SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London)

The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement

The rise of right wing and extremist movements across the globe has led to several enquiries within academia, but a masculinist discourse regarding the same, constitutes bulk of the literature. The Hindutva movement in India is misogynistic and is often thought to be a masculinist/male venture, but counterintuitively, the movement involves the participation of many women. There is an attempt to gauge agencies of women in the movement by viewing them outside the binaries created by the dimorphous heteropatriarchal and colonial societal constructions, specifically the binary of agents versus victims. Shifting from an essentialist to deconstructive approach, the paper discusses the theoretical lapses in the imagination of agency in popular discourse. The latter approaches histories and women’s creation of new ontological categories for themselves. This gives important insight about women as political agents with their own distinct motivations and end goals. The paper realigns the current understanding of women in the political right by destabilising the concept of agency -- gauging their participation in Hindutva and locating their subjectivities within the larger socio-political context.

Keywords: Post Colonialism, Feminism, Agency, Oppression, Hindutva, Narratives, Politics, Feminine

1. Agency and Methodology

In the article, the category of ‘woman’ is comprised of CIS heterosexual females for the purpose of a contextual analysis, leaving out queer and trans politics completely that requires further independent research. In the light of feminist critic of Hindutva politics, there is significant discomfort in addressing the politics of right-wing women through the lens of agency, and a justification of the violence, Islamophobia and extremism propagated by the RSS or any of the affiliated organisations. For academic rigour and an unbiased analysis, personal political views are distanced as a conscious choice. Beginning with a discussion about pedagogy and ideology, the possible end goal for women is defining the Hindu Rashtra, but first, we turn to identifying the women involved. The gendered politics of women within the movement investigates the transgressions that follow, viewing women as distinct entities with different aspirations rather than simply being an extension of their male counterpart.

A common tension that arises in academia when dealing with the possibility of agency of women in extremist organisations (Mehta 2016; Mahmood 2001) is a result of universalist liberal ideals that form the basis of the majority of feminist literature (Madhok 2013). The narrative of agency that is prevalent assumes autonomy and emancipation to be the goal and all actions leading towards the same as ‘resistance’. This is particularly Eurocentric in its way of furthering the politics of homogenisation. A third wave feminism is predominantly based on secular ideals which is not just exclusionary, but it also works on the assumption of free will, a result of Enlightenment politics. A renewed and more nuanced theorisation of agency, which is cognisant of social implications, social elasticity and openness is vital to gain a better

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SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London) understanding of women in such movements (Madhok 2013). Crenshaw’s analysis of intersectionality places a multi-axial perspective of oppression at the centre of gauging agency (Crenshaw 1989). I argue that the gaps that exist in theorising concepts such as agency and resistance, have essentially left no room for Hindutva women; their history of colonisation, patriarchal oppression and various caste and class factors, that result in complex identities. Any attempt to analyse them through only one facet of their historical, political, and social realities is a grave simplification. Therefore, my reference to ‘agency’ in the paper simply refers to a relative shift in positionality of women as claiming/reclaiming power from those normally placed above them in hierarchies which for this paper, refers to the relative superiority of Hindutva men to Hindutva women. This falls close to Bacchetta’s theoretical understanding of Hindutva women, wherein she proposes a reimagination of this discourse in which we seek to view the Hindutva woman in contrast to her male counterpart, instead of viewing her in opposition to feminists (Bacchetta 1993, p. 44).

1.1 The Hindutva Women

The Hindutva movement in India is centred around claiming a superior ethno-national status of the Hindus in the country, with the end goal of forming a Hindu Rashtra. The Hindu Rashtra can be understood as the return of India to ‘its original glory’ and inhabited solely by Hindus. This politics has materialised in violent ways by repeated pogroms and targeted attacks against the Muslim population of the country. The rhetoric of the Hindu nation is heavily gendered and undoubtedly misogynistic in its outlook (Anand 2007). The masculine and violent means of political engagement form the most visible part of the movement, yet there is a presence of a different kind of politics which involves grass root level engagement (Menon 2010). The women involved in this movement through various organisations like the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, Mahila Morcha, , Mahila Aghadi form the category of Hindutva women that I refer to in this paper. An over emphasis on the militant and highly dramatised politics of women in the right wing such as and Sadhvi Rithambara is the direct result of narratives that the men have pushed to the forefront. Focusing on women as either mothers or as celibate women is a binary created by the men in the movement that fails to address the complex sexualities and identities that form the reality of the women involved.

