The Interactions Between and Influences of British Feminist Groups and Indian Feminist Nationalists: 1918-1938 By Theodore Courtney Rogers B.A., History and Psychology, Southern Methodist University, 1983 MBA, Corporate Finance, The University of Dallas, 1990 M.A., Biblical Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1997 M.A., Christian Education, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1998 M.A., Modern European History, Georgia State University, 2007 A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment Of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History 2016 i Signature Page This thesis entitled: The Interactions Between and Influences of British Feminist Groups and Indian Feminist Nationalists: 1918-1938 Written by Theodore Courtney Rogers Has been approved by the Department of History Susan Kent, Committee Chair_____________________________________ Dr. Mithi Mukherjee_______________________________________________ Dr. David Gross___________________________________________________ Dr. Lucy Chester__________________________________________________ Dr. Katherine Eggert_______________________________________________ Date:______________ The final copy of this these has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. ii Abstract Rogers, Theodore Courtney (PhD., History) The Interactions Between and Influences of British Feminist Groups and Indian Feminist Nationalists: 1918-1938 Thesis directed by A&S Professor of Distinction Susan K. Kent What were the causal factors of the rise of Indian feminist nationalists in the interwar era and what was their impact on nationalist politics in India, politics in Britain, and global politics during that time? Through an analysis of the personal papers and correspondence of Interwar British and Indian feminists and feminist organizations, I trace the development of Indian interwar feminist nationalist ideology and its impact on Indian nationalism, British politics, and global politics. I demonstrate that Indian feminist nationalists not only developed their own nationalist ideology centered on the idea of their moral superiority to the British government, but that they also, through their unity which transcended class, linguistic, religious, and caste barriers, motivated British feminists to help them achieve leadership rolls in global politics through inclusion in leadership rolls in the League of Nations. iii To Glenda, who makes beauty and wonder happen. Your love and courage are my inspiration, and I love you more than life. iv Acknowledgments On my first full day of almost three months of research in India, I awoke at 5:45 AM to go for a four-mile run. Jet lagged, I wanted my circadian rhythm to adjust as quickly as possible to the twelve-hour time change. With the sun just cresting, my New Delhi neighborhood sprang to life. I headed down the street alongside the park, where a group of about 30 Sikh men had gathered in a circle, in what I later learned was a “laughing club.” One by one, each man led the group by clapping rhythmically, then beginning a chorus of laughter. As the light of dawn spilled over the rooftops and sprinkled into the park, I began to see, and simultaneously hear, Hindus seated at various benches, starting their morning prayers and meditations. By the time the morning light lapped fully across the park, groups had gathered in different areas within the confine for yoga. Turning the corner, I passed a group of tuktuks parked in a line, and quickly discovered that each contained a vicious dog, left by the owner overnight to guard his vehicle, his livelihood. The first dog’s jaws snapped just inches from my left arm as I passed. Needless to say, I jumped quickly to the side. Down the street, amidst the debris in the gutter, were Christian evangelistic tracts in front of a small Church. Rounding the next corner, the minarets of the Moslem Temple, now bathed in sunlight, broadcasted the morning call to prayer. Finally, back at the corner where I had rented my flat, the laundryman/tailor prayed over the sewing machine he had set up in front of his home, before attaching the belt—made from an old shoestring—from the foot treadle to the flywheel. As I struggled to make sense of what I’d seen in under an hour, I remembered the title of the Fodor’s tourist guide for India—Essential India. How, my mind reeled, v could anyone essentialize India? In one run I’d seen more diversity than one typically sees in an entire day in Central Park! India changed me. It was not an “other,” by which we all define ourselves; it became a vast milieu of others that I did not define myself against, but instead incorporated into my life. The diversity is unimaginable to those who have not spent considerable time there. Many, including Salman Rushdie in his book Midnight’s Children, have marveled that it can remain in any way a cohesive unit, even predicting, like decades of British government officials, that it will fracture into a billion separate pieces. Yet, with almost 20% of the world’s population within its borders, India continues, due to the brave and indefatigable efforts of individuals such as the women I write about in the pages of this dissertation. I write about them in the humble knowledge that I cannot do them justice, for I cannot put to words the depth of their travails as they sought, through acts of peace, a greater unity and a national independence. This has been one of the most significant projects in my life. As such, I could not have done it alone. I needed, and received, the generous help of many, many others to accomplish this work. It is a better piece due to their contributions. What is good in these pages, I believe, is because of them. The errors and omissions I lay full claim to as my own. So, I beg of you, please read these acknowledgments, as they tell of many generous heroes, giants upon whose shoulders I have had the privilege of standing. First, I must thank Susan Kent. Susan had the great courage to take on the challenge of advising a 48-year-old graduate student. She has performed in that role with passion, wisdom, compassion, and a seemingly infinite amount of patience. Recognizing the outside stresses in my life, Susan very wisely directed me toward the path of writing vi about the incredible people in the pages that follow. Many times, the work of the historian is the writing of trauma. Susan realized that, given the outside traumas of my own over the past several years, I needed to focus on a brighter subject. She was correct, for writing about such women of incredible strength and perspicuity helped me to rediscover my own strength. Though it was never intentional, I know I have been a pain, to say the least, many, many times, but Susan has kept on pushing me forward in the pursuit of excellence. She has also written on my behalf countless times, and I am grateful to CU and the Center for British and Irish Studies for the many grants I have received that made this dissertation possible. This project would not exist without Susan. I cannot repay her, except in providing the same sage advice to the students I hope to teach in the future. I firmly believe that the rest of my dissertation committee, too, is comprised of the best scholars possible, and I am awed with gratitude at their willingness to oversee this project. My Outside Reader, Katherine Eggert, Professor in the Department of English, and Director of the Center for British and Irish Studies, brought to bear a wealth of knowledge regarding issues of gender and sexuality, with which this project deals, extensively. She has also done very interesting work on the topic of agnatology, which, though not as extensively dealt with in this dissertation as I anticipated, still informs a portion of it. Lucy Chester informed this project with her expertise on the topic of Indian independence from Britain. Throughout this process, she has always had encouraging words, terrific advice, and nearly instant responses to any of my queries. She also informed me of the single best place in old Delhi to find an amazing kebab. I look forward to keeping up with her work, especially on the politics around drawing the Indo- vii Pakistani border. I had the privilege of assisting David Gross for a semester in his Western Civilization class; I am grateful for his encouragement and help in honing my teaching skills. I am also appreciative of his incredible flexibility in putting together an entire graduate course for a small number of us on the topic of fascism and National Socialism. That course provided me with the background needed to produce an article about British fascism, published by the University of Ireland, Lymerick, which also would not have been possible without the generous help of Susan Kent. Mithi Muckherjee, too, has greatly informed my knowledge of modern India. Always generous with her time, Mithi provided sage advice on this project, from its very inception to where it stands now. Beyond the immense help she has given to me academically, she also took significant time to prepare me for my months in India, including referring me to several of her friends in Delhi should a need arise. To each of these people, a simple “thank you” is not enough. They have poured themselves into my training and supported this project with interest and passion, and in so doing have changed my life for the better. Foundationally, four scholars shaped my early career. James “Doc” Breeden, my academic advisor in my undergrad years at SMU, strongly urged me to pursue graduate studies.