Shrawan Kumar Sharma

Indian Ways and Traditions: Towards a Model of Feminism

The Women studies have been receiving increasingly academic and disciplinary recognition through out the globe. It has emerged as a distinct genre. The writers are determined to narrate, and thus put on record their response and reaction to the place of woman in the social system, giving way to an image of new woman. The purpose of the present paper is to propose a model of Indian feminism not based on difference, inequality and oppression but on a rhythmic, mutual and complementary ground impregnated with a welfare-oriented approach. The study attempts to explore the significant area of intersection between Indian and Western thinking, viz. their social and family structures, their nature of dharma/shastra (ethics),   their literature and   life. The study also encounters the basic tenets of Hindu metaphysics, the objective analysis of the archetypal image of Indian women, the circumstantial defence mechanism in medieval period and the rejuvenation of society in colonial and post-colonial India, with a view to defining the image of woman.

Let us begin the discourse with two basic questions which the writers and scholars raise today related to the status of women in society: i) what is about the women? ii) why is the situation as it is? In general, we answer these questions on the basis of the western theories – the theory of difference, the theory of inequality and the theory of oppression. The scholars hold that woman’s location in, and experience of, most situations is different from that of men in that situation and with it emerges the theory of difference. They hold also that woman’s location in most situations is not only different but is less privileged than or unequal to that of man and the outcome is the theory of inequality. They add that woman is oppressed, restrained, subordinated, molded, used and abused by man and it is this view which generates the theory of oppression.  The scholars in general accepting these theories as fixed reference points apply them blindly to redefine woman and so fail to offer genuine solutions. As a result the use of such theory becomes a sequel to the practices responsible for woman victimization. The simple reason is that these theories are culture specific. Cultural specificity of theories can therefore be problematic if the theories of one culture are applied uncritically to the empirical reality of another culture. The West, unlike India, is psychologically insecure. It has anxiety-ridden society. The West has right-oriented civilizations and institutions—a right which is directed towards ones own resulted into the conflicting mode. Against rights, our culture’s driver is Dharma (duty). Duty is directed towards the other. Therefore, it is a harmony model. Further, there is man-centered world view in the West. Man is central; man is the best being that God has created; everything is for man. It leads to a philosophy of indulgence, to the producer-consumer society—a philosophy of comfort, a philosophy of individualism, imperialism, everything—because they are the lord and the master.  One more aspect which is worth mentioning is the structure of society. Here society is an institution which has a definite structure. Those who are younger are treated as betas   and betis (sons and daughters), those who are of the same age are treated as behanji and bhaisahab (sisters and brothers) and similarly the elderly people are addressed variously. In the west there is no instance of sisterhood after Antegone. In the west there is only one relationship i.e. man and woman relationship or sex relationship. There is only one concept; the concept of baby doll.1 Here individual is submerged in his family and community. Family is the most important unit of an individual’s life. Obviously, there is a vital difference in the aims and motives of the women in India and those of the women in the West. The Western women explore individual’s identity in highly commercialized technological sense, while Indian women seek their identity within the family matrix. Indian feminism is, not something antagonistic to man but is a means and movement to project the socio-cultural problems liable to deteriorate the condition of women in society. Similarly, the concern for the womanhood shown by most of Indian writers is not the same as projected by the Western feminists and therefore need to be looked at from a different perspective.

In life there are always three models that operate in one way or the other at varying intervals: the first is the ideal model of things which tells how the things ought to be; the second is the existing model of things which tells how the things are /were; and the third model is the functional model of things which tells how the things are said or thought to be. Now the question is: Where do these models come from? The first model comes from our Shastras/Dharma and this model works as a reference point. The second comes from our life in action which is put to test of the ideal model and the third is a proposed model to be used. Among these three models, the model given by the Shastras/Dharma is very important because it is a reference point. But it should be remembered that this ideal model is not to be followed as such. It is just to facilitate us for modifying our existing model of life. If the modified/existing model does not work properly, it is not the fault of the ideal model. The fault lies with those who fail to visualize the spirit of the ideal model, who fails to visualize time, the circumstances in which the modified model was to be used.

