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GENDER STUDIES
GENDER STUDIES
SREEPARVATHI D. PG Department of History Govt. College, Thrissur
JINCY S.R
PG Department of History Christ College, Irinjalakuda
CALICUT UNIVERSITY CENTRAL CO-OPERATIVE STORES LTD. NO. 4347 CALICUT UNIVERSITY (P.O.) 673 635
GENDER STUDIES Authors Sreeparvathi D. PG Department of History, Govt. College, Thrissur JINCY S.R PG Department of History Christ College, Irinjalakuda Copy right Publishers Layout Mac World, Thrissur Printed at Second Edition 2014 Published by Calicut University Central Co-Operative Stores Ltd., No. 4347 Calicut University P.O. 673 635 Price Rupees :
/-
PREFACE This work Gender Studies is primarily designed to cater to the curricular requirements of the sixth semester graduate students of history. It is a new field of scholarship that places gender at centre of scholarly analysis. This will help students to understand ideologies that have been use to explain women’s and men’s natures, roles, and societal functions. We invite your criticism as well as constructive suggestions for the improvement of the book. Publishers
CONTENTS
1 2
Introduction
9
• Making women visible-Women in HistoryWomen’s work, Men’s property-Space and Location of Women. • Key Concepts and Terminologies-Sex-Gender and Gendering-Sexuality-Patriarchy-Matriarchy-Matriliny-Patriliny-Domestic ViolenceHousehold Management.
Scanning the Indian Society through W omen Perspective Women • • • • •
31 Brahmanical patriarchy-Wifehood-Seed and Earth-Sthreedharma - Pathivratha concepts. Widowhood Food as a medium of proliferation of caste. Three fold oppression of Dalit women Caste and Gender
3 4
Women in the Fight for Freedom and Social Justice in Ind Indii a- realities 50 • Women in the Revolt of 1857 • Participation of Santhal, Bhil and Munda women in anti British struggles • British attitude towards women fighters. • Eminent followers of Mahatma Gandhi • Women in Revolutionary Movements • Women Regiment of INA • Women question in the social reform movement in Kerala • Freedom movement and Kerala Women
Women in Narratives
110 • Goddess and Dasis in Vedas-Sakuntala-Jatakas and Budhist literature
U N I T
1
Introduction
Gender Studies provides a frame work for describing how ideas and assumptions about biological sex and gender influence the political, social and cultural construction of gender identities. Students are introduced to how representations of masculine and feminine roles change over time vary across culture and affect society. Gender studies is a field of study that looks at the world from the perspective of gender. Gender refers to those traits and characteristics that a person is expected to possess by virtue of being male or female, as well as the different roles that a person is expected to perform. The traits associated with musculinity and feminity varies across different cultures and societies, as well as different periods in history. The term gender differs from the closely related term ‘sex’. Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. Gender refers to culturally constructed roles that are played by women and men in society. Gender as a conceptual tool is used to analyse the structural relationships of inequality existing between men and women as reflected in various aspects of life such as the household, the labour market, education and political institutions.
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Making women visible - Women in history Women’s work, Mens Property - Space and Location of women The interest to write the history of women started in the seventies as a result of the growth of the feminist movement and the development of social history in the West. The shift in history from political and diplomatic approaches toward social history paved the way for the inclusion of women in the historical narrative. The terms ‘invisible’ and marginalized are often used to describe the fate of women in historical accounts. Two schools of thought try to explain why these terms and women go together. One school of thought believes that women have been marginalized and made invisible in history because most of the historians were men who focused mainly on political and diplomatic history. Family and society, which are the traditional fields of women, have not been considered important. Further, this school asserts that there are not enough sources available from which to base the history of women. The second school of thought on the other hand is convinced that women’s invisibility and marginalization in history are not due to lack of sources. There are in fact many sources but these are not what traditional historians consult. Feminist regards the study of the history of women as an important step toward women empowerment. Some historians (and nonhistorians) think "gender history" is a synonym for women's history; others, however, feel that speaking of gender history minimizes or dismisses women's history. Gender history expresses the main intent of the field of women's history since it began, that is, to show that understanding of the past cannot be gained without paying attention to women and men as such, to systematic differentiation of womanhood and manhood, masculinity and femininity. The initial impulses and ambitions in women's history were to make women visible, to put women on the historical record: to enable women's voices to be heard and to listen to them, to show women's
Introduction
11
points of view. That was not a simple endeavor. It involved changing and broadening what had been seen as "history," what had been seen as historically important. It involved revising typical periodization and reassessing assumptions about causation in history. Focusing on women's lives and experiences involved revisualizing what was subject to history. Women's history is often credited with bringing the "private" sphere of human lives into the limelight of history and moreover with challenging the very notion of a clear boundary between "public" and "private" in the forces that make for historical change. Gender history continues this mandate by taking the whole of the past as its canvas. Women at various times and places were a majority of the population. But their status was that of an oppressed minority, deprived of the rights men enjoyed. Women have for centuries been excluded from position of power both political and economics. Women generally played a conservative role as individuals and in their communities, the role of conserving tradition, law, order and the status quo. Yet women in their organizations were frequently allied with the most radical and even revolutionary causes. Women held a peculiar position in the society due to their role as wives and mothers. Home is the essential nucleus of society but the women as wives and home makers do not earn an income of their own. The unpaid house wife and mother has affected attitudes toward the women who perform home making services. Traditionally women in the service trades have been the lowest paid among all workers. When women have been entered in an occupation in large numbers, this occupation has large numbers, this occupation has come to be regarded as low status and has been rewarded by low pay. The women suffer from high visibility, they remain more readily identifiable for their group characteristics than for their personal attainments. Women’s experience encompasses all that is human- they share the world equally with men. Half of all the world’s experience has been theirs, half of the worlds work and many of its products. Women
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have always been making history, but the history of women has been written through the eyes of men’s observations. Women’s history constructs a new history on the basis of female experience. Women’s history must contain the activities and events in which women participated. It is also the record of changes and shifts in their perception of themselves and their roles. Historically women began their public activities by extending their concerns from home and family to the larger community. Then they began to organize themselves for a common goal. Out of such organizations grew a new self consciousness based on the recognition of the separate interests of women as a group out of communality and collectivity emerged feminist consciousness- a system of ideas that not only challenged patriarchal values and assumptions but attempted to substitute for them a feminist system of values and ideas. Then came the quest for female emancipation from patriarchally determined subordination. It can be defined best as the quest for autonomy. Autonomy means women defining themselves and the values by which they will live. Autonomy for women means moving into a world in which one acts and chooses, aware of a meaningful past and free to shape one’s future. The central question raised by women’s history is what would history be like if it were seen through the eyes of women and ordered by values they define? There are basic differences in the way boys and girls experienced the world and the social roles they were trained to fulfill. In every day life spaces are sharply divided into masculine and feminine. The space of home is identified with women and outside world is considered an exclusively malesphere. Women’s identity rests on their roles as wives, mothers, and home-makers where as male identity is linked to productive work public visibility and power. This division of spaces reflects the division of work or labour. Women’s work at home is not considered work at all. It is considered as an extension of her duties as a wife and mother. The household space cannot be a site for productive activity. It is assumed that women’s work is supplementary to the family’s income because her real duty is performed at home.
Introduction
13
Key Concepts and Terminologies : Sex and Sexuality Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women. It means the biological division into male and female. The word sex derived from the Latin word ‘sexus’. Sex is generally assigned at birth by external genital appearance, due to the common assumption that this represents chromosomal or internal anatomic status. When an intersex condition is noted in a new born, one sex is often chosen with the intention of simplifying social interactions and rearing. A person’s sex is a primary state of anatomic physiological parameters. Sexual identity is in the Perineum; gender identity is in the Cerebrum. Physiologic sexual development progresses through distinct stages from the neonatal period through infancy, childhood, puberty, adolescence and adulthood. Such physiologic change is distinguishable from gender related behaviors during each of these stages. The sexual identity that emerges beyond childhood is very clearly a separate identity from gender identity. Aspects of physical sexual growth, eroticism and eventual sexuality, although closely related to gender, should not necessarily be used to draw conclusions about a person’s gender definitions. Theories that deal with sexuality, such as that of Sigmund Freud are important in understanding sexuality. Freud successfully redefined the term sexuality to make it over any form of pleasure that can be derived from the human body. British philosopher John Locke argued that human sexual behavior is different from that of other animals, in that it seems to be affected by several factors. The environment, culture and social setting play a major role in the perception, aptitudes and behaviors of sexuality. Sexuality in humans generates profound emotional and psychological responses. Some theorists identify sexuality as the central source of human personality.
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Sexual behavior and intimate relation ships are strongly influenced by a person’s sexual orientation. Sexual orientation refers to your degree of emotional and physical attraction to members of the opposite sex, same sex or both sexes. Hetero sexual people are attracted to the members of the opposite sex. Homo sexual people are attracted to people of the same sex. Those who are bisexual are attracted to both men and women. Whether a person conforms or does not conform to gender stereotypes does not always predict sexual orientation. Gender identity is a person’s own sense of identification as female, male, both, neither, or some where in between. Society believes that if a man is masculine he is hetero sexual and if a man is feminine he must be homosexual. There is no strong evidence that a homosexual or bisexual orientation must be associated with atypical gender roles. Human sexuality can also be understood as part of the social life of humans, governed by implied rules of behavior and the status quo. This focus narrows the view to groups within a society. Society’s view on sexuality have many influences from the past and the present. Even religion and philosophy make an impact. Sexual attraction is an important aspect of the sexuality of the person. Human sexual activities refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. Human sexual activity has biological, physical and emotional aspects. Biologically, it refers to the reproductive mechanism as well as the basic biological drive that exists in all species and can encompass sexual intercourse and sexual contact in all its forms. Emotional aspects deal with the intense personal bonds and emotions generated between sexual partners by a sexual activity. Sexuality has always been a vital part of the human existence and in societies from the long hunting and food gathering phases of history to the rise of agriculture, the long centuries of the agricultural period of history, as well as during modern times. For all civilizations throughout time, there have been a few common, special characteristics of how sexuality was managed through sexual standards, repre-
Introduction
15
sentations and behavior. Art and artifacts from past eras help portray human’s perceptions of sexuality through out time.
Gender The word gender comes from the Middle English ‘Gendre’ and the Latin ‘gen us’, means ‘kind’, ‘type’ or ‘sort’. Gender is a socially created which attributes differing social roles and idealities to men and women. It is the societal meaning assigned to male and female. Each society emphasizes particular roles that each sex should play, although there is lattitude in acceptable behaviours for each gender. The historical meaning of Gender is “things we treat differently because of their inherent differences”. According to Ann Oakley who introduced the term to sociology, ‘sex refers to the biological division into male and female, gender to the parallel and socially unequal division into feminity and masculinity’. Sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and gender as a role in 1955. Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women. while gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviour, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ are sex categories while ‘Masculine’ and ‘Feminine’ are gender categories. Gender is used to describe those characteristcs of men and women which are socially constructed while sex refers to those which are biologically determined. People are born female or male but learn to be girls and boys who grow into women and men. This learned behaviour makes up gender identity and determines gender roles. According to John Money, “in popularized and scientifically debased usage, sex is what you are bilogically; gender is what you become socially; gender identity is your own sense or conviction of maleness or femaleness; and gender role is the cultural stereotype of what is masculine and feminine.” In gender studies the term gender is used to refer to proposed social and cultural constructions of masculinities and feminities. In
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this context, gender explicitly excludes reference to biological differences, to focus on cultural differences. A feminist view that gender is socially constructed and hegemonic in all societies. Starting in the late 20th century, the feminist movement has contributed extensive study of gender and theories. Judit Butler, a pioneer in gender studies argues that gender is not an expression of what one is, but rather some thing that one does. Judith Butler said that gender and sex are more like verbs than nouns. She reasoned that her actions are limited because she is female. This is so because gender is politically and socially controlled. The W.H.O defines gender “as the result of socially constructed ideas about the behaviour, actions, and roles a particular sex performs”. Globally, communities interpret biological differences between men and women to create a set of social expectations that define the behaviours that are “appropriate” for men and women and determine women’s and men’s differences access to rights, resources, power in society and even health behaviours. Most societies have only two distinct broad classes of gender roles-masculine and feminine-and these correspond with biological sexes male and female. In some societies there comprises a third gender, more or less distinct from biological sex. One such gender role is that adopted by the Hijadas of India and Pakistan. Most commonly gender is applied to the general differences between male and female entities, without any over assumptions regarding biology or sociology.
Gender relations Gender relations refers to “a complex system of personal and social relations of domination and power through which women and men are socially created and maintained and through which they gain access to power and material resources or are allocated status within society”.
Gender inequalities The world cannot be egalitarian while there are ‘assigned’ genders and individuals are not given the right to express any gender
Introduction
17
characteristic they desire. The gender differences is merely a construct of society used to enforce the distinction made beween that which is assumed to the female and male, and allow for the domination of masculinity over feminity through the attribution of specific gender-related characteristics. The differences between women and men within the same household and within and between cultures that are socially and culturally constructed and changed over time. These differences are reflected in roles, responsibilities, access to resources, constrainsts, opportunities, needs, perceptions, views etc. held by both women and men. Gender inequality has a great impact especially on women. Women experience more poverty than men do due to gender discrimination. Many developing countries including India have displayed gender inequality in education, employment and health. It is common to find girls and women suffering from high mortality rates. India is experiencing an alarming rise in sex selective abortions. Boys are preffered over girls and so, many couples are choosing to abort female fetuses. The birth of a son is celebrated while the birth of a daughter filled with pain. Boys are encouraged to be tough and outgoing, girls are encouraged to be homebound and shy. India has witnessed gender inequality from its early history due to its socio-economic and religious practices that resulted in a wide gap between the position of men and women in the society. It can be traced to the rules laid down by Manu in 200 B.C.: “by a young girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house. In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent”.
Gendering Contemporary socialisation theory proposes the notion that when a child is first born it has a biological sex but no social gender. As the child grows, “society provides a string of prescriptions, templates or
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models of behaviors appropriate to the one sex or the other” which socialises the child into belonging to a culturally specific gender. There is huge incentive for a child to concede to their socialisation with gender shaping the individual’s opportunities for education, work, family, sexuality, reproduction, authority and to make an impact on the production of culture and knowledge. Gender can be assumed as the acquisition and internalisation of social norms. It is socially constructed and each individual is unique in their gender characteristics, regardless of which biological sex they are as every child is socialised to behave a certain way and have the ‘proper’ gender attributes. If individual in society do not conform to this pressure, they are destined to be treated as abnormal; therefore it is personally great beneficial for them to co-operate in the determined ‘correct’ order of the world. Such a notion of ‘gender’ then becomes naturalised into a person’s sense of self or identity, effectively imposing a gendered social category upon a sexed body. In fact the very construct of society is a product of and produces gender norms. Some believe society is constructed in a way in which gender is split into a dichotomy by social organisations which constantly invent and reproduce cultural images of gender. Joan Ackner believes gendering occurs in at least five different interacting social processes: 1) The construction of divisions along the lines of gender, such as those which are produced by labour, power, family, the state, even allowed behaviours and locations in physical space. 2) The construction of symbols and images such as language, ideology, dress and the media, that explain, express and reinforce or sometimes oppose, those divisions. 3) Inter actions between men and women, women and women and men and men which involve any form of dominance and submission. 4) The way in which the earlier mentioned three processes help to produce gendered components of individual identity. i.e. the
Introduction
19
way in which they create and maintain an image of a gendered self. 5) Gender is implicated in the fundamental, on going processes of creating and conceptualising social structures. Gender sociologists believe that people have cultural origins and habits for dealing with gender. For example, Michael Schwalbe believes that humans must be taught how to act appropriately in their designated gender in order to properly fill the role and that the way people behave as Masculine or Feminine interacts with social expectations. According to the philosopher and Feminist Simone de Bequvoir, “one is not born a women, one becomes like that”. It may be analyzed in terms of biology and sociology. In the Biological terms a girl must pass puberty to become a women and in sociology, as a great deal of mature relating in social contexts is learned rather than instinctive. As soon as a child is born families and society begin the process of gendering.
Patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which the male gender role as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilage, and entails female subordination. Historically, patriarchy has manifested itself in the social, legal, political and economic organization of a range of different cultures. Subordination of women to men is prevalent in large parts of the world. We come across experiences where women are not only treated as subordinate to men but are also subject to discriminations, humiliations, exploitations, oppressions, control and violence. Women experience discrimination and unequal treatment in terms of basic right to food, health care, education, employment, control over productive resources, decision-making and livelihood. This happened not because of their biological differences or sex, which is natural but because of
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their gender differences which is a social construct. “Sex is considered a fact - one is born with either male or female genitalia. Gender is considered a social construction - it grants meaning to the fact of sex. Gender based discriminations and exploitations are widespread. The socio-culturally defined characteristics, aptitudes, abilities, desires, personality traits, roles, responsibilities and behavioral patterns of men and women contribute to the inequalities and hierarchies in society. Gender differences are man made and they get legitimised in a patriarchal society. Patriarchy literally means rule of the father in a male-dominated family. It is a social and ideological construct which considers men (who are the patriarchs) as superior to women. Sylvia Walby in "Theorising Patriarchy” calls it “a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women”. Patriarchy is based on a system of power relations which are hierarchical and unequal where men control women's production, reproduction and sexuality. It imposes masculinity and femininity character stereotypes in society which strengthen the unequal power relations between men and women. Patriarchy is not a constant and gender relations which are dynamic and complex have changed over the periods of history. The nature of control and subjugation of women varies from one society to the other as it differs due to the differences in class, caste, religion, region, ethnicity and the socio-cultural practices. Thus in the context of India, brahminical patriarchy, tribal patriarchy and dalit patriarchy are different from each other. Patriarchy within a particular caste or class also differs in terms of their religious and regional variations. Similarly subordination of women in developed countries is different from what it is in developing countries. While subordination of women may differ in terms of its nature, certain characteristics such as control over women's sexuality and her reproductive power cuts across class, caste, ethnicity, religions and regions and is common to all patriarchies. Patriarchal societies propagate the ideology of motherhood which restrict women's mobility and burdens them with the responsibilities to nurture and rear children. The biological factor to bear children is
Introduction
21
linked to the social position of women's responsibilities of motherhood: nurturing, educating and raising children by devoting themselves to family. The traditionalist view accepts patriarchy as biologically determined and as the biological functions of men and women are different, the social roles and tasks assigned for women are also different. Sigmund Freud stated that for women 'anatomy is destiny' and it is women's biology which primarily determine their psychology and hence their abilities and roles. Similarly the traditional notion of 'public-private divide' which located politics in the public sphere and family and personal relationships in private sphere as non-political, believed that sexual inequality is natural and not political. While the political sphere was preserved for men the private sphere was reserved for women as housewives and mothers who were excluded from politics. These theories of male supremacy have been challenged and opposed by feminists as they lack historical or scientific evidence. Feminists argue that the biological difference might lead to some difference in their roles, but the former should not become the basis of a sexual hierarchy in which men are dominant. The dismantling of these theories enables us to acknowledge that patriarchy is man-made and has developed historically by the socio-economic and political processes in society. Gerda Lerner in "The Creation of Patriarchy" (1986) has argued against single cause theories and against looking for one historical moment when patriarchy was established. Patriarchy has been conceptualized and analyzed by several feminist scholars in different ways. Feminists have challenged patriarchal knowledge, ideology, values and its practice. Despite a range of common themes within feminism, disagreements exist amongst the feminists in understanding patriarchy. All feminists do not like the term "patriarchy" for various reasons and prefer the term "gender" and "gender oppression".
Position of Women under this system : Domination of women by men is found in the Ancient Near East as far back as 3100 B C, as are restrictions on a woman’s reproductive capacity and exclusion from the ‘process of representing or the
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construction of history’. The works of Aristotle viewed women as morally, intellectually, and physically inferior to men; saw women as the property of men; claimed that women’s role in society was to reproduce and serve men in the household; and saw male domination of women as natural and virtuous. In ancient Palestine father could sell his daughter into servitude. At Athens the wife and daughters were secluded in “women’s apartment” and were not permitted to go out without the permission of the patriarch. In China there was a practice of binding the feet of women, as they were not free to go out of the household. Women have no opportunity to go outside the home and participate directly in public affairs. She was subject to the will of her husband. The position of the wife is completely subordinated. She had no existence before the law over and against her husband. It was her duty to obey her father before marriage, to obey her husband after marriage and to obey her son in her widow hood. She could not own any property and position under this system. This type of family was prevalant among the Hebrews, the Greeks, the Romans and the Aryans of India. In India the family of vedic times was strongly patriarchal. The father exercised sole power over his family. The patriarchal political theory is associated primarly with Sir Robert Filmer. In 1653, Filmer completed a work entitled ‘Patriarcha’. In which he defended the divine right of Kings as having title inherited from Adam, the first man of the human race, according to JudeoChristian tradition. Many patriarchal societies are also patrilineal, meaning that property and title are inherited by the male lineage. Patriarchy also has a strong influence on modern civilization, although many cultures have moved towards a more ‘egalitarian social system’ over the past century.
Patriliny Patriliny is a system in which one belongs to one’s father’s lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles
Introduction
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through the male line as well. In a patrilineal descent system an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as his or her father. A patriline is literally a father line; one’s patriline is one’s father and his father and his father... and so on. One’s patriline is thus a line of descent from a male ancestor to a descendant in which the individuals in all intervening generations are fathers. A man’s genetic Y-DNA and his family name have descended down this same line from father to son. The patrilineal descent system is more common than matrilineal descent. In the early Republic, inheritance could only occur within the family, and was therefore purely agnatic. An ‘agnate’ is one’s genetic relative exclusively through males: a Kinsman with whom one has a common ancestor by descent is unbroken male line. The agnatic ancestry of an individual is that person’s pure male ancestry. Women were largely excluded from inheritance until the Middle Republic.
