– Shivani Oak
The collective aspiration of thousands of Indian women to seek a middle path between the extremes of nihilistic discourse of western feminism on the one hand, and oppressive traditional norms on the other, has found a fitting expression through this work. The book is a collection of papers presented at a seminar on the same theme at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 2002, a year dedicated to women.
While many Indian women are engaged in a real-life struggle to find a suitable expression of modernity and freedom without having to negate their cultural roots, they have not been aided till now by a well-defined and systematic exposition of Indian Feminism. This books hopes to fill the lacuna by attempting to evolve a theory of Indian Feminism.
- Prof. Kapil Kapoor’s insightful opening essay titled “Hindu Women, Traditions and Modernity”
- Prof. A. K. Singh’s lively thesis, “Constructing an Indian Theory of Feminism: Problems and Potentialities”
- Prof. Arvind Sharma’s sparkling paper “How to Read the Manusmriti,” in the second-half of the book adds a real punch ; and finally
- Prof. Chandrakala Padia’s paper “Feminism, Tradition and Modernity: An Essay in Relation to Manusmriti.”
Kapil Kapoor argues that Western Feminist discourse has become a tool of minority politics in India and points out that Indian Feminists have blindly tried to straitjacket the Indian reality into the western framework. This has led to the formation of a very peculiar situation in India today whereby feminists are obsessed with Hindu social norms and portray them as the chief obstacles to the liberation of the Indian woman while turning a blind eye to more disturbing practices prevalent among other communities:
As in other areas of knowledge, in women studies also, we have tried to fit the Indian reality to a borrowed western framework. It is not that women in India have no problems – the issue is whether these can be rightly understood in an alien social framework without reference to our own history of social practice and ideas. In the process of applying every shifting framework, we unquestionably accept not only the constructs but also the assumptions that are always so definitely culture / history bound. The choice of the alien framework then constrains the discourse and the methodology; the analysts selectively choose and mine Indian social phenomena / practices and knowledge texts, specifically sociological texts (dharmasastra), mythology (purana) and epics (mahakavyas) to demonstrate the adequacy of the western theory and to rubbish Indian life and traditions.
Prof. A. K. Singh explains the need for an Indian theory of Feminism in his paper:
…the Indian situation and the Indian ways of looking at the world are different from others. The Indian society differs from others, particularly the western society in the sense that it is a service-oriented society, or as Professor Kapil Kapoor puts it as duty-oriented, not a right-oriented society. The duty-oriented society manages itself not by fighting for rights but by excelling in performing duties i.e. dharma (righteous way doing) for a given individual in given situations. This is one of the reasons that persuades me to suggest that instead of, NHRC (National Human Rights Commission), we should have instituted National Human Duties Commission. If fathers, sons, brothers and husbands perform their duties; and mothers, daughters, sisters and wives follow suit…
A. K. Singh also surveys Indian literature in Hindi, Gujarati, Sanskrit and English, thus setting the tone for Section II of the book which delves deep into the image of women and feminist discourse as found in Indian literature, ancient and modern. Dr. Kavita Sharma’s paper “Exploring the Icons: Sita and Radha,” adds a poignant note to this section.
The next section on “Dharmasastras: Fetters or Freedom,” takes up the touchy debate on Hindu dharmasastras and particularly the Manusmriti. Their perceived lenience towards a rigidly patriarchal society is critically examined. The articles forcefully expose the shoddy reading of these texts by 19th century colonial historians, sociologists and Indologists. Prof. Arvind Sharma’s brilliant article, “How to Read the Manusmriti” dismantles many such artificial constructs of the text and provides a fresh perspective by describing five different ways of reading and interpreting the text in a well-defined context.
Chandrakala Padia’s own paper on the Manusmriti follows a similar yet straightforward tone. She argues that contemporary feminists often dismiss major Indian traditional texts in one categorical sweep and points out with evidence that there are many portions of these texts which are of great value even today and stresses the need for a balanced and objective view of these maligned texts. (This paper has been posted on the website of the International Forum for India’s Heritage for the benefit of inquisitive readers. The text is available online at http://www.geocities.com/ifihhome/articles/cp001.html). In trying to formulate a forward-looking model for Indian women, she gives expression to the ancient Indian vision of Ardhanariswar a and grihastha dharma:
The freedom for women for which the feminists of today cry is taken to mean equality regarded as mere sameness. The same opportunities for work to women as for men – this is the battle-cry today. But let us pause for a while and consider whether such a view of equality is workable… Equality that is proper and workable is really equality of discriminating consideration… The ideal of freedom from undue domination by men is all right ; but it has to be supplemented with the ideal of freedom to cooperate with men variously, so as to make for social harmony without any loss of individual dignity.
Indra Kaul’s paper on the Buddhist text Therigatha dealing with the lives of women in Buddhist monasteries is an interesting narrative delineating the liberating features of Buddhism with respect to women and how these monastic orders helped these women reorganise their lives and facilitated greater social freedom and fulfillment. Finally, the reader is introduced to contemporary issues in the discourse on feminism such as the representation of tribal women, ecofeminism etc.
Perhaps, a few critical remarks here, would not be out of place. While Indra Kaul provides space for a discussion of women in ancient Buddhist society, a parallel study of Hindu women who sought spiritual and social liberation while remaining rooted in their cultural and spiritual moorings is woefully missing in the book. On the other hand, Indra Kaul in her paper dismisses this proposition by an uncanny sweep, claiming that the Hindu worldview could not have provided such feminist models and uses this perception to make a contrast with the liberating Buddhist theology. Hindu society too has given birth to exemplary women who transcended prevailing social norms through deep devotion to their chosen spiritual ideals – Meerabai, Andal, Akkamahadevi in the remote past; Sarada Devi, Anandamayi Maa in the nineteenth century; and Mata Amritanandamayi Maa, a living saint and beacon light for women all over the world today – these are merely well known examples in the spiritual domain and scores of other unknown and unsung lives are yet to reach the Indian public.
Also, a study of the lives of exemplary Indian women in recent times would be a good addition to the next edition of this volume. Prof. Chandrakala Padia is envisaging a seminar on “Heroic Women of India,” precisely to throw more light on the lives of such women and generate educational material which can be used in schools and colleges. We eagerly look forward to the outcome of this seminar.
Title: Feminism, Tradition and Modernity
Editor: Chandrakala Padia
Publishers: Indian Institute of Advanced Study,
Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla.
ISBN: 81-7986-023-X
Price: Rs. 600 (HB)
Place your orders with Prof. Chandrakala Padia
Email: cpadia_bhu2@satyam.net.in
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