![Sample our Arts journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110799/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Arts.jpg"})
Abstract
This essay pertains to the plight of widows within Indian culture, as discussed by female intellectuals of a Hindi women’s magazine. Beginning with a survey of the prevailing condition of women in the early 20th century that was predominantly a continuation of the traditional social order with little changes, the essay situates this as the backdrop for the examination of widows’ position. This article sheds light on the various atrocities that were inflicted upon widows, who were subjected to a form of enslavement within their culture. In particular, this essay emphasizes the challenges that widows must had to overcome in order to reclaim their agency and dignity in the face of these oppressive circumstances. The present article posits that the struggle of widows is an issue of individual consciousness, and it aims to examine the everyday unease experienced by widows through a periodical lens. Throughout the 20th century, widows were considered an element of extreme dislike and a dependent community, rendering them an unsuspicious part of Indian society. The paper investigates into the anxiety and uneasiness experienced by widows with regard to their religious-cultural associates, practices, and the secluded pain they endure, which reinforces women’s identities as social threats. Furthermore, the article examines the criticism leveled by conservative groups at the editor of the journal “Chand”1 for advocating widow remarriage after introducing a special issue on widows.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. Hindi women’s journal Chand published from 1922–1949. For a decade, the journal was edited by Ramrakh Singh Sahgal and his wife, Vidyavati Sahgal. Chand addresses social issues of the Hindi belt. It was a women-centric magazine that investigated women’s issues. In the early phase of its publication, Chand communicated on widow’s issues by launching a special issue in April 1923.
2. Arthur, L. B. (1998). Deviance, Agency, and the Social Control of Women’s Bodies in a Mennonite Community. NWSA Journal, 10(2), 75–99. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4316579.
3. Uma Nehru, a well-recognized woman of the Nehru family, was born in 1884 in a Kashmiri Brahmin family in Agra. Since her childhood, she has been known by her pet name Hukku. At the age of 17, she married Shyam Lal Nehru (Cousin brother of Jawaharlal Lal Nehru). See Pathak, P. (2020). Uma Nehru Aur Striyon Ke Adhikar . New Delhi: Rajkamal Publication.
4. Smt. Rameshwari Nehru was a “zenana-educated” Kashmiri Brahmin from Lahore. She married Brijlal Nehru in 1902; later, she moved to Allahabad with her husband to a politically prosperous family. Rameshwari Nehru stepped towards revolutionary decisions with the encouragement and support of her female family members and started her career as a chief editor of the magazine (Stree Darpan).
5. GUPTA, C. (2015). “Innocent” Victims/’Guilty’ Migrants: Hindi public sphere, caste and indentured women in colonial North India. Modern Asian Studies, 49(5), 1345–1674. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24495433.
6. “The Women’s Indian Association formed in Madras by Annie Besant, Margret Cousins and Jeena Raja Dasa to liberate women from their awful situation”. Venkatraman, V. (2020). “Liberation of Women: Activities of Women’s Indian Association in Colonial Tamilnadu, 1917–1945.” p.12.
7. The National Council of Women in India was established by Lady Mehrabai Tata in the year of 1923. She was the wife of Sir Dorab Tata. She also chaired the executive committee of the Bombay council.
8. The All India Women Conference was formed in 1927 by Margret cousins in Pune. This organization was especially focused on women’s education. Basu, A, and Bharati, R. (1990). “Women’s Struggle a History of the All India Women’s Conference, 1927–1990.”.
9. Pande, R. (2018). “The History of Feminism and Doing Gender in India”. Revista Estudos Feministas 26.
10. Nijhawan, S. (2011). “Women and Girls in the Hindi Public Sphere: Periodical literature in colonial north India”, Oxford University Press.
11. Orsini, F. (2009). ‘The Hindi public sphere 1920–1940: Language and literature in the age of nationalism. Oxford University Press.
12. Mukul, A. (2019). Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India-Foot soldier of the Sangh parivar.
13. Talwar, V. Bharat. (1989). “Feminist consciousness in women’s journals in Hindi, 1910–1920.” Recasting women: Essays in colonial history: pp.204–232.
14. Chand published its most popular and controversial issue in November 1928. Acharya Chatrusen Shashtri edited this special issue of Chand. The British government banned it because of fear of rebellious voices. Such kind of revolutionary literature leads to prohibition. The information of this special issue of Chand pierced the veil of British atrocities perpetrated on the nationalists imprisoned under capital punishment. (Chand November, 1928).