Matriarchy A Matriarchy is a type of society, which is distinguished from all other types of societies by the absence of power structures and institutionalised hierarchies. That is why rural sociologist Christian Sigrist refers to it as an ‘adjusted anarchy’ and culture sociologist Thomas Wagner calls it as an ‘egalitarian consensus democracy’. The term Matriarchy is origined from the Greek words ‘Meter’ means “mother” and “Arche” means ‘beginning, origin or rule”. The term was first used by E.B. Tylor in an article with the title “The Matriarchal Family System”. (1896) Matriarchy existed in the early days of human civilization in many societies. Matriarchy is a term, which is applied to gynocentric form of society, in which the leading role is with the female and especially with the mother of a community. Primarily Matriarchy is a family rule by women. The main aspect of Matriarchy is economical and communal property of the family, power is given to a female because of her motherhood and her maternal status in community. The authority
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in the family rests in the hands of wife or in some representatives of the wife’s Kin. Property is transferred through the mother and only females succeeded to it. In a Matriarchal family the authority vests in the woman, she is the head of the family with the males being subordinate. Women is the owner of property and rules over the family. Descent is reckoned through the mother, not the father because maternity is a fact while paternity is only an opinion. In this system marriage relations are transient. The husband is sometimes merely a casual visitor. Spiritual life and accompanying rituals of Matriarchal societies are incomparable to patriarchal religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. In Matriarchal societies rituals are a community activity, a creative process, not to be compared with the ceremonies carried out in Western Churches. Every body involved is occupied in preparing the details and in the carrying out of the actual ritual to meet the specific need which the ritual is to serve.
Matriarchal Societies The Minang Kabau of Sumatra is the largest matriarchal nation and they have maintained their “Adat”, a Matriarchal set of rules for self government. There are three million people who belong to the Minang Kabau who live according to the ancient “Adat” in all the major cities of Sumatra and Indonesia. They are active in trade, administration, economy, politics and culture and are regarded in Indonesia as a people of a high level of education, culture, cosmopoliticalism and great economic power. The Goajiro-Arawak of Columbia and Venezuela are (with 60,000 people) the largest surviving tribe of the South America. The fathers line is known, but does not have any importance. The children live with the mother to begin with, later a sister of mother cares for the girls and a brother for the sons. They are thus raised in the maternal clan. Even though the Arawak culture of Goajiro has been confronted by several threats which has brought about different changes to their culture, the Matriarchal ancestry is still clearly visible.
Introduction
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The Matriarchal system prevailed among the primitive peoples who led a wandering or hunting life. According to Briffault the earliest form of family was matriarchal and that only with the development of agriculture and economic dominance of men the patriarchal type emerged. The Matriarchal system has prevailed in many parts of the word such as among North American Indians and the people of Malabar and a few other parts of India. In India the Nairs in Kerala and the Khasis and Garos in Assam are Matrilineal people.
Matriliny Matriliny is a system in which descent is traced through the matern line. It may involved a social system in which one belongs to one’s mother’s lineage inheriting her property, names or titles, just as she is inherited from her own mother. Matrilineality is also a societal in which one who belongs to one’s matriline or matern ancestry. A Matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers-a mother line. In a Matrilineal descent system an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as her or his mother. In a Matrilineal system there exists no father-children and husband-wife relations. In which father remains as an outsider always. In a Matrilineal society women generally have greater autonomy in terms of sexuality and reproduction than their counter parts in male dominated patrilineal societies. In the system mother-line surnames are inherited or handed down from mother to daughter, similer to the patrilineal surnames which are inherited from father to son in patrilineal cultures. In a strictly matrilineal system, especially where residence is also matrilocal, a man will exercise guardianship rights not over the children he fathers, but exclusively over his sisters’ children, who are considered as ‘his own’. He will take care of his nieces and nephews. The real biological father-unlike an uncle who is their mother’s brother and thus their caregiver-is in some sense a ‘stranger to them, even when affectionate and emotionally close.
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Some ancient cultures like Cherokee, Choctaus, Fit Ksan, Haida, the Minang Kabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia, the Nairs and the Bunts of Kerala and Karnataka in South India, the Mosuo of China, the Basques of Spain and France, th Akan of West Africa and the Tuaregs of West and North Africa are the best examples of Matrilineal societies. A modern example from South Africa is the order of succession to the position of the Rain Queen in a culture of Matrilineal primogeniture: Not only is dynastic descent reckoned through the female line, but only females are eligible to inherit.
Matrilineal System in India Several communities in India especially in South India, practiced matrilineality. The Nairs in Kerala and the Bunts in the Karnataka were main among them. The system of inheritance known as ‘Marumakkathayam’ in the Nair community or ‘Aliyasantana’ in the Bunt community, and both communities were subdivided into clans. This system was exceptional in the sense that it was one of the few traditional system in western historical records of India that gave women some liberty and the right to property. In the matrilineal system, the family lived together in tharavadu which was composed of a mother, her brothers and younger sisters and her children. Lineage was traced through the mother, and the children belonged to the mother’s family. But today this system was declined due to many reasons.
Domestic violence The problem of violence against women is not new. Women in Indian society faces humiliation, torture and exploitation. They are beaten, kidnapped, raped, burnt and murdered. In spite of the legal active measures adopted in favour of women in our society after Independence, the spread of education and women’s grater economic independence, countless women still continue to be victims of violence. The police Research Bureau, Delhi has referred to “crime against women” under two categories:
Introduction
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1) Crimes under Indian Penal code and 2) Crimes under the local and special laws. The crimes under first category include rape, kidnapping and abduction, homicide for dowry, torture (physical and mental), molestation and importation of girls upto 21 years of age, while crimes under second category was commission of sati, dowry prohibition, immoral traffic and indecent representation of women. Violence against women may be categorized as : i) Criminal violence – rape, abduction, murder ii) Domestic violence – dowry deaths, wife battering, sexual abuses, maltreatment of widows and / or elderly women. iii) Social violence – forcing a young widow to commit sati, refusing to give a share to women in property, harassing the daughterin-law to bring more dowry, etc According to the Merriam Webster dictionary definition, domestic violence is “the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another, also a repeated or habitual pattern of such behaviour.” Violence include emotional, physical or sexual abuse of one (women) by any other family members. The definition adds that domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, religion and take forms including physical, sexual, emotional, economic and psychological abuse. Domestic violence could be seen in terms of dominance and control. It is one means by which men reinforce their power over women and adults reinforce their power over children. One of the most important mechanism for keeping women in their place is sexism. The belief that women and men have biologically different capabilities and that these differences form a legitimate basis for unequal treatment. Most of the men considered women as their subordinates, even if she earn more salary than him. One of the reasons for it being so prevalent is the orthodox and idiotic mindset of the society that women are physically and emotionally
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weaker than the males. Though women today have proved themselves in almost every field of life affirming that they are no less than men, the reports of violence against them are much larger in number than against men. The possible reasons are many and are diversified over the length and breadth of the country. The greed for dowry, desire for a male child, and alcoholism of the spouse are major factors of domestic violence against women in rural areas. Girls are being harassed, tortured, killed or driven to suicide because of dowry by the greedy husband and in-laws. The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 has banned the practice of dowry, but in reality all that the law does is to recognize that the problem exists. The increase in the incidence of dowry deaths is evident from the fact that it was 1912 cases in the year 1987 and it was increased to 5817 cases in the year 1993. About 70% victims belong to 21-24 years of age group. The violence can range from slaps and kicks to broken bones, torture and attempted murder and even murder itself. Women suffers all humiliation in silence and takes it as her destiny. Even if she wants to revolt, she cannot do it because of the fear that her own parents would refuse to keep her in their house permanently after the marital breakdown. There have been gruesome reports of young bride being burnt alive or subjected to continuous harassment for not bringing home the amount of demanded dowry. In urban areas there are many more factors which lead to differences in the beginning and later take the shape of domestic violence. These include - more income of a working woman than her partner, her absence in the house till late night, abusing and neglecting in-laws, being more forward socially, etc. Violence against young widows has also been on the rise in India. Most often they are cursed for their husband’s death and are deprived of proper food and clothing. They are not allowed or encouraged for remarriage in most of the homes, especially in rural areas. They have to face the problems of social, economic and emotional adjustment. A
Introduction
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widow’s economic dependence is a severe threat to her self-esteem and her sense of identity. Violence against widows includes physical battering, emotional neglect, torture, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, deprivation of legitimate share in property and abuse of their children. There have been cases of molestation and rape attempts of women by other family members or someone in the neighbourhood. At times, women are even sexually coerced by their partner themselves against their will. Historically, the law defined wives as the property of their husbands so that no man could be charged with raping his wife. Today, however, all States have enacted marital rape laws that allow wives to charge husbands with rape. Women are brutally beaten and tortured for not conceiving a male child. Incidents like ripping off a women’s womb for killing the female foetus when she disagrees for abortion have also come to light especially in rural areas. All forms of domestic abuses have one purpose : to gain and maintain control over the victim (women). There are different forms of domestic violence like physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse and economic abuse. 1. Physical abuse :- Physical abuse includes hitting, slapping, bumping and other types of contact that result in physical injury to the victim. If a person is suffering from any physical harm then they are experiencing physical abuse. 2. Sexual abuse : - Sexual abuse is any situation in which force or threat is used to obtain participation in unwanted sexual activity. 3. Emotional abuse :- Constant criticism, name calling and making statements that damage the victim’s self-esteem are also common verbal forms of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse includes forceful efforts to isolate the victim, keeping from contacting friends or family. Women or men undergoing emotional abuse often suffer from depression, results in suicide, drug and alcohol abuse.
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4. Verbal abuse : - Verbal abuse is a form of emotionally abusive behavior involving the use of language. Verbal abuse can slo be referred to us the act of threatening. Verbal abuse may include aggressive actions such as blaming, disrespect and criticism. 5. Economic abuse : - Economic abuse is a form of abuse when one intimate partner has control over the other partner’s access to economic resources. Economic abuse may involve preventing a spouse from resources acquisition, limiting the amount of resources to use by the victim, or by exploiting economic resources of the victim. The motive behind preventing a spouse from acquiring resource is to diminish victim’s capacity to support him / herself.
House hold management Women is the architect of home Household and the activites that take place in womens meacuire labour. Gender is often used to divide labour. Howerver there is no universal set of task defined as women’s work or men’s work. Household work continue to be devided according to gender with women performing the vast maiority of reptitive indoor housework tasks and men performing occasional out door tasks.
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2 Scanning the Indian
society through women perspective
Brahmanical Patriarchy Brahmanical Patriarchy is a set of rules to preserve Brahmanical control over land, caste and gender. The process of caste, class and gender stratification, the three elements in the establishment of the social order in India that shaped the formation of brahmanical patriarchy, "took a considerable period of time to evolve into its complex structure. There are some indications that in prehistoric cultures women's role in production and reproduction was regarded as valuable. In a recent study of the cave paintings at Bhimbetka (circa 5000 BC), it has been argued that women were engaged in gathering fruit and other wild produce, and in hunting small game using baskets and small nets. They combined their role as mothers with their activities as gatherers during this hunting-gathering stage of society. Evidence from the cave paintings in central India thus suggests that in the hunting-gathering stage there was no rigid sexual division of labour - men hunting and women gathering. In the Mesolithic period in central India, it is likely that women participated in the hunt
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apart from undertaking the all-important task of gathering, which in any case accounted for the major source of food in tropical climates. The role of women in the economy was thus equal to, if not greater than, that of men. The relative status of men and women among these tribes can at best be characterized as 'separate but equal'. The important and highly valued role of women in the huntinggathering economy was enhanced by the importance attached to the reproductive role of women. Pregnant women, women in their nurturing role as mothers and women in the act of childbirth are sometimes depicted in the paintings, and the last has been identified as the figure of a mother-goddess. It has also been argued that the first form of religious expression for men and women was the psychological bond between mother and child. In a hunting-gathering society female reproductive power is regarded as valuable because the very survival of the community is dependent upon it. Pre-historic paintings at Kathotia, Bhimbetka and Kharwai treat female sexuality as one aspect of female existence. Society in this phase has been characterized by one scholar as 'matristic' - one in which women were not subjected to the authority of men or of other women. Evidence from the Harappan civilization has not been analysed from the gender point of view. But there is some indication of the emergence of social stratification - a class of people who laboured, and others who wielded power and occupied the citadels - in the structures that have been excavated. The existence of numerous mother-goddess icons and the bronze statue of dancing girl could be interpreted as the continued importance of women's special relationship with reproduction, and may also be seen as an acceptance of their sexuality. The evidence is not enough to indicate whether or not the sexuality was already under some kind of control, by men or by certain categories of women. Gerda Lerner's stimulating study of the creation of patriarchy suggests that some form of community or clan control over women and their sexuality was an aspect of social organization in the archaic state, and this may have existed in the Harappan culture too.
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In Rigvedic Society, when the Aryans succeeded in establishing control over certain areas, most of the men there either fled or were killed. The conquerors then enslaved the women of the subjugated peoples. Thus the first large group to be enslaved in early Indian history were women as there are more frequent reference to dasis than to dasas; the evidence of the Rigveda is in consonance with Lerner's argument that all early conquering tribes killed the defeated men and enslaved the women, at least in the first stage of conquest. The Rigvedic evidence is extremely significant as it reflects an essential stratification within women, between women of the conquering tribes and women of the subjugated peoples. Many of the myths of the Rigveda reflect an explicit relationship of women with sexuality. Frequently, this is an aspect that is especially associated with demonic women or with apsaras. While demonic women are a threat to men and to their rituals, apsaras are free from male control and even set stringent conditions for any longterm co-habitation with men. For other Aryan women, the patriarchal family had established a certain degree of control over women. Their position in the pastoral economy, with the household playing an important part in production, ensured the recognition of their presence in society especially in the performance of rituals. But the custom of niyoga, which was the privilege of affinal male kinsmen, indicates that control over female sexuality was firmly established. Niyoga combines the utilization of the reproductive potential of women but under rules laid down by men, to further cultural norms that privilege them. Post-Vedic literature reflects a two-fold development of ideology. While Aryan women were being marginalized in terms of their original roles in the sacrifice, their role in the productive system was also changing. Increasing dependence on agriculture as the major source of food shifted the scene of food production outside households to fields; the labour of subjugated peoples, including dasis, was extracted to work the land, and this enabled the Aryan woman' labour to be restricted to the household. Thereafter, the participation of a
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certain class of women in ' production', which had been valued earlier, ceased. Such women, from then onwards, were associated only with reproduction. There are references also to suggest that women must be rendered powerless by ensuring that they do not gain in strength, and are obedient to men and follow them. The need for monitoring women's sexuality, is also evident. It appears that women's sexuality was viewed as a threat, particularly in relation to the sacrifice. The earlier references to the need to specially guard wives is also evident during this period. The Shatapatha Brahmana expresses the fear that the wife might go to other men. The shift to an agricultural economy and the second urbanization (800-600 BC) was marked by the emergence of caste and class divisions. The Brahmana was a force to reckon with and patrilineal succession was fairly well established within the larger context of a defined family structure that was distinct from the earlier structure. These changes - that is, the emergence of a fairly stratified society, and the collapse of tribal economy and polity in the post-Vedic period, especially with the establishment of private control over land held and transmitted within a patrilineal system. Wives, in particular, required to be under male control and this view finds explicit mention in a later text, the Apastamba Dharmasutra. It was at this point that a sharp distinction needed to be made between motherhood and female sexuality, with the latter being channelized only into legitimate motherhood within a tightly controlled structure of reproduction that ensured caste purity. This was the general context in which women's "essential nature' came to be identified with their sexuality. The innate nature of women was represented as sinful. As early as Shatapatha Brahmana, we are told that a woman, a shudra, a dog and a crow are the embodiments of untruth, sin and darkness. Even the Ramayana associates most women with being essentially weak and sinful. According to Kaushalya, woman do not care for a good family, good deeds or wisdom, and their hearts are ever
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inconstant. The Mahabharata states that they are difficult to control : the cunning tricks of demons are known to be unique to women. The notion that the essential nature of women is vested in their sexuality is dealt with most explicitly by Manu, the most prominent ideologue of the brahmanical system. Manu argues that by carefully guarding his wife (the most important category of women as far as brahmana ideologues were concerned), a man preserves the purity of his offspring, his family, himself and his means of acquiring merit. The projection of the fear of women's uncontrolled sexuality was the backdrop to the obsession with creating an effective system of control and the need to guard them constantly. An interesting fact of women's 'innate' nature (strisvabhava), unlike the innate nature of other subordinate groups like the shudras, was the representation of conflict between the inherent nature of woman and their dharma. While the 'innate' nature of the lower castes, that of rendering service to the twice-born, was in harmony with the dharma prescribed for them by the brahmanical lawgivers, strisvabhava, women's essential nature as sexual beings, was in conflict with their stridharma of fidelity to the husband. Some myths explicitly suggest that a 'demonic' strisvabhava is the maternal heritage of women, whereas stridharma, the duty of women, is their paternal heritage, giving to them by the brahmana priests. Women's general subordination was essential in this stage because it was only then that the mechanism of control over women's sexuality could actually be effective. The mechanism of control operated through three devices and at three different levels. The first was through ideology, through stridharma or pativradharma, internalized by women who attempted to live up to the ideal notion of womanhood constructed by the ideologues of the society. In the case of Hindu society, the design of the patriarchal caste-class structure was mapped out by the brahmanas; pativrata, the specific dharma of the Hindu wife, then became the ideology by which women accepted, and even aspired to, chastity and wifely fidelity as the higher expression of their selfhood.
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The pativrata concept was one of the most successful ideologies constructed by any patriarchal system, one in which women themselves controlled their sexuality. The actual mechanism and institutions of control over women's sexuality, and the subordination of women, were thus completely invisibilized, and with it, patriarchy was firmly established as an ideology, since it was naturalized'. Stridharma is clearly an ideological mechanism for socially controlling the biological aspect of women. The wicked and essential nature of women then must be subordinated and conquered by the virtue of the ideal wife.
Wifehood Under Brahmanical patriarchy The wife is required to follow the ideal of Pathivratya devoted to her husband alone. The wife should serve her husband by treating him like God despite the abuses received from him or his disabilities like blindness, sickness, poverty or impotency. The ideal wife is one who manages the home efficiently, looks after and comforts her husband and serves him as her god, who trains her children to become good citizens, who leads chaste and virtuous life, who plays the noble and important part of a good wife. In the Rigvedic period the wife was respected in her husband’s house and wielded authority over her husband’s family. The wife participated in the sacrificial offerings of her husband. In the age of Upanishads, the Apastamba imposes several penalties on a husband who unjustly forsakes his wife. On the otherhand a wife who forsakes her husband has to only perform penance. Vatsyanana draws a picture of a good wife which may be taken as a reflection of the real life during that period. When a women is the only wife she has to devote herself to him as if he were a deity. She must be fully devoted, take care of his comforts and attend festivities with his permission. She honor’s her husbands friends and look after his parents. Part from looking after his friends and family, she has complete charge of the household. In case she had a co-wife she looks upon her as her younger sister or mother depending on her own age. Wife cannot perform any sacrifice of her own, nor conduct any fasts or
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vratas without her husband’s permission. She has to endure all sufferings cheerfully and make every effort to please him and paradise is hers not by virtue of any austere penance but as a result of her obedience and devotion to her husband. She is expected to control his behaviour. Her very purpose in life is her husband. For her, service and devotion to the husband is the path to salvation. There were restrictions laid down as to how she should behave when her husband was away from home. She has to live modestly avoiding all kinds of entertainment and not displaying ornaments. She has to avoid festivals and visiting friends or even smiling at others. A wife has not expected to take the initiative and do anything on her own, but was to be guided by her husband.
Seed and Earth The Vedic text and Dharmasasthra constitues norms for Brahmanism and religious practices for the upper caste. Arthasasthra of Kautilya and Manusmriti are also considered to be the sources for getting insights into the normative ideal women. The salvation happiness of women revolve around their virtue and chastity as daughter, wife, and widow. This theme has been expressed by the symbolism of seed and earth. Man provides the seed, the essence for the creation of a child and seed determines the kind. The child’s identity is derived from the father. The role of mother is just to receive the seed through her blood, provide warmth and nourishment and helps it grow. Leela Dube the famous authropoligist comment on this symbolism as follows. “One of the most significant aspects of symbolism is how the two partners are situated in the process of reproduction. In his body man has the seed. The woman on the other hand is herself the field. The child belongs to one to whom the seed belongs infact he also owns the field. This symbolism indicate that man is the Lord, owner or provider. A daughter or a wife is a commodity. In Naradasmrithi, it is stated that women are created for offsprings. A women is the field and man the possesser of the seed. The field should be given to him who possess the seed. In the Mahabharatha there are references to bringing a substitute for the husband to contribute his seed.
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The symbolic use of seed and earth to express the process of human reproduction are also found in the law books particularly with reference to the rules regarding mixed marriages. Most of the law books give the children born out of mixed marriage the equal status that of a father. The seed and the field are recurrent symbol in the Hindu marriage rituals. Kshethrasamskara is aimed at purifying the brides womb for recieving the seed. All the rituals emphasis on the devotion of wife to the husband. There are special rites recommended to those who desire to obtain a male child. Most of the patrilineal Hindus believe that a daughter is something which is to be kept in safe custody until her marriage. Thus the concept of seed and earth religates women to a lower position and to used is symbolise the different roles of man and women in procreation.
Sthree Dharma The word ‘sthree’ is a sanskrit term. It means ‘women’, women is a manifestation of Sakti, the illusory power of the Lord. She is a faithful companion of man her life partner. ‘Sthree’ charms man with her beauty, sweet voice grace and ingrained devotion and spirit of service. The whole charm of a mans earthly life is centered in a woman. Dharma means duty. Its moral actions that elevate a man or woman to the status of divinity and best of his or her final beautitude of life which is liberation from the rounds of births and deaths. Women’s duty is to serve men-father, husband and children. Her most important role is that of a mother and the old saying “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world” seems to be true for all times. A woman’s first duty is towards her home, her husband and children. A woman’s pride is her home. Before her marriage she has duties towards her parents, brothers, sisters and other relatives. Her most important duty towards her parents is to get a good name everywhere and to be praised by everyone.
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After marriage, woman’s duties increase considerably. She has so many obligations towards her children, husband and family members. Unless she performs these duties efficiently, she cannot earn the love of her husband which is the most precious thing on earth for any wife. By performing her duties well as a competent house wife, she can make her husband feel proud of her. Nothing pleases a woman more than doing her duties towards her children. She is ready even to sacrifice her life for the sake of her children. To build up a child’s character is primarily the responsibility of a mother. The father remains busy with his daily routine and can hardly find time or energy to give proper training to his children. So the mother must take care of the children’s education, discipline and character must cultivate Bhakthi-faith in God-in them from childhood. by bringing up her children in the proper and disciplined way, she contributes so much to the society and nation. It is not enough if the mother just provides food and clothing to her children. She must train them to show respect to the elders, she must also try to correct them when they do wrong. Woman has varied roles to play, innumerable responsibilities to shoulder and very many duties to perform. She had been ordained in the past to be a good daughter, a good wife and a good mother, looked after and protected the parents at first, then by the husband and lastly by the children.