Women play a particular role in ensuring the continuity of the movement through their own unique politics which for the most part remains invisible. Drawing attention to the everyday nationalism of women and analysing the novel pedagogical means they adopt, the constant engagement leading to a feeling of sisterhood and fraternity, a formal organisation is essential to understanding their unique agency (Mehta 2016). Sex segregation, which is practiced in all Hindu nationalist organisations, in fact works to bring women out into the public sphere without inhibitions from their families (Ibid). By focusing on these everyday activities and small but significant deviations from the male narrative, academics have attempted to locate the agencies of these women (Bacchetta 1993, 2004; Bacchetta & Power 2002; Menon 2010; Sen 2012; Mehta 2016).

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SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London)

The right wing has succeeded in establishing a meta narrative of the ideal Hindu state, yet has incorporated women from across the caste and class spectrum. Sehgal (2007) argues that the creation of a Muslim other as the common enemy that is a threat to the feminine Hindu has resulted in a siege mentality amongst women. But I argue that although, this is problematic, this must be understood as the result of years of conditioning and a capitalisation of women’s ‘sexual vulnerabilities.’ Additionally, critiquing the ‘hyper sexual Muslim man’ has also created room for women to address larger issues of sexual violence, subjugation and oppression at the hands of even the Hindu male, even though, this remains in the peripheries of their arguments (Menon 2010; Bacchetta & Power 2004). Bacchetta has done extensive research on women in the Samiti and proposed a nuanced understanding of the everyday politics of these women (Bacchetta 1993, 2004; Bacchetta & Power 2002). Along with this, Sen (2012) focuses on the women in the Mahila Aghadi in Maharashtra who have found hyper masculinity to address the everyday oppression they face. Additionally, she argues that the involvement of women has allowed them to reclaim their status as political agents through religio-historical means.

Tanika Sarkar’s (1993, 2001) analysis of women’s role in the history of Hindutva movement, stands in direct contrast to the idea of womanhood advocated by the senior Samiti members today. This not only goes to show the space that women have created for themselves in the masculine politics of Hindutva over time, but they have also used the means of religious appropriation to further their own goals. Mahmood (2001, 2005) suggests in her analyses of women’s role in Islamic movements, the need for addressing the possibility of women using the means of political co-opting to arrive at their personal agendas. A close look at the philosophical basis of these organisations shows an ideological gap in the men and women, which circles back to Mahmood’s argument. An important source used in the text is Sumitra Mahajan’s speech (2019) at an event of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, where she describes in great detail the meaning of womanhood and the history of the Samiti, along with what the Samiti expects from women. Sumitra Mahajan is an important political figure for the BJP and an active Samiti member, which is why her verbal testimony of the political roles carved out for women becomes important in locating the agency of Hindutva women.

The essay contributes to the existing literature by understanding oppression through a historical sense wherein the subjects are placed in their social context. The binary of consent and coercion, like the discourse of sati in colonial India or agents versus victims, bound versus free, are examples of essentialising women into categories (Spivak 1994). I propose queering (to signify the need to move away from heteropatriarchal binaries) these boundaries through a decolonised lens to produce more nuanced views of women to understand their subjectivities as political agents. There are two distinct methods to view women from a decolonial lens, first by subverting the colonial structure of knowledge and second, by addressing the rise of reactionary politics and a staunch anti-western sentiment as a result.

