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Book No. – 8 (Political Science)
Book Name – Indian Political Thought (Himanshu Roy/ M.P. Singh)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. Life and Times
2. Feminist Discourse
3. Critique of Patriarchy
4. Gender Justice and Civil Rights
5. Liberation Praxis
6. Internationalism/Nationalism
7. An Assessment of a Liberal Feminist
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LANGUAGE
Ramabai: Gender and Caste
Chapter – 20
Table of Contents
Life and Times
- Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922) was an eminent social reformer, scholar, and one of the first feminists in modern Indian history.
- She struggled for the emancipation of Indian women, advocating for dignity and equality.
- Her critique of patriarchy, demand for civil rights, and gender justice reflected her political thought.
- Ramabai was born to Ananta Shastri, a liberal Brahmin Pandit, in 1858.
- As a child, she led the life of a Brahmin pilgrim, traveling across the Indian subcontinent with her parents and siblings.
- Her father had set up a residential school for Brahmin boys in a forest area and taught Sanskrit to his wife, which was unusual at the time, as women were generally denied education.
- This unconventional upbringing allowed Ramabai to reject rigid gender roles and led her to challenge the traditional roles of wifehood, motherhood, and restriction to the private domain.
- After the death of her parents and sister in the 1870s, Ramabai and her brother traveled across India, reaching Calcutta (now Kolkata).
- In Calcutta, Ramabai was invited to lecture before learned Pandits, impressing them with her scholarship, particularly her deep knowledge of Sanskrit scriptures.
- She was conferred the title of ‘Saraswati‘ (meaning ‘Goddess of Wisdom’) by a public assembly in the Town Hall of Calcutta.
- Keshab Chandra Sen, a supporter of the Brahmo Samaj, encouraged Ramabai to read the Vedas and Upanishads, marking the beginning of a new phase in her life.
- This period involved grappling with several contradictions, which later contributed to her liberal feminism.
- In her personal life, Ramabai defied caste restrictions by marrying Bepin Bihari Medhavi, a man from the shudra varna (lower caste) and a member of the Brahmo Samaj.
- After 19 months of marriage, her husband died, leaving her with a daughter, Manorama.
- Ramabai returned to her native Poona after her husband’s death and began learning from the social reformers of the time.
- She was welcomed by the leaders in Poona.
Feminist Discourse
- Pandita Ramabai founded the Arya Mahila Sabha in 1881, considered India’s first feminist organization.
- She entered feminist discourse through her first Marathi book, Stri Dharma-Niti (Morals for Women), published in 1882.
- Ramabai struggled to establish a widows’ institution and sought British support for it, leading her to England.
- In England, she met Sir Bartle Frere, former Governor of the Bombay Presidency, and appealed for help through a book titled The Cry of Indian Women.
- This book highlighted the oppression of Indian women, including early marriage, marital harassment, desertion, and widowhood, and called for a widow home in India.
- Disillusioned with elite liberalism and Brahminic tradition, Ramabai began distancing from Hinduism and turned towards Christianity.
- On 25 September 1883, she converted to Christianity, signing her name as Mary Rama, symbolizing a dual identity. Her daughter Manorama also converted.
- Finding limited support in England, Ramabai moved to the United States in 1886 on the invitation of Dr. Rachel Bodley, to attend the graduation ceremony of Anandibai Joshi, the first Indian woman doctor.
- In the U.S., Ramabai became involved in feminist and reformist circles in Philadelphia and Boston, and launched a fundraising campaign for her women’s home in India.
- America inspired her notions of freedom and liberty.
- In 1887, she published The High Caste Hindu Women, India’s first feminist manifesto, advocating for women’s emancipation and empowerment.
- The book critiqued the condition of Indian women, analyzing their treatment from childhood to widowhood with the sanction of Hindu scriptures.
- Ramabai also wrote a book, United Stateschi Lokesthiti ani Pravasvritta (The People of United States), published in 1889, highlighting the importance of social movements and civil society in societal change.
- In 1887, Ramabai formed the Ramabai Association in Boston, which pledged financial support for her proposed secular school for high-caste widows in India.
- Ramabai returned to India in 1889 and established the Sharada Sadan in Bombay, a secular residential school for high-caste widows.
- Despite her conversion, social reformers supported her work because of her patriotism and cultural assertiveness. She insisted that the crucifix worn by Indian converts should bear an inscription in Sanskrit, not Latin.
- In 1908, she began the ambitious project of translating the Bible into Marathi to make Christian teachings accessible to the Maharashtrian audience.
- During her last years, Ramabai’s newsletter Mukti Prayer Bell reflected growing frustration, and the Sharada Sadanfaced funding problems.
- In 1919, the British government awarded Ramabai the Kaiser-i-Hind medal for her service to Indian education.
- The social benefit of her work in transforming widows from being considered burdens to empowered individuals contributing economically was recognized.
- Ramabai’s daughter Manorama accepted the award on her behalf due to Ramabai’s failing health.
- Ramabai passed away in 1921 at the age of 40, shortly after her daughter’s death.