Pathivrata Dharma In Brahmanical patriarchy there exists certain code of conduct for married women. Pativratam is a great vow for a woman. ‘Pathi’ means husband and ‘Vrat’ means vow. A woman who remains loyal to her husband is a Pativrata. A Pativrata is a chaste women who have taken the vow of ‘Pativratam’ who sticks to her Pativrata Dharma even at the risk of her own life. A Pativrata is faithfully devoted to her husband. She worships him and serves him with all her heart, mind and soul. Ramayana mentions that an ideal Pativrata will not see another man other than her husband even in her dreams. It also men-
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tioned that a Pativrata should serve her husband as she would serve and worship God. For a Pativrata her husband is her all-in-all; he is her soul, protector survivor and God. If a women protects her Pativrata Dharma she attains purity of heart and enjoys supreme peace, immortality and eternal bliss. Brahaspati, a law giver of the period 300-500 AD has defined a Pativrata “is someone whose state of mind reflects that of her husband; she shares, his distress, his delight; grows sickly and dresses unattractively in his absence and dies when he does.” A chaste wife never eats before her husband. She should not look at any male with a lustful heart. She should not site in a solitary place with young men. She should not expose any part of her body. ‘Sat’ means Paramatma or God. ‘E’ means Gati or journey. Hence a woman who dedicates herself totally to attain God is also termed as sati. Mirabai is a best example of it. Sthreedharma or Pativrathadhama was an ideological tool to control women and to tame their sexuality. It was one of he most successful ideologies constructed by any patriarchal system, one in which women themselves controlled their own sexuality and believed that they gained power and respect through the codes they adopted. ‘Pativrithyam’ was regarded as a means of salvation for women. It was a patriarchal mask for the subordination of women and to ensure their social control. According to Manusmriti, women as biological creatures are representatives of a wild or untamed nature. Through the sthridharma, the biological woman can be tamed and converted into woman as social entity. The untamed or wicked nature of the woman can be subordinated and conquered by the virtue of ideal wife. Mythologies play a significant role in the formation of the pativrata ideal. For example in Ramayana Sita was regarded as an epitome of pativrata. Due to her ‘pativritya’ her chastity was guarded and protected even while she was in the custody of another man. There are other examples too. Arundhati, the wife of Vasista can stay the mo-
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tion of sun, Savitri can win back her dead husband Satyavan from Yama, Anasuya can transform evil men into babies, all due to their pativratadharma. Myths also tell us what happens to those women who are not capable of sustaining their devotion to their husbands. The pativrata ideal ensures the chastity of women and keep them under the control of men.
Widowhood Widowhood in India among the upper castes is a state of social death. A widow, after the death of her husband, is alienated from reproduction and sexuality and excluded from the functioning social unit of family. Once a person ceases to be wife, she ceases to be a person. She is neither daughter nor daughter-in-law. In Brahmanical patriarchy when one becomes a widow, a question arises, how to incorporate her into society? One way could be to constitute a separate community of widows, a non-sexual community. Another could be to retain her in society but place her on its margins and then institionalize her marginality. In the words of Uma Chakravorthy this is what Brahmanical patriarchy did with the widow. The widow's marginality is a state of condition between being physically alive and being socially dead. It was the ultimate cultural outcome of the deprivation of her sexuality as well as of her pesonhood. A widow has to follow a prescribed behavior. The rituals of widowhood incorporated certain basic features signifying the symbolic rejection of widow's sexuality. The rituals marking the renunciation of the widow's sexuality are simple but always humiliating and traumatic. The most dramatic and visible ritual for brahmana women is the shaving of the head. In order to enforce permanent widowhood upon women the community needs to continuously reiterate its authority over the widow. Enforced tonsure is a way of doing that. It is a way of community to control the widow's sexuality. Tonsure is an indication of their utter powerlessness in the hands of brahmanical patriarchy. The theme that dominate the ceremonies and rituals of widowhood is the sexual death of the widow. Since the upper caste women in brahmanical patriarchy is primarily a vehicle for reproduc-
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tion, the sexual death of a woman is simultaneously a social death. The death of the husband marks a shift in the attitude of community towards the woman. She has certainly not been a pativrata and she is an outcaste. The prescriptive texts lay down strict codes of behavior in order to repress her sexuality. A widow should give up chewing betel-nut, wearing perfumes, flower, ornaments, and dyed clothes, taking food from a vessel of bronze, taking two meals a day, and she should wear a white garment, curb her senses and anger and sleep on the ground. She should live an ascetic life. Devotion and loyalty to one's husband remains the key point of a widow's life. Her 'streedharma' continues in widowhood and requires her to master her sexuality. It will ensure her salvation by ensuring her husband's salvation. The prescriptive texts outline only two models of widowhood: that of the dying 'sati' who rejects widowhood and proves herself to be the best follower of 'streedharma' and that of the living sati who becomes an ascetic and remains devoted to her husband till she dies. These two models are repeated through the centuries in all the later texts of the brahmanical tradition. The passage of a woman from the position of a wife to that of a widow is marked by various rites. Soon after the death of the husband, the appearance of the widow was distinctly marked off from other women, as well as from those customs that were associated with the marriage of a woman. For example widows are not allowed to use kumkuma, 'haldi' and 'sindoor'. These items are associated with sexuality and reproduction. Other customs include the breaking of glass bangles, and the breaking of the mangalsutra, the sing of a married woman. The widows must wear white garments. The colour codes of red and white are sustained in the wife /widow opposition. Red symbolizes fertility and sexuality and white symbolizes asexuality. In place of red 'kumkuma' the widows use 'vibhuti' or ash to mark their foreheads. White is the colour of death and vibhuti is associated with the funeral pyre. The exclusive use of this colour by widows among Hindu women indicates their continued association with asexuality and death.
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Among lower caste women widowhood is not pitiable. Widowhood is non-brahmanical society is not marked by the kind of dramatic break in the life of a woman in high caste society. Widows from these castes are incorporated in the social and economic order. Shudra and untouchable widows do not have distinctive rituals and they are not excluded from auspicious ceremonies.
Food as a medium of Proliferation of caste Every caste in India has a distinctive culture, a certain commonality that imparts a sense of identity to its members. Modes of worship, fasts, festivals, rules governing concerns of purity and pollution and food habits are some of the elements which imparts commonality and identity to members of caste. These practices are learnt largely within the family and Kinship networks. While some of these features are shared by other castes in the same region or caste groups of the same varna category across regions, it is in fact the specific configuration of these elements and features within a particular caste that serves as its mark distinction. Food consistutes an important element in the ritual language of purity and pollution. The caste system has imposed certian restrictions on the food habits of the members and it deffers from caste to caste. A Brahmin could accept pakka food only from sone castes lower than his own. But he would not accept Kaccaha food prepared with the use of water at the hands of no other caste except his own. No individual would accept kacha food prepared by an inferior casteman. Both the exclusiveness of castes as bounded entities and inter-caste relationship are determined by the habit of food. The responsibility of safeguarding food falls upon women because home is still in their custody. The concerns of purity and pollution centering on food begin at home. The principles of caste involve a distinction between home and outside world. Women maintains the sanctity and purity of the home. There are restrictions on women in the tasks of processing preserving, cooking and distributing food. Foods are hierarchically classified
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Gender Studies
in terms of purity and impurity, vulnerability and resistance to pollution and in terms of specific characterstics they embody-passion, anger, calm, strength and spirituality. At home it is the women who decides who should eat what, where and when. Women’s practices in relation to food play a key role in the heirarchical ordering of castes. There are divergent practices between men and women in terms of food habits. Women are restricted in taking prohibited foods or accepting food from other castes. In situations away from home, men tend to be more relaxed about the rules of food. But in a similiar context women are expected to follow those rules more strictly. Moreover the rules regarding food for women are governed by principles of-kinship, marriage, and sexuality. For example widows of upperscastes are required to observe strict rules of purity and pollution while preparing food, and to give up the consumption of food which raise passion and desire. Women’s practices concerning the consumption of food are important determinants of the ritual status of their caste. The control over food is at once, the protection of women from sexual misbehaviour and a safeguard against the a breach of the boundaries of caste. Along with food, domestic rituals, the daily care of family deies and the propitiation of ancestors are women’s responsibility. But on special occasions either a make member of the family or a brahmin priest performs the puja. Women had to observe special fasts and do special pujas for the welfare of husband and children and for the prosperity of the family. These rituals, worships, fasts and feasts are a part of the tradition of a caste. For most women these practices provide opportunity for self-expression and social recognition. They also act as a medium which helps women exercise power over other women and men within the family. Food is an important element in the social acceptability of intercaste unions. Acceptance of food cooked by a woman married into a family of another caste creates judgements regarding the differences in the ritual quality of foods in terms of their purity and vulnerability to pollution. It is the caste states of woman which decides whether she
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should be permitted to enter into the kitchen or not. A woman who belongs to a caste lower than that of her husband’s can often cook ordinary food for the family but is not allowed to cook for the ancestors. Responsibility for the preservation of traditions, control over rituals, the distribution of food and the task of socialization give women a sense of power over people The processes within which women make a living space also strengthen caste and its boundaries.
Three fold Oppression of Dalit Women The caste system in India contains both social oppression and class exploitation. The lower caste known as Dalits are subjected to untouchability and other forms of discrimination. Dalit women in India are Dalits among Dalits and suffer from threefold oppression on account of gender as a result of patriarchy, caste the untouchable and class as they hail from the poorest and most marginalized community. Some Dalit thinkers argued that women are less oppressed within the Dalit caste because of the absence of pathvratha ideology among them. Dalit women do not regard their husbands as honoured beings who must be respected at all times. Moreover, Dalit women are integrated into labour system and have a strong work ethic. But Dalit women too experience patriarchal oppression in unique ways. In order to elevate their position in the society a national level organization named Dalit Women Federation was set up in 1990's. The emergence of autonomous Dalit women's organization has led to a major debate sparked off by the essay 'Dalit Women Talk Differently'. It was written by Gopal Guru. Guru located the Dalit women's need to talk differently in a discourse of dissent against the middle class women's movement as also the Dalit male movement and the moral economy of peasant movements. He argued against the Dalit women's exclusion from both political and cultural areas. He further underlined that social location determines the perception of reality and therefore the representation of Dalit women's issue by non-Dalit women was less valid and less authentic.
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Caste and Gender Caste and gender are closely related. The caste system and caste endogamy retained control over the labour and sexuality of women. Caste not only determines social division of labour but also sexual division of labour. Concepts of caste purity of women to maintain partrillineal succession justified subordination of women. The prohibition of sacred thread ceremony for both women and shudra, similiar punishment for killing a women and shudra, denial of religious privileges are illustrations which indicate how caste and gender pre related. Uma Chakravarti in her “Gendering caste Through a Feminist Lens” argues that the establishment of private property and the need to have caste purity required subordination of women and strict control over their mobility and sexuality. Female sexuality was channeled into legitimate motherhood within a controlled structure of reproduction to ensure patrillineal succession. According to her the mechanism of control operated through three different levels. The first device was when patriarchy was established as an ideology and women had internalized through Stridharma or Pativratadharma to the ideal notion of womanhood constructed by Brahmanical patriarchy. The second device was laws, customs and rituals prescribed by the brahmanical social code which reinforced the ideological control over women. Patriarchy considers chastity and wifefidelity as the hight duties of women. The relationship between women purity and caste purity was important and central to brahmanical patrarchy and women were carefully guarded and lower caste women were prevented from having sexual access to women of high caste. The third was the state itself which supported the patrarchal control over women and thus patriarchy could be established firmly not as an ideology but as an actuality. Therefore gender relations are organised within the structural frame work of family, religion, caste, community, tribe and state. The three basic characterestics of caste, are exclusion (rules governing marriage and contact, which maintain distinctions of caste),
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hierarchy (the principle of order and rank) and interdependence (the division of labour which is closely tied to hierarchy and separation.) These three characteristics function through kinship units particulary the family and the household. Women’s lives are largely lived within familiar parameter and kinship rules determines their role. Similiarity, the most important form of inequality in the caste system is the unequal resources of production. The material resources are controlled by familial units. There are clear distinctions within these units in respect of the rights and privileges of it’s male and female members. Women’s work contributes to the occupational continuity of a caste gorup. There are changes in the relation between tracitional occupations of Indian society and caste system but they have not disappeared. For example agriculture although now open to all castesstill gives a distinct identity to a large number of castes of traditional cultivators. Equally some other occupations remain the exclusive privilege of particular castes. A Brahmin still perform the functions of a priest. Among artisan castes of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, potters and weavens, a few members of the group still make a living by the traditional craft. In these castetied occupations, the women play an important role. It is difficult for weavers and potters to carry on the complex processes of their craft without the continuous help of the women and children of the household. Women of from potter’s family often established contacts with clients and go to the market to sell their products. Basket weaving a joint activity of men and women. In certain regions of North, a water-carrier woman has an important supportive role to play during feasts and ceremonies, bringing water, and washing utensils. There are specific untouchable castes’ whose women work as midwives. Thus women’s role is central to the continuity of caste-linked occupations. In order to train women in traditional occupations parents put restrictions on them since childhood. Education is denied to them, because not formal education but the capacity to do traditional work make a girl useful in the husband’s family.
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Marriage and sexuality constitute a central arena in which caste influences a women’s lives. The caste system is based upon the cultural perception of a fundamental difference in male and female sexuality. There is a hierarchy within the caste between male and female. There is a belief that woman never attain the level of purity of men of their own caste. The woman of uppercastes have been equated with shudras who could not learn vedas. Women are considered impure through bodily processes and widowhood also form another source of impurity widows are not supposed to perform the puja of the family and they do not cook the pure food offered to the deties. A man, on the other hand is not similarly affected if he becomes a widower. Such a heiraron between the sexes is more a feature of Brahmin and other uppercastes. In order to retain the caste purity the female sexuality is also carefully guarded and controlled. The emergence of a patrilineal succession system and of private property was the context where a sharp distinction was made between motherhood and female sexuality. The female sexuality was channelled into legitimate motherhood with in a strictly controlled structure of reproduction to ensure patrilineal succession: by restricting mating only with one man. Mating was tightly restricted in order to secure caste purity. Motherhood was idealized and ritualized and there are numerous rituals starting with marriage, going on to conception, and then to the birth of the son to ensure safe delivery of the male child. In the marriage practices, endogamy is regarded as a tool for the subordination manifestation and perpetuation of caste and gender subordination. Caste identity can be retained only interms of its distinctiveness from other caste groups and this can only be maintained through endogany. The ‘arranged’ marriage is the norm in marriage practices in India and it is the basis by which the caste system is reproduced. For a suitable marriage the bride and groom must belong to same caste or subcaste. Marriage is performed to ensure the immortality continuity and purity of the caste or subcaste. Marriage is regarded as vital to the maintainence of one’s caste status. The prin-
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ciples of marriage practice are inseparable from the very principles of hierarchy at the core of caste based Indian society. Marriage is thus linked to belief and ritual and it is the purity of its practices that maintains hierarchy. Class, caste and gender interact and shape each other. The structure of marriage, sexuality, and reproduction is the fundamental basis of the caste system. The structure of marriage reproduces both class and caste inequality.
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3 Women in the Fight for Freedom and Social Justice in India - realities
Women in the Revolt of 1857 Women’s participation in India’s freedom struggle began over a century before country became Independent at the time when conservative traditions and social customs had derived them their rightful place in the society. Among earlier women fighters to raise banner of revolt were Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Rani of Ramgarh and Begam Hazart Mahal of Luknow. The part played by women in the out break of 185758 invited admiration even from English. It was Rani of Jansi about whom Sir High Rose observed “She was the bravest and best military leader of rebels”. The Rani of Ramgarh met her death in the battlefield while Begam Hazrat Mahal had to escape to Nepal and died there as an exile. After the formation of Indian National Congress women got a platform to take part in the political activities of the country. Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi:- Jhansi was a Small Maratha State and it served as a nerve centre of Central Indian State. Due to this factor Delhousie annexed Jhansi in 1854. The administrator of this state till 1854 was Gangadhar Rao. Rani Lakshmi Bai was his wife. She was only 14 years when she
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was married to Gangadhar Rao who was then 40 years of age. A son was born to them but he died after three months. The ruler of Jhansi fell ill and an adoption became necessary. He adopted Anand Rao a 5 year old boy. Gangadhar Rao sent a letter requesting sanction for his adoption to the Governor General. Instead of giving approval to the action taken by the Raja, Governor General Delhousie put into force the Doctrine of Lapse and annexed Jhansi to the British empire after the death of Gangadhar Rao. But Lakshmi Bai was provided with a palace as her residence and 500 rupees for a month. But Rani did not agree with this she sent a petition to Delhousie asking him to return Jhansi to her. But this did not bring any result. So she sent a mission to England to represent her case. But this also had not succeeded. On June 5th 1857 Jhansi witnessed an open rebellion which was headed by Lakshmi Bai. Rani and her followers released prisoners, set fire to the “Cityfort” and murdered all officials who came to their hands. There was a firing between them and Britishers. This struggle continued till 1858. She was the “bravest and best leader of rebels”. Begam Hazrat Mahal :- She had played a major role in the revolt of 1857. She was also known as Begam of Oudh. She was a dancing girl and later became the wife of Nawab Rajib Ali Shah. Her maiden name was Muhammeddi Khanum. She was given the title of Hazrat Mahal after the birth of her son Birjis Khadir. The annexation of Oudh in the name of misrule created deep resentment among the people. Artisans and craftsmen became impoverished. When the rebellion broke out in Meerut the people of Oudh raised the banner of revolt in May 30, 1857. Hazrat Mahal was the inspiration behind this insurrection. With the help of rebel forces she was soon successful in seizing Lucknow from the British. She crowned her son as royal heir of Oudh. The people of Oudh supported her and she proclaimed independence from British rule. She fought bravely and had urged the rural folk to take part in the war.
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Along with Nanasahib, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Thanthia Thope, Bakht Khan and Moulavy Ahamadulla, she played a unique role in the rebellion of 1857. She was known as Lakshmi Bhai of Oudh. When the British forces seized Lucknow and a major part of Oudh the Begam was forced to setback. She refused to accept any kind of favours and allowances offered by British rulers. She fought bravely in the battle field and tried to liberate the state of Oudh from the clutches of British. When her forces lost the battle she fled from Oudh and tried to organize soldiers again in other places. But finally she left to Nepal where she died. Later Govt. of India issued a stamp in the name of Begum. Rani of Ramgarh :- Rani of Ramgarh was another woman who participated in the outbreak of the 1857. Ramgarh is a small village in Mandala district of Madhya Pradesh. Its last ruler Raja Lachman Singh died in 1850. He was succeeded by his son Vikramjit. But he could not rule because he was mentally unsound. The British authorities, as part of their expansionist policies annexed the village and appointed their own Tehsildar. A pension was fixed for the Raja and his family. The Rani protested against this but it was in vain. When revolt broke out in 1857, Rani seized this opportunity to redress her grievances. Rani led the revolt in Mandala district. British Tehsildar was removed and she took over the administration. She fortified the Ramgarh and made preparations to face the British. The Rani also sought the help of the neighbouring chiefs and Zamindars. On April 1, 1858, British forces fought with the army of Rani in the battlefield. Rani was defeated and she fled from the town. She retired to the nearby jungles from where she continued her attack. When her capture became certain she committed suicide. There were several other women in different parts of the country who extended their support to the rebellion. Rani Tacebai of Jaloun who supported Nanasahib, the Thakurani of Budri who contributed to the rebels funds and Rani Digamber Koer joined the rebels at Gorakhpur.
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Participation of Santhal, Bhil and Munda women in anti British struggles. The tribals of India, like.other social groups, participated in the anti-colonial movement. The anti-colonial tribal movements were of two types - first, the movements against their oppressors i.e. landlords, money-lenders, traders, Thekedars (contractors), government officials and Christian missionaries and the second, movements which were linked to and merged with the Indian National movement. The first type of movements can be termed as anticolonial because these movements were directed against those classes which were the creation of British colonialism and who collaborated with the tribals. These classes were considered outsiders (dikhus) by the tribals. According to an estimate there were more than 70 tribal revolts over a period of 70 years (1778 to 1948). These revolts were anti-colonial in varying degrees. The main anticolonial tribal movements and revolts were: The tribal revolts in Chotanagpur region - Tamar revolt (1789-1832), Kherwar movement of Santhals (1833), Santhal revolt of 1855, Bokta risings, Sardari Larai or Mukti Larai movement of 1858-95, Birsa Munda’s movement (1895-1901), Devi movement in Gujarat (1922-23), Tribal movement in Midnapur (1918-1924), Jitu Santhal’s movement in Malda (1924-32), Tribals and National Movement in Orissa (1921-36) and Tribal movements in Assam in the late nineteenth century. Rural India had been inhabited by the tribal population from the beginning. The tribal communities lived in relative seclusion and isolation for centuries and in varying states of economy. In spite of their contacts with the non-tribals, they maintained their separate identity. Each tribal community maintained its own socioreligious and cultural life and its political and economic organisations. Until the arrival of the British in the tribal areas, the main means of production and subsistence for the tribals were land and forests. The forests were of great significance for the tribals all over India.