After Shastras/ Dharma, comes the turn of literature which imitates these three models in one way or the other at varying intervals just to reflect life. Here it would be in the fitness of things to say that literature should not be used as a reference point or as an ideal model to test the relevance of the Shastras/ Dharma which are already time tested testimonials; it should also not be used as a reference point or as an ideal model to test the working of the society. Because literature is not Shastra or a social document to us unlike the west. To us literature is a drastanta (example or reflection). The simple reason is that the West does not have Shastrasto instruct. India has a very rich tradition of Shastras--Dharmasastra, Arthasastra, Kamasastra, and Moksasastra-- to achieve. Catustya purusarthas (four ends of life): Dharma (righteousness)Artha (worldly possessions)Kama (desires)Moksa(liberation).

The scholars hold that women are the victim of Dharma which they wrongly translate as religion. In fact it is used ambiguously In order to remove this ambiguity; it is indispensable to draw a line between them. In fact, religion is a system of belief in god/gods and the activities that are connected with this belief. Every religion has two dimensions i.e. smriti  (the outer sheath of religion) and sruti  (the core of religion). Smriti  (the outer sheath of religion)   is  socio-political expression. It  is naturally conditioned by historical, social and political climate of the age when the particular religion was founded.  It is parochial and not applicable universally. Sruti  (the core of religion)  is spiritual part of religion. It consists of the spiritual truths which are universal. These are  the basic human values like truthfulness, nonviolence, honesty, kindness, compassion. As far as Dharma is concerned, it is generally wrongly translated as religion. Its one of the prominent meanings is the basic nature or characteristic. When someone says: “The Dharma of fire is to burn” the obvious meaning is that it is the nature of fire. This account shows that  values of a place  are impregnated with cultural values, social values and family   values. Obviously  when we talk of Indian values, we are discussing  its  cultural values, social  and family values.

The scholars, particularly women, hold that all those books that talk about women's roles have been written by men. The propagators of all religions, the codifiers of the Manusmrti the Shariat  and such other texts, all were men. They wrote to suit their needs. What did they know of the heart of women! Had they been women, they would have understood what we have to suffer? Here I will limit myself to Indian Shastras like Manusmrti,  the Puranas, the Upanishadas are held responsible. No doubt,  some of the codes and views, as they have been interpreted  in relation to women are very disparaging and hence not acceptable, but on the basis of such few  remarks, it is not worthwhile to condemn the  Shstras entirely. This judgement, to some extent, seems to be ill-informed. Before passing this judgement against Hindu Dharmashstras, let us look into the Hindu metaphysics objectively. One of the basic tenets of  Hindu metaphysics is that the soul does not differentiate between man and woman and as such both are essentially the same. The Rigveda visualizes society as a Virat Purush and out of his limb came out man and woman in whom there is no difference. (The Rigaveda, 10.90). In the Brihadaranyak Upanishad , it is said that God wished to appear in two forms as Man and Woman, as the two forms were conjoint in him. Accordingly, he separated the two and they turned into husband and wife (Brihadaranyak Upanishad1.4.3). Similarly it has been propounded in Subalopnishad that in the beginning of the creation Prajapati created  from half of his own form Man, and from the other self, woman. (Section 2). In Shatapath Brahaman woman has been designated as  ardhangini. (5.2.1.10.) She has been considered to be born from the left side (not part) of the atmatattva (soul). That is why, she has been called vamananga. Thus the Virat Purush of God appeared in Ardhanarishwar form.

According to the Ramayana, the conclusion drawn by the Vedas and the many Shastras is that, in essence, woman is not different from man (Kishkinda Kand 24.38). In the Mahabharata, woman has been called the root of dharma, artha, and karma (Adi Parva74-40). There the  mother has been regarded as a goddess. She has been regarded as the greatest teacher. The devotion of the Pandavas for Kunti is of this order. The worship of goddesses in the hundreds of forms  again witnesses respect for women. Compared to other religions, the goddesses in the Hindu pantheon are very large.