The process of becoming a decolonial feminist begins with eradicating the epistemological habit of erasing the colonial encounter and arrive at, a renewed perspective wherein there is a sense of detachment from the ‘woman’ as a universal category and an emphasis on resisters and their colonial difference (Lugones 2010, p.753). Understanding resistance as a subjective practice as opposed to a universal category that can be claimed by 3

SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London) performing certain actions is vital to accurately address the subjectivities of the colonised women. The language of agency in contemporary discourse assumes the binary of oppression versus resistance as two mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive universal categories. This dimorphism of the victim and perpetrator is a remnant of many other dichotomies that shape the knowledge structures arising through the colonial encounter. Therefore, to destabilise these geopolitics of knowledge (Ibid p. 752), it is imperative to acknowledge the continuation of colonisation in epistemic structures. To do so, the essay breaks away from the binary of oppressor and oppressed, victim and agent, to address the realities of women who often fall outside the realm of academic discourse on ‘agency’. This is done to prevent an essentialisation of identities and instead, understand the impact of colonialism as an ongoing process which continues to shape realities and the politics of women. Additionally, the reactionary politics of women against the ‘west’ and the values that are often imposed on women of colour by the modern/non-modern notions of contemporary feminism, is a recurring theme in identity politics. By contrast, counter-narratives created by Hindutva women, distinct from the masculine as well as the modern feminist discourse, lead to a critique from inside of right-wing movements, and helps reshape our understanding of women as ontological categories in themselves.

2. Knowledge structures: Epistemology and Ontology

Gerda Lerner’s The Creation of Patriarchy notes that amongst the many ways to further subjugation of women in the structure of patriarchy is through educational deprivation and a denial to women of knowledge of their own history (Lerner 1986, p. 217). She further asserts that a deliberate erasure of women from history and civilisation has affected the psychology of both men and women (Ibid, p.222). Women’s role in the Hindutva movement demonstrates an epistemic violence through an erasure of women from historical accounts, aided by the Hindu right promotion of a phallogocentric narrative. Female representation and spaces exclusive to women, has led to the creation of a counter-narrative that involves women role models. By reinstating Hindu goddesses and historical figures as agents, the women have managed to appropriate their own presence in the political and public sphere. Apart from being a catalyst in women’s increased representation and amplified voices, this has also given them the space to define womanhood in the movement. They move away from essentialised masculinist perceptions and bring nuance to the concept of womanhood in this self-determining exercise.

The Hindutva movement’s contemporary discourse relies heavily on and disproportionately credits the writing of Savarkar, Golwalkar, Shivaji and Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Anandmath’ as the pillars of the ideological foundation (Sarkar 2001). Women’s participation is often looked over and even when it is documented, it is often done so from the male perspective. Not only does this limit women’s political participation, but it also encourages a stereotypical image of political women. The relegation of the feminine outside the sphere of politics meant that even the women engaging in the movement were mostly militant and masculine. The Hindutva movement heavily rests on the creation of the Muslim man as an intruder, but there is also a very gendered imagery that forms the foundation of the movement. Other than the creation of the Muslim threat to the Hindu woman (Anand 2007), the Hindu men are viewed as inherently non-violent and, in some ways, 4

SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London) unable to protect the Hindu woman. The metaphor of an intruder has two main implications for women. First, there is a creation of a siege mentality amongst many Hindu women, where they imagine a constant threat to their sexuality (Sehgal 2007, p.167) and secondly, the solution to the threat is seen as intense physical training for women (Ibid, p.172). The hyper visibility of masculine and militant women in the BJP and RSS is a direct result of this. Sadhvi Rithambara, Uma Bharti and more recently, Sadhvi Pragya represent the women immune to the Muslim man. Their celibacy shows sexual purity and further their masculine demeanour and militant stance makes them adept to ‘handle the Muslim threat.’ As party front liners, on many occasions, these women have played a vital role in inciting communal violence through their speeches. The exclusive focus on the three figures is meant to be blinding and renders the feminine to the private sphere, thus making other women completely invisible (Sarkar 1993, p.20). Since these women extend the male narrative, they occupy a somewhat large and dramatic position in the party echelons. This is not to say that militant women do not exist within the movement, but a gendered hierarchy of masculine versus feminine politics is deeply entrenched in our understanding of political engagement. The right-wing Hindu organisations in India have a history of oppressing the voices of women and often speaking for them, rendering them voiceless. The language of revolution and religion in these moments has centred around overly masculine and armed figures. The literature on the roles of women in the movements is predominantly through the lens of chastity and motherhood or fixated on militant women.