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They had customary rights to use the minor forest products. Firewood, flowers, fruits, leaves, honey, housing material, edible nuts, medical herbs etc. formed the essential items of the daily requirements of tribals. They used forest products for food, constructing houses and shifting cultivation. They grazed their cattle in the forests. The forests provided them with security. In addition, the tribals practised weaving, basket making, fishing, hunting and food gathering. Their instruments of labour and livelihood were not very developed. Bows and arrows were the main instruments of self-defence and hunting. The British policies disturbed the traditional tribal systems. The tribal land system was marked by its corporatorial ownership of land and absence of the landlords. But the British changed the land system of the tribals. They created the hitherto unknown class of zamindars (landlords) in the tribal areas. The British also introduced contractors (Thekedars) in the tribal areas. The zamindars and thekedars introduced the land rent in the tribal areas. Following the introduction of market economy, a class of traders also developed in the tribal areas. The tribal tenants had to pay the rent in cash. As they did not have cash with them, they had to borrow from the money-lenders. Hence, a class of money-lenders also came into being in the tribal areas. The isolated tribal communities were connected with the outside world following the introduction of means of communication and transportation. The self-sufficient tribal economy was converted into market economy. The customary system of justice was replaced by the new legal system. The new legal system was not suitable to the tribals. The tribals could not afford to utilise the new legal system, as they were not educated and they did not have money for the fees of the lawyers. The British brought a host of petty government official and clerks in the tribal areas. All these classes - zamindars, thekedars, traders, money-lenders, government officials -were not natives of the tribal areas. Nor did they belong to the tribal communities. They were brought into the tribal areas by the British. They could be Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs or Europeans. Hence, they were
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considered outsiders - dikus - by the tribals. These classes collaborated with the British administration in the process of exploitation and oppression of the tribals. The landlords extracted exorbitant amount of rent from the tribals, evicted them from their land and extracted begar (forcible labour) from the tribals. In case of defiance, the tribals were physically assaulted by the zamindars. They were deprived of their belongings. The money-lenders exploited the tribals by charging exorbitant amount of interests from them. Many a time the tribals were forced to sell out their belongings and children and wives to meet the requirements of the landlords and money-lenders. The government officials took advantage of their innocence. They were the ally of landlords, money-lenders, contractors and traders in the exploitation of the tribals. The tribals responded to their exploitation and oppression in the form of revolts and identified their enemies in the outsiders (dikus) - landlords, money-lenders, thekedars and missionaries and European government officials. They launched movements against their oppressors in their respective regions. Their agitations against the outsiders could be called anti-colonial. They revolted against them because of their exploitation in the form of encroachment on their land, and eviction from their land. The major revolts against the British were the Santhal, Bhil and Munda. Men and women fought with courage to protect their rights. Tribal women who were the worst victims of British policies made sacrifices. But they were not given adequate place in the historical writings of tribal revolts. The history of popular struggles had negleted women and ensured their invisibility.There is a belief that men alone were capable of militant action, of leadership, of changing the course of events and in short making history. Women have always been portrayed as followers or supporters in these struggles. Written histories of peasant-tribal struggles always display male perspective. They gave least importance to the significance of women’s contri-
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bution to these struggles. That does not mean that women did not play a major role in these rebellions. In the Santhal rebellion, women were not only cause of the rebellion but were also involved in mobilizing the people on the eve of uprising and in the ravaging campaigns thereafter. According to Ranajith Guha the entire female population of the Santhal districts could have been accused of acting as the providers and as the eyes and ears of the rebel forces. The courage and heroism of women rebels are immortalized in the songs of the rebellion. It is said that Phulon and Jhano (Sisters of Sidhu and Kanhu) once entered the English camp and killed 21 soldiers with their swords. Some women were imprisoned for assisting rebels in plundering and carrying of goods from different villages. The names of Radha and Hira figured in the list of 19 prisoners produced before British magistrate. Between October and November 1855 there were atleast 45 Santhal women put in Birbhum jail, some carrying infants with them. In the Munda rebellion women featured as ardent fighters attacking churches and police stations. Sali and Champi two women leaders were constant companions of Birsa Munda and helped him in organizing movement. Many women participated in the conspiracy meetings and various other events of revolt. When a meeting was organized at Chalked, it was attended by some 7000 men and women, and all were armed. Likewise when Gaya Munda and other rebels returned home after killing constables, they were received by enthusiastic women supporters. Gaya Munda’s wife Maki Bui was an important leader. His daughters Thigi, Nagi and Lembu were also participated in the rebellion. They were arrested and imprisoned for offering resistance to British rule. The list of rebels killed in the final battle between the British and the Mundas included the wives of Bankan Munda, Manjuhia Munda and Durgdung Munda. Tribal women have remained largely Marginalized in history writing in India. They gained their first visibility in history through the descriptions on anti-colonial writings of subaltern historians.
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British attitude towards women fighters British government took reactionary and repressive measures against women fighters. Several womens were wounded due to lathicharges and several were killed. Let us elucidate some examples. Urmila Devi, the widowed sister of C.R. Das asked women to be prepared to leave their homes to serve the country. Urmila Devi along with Smt. Basanti Devi the wife of C.R. Das, led the women’s movement in Bengal. They sold Khadar in the streets of Calcutta. They were arrested while selling Khadi. In Bombay Women held protest meetings against the visit of Prince of Wales. After the meeting, they went in procession to a temple and they prayed for the attainment of swaraj. Bai Amman (Abadi Bano Began) who belonged to an aristocratic family of Muslims threw off her veils when her sons curtailed her personal freedom and went about addressing meetings all over India. She gave inspiration for all to join in the Non-co-operation movement to throw away the British rule. She hoped that Muslim women would rise to the occassion and help the national cause. She advised the establishment of Panchayat throughout India. She strongly advocated the use of khadar and Hindu Muslim unity. She made invaluable services to the cause of khilafat, swaraj and Hindu Muslim unity. She extensively travelled to Simla, Punjab, Mumbai, Patna and Bhagalpur and preached people to make sacrifices for attaining swaraj. The British government planned to arrest Bai Amman for her objectionable speeches But her arrest was not considered as advisable Bai Amman continued her political work till her death in 1924. Parvati Devi, an ardent worker of the congress was arrested in meerut because of her inflamming speeches. She was sentenced for two years imprisonment. Women from all provinces of British India joined in the freedom struggle. In East Godavari District in Madras Smt. Duvvari Subbaman while attending a meeting addressed by Gandhi ‘jumped into the’ free-
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dom struggle. She decided to form a women-only cadre of “devasevikas’’ (God - devoted servants) In Kakinanda in April 1921, a twelve year old girl Durgabai wanted Devadasis to meet Gandhi who was coming there to attend a meeting. Devadasis collected Rs. 5000 and when Gandhiji arrived 1000, women were present there to meet him. Gandhiji talked to them. Durgabai translated his speech. The women who were listening this speech gave their jewellery and added another Rs.20,000 to that contribution. With Gandhiji’s arrest after Dandi march the campaign started throughout India with country wide hartals. This increased the patriotic zeal of women. The women started their march on the road to liberty by breaking salt laws, taking out “Prabhat Pheries” processions, picketing schools, colleges, legislative councils and clubs. Women had determined to participate actively in the movement inspite of the various punishments imposed by British government. In Allahabad the police resorted to lathi charges to a procession led by Smt. Swaroop Rani Nehru wife of Shri Motilal Nehru who received a lathiblow and became unconsicous.In Delhi ten women were injured including the mother-in law of Nehru as result of lathi charge. In Madhya Pradesh three women who violated the forest laws were killed. Anyway these attrocities did not discourage women, they decided to face more sufferings and prepared to sacrifice more and to achieve more. As a mark of protest against this attrocities of British government the women in high places resigned their posts. Muthulakshmi Ammal resigned her seat in the Legislatvie Council and her offfice as Deputy President of the council. Mrs. Hansa Metha and Kamalabai Lakshman Rao resigned their offices as Honarary Magistrate. Miss. Dickson the first women of Central Legislative Assembly resigned her seat and refused the Kaiser-1-Hind Title. During this time women proved their ability in agitational politics. Marchants, faced with women picketing their shops, signed the pledge
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not to sell foreign cloth until an honourable peace had been arranged for the country. On the streets women joined with men for hoisting National Flag, for demonstrations. They were also injured in lathicharges. The Desh Sevikas organized a number of demonstrations that grabbed headlines and inspired women all over India. Large number of women came to listen to speechs about Swadeshi and Freedom. Lilavati Munshi, Perin Captain and Lukanji were some eminent women who took part activily in civil disobedience movement and arrested and released later. There were a large number of women who participated in the struggle. They were Jaishri Raiji, Hansa Mehta, Perin Captian, Sofia Somjee, Lilavatimunshi, Maniben Patel, Khurshed Ben etc. They led processions, held meetings, picketed foreign cloths and liquor shops and organised classes for women to prepare them for national struggle. They asked the shopkeepers to stop dealing foreign cloth, A class to train the women to take part in satyagraha campaign of Gandhiji for breaking salt laws was started under the supervision of Khurshedben, the grand daughter of Lalalajpath Rai. In Bengal the women participated in Mahatma Gandhiji’s civil disobedience movement and also in the revolutionary activities. They were encouraged to adopt the revolutinonary creed by Subhas Chandra Bose. The women picketed colleges, schools, clubs and courts inspite of lathicharges and other humiliating measures of Britshers. The women of Punjab inaugurated the civil disobedience movement by taking out procession of 5000 women at Lahore, in 1930. Processions, meeting, picketings and prabhat pheries became common. Lado Rani Zutshi was the leading woman of the time. Another prominent women leaders were Prof. Janat kumari Zutshi and Swadesh kumari Zutshi. They picketed educational institutions, cloth shops, law courts and the quarteres of members of Legislative Assembly. Manmohini Zutshi was arrested for picketing educational institutions. After her release she countinued to be associated with a large number of social organisations.
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Another freedom fighter Laxmi Devi also took a leading part in the various activities of the freedom movement. Lakshmi Devi was convicted for her activities and was asked to pay two thousand rupees or undergo imprisonment for one year. She prefered to go to jail. In Madras Smt. Rukmini Lakshmapati was the first lady who was arrested in conncetion with the Salt Satyagraha. The women of Madras played a prominent part in organising youngsters into the vanar sena or the “Monkey army.” The dyanamic energy of the youngsters was thus fully chanalized into systematic and discipined activily. Mrs. Durgabai Desmuksh was another famous woman in Madras who carried out the Satyagraha sponsered by the congress till she was arrested. She participated in processions and prepared salt openly during 1930-31 movement. She was arrested for this and sentenced for nine months imprisonment. During Quit India movement when the leaders were arrested the women carried out the movement. The women took out processions and held demonstrations. They also organised camps in which they were provided training in civic duties and first aid, educate democracy and the Indian constitution. Training in lathi and drill was also imparted in these camps. The women organised political prisoner’s Relief Fund. In every province women activily participated in the movement. The women of Assam were determined to “break down the Shackles of Slavery.” The important leader in Assam was Kanak Lata Barua. She was killed and many other women including pregnant ladies were killed in the police brutality. Bhagaswari Phoo Kanani who carried a national flag while she was walking to congress office. But congress office was seized by the government and the British snatched the flag. Ratha Prabha was shot dead. Women’s organisation was sprung up under Smt. Annupriya Barua and Sudhalata Dutta. The women visited the terrorised areas and en-
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couraged the men and women. They led processions in various places of Assam. In Assam Free India Fighting Force was also organised. Women organised Red Cross First Aid Parties and distributed warm clothing, bandages and many other things to workers and country men all over Assam. The Government later broke up the organisation but the women carried on their work. They paraded the streets of the town, sang songs, shouted slogans and hoisted the tri colour flag. January 26, 1943 1000 women gathered to celebrate the Independence Day. Public meetings were banned. So women called a prayer meeting at Kiran Ghar. Chandra Prabha Sai Kiani was dragged out and arrested when she was delivering a lecture. The women of Bengal had been participating in the freedom struggle from the beginning. The people of Midnapore District played an important part in the Quit India Movement. They also took out processions. Two women were arrested and sentenced to rigours imprisonment. In one of such processions a 73 year old lady Mandangini Hazra was shot dead. Seventy four women of this division were raped by the Government employees. One of them died as a result of the assult. Women started an organisation called Bhagini Seva Sangha with (the object of protecting their chastity and honour. Some of them faced the soldiers and police with weapons. Two ladies were prosecuted under Arms Act for keeping daggers in self defence. Kalpana Dutta from Bengal was imprisoned several time for her revolutionary activities. When second World War broke out authorities ordered her to leave Calcutta within twenty four hours and interned in her house in Chittagong. In U.P on August 10, 1942, a group of girl students raided the office and took possession of it. Batches of girl students toured the district and whatever relief needed to the people. Women from respectable families were asked to leave their houses and asked to part
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their ornaments. In some cases ornaments were removed from their bodies forcibly. There was an instance that a woman was shot down while she was running away from the police. Several ladies suffered at the hand of police. Women were dragged by their long hairs and they were given no food and was asked to perform sit ups. A child was roasted alive before its mother’s eyes. Nine students were externed from Banaras Hindu University because of their active involvement in the movement. In Punjab there was an energetic response for Gandhiji’s call and boys and girls students came to the forefront and 100 students were arrested. There were two eminent women leaders and they were Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur and Amar Kaur. Amar Kaur was the wife of Mohanlal an advocate of Gurudaspur. During Quit India movement she organised women’s training camps in Lahore and Amritsar and for this she was arrested. In Jail she had faced humiliating treatment and decided to organise demonstrations in Jail. On October 9, 1942 the national flag was hoisted in Jail under her leadership and she was transfered to a district Jail. She was not permitted to see husband while she was in Jail. She was released in 1944 and her health was shattered. Another prominent leader of Quit India movement in Punjab was Puspha Gujarat. She and her family members were very active during Quit India movement in 1942. She was arrested with her family and sentenced to six month’s imprisonment. Puspha became the convener of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (women) and was associated with many other social work agencies. She was the member of Punjab State Social welfare advisory Board. In North Western provinces the movement was strong under the leadership of Bannu. They took processions and marched proudly raising slogan against foreigners. In Sind also there were procession of ladies. The city Magis-
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trate Rupchand slapped on the face of a girl, as she refused to apologise. Two girl volunteers entered the city magistrates court and ordered him in writing to vacate the post because he had been found incompetent. Both of these girls were arrested and sentenced to long term imprisonment. The police had adopted all sorts of ways in dealing with women. There was a general lack of a sense of respect for women. Abuses, beating of women, and even raping have been allowed to be practised. This repression did not worry the women and they remained constant to the stand they had taken.
Eminent followers of Mahatma Gandhi The social reformers of the 19th century done the stage for the emancipation of women but it was Mahatma Gandhi under whose influence these reforms reached masses. He was the one who liberated Indian women from the clutches of ‘purdah’ and other social evils. He brought them from their confinement and asked them to participate in the struggle for independence. According to him “women should be liberated from the slavery of kitchen only then their true potential could be realized”. He said that responsibility of household is important for women but it should not be the only one. In fact she should come forward to share the responsibilities of nation. When Gandhi came to the stage of Indian struggle for Independence then the average life span of Indian women was 27 years and only 2% women were educated. But it was due to his efforts that so many women like Sarojini Naidu, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kripalani and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur came forward. He spread the message of equality of the gender to the masses and criticized the desire of Indian people to have male child instead of female. He urged people to boycott child marriage and called upon the young men to marry the child widows. He said that the girls are also capable of everything boys can do but the need of the time is to give them opportunities so that they can prove themselves. It was mainly due to his efforts that when India
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got independence ‘right to vote’ came naturally to Indian women whereas in other developed nations like England and American women got this right very late and that too after lot of protest. Sarojini Naidu :- was one of the most enlightened women of modern India. She was one among the many men and women who dedicated their lives for the freedom struggle of the country under the guidance of Gandhiji. The dynamic phase of Sarojini’s career was from 1917-1919. She campaigned for the Khilafat Movement. She gave up writing poetry and fully devoted herself to emancipation of women education; Hindu-Muslim unity etc. In 1921, she participated in the Non-Co-operation Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi. When Gandhi launched the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930, she became his principal assistant. She was arrested along with Gandhi and other leaders. In 1931, she was invited along with Gandhi to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London. In 1942, she joined the Quit India Movement launched by Gandhi and again was victim of the wrath of the British government and jailed. The repeated jail terms only gave her more courage and she continued to take active part in the freedom movement. Sucheta Kripalini :- The contributions of Sucheta Kripalini in the struggle for freedom is also noteworthy. She was a long time follwer of Gandhi. She married another Gandhian, Acharya Kripalini in 1936. After marriage she began working in the congress office at Allahabad. In 1940 she was choosen to organise a women’s department of the Indian National Congress. She was imprisoned for two years for practicing individual satyagraha. She travelled from province to porvince with a mission to keep leaders in touch with one another and help them plan activities. In 1944 she was captured and lodged in Lucknow jail as a “dangerous prisoner.” After her release in 1945 Sucheta tried to revive the women’s department. In 1946 she became a member of the constituent assembly. Communal violence claimed her attention in 1947 and she joined Gandhi in the riot-sricken areas of eastern Ben-
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gal. Always loyal to congress she maintained that women had done their duty to the country and been rewarded with “Emanicipation.” She accompanied him to Noakhali in 1946. Kasturba Gandhi :- Kasturba played an important role in the evolution of Mohandas into Mahatma Gandhi. She was very peculiar about spinning every day unitl she became too ill to do so. During Gandhiji’s 21-day fasting in 1943 she had only one meal a day, so that she shared his ordeal and yet had the strength to took after him. This had been her routine during all of Gandhiji’s fasts. Gandhiji used to say that he had learnt the secret of satyagraha from Kasturba. He called her his Guru in the art and science of satyagraha. Kasturba went along with Gandhiji in all his experiments and took to the simple life willingly and cheerfully. In the course of satyagraha in South Africa, she led women satyagrahis and suffered great hardship in jails. Besides being a mother and a housewife, Kasturba was a true satyagrahi, she stepped in to take his place whenever her hushand was arrested. Her speeches and statements were brief and to the point. Her appeal went straight to the heart. Kasturba took part in every satyagraha campaign and went to jail several times in South Africa and in India. At the time of Salt satyagraha, Gandhiji asked women to concentrate on selling khadi and prohibition. Kasturba took hawking of khadi and picketing liquor shops. She died on 22 February 1944 at the Agakhan palace Detention Camp on the lap of Gandhiji. Vijayalakshmi Pandit :- Jawaharlal Nehur's sister Vijayalakshmi Pandit inspired by Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi and impressed by Sarojini Naidu entered the Non Cooperation Movement. She was arrested in 1932 and sentenced to one year's rigorous imprisonment. She was arrested in 1940, and yet again during the Quit India Movement. She attended the Pacific Relations Conference at Hot Springs, U.S.A. as a leader of the Indian delegation sponsored by the Indian Council of World Affairs. She was present in San Francisco when
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the U.N first met there, and through numerous well attended public lectures she challenged the British dominated delegates rights to represent India therein.. She was elected to Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1936 and in 1946. She was the first woman in India to hold a ministerial rank. She was imprisoned thrice for taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1932, 1941 and 1942. After Independence, she continued to serve the country. She was the first woman to become president of the United Nations General Assembly. Meera Ben and Sarala Ben :- Meera Ben and Sarala Ben popularly known as Mahatama Gandhi's two English daughters also made significant contribution to the cause of freedom. Meera Ben :- She was an English woman and her original name was Madeleine Slade. It was Gandhiji who grave her the name Mira, for her spirit of devotion. She was deeply impressed in Gandhiji’s teachings and had a strong urge to be his follower. So at first she adopted a simple life. Gandhiji adviced her to learn Hindi and spinning and teach these to other. She torued several provinces for promoting spinning and khadi. She attended the Second Round Table conference with Gandhiji and became a link between Gandhiji and the English people. She accompanied Gandhiji in the Orissa Harijan tour and later went on a lecture tour to England and America. Later she went to Bihar, carring on khadi work among the villages. She sent news releases concerning Gandhi's campaign to the world press for which she was repeatedly threatened by the government, but she continued her work. She was arrested for entering the city of Bombay in violation of the government order. Sarala Ben :- Her orginal name was Catherine Mary Heilman. She went from villages to village helping the families of political prisoners. She accompanied Gandhiji on some of his tours. She joined the evening prayers and often sang bhajans. She used to have discussions with Gandhiji during his walks. She followed a simple life like Gandhiji.
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Rajkumari Amrit Kaur :- Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was born on 02 February 1889 in Lucknow. She was an eminent Gandhian, a freedom fighter, and a social activist. Rajkumari had her higher education in England. On her return to India she came in touch with Gopal Krishna Gokhale and later with Mahatma Gandhi. This was a turning point in her life, which had initiated her active career in politics. She came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and became one of his close followers and life long pupils. She joined the INC, and began to participate in India's struggle for freedom, and also in social reform activities in India. For her participation in Gandhi-led Dandi march in 1930, British Raj authorities imprisoned her. Rajkumari went to live at Mahatma Gandhi's ashram in 1934, and took up the austere life there despite her aristocratic background. She served as one of Gandhi's secretaries for sixteen years. In 1942, she participated in the Quit India Movement, and the Raj authorities imprisoned her again. She was active in the organisations like All India Spinners Association for a long time. She was the president of Red Cross Society of India. In the advice of Mahatma Gandhi, she joined in the Ministry of Jawaharlal Nehru after the Independence. In 1964 she passed away in the age of 77. Aruna Asaf Ali :- She was a freedom fighter, is known as the `Grand Old Lady` of the Independence Movement. Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders of the Indian National Congress, she joined the civil disobedience movement of 1930. Aruna`s first venture into active politics was triggered off with the arrest of Asaf Ali during the Salt Satyagraha. Aruna joined the band of Satyagrahis and was arrested. She was sent to Lahore jail to serve a one-year prison term. She was held for participating in the 1932 movement and was held in the Delhi district jail. There she organized women political prisoners to protest against the heartless attitude of jail authorities. On her release from there, she again plunged into the social life of the capital. When she returned to politics, she concentrated on socialism rather than Congress doctrines.
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In 1941 Aruna Asaf Ali courted arrest by offering individual satyagraha and was sent to prison but she was soon released. In the absence of the prominent congress leaders, Aruna preside over a flag-raising ceremony. Aruna together with congress socialists J.P. Narayanan, Rammanohar Lohia and Achyut Patwardhan and Gandhians Sucheta Kripalani and R.R. Diwakar decided to go underground to try to coordinate the mobs and to organise resistance. During these years she was constantly in motion, urging people to “liberate” the land from foreign rule. Gandhi disagreed with Aruna’s tacticts but he did not denounce her. Instead he praised her bravery and agreed to meet her while she was still in hiding from the police. Nehru made special mention of Aruna as “one of India’s brave women.” Basanti Devi :- Basanti Devi was the first Indian woman to be arrested during the non-cooperation movement for selling khadi. She received affection and blessings from leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru and Sarojini Naidu. Basanti Devi was a mother figure for the youths devoted to the cause of the nation. she worked among the people East Bengal as a part of the `Harijan` movement headed by Mahatma Gandhi. Prabhawati Devi :- Prabhawati Devi was a freedom fighter and a social worker. She was a courageous and self-determined woman who lived her entire life for the upliftment of poor and downtrodden people. She married Jayaprakash Narayan. Prabhawati`s father sent her to the Gandhi Ashram. Here she met Gandhi and Kasturba. Both Gandhi and Kasturba treated her like their own daughter. Gandhiji soon became her father, teacher and guide. She, on her part, took keen interest in the ashram life. Bapu taught her daily. She studied the Ramayana and the Gita and tried to acquire knowledge of English. During periods of brief separation Gandhi wrote regularly to her ,sometimes almost everyday. One important outcome of Prabhawati`s stay in Gandhi`s Ashram was her conversion to the ideal of Brahmacharya (celebacy). She was actively participated in the freedom movement in 1932. At the time of the annual congress session in Bihar she was made the
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leader of women volunteers and was appreciated for the role she played in 1942. Once India attained freedom Prabhawati was interested in Social Work related to women and children. She established two institutions ‘Mahila Charka Samiti’ and ‘Kamala Nehru Shihu Vihar.’ Prabhawati’s work for the welfare of children and women will have a high place in history of social work. Kamala Nehru :- She was a Gandhian and a leader of Women’s demonstration in Northern India. It was after she became the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru, she actively participated in the freedom struggle and then onwards she came into closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi. Kamala followed the footsteps of Jawaharlal Nehru and actively joined in the National Movement. As a part of non-co operation movement Kamala organised women’s organisations in Allahabad and organised the programmes for the promotion of Khadhi. She travelled through out the northern part of India as a part of Swadeshi Movement. She was active in the boycott of foreign cloths. She died in 1936. Durgabai Deshmukh :- At a very young age she followed the ideals of Gandhiji. She wore Khadi and boycotted English medium schools. Durgabai was fascinated by the teachings of Gandhiji and became a devoted congress sevika. She was imprisoned during the salt satyagraha. She was arrested thrice during the satyagraha movement. She considered that her mission in life was to live for the poor, oppressed and downtrodden. Jethinben Tulsidas Siphilmalani :- She was a veteran freedom fighter and a devoted social worker. She was attracted by Gandhiji’s teachings adviced women to oppose evil customs like child marriage and dowry. She took to khadi at a very early age and stuck to it till the end. At college she came in contact with Gandhiji and other important national leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Acharya Kripalini and Annie Besant. She even led a student procession against the Simon Commission. She courted imprisonment during Salt Satyagraha in 1930. She also actively participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and was imprisoned.
