NAME: BHAWANA BAJAJ
ROLL NUMBER: 212829
COURSE: BA[H] POLITICAL SCIENCE
SUBJECT: FEMINISM: THEORY AND PRACTICE
TOPIC: WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN THE INDIAN NATIONAL
MOVEMENT
SUBMITTED TO:
DR. RAGINI MA’AM
INTRODUCTION:
To call women the weaker sex is a libel, it is men’s injustice to women. If by
strength is meant moral power, then women are immeasurably man’s superior. Has
she not greater powers of endurance, has she got greater courage? Without her man
could not be. If non-violence is the law of our being, the future is with woman. I
have nursed this thought now for years.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
The involvement of women in the Indian independence movement is an important
topic of historical research nowadays. Their contributions to the freedom struggle
prior to the 1970s were seldom recognized in terms of their roles, viewpoints,
motives, specificity, and scope. This article emphasizes this as well as the various
ways in which women contributed to India's independent history and its priceless
historical heritage. The role of women to the Indian liberation fight would be an
omission from any history of the movement. The first position would be taken by
the sacrifice made by the Indian ladies. The tales of women's bravery, dedication,
and sacrifice abound in the history of the independence movement. Most of us are
unaware that hundreds of women fought alongside males in this conflict. They
battled with unwavering bravery and a genuine spirit. Indian women liberated
themselves from conventional duties and obligations that were centered around the
house and broke free from a variety of constraints. As a result, it is astounding and
admirable that women took part in the national awakening and independence
battle. But in a culture where males rule, it is not simple for women to fight as
warriors.
The 1857 Uprising was distinct in that a number of women spearheaded the anti-
imperialist movement, appearing in military and administrative dispatches and
gaining prominence as fighters, commanders, and decision-makers. Strong female
voices surfaced, but Rankian-based imperial, nationalist stories emphasized a
select few: Begum Hazrat Mahal's heroic, fruitless attempts to take Lucknow,
Shahjahanpur, rejecting Queen Victoria's pardon offer and choosing to flee to
Nepal; thus, the extraordinary contributions of not only the economically
marginalized members of society, but also the sacrifices and patriotism of Tai Bai
(Jalaun), Baiza bai, Rani Tejaswani, and Rani Chauhan of Anupshahr were
overshadowed. After World War II, frameworks, techniques, and approaches for
writing comprehensive histories using the "bottoms up" approach and a variety of
conventional and unconventional sources matured. This allowed social scientists,
including the Subaltern School, to raise public awareness of "Ghadar," as well as
the bravery, sacrifices, and patriotism of the subalterns, including women, such as
Uda Devi, Jhalkaribai, Mahaviridevi, and Panndhai—new nationalist Viranganas—
which are reaffirmed through folklore, poems, songs, dramas, and nautankis. The
Dalit samaj take particular pride in these new nationalists. Viranganas, and the
Bahujan Samaj party invokes them to gather political support.
Even female maids employed the "weapons of the weak," worked on "hidden
transcripts," and boldly and subtly advanced the nationalist cause. Following 1857,
there was a phase of "constructive imperialism" and pacification that promoted
women's education, a goal that Indian liberals, reformers, and reformist
organizations had been supporting since the 1830s. Consequently, the Atmiya
Sabha, Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prathama Samaj, Theosophical Society, Ram
Krishna Mission, and Indian National Congress (established in 1885) connected
women's education, rights, and dignity to national renewal. They emphasized that
the primary moral rationale for foreign dominance was the inferior, oppressed
status of women and their illiteracy, which left nearly half of India's population
unable to think or act for themselves, making the country unfit for self-governance.
These promoted women's involvement in many nationalist programs, their
education, and organization membership, becoming the tale of the dissemination of
nationalism. The idea that even traditionally women were never as passive, stupid,
or subservient as hegemonic imperial narratives projected has been reinforced by
recent research that emphasizes women's power within the family, their struggles,
critique, and resistance, as well as how they broke and negotiated male-dominated
socio-economic and political power relations in various cultural, political, and
educational contexts. Women were posited as significant symbols of national pride,
enlightenment, or backwardness.
