Role of Bengali Women in the Freedom Movement Abstract
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Heteroglossia: A Multidisciplinary Research Journal June 2016 | Vol. 01 | No. 01 Role of Bengali Women in the Freedom Movement Kasturi Roy Chatterjee1 Abstract In India women is always affected by the lack of opportunities and facilities. This is due to innate discrimination prevalent within the society for years. Thus when the role of Bengali women in the freedom movement is considered one faces a lot of difficulty, as because the women whatever their role were never highlighted. But in recent years however it is being pointed out that Bengali women not only participated in the freedom movement but had played an active role in it. KeyWords: Swadeshi, Boycott, catalysts, Patriarchy, Civil Disobidience, Satyagraha, Quit India. 1 Assistant Professor in History, Sundarban Mahavidyalaya, Kakdwip, South 24 Parganas, Pin-743347 49 Heteroglossia: A Multidisciplinary Research Journal June 2016 | Vol. 01 | No. 01 Introduction: In attempting to analyse the role of Bengali women in the Indian Freedom Struggle, one faces a series of problem is at the very outset. There are very few comprehensive studies on women’s participation in the freedom movement. In my paper I will try to bring forward a complete picture of Bengali women’s active role in the politics of protest: Bengal from 1905-1947, which is so far being discussed in different phases. In this way we can explain that how the women from time to time had strengthened the nationalist movement not only in the way it is shaped for them but once they participated they had mobilized the movement in their own way. Nature of Participatation in the Various Movements: A general idea for quite a long time had circulated regarding women’s participation that it is male dictated. In recent years however various writings have came up with evidences against this opinion. In these writings it is being shown that once mobilized the women move on their own, acquiring a new confidence. In their writings Uma Rao and Ishani Mukherjee had pointed out how a number of women directly involved in revolutionary movements in Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab etc. M. Tirtha(1991)1 there was also a big inspirational support base of women of the revolutionaries, the name of who will never come up in the dictionary of freedom strugglers. The women in large numbers provided food and shelter, carried messages and arms. They were not always from the elite educated society. The uneducated poor women played this role without waiting for any social sanction. Thus the women’s invisible role in the nationalist movement, which provided greater support to it had received very little formal acknowledgement. Similarly women’s active participation also remained invisible. Recent attempts to reconstruct life stories of women activists and oral history from surviving women freedom fighters provide little substance to the theory of male direction, guidance or manipulation. Some British women who made Indian Nationalism their own cause, played an important role as helpers as well as ‘catalysts’, such as Annie Besant,Margaret Cousins,Irish sister Nivedita etc. But it is really unfortunate, but we will have to accept the fact that the leaders of the National Movement were themselves not aware of the growing base of women’s support and feelings of national cause. Huge women response in the Civil Disobidience Movement surprised them. Margaret cousins wrote a spirited letter to Gandhiji for his division of work by sex, as women had been left K. Madhu (1985)2 in the ashram and Sabarmati, while men accompanied him in his Dandi March. Despite the reluctance on the part of Gandhi Sarojini Naidu and a band of women joined him in his destination. Many of these women never before had left their house, they were shy, orthodox women who were tradition bound yet they came forward in large spontaneously to do what they could at last for their country. There was an inherent dichotomy found in Gandhian opinion about women participation in the National Movement. On the one hand, he asserted that women had the same rights of freedom 50 Heteroglossia: A Multidisciplinary Research Journal June 2016 | Vol. 01 | No. 01 and liberty as man. On the other hand while describing the women he says, ‘she is passive and he is active’ K. Madhu (1985)3 he also points out that though essentially the woman is the mistress of the house yet the man is the bread earner. Gandhi’s call for women thus was for their self sacrificing non-violent nature. This approach of Gandhi was being criticized by Gail Omvedt and Maria Mies Moes. They had shown how Gandhi had painted a new myth of Indian womanhood, where women shows Sita like devotion and self sacrificing attitude in what- ever work they are doing whether for family or for Nation. K. Madhu(1985)4. As a consequence the Gandhian appeal first attracted the educated elite women with well-placed husbands and