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Hansa Mehta :- She was a freedom fighter and an educationist. She was the first women to be appointed Vice-Chancellor of a co-educational university in India. She actively took part in the freedom struggle and had to suffer punishment many times. Under the influence of Gandhiji she joined India’s freedom movement. She organised picketing shops selling foreign cloths as well as liquor shops, and participated in other freedom movement activities. In her presidential address at the All -India women’s conference convention held in Hyderabad, Hansaben proposed a charter of women’s Rights. On the historic occassion of the transfer of power, she had the privilege of presenting the ‘National Flag’ to the nation on behalf of the women of India. Malati Nabakrushna Choudhary :- She was one of the important leaders of Indian freedom struggle.She dedicated her whole life for the cause of enlightening the poor people. She was the favourite child of Gandhiji and Tagore. Out of love Gandhiji called her “Tofanee.” She was influenced by Gandhiji and it was Gandhiji who plunged her into the freedom struggle. Maniben Patel :- She urged women to join the independence struggle. She lit the fire of patriotism in women. She dedicated her life for the noble cause of enlightening the women folk of Gujrath. She had to suffer a lot during the freedom struggle. She strictly followed the principles of Gandhiji. Maniben was imprisoned during the Quit India Struggle. Suhasini Das :- She was a social worker and a freedom fighter. She actively participated in the civil-disobedience movement and the Quit India Movement led by Mahtama Gandhi. Maniben Nanavati :- She was attracted by Gandhiji’s teachings and she sought advice from him on the best way to serve the country. Gandhiji advised her to devote to khadi work and open a khadi shop. This was a turning point in her life. As a result she could concentrate on rural development and education, promotion of khadi and empowerment of women. She got married to Shri. Chandulal
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Nanavati who was an ardent follower and close associate of Gandhiji. She started the Khadi mandir exclusively for women and their progress. She wanted women to be liberated from the clutches of men. She was arrested and imprisoned for ten months during salt satyagraha. Sarala Devi Chaudhurani :- She became involved with the swadeshi movement in Bengal against the British Raj. Though Rabindranath Tagore created the tune for the first two line of ‘Bande Mataram’ it was Sarala Devi who put the rest of music. She sang this song in the Benaras Session of the congress and contributed widely to the nation-wide popularity of the song. She also composed a good number of nationalistic songs. After the Jallian Walla Massacre Gandhiji visited Lahore and then onwards a close friendship began between Sarala Devi and Gandhiji. She became the follower of Gandhiji and supported the non-cooperation movement. This caused a political difference of opinion with her husband, who was aganist the principle of non-voilence. Sarala Devi however, devoted herself to Gandhiji’s khadi movement. She developed the idea of a women’s association and organized the Bharat Stree Mahamandal, an all - India organization of women. In later period she was attracted with the revolutionary philosophy. (See also “Women in Revolutionary Movements”) Ashalata Sen :- She respected Gandhiji and followed his principles. She was a true Gandhian who lead a simple way of life. She asserted that she got interest in satyagraha from Gandhiji and it was this interest that guided her all througout life. She took to spinning, wore khadi, participated non-violence and satyagraha. She worked for the underprivileged and downtrodden. She organized the Swadeshi Mela, which attracted many women and was also successfull in arousing political consciousness among them. When Mahatma Gandhi gave a call for breaking the Salt Law she promptly participated in the movement by breaking the law in her hometown. This was the beginning of her active participation in the freedom struggle. She had trained a number of women for satyagraha in her Ashram. She toured Bengal and Assam and appealed women to come forward and be a part of struggle for freedom.
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Renuka Ray :- She wanted women to be independent and to be emanicipated from the clutches of men. She followed Gandhiji and his principles and she was of the view that poverty and the lack of progress in ordinary people’s lives was because they discarded Gandhiji’s vision. During the 1930’s and 40’s, she worked closely under Gandhiji’s guidance. The turning point in her life was her meeting with Gandhiji at the age of 16. She was a life long Gandhian. Jayasri Raiji :- She considered that her mission in life was to uplift women through education and employment. Jayasri was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s call to women, inviting them to join in India’s struggle for freedom. Ever since she came under the influence of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, simplicity became her way of life and she discarded all ornaments and took a pledge to wear only khadi. She went picketing shops selling foreign cloth and liquor. She took part in the freedom struggle actively. As a result, she was arrested and imprisoned for six months. During the freedom struggle she actively devoted her time for social work. Avantika Bai Gokhale :- She was a Gandhian and a social worker. She visited Sabarmati in 1916 and met Gandhiji. She participated in the Champaran Satyagraha and wrote Gandhiji’s biography in Marathi, published in 1918 with a preface by B.G. Tilak. She lived simply and always wore khadi, presenting Gandhiji with a pair of hand made dhotis on his birthday every year. Sushila Nayyar :- She was younger sister of Pyarelal Nayyar, the personal secretary of Gandhiji. Sushila was the personal physician of Gandhiji in his last days. In 1939 she came to Sevagram to join her brother and quickly became a close associate of Gandhi. Shortly after her arrival, Cholera broke out in Wardha and she tackled the ourbreak. Gandhiji praised her fortitude and dedication to service. She took part in the Quit India movement and was imprisoned with other prominent leaders. In 1944 she set up a small dispensary at Sevagram which (later shifted to Wardha) grew so large and became the Kasturba Hospital. After retiring from politics she denoted herself to the Gandhian ideal. She had set up the Mahatma Gandhi Insti-
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tute of Medical Sciences in 1969, and remained committed to confine her energies to developing and extending it. She was deeply influenced by the Gandhian philosophy of hard work. Urmila Devi :- She was the the sister of Bangali Congress leader C.R. Das. Attracted by Gandhiji she participated in the noncooperation movement. Many women participated in the meetings and decided to form their own political organization. At one of such meetings Urmila Devi urged women to be ready to leave their homes to serve the country. She was active in the propogation of Khadar and was arrested along with other volunteers. Shrimati Ambujammal :- She was on of Gandhi’s loyal followers from Madras. From childhood onwards she was raised on stories about Gandhi in South Africa. She joined the non-cooperation movement in 1920 began to wear khadar and spin. She formed the women’s swadeshi League and became the president to this organisation. They organized Swadeshi exhibitions, sold khadar in the streets and joined men in picketing. Kulsum Sayani :- As her father was a personal physician to Gandhiji, she got chance to interact with Gandhiji from childhood. She grew up calling Gandhi “Kaka” (uncle). She was married to Dr. Janmohamed Sayani who was a devotee to Mahatma Gandhi. Her inspiration was non other than Mahatma Gandhi. Her interaction with Gandhi and the importance attached to education in her family made her realise the need to eradicate illiteracy. She published a monthly newspaper ‘Rahber’ mainly to literate women. In a letter, Gandhiji addressed Kulsum Sayani as ‘Beti Kulsum’ and wrote: “I like the mission of Rahber to unite Hindi and Urdu. May it succeed.” During the war and the agitaion for partition, Kulsum Sayani remained a staunch Gandhian. Muthulakshmi Reddy :- She was one among the prominent followers of Gandhi and a strong supporter of women’s Right. She was impressed with Gandhiji’s empathy for women, but unwilling to give up her work on behalf of civil rights. She was the first woman legislator, appointed to the Madras Legislative Council in 1927.
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Krishnabai Rao :- She was a loyal Gandhian since childhood. With the call of Gandhiji, she resigned her job and joined in the civil disobedience movement. She organised the Desh Sevika Sangh under the aegis of the Swadeshi League. Dressed orange saries and blouses, DSS women picketed foreign cloth shops with men volunteers. She took active part in the Swadeshi movement. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya :- She was the “supreme romantic herione’ of Gandhiji’s Salt Satyagraha Movement and was the first women in Bombay presidency to be arrested for breaking the salt laws. The political life of Kamaladevi was began with the participation in the Indian freedom struggle. While she was in London, passing her studies, she came to know about the non-cooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. She came back to India and joined the Seva Dal-Gandhian Organization established to encourage social upliftment. She was the early founder of the AIWC. Later she was attracted to the revolutionary philosophy. Subhadra Kumari Chauhan :- As a follower of Mahatma Gandhi she was the first woman satyagrahi from U.P. and went to jail several times. She lived in an age of strong movements for reformation and struggle for freedom under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The efforts through her creative and effective writings are relevant even now. She actively engaged herself in nation building even after Indepencence. Prameela Thackersey :- She was a constructive thinker and a good organiser. Premeela always held Mahatma Gandhi in great reverence. Gandhiji was her saint and religious teacher. She proved to be an admirable hostess of Gandhiji during the fateful days of his fast, and looked after him with the greatest care and concern. She endeavoured to fullfill the dream of Gandhiji, working for millions of poor women and children living in rural India. Prameela became the chairperson of the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust in 1952 and continued till 1972. Welthy H. Fisher :- She was born in Newyork in 1879. She came to India after the death of her husband. She derived perennial
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spiritual strength from the works of Rabindranath Tagore and the battle for the freedom of India led by Mahatma Gandhi, keeping strictly to the principles of love, truth and Ahimsa. They were the beacons to guide her in the service of this nation. Welthy Fisher was a true disciple of Mahatma Gandhi in letter and spirit. In 1947 she met Mahatma Gandhi and received her last benediction from him. Mahadevi Verma :- She showed no inclination to join politics at any time but she was very much in touch with the contemporary scenario. She was a propounder of truth and a faithful admirer and disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahadevi closely followed Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of life. Perin Ben :- She was a revolutionary turned Gandhian. During her stay in Europe, she was associated with Madame Cama. After her return to India she came in contact with Gandhiji. She was in complete agreement with his programme of non-violence and was even prepared to go to gail. When Gandhiji started the khadi movement, Perin Ben was one of the first to adopt khadi and used it. She was one of the founder-members and active workers of the Rashtriya Stree Sabha (R.S.S.). When Gandhiji started his fast against the communal Award in 1932, Perin Ben and her sister Goshi Ben, Another Gandhian formed a group called Gandhi Seva Sena. Perin Ben worked for the cause of Hindustani as enunciated by Gandhiji. Once Morarji Desai remarked that “Perinben was indeed a very devoted follower of Gandhiji and had dedicated her life to spread of Gandhiji’s Hindustani.” Mithuben Petit :- Mithuben’s life and mission began in the golden era of Gandhiji’s national movement in 1930 and ended in 1973. She along with Kasturba organised an agitation and picketing liquor shops. She followed Gandhiji’s principles. In 1930, Gandhiji launched the Salt Satyagraha. It brought about a complete change in the life and thought of Mithuben. Mithuben was a part of the great awakening after the Dandi March. It was a rare fortune to be included in the inner circle of Gandhiji’s associates. Mithuben had realized that the
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secret of success in any Gandhian venture was a life time of unswerving and continuous devotion to duty. She made Gandhiji’s programme effective by dedicating her entire life to it. Rama Devi Choudhery :- She was influenced by the activites of Gandhiji but did not actively join the independence movement as her husband’s family not allowed her to do so. When Gandhiji visited Cuttack and addressed a meeting she attended the meeting to visit Gandhiji whom she adored. She went up to the dias and presented to Gandhiji a bundle of her hand-spun thread. She vowed to tread on the path of Gandhiji and to actively join the national movement. Rama Devi took a leading part in the salt satyagrha by mobilizing women. In 1934, Gandhiji started his Harijan Padayatra. This tour programme of Gandhiji’s in Orissa was being organised by the Harijan Sevak Sangha. As Secretary of the Orissa branch of Sangha, Rama Devi had to shoulder all responsibilities of this programme. Later Gandhiji greatly appreciated her devotion and dedication to work. Rama Devi was the first woman representative on the Kasturba Memmorial Trust. Chandraprova Saikiani :- She was the forerunner of the women’s liberation movement in Assam. When under Gandhiji’s leadership women joined the Swadeshi Andolan, Chandraprova emerged like a fire ball to lead the Assamese women folk. Deeply impressed by Gandhiji’s role towards mobilizing the weaker sections of society, Chandraprova dedicated herself to uplift of women’s status and emergence of a progressive Assamese society. Under the guidence of Gandhiji, Chandraprova went ahead to organise a women’s front. In 1922 she resigned her job and whole heartedly devoted herself to the freedom movement. In repsonse to Gandhiji’s call for boycotting foreign goods, she took to khadi. She encouraged the Assamese society to take to spinning and weaving in their homes. She was arrested and jailed many times. Her great service will forever remain an inspiration for women’s advancement.
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Mridula Sarabhai :- The year 1930-31 was one of tumultuous political agitation in India. Gandhiji asked women to comeout of their homes and be fearless. Of the thousands of women who responded, Mridula was one. She was then a student of Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad, an institution started by Mahatma Gandhi during the non-cooperation movement. She joined the satyagraha. Mridula took the lead in organizing and picketing of shopes selling liquor and foreign cloth. Whe was one of the first to organize a ‘vanar sena’ of children and also ‘Prabhat Pheris’ which moved round the city at dawn singing patriotic songs. For all these activites she was put in Sabarmathi jail for three weeks. In 1942 when the Quit India Movement was launched, Mridula once again plunged into action and was arrested. After Kasturba’s death, the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust was set up in 1944 to work among poor rural women. Mridula was appointed by Gandhiji as its first organizing secretary. Prema Kantak :- Prema Kantak, an ardent patriot, a scholar and a freedom fighter was born at Kanwar in a Brahimin family. She tried to understand different ideologies and studied communist literature but it was Mahatma Gandhi and his ideology which cast a spell over her and she joined the Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmedabad. She was put in charge of it by Gandhiji and she managed it effectively from 1928 to 1933. Prema actively participated in the salt satyagraha and and courted arrest twice. After her release she shifted from Ahmedabad to Pune and was actively associated with the constructive programme laid down by Gandhi. Her main fields of activity were propagation of khadi and swadeshi and emanicipation and empowerment of women. She was one of the prominent satyagrahis during the individual satyagraha started by Gandhi. She was arrested for several times. She was also a reputed literary figure in Maharastra. She wrote several books inerpreting our sciptures and on Gandhian thought.
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Women in revolutionary movements One of the important facets of India’s freedom movement was the growing participation of women. Women played a crucial role in the economic boycott campaigns and often participated in the revolutionary movement with as much or even greater enthusiasm than their husbands or male relatives. After the rovolt of 1857 there was a general criticism against the British rule. This criticism turned into strong resentment with Curzon’s rule. Curzon’s partition of Bengal in 1905 became the focus of political agitation. This led to revolutionary activities and such activities flourished in Western India. “Swaraj”, “Swadeshi” and ‘National Education” became the slogan of nationalists. Women also started participating in the deliberations of Indian National Congress. They took up the responsibility to share the national efforts. Women contributed their bangles, nose rings and bracelets to the national fund. During Provincial Conference of 1906 Smt. Sarojini Bose, Wife of Tara Prasanna Bose pledged that she would not wear gold bangles until the British cancelled the prohibition against ‘Bande Mataram’. Women outside India also did whatever they card to further national cause. However there are women who specifically decided to support the revolutionary organisations during the protest movement against the partition of Bengal in 1905, “women did not do the same things as men. Instead they used their traditional roles to mark a range of political activities”. The domestic sphere was a useful location for secret activites since the police were less suspicious of women’s activites. Women were primarily involved in holding secret meetings. They distributed pamphlets from place to place and passing on information to men who were in hiding. In their role as messengers, women, who were less suspect than men, kept people in hiding. They helped people to lead a life in hiding and provided protection. Women effectively used their domestic roles as wives, mothers and sisters for such activities. A Bengal school teacher who was addressed by the public as ‘Ma’; hide members of Hindustan Republican Socialist Party in her
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house in Kanpur in 1930. The police got to know her activities and issued a warrant for her arrest. She escaped, but her daughter Khoki was caught and imprisoned in Alipore Jail in Calcutta, where she committed suicide so that she would not be forced to disclose the whereabouts of her mother or other revoalutionaries. Women like Uma Dixit, Kishori Dixit and Usha Azad hide proscribed literature for the men and it thus became difficult for the police to confiscate this literature. The British authorities did not suspect women as much as men, so women would carry about revolutionary literature and distribute copies to other families in a locality. Some women hide ammunition, pistols and other kinds of arms for revolutionaries, in the fields or near the house well, and brought them out when they were required by their husbands or their friends. Revolutionary activities were under taken by young women within and outside the domestic sphere. Unlike the experiences of the nonviolent satyagrahis, women who took the revolutionary path were exposed to various degrees of violence. Several reasons are associated with women becoming revolutionaries. In relation to Bengal, it is argued that if the Gandhian movement encouraged women to become mass participants in the freedom struggles, the revolutionaries made them equal participants. The need for women was felt particularly after the Chittagong Armoury Raids in 1930, with the revival of the Bengal criminal Amendment Law Act many young men were imprisoned or seen as suspects. In the Benaras Bomb case, bomb-making materials were found in the house of two young women Ms. Mrinalini and Radha Rani Devi, both from a middle-class family. Both of them were members of the Benares youth League and had earlier taken part in the picketing. However, they were dissatisfied with the non-violent programme and turned to terriorism. Kumudini Mitter, a renowned nationalist was very active during this period. She preached the cause of the extrimists through Suprabhat
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a Bengali Magazine. It propagated the cult of revolution. Another lady Smt. Bhag Devi of Noakhali wrote a song describing the wretched State of Indian people. Thus the women in Bengal were busy promoting the cause of freedom. The women in Punjab also stepped into the political arena. Through a series of speeches Susila Devi of Silakot attacked the Government. Har Devi was a great social reformer and editor in a Hindi Magazine. During this period she arranged meetings and collected funds for anarchists who were under trail. The women workers of Arya Samaj were also responsible for arousing national spirit among the people. Smt. Purani was the most important among them. She toured throughout punjab and advocated the cause of Swadeshi and also criticised caste restrictions. Agavati in Delhi started a ‘Widow Ashram’ where she gave political training to women without any restrictions. Another eminent woman freedom fighter was Sister Nivedita whose name was Margaret Noble. She was interested in education and became a trained teacher. She opened a school for girls. She took tours to North Western India, worked along with Vivekananda and three other western women. Sister Nivedita have been a member of National revolutionary council. She also protested against the partition of Bengal. She also relief work during the famine and flood in West Bengal in 1906. She took up pen to arouse the zeal for the cultivation of national art, architecture, literature and history. Sarala Devi was another prominent personages of this period. She formed the link between Punjab and Bengal revolutionaries inspired by her mother Swaran Kumari. In rallies organized by the Congress, women attended in large numbers often with little children in hand. Particularly notable was the participation of women in the armed struggle of Bengal. Pritilata Waddedar died while conducting a raid, while Kalpana Dutt was arrested and tried along with Surya Sen and given a life sentence. In December 1931, two school girls of Comilla, Santi Ghosh and Suniti
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Chowdhury, shot dead the District Magistrate. In February 1932, Bina Das fired point blank at the Governor while receiving her degree at the Convocation. When the entire Congress leadership was put in jail in 1942, women leaders like Aruna Asaf Ali and Sucheta Kripalani emerged with Achyut Patwardhan and Ram Manohar Lohia and others to lead the underground resistance. Usha Mehta ran the Congress radio. Congress socialists, Forward Bloc members, and other armed resistance factions were active in this period, working through underground cells in Mumbai, Pune, Satara, Baroda, and other parts of Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, UP, Bihar and Delhi. Madam Cama (1861— 1936) :- Madam Cama fought for the freedom of the country till the last in her own way, and helped many revolutionaries with money and materials. She unfurled the first National Flag at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart (Germany) in 1907.She declared “This flag is of Indian Independence! Behold, it is born! It has been made sacred by the blood of young Indians who sacrificed their lives. I call upon you, gentlemen to rise and salute this flag of Indian Independence. In the name of this flag, I appeal to lovers of freedom all over the world to support this flag.” A thousand representatives from several countries were attended. She traveled a lot of places including America and propagate Americans about Indians struggle for Independence. She was known as “The Mother of Indian Revolution”. Preeti Lata Waddadar (1911-32) :- Preetilata was born on 5 May 1911 in the Dholaghat village of Chittagong. Her father’s name was Jagabandhu Wadddadar, the head clerk of Chittagong Municipality. Her mother Protibha Waddadar was a patron of the local revolutionaries and a supporter of Swadeshi movement. In 1927 Preetilata obtained her SSC in first division from Dr Khastogir Girls’ College. Then she moved to Dhaka for her HSC studies and enrolled in Eden College. As a student of Eden Girls’ College, Preetilata joined the Deepali Sangha, a Dhaka based women’s revolutionary organization. In 1929 Preetilata topped among the female students in
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HSC exam. Due to her outstanding result Preetilata was awarded Rs. 20.00 monthly scholarship from the board of education. The financial support enabled Preetilata to pursue her higher studies in Calcutta, the then center of culture and education of united Bangla. In Calcutta, Preetilata succeeded in enrolling in the prestigious Bethune College. As a member of the Revolutionary party Preetilata immediately formed a student front of the revolutionary party with a couple of her classmates. Her group raised money to support the Chittagong based revolutionaries and organized a readers’ forum to promote patriotic spirit among the college students. On the direction of the party high command Preetilata bought explosive implements from underground factories in Calcutta and took the explosives to Chittagong. Her mates at Bethune College, Kalpana Datta, Sarojini Pal, Kumudini Rakkhit, Renuka Ray, and Kamala Mukherjee helped Preetilata in her mission. In 1930 Preetilata, instead of seating for BA (hons), sat for BA (pass) exam and passed BA with distinction. On her return to Chittagong Preetilata started her teaching career and joined as the principal of a newly established English medium school, Aparna Charan Girls High School. Preetilata was a member of Jugantar-a secret revolutionary organization. The death of comrade Ardhendu Dastidar in the Jalalabad hill war on 22 April 1930 spurred her commitment to revolutionary causes. On 13 June 1932 Preetilata secretly met Surya Sen, the legendary Bangalee revolutionary, at the residence of Sabitri Debi of Dholaghat. In the meeting Preetilata demanded that girls should be given equal opportunity in armed revolutionary activities. She argued that many young people have already given their lives for the freedom of the motherland, now it was the time for the girls to embrace the same fate of honor. The task for attacking the European Club in Chittagong was initially assigned to rebel Shaileshwar Chakraborty which he failed to carry out twice for various reasons. In September 1932 Surya Sen came to South Kattali village to discuss the strategies and tactics for
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attacking the European Club. On the instruction from the party high command Preetilata and Kalpana Datta, wearing man’s clothes in order to escape the British spies, headed for the secret meeting called by Surya Sen. Unfortunately Kalpana was arrested at Pahartali but Preetilata managed to skip the British spies. In the meeting Surya Sen told Preetilata that she was nominated to lead the attack on the European Club on 23 September 1932 and the other members of her team were: 1. Shanti Chakraborty (Kattali) 2. Kali Dey (Gosail Danga) 3. Sushil Dey (Dharala) 4. Prafulla Das ((Kattali) 5. Mahendra Chaudhury (Mohra). On 23 September Surya Sen, with one of his body guards, came to Kattali to wish luck to his comrades for the success of the operation. Preetilata and her comrades, all wearing military uniforms, took farewell from the commander and marched off to carry out the operation. Soon they reached the European Club and took position in the bush near the club. They were carrying rifles robbed from the British armories, pistols and macerates in their waists and bombs in their haversacks. The British colonial officers were having a great time inside the club while Preetilata’s team was preparing the attack. The gate of the club was protected by armed guards. On receiving Morse coded signal from the cheff of the club kitchen Preetilata stormed the club firing shots on the armed guards at the gate and shouting “Charge”. Her comrades joined her and kept shooting on the club. Preetilata led the attack and threw a bomb through the main gate as soon as she reached the gate. But soon the military reinforcement from the nearby cantonment came for rescue. Under-equipped to fight the military Preetilata signaled her comrades to retreat. They followed her command and retreated. A few minutes later Preetilata went back to make sure that all her comrades were ok. The group of partisans soon reached the rail line near the club covered by the team leader who followed them to ensure a safe retreat. They were heading for Pahartali bazaar because Kattali village is very close to the bazaar. As the rebels were heading to the bazaar a young Englishman, who hid in the gutter
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to escape the attack, shot at Preetilata. The bullet hit Preetilata on her chest and she dropped on the road bleeding profusely. But Preetilata was a born rebel and was determined not to surrender to the British colonists so the valiant rebel took out the cyanide pill and swallowed it. Matangini Hazra (1869-1942) :- Was an Indian revolutionary who participated in the Indian independence movement until she was shot dead by the British Indian police in front of the Tamluk Police Station (of erstwhile Midnapore District) on September 29, 1942. She was affectionately known as Gandhi buri, (Bangla) means old lady Gandhi. Matangini Hazra, who was 73 years at the time, led a procession of six thousand supporters, mostly women volunteers, with the purpose of taking over the Tamluk police station. When the procession reached the outskirts of the town, they were ordered to disband under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code by the Crown police. As she stepped forward, Matangini Hazra was shot once. Apparently, she had stepped forward and was appealing to the police not to shoot at the crowd. As she was repeatedly shot, she kept chanting Vande Mataram. She died with the flag of the Indian National Congress held high and still flying. Kalpana Datta (1913-1995) :- Kalpana Joshi (Datta) a revolutionary, was born at Sripur of Chittagong district on 27 July 1913 in a middle-class family. Having matriculated in 1929 from Chittagong, Kalpana Datta went to Calcutta and joined the Bethune college. Greatly influenced by the examples set by the revolutionaries Kshatriya Basu and Kanailal Datta, she soon joined the Chhatri Sangha. Purnendu Dastidar drew her into the revolutionary circle of Mastarda Surya Sen. The Chittagong Armory Raid took place on 18 April 1930 and Kalpana hurried back to Chittagong and came in contact with Surya Sen in May 1931. In the meantime, many of the leaders of the Raid like Ananta Singh, Ganesh Ghosh and Loknath Bal had been arrested and were awaiting trial.
