Women and Indian Youth and Students in Indian Politics 1885-1947

2020-04-27 15:21:02

James Mills civilisational critique on IN showed degraded condition of women in IN, counter from Nationalist.
Reformers treated Wo as subjects of their modernising project not as equals.
Age of consent bill 1891, Rukhmabai case, Child bride became symbol for H glory.
Restriction on women of both H, M households.
Tarabai Shinde : Comparison b/w Women and Men 1882.
Pandita Ramabai.
Hindu Wo became ideal emblem of moral order.
Partha Chatterjee : world or public space was male domain, home was inner domain of sovereignty where women perceived as protector.
INC did not address question on women till 1917.
Motherhood image created by Abanindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
Jasodhara Bagchi - this ideology of motherhood created a myth about her strength and power took away from women their real power and confined them exclusively to their reproductive role deprived them of education and occupation.
Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu rose.
Gandhi shifted focus from motherhood to sisterhood negating womens sexuality.
- Equated Women w/ religious figures Sita, Draupadi, Damayanti.
- Accepted Natural Division of Labour, Wo had duty to look after hearth + home.
- Sujata Patel - MG remained within IN middle class tradition of conceptualising womanhood, turned women biological weakness by glorifying their strength and soul.
- Rowlatt Satyagrah invited women to participate.
- MGs appeal made womens service to nation part of their religious duties.
1000 Wo demonstrated against Prince of Wales 1921 Bombay
Basanti Devi wife CR Das, Urmila Devi, Suniti devi open demonstration in Calcutta
CDM opened floodgates to prostitutes and devadasis
Part in illegal mfg salt, picketing foreign cloth, liquor shops, most militant in Bengal
Part dominant in Urban ar, lower class + prostitutes were kept out
Tanika Sarkar - politicisation failed to promote any significant social emancipation of women coz Cong simply not interested wo issue, symbolic presence, never included in decision making process
M Wo rise of feminist Urdu literature.
Women only org aka extended female space per Gial Pearson like Rashtriya Stree Sangha, Des Sevika Sangha.
Womens IN Asso 1917 : Margaret Cousins, Annie Besant
National Council of Wo in IN branch of Int Council of Wo : Mehribai Tata
All IN Wo Conference : Margaret cousins, Sarla Devi Chaudhrani Bharat Stree Mahamandal
Barabara Southard : Bangiya Nari Samaj Wo voting rights, Bengal Wo Ed League promote Wo education
Sucheta Kriplani : non-violent movt, Aruna Asaf Ali - underground rev movt
QIM : ==large no of rural Wo part==, Mahila atmaraksha samiti, girls wing of All IN Students Fed
Tebhaga movt part of proletariat + semi proletariat Wo, Nari Bahinis.
Bose, Rani Jhansi regiment, Col Latika Ghosh.
Political alignment of Mens politics influence Wo movt viz Pakistan movt.

Mahila Samitis (Women’s Associations)

During the Swadeshi movt Mahila Shilpa Samiti and the Lakshmir Bhadar were set up by Hironmoyee Devo and Sarla Devi, nieces of Rabindranath Tagore.
Hitashini Sabha was organised in 1907 to exhibit Swadeshi goods.
Bharat Mahila was a journal that became popular.
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay wrote her autobiography titled ‘Inner Recesses, Outer Spaces’. Her mother set up Mahila Sabha in 1911 in Mangalore.
In 1909 wife of Jawaharlal Nehru set up Prayag Mahila Samiti in Allahabad. She also set up a newspaper called the Mahila Darpan.

PYQs

Women and Indian youth and students in Indian politics (1885-1947)

“The active participation of Aruna Asaf Ali in 1942 movement symbolized the role of women in India’s freedom struggle.” Comment. [2010, 20m]
What significant role did women play in the Indian National Movement? [2016, 20m]