Panel No. 17

Panel Title: Exploring Masculinities in politics, culture and society in India

Convenor: Kamlesh Mohan, Chairperson, Dept. of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India

    Thursday 8 July, 13–18

Panel Abstract: The proposed panel aims at bringing together scholars from various disciplines to explore into the emerging issues in the study of masculinities. The study of masculinities is not only integral to the perspectie of gender but has implications for identity politics, national struggles for freedom, militarisation of societies, unequal man-woman relations varying with their positioning in religious communities, class, caste and race. Explorations into masculinities from an historical perspective are likely to yield valuable insights to enable policy-makers, statesmen, activists and the concerned scholars to intervene meaningfully at various levels. For reducing the virulence of domestic patriarchy, sexual violence in public domain, aggression on weak neighbours by the powerful countries.
With this view, the participants will discuss the different meanings ascribed to the term ‘masculinity’ and the assumptions that underpin it as well as the implications. As masculinity is a way to explain men, three major approaches biological determinism or essentialism, cultural or social constructionism and masculinity as a power discourse would bring out their relative role in the construction of male identity.
As such the panel propose to focus upon the socialisation process, representations of masculinity in culture.
The other aspects of the theme may include its relationship with the construction of gender identity as well as representations of women in classical and folk literature and art from a regional and all India perspective. Inclusion of men and exclusion of women from productive economic activities and access to property, positions of power in political and economic institutions/bodies and the processes of law-making and its effective implementation. The ories knowledge and gender ideologies form an important area for delibrations.
These topics are only suggestive. The participants are welcome to focus upon other related aspects and concerns but the grounding in history is crucial.

Papers accepted for presentation in the panel:

Paper Giver 1: Dr. Tor H. Aase, University of Bergen, Norway

Paper 1 Title: Male honour, violence, and local politics in the Hindu Kush

Paper Abstract: The notion of honour has been located in a time-space matrix by most writers on the topic. Temporally, it has been ascribed to the pre-modern era, to become substituted by conceptions of dignity under modern conditions. Spatially, it has to a large extent been attributed to the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and to the northern part of the Subcontinent (labelled the ’Purdah-belt’ by some writers). Thus, the concept has been related to certain historical formations and to large cultural regions. However, notions of honour have lately emerged in highly modern social formations in the West, like in motorcycle gangs in Europe and in North America. Such observations cast doubt on the methodological inclination to search for explanations to the phenomenon of honour in the realm of culture. It also raises the question of what ’honour’ is all about. What is it that men in certain parts of the world are so obsessed with defending?
The Hindu Kush area of Northern Pakistan offers an appropriate opportunity to study honour in its prototypical form. The largely independent societies there have institutionalized mechanisms to cope with conflicts over honour, in the manner that there are rules identifying when an enmity (dushmani) develops into a blood feud (mar dushmani), and under which circumstances of peace can be negotiated and honour restored (by a jirga).
The papers asserts that honour in Northern Pakistan can not be understood properly by looking to culture only, rather, the inner meaning of male honour is to be found in the political structure. Hindu Kush societies are characterized by a total lack of centralized political authority, thus leaving large spaces open for the primary political agents – the men of individual families – to handle. If this is correct – that honour is a structural phenomenon rather than a cultural one-honour may emerge in various political formations all over the world, where the state has left open spaces for individual manoeuvre.

Paper Giver 2: Shyla Nagraj, Lecturer in History, Mallamma Marimallappa’s Women’s
Arts and Commerce College,Mysore, Karnataka, India

Paper 2 Title: Exploring Gender Relations in Religion and Society in India – the Perceptions of Veerashaivism

Paper Abstract: In the context of India tradition, religions and society are inseparable. In fact, religion in India has been considered as a way of life. Hence, gender relations in any religion or religious sect are part of the system. Gender relations vary from religion to religion. Hence, in order to understand the problem we have to analyze doctrines of the religion under study.
The history of Veerashaivism may be traced back to more than 800 years. In the 12th Century A.D. Basaveshwara or Basavanna gave a definite shape to this religion. He was a Brahmin by birth, but revolted against all kinds of socio- religious discriminations including discrimination in gender relations.
He was the Prime Minister of a Medieval Kingdom, which had a centre at Kalyana now in Bidar district of Karnataka. Under his leadership many women emerged as saints and participated in socio-religious discussions on the basis of equality.
For the purpose of this paper, a remarkable Veerashaiva woman saint of Karnataka has been selected. Her name is Akkamahadevi. Her life and teachings, shaped in association of male Shivasharanas, clearly demonstrate the height at which a woman in medieval period could attain gender equality within Veerashaivism. In this paper her writings in Kannada language will be analyzed in the context of history, religion, society and culture.