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Kalpana was entrusted with the safe carrying of heavy explosive materials from Calcutta. She also secretly prepared ‘gun-cotton’ and planned to plant a dynamite fuse under the court building and inside the jail to free the revolutionary leaders, who were being tried in a special Tribunal. The plot was uncovered and certain restrictions were imposed on Kalpana’s movements. She, however, managed to visit regularly the village of Surya Sen, sometimes even at dead of night. She also used to have regular training in revolver shooting, along with her comrade Pritilata Waddedar. In September 1931 Surya Sen decided to entrust Kalpana and Preetilata with a plan to attack the European Club at Chittagong. A week before the action Kalpana was arrested while moving out for a survey work in a boy’s attire. While in jail, she was told about the Pahartali action and the heroic suicide of Preetilata. Being released on bail, she went underground at the bidding of Surya Sen and in the early hours of 17 February 1933 the police encircled their hideout. Surya Sen was captured while Kalpana, along with Manindra Datta, escaped. On 19 May 1933 Kalpana, with some comrades, was arrested. In the second supplementary trial of Chittagong Armory Raid case, Surya Sen and Tarakeswar Dastidar were sentenced to death, and Kalpana was sentenced to transportation for life. Being released in 1939 she graduated from the Calcutta University in 1940. Soon she joined the CPI and resumed her battle against the British rule. She turned Kalpana Joshi in 1943 when she married PC Joshi, the leader of the CPI. She went back to Chittagong and organised the Kisans’ and women’s fronts of the party. In 1946 she contested, though unsuccessfully, in the elections to the Bengal Legislative Assembly. After 1947 she migrated to India and resigned from active politics. Kalpana Datta breathed her last at New Delhi on 8 February 1995. Beena Das (Bhowmick) (1911-1986) :- Well-known in the history of Indian freedom fighting for daring attack on English Governor and University Chancellor Stanley Jackson, who was a
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symbol of a long and oppressive English colonial rule in India. The incident took place during the 1932 convocation of Calcutta University. Although she was unsuccessful, her act inspired many a young mind of those days. Beena Bhowmick’s father was Benee Madhab Das, the well-known educator of the Ravenshaw Collegiate School of Cuttack, Orissa. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, another famous freedom fighter also studied in that school. Bhowmick was acquainted with Bose. Bhowmick initially studied in the Bethune College in Calcutta, but later migrated to Diocesan College in order to ensure that her revolutionary activities remain unhindered. She passed the BA with honors in English, her daring attempt occurred during her own convocation ceremony. For this she was given 9 years of imprisonment After her release in 1939, she joined the “Jugantar” revolutionary club. She was again imprisoned in 1942 for three years while she was the Secretary of Calcutta Congress Committee. In 1947 she married Jatish Bhowmick, a freedom fighter and a fellow member of Jugantar. In a characteristic show of idealistic strength, she didn’t accept the “Freedom Fighters’ Pension” offered by the Government of India. After the death of her husband, she decided to live by herself in the Rishikesh (Himalaya), where she died within a month in a lonely condition. Kanaklatha Baruah (1924-1942) :- She got an opportunity to fulfill her dream of serving the country. As soon as the ‘Quit India’ movement began the British rulers started arresting Congress leaders. Under the leadership of revolutionary Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, in the district of Darrang a resolution was adopted unanimously to hoist National flag at the court and police station, as they were the marks of British Empire. Being aware of women’s participation in the nation’s freedom struggle, Kanaklatha enrolled herself in the suicide squad. The day for peaceful and non-violent action was decided as September 20.
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According to the programme, freedom fighters with National flag had to capture local police station. Four thousands people from Kalabari side and an equal number from Barangabari moved towards Gohpur police station. In the front line was Kanaklatha Baruah holding a National flag in her hands. She requested the officer in charge of the police station to allow her to hoist the flag at the western gate peacefully. The officer in charge ignored her request and threatened to shoot her, if she dared to proceed further. Kanaklatha marched ahead and had to face the bullets of the strong police force. She laid down her life for the freedom of the country. Sita Devi :- She was a revolutionary politician and a freedom fighter. She thought her mission in life was to liberate India from the clutches of the British by actively participating in the freedom struggle and enlightening the masses. She was married to the young revolutionary Chabildas who was working in the National College and then onwards she was active in the revolutionary activities. In that college Chabildas taught revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. Due to their revolutionary activities at Lahore they were arrested and imprisioned. Later she joined in the politics. Saraladevi Chaudhurani :- She was a Gandhian turned revolutionary. She formed clubs for the youth, which served as links with the revolutionaries. Sarala Devi introduced Birash-tami Utsav (Festival of Heroes) on the second day of the Durga Puja, with a view to inspire the youngsters of Bengal with the ideals of heroism. The festival attracted widespread attention. Happy with the success of her experiment, she introduced many such celebrations in the memory of the national heroes to inspire the Youth of Bengal. She maintained a close link with Suhrid Samiti, a secret revolutionary society. Her attempt was to infuse young men with physical competence and courage. Kamala Das Gupta :- She wanted to join in Gandhi’s Sabarmathi Ashram in 1929 but her parents disapproved. She became depressed and in this mood read Sarath Chandra Chatterjee’s novel ‘Pather Dabi’. She got associated with some revolutionaries of
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Jugantar Party. At last she joined Jugantar and was quickly converted from her original Gandhism to the cult of armed resistance. She helped the revolutionaries by storing bombs and bomb making materials. She was arrested several times in connection with bombings but was released every time for want of evidence. She supplied Bina Das with the revolver that she used to try to shoot Governor Stanley Jackson, and was arrested also on that occassion but released. In 1933 the British finally succeeded in putting her behind bars. In 1936 she was released and placed under house arrest. She edited the women’s journal ‘Mandira’ for many years. Kalyani Das :- The elder sister of Bina Das, the most famous revolutionary women of India, Kalyani Das along with Surama Mitra, Kamala Das Gupta organised a student organization, the ‘Chattri Sangha’ (Association for Female Students) for the discussion of political matters. She was well connected with Dinesh Majumdar, a revolutionary member of Jugantar. She led the demonstration of the Chattri Sangha girls in 1930 during the civil disobedience movement and got arrested. She was detained for eight months for organising an illegal meeting in Hazra Park in 1932. She also detained in jail for 5 years from 1933 for participating revolutionary work. In 1940 she along with her husband joined Civil Liberty movement in Bombay and was detained for three months in jail. She wrote an autobiography, “Jiban Adyayan”. Santi Ghosh :- Santi Ghose was raised in a patriotic environment. She participated in an armed revolutionary struggle and resorted to direct action against the British. Santi was inspired by a young revolutionary Profullanandini and joined the Jugantar Party, a secret revolutionary organization. She trained herself in various arts of self-defence with swords, clubs and firearms. In 1931 Santi Ghose and her revolutionary companion Suniti Chaudhary killed Charles Geoffrey Buckland Stevens, the District Magistrate of Comilla. This heroic action of the two young girls thrilled the country from one end to the other. Santi along with Suniti went behind the prison bars with a sentence of life-transportation in 1932. When they were sentenced
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to transportation of life Santi Ghose was reported to have expressed disappointment at not having achieved martydom through hanging. Subjected to severe physical brutalities and humiliation as a second class prisoner, Santi was released from jail in 1939 as a result of the amnesty negotiations between Gandhi and the British Indian Government. After her release she resumed her studies and in 1942 married to Chittaranjan Das, a revolutionary leader of Chittagong. She also wrote a book ‘Arunbahni’. Suniti Chaudhary :- From her childhood onwards suniti was impressed by revolutionary philosophy. Her two elder brothers were already in the revolutionary movement. She was recruited to the Jugantar Party by one of her friend Prafullanandini Brahma. Suniti was the captain of a volunteer corps of girl students. Suniti was picked up for training in the play of dagger and stick and also in rifle-shooting in secret. She along with her classmate Santi fired at the District Magistrate of Comilla, Mr. Stevens. The first bullet from Suniti’s revolver shot him dead. She expected to die a martyr’s death in the jail. But they were given the sentence of life-imprisonment. Suniti’s prisonlife was one long saga of sufferings. After seven years she got an early release with many other political prisoners. She again faced life full of struggle awaiting her in outside world. She resumed her studies and took the M.B.B.S. degree. She played an extra-ordinary role in the freedom struggle. Nanibala Devi :- She became widowed at the age of 15. After her widowhood she tried to pursue her education but circumstances were not favourable so she left home and took refuge in a christian mission. She acquired some knowledge of english and left the place because of some problems. She took refuge with Amarrendranath Chattopadhyay, a distant relative and a leader of the revolutionary Jugantar Party. Then onwards she came in contact with freedom fighters and found her mission. She joined the party and acted as their house keeper. She would act as the wife of one of the revolutionaries to smuggle letters to him in jail, or rent accomodation for him without attracting the attention of the police. Once her plan was revealed she
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had to go underground, fleeing from place to place in rural Bengal. She caught cholera and finally the police found her at Peshawar. She was subjected to inhuman tortures at the police. After her release she continued to face struggle and humiliation. Later she renounced the worldly affairs and attracted to the spirituality. Helena Dutt :- A Bengali revolutionary who said that “we were like caged tigers”. She described herself and her friends as extremely eager to take advantage of neighbourhood schools being set up in the 1920s. She participated in the revolutionary movement with great vigour. Ganga Devi :- She was a Hindu middle class women revolutionary from Kanpur. After her marriage she was confined to her room for most of the day. Her husband enforced strict discipline over Ganga Devi and did not encourage any nationalist activities. However, Ganga Devi reacted against her husband’s authoritarianism and encouraged children to support the movement. She started to organise secret meetings with people in hiding when her husband was away at work. Ganga Devi contributed money to these meetings. She also prepared food late at night for activists who were in hiding. Tulsa Devi :- Tulsa Devi was the wife of a revolutionary leader. She helped her husband while he continued in hiding. Her husband used to go into hiding in the jungles. Tulsa Devi used to sneak out of the house late at night disguised as a begger and she would give her husband news of the developments of the day, concerning whether the police were looking for him or whether there was any message from his compatriots. Tulsa Devi was aware of political upheavals of the time and was a support to her husband’s political practices. Durga Bhai Vohra :- She played an important role in transporting, shifting and hiding ‘wanted’ revolutionaries from one town to the other. Durga was assigned the task of bringing Bhagat Singh and Raj Guru to her house in Calcutta. She travelled with them from Lahore to Calcutta. The revolutionaries were safer with a woman escort than travelling alone.
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Usha Mehta :- During the Quit India movement in 1942, most of the important congress party leaders were arrested, men and women worked underground. Usha Mehta organised an underground radio broadcasting. The broadcast was made twice daily, in the morning and the evening in both English and Hindi. The translation of the news in Hindi was crucial for women confined to the domestic sphere. Usha continued broadcasting till she was arrested in November 1942. Raj Kumari Gupta :- She supplied guns and pistols to assist the Kakori robbery. Perin Ben :- She was one of the grand daughters of Dadabhai Naoroji. She joined the group of revolutionaries in Paris, which included Madame Bhikaji Cama and Shamji Krishna Varma. She was prepared to carry on the freedom struggle by violent means. Her devotion to the cause of freedom was not only for her own country but for all subject nations. Later she became a Gandhian. Leela Nag (Roy) :- Among the women pioneers of Bengal, Leela Nag stands out uniquely in her selfless dedication to the cause of the country and particularly of women. She shares her birthday with Gandhiji as she was born on 2 October 1900. Right from her student days Leela Nag showed exemplary courage in standing up for justice. In 1923 she founded ‘Deepali Sangha’ with her friends. ‘Deepali Sangha’ soon emerged as a nucleus for political activities by the women of Dacca and Eastern Bengal. It provided physical training for women. They were taught drill, parade, sword fighting and lathi-wielding. Deepali Sangha worked as the frontal platforms of the revolutionary underground activities that emerged in 1930’s in Bengal. She organized ‘Chhatri Bhavan’, a boarding house for girl students. This provided a base for underground activities by women. In connection with the attack on the post office of Dacca Leela Nag and her friend Renu Sen were arrested in 1931. Leela Nag spent about six years in different jails in Bengal as a person jailed with out trial. She released from the jail in 1937. After her release she continued her political activities.
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Women Regiment of INA Subash Chandra Bose (Nethaji) called for total mobilization. He recoganised the talent of Indian women he therefore invited the participation of women in Indian National Army. Subash Chandra Bose elected as the president of Indian Independence League of Singapore. A few days later Bose addressed the women’s section of the League and asked them to join in Indian National Army’s women’s Regiment, Rani of Jhansi Brigade. He felt that women soldiers must be ready to share the burden of freedom struggle and to fight with Indian men. Bose also added a Department of Women’s Affairs to the League and appointed Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan as head. The first goal of the department was to recruit women for the INA, but its long range goal was equality for women. Bose told Dr. Lakshmi and the women of Singapore that he wanted them to follow the brave example of women freedom fighters in India. Women’s bravery and commitment had very well been focused in the satyagraha protests of Gandhi as well as in radical nationalism. In fact to continue the tradition and link it with India’s historical fight for freedom the regiment was named after the Rani of Jhansi, the heroine of 1857 Revolt. The first Rani ‘of Jhansi training camp opened near Singapore on October 22, 1943 under the direct guidence of Subhash Chandra Bose. Dr. Lakshmi was conferred upon the military status of Captain Lakshmi. She took charge of the regiment’s fighting and nursing units. It dramatically underscored the concept of total mobilization and made it clear the INA was not just a prisoner of war army. The three camps-at Singapore, Rangoon and Bangkok soon had about 1,000 women recruits. Only a minority received nurse’s training, the rest were instructed as soldiers. More over around two hundred cadets of the unit were also selected for training in nursing, which led to the formation of the Chand Bibi Nursing Corps. Their preparation was essentially the same as that for men and they even wore a uniform of caps, shirts, jodhpurs, breeches and boots. The military part of the training
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consisted of drill, weapon training tacties, map reading and general subjects. They were trained to use rifles, bayonets, machine guns, revolvers, granades, swords and daggers. A number of outstanding cadets were also selected for further advanced training in jungle warfare, which was conducted in Burma. The women wore uniforms and observed strict discipline. Bose wanted them to have short hair but decided to leave it up to the young women; about 90 percent had their hair cut. There were route marches for them. Their day started with singing of National Anthem and common prayer for the liberation of Hindustan. A contingent of women was channelised as a retreating army to Burma just as the Japanese were being pushed back from Imphal. The Ranis had a meeting with their commander, Subash Chandra Bose, for last time on August 14, when they staged a drama on the glorious life of the Rani of Jhansi. When the British returned to Burma and Malaya they first asked about the women members of the INA. Expecting shy and helpless women coerced into joining this army, the British were shocked when these young women appeared in full uniform, saluting smartly and declared themselves members of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. Only a few of these women returned to India after the war, but their “story” demonstrated that women were willing to take up arms to free India from its foreign rulers. Women in INA remained Immortal in legends as several of them went on to an “exceptional careers of service”. They had left their legacy of mind-blowing courage and sacrifice to the posterity of Indian womenhood. Let us elucidate a few among them. Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan (Capt. Lakshmi Sahgal) :- Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan was an important women in the INA. She was trained as a medical doctor and practiced medicine in Singapore. She was in Singapore at the time when the call of the Netaji came. She responded to that call enthusiastically. She was the commander of Jhansi Rani Regiment and also the minister of Social Welfare and Medicine in the Azad Hind Cabinet. When the Indian National Army
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collapsed she did not surrender to the British. She was captured and later placed under arrest. Her Regiment was disbanded and in 1945 most of the girls were sent away to Singapore from Rangoon Lakshmi was sent to Rangoon jail. There was a great pressure for her release and she was released on one condition that she should not speak in public meetings. Lakshmi defied the order and spoke on the anniversary of the Azad Hind Fauj and said the objective of Azad Hind Fauj. She also held protest meeting against INA trials at Delhi. Her diary was published under the tile ‘Jai-Hind: The Diary of a Rebel Daughter of India with the Rani of Jhansi Regiment’. Janaky Davar (Puan Sri. Janaki Athi Nahappan) :- Janaky Davar one of the young women who volunteered to become a rani, was a founding member of the Malaysian Indian Congress and one of the earliest women involved in the fight for Malaysian Independence. When Subhash Chandra Bose came to Malaysia, she went to hear his speech and offered her earings for his war chest. At the age of seventeen Janaki became a rani. There was strong family objection especially from her father. She is among the first women to join the I.N.A organised during the Japanese occupation of Malaya to fight for Indian independence with the Japanese. Having been brought up in luxury, she initially could not adopt to the rigours of army life. However she gradually got used to military life. After World War II she emerged as a welfare activist. Latika Ghosh :- Subash Chandra Bose was impressed with Latika’s ability to successfully field a women’s demonstration against the Simon Commission and insisted her to develop a women’s organization connected with Congress. Latika Ghosh wrote articles calling on women to wake up and take a good look at their country. In 1928 Subash Chandra Bose decided to have uniformed women volunteers march with men in the procession to inaugurate the annual congress meetings in Calcutta. He made Latika Ghosh a Colonel and charged her with recruiting her own company for the parade. Latika enlisted 300 women volunteers. Their uniforms consisted of dark green saris
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with red borders worn over white blouses the colour of the congress flag. She confessed she made a poor colonel, unable to stay in step or salute properly, but she wanted her female volunteers to appear as the equals of men in the struggle for freedom. She founded the Mahila Rashtriya Sangha (MRS) in 1928, the first formal organization to mobilize women for political work, with the advice of Subash Chandra Bose. Manavati Arya :-She played an important role in Indian National Army’s Women’s wing, the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. She sold all her jwellery for the struggle. Kesar Kaur, Narayani Ammal etc. were some other women who were active in the Rani of Jhansi Regiment.