servants. To these women family was the first priority than Nation. Partha Chatterjee the eminent historian thus came up with the view that the new patriarchy of nationalism gave women a new social responsibility of not to alienate men, but to maintain the cohesiveness of family life and solidarity with the kin group. In addition by associating the task of “female emancipation” with sovereign nationhood, nationalism bound them to yet legitimate subordination. Partha Chatterjee also explain the disappearance of the women’s question from the political domain by the end of nineteenth century as a result of nationalism refusal to the women question an issue of political negotiation with the colonial state C. Partha (1994)5 There are some historians however who comes up with the thought that the basic problem arises from the tendency to find a linear connection between the reform movement and growth of nationalism and the roles prescribed for or played by women in the nationalist movement. The social reform did help to improve the status of Indian women but the merger of both had diluted the strength of both the movement. Everything the women had to do within the patriarchal family was not given importance as because the women were not seen as individuals. It was their hard work and readiness for come what may have helped them to prove their strength during the Civil Disobedience Movement, Salt Satyagraha and the Quit India Movement. It is the inner strength of women that came up during the Extremist Movement in Bengal, when a galaxy of young girls readily sacrificed their lives for the freedom movement and innumerable number of women provided support to freedom fighters, looked after their families in the absence of their fathers, husbands and sons. Participation in the national movement was not limited within the elite class. They did provided the organizational base and ideas to the common women but once aroused they became a strong part in the national movement. The Swadeshi Movement marked the formation of women organizations. These organizations became the medium for expression of women’s opinion. At the same time they were a training ground for the women, who would later take up the leadership role in the social and political institutions. Renowned historian Geraldine Forbes had pointed out that ‘these institutions played an important role in the formation of Nation’. The women organizations though build on the western model tried their best to adapt the role of an ideal Indian woman, as a companion of man and an ideal mother and at the same time standing for the savior of the country F. Geraldine (1996)6 .The first women organization though begun by men with the views of reform later the 51 Heteroglossia: A Multidisciplinary Research Journal June 2016 | Vol. 01 | No. 01 women themselves came forward. Some important organizations of the period are Mahila Shilpa Samiti (1906-1908), Bharat Stri Mahamandal, The Hindu Ladies Social and Literacy Cell, Gujrati Stree Mondal. The Bharat Mahila Parishad organized several educational programmes in which notable women like Ramabai, Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu and several others gave speech. Local Muslim women’s organization was also found in the early 20th Century by the upper class Muslim women. In these organizations both Hindu and Muslim women started to define their own interests and proposed solution, and action was taken through association. Thus we see though the associations were initially urban and organized by upper class elite women yet it had the desire to serve all class of women and it was the members of these associations who were drawn to the nationalist movement by nationalist leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. In the swadeshi movement the Bengali men sought the help of women to strengthen it. The nationalists gave religious colour to the movement, by comparing women with ‘Shakti’ (primal power). It is the hidden strength in every woman which comes in front in the period of crisis. This touched the heart of women who could effortlessly identify themselves as parts however small with ‘Shakti’. C. Partha (1994)7 Women as a form of protest observed ‘arandhan’, ‘rakshabandhan’ etc. with great enthusiasm. Ramendrasundar Trivedi wrote a patriotic composition ‘Bangalakshmir Bratakatha’ which touched even the heart of village women.Women in large numbers stopped using foreign goods. Nirod Choudhury remembers that her mother had broken foreign utensils of cooking. Swarna kumari Debi, Kumudini Mitra, Banalata Debi and many others actively propagated for using Swadeshi goods.Sarala Debi played an important organizational role, she established at her residence in Calcutta a centre for physical culture. She also tried to infuse a martial sprit in the members of the club by introducing Birastami Brata and by organizing Pratapaditya and Udayaditya Utsav.In the first phase of revolutionary movement we also see women participating in manufacturing bombs.