The Womens Question in Nineteenth Century India - Research Paper Example

? The ‘Women’s Question’ in Nineteenth Century India of The ‘Women’s Question’ in Nineteenth Century India The question of women and their participation within the question of modernity in colonies is one that leads to more questions than answers. The problems that were created through the interaction of several traditions and the forces of modernity were complicated in a country such as India. Here, the social institutions of caste and patriarchy combined leading to the oppression of women in more ways than one. On the other hand, the pressures of modernity that arose from the colonial quarters was something that led to reformers within the Indian society feeling the need for change in the way the society was structured. The burden of this modernizing impulse was then transferred onto the women of the society. This followed, again, a traditional notion of women being the bearers of the honor of a society. This move in the direction of modernization was something that can be seen to be an expose of the chinks in the Indian society and the blindnesses that it was prone to. The reformers often made the mistake of viewing upper caste Hindu society as Indian society, ignoring the members of the lower castes, the Muslims, the Sikhs, Christians and Parsis and so on and so forth. This tendency was due to the privileged position that many of these reformers came from and this clouded the judgement that any of them made in this regard. The writings of many women writers of this era however, posed questions to these movements and made them aware of the need for a reassessment of the problems that pre-colonial traditions posed and the ways that were being employed for the purpose of engaging with them. The complexities of the situation can be assessed from the fact that there was a great deal of differences as far as the hierarchies of caste within the different parts of the country. In Haryana, for instance, as Prem Chowdhry points out, the Jats who were primarily cultivators, held one of the most important positions. They were considered to be as important or more, as the Brahmins and the Rajputs who held higher positions than the cultivators in most other parts of India (Chowdhry 307). This had many implications for the condition of women and the colonizers’ ideas regarding what needed to be done for them. An understanding of this situation requires knowledge of what the economic conditions of the time were in a place like Haryana. The economy was almost entirely dependent upon the agriculture of the place. As a result of this, the position of the cultivators was quite important in the larger scheme of things. Here too, there were certain changes that the role of women underwent as a result of the change in the caste hierarchy. Women were also involved in the agricultural chores that propped up the economy. As a result of this, the colonial attitude towards the role of women in the society was that of a reformist one. The women coming out of purdah and ghungat was something that suited the British and hence they sought to make this a part of their policy of reforms within the state of Haryana (ibid). One can understand from this how the reformist and seemingly liberated intentions that were attributed to colonial modernity was simply put, an offshoot of the drain of wealth that they perpetrated as a part of the colonial policy. As such, the personal laws that the colonial power created was greatly influenced by the larger economic policies of the British Empire. This resulted in a lot of changes that influenced postcolonial years of the society. The aspect of Sati was one that caused a great deal of debate within the Hindu establishment. The identity of the woman was something that the upper castes of the Hindu establishment were very concerned about. Many of the people from the upper castes were employed with the colonial administration and procured the employment as a result of the Western education that they had received. Such an education equipped them to understand the limitations of the civilization that they had always thought of as a glorious one. The self-reflexivity that they had acquired as a result of their Western education enabled them to see the barbarity of Sati as a practice. A large part of the support for its abolition also came from an acute sense of shame that the English-educated upper caste Indian man was made to face from the colonial administration and media. The sheer barbarity of burning a woman alive as a result of the death of her husband was something that the British could not understand. This resulted in certain sections of the Indian upper castes feeling a sense of shame as far as their customs and traditions were concerned. The abolition of Sati and the support that the movement received depended to a great extent upon such conditions that prevailed in India at that point of time. Here too, there was a blindness that affected the reform movements that took place. Lata Mani comments on this aspect, talking of the means through which the debate took place rather than what was discussed per se. The aspect of caste was not a part of such debates. Apart from this, the collection of knowledge that people who sought to study Sati as a social practice was done in a faulty way. Much of this knowledge was collected from priests who obviously were a part of the upper castes (Mani 1999, 89-91). This led to a view of Hinduism that was