Women Question in the social reform movement in Kerala Before analysing the women quesiton in the social reform movements of Kerala, we should discuss the social reform movements in National context. Women’s question was the main focus of the reformist activities of Indian intellectuals of the 19th century. They fought to elevate the position of women in the society. Due to their efforts female infanticide was banned, Sati was abolished and widow remarriage was legalised. There were a number of male. reformers who undertook major efforts on women’s behalf. The pioneer in this reform movement was Rajaram Mohan Roy who is known as the father of Modern India. Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar of Bengal led a campaign to legalize widow remarriage and Keshub Chandra Sen, a Brahmasamaj leader tried to bring women into new roles through schools, prayer meetings and experiments in living. Swami Dayananda Saraswathi the founder of Aryasamaj encouraged female education and condemned customs like dowry. Among Muslims Khwaja Altaf Hussain Hali and Sheikh Muhammed Abdullah introduced education for girls. In western India, Mahadev Govinda Ranade founded National Social
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Confernece to focus attention on social reforms. Behramji Malabari a parsee Journalist critised the evils of child marriage and the tragedy of enforced widowhood though his articles. Dhondo Keshab Karve of Poona established institutions to educate widows. In South R. Venkata Ratnam Rao opposed the Devdasi system and Virasalingam Pantulu from Madras presidency worked for marraoge reform. Reformers were found throughout India dnd they addressed a number of issues relating to marriage and emphasizing female education. These reformers viewed women as their subjects to be changed through social action, education and legislation. In the opinion of Geraldine Forbes they dreamed of a world where women would be educated and free from some of the worst customs of the society child marriage, Sati, polygyny. But at the same time these new women would be devoted to home and family. As a result of these reformist activities there were a number of women who were educated and increasingly involved in public activities. Many girls were educated at home and then sent to girls schools. They also began to participate in public sphere. These ‘new women’ as they were called were part of a Modernizing Movement which sought to Modify gender relations in the direction of greater equality between men and women. Rajaram Mohan Roy known as the father of modern India is listed first among those reformers concerned with improving womens status. His fight against Sathi, the most cruel custom of Indian society lead to its abolishen in 1829. Rassundari Devi, a Bengali women wrote a story of her life Amarjeeban (My life) that was published in 1876. This authobiography revolves around her day to day experience as house wife and mother. This is the first autobiography written in Bengali which Potrayed the period when the reformers were attending to change the life of women. In the 19th century women issue became central in the public activities. This was not a question of what do women want, but rather how they be modernized. The Britishers accused the customs in In-
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dian society especially for their rules regarding women. They wanted to bring about an ideal relationship between men and women in their colony because they believed in their moral susperiority. James Mill in his “History of British India” argued that women’s position could be used as a indicator of societyes advancement. The missionaries who arrived in India brought about education and European ideals into our societies. The Indians who responded to the changes began to reshape their social institutions and ideals. A section of Indian intellectuals praised their own cultures and treatment of women and concluded that females in both countries suffered hardships. Those who accepted the changes advocated that female education and female imacipation where the first step towards progress. But both groups regarded the home as the source of true identity and seperated home from the world. Due to the efforts of social reformers, their was a slight improvement in position of women in 19th century. By the end of 19th century there were a number of women who were educated and involved in public life. For eg: Saraladevi Choudhuarani and her mother Swarna Kumaridevi of Bengal. Panditha rama Bai :- Panditha rama Bai is a pioneer in womens education and women’s rights. When her parents died she a 16 year old unmarried girl. She travelled with her brother throughout India advocating female education & social reform. She was given the title ‘Saraswathy and Panditha’, because she seemed as learned as the Brahmin Pandits. She married a Sudra, Bipin Bihari das Methavi. She tried to educate women through Arya Mahila Samaj. She gave evidence before Hunter Commission and stressed the need for women doctors and teachers. She wrote a book “The high caste Hindu Women”. Then she left for America and travelled throughout US and Canada and lecturing to various groups. After her return to India she established Sarathasathan a school for widows in Bombay. It attracted some high caste Hindu widows. She established another school Mukthi. In her shools apart from traditional eudcation Industrial training as well as the training in farming and gardening were also given. All
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students were also require to join union to break down the caste barriers. Thus her greatest legacy was the education she provided to widows. Mathaji Maharani Thapaswini :- She was the founder of the great Mother Kali school of Bengal. The aim of the school was to educate girls on strictly national lines in order to regenerate Hindu Society. She was a Brahmin women of Deccan who studied scared literature. She had come to Calcutta to promote female education based on Hindu religious and moral principles. The syllabus included knowledge of sacred literature and history an understanding of Muths and legends that spoke the duties of daughter, wife, daughter in law, mother and practical skills such as cooking and tailoring. When the school expanded, it published its own Bengali and Sanskrit textbools. This school proved immensily popular. Anandi Bai :- Anandi Bai was the wife of Kesav Karve who established a number of female schools in Poone. She with the support of her husband established a widow’s home which became a school. Later Karve, established a school to develop “good wives”, “good mothers”and ‘good neighbours”, Parvathy bai, Anadi bai’s sister played an important role in the growth of Karve’s school. In 1916 Karve established womens university. Begam Rokeya Sakhavat Hussain :- Begam Rokeya Sakhavat Hussain began an institution for muslim girls in Bihar. Later she moved to Calcutta where she open another shcool Sakhavat Memoral Girls school in 1911. Its language of instruction was Urdu she wrote essays like ‘the female half’ ‘The house and weil’. Through there essays she pointed out that education would help women to full till their tradition as roles and thus contribute to the progress of nation. In the curriculam of school included literacy, practical subjects such as home science, handicraft, gardening and physical fitness training. Sister Subha Lakshmi :- She established a school for high caste widows in Madrass. She tried to help the child widows. She was married at age of 11. But unfortunately soon her husband died.
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She had to observe all the rituals that a widow hood followed. But her father moved to Madras and sent her to school. She devoted her life to educate young widows and earned the title ‘Sister.’
Social reform movements in Kerala Social reform movements were started in Kerala in the later half of the 19th century. Here too one of the main focusses was on the upliftment of women. Shannar agitation was one among the earlier struggles in Kerala which fought for the rights of women. shannar women fought for the right to cover their upper part of the body. The coming of Christian Missionaries and western educations brought about changes in Kerala society. Christiann Missionaries established school in Kerala. In 1820 a girls school was established in Alleppy. In Kottayam Baker memmorial school was established in 1869. The progress in education contributed to elevate the status of women in socitey. The Printing press, news papers and journals also contributed to the new awakening in Kerala society. In 1887 women’s magazine in Malayalam was started namely ‘Keraliya suguna bodhini’. ‘Indulekha’ written by Chandumenon presented a new women with education and a mind of her own. During that period there existed several social evils in Kerala society. There were polygamy and child marriage. Caste system was rigid and there was the practice of untouchability and unapproachability. It was against this background that Socio religious movements started in Kerala by Sri. Narayana Guru. He founded Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam to work for the social and spritual uplitfment of Ezhavas. He was, followed by several other like Ayyankali who founded ‘Sadhujana Paripalana Yogam’ and K. Ayyappan who founded Sahodara Sangham. Sree Narayana Guru agitated against the customes like Thalikettu Kalyanam and advocated women education. Nair service society formed by Mannath Pathmanabhan stood for the upliftment of women. Nair girls were given education. NSS
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fought for reforming the system of marriage and abolition of Marumakkathayam. They asked for individual partition of properties. An exclusive session for women was organised at the annual conference of NSS in 1929. It was presided over by Thottekkattu Madhavi Amma. A large number of women attended the session. From this conference onwards women session became a part of NSS anual conference. They discussed various issues related to women. The Namboorithiris who were the privileged section of the society suffered from the practice of evil customs. Only the eldest son among the Namboodiris was permitted to marry the Namboothiri girls. Others were engaged in sambandham system with Nair, Ambalavasi or allied castes. This led to the majority of Namboodiri women remaining spinsters all through their life. Widow remarriage was prohibited and the Namoboodiri girls were denied education. The most cruel custom among them was the institution of ‘Smartha Vicharam’ the caste tribunal which tried Namboodiri women accused of sexual misconduct. It was among the Namboothiris that the reform movements made a great impact upon women and they truely came from the ‘kitchen to the centre stage’. V.T. Bhattathiripad was the pioneer in bringing the antharjanams from the kitchen to the stage. We shall aptly call him the first man who worked for the liberation of women in Kerala. The play written by V.T. ‘Adukkalayilninnum Arangathekku’ (from kitchen to the stage) evoked a storm in the society. Kooroor Neelakandan Namboothripad, M.R. Bhattathiripad who wrote the play 'Marakkudakkullile Mahanarakam', Premji who wrote the play 'Hruthumathi', were the prominent persons who worked hard to liberate the antharjanams. They propagated their views through the magazine ‘Unni Namboodiri’. Due to this the antharjanams became aware of their rights and strengths and ventured to come to the forefront. The first woman to do so was Parvathi Manezhi. There after many followed
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suit. Parvathi Nelmanimangalam started attending the meetings of ‘Yogakshema Sabha’. This led to the rising of many more "Antharjana Samajams". Widow marriage of antharjanam was one of the most debated subjects in those days In one of the meetings, Parvathi asked to raise the hands of those who are ready to marry the Namboodiri widows. The first to respond were MRB and Premji. They were the persons who married the widows of Namboothri society for the first time. The first bride of the widow marriage was Mullamangalath Arya Devi, who became very famous. She was not only active in the emancipation of the society but also played her part well in communist movement. The antharjanams were ready to cast away their upper class status and restrictions and equipped to work for themselves. Kannampilly Sridevi was one of them. She was the first antharjanam who demonstrated through her own life the dignity of labour. In 1948 the Antharjana Samajam enacted a drama entitled ‘Thozhil Kendrangalilekku’ (towards working places). The main characters of the play were the women themselves. The play was conceived at the technical institute for Antharjanams at Lakkidi. Another antharjanam who came to the stage was Priyadutta Kallat as a part of social emancipation. Breaking the walls of cast and religion she had inter-caste marriage. Priya Dutta had played her role in students union activities before joining Communist movement. Narikkattri Devaki Antaryanam popularly known as Devkai Narikkattiri was one of the most prominent of Nambuthri women who came into pulblic life in the 1930s, defying the ‘ghosha.’ She was born in Koppam near Palakkad in an othodox Brahmin family. Her husband Vamanan Narikkattiri was ardent reformer. She was excommunicated from her family along with her husband. Later, they opened a restaurant ner the Bratmasswam madam at Thrissur. She was attracted to political affairs and was an inmate of the Wardha Asram for some time. Later she became active in communist politics and worked at the party’s commune Calicut.
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The Social reform movement acted as a catalyst in bringing women to the forefront of public sphere in Kerala.
Freedom movement and Kerala women The political consiousness emerged among women in Kerala only by the later half of the 19th and early 20th century. Inspired by the national movement led by Gandhiji several women in Kerala participated in the struggle for freedom. Women’s role was only supportive in the beginning. They helped the sathyagrahis in various ways. But later they actively participated in it. They held public meetings, organised picketing, Harthals and sold Khadi. They bravely faced the baton of police and went behind the bars. It was the civil disobedience movement that brought out a large number of women into political action. T.C. Kochukutty Amma of Kochi Educational Service called on women to take up Gandhiji’s constructive programme. C.I. Rukmini Amma moved a resolution on Swadeshi and khadi on May 1930 at Kozhikode. On 5 june, 1930 a large meeting of women was held at Kozhikode with Narauanikutty Amma, Kameshari Amma and Krishna Bai calling for Swadeshi and Khadi. In july 1930, the girls of Chalapuram Girls Schood and members of women’s Swadwhi League took out a procession in Calicut singing national songs. Women in Kozhikode decided to hold a protest action against police atrocities on women satyagrahis in Bombay. The prohibitory orders were imposed on Mrs. Madhavan Nayari, A.V. Kuttimalu Amma, T. Narayani Amma, P.G. Narayani Amma, E. Narayanikutty, Mrs. Sundara Iyer and Gracy Aaron. However, women came out dressed in white khadi with national and black flags. The Inspector General tried to snatch the national flag from the girl named Jayalakshmi who said “I will not part with this.” Six women participants were arrested including Karthyayani Amma, Narayani Kutty Amma, Gracy Aaron, Kunhikavu Amma, thalapurath Ammukutty Amma and Jayalakshmi. It was the first arrest of women in Malabar.
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Eswari Ammal, a satyagraha leader was arrested at Kozhikode beach for breaking the salt law. She was the first women to be arrested in Kerala for breaking the salt law. Kunjilakshmi Amma, a teacher in Kochi Educational Service and Sanjiva Pai a teacher under Malabar District Board, who resigned their jobs to join the Civil Disobedience Movement, were arrested while picketing shops in 1931. In the house to house propaganda by Desa Sevika Sangham Karthyayani Amma and Matilda Kallen were very active in March 1931 a women’s meeting was held at Vadakara and Women’s Spinning Association was formed. A women’s committee for khadi wore was also formed. On 19 March 1931, Kamaladevi Chatopadhyay visited Kannur and called on women to picket foreign cloth shops. A women’s conference was held at Alappuzha chaired by Mariamma Anthaper, who lay stress on boy cott of foreign cloth, importance of khadar and temperance propaganda. At Thrissur picketing by women was launched and led by A.V. Kuttymalu Amma and Mrs. Pavamani form Kozhikode. Picketing was also held at Alapuzha, Ambalapuzha and Trivandrum. Meetings were held almost every day in different places. All Kerala women’s league was formed at Kozhikode on 13 June 1931 with Mrs. Pavamani as president, Kunhikavu Amma as vice president and Kunjilakshmi Amma as secretaries. The Mahila Sevika Sangh in Calicut continued its constructive work and organised a swadeshi exhibition from 1 to 10 November 1931. Meanwhile the picketing of foreign cloths shops continued. On 27 January 1932 at Talassery during the picketing by Kamalabai Prabhu, Mrs. Govindan Nair and Sambhavi Amma were arrested. On their refusal to dedclare loyality to the Government, Mrs. Prabhu received 6 months rigorous imprisonment and fine and the other two were imprisoned till the rising of court. On 4 February 1932, Gandhi Day was observed at Kozhikode and following a procession, the police arrested Smt. Kunjikavu Amma,
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Mrs. Pavamani and Padmavathy. At Palakkat Smt. Devakiamma led a procession in 1932 and got arrested and was imprisoned. At Kozhikode, a procession led by Kuttimalu Amma was stoped by police and the women were arrested. Gracy Aron Conducted a Procession in Calicut where she hoisted the flag and the crowed sang the flag songs. The police arrested all the men and women volunteers. K. Kunji Lakshmi Amma and N. Sanjivibai undertook a picketing in Malabar and were arrested. A Large procession of boys and girls was led by Jayalakshmi and swarnakumari in Calicut. There were picketing campaigns organised by women in Cochin and Travancore. Women of Cochin like Amritha Amma, P. Visalakshi, T. Subadra and Kamalam launched picketing in Thrissur. The women volunteers picketed foreign cloths shorts all over Kerala. The also contributed to the spread of Khadi. A commitee to was formed at Calicut to propagate Khadi. The Commitee consisted of Narayini Amma, Mrs. U. Gopalamenon, K.E. Saradha and Margrat Pavamani. A Rashtreeya Sthree Sabha was formed including 35 women members. They organised classes in spinning. When Quite movements started women of Kerala actively participated in it. Notable leaders were P.V. Madhavikutti Amma, Kamalanambisan, G. Suseela and E. Ammukutti Amma. E. Ammukutti Amma was arrested while picketing. When INA was organised lakshmi sahgal became a member of it. Thus the women in Kerala shouldered critical responsibilites in struggle for freedom. Let us have a look at the prominent among the women leaders. A.V. Kuttimalu Amma :- A.V. Kuttimalu Amma was born in Anakkara Vadakkathu family of Ponnani Taluk in Malabar in 1905. She was a prominent freedom fighter. She entered into public life as a Swadesh and Khadi worker in 1930. She led groups of women in the picketing of foreign cloth shops in Kozhikode in the year 1931.
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During the Civil Disobedience Movement she was arrested and convicted for two years. She participated in the Quit India Movement and again got arrested. In 1944 she became the president of KPCC and Congress working Committee. She also worked as the director of Mathrubhumi for sometime. She passed away in 1986. Accamma Cheriyan :- Accamma Cheriyan, known as 'Jhansi Rani of Travancore' was born at Kanjirappilly. After her formal education she worked as a teacher at St. Mary's English Medium School, Kanjirappilly. In February 1938, the Travancore State Congress was formed. She gave up her teaching career in order to join the struggle for liberty. When the people of Travancre started an agitation for responsible government. C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer, the Dewan of Travancore decided to suppress the agitation. On 26 August 1938, he banned the Congress which led to the movement. Leaders like Pattom Thanupillai were arrested. Accamma Cherian led a mass rally from Tampanoor to the Kavadiyar Palace to revoke the ban on State Congress. They demanded the dismissal of Dewan C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyyer. When the police fired on the mob, she cried "I am the leader shoot me before you kill others". She was arrested and convicted for violating prohibitory orders in 1939. Accamma after her release from jail became a full time worker of the State Congress. In 1942 she became the acting president. Several times she was imprisoned for participating in the Freedom Movement. In 1947, after Independence she was elected to the Travancore Legislative Assembly. Kaumudi Teacher :- Kaumudi teacher was a Gandhian and a freedom fighter from Kannur. She voluntarily donated her ornaments to Gandhiji when he visited Vadakara in 1934. Gandhiji, later wrote about it in 'Young India' as 'Kaumudi's renunciation'.
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She was born in 1917. After matriculation she had studied Hindi and got appointed as a teacher in a Government school. She was a disciple of Vinoba Bhave and she had also associated with Bhoodan Movement. Lakshmi Sehgal :- Lakshmi Sehgal also known as Captain Lakshmi was an ex-officer of INA and the minister of the Azad Hind Government. Lakshmi Sehgal was born on October 24, 1914 and she belongs to the famous Anakkara Vadakkath family. She was a doctor by profession. In 1940 she left for Singapore and established there a clinic for the poor. When Subhash Chandra Bose formed a women's regiment of INA known as Rani of Jhansi regiment, Lakshmi joined it. She was active in both militarily and on the medical front. Later she became the minister in the provisional Government of Free India formed by Subhash Chandra Bose. After independence, she joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represented party in the Rajya Sabha. She was nominated as the Left Front's candidate for the post of President of India in 2002. O.K. Madhavi Amma :- O.K. Madhavi Amma was born in 1916. After completing her school education from LMCC School Pachalam and St. Teresa's Convent. She took her Medical Degree from the Royal College of Homeopathic Physicians and started practising in 1936. She became a full time activist of the Kochi Rajya Prajamandalam from 1939 and later joined the Congress in 1956.She was unanimously elected to the All India Congress Committee. Ammu Swaminathan :- Ammu Swaminathan of Anakkara Vadakkath family was also a prominent political activist. She took active part in India's Freedom Struggle. After Independence, she became a member of Rajya Sabha. Ammu Swaminatan was born in 1894 in Palghat. She was married to a famous barrister at the age of 13. She received formal
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education mostly from her husband. She became a follower of Gandhiji and joined Indian Independence Movement. She was one of the few women member in the Constitutional Assembly of India. V. Parukutty Amma :- V. Parukutty Amma was one of the very first women journalists and women freedom fighters of Kerala. She completed her graduation from the Women's Christian College in 1940s. After her studies, she became a teacher. Later she left the job and joined the freedom struggle. She was a renowned writer and translated Indira Gandhi's biography ' Return of the Red Rose'. She also wrote the biographies of K.P. Kesava Menon and K.A. Damodara Menon. Annie Mascrin :- She was born in Travancore in 1902. While she was working in Ceylon as a teacher she came to know about the problems of her native place and she decided to work for it. She came to Kerala and started to involve in the political activities. She actively participated in the civil disobedience movement and got arrested for several times. In 1944 she became the Secretary of Travancore State Congress. In 1946 she conducted a country wide tour mainly to understand the problems of Indians and she informed it to the British parlimentary delegation. In 1948 she became a member of Travancore Legislative Assembly. In 1949 she became the Health Minister of the Travancore-Cochin ministry she retired from the active politics in 1957 and died in 1963. Anakkara Vadakkathu Suseelamma :- She was born in 1912 in the famous Anakkara Vadakkathu family. She was influenced by her relative Ammu Swaminathan, a prominent political activist and a freedom fighter, which paved the way for her entry into the politics. She actively took part in Quit India movement and got arrested. She along with Ammu Swaminathan took part in the picketing of the Secretariet in 1948 and was imprisoned. After her release she formed women organisations. She collected money from the local people and bought charka and distributed to the members of the organisations charka classes were arranged for them. She toured many parts of Malabar along with Kuttymalu Amma. She was appointed to train the girls in spinning at Payyannur. She participated in the political classes
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organised by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. Attaracted by the social work of Kamaladevi, Suseela concentrated more on social series. The Gandhian ideology had very much influenced the activities of Suseela. Swarnakumari Menon :- As she was the daughter of U. Gopalamenon. The freedom fighter, she was very much influenced by the political activities of her father from her childhood onwards. She organised women meetings to discuss about political conditions and actions. While she was a student, Swarnakumari was a member of Balika Bharata Sangh, a student organisation, and took part in ‘Prabhada Bheri’, a programme organised by Balika Bharata Sangh. Their main slogan was ‘freedom of India’. She also actively participated in the boycott of foreign cloths and the propogation of Khadi. “Nation first, then society, family and person” was her political philosophy. C.R. Devaki Amma :- She was the sister of famous freedom fighter C.R. Balakrishnan Nambiar of Palakad district. She protested against the practice of animal sacrifice in temples. She participated in the Salt Satyagraha at Payyannur along with her brother C.R. Balakrishnan Nambiar and imprisoned for two years. She activelly took part in Civil disobedience movement and was imprisoned for two years. After her release she actively joined for the propagation of Khadi and Hindi and organised women for political activities. Gracy Aaron :- She was married to Samual Aaron in 1916. That was a turning point in her life. After that she got the chance to participate in the political activities. She formed a women organization at Pappinissery. She actively took part in the boycott of foreign clothes, liquor and worked against untouchability. She along with her friends participated in the salt Satyagraha at Calicut. The couple became popular as the first Christians who were arrested by participating in the freedom struggle. They were closely associated with Gandhiji and C.F. Andrews. In 1932, they were again arrested for taking part in the civil disobedience movement. After Indian independence they settled in Kannur and there she formed a women organisation and continued her political work till her death.