2.1 Rewriting Agency through Revisiting History

Women’s inclusion within organisational politics has given rise to counter narratives and novel discourses in Hindutva. Kelkar, who is lovingly called ‘mausi’ (meaning: aunt) in the organisation was the woman who established the Samiti. At the time, the lack of a women’s wing was detrimental to the movement and there was an unwillingness to include women into the ‘male wing’. Therefore, Kelkar formed a customised political ideology palatable for women and established the Rashtra Sevika Samiti. This organisational history presents two narratives: first, that the decision to make a women’s wing was a deliberate attempt to keep the Hindu women from joining other feminist movements that were sprouting up at the time (Bacchetta & Power 2002, p.47) and the second narrative furthered by the Samiti women, is that Kelkar’s decision was simply motivated by her personal desire to educate and uplift the Hindu woman who was otherwise subjugated (Sumitra Mahajan speech, 2019). Additionally, Kelkar, the founder of the Samiti, is also reiterated as the role model for mothers. She balanced her domestic duties, brought up six children as a widow and further was a ‘progressive’ lady who engaged in politics. The selection and idolising of the mother-figures chosen by Hindutva women, portrays a radically different mother than the male counterpart’s version. The imagination of motherhood is quite different for Hindutva women who seek to reclaim agency in the politics of care and their role as caretakers of the family unit, which is the foundation of the Hindu nation. Even though Kelkar’s motivation is contentious, the decision to make a political organisation has led to increased engagement and representation from women. Right wing women emphasise on narratives that form an alternate feminine or non-masculine discourse of nationalism. This practice is carried out to establish their own political agency (Mehta 2016, p.79) and is frequently done by revisiting various female figures in the history of the movement and Hindu theology. Although this process does not involve a 5

SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London) complete rejection of the male stance, it involves a paradigm shift in the perception of ‘woman’ as a subject. The following examples of Sita, Jijabai and Ahalyabai will aid in illustrating the same.

Sita

Sita, is an important mythological figure in the Hindutva discourse and is often portrayed as the ideal wife by the men in Hindutva. A look at the reimagination of Sita’s agency, from a female perspective, provides insight into how women in Hindutva perceive their own agency. Uma Bharti, when asked whether Hinduism has a role to play in oppressing women, refused and claimed that her belief in Hinduism does not reflect the notion of subjugation whatsoever. She gives the example of Sita, and explains that contrary to her mainstream portrayal, Sita was not the obedient wife she is made out to be. Her refusal to follow her husband’s commands and decision to commit suicide eventually, is telling of the agency women possess (Basu 1993, p. 75). This version is also retold in the cassette recordings of Sadhvi Rithambara that had instigated the communal violence and karseva (literally meaning service by hand, kar: hands; seva: service was a call to the Hindu folk in the country to collective break down the ) ) in Ayodhya (Azran 2010, p.59). Another narrative around Sita’s agency that is actively discussed in the Samiti, focuses on her devotion to her husband and her complete refusal to give in to her kidnapper, i.e. her choice to live in the abductor’s garden and maintain her purity and chastity (Menon 2010, p. 146). These versions are particularly striking considering the portrayal of Sita by the male counterparts is entirely focused on her role as a docile and submissive wife. Bharati and Rithambara’s reimagination of Sita focuses on her individual agency which pervades her role as a mother and wife; similarly, the Samiti’s version focuses on Sita’s control over her own sexuality. By reimagining Sita’s actions, the women are not necessarily transgressing the larger patriarchal structure that they function within, but they are able to find scope for agencies within the meta- narratives determined by the organisational patriarchs.