Paper Giver 3: Seemin Qayum and Raka Ray, Sarah Kailath Chair in India Studies
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Department of South and Southeast
Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Paper 3 Title: Bhadralok Patriarchy and Servant Masculinities

Paper Abstract: The consensus around domestic labor, domesticity and the domestic sphere that was created in late nineteenth century Bengal excluded the men and women of the working classes. While much has been written about lower class women who fell outside the consensus there has been little attention paid to the men who did so. This paper explores the masculinity of male domestic servants and on the husbands of female domestic servants in contemporary Kolkata, against the backdrop of a hegemonic bhadralok masculinity. Both male servants and the husbands of women servants are failed men and patriarchs, and their very masculinity is questioned. The first because the demeaning domestic – read as feminine – tasks, a male servant must perform, compounded by the very characteristics that make him a good servant – loyalty, subservience, lack of initiative, placing the employer’s family before his own – make him a failed patriarch. And the second because they can not support their wives and are, therefore, in the perception of many employers and wives, ”useless” and their masculinity undermined. Thus, employers and women servants are unhappily joined in their condemnation of the failure of working class patriarchy, with censure in the first case and reproach in the second. Simultaneously, and no less strikingly, men servants express with resignation their own as well as their fathers’, and often their sons’, inability to properly make a living – be it from the land in a natal village or in Kolkata’s offices and factories. Indeed, male servants think of themselves as failed patriarchs, and feel doubly diminished. Above all, they bitterly regret that their wives must work, and fear that their children will follow in their footsteps. The inept/ hapless working class man has become the ”abject subject” of Kolkata’s modernity.

Paper Giver 4: Suvakanta Narayan Swain and G. Ramaroa

Paper 4 Title: Mard (Real Man), Pati (Husband) and Pita (Father). A study of Male Workers, Masculinity and Family in an Indian slum

Paper Abstract: Till today the male involvement in domestic arena was little emphasized. All researches and discussions were focusing upon women while addressing the family pathology. When ever it is talked about domestic violative, wife’s bargaining power within the house hold, the women autonomy, women empowerment is discussed. Wherever the childcare is concerned, the enriching maternal role has been addressed. The shadow of ”man is not expected” is also seen in existing researches. But not the issue of the male and its gender is gaining the eyeballs. Though slowly, it is getting diffused that the man’s perceived role within the family is highly important in overall functioning of the systems. The well being of wife, children is not only depending on other external factors but in a major way it is guided by the male gender values. This paper attempts to peep into the construction of masculinity among male workers and how these male workers are involved in fathering and spousal activities. Further, it also tries to explore the relationship between constructed masculinity and men’s response to various familial roles.
In each culture, there is a socially expected value for each gender. This gender identity oriented behaviors are more rigid than among irrespective of cultures. The reason for that is there are no such movements for men or masculinities at pace as the feminism activities, which has enabled the change of traditional feminine identity. The masculine are shaped according to the cultural beliefs, values and norms, evolved from long term behavioral practices, where the males’ role was dominant in hunting and war. This traditional masculinity value keeps the expected male role far from the feminine values. The message that men and women must lie in the extremes while talking about social and cultural and to some extent physical roles is well articulated in all most all socialization process. It is a widely found perception that overt affection, emotion and weakness is all feminine characteristics and men are not expected to show these feelings. The expected characteristics like ”no sissy stuff,” ”to be a sturdy oak”, ”give ’em hell” not only endanger the men’s way of life but whole familial environment too.
The data presented here derive from a primary study on sexual behavior of migrants carried out in a slum in Orissa, which is demographically important state in India. The chosen slum is the largest one in the capital city of Orissa. As the city is expanding, there is a huge demand for migrant workers from different parts of India. The study has been conducted in the year of 2002. The author himself has collected all the data. During the study twenty two married male migrant workers within the age group of nineteen to forty were interviewed in-depth and a survey has been carried out within one hundred men of the same sample criteria.

Paper Giver 5: Mizanur Rahman, Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore

Paper 5 Title: Trafficking of Bangladeshi Female Migrants to India

Paper Abstract: Trafficking of Bangladeshis has become one of the most troubling growth trends in the South Asian migration system in recent decades and it affects women disproportionately. Broadly, this paper explores the social process of trafficking in Bangladeshi female migrants to India by using a diversified research methodology that includes participant observation and in-depth interviews of migrants, traffickers and other relevant actors. Migrant- traffickers play the vital role in this irregular migration. They have proved to be highly successful in channeling a large number of Bangladeshis into India and in amassing substantial profits. There is a dearth of scholarship on women trafficking in this region. The usual starting point for migrant- trafficking studies is that women are trafficked involuntarily and the trafficked women end up in the sex industry. Based on field work in Delhi, this study comes up with new findings that challenge this conventional wisdom. By migrant- trafficking, I mean the situation where migrants who are being trafficked understand what they are attempting do to, although abuse and exploitation may subsequently be a part of the process. The study addresses the following questions; who are these migrants? What role do social networks play in the migration process? What are the methods of trafficking in migrants ? How does the migration cycle end for them?

Paper Giver 6: Girija Kaimal, Doctoral Candidate, Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, USA

Paper 6 Title: A Gendered Analysis of the Ramayana

Paper Abstract: The Ramayana is a central text of Hindus all over the world. It inspires two major festivals and the figures from the Ramayana have become powerful political metaphors in recent times. The text exists in the memory of most Indians as a cultural artifact and embedded in it are strong messages about ideal gender roles in the context of relationships. In this paper, I present an analysis of the mixed messages regarding masculinity in the mythical tale. Using theories of masculinity and interviews with four individuals, I explore the implications of these contradictory gender role messages for attitudes towards male and female behavior in the larger social context.