From the earliest days of Indian social system, the view prevailed that under no circumstances, women should be killed. (Shatapath Brahaman 14.3.2). Rama felt agitated when he   had to kill Tadaka. In fact, he did have no option for protecting the rishis and their yajna. In the Mahabharata also, from the episode of Asur Baka we understand that even the Asuras left women and did not kill them. It was a general practice that if a woman did not have any close relative, it was considered to be   a duty of the state to ensure her security. In offences which invited stern punishment for men, women were let off after mild punishment. To ensure safe passage and protection of women, if caught in a crowd, was considered a moral duty of every citizen to escort her. If a woman found herself in some plight during a journey, people helped her out of a sense of moral responsibility. Women were exempted from paying local taxes.

But again it can not be concluded that all references to women folk are laudatory. There are instances galore where such references are disparaging but these were mostly made in a particular context and circumstances and they cannot be held up as universal criteria. Both man and women exhibit human weakness. Those who find weaknesses only in women  are subjected to be berated. Bhavabhuti has called such persons women-baiters and evil-minded.
The second point which I would like to discuss is related to the archetypal image of women  as upheld by the scholars. In the name of the victimized image of women, the scholars call   Sati Parvati, Sati Savitri, Sita, Gandhari, Draupadi, Shakuntala, Vasavdatta, Amrapali, Kuvalaya and many others present this image. The modern scholars  treat them as mute, used, abused, submissive, victimized pitiable image, which they are not. All the above characters were peerless in themselves and possessed exemplary power. They should be seen against the backdrop of the then conditions rather than  in the  context of the present scenario as their  emotional, mental, psychological and social fabric was far above than that of the modern men/women. However, in terms of modern context too, they are impregnated with  the assertive character of  new woman. One should not forget that Sati Parvati exercised her right to marry a person of her own choice against the will of her father, King Daksha Prajapati; Sati Savitri  saved her husband from the clutches of the death;  Sita, when was left after agni pariksha (ordeal by fire),  spoke to Lakshaman and  questioned the decision of the  King (Rama), saying that  neither it was practised in Raghukula,  nor was it contained in the Shastras; Gandhari, holding  Krishna responsible for the battle of destruction,  cursed him to become the instrument in  the destruction of his own vansh (clan); Draupadi, who had under her charge even the treasury and the finances of the empire, took an active part in the administration and took particular care to instruct her subjects.2 Shakuntala’s  repudiation by Dushyant  is often quoted as an example  of woman  victimization.  There are two Shakuntalas, one in the play Abhijnan Shakuntalam of Kalidas and  another in the Mahabharata and neither of the two is a victimized image of woman. In relation to the former, I would like to ask the reader to study the character of Dushyanta  also, who, when  comes to know the fact, intensely repents. It is significant to  note how fondly Dushyanta remembers Shakuntala and how intensely he repents for what he has done. The feelings of Dushyanta for Shakuntala affim that the latter is  not mute, victimized image of woman. As far as the Shakuntala of the Mahabharata is concerned, she, on being repudiated by Dushyanta, Shakunatala exerts like  a new woman and rebukes himin the royal court. There are some more examples of  the assertion of new women in the past. Gargi, who challenged Yajnavalkya in a philosophical debate at a yajna, and Maitreyi were great intellectuals. They were called bramavadini. (The Brahadranyak Upanisad). It is worth noting that in the ancient period  women travelled about freely and had a voice in the selection of their husbands. Gandharva Vivaha was permitted.  Women were given prominence not only in the society but also in the pantheon of gods. The concept of wife deity appeared in the late Vedic texts, names as Indrani, Varunani, Agnayi and Rudrani. R C Dutta, (1848-1908), the novelist and historian, states in his History of Civilization in Ancient India: “Women were honoured in ancient India, more perhaps than among any other ancient nation on the face of the globe. They were considered the intellectual companions of their husbands…affectionate helpers in the journey of life, and…inseparable partners in their religious duties.”3Let us now see a development in the character of Vasavdatta, Amrapali, Kuvalaya, who are also considered to be the archetypal image of woman. I   see them in no way inferior, in no way deviated. They and such other characters in  Indian Shastras and later texts, are the self-actualized new women. Vasavdatta, a varangana (prostitute), a peerless beauty in Mathurapuri, after under going the sexual absurdities, when actualized her real self, she took  shelter of Dharam and  passed her life in peace. Amprapali, a ganika (prostitute) of Vaishali, who too after undergoing the absurdities of life, actualized her self and as a result she engaged herself in the social service and for the welfare of society. Kuvalaya, again a beautiful ganika (prostitute) from the south, when in the course of her life, realized her real self, gave  up her dirty profession and  became a Buddhist Nun engaging herself for the welfare of  society.