Jijabai

Motherhood in the Hindutva movement is often uni-dimensionally perceived as the simple act of reproduction and child rearing. Women have in many ways reclaimed motherhood and asserted the importance of their contribution in not only raising sons to be warriors and daughters to be good mothers, they also ensure ideological continuity through pedagogy at home (Mehta 2016, p.78). In the Samiti, the discussion of motherhood reinstates the power of women over raising her children (Sumitra Mahajan speech, 2019). Teaching and education constitute the bedrock of domesticity in the Hindu nation, a reclamation of feminine agency, and in turn of political legitimisation.

Jijabai, the mother of Shivaji is a recurring model maternal figure in the discourse of various male and female organisations. As a child, she witnessed the atrocities committed by Muslim invaders on women, and once, saw a Muslim man urinating on the wall of a Hindu temple. Finding herself in a helpless position, she grew determined to establish a Hindu nation, where the existing power dynamics would shift and disrespecting Hindu faith would not be permissible (Mehta 2016, p.125). The male version of Jijabai’s story involves her role 6

SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London) only as a good mother (Menon 2010, p.48) but the account created and pushed by women goes into a lot more detail, with a greater focus on the details of Jijabai as a political figure. The women did not limit Jijabai’s role to being a witness to history but emphasised on her role as an educator and an agent. She enabled her son to act the way he did and played an active role in the execution of her plan. This furthers the idea that not only can women witness atrocities, but they can and must act upon them (Mehta 2016, p.126). The Aghadi women focused on Jijabai’s role in sending her son away to a ‘just war’ and raising a martial son (Sen 2012, p.85).The Samiti on the other hand, valorises the dual role of Jijabai as both, a capable mother and an adept administrator (Sumitra Mahajan speech, 2019). Further, Sen quotes a member of the Aghadi saying, “If Shivaji, the great Maratha ruler, had allowed a woman to be his compatriot, what can our men say to oppose his ruling?” (Sen 2012, p. 86). Not only does this dialogue between Sen and her interlocutor provide legitimacy to their warrior status, it also actively questions the male stance by finding religio-historic legitimacy. Mehta also notes that Jijabai’s agency is often expressed in her larger than life portrayal in selective images. She is shown to be looming over Shivaji, often giving orders, and directing him towards the ideal Hindu nation. Shivaji’s portrayal is smaller and sitting across his mother with his arms folded. This entire imagery reflects the superiority of Jijabai as the driving force behind Shivaji’s actions (Mehta 2016, p.124; see also, Menon 2010, p.47). Reinstating such agency to women allows the right- wing women to form a common link with women of the Vedic times who occupied high positions of scholarship and prowess (Ghosh 2002, p.265). Jijabai is a model maternal figure in the Hindutva movement, as she not only produces and raises a warrior son who for the nation but takes significant control over the administration and execution of the statecraft.

Another example from within the Sena comes from the men referring to ’s wife as ‘mother’ and idolising her as the model wife, but the Aghadi women disagree. They refuse to accept her as a role model and assert that she is simply too passive (Sen 2012, p. 86). Hence, not only do women play a role in reinvigorating and highlighting women’s role historically, but they also choose which ones to focus on to suit their own localised and personal needs. Additionally, these instances become ways of locating agency within women’s narratives which accurately depict the female subjectivities that exist within these organisations. Even inter-organisational subjectivities surface by analysing the different interpretations of historical figures to appropriate their own localised gender politics.