FRAME OF INDIAN WOMEN FIGHTERS:
THE COLONIAL ERA:
1. SOCIAL REFORMS MOVEMENT: PRECURSOR TO WOMEN’S
MOVEMENT: In the 19th century, the women's movements had their start
as a social reform movement. Both the Indian economy and society
underwent significant changes as a result of the British conquest and
subsequent administration. The British introduced commercial agriculture,
new land revenue settlements, and infrastructure improvements like roads,
trains, postal and telegraph services, among other things, which drastically
altered the Indian village economy. Due to the need for a new kind of
educated workforce created by the new administrative structure and
economic system, Western educational institutions that provide
contemporary education were established.
Our social fabric changed as a result of the 19th-century colonial intrusion
into several facets of our culture and civilization. The Indian intellectual
reformers, who had been exposed to western ideals and concepts, sensed this
possible danger. The reformers attempted to establish a new society that was
both contemporary and deeply ingrained in Indian culture, motivated by new
European concepts of rationality and development. In an effort to establish a
new culture free of all overt social aberrations like polytheism, polygamy,
casteism, sati, child marriage, illiteracy, etc.—all of which they felt to be
barriers to women's advancement—they started a critical evaluation of
Indian society. The social reformers all had the same 19th-century
conviction, which was widespread throughout most of the world, that no
society can progress if its women were backward.
The social reform movement did not fundamentally alter gender roles or the
patriarchal system that now governs society. Not even the women's
institutions and organizations that emerged during this time frame
demonstrate the emergence of a distinct viewpoint. Women were viewed as
the passive objects of a more altruistic treatment that Western-educated elite
males should provide. As a result, efforts were made to change women as
opposed to the societal structures that opposed them. There were no
initiatives to change the men-women dynamic or the power structure in the
community. In the fight against colonialism, women also participated, but
although there were leaders such as Gandhi pushed them to take part, and
their efforts in the struggles were only an addition to their work in the
households.
Roy was alerted to the barbaric practice of sati subsequent to the infanticide
of females. He started actively spreading anti-sati propaganda in speeches
and writings starting in 1818. Soon after its founding, the Brahmo Samaj
developed into a powerful social reform movement that began in Bengal and
swiftly expanded to other regions of the nation, bolstering the number and
energy of local reformist groups with similar goals. The Brahmo Samaj
opposed the caste system and focused primarily on uplifting women's
substandard situations. Dayanand Saraswathi founded Arya Samaj in 1875.
Dayanand Saraswathi placed a strong focus on boys' and girls' compulsory
education. Arya Kanya Patasalas, a network of women's schools, were the
Samaya community's first deliberate attempt to advance women’s education
in a systematic way.
The age at which females marry was another issue that the reformers
addressed. During the 1800s, females typically married around the age of
eight or nine. Due to Vidya Sagar and other reformers' widespread lobbying
in this area, the British government approved the Age of Consent Bill in
1860, classifying sexual relations with a girl under the age of ten as rape and
improving the lot of young girls. The social reformers believed that decent
mothers and wives could be produced from this, as well as the societal ills
associated with upholding and bolstering the fundamental family unit, via
the education of women. Later stages of the social reform movement gave
rise to female social reformers who advocated for their own causes. In 1889,
Pandita Ramabai founded Sharda Sadan in Bombay to give impoverished
widows from higher castes access to an ashram. Another widow in Madras
named Subbulakshmi founded a widow's house in 1912–1913.
Among the well-known revivalist reformers who fought for the rights of
Indian women were Annie Besant, Swami Vivekananda, and Swami
Dayananda Saraswati. The Arya Samaj's founder, Dayanand Saraswati,
was opposed to child marriage. Along with establishing other rescue homes
and orphanages, he promoted widow remarriages. The founder of the
theosophical movement Annie Besant advocated for child widows to be
married again and opposed child marriage. She strengthened the social
reform movement by highlighting the value of female education. However,
the Muslim women in India did not significantly improve their status during
the pre-British or post-British periods. Their lack of access to Western
education, which was the main engine of advancement throughout the
British era, was caused in part by Purdah and the isolation of women from
the outside world, as well as in part by the belief that education was
unnecessary for them. In the 19th century, educated Muslims made up a very
small portion of the population. Nevertheless, the social reformers laid the
foundation of women’s movement in India.
