Exploring Women's Revolutionary Activism In The Making Of The Indian Nation (Middlesex Unit Event)

Indian history portrays the Indian independence movement as a triumphal history of nonviolence, but there is ample evidence that armed struggle was used consistently against the British. That large numbers of women along with men participated in India’s fight for independence against British rule is also a historical fact. Yet, despite the vast literature on the independence movement, women’s engagement with violence in the early twentieth century is still relatively unknown.
In this talk, I highlight this neglected narrative by drawing upon archival documents, visual artifacts, and cinematic representations. I analyze the gendered nature of nationalism in India by tracing the stories of individual women and their political participation in nationalist activities. I analyze the impact of women’s engagement with violence, their negotiations of the “ideals of Indian womanhood,” particularly their symbolic representation as “mothers of the nation.”

Speaker:   Dr. Shahin Kachwala