      Full paper to be downloaded (as a pdf-file)

Paper Giver 7: Jyoti Chandra, Arya Girls College, Ambala Cantt, India

Paper 7 Title: Travails of a Woman Leader in the Male Dominated Politics: A Case Study of Annie Besant

Paper Abstract: In this paper I have endeavoured to probe the problems that Annie Besant faced in a male dominated politics. The reason for selecting this theme was an attempt to trace her unsuccessful leadership in Britain and identify linkages that made its way into British colonial India and paved her way to become not only a political leader but also a true bridge-builder of East with West. Another dimension concerns her being a rebel socialist fighting for the cause of the poor and how these experiences of struggle contributed to her being a leader in England. The present essay would also explain the pain and suffering she underwent in mid Victorian society and how she faced them breaking all barriers and creating a niche for herself. Due to relative invisibility of comparative study from mid Victorian age in England to British imperialism in India – its components and concepts, this paper breaks new grounds. The proposed work would also probe into factors as to how power of the Congress came into her hands in 1917? Was she able to communicate with the masses and mobilize them who were primarily composed of men? Was she an elitist nationalist worker? Was her romantic reconstruction of India’s past an attempt to woo Hindu conservatives especially Brahmins? How male leaders looked at her and reacted to her? Why did she form an alternative government in India? What strategies did she adopt in politics to counter her male rivals?
To what extent did Tilak and Besant’s Home Rule Leagues (HRL) act as a motivating force for the Indian national movement? Did people object to her being an alien and espousing their cause? Was it Annie Besantization of the Congress? Her peer group consisted of fellow theosophists who brought about a lot of cohesion in the H.R.L so much so that Gandhi remarked ”Home rule become a mantaram”. This strong regional base endowed her with charisma as a leader and catapulted her to the center stage of Indian politics. After her tenure as President of Indian National Congress she slowly lost her popularity and favour with the younger generation and the extremists. These are some of the queries and issues which the proposed essay would discuss.

Paper Giver 8: Kamlesh Mohan, Professor in Modern History, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India

Paper 8 Title: Crafting Men and Women : A Critique of the Socialization Process in Colonial Punjab

Paper Abstract: The main argument in this paper is that the process of the socialization of the girls and boys in the colonial Punjab, though heavily influenced by the dominant peasant ethos, contained deeply embedded elements of Brahminical patriarchy. The first generation of the middle classes/ primarily drawn from the landed elite, small land-holders and the village literati) had made a selective appropriation of the salient values of the Brahminical patriarchy underpinning the institutions of family, marriage and property while reforming society and culture whether under the banner of Arya Samaj or Singh Sabha. Central to their reform project was the construction of a ’new’ man and ’new’ woman whose success hinged upon the socialization of the girl-child. Being firmly anchored in their rural environment, these recruits to the emergent middle classes in this region continued to retain their cultural biases regarding women’s nature, her position and roles, while they were engaged in modernizing themselves through Western education and selective adoption of their rulers’ modes of dress, eating habits, social manners and notions of competent domesticity. Obviously, learning of gender roles was mediated by the Hindu males’ admiration for the confident and competent English women.
I have divided this paper into three sections: I Perceptions about women’s nature and their roles : their implications for the socialization process; II. Informal mechanisms of socialization; III Conclusion.

Paper Giver 9: Nadeem Noor, Manchester, UK

Paper 9 Title: Basking in masculinity – Eunuchs and gender(s) in sixteenth century Mughal South Asia

Paper Abstract: The history of the Mughal Empire has been exhausted by historians. However, they have been reluctant to pay serious attention to the eunuchs of the Mughal court, a group whose continuous political centrality is undisputed. This paper will discuss the issues of gender raised by the court eunuchs, drawing on the study of gender and sexuality in the past two decades, and in particular attempts to articulate the analytical category of a 'third gender'. It will be suggested that eunuch represented an alternative to the social, political and sexual roles of ’man’ and ’woman” an alternative crucial to the functioning of the Mughal court.

Paper Giver 9: S. Sumathi and V. Sudarsen, Lecturers, Department of Anthropology, University of Madras, India

Paper 9 Title: Public Health and Peoples Participation: A Study of Controlling Maternal Anemia among the Urban Poor in Tamil Nadu

Paper Abstract: Anemia as a major public health problem, especially maternal anemia, is widely recognized and there are several studies in this problem in different parts of the world.
The present paper looks at this problem from an anthropological perspective. This paper is based on our experience of working in a multi-disciplinary operations research project on reducing maternal anemia among the urban poor of Tamil Nadu. Basically this project was designed to work on a participatory mode. We were associated with the process documenting the project and, later, with evaluating the cluster behavior of the local community in terms of the outcomes.
The implications of the methodology are evaluated to bring out the ultimate out comes of the project.