2. NATIONALIST MOVEMENT: The social reform movement of the 19th
century led to the eradication of social problems and the provision of
educational possibilities for women. The following traits define the second
phase of the women's movement, also known as the national movement:
many middle-class women began participating in political activities for the
first time. Prior to 1919, only members of the urban upper class were
involved in the national movement. However, with Gandhi's entry into the
movement, popular engagement started. During this stage, women's
involvement in the National movement was closely linked to political
events. The nationalists' 1905 division of Bengal led to the start of the
Swadeshi movement. Bengali and Punjabi women actively participated in
the Swadeshi movement. The Arya Samaj's female laborers were also in
charge of creating a sense of patriotism among the populace. Sarala Devi,
the daughter of Rabindranath Tagore's sister Swarna Kumari, was a fervent
advocate of the Swadeshi movement. Mrs. Shyamji Krishna Varma, Ms.
P. Nau roji, Ms. M. Chattopadhyay, and Madam Bhikaji Rustum were
significant women involved in the revolutionary operations. K. R. Kame, a
regular among the Indian revolutionaries living in Europe, managed the
revolutionaries' activities.
The years 1911–18 was crucial to the history of the Indian national
movement because they saw Annie Besant, the first female president of the
Indian National Congress, lead the organization for the first time. The Home
Rule agitation and the formation of the Home Rule League accelerated the
movement. Women such as Annie Besant played a pivotal role in
organizing the emancipation movement and solidifying the demand for
political rights for women on the political agenda. The establishment of the
Women's Indian Association (WIA) was a significant accomplishment of the
second phase of the women's movement in India. The Women's Indian
Association focused primarily on influencing government policy about
social change, education, and women's suffrage. Its primary goals were the
advancement of women's education, the abolition of child marriage and
other social ills, the grant of women's voting rights, and the creation of
gender equality.
THE GANDHIAN PHASE: Mahatma Gandhi's arrival and his experience
significantly changed the landscape of national politics. After realizing the
significance of a broad foundation for Indian nationalism, Gandhi created a
philosophy that fit the bill. Women continued to organize and push for
political rights and social transformation during the Gandhian phase of the
national movement. In 1919, Gandhi began an all-India Satyagraha in
opposition to the controversial Rowlat Act's passage. Women participated in
processions, encouraged the wearing of Khadi, and even visited prisons.
Indian women cast their first ballots in the 1926 elections following the fight
for the right to vote. Women's voting rights were severely limited. Kamala
Devi Chattopadhyay was the first woman to file for election. Sarojini Naidu
was among the several ladies who actively participated in the Dandi March.
Women took part by disobeying forest and salt restrictions, organizing
processions, and picketing colleges, universities, legislative bodies, and
clubs.
Gandhi introduced the Quit India Movement in 1942, the final nationalist
movement, with the memorable catchphrase "Do or Die." In the first round
up, the movement's male leaders were arrested, leaving women to carry on
and suffer the wrath of the British. The women organized camps where they
received instruction in democracy, first aid, and civil duties in addition to
leading processions and holding demonstrations. Women organized the
political prisoners' assistance fund, and some of them also led the movement
covertly. The Rani Jhansi Regiment was established specifically for women
in Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army. Women received training
in social work, nursing, and were trained to use weapons. Thus, women
participated in various nationalist activities. Women's efforts and their
participation in the liberation fight were largely responsible for giving them
full equality and the ability to vote in the Indian constitution. Nonetheless,
there was a significant disconnect between women's rights and position in
theory and actuality.
CONCLUSION:
In India, the fight for women's liberation was initiated by progressive men
who had been exposed to liberal ideologies during the British era, in contrast
to the women's movements in America and Britain. Men continued the battle
into the 1920s. The nationalist movement led by Mahatma Gandhi did not
change from being a middle-class movement to a mass movement until after
he entered politics, at which point women began to speak out against the
disadvantages they faced. The lengthy battle for women's advancement—
from subjugation to gender equality and ultimately to women's
empowerment—has been driven by the women's movement in India. Even if
there are still many obstacles to overcome before a significant portion of
women may access this reality, the women's movement has elevated
women's problems to a central position and made them more visible.