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Kamala Nambeesan :- She started her political career by participating in the Quit India Movement. She was closely associated with Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. She joined Gandhi’s Ashram. In 1944 she reached at sevagram and from there she got training in socio-political work. As she had the knowledge of Hindi, which helped her to held long discussions with Gandhiji, about women emancipation and collective work for the liberation of the country. She stayed long time there where she met Nambeesan, a Gandhian and got married in 1946. After the marriage she got more opportunities to work in the public sphere. Kamala, along with her friends opened spinning and wearing centres for women. After the death of Gandhi in 1948 they returned to Kerala and focussed more on the women upliftment through the propagation of Gandhian ideologies. In addition to the above mentioned many women participated in the peasant struggles like K. Devayani who led the Karivalloor struggle, Yasodha teacher who was a leader of communist movements and mahilasanghams, Kathiya who fought against nilambur Kovilakam, Karthyayniamma who led ‘Tholviraku samaram’, Pathiyil Priyadhatha who participated in the Paliyam Sathyagraha, and Devaki Pattasiar who actively participated in various peasant struggle.
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Women in Narratives
Goddess and Dasis in Vedas One of the most complicated problems in understanding gender relations in early India is posed by Goddesses. There are several evidences both iconographic and textual to point out the popularity of Goddesses. There are several interpretations regarding the existence of Goddesses. This focus on sexual roles and relationships. In this context it has been suggested that Goddess mythology to a great extent is probably a means by which the Hindu tradition has thought about sexual roles and sexual identity. Another argument is that of the Goddess as embodying a vision of gender relations rather than literal reflection of reality. One of the most striking characteristics of the Hindu religious tradition is the importance of Goddess worship. A considerable number of Goddesses are known in the Vedic hymes. The Goddesses who are usually associated with popular Hinduism often illustrate important ideas of the Hindu tradition. Several Goddesses are identified with prakriti: Prakriti denotes nature or physical reality. Some goddesses express and explore the nature of devotion
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and the divine-human relationship. Many Goddesses are associated with geographical features of India which suggest the Hindu thinking about the relationship between sacred space and spiritual liberation. The Feminine conceptualization of nature occupies a very significant place in the worship of goddesses. Almost all geographical features of the natural environment are personified as goddesses. Mountains, rocks and rivers were conceived of as potent symbols of feminine power inherent in nature. Hindu Goddesses are very different from one another. Some have strong maternal natures whereas there are completely devoid of maternal characteristics. Some have strong independent natures and are great warriors. Others are domestic in nature and clearly identified with male deities. Some goddesses are associated with the wild untamed fringes of civilization. Others are very embodiment of art and culture. Most goddesses in their mythologies and natures also express Hindu thinking about sexual roles and relationships. Rigveda mentions many female deities. The female deities in Rigveda form the basis for the emergence of the later Hindu goddesses such as Sakthi. The Rigveda, the oldest and most important vedic text is a collection of mantras, or hymns celebrating deities, divine presences or powers. Rigveda mentions many female deities. In the Rigveda Ushas is associated with dawn. She reveals herself in the daily coming of light to the world. She is praised for driving away the darkness. The Goddess Prithvi is associated with earth. Prithvi is praised for wealth, riches and power. Prithvi with Dyaus the male deity associated with sky are petitioned to protect people from danger. Aditi is usually mentioned along with other Gods or Goddesses. Perhaps the most outstanding attribute of Aditi is her motherhood. Saraswati is associated with a particular river. She is called mighty and powerful and her waves are said to break down mountains. She is praised for the fertility she brings to the earth. She is described particularly as a purifying presence. The Goddess Vac
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whose name means speech reveals herself through speech and is typically characterized by various attributes and uses of speech. Other Goddesses mentioned in Rigveda were Nirrti, Ratri, Raka and Dhisana. There are minor goddesses associated primarily with the sacrificial cult of Rigveda like Ila, Bharati, Mahi, and Hotra. There are references to Danu, Saranyu and Sarama. One hymn of the Rigveda refers to a Goddess of the forest Aranyani. She speaks through the sounds of the forest. In the vedic literature, women slaves are frequently mentioned in the context of wealth. They are listed along with gold, cattle and other assets. The literature suggest that the slaves in vedic society were considered more valuable. The Eithareya Brahmana says that 1000 women slaves were gifted by the king of Anga to his chief priest along with cattle weath and good. One of the Rigvedic hymns mentiones a gift of 50 dasis to a priest. Another reference mentiones 10 chariots carrying dasis which constitute a part of Dakshina. In the early vedic literature, cattle and women are considered as movable property. Women were an important object for whom the wars between the Aryans and Dasas were fought. Women are highly valued in the tribal context. The dasis are frequently given as objects of either Dana or Dakshina and are donated to the chief priests by the king. Apart from their biological function dasis also contributed to the domestic production centering around the cattle in the pastoral early vedic society. When agriculture begin to replace pastorislism, there are occasional references to dasis in the context of agriculture. The Adharvaveda refers to dasis being engaged in subsidiary agriculture operation. When agriculture developed both dasis and dasas are mentioned together. The dasis now begin to be closely associated with domestic labour. The Budhist narrative literature refers dasis in the context of domestic service. Moreover the budhist literature distinquish between work of dasis and work of wives within the household.
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Some references in ancient literature suggest other functions for dasis apart from domestic service example as guards. Sometimes slave girls were given as a part of dowry. There were dasis in harams of princes and monarchs. They did not get the status of wives but they did not have to labour physically. It is evident from the references in the Jathakas that the dasis were often subjected to threat and abuses from the masters. For example the story of a slave girl Punika. She was asked to fetch water from dawn right in to the night. She could not oppose her master because of physical violence. We have another example for a dasi who was beaten by here master for not handing over the wages. She had earned for working for someone else. The most vulnerable area of a slave girls existence was the sexual abuse. She could be subjected to. This was a special burden that a slave women had to bear. A master could act as he pleased in relation to a female slave.
Sakuntala Kalidasa has occupied a somewhat unique position in modern perceptions of the history of ancient India. His works were amongst the earliest to be translated from Sanskrit into European languages, and the Abhijnanasakuntalam in particular, has been immensely popular both in India and abroad. To some extent, the attraction of Kalidasa’s plays rests on their obvious universality. They revolve around a central concern with romantic love. Abhijnanasakuntalam is a beautiful tale of love and romance and how one moment can make or break a relation written by Kalidasa, is one of the greatest classical Sanskrit poets and dramatists of ancient India. The story was already in Mahabharata in the form of a dull narattive; but Kalidasa turned the same into an elegant work of art with a lot of innovation. Love in union and love in separation are both depicted in this drama with a greater degree of perfection. The dramatic power and poetic beauty of this unique work have elicited the highest praise and admiration from the scholars all over the world.
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When we encounter Sakuntala for the first time, she is dressed as an ascetic as would be expected of an immate of a hermitage. These clothes get dully entangled in the bushes, leading to a relatively prolonged encounter between the chief protagonists, who fall in love at first sight. Sakuntala’s transformation from a young girl in the forest to a queen is indicated, once more, through a change of attire. In the Abhijnanasakuntalam one of the most dramatic moments is the rediscovery of the signet ring. This allows the King to overcome his temporary amnesia and remember Sakuntala, whom he had abandoned, and prepares us for the final union between the lovers. In the Abhijnanasakuntalam, a hermit blesses the sonless Dusyanta, stating that he will get a son; this is declared at the outset of the play. However, the relationship between the King and Sakuntala, as it unfolds in the play, is sensual and sexual: Procreation does not figure as a major concern. Questions about a possible heir and son acquire significance only towards the end of the plot. In other words, the play write seems to call into question the notion that love, wifehood and motherhood are automatically or inextricably inked. Taken together, the play suggest that the relationship amongst these ideas was complex if not complicated. Abhijnanasakuntalam analyses the play as more than just a figment of imagination as a rich terrain for exploring links between culture, history and politics, as an interplay of memory, desire and languages. The story is divided into two setion, it focuses on the continuity as well as the change in the narrative of Sakuntala, locating it in contexts of class, caste, gender, patriarchy and monarchy. Literature may be fictional, but can be analyzed as an artifact of history, indicating this status in an indirect way. Simple narrative of Shakuntala: a young woman who lives in the forest and is met by the king one day when he is out hunting. They fall in love and he proposes a marriage by mutual consent. He returns to the capital and when she arrives some time later bearing his child he rejects her. But ultimately the matter is resolved and the story ends happily.
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In the first version of the story which occurs in the Mahabharata, the young woman makes the marriage conditional to his recognizing their son as his heir to which the king agrees. When she takes the child born thereafter to the king's court he rejects her. But she stands her ground and there is an exchange of choice abuse. She is a spirited and independent woman. She finally decides to leave her son at the court and to go back. At this point a heavenly voice proclaims that what she has said is correct. The king, true to type, says that he wanted the legitimacy of his son to be established and now that that had been done, he accepts her. The story recurs in a much better known version in the famous play by Kalidasa written a few centuries later and called AbhijnanaShakuntalam. The core of the story remains the same, but it is no longer for recitation among a society of epic heroes. It is now a drama to be performed at the royal court. Consequently, Shakuntala becomes a reserved and shy woman, conforming to the romantic ideal. When she is rejected by the king she is desperate, and her prayers for help lead to her being whisked away by her mother. This story plays on the idea of a lost ring and a loss of memory. Finally, there is a resolution to the problem and they come together, but the treatment of the woman is different and one sees it as partially, the difference between the ethos of the court and of the heroic society of the epic, each constituting a different audience. The history of the story becomes even more interesting because the Kalidasa play is translated into English and then into German. It becomes a symbol of German romanticism in which Shakuntala is projected as the child of nature. Then in the 19th century, when the British colonial authors and scholars take it up, they are disturbed by the marriage being a marriage by mutual consent and not a formal marriage. So there are objections to the moral and erotic aspects of the play, which are disapproved of. The point is that, the woman is treated differently by the different set of authors or commentators. What we are becoming conscious of now is that although this is fiction and has no
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historicity, nevertheless, the versions of the narrative reflect a series of historical moments and locations, and each of these indicates a change in the way in which particular social groups perceive the role of women. Romila Thapar traces the changing perceptions about the classic and its heroine in its translations in Shakuntala- Texts, Readings, Histories (1999). The book attempts to explore some of the links between culture, history and gender and between literature and history, through reading variant versions of the narrative of Shakuntala. The importance of Shakuntala as personifying Indian womanhood in Indian literature and culture is undisputed. This book attempts to explore some of the links.
Jatakas and Budhist Literature Women are often the main upholders and supporters of a religion or faith or movement. This was certainly so with Buddhism when it was at its beginnings and hence we are able to find a good deal about them in those portions of the Pali canon known as the VinayaPitaka and the Sutta-Pitaka. With the coming of Buddhism, the traditional structure and functions of society undoubtedly underwent some alternations. The Buddha’s doctrine produced a marvelous effect on many women whether rich or poor, married or unmarried, who were moved by the attractive power of the Buddha’s dhamma and renounced the world to lead a pious life in the expectation of a happy re-birth and the excellent practices of the Buddhist order. In Buddha’s time, it seems that many lay women followed Buddhism and many became nuns. It is true that there are records of long conversation held between the Buddha and the women lay-followers. Buddhism, in spite of its catholic ideas, did not place women at first place, i.e., on a level of man as we find various references in Buddhist literature. Women fought their own battle and it was women who made men and their churches recognize them. No doubt, Buddhist nuns (Bhikkhunis) by the rules of their order rank were lower
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than monk. (Bhikkhus). Neverthless women played not an inconspicuous part in the early history of Buddhism. The hostile attitude to woman both in religion and in society was repeatedly criticised and challenged by the Buddha on numerous occassions. According to Diana Paul, the traditional view of women in early Buddhism, that they are inferior. Some commentators on the Aganna-Sutta from the Pali canon, a record of the teachings of Buddha, interpret it as showing women as responsible for the downfall of the human race. In cullavagga and Jataka stories we find references against women. Early Buddhist such as the Cullavagga section of the Vinaya Pitaka of the Pali canon contain statements from Gautama Buddha, speaking to the fact that a woman can attain enlightenment, it is also clearly stated in Bhadhataca-Sutta that there could never be a female Buddha. The Mahayana Sutras maintain that a women can become enlightened not in female form but only in the male from E.g. the text Bodhisattvabhumi, dated to the 4th century, states that a woman about to attain enlightenment will be reborn in the male form. Considerable distrust of women is displayed in the Buddhist texts. They are likened to be black snakes, treated as evil smelling and adulterous; they are accused of ensnaring men, and are labelled as secretive and not open; they are full of passion, easily angered, stupid and envious and have no place in public assemblies. They are incapable of carrying out any business or earning a living by any profession because they are uncontrolled, envious, greedy and stupid. A wide range of restrictions were placed on bhikkhunis, who were even required to offer their alms to the monks if they ran into them. No similar obligation was placed on bhikkhus. In some cases the bhikkhunis receive severer punishments than bhikkhus for similar offences. Once they were grudgingly admitted into the Sangha they were firmly (and unfairly) placed under the authority of bhikkhus. This was one of the pre-conditions that Mahapajapati Gotami (The first Buddhist nun and the foster mother of Gautama Buddha) had to
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accept before women were permitted into the Sangha. Subsequently, this grand old lady seems to have resented a particularly offensive rule which demanded that no matter how old or senior a bhikkhunni was, she must rise and salute even the junior-most bhikkhu. The Sramana culture no doubt recognized that regardless of caste, class, or sex, everyone had the potential for salvation. But apart from conceding this principle the attitude of society was generally against women. The narrative describing the entry of bhikkhunis into the Sangha illustrates this bias. The Buddha did not want bhikkhunis in the Sangha. If permission was finally granted it was entirely because Ananda (closest associate of the Buddha) made the Buddha concede that women were as capable of salvation as men, which in itself was a recognized principle of the Samana culture. In fact, in the entire early Buddhist literature only Ananda seems to have genuiney believed in the principles of equality between men and women, and he systematically championed their cause. Ananda in fact appears to be the only figure in Buddhist literature who was concerned about the evidently unequal relationship between men and women. On one occasion he sought an explanation from the Buddha as to why women did not sit in court, or conduct business. Ananda obviously felt that they should have been participating in all such activities. A part from Ananda’s espousal of their cause, the general tone of Buddhist literature is antagonistic to women. There are dozens of instances of female arhats, Upasikas and Sevikas in Pali canon. The Vinaya Pitaka which comprises the rules and regulations for monastic discipline, contains two sections: the Bhikkhuni-Vibhanga and the Bhikkhuni-Khandhaka, both of which deal with the conduct of nuns, or Bhikkhunts. A number of devoted couples are mentioned in the Pali canon, such as Queen Mallika and King Pusanadi, Nakulamata and Nakulapita and Dhammadinna and Visakha. There is first and most important and unique in any literature, the Therigatha, consisting entirely of sets of verses of varying length attrib-
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uted to seventy-three women who became Theris or Elder nuns. Then there is the Bhikkhuni-Samyutta, a part of the Samyutta-nikaya, where other verses are collected that are ascribed to ten of these women Elder nuns; and thirdly there are in the Apadana biographies in verse of forty nuns said to have been contemporary with the Buddha-as against 547 biographies of monks and to most of whom verses are attributed also in the Therigatha. In Therigatha, we find references of nun’s delight at their freedom when Muttu, a nun says, “....... free I am free from birth and death and all that dragged me back”. Some of the best known names in early Buddhism are Uppalvanna, Khema, Kisagotami, Patacara and Bhadda Kundalekesa. One cannot say therefore that nuns have been neglected in early Buddhist literature. Patriarchal Values in relation to women are also reflected in early Buddhist literature. A woman’s existence is described as centring round men, adornment, her son, and being without a rival Women were expected ideally to be like slaves and be obedient to their husbands. They were under the control of various bodies like the King, the Sangha, the Seni (guild) or Puga (company). Women who led their lives as daughters, wives and mothers were therefore quite clearly subjected to the authority of men ad this attitude was projected even into the a social world of the Sangha as we have mentioned above. According to the Buddha, it is inconceivable that a woman can be either a tathagata or a cakkavatti. In other words, they could not be heads of the social or the asocial world. Neverthless, the most valued principle for a woman remained that in which she was the dutiful wife and mother, a matriarch who ruled over her vast family consisting of numerous children and grandchildren, as exemplified in the person of Visakha Migaramata. It is significant that Visakha with her mother image, supporting the Sangha from out side and leading a lay existence, is the most important women in the Pali texts and not Mahapajapati Gotami who had renounced the world in search of liberation. One of the contradictory features of the period is the fact that the courtesan did not suffer from social ostracism or a low status.
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The Buddha accepted Ambapali’s invitation to a meal and received the gift of the Ambavana from her. In the Tantric Iconography of the Vajrayana practice path of Buddhism female Buddhas do appear. Buddhas such as Vajrayogini, Tara and Simhamukha appear as the central figures of Tantric Sadhana in their own right. Vajrayana Buddhism also recognizes many female Yoginis as achieving the full enlightenment of a Buddha. Yeshe Tsogyal (one of the five tantric consorts of Padmasambhava) is an example of women Yogini recognized as a female Buddha in the Vajrayana tradition.
Women in Jatakas The Jataka tales, a collection of stories about previous births of the Bodhisatta, represent one of the most important documents of Buddhist literature. The tales provides a negative image of women. It is interesting to note that Bodhisatta is his previous incarnations never appeared as a female be it human or animal. It was Ananda who persuaded his Budha to permit women into the Buddhist Order. Jataka No.263 describes that Bodhisatta disliked women, even as aababy he preferred the care of a man. But this rejection does not however necessarily suggest that all women have to be portrayed negatively. There are few examples of virtuous women like the girl who gave her scarlet robe to a monk in a previous life and was reborn with such beauty that she became a threat to the virtousness of the Bodhisatta, or the story of the extremely beautiful girl, who in her former life had been a holy man. She married Bodhisatta and they did not regard one another with the eye of sinful passion and lived their lives together as saintly ascetics. In the first case, the merits leads to beauty and beauty leads to temptation which is negative. In the second case, the virtouous woman acquires her merits not even as a woman but as a man. In another story Buddha talks about a women deeply rooted in goodness and says that she scorned all temporal things. When her parents do not allow her to become a nun, she marries and later gets permission from her husband to join a nunnery and becomes a saint.
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Also in Jataka NO.234, a wife follows the path and becomes a saint. Here, as in other examples, either wives become sisters and subsequenty saints. Another story tell us four women in the Bodhisatta’s house with the names of Goodness, thoughtful, joy and high born. Among these, the Goodness wants to become a part of community’s good work, which the men want to deny her. But the explanation given to the men by the Bodhisatta is that ‘save the Realm of Brahma, there is no place from which women are excluded’ and evidently goodness, thoughtfulness, joy and being of noble character are desirable qualities in women. Very few women are considered to have these qualities. Many Jataka stories deal with the wickedness of women. The most frequent complaint against women is that they are temptresses and therefore hindrances to holiness. Many stories deal with the complaints of monks who have passionate feelings for women. Women are called sinful and wicked and to ignore women is a piece of advice given in general stories. Women in the Jatakas are generally described as unfaithful. Women are also seen as vain, pround and demanding. A story describes a queen who wants to find out the secret of a charm her husband possesses. Even when he tells that disclosing it would cause his death, she insists. He tells her the secret but by a divine intervention, he is saved. The dedication and devotion of men to their wives as well as to religious practices is often pointed out, which speaks favourably of men. Jataka divided wives into seven categories. Destructive, dishonest, and proud wives who would go to hell and the motherly, sisterly, friendly and patient wives go to heaven. Women are also seen as incapable of friendship. Jatakas provides a code of behaviour for virtous woman in their daily lives. Jatakas suggest that family life was not highly valued. The ideal for women, as well as for men was monastic life.
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Bjorkert, Suruchi Thaper, Women in the Indian National Movement, Sage (Pub), New Delhi, 2006.
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Chakravarthi, Uma, Gendering Caste : Through a Feminist Lens, Stree (Pub), Calcutta, 2003.
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Chandrika, C.S., Keralathile Stree Munnettangalude Charithram, Kerala Sahithya Academi, Thrissur, 1998.
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Forbes, Geraldine, Women in Colonial India – Essays on Politics, Medicine and Historiography, Chronicle Books, New Delhi, 2005.
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Forbes, Geraldine, Women in Modern India, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998.
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Gupta, Sanjukta Das & Rajasekhar Basu (eds.), Narratives from the Margins: Aspects of Adivasi History in India, Primus Books, New Delhi, 2012.
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Husain, Syed Naqi, Essays on literature in History and Society, Primus books, New Delhi, 2012.
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John, Mary E. (ed), Women’s Studies in India - A Reader, Penguin Books London, 2008
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Kaur, Ravinder, Marrying in South Asia, Orient Blackswan, London.
10. Kishwar, Madhu, ‘Gandhi and Women’s Role in the Struggle for Swaraj’, Nationalist Movement in India – A Reader, Sekhar Bandyopadhyay (ed.), Oxford Univesity press, New Delhi, 2009. 11. Kunjikrishnan, Pallipattu, Mahacharithra Sangraha Sagaram – The Great Indians, a Biographical Dictionary, Vol. I, II & III, E.K. Raghu Ramachandran (Pub), 1965. 12. Lerner, Gerda, The Creation of Patriarchy, Oxford University Press, New York, 1987. 13. M., Achuthan, Writing Indian History : A view from Below, Samya publication. 14. Malini, Padma, Fictionalising Myth and History, Orient Blackswan, London. 15. Misra, Kamal K. & Janet Huber Lowry (eds.), Recent Studies on Indian Women, Rawat Publications, Jaipur, 2010.
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16. Mukherji, Kanak, Indian Stree Vimojana Prasthanam, Thulsi Bhaskaran (Trans), Chintha (Pub), Trivandrum, 1991. 17. Nayar, Sushila &Kamala Mankekar (eds), Women Pioneers in India’s Renaissance, National Trust, New Delhi, 2002. 18. Roy, Kumkum, The Power of Gender & the Gender of Power –Explorations in Early Indian History, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2010. 19. Thapar, Romila, Sakuntala : Texts, Readings, Histories, Kali for Women publications, New Delhi, 1999. 20. Thapar, Romila, The Past before us - Historical, traditions of Early North India, Permanent Black, New Delhi. 21. Velayudhan, Meera, ‘The Growth of Political Consciousness among Women in Modern Kerala’, Perspectives on Kerala History : The Second Millenium, Kerala State Gazatter – Vol II, Part II, P.J. Cherian (ed), Govt. of Kerala, 1999. 22. Walby, Sylvia, Theorizing Patriarchy, Blackwell, 1990.