Sangeeta Ray's "En-gendering India:Woman and Nation in Colonial and Postcolonial Narratives" (Book Note)

 

In "Engendering India," Ray explores the intricate and evolving expressions of gender within British colonial, Indian national, and postcolonial discourses. Focused on the period spanning from the 1857 Mutiny to the subcontinental partition in 1947, Ray delves into the construction of the 'authentic woman' of India in four distinct chapters. These chapters analyze various texts that share a common concern for shaping a 'national space called 'India.'' While many of the writers under scrutiny have been extensively examined in critical analyses, Ray offers fresh perspectives that scrutinize the nationalist and imperialist connections between the domestic and political realms in their works.

 

Ray's central argument asserts that "after 1857, the figure of the Hindu woman begins to function as a crucial semiotic site in and around which the discourses of imperialism, nationalism, Indian postcolonialism, and feminism are complexly inscribed". The initial chapter dissects Bankim Chandra's novels  to illustrate the construction of a Hindu identity rooted in an imagined glorious Hindu past during the early consolidation of the empire in India. This identity simultaneously celebrates and constrains the power of women.

 

Moving on to Chapter 2, Ray explores texts by non-Indian writers such as Harriet Martineau, Meadow Taylor, and Flora Annie Steele. These authors, in their fictions about the 1857 Mutiny, reimagine India as both Hindu and feminine, utilizing this rhetoric to impose an artificial unity on a culturally diverse nation. Chapters 3 and 4 are dedicated to the partition of Bengal in 1905 and the 1947 subcontinental division. Here, Ray scrutinizes the interplay between women and nationalism in male discourse through Tagore's writings. Additionally, she brings forth female critiques of the problematic male nationalist agenda by analyzing novels by Desai and Sidhwa. Ray's work sheds light on the multifaceted and complex intersections of gender, imperialism, nationalism, and postcolonialism in the literary landscape of India.

 

Ray's emphasis on the political dimension throughout her book proves to be highly insightful, as she grounds the literary texts in a rich historical context. This approach prevents her from interpreting the literary works in isolation, and she adeptly places them within a robust theoretical framework. Her theoretical lens pays close attention to the 'differentially positioned' and conflicting imperialist and nationalist narratives that collaborate in constructing a unified Hindu India and a fixed female Hindu identity. This method allows her to expose the inherent contradictions within nationalist discourse and the limitations of both nationalist and imperialist liberalism in addressing the complexities of Indian women's issues.

 

A noteworthy aspect of Ray's work is its relevance to the contemporary era of global relations and migration, demonstrating her ability to connect the historical context to present-day issues. The chapters culminate in a compelling epilogue where Ray explores the implications of gender in defining the nation-state in the current context. Going beyond literary analysis, she examines contemporary popular culture, newspaper advertisements, and everyday fragments to illustrate how multicultural and multinational economies continue to shape the Indian nation in gendered terms. The book reveals how age-old rhetoric, such as the portrayal of 'mother India,' is reproduced and repackaged for Western and diasporic consumption. Ray's declared objective is to disrupt such representations, positioning her work as personal, given her identity as an Indian academic in the United States. She sees herself as having a responsibility to critique the ahistorical nature of scholarly and popular depictions of Indian women, which profoundly influence their daily lives.

 

The book's valuable contribution lies in its exploration of the linkages between past constructions of the nation as gendered and its contemporary manifestations in Hindu nationalist discourse. This sheds light on the ongoing recasting of Indian women through a lens of particular Hindu nationalism that perpetuates regressive codes of feminine behavior using culturalist vocabulary. Undoubtedly, Ray's work stands as a significant contribution to studies on gender and colonialism, South Asian and British literatures, and diasporic discourses. Moreover, it serves as a crucial intervention in contemporary Hindu nationalist discourse on gender and sexuality.