Ahalyabai

The Islamophobia in Hindutva spaces is undeniable and most of the anecdotes and discussions about the threat to women are based on the insider/outsider binary in which the hyper-sexual Muslim man, is almost always the perpetrator (Sehgal 2007; Bacchetta & Power 2002). Notwithstanding the above, the critique of the Muslim male, has given women leeway to also critique the upper caste/class Hindu man. A frequently discussed narrative in the Samiti is that of Ahalya, from the Ramayana. Ahalyabai, was ‘given’ to Gautama for his good deeds, even though the Vedic God Indra had desired her. Under the guise of Gautama, he enters her chambers and rapes her. Gautama upon finding his wife with another man, banishes her and castrates the man. In exile, her devout meditation turns her body to stone, 7

SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London) and she is only revived by the pure touch of Rama (Bacchetta & Power 2002, p.51). Although the anecdote features a larger heteropatriarchal notion of female sexual purity, it includes a critique of Indra, an upper caste God. This juxtaposition of the Muslim outsider and a Hindu God, both as invaders and a threat to female sexuality, points at the opening of a larger avenue for women to include Hindu men, in their critique of patriarchy. This does not negate the fact that, caste, and class play an important role in the working of Hindutva movements and there is a hierarchisation in both, intra and inter organisational dynamics based on these factors.

2.2 Redefining Womanhood

It is important to understand the aspirations of women in the Hindu right and how they have chosen to structure the female ‘self.’ I argue that the two main aspects of defining womanhood is derived from firstly, breaking the binary of masculinity and femininity created by the male counterpart, and secondly, a conscious decision to place themselves away from the feminist position. Majority of the women that participate in the everyday politics of are married (Menon 2010, p. 160), and find themselves unrepresented in popular discourse. Much like they do not associate with the militaristic politics of Rithambara and/or resist aligning with the docile Sita created by the Sangh, they also do not resonate with the accessible feminist discourse. The secular politics of liberation and a complete rejection of the familial sphere is alien and undesirable for them (Ibid), which pushes women into creating newer spaces for themselves.

The Samiti, Mahila Aghadi, Durga Vahini and many other allied organisations have created spaces for women to identify and create female role models who they can personally relate to. They have created a space to express their own female subjectivities, which becomes a breeding ground for ideology, debate, and discussion. Sumitra Mahajan defines womanhood as equilibrium rather than equality. As the keynote speaker at Rashtra Sevika Samiti event, she explains the importance of women’s participation by invoking an anecdote from the Mahabharata. She admits that the male represents ‘Arjuna’ who compulsorily fights in the battle, but the woman’s role is that of ‘Krishna’s.’ Krishna plays the role of the chief ideological and spiritual guide to Arjuna who has anxieties about going to war at all. Therefore, in this metaphor, the woman assumes the role of the active agent, physically driving the man to the desired goal and has complete political power. She uses the term ‘saarthi’ (partner) to define women’s role and further says that having accurate know-how about warfare and ideology are key to the role of the woman (Sumitra Mahajan speech, 2019). By use of this metaphor, Mahajan displaces the power dynamic in two ways: first, comparing the man to the passive Arjuna and woman to Krishna the spiritual guide who leads Arjuna into war is a move that reinstates political and administrative agency into women. It also places significant importance on pedagogy and ideology. Second, Krishna’s superior status to Arjuna is an important power relation that she invokes to define womanhood. Even though the woman is defined in relation to the man, Mahajan places the woman hierarchically above the man. Throughout her speech, she makes several references to politics through domestic metaphors and religious figures which makes politics and ideology very accessible to the women in the audience. Her repeated emphasis on ‘sadharan aurat’ (ordinary woman) and ‘hum jaisi mahila’ (a woman like us) constantly reiterates the possibility of womanhood, 8

SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London) motherhood and politics to function in harmony, i.e. she shatters the alienation from politics that the ‘ordinary woman’ often feels. I argue that the contemporary Hindutva woman’s self- perception is possibly equal, if not superior to her male counterpart.

A core common assertion in all these organisations is that women should be sanskari (cultured or possessing family values) which forms one of the pillars of womanhood (Menon 2010, p.162). Since sanskar is fundamentally an appeal to Hindu theology and culture, possessing sanskar is an inherent rejection of western ideas. The woman in these spaces view feminism not just as a western import, but also see it as a rejection of the familial sphere and perhaps ‘too radical.’ The only perception of Indian feminists is of rich modern secular women who indulge in the politics of aid (Sen 2012, p. 76). This is far from ideal for them, and therefore, their rejection of feminism and western ideals forms an important ground for self- definition. In a sense, this assertion is a result of defining the other and forming a reactionary self. These spaces therefore function as a women’s collectives with adequate representation to implement their gender politics (Ibid) which seems to be lacking in their immediate environment.

Conclusion

The ideal woman in contemporary India endorsed by the Hindutva women is empowered but appears moral, traditional yet modern (Mehta 2016, p. 260). The Hindutva organisations seek to encourage women to fend for themselves and find jobs but not at the expense of their family, which is repeatedly addressed in the meetings (Ibid). Women as agency, by redefining their collective histories, pave the way for women to construct historic idols whose semblance, encourages political participation, and harbours the possibility of a complete reimagination of meanings implicit in womanhood. Breaking out of strict binaries and in some ways questioning the dichotomies which result from colonial and patriarchal structures, allows women to actualise their own subjectivities. Hindutva women strive to separate themselves from the male narratives and create their own realities by committing small transgressions, without the guided feminist theory. This epistemological distance places these women in an uncharacteristic struggle, and therefore, points to a gap in political theory. The paper underlines the need for an in-depth research to understand the complex decolonial motivations of right wing movements, and the position of women’s divergent subjectivities within the larger socio-political context of emerging challenges in the nexus of decolonisation, feminism and religious extremism.

********* Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr Rochana Bajpai, whose advice and feedback has been crucial in forming a coherent theory. Additionally, I am grateful to Dr Sanjukta Ghosh, for her guidance on the editorial process that was greatly beneficial in shaping this paper.

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SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London)

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SSAI Working Paper Series 2020 The Subaltern Acts: Destabilising the Agency of Women in Hindutva Movement By Aparna Agarwal (SOAS University of London)

Menon, K. (2010). Everyday Nationalism: Women of the Hindu Right in India, Ethnography of Political Violence, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Mukherjee, P. (2012). ‘Revolutionizing Agency: Sameness and Difference in the Representation of Women by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain and Mahasweta Devi’, Argument Vol. 2 pp. 117–127. Saktanber, A. (2002) ‘Whose virtue is it? The Virtue Party and women in Islamist politics in Turkey’, Bacchetta P. and Power M.(eds.), London Right Wing Women: From Conservatives to Extremists around the World, Taylor and Francis Group, pp. 71-84. Sarkar, T. (1993). ‘The Women of the Hindutva Brigade’, Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp.16-24. Sarkar, T. (2001). Hindu Wife, Hindu Nation: Community, Religion, and Cultural Nationalism, Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Sethi, M. (2002). ‘Avenging Angels and Nurturing Mothers: Women in Hindu Nationalism’, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 37, No. 16, pp. 1545-1552. Sinha, M. (2000). ‘Refashioning Mother India: Feminism and Nationalism in Late-Colonial India’, Feminist Studies, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 623-644. Sehgal, M. (2007). ‘Manufacturing a Feminized Siege Mentality: Hindu Nationalist Paramilitary Camps for Women in India’, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 165- 183. Sen, A. (2012). ‘Martial Tales, Right-Wing Hindu Women, and “History Telling” in the Bombay Slums’, South Asian Feminism, pp. 75-94. Spivak, G. C. (1994). Can the Subaltern Speak? Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader, eds. Williams, P. and Chrisman, L. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf, pp. 90- 105. Turner, E. (2012). ‘Empowering Women? Feminist Responses to Hindutva, Intersections: Gender and Sexuality’ in Asia and the Pacific Vol. 28. Sumitra Mahajan Speech: OSD to Speaker Loksabha (2019). Hon. Speaker at Rashtra Sevika Samiti Part-I. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6LXd4a9onM (Accessed: 23 September 2020). Rashtra Swayamsevak Sangh, https://www.rss.org//Encyc/2012/10/22/ rssvision-and- mission.html (Accessed: 23 September 2020). Rashtra Sevika Samiti, https://sevikasamiti.org/About-RSS (Accessed: 23 September, 2020).

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