less negative than it ought to have been and made an assertion that Hinduism if it was free of its vices which were additions made by the priestly class would be a good one. The movement ultimately did not intend to revolutionize the role of women in the society and merely sought to recast their patriarchal roles through notions that were acquired through colonial modernity. While colonial modernity acted upon Indian men in ways that the British had not conceived of, it acted upon Indian women in ways that Indian men had not even dreamt of. This historical irony was later on commented upon and written extensively over by women writers who identified that hollowness of such movements while at the same time recognizing their importance in the women’s movements in India. Sati and its abolition had a profound impact upon the lives on the women of upper caste Hindu society. They sensed that the colonial administration would be willing to protect their rights. They were thus, ready to fight for it themselves as well. The colonial administration however, had its limitations and would often not see beyond the economic aims that it sought to achieve. People who had worked for the abolition of Sati like Raja Rammohun Roy talked of the need for education amongst women and this resulted in more women acquiring education. A direct consequence of this was that women came to acquire a greater understanding of their own position within society and the rights that they could claim. The importance of this can be seen in the rising number of women who had started to write about the travails that they had to face at the hands of Hindu customs. The case of Rukhmabai that Pandita Ramabai talks of is a case that can be used as an example to prove this point. Rukhmabai, having acquired education and understood her rights as a result of the Western education that she had received and the liberal-minded father that she had, approached the courts for the purpose of living an independent life. However, the higher court sent back the favorable judgment that Rukhmabai had received from a lower court. This was the result of a great amount of pressure from the Indian conservative establishment of Hindus (Ramabai 157). The British had no intention of reforming the Indians at the cost of losing out on their support for their economic activities and chose not to anger the conservative sections of the society. This was seen in their decision to not go through with their decision to support Rukhmabai in their efforts to empower women from the miserable position that they found themselves in as a result of the Hindu establishment. The condition of women in nineteenth century India can be seen from the trials that women like Rassundari Debi had to face at the hands of patriarchal male structures. Her craving for education and her love for it can be seen from many parts of her autobiography where she makes her wish to learn clear (142). This was the effect of colonial policies that had made a dent in the religious superstitions that were a part of the Indian society at that point of time. Such figures who wished to acquire education and change the way people thought about the role of women, according to Geraldine Forbes, were part of a minority who chose to challenge patriarchal authority. Education was thought to put into women’s minds dangerous thoughts and patriarchal structures sought to suppress such voices (33). Such measures did not prevent women from making radical critiques of society. Tarabai Shinde for instance, even though many parts of her critique may appear regressive to the modern reader, was ahead of her times in presenting a critique of the way in which the colonizers perceived the East in general and India in particular. She critiques the manner in which they sought to impose their culture over the Indian masses and how the Indian masses were ready to relinquish the symbols of their identity (Shinde 1882, 76-77). Her critique however, fails to see her own liberation as a result of the benefits of colonial modernity and the changes that it had introduced into the Indian society. The importance of tracing the history of feminist movements (even though a use of the term feminist may be anachronistic in this context) is important for the creation of an alternate history. This history can then be created through an unearthing of figures such as Tarabai Shinde and Rassundari Debi who were able to fight against systems of oppression that were engendered by patriarchy. One must also be able to look at certain aspects of colonial modernity and the movements that it gave rise to. While being suspicious of the various ulterior motives of colonialism, one must also be aware of the benefits that it made possible. Of this, an examination of caste and patriarchy may be considered to be the most important. References Chowdhry, Prem. 1999. “Customs in a Peasant Economy: Women in Colonial Haryana”. Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History. Eds. Kumkum Sangari, Sudesh Vaid. New Delhi: Kali. Debi, Rassundari. 1999. Amar Jiban. New Delhi: Writers Workshop. Print. Forbes, Geraldine. 1996. Women in Modern India. New York: Cambridge University Press. Print. Mani, Lata. 1999. “Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Colonial India”. Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History. Eds. Kumkum Sangari, Sudesh Vaid. New Delhi: Kali. Shinde, Tarabai. 1882. “A Comparison Between Women and Men”. Pune: Shri Shivaji Press. Read More