15. Bharat Dharma Mahamandala’ was an eminent Hindu society initiated by Pt. Dindayalu Sharma. It was formed in Haridwar in 1887. The main objective of the organization was to defend Hindu orthodoxy. Whether they lay outside or within Hinduism, for details, see. Jones, W. Kenneth (1989). “Socio-religious reform movements in British India”. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press.
16. Sahgal, Ramrakh Singh, (April 1923), “Vidhwaon Ki Durdasha”, Chand, 497–498, for this reference, p.497.
17. Kumari Sukhlata Devi. (April 1923), “Bhartiya Vidhwaon Ka Jeevan” (“Life of Indian Widows”), Chand, pp.436–437.
18. Ibid, p.436.
19. Kya samaj ne vidhwaon ko sati-chita se mukt isliye kiya hai ki unhe us se adhik yatrna poorn chita par umra bhar jalaya kare? ‘Kumari Sukhlata,(April 1923), Chand, p., 436.).
20. Ibid, p.437.
21. Ibid, p.437.
22. It is the death of Hindu society, and there are evil practices that follow, due to which the widow’s life is like after half dead, for this reference, Ibid, p.436.
23. Ibid, p.437.
24. Ibid.p.437.
25. Smt. Padmabai Sanjeevrai. (April, 1923),“Vidhwaon ke Karya” “Work of widows”, Chand, p.439.
26. Ibid, p.439.
27. Gupta. C. (2001), “Sexuality, obscenity, community: Women, Muslims, and the Hindu public in Colonial India”, Orient Black Swan.
28. Chand. (April 1923) pp.504–05.
29. Chand. (April 1923) pp.506–507.
30. Kshatriya is a part of the Varna system; they fall under the second position and protect society from external attacks. They are counted in the great Hindu military caste.
31. Ramlal Jhelam narrated the story of his mother in Chand, April 1923 Issue.
32. Chand, April 1923, p.486.
33. Ibid, p.486.
34. Ganneri, R. Namrta. (2013). “Perspectives on Women and Communal Politics in South Asia.” Women’s Links 19, no.3 pp.1–11.
35. Mehta, B. & Shah, T. (1992). “Gender and Communal Riots.” Economic and Political Weekly 27, no.47. pp.2522–2524.
36. Gupta, C. (1998). “Articulating Hindu Masculinity and Femininity: ‘Shuddhi’ and ‘Sangathan Movements’ in United Provinces in the 1920s.” Economic and Political Weekly 33, no.13. pp. 727–735.
37. Ibid, p.732.
38. Ramrakh Singh Sahgal. (November, 1923), “Chand Ki Niti Par Apeksha” (Obligation on Chand policy). Chand, pp.10–13.
39. Chand, November 1923. p.12.
40. Ibid, p.12.
41. Ibid, p.12.
42. Ibid, p.12.
43. Ibid, p.12.
44. Gupta. C. (2001). Sexuality, obscenity, community: Women, Muslims, and the Hindu public in Colonial India, Orient Black Swan.pp.198–199.
45. Chand, November 1923. p.12.
46. “The situation in which our society is entangled today or the misfortunes that are present in the society by widows, we can hardly see them with these eyes as a social reformer”, Chand, November 1923 p.12.
47. Out of the house for young widows leads to adopting a prostitution move towards Islam or Christianity, pushing our country and society into social collapse, see reference on p.12.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Suman Yadav
Suman Yadav is an emerging author and historian specializing in gender history and literature. She is a Doctoral fellow of history from the Department of History at the University of Hyderabad. Currently, working as a Visiting Faculty in Symbiosis International University, Hyderabad. She completed her Master of Philosophy from Gujarat Central University, Gandhinagar, where her research focused on the intersectionality of class, gender, and communalism in Indian society. Her research and writing explore the ways in which gender and power intersect, particularly in the context of Indian culture. Her work deals with a feminist perspective that challenges traditional gender norms and seeks to highlight the experiences of marginalized communities. She is also passionate about gender equality and has participated in various social justice initiatives. As an emerging scholar in gender history and literature, Suman's work promises to contribute to the area. Her research and writing are a testament to her commitment to creating a more equitable and just world for all.