In fact, it was in the medieval period that  there was a rapid  adverse effect on the position of women when  large territories of Muslim rulers were established.. In Abbasid empire the Muslim rulers had great numbers of slave women as concubines. There the purchase of female slaves, taken from those in war, was a normal part of the life of the wealthier classes.4. A study of the history of the expansion of Islam throws light on how millions of women and nubile girls of the countries conquered by Muslim became the object of lust of the conquerors. During the Mughal period in  India, the Indians adopted protective measures such as confining the women within the four walls. The Hindus started using veils  to protect their girls from the covetous eyes of the Muslims. Their movements were restricted. Girls went to schools in places  where the Turks presence was negligible. Child marriage became a general practice. This was just a defence mechanism against Muslims who ogled Hindu girls  and maneuvered to get married to  them by intimidation, coercion or inducement. Even sati pratha, which was   used in few or rare cases earlier, increased noticeably during this period due to the growing feeling of insecurity. While some women ascended the pyre of their husband for their intense love for their husband, others were forced directly or indirectly. Mostly these satis were Rajput women. Another fall out of the expanding Muslim rule was the custom of jauhar for women, particularly Rajput women. Recourse to jauhar was adopted when it became impossible to face the attacking forces of Muslim invaders.

It is painful to say that the practices, used as a circumstantial defence mechanism in medieval period, became the traditions of the Hindu society. As a result  the  women became the victims of these evils. Taking into account this decline in the status of women,  it was widely felt that rejuvenation of society was possible only with women’s education and emancipation. During the colonial rule, inspired and influenced by the western ideas and motivated by a desire to revive the past glory,  a galaxy of reformers like Raja Ramamohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Dayanand Saraswati,  and people like Keshab Chandra Sen of Brahmo Samaj, D K Karve, Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, Virsalingam Pantulu and others  came in support of  the women education and gradually the movement caught the imagination of the society. Mass awakening resulted in the opening of a number of girls’ schools, colleges and  universities. The movement for this betterment in India was in no way a feminist movement. It should not be misunderstood to aim at the  establishment of parity with men. In fact, it was a reformist movement, targeting such evils as child marriage, forbiddance of widow remarriage,  sati pratha etc. It emphasized the need for education of women. Today the woman has  stepped from private to public sphere. Name any profession, they are there. But still there is a need to work for their betterment.

 Indian English writers focus on major issues relating to woman, her awakening  to the    realization of her individuality, her breaking away with traditional image, her relation with man and her aims and objectives. They have developed their own perceptions concerning the revival of  woman, her urge and needs, her problems and predicaments, and her survival tactics, in view of their own social conditions  but the common denominator  in their works is the transformation of the idealized woman  into an assertive, self-willed woman searching and discovering her true self is the focus of these writers.

There are three types of  new women defined on the basis of the  assertion that takes place in them, in  Indian English literature:

1. Those who assert for their self and  challenge the circumstances they are put in. They seek a new balance of power between the sexes. They realize that  every relationship including marriage is a trap and so seek a refuge in extra marital relationship forced by loneliness and marital incompatibility, “An Antidote to Boredom” (Suzanne La Follete) Later they learn through trial and error that imitating male attitude does not lead them towards a complete and dignified life. They seem to say that women should desire freedom within the bounds of her obligations and responsibilities.

 

1. Those who are extra-ambitious and reject the traditional value system of Indian society. They attempt to make sense  for themselves out of their senseless position in a world which makes no sense. It makes no sense because the moral, religious, political and social structures, that  men/women have erected,  have collapsed. At a certain point of their life, they, realizing the absurdities of life, have their moments of self-actualization. 

1. Those who assert without blowing trumpets or without offending any. They induce her family members with a feeling of warmth towards modernity; they deviate from dissatisfaction to acceptance and from tolerance to generosity. To them, family is not a battle ground for skirmishes and the desired results can be achieved through patience and perseverance as well.

 

In Shashi Deshpande’s fiction, there is the emergence of the first type of new woman who is a contemporary urban, educated upper class woman is caught  between tradition and modernity.  It is in this atmosphere that she unravels the unhappy  situation of the Indian women. Deshpande  depicts the reaction of quiet, sensitive and intelligent Indian women married to insensitive uncaring men. They challenge the factors responsible for the deteriorating status and seek a new balance of power between the sexes. They overcome the social stigmas asserting their potential in  the professional arena. Yet their concept of freedom is not imported from the West. They believe in conformity and compromise for the sake of the retention of the domestic harmony rather than revolt, which might result in the disruption of family relationship. Here the woman is not for the overthrow of the patriarchy and the establishment of matriarchal system. Rather she is for a balanced relationship between man and woman. She wishes man to understand that women are not just commodities to be possessed. They are not simply sexual objects, rather they are as human as men are. Deshpande seems to say that we can hope to create a balanced harmonious society, only if there is a happy coexistence between men and women. In Roots and Shadows  and  The Dark Holds No Terror Indu, the unnamed narrator and Saritha are well aware of the step motherly treatment  meted out to them by their parents in both their education and upbringing. They revolt this kind of inequality, the discrimination and injustice done to them in their own ways. Saru and Indu pursue higher education, get married to the persons of their own choice. But after their marriage they realize that marriage is another enclosure that restricts the movement of  woman towards  a perception of herself as an independent human being. Indu experiences  disillusionment and suffers a silent sexual humiliation. She arrives at a realistic understanding of love as a physical instinct: “Love that’s a word I don’t understand. It seems to me an overworked word.” She realizes, the sexual instinct... that is true. The material instinct…that is true too. Self-interest, self-love… they are the basic truth.” Roots and Shadows 97)  They seek a refuge in extra marital relationship forced by loneliness and marital incompatibility.  Indu has an extra-marital relationship with Naren. Saru’s socializing with Boozie is a calculated move to have sexual autonomy, Jaya’s relation with Kamat, not precisely defined in the novel, is also an escape to find some humane empathy and sharing. But very soon they learn through trial and error that imitating male attitude does not lead them towards a complete and dignified life. Jaya in That Long Silence, after hours of contemplation takes the division of giving up the role of a silent  and passive partners and to clarify the misunderstandings and the turbulence in her relationship with Mohan. The novel ends with the resurgence of faith. Similarly in Dark Holds No Terror, Saru in her parental house reviews her past , her own psychology, her own place in relation to others in the family and the society around her. With the self realization comes the decision to confront the problems. Indu in Roots and Shadows also understands that she should desire freedom within the bounds of her obligations and responsibilities. In the end  she understands and appreciates what the old uncle meant when he told her that rules add grace and dignity to life. Within them one is free to do what one wants. The revolting attitude for complete independence is not going to help them in achieving a complete happiness. In stead, it would lead them ultimately to the prehistoric society in which there was the ‘cave man’ who was a predator, who would capture and carry away any female unless another male with greater strength deprived him of his booty; cohabit with her and then abandon her to fate only to seek another prey, another female.

In  Shobha De’s fiction there is the emergence of the second type of new woman who raises a voice of protest against male dominance and reject the traditional value system of Indian society. She undergoes the absurdities of sexual experience but  eventually at a certain point of her life, she realizes that indiscriminate sex, rat race after glamour and wealth and lack of genuine communication are  the forms of  absurdity and so attempts to transcend her present. Karuna in Socialite Evenings, a middle class girl who desperately wanted to become rich,  passes a series of events involving glamour, sex, unhappy marriage, divorce resulting into  disillusionment. She now wishes to transcend these absurdities of life by writing for the status of the urban Indian women. Aasha Rani in Starry Nights  again a town girl who wanted to become number one heroine of Bollywood. She  undergoes the absurdities of sexual experiences and then being disillusioned with them, turns with a hope for better life with her daughter to  her father’s studio and uses her creative potential. Similarly Nisha  in her   novel Sultry Days, Mikki in Sisters, and the women characters in Snapshots realize  the absurdities of life try to transcend them with a hope  in one way or the other.

In Rama Mehata’s fiction, there is the emergence of the third type of new woman who seeks to synthesize traditions with modern values which are the needs of the hour. Here the woman is shown to move ahead with positive change in the society. Birth of a daughter was no cause of rejoice. But when a daughter is born to the owners of the haveli, it assumes a different significance. It becomes an occasion for celebration. As a matter of fact, Rama Mehta’s Inside the Haveli is search, an exploration for identity which is lost in the labyrinthine traditions and customs of society. She is of the view that the traditions are not only chains of slavery but also a means to provide strength and security. In Inside the Haveli the protagonist, Geeta without blowing trumpets or without offending any, induces her mother-in-law with a feeling of warmth towards modernity; she deviates from dissatisfaction to acceptance and from tolerance to generocity. Geeta asserts herself and proves  that family is not a battle ground for skirmishes and the desired results can be achieved through patience and perseverance as well. Geeta, the protagonist succeeds in ensuring approval of her plans, including the right of the girl for education irrespective of their class distinction, and , the right of the mother to have a say in deciding marriage of her daughter. She could create an awareness among the elderly ladies that they should  put  no obstructions against the forces of change.

The journey of Indian life shows that if marriage/love without independence dissipates a woman’s personality into nothing; independence without love also exhausts her sensitivity. Similarly, though economic independence is must for the upliftment of women, it cannot give them complete independence, satisfaction and inner happiness.  Revolutionary changes are easier to carry than to sustain. It constitutes alike the strength and the weakness of the revolt of women against marriage and family. Women have to accept their own responsibility for what they are; see how much they have contributed to their own victimization instead of putting the blame on everybody except themselves. It is through self analysis and self-understanding and through vigilance and courage; they can begin to change their lives. Nobody is going to fight a battle for them.  No doubt, the society of the future will have to give a new vigour and colour to family life, by reconstructing its very foundation on the basis of mutual love, and not relationship of male superiority and female inferiority. Real independence lies in a capacity to work, and so long as a woman fulfills her duty to home and society, she is truly independent in the highest sense of the term. She has to act like Wordsworth’s skylark whose “heart and eye’ remain with her ‘nest upon the dewy ground’, while her ‘wings aspire’.  Indian women possess a profound inner strength  to find freedom through realization of their individual truth. They keep themselves submerged in the relations they are bound with.  Unlike Western liberated women, the Indian ones do not  wish to discard the social values. They are the real inheritors of the values. Hence, there is a need to emphasize the fact that they should be heard for reconstructing  a better society and  a happy family.

 

 

Notes and References

1 These drivers are taken from Prof. Kapil Kapoor’s writings.

2 Kamaladevi Upadhyaya,  The Status of Women in India , Women and Society, Usha  Sharma and B M Sharma ed. (New Delhi: Commonwealth, 1995) 63

3 R C Dutta, History of Civilization in Ancient India (Delhi: Vishal, 1972)67.

4 D K Batley, Women in Indian Religions (Delhi: Motilal Banarasidas, 1975)170-71.