Journal of South Asia Women Studies

Introduction

Uttarakhand came into existence as the 27^th state of the Indian Union in November 2000 due to the pressures generated by a long, leaderless, non political mass movement. Uttarakhand movement has been the only one, after the independence of India, which witnessed the spontaneous participation of people, because of the continued neglect and political apathy of the region by the different governments. Also women from the remotest corner of the region became very active in this movement, as they believed that the creation of a separate state was necessary for the welfare of their community. However, in a state created to satisfy the demands of the holistic development of the area and to bring the people in to the national mainstream, the quality of life of women, particularly in the remote hill areas, has not improved. These women share the same plight being shared by their counterparts in other rural areas of India, but the magnitude of their drudgery is very high due to a tough terrain, adverse weather conditions, scarcity of agricultural land, and paucity of basic facilities like water, electricity, health, fuel, and fodder. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyze the problems of the hill women of Uttarakhand and their prospects of becoming active and empowered partners in political institutions.