Introduction to Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It originated around 8,000 years ago in the Indus River Valley in modern-day Pakistan. Today, there are an estimated one billion people practicing Hinduism worldwide--950 million of those in India. The religion consists of a variety of beliefs with no single set of practices or holy book or even a single founder. Because of this, Hinduism is often considered a way of life rather than a single religion.
Most Hindus believe in a supreme god whose form is represented by a pantheon of gods and goddesses. The central trinity of deities that Hindus recognize is Brahma, the creator of the cosmos; Vishnu, preserver of the cosmos; and Shiva, destroyer of the cosmos. Hindus recognize many incarnations of these deities; for example, Krishna and the Buddha are considered incarnations of Vishnu.
The most ancient Hindu texts are the Vedas, though there are many documents and scriptures based on the Vedas. Common to all texts is the idea of morality and a code of conduct, which is encompassed in the central concept of dharma. Hindus also believe that a soul passes through a perpetual cycle of life and death and that a soul's rebirth (or next incarnation) is dependent on karma, or how the previous life was lived.
Sources:
» BBC Religions. "Introduction to Hinduism."
» PBS. "The Story of India."
The Hindu Nationalist Movement
(NOTE: The words "fundamentalism, "revivalism" and "extremism" are often used interchangeably to describe Hindu nationalism, though scholars prefer to use the phrase "political Hinduism.")
The Hindu nationalist movement in India has become a pervasive cultural and political force in the country over the past 20 years. The nationalist ideology emerged, in part, as a response to the pressures of British rule (1858-1947) and the cultural and religious influence of the West. The movement especially attracted those with fears of religious minority groups, particularly Christians and Muslims. In the 1920s, the movement gained traction among poorer Hindus (the lower caste) who felt oppressed by the ruling Hindu elite and for whom the idea of returning India to its "pure Hindu roots" was appealing. India's population identifies today as 80.5% Hindu, 13.4% Muslim, 2.3% Christian and 1.9% Sikh.
Most Hindu nationalists reject secularism and advocate for Hindutva, an ideology that defines Indian culture and politics in terms of Hindu religious values. In some cases, this ideology has led to a militant intolerance of religious minorities, especially Islam and Christianity, and it has led to a number of violent anti-Muslim and anti-Christian acts, most notably the destruction of a mosque on an alleged Hindu holy site in 1992, an anti-Muslim pogrom in the western state of Gujarat in 2002 and the burning of churches in the eastern state of Orissa in 2008. The nationalists responsible for the violence argue that the targeted communities pose a danger to Hinduism. Hindu nationalists also feel that their culture--and its traditional gender roles in particular--is threatened by Western-style fashion, media and consumerism.
Though ideological differences (especially regarding the use of violence) exist among Hindu nationalist groups in India, the primary groups in the movement are the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and its youth wings--Bajrang Dal (male) and Durga Vahini (female). The Hindu nationalist political wing is the Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., one of the two major political parties in India (the other is the secular Indian National Congress). The B.J.P. led a coalition government from 1998 to 2004, but it was defeated in the 2004 and 2009 elections. While the Indian National Congress won 206 seats in the national assembly in 2009 (a 60% increase from the previous election), the B.J.P. won just 116 (a 30% decrease).
However, the B.J.P. is gaining in popularity again now that Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat and widely believed to be one of the key architects of the anti-Muslim Gujarat riots in 2002, is poised to take over leadership of the party.
The next general elections in India will take place in 2014.
Sources:
» Bedi, Tarini. "Feminist Theory and the Right-Wing: Shiv Sena Women Mobilize Mumbai." Journal of International Women's Studies, Vol. 7, No. 34 (May 2006).
» Central Intelligence Agency. "The World Factbook: Religions."
» Chatterji, Angana. "Orissa: A Gujarat in the Making." Sikh Spectrum, February 2004.
» Joseph, Manu. "Secularism in Search of a Nation." The New York Times, December 5, 2012.
» Karon, Tony. "Hindu-Muslim Violence Imperils India." Time, February 28, 2002.
» Sabhlok, Anu. "Gender in the Hindu Nation: RSS Women as Ideologues." Journal of International Women's Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1 (November 2005).
» Shah, Chayanika. "Hindu Fundamentalism in India: Ideology, Strategies, and the Experience of Gujarat." Warning Signs of Fundamentalism, January 1, 2004.
» Soherwordi, Syed Hussