Introduction:

In the post-Independence India women are guaranteed enjoy equal status in the Indian
Constitution by declaring that there shall be no discrimination between men and women in all
spheres of life. Under the recent ordinance the women have been granted equal wages for equal
work with men. The women in India also enjoy equal rights to be elected to any political office
in India. The fundamental right we guaranteed to both men and women under the constitution of
India.

There are about 250 million Dalits in India.There is meager improvement in the
economic condition of dalits in the past 50 years. Which is not enough when compared to non-
dalits. Of course, much more needs to be done. The urgent need is to have a national sample
survey on dalits. Every fourth Indian is a dalit. There is no proper survey to give the correct
number of SC women in India. They are generally scattered in villages and they are not a
monogamous group. About 75% of dalits live below poverty line. Economic backwardness of
dalit is mostly due to injustice done to them by the upper castes and also due to exploitation.
From the time immemorial they worked like slaves, sold as commodities resulting in their social
discrimination, economic deprivation and educational backwardness.

The contribution of SC women to the economic development of our country is significant
especially in the agricultural sector. They are exploited by the upper caste landlords. They are
paid very marginal salary for the hard work in the field for the whole day. Much has been done
by the government of India based on the view of empowerment of SC women in all the spheres
like social, economical, political etc, by means of providing them the opportunity to participate
in the administration of local government.

Demographical Features and Backwardness of Tumkur District:

An objective assessment of the territorial jurisdiction of the university area in terms of rural and
urban population, percentage of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe and other backward
classes indicates backwardness of the area. There are ten taluks in the district which are
considered as backward taluks on several fronts as per the High-Power Committee for Redressal
of Regional Imbalances (HPCRRI) headed by the late D.M. Nanjundappa which was submitted
to the State Government in 2002.

The following table depicts the backwardness of all the ten taluks of the district:

BACKWARD TALUKS BACKWARDNESS AREA
Gubbi Backward in all areas of development
Koratagere Backward in higher education
Kunigal Backward in all areas of development
Madhugiri Backward in higher education
Pavagada Backward in all areas of development
Sira Backward in higher education
Turuvekere Backward in higher education
Chickkanayakanahalli Backward in higher education
Tumkur Backward in all areas of development
Tiptur Backward in all areas of development

The average enrollment of students in Government and aided Colleges is 431.23 per lakh
population as against the State average of 669(Source High Power Committee Report). Report
of Census of India is furnished below to substantiate the urban and rural population duly citing
SC/ST percentage.