and their crops. During the interview, the rials for the Vermi Compost initially were provided by the Patanjali Com- women have from these institutions under various Village Organization are col- pany which is situated in the village. lectively working with the help of Panchayat to build an Elephant Corridor for the Elephants which would not hurt the Elephants and the villagers. These insti- Rashmi SHG: This Self –help Group consists of majority from the tea tribe com- tutions are not only working or bringing change in their individual Socioeco- munity women. It is equally active as compared to other Self- Help groups in the nomic lives, community and the society but also the nature as these communities village. It was formed in the year 25/06/2016. Through this Group, The tea tribe are more connected to Mother Nature. community women have established themselves as an independent individual who are not only engaged in financial activities of the group but also of the fam- Many new policies and activities on micro business have been initiated by the ily. This group have also engaged in giving individual loans to the members for institution through the Panchayat; Algae production, Udyan Nirman another various purposes like Horticulture, cow feeding, fishery, pig feeding etc with the nature related activity, Cow Dung Production, Godown construction, Beetal Nut help of the Gramin Banks it is linked with and also with very less interest. production etc. Funds regarding the activity have been initiated by the Govern- ment. Non – Governmental Organizations have also been a part of these develop- International Education & Research Journal [IERJ] 28 Research Paper E-ISSN No : 2454-9916 | Volume : 7 | Issue : 1 | Jan 2021 ments in the rural areas. Sonitpur District has many cases of Witch Hunting among the marginalized com- munities on the other side and women from this marginalized community are building themselves with strong identity and recognition in the region as Social Entrepreneurs. These Women Social Entrepreneurs through various Self- Help Groups are fighting against this injustice of Women with their knowledge and power. Women Social Entrepreneurs through this various Self- Help Groups are changing the scenario of Women Empowerment through silent Revolution which is powerful and transformative. CONCLUSION: Many challenges and constraints are faced by these women social entrepreneurs in empowering the rural society and their individual identity. But still it has been seen that this institutions are functioning and working in an active pace with a lot of enthusiasm and energy from the women. Women from varied communities are breaking the glass ceiling and barriers of stereotypes in the society by building their status and identity as Women Social Entrepreneurs. This institution is play- ing an important role in transforming the lives of women to entrepreneurs and change makers not only in rural society but also in the whole world. The tea tribe community women in the region of Sonitpur District have stepped into the path of transforming themselves and their community in various sectors whether it is education, heath, occupation and economic sectors etc.This community women are gradually breaking the social taboos of their marginality through the institu- tion of Self- helps Groups and empowering themselves politically, socially and economically through their leadership and knowledge in the society. Women play a significant role in society and economic development of the region. “To call woman the weakest sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, Then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then women is immeasurably man's superior.”- Mahatma Gandhi. Women change makers are playing the role of torch bearers for the other women of their community in the society by not providing them all the opportunities but teach- ing them to claim and fight for the rights they deserve that is empowering. REFERENCES: I. Ariz Ahamed M (1999), Women empowerment: Self Help Groups Kurukshetra, Vol.47, and Issue. 4 II. Mallika Das (2000), Women Entrepreneurs from India: Problems, Motivations and Success Factors, Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Vol.15, No. 4 III. Tajfel, Henry & Turner John. (1986). “The Social Identity Theory of Inter-Group Behavior.” (S.&. W.G.Austin, Ed). IV. Dr. Robita Sorokhaibam & Nandita Laishram, 2011, Women Entrepreneurship in Manipur, North-East India, Inter disciplinary Journal of Research in Business, Vol. 1, Issue 5, May, p. 46-53. V. Goyal, Meenu and Jai Parkash. 2011. “Women Entrepreneurship in India-Problems and Prospects.” International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 1(5). VI. Pratibha S. Empowerment of Women through SHGS in India, International Journal of Physical and Social Sciences. 2012; 2(4):200-210. VII. Fraser. (2000, May- June). Rethinking Recognition. New Left Review. VIII. Swetha, t., rao, v.k., 2013. Entrepreneurship in india, international journal of social science & Interdisciplinary research, vol. 2 (7), july 2013 29 International Education & Research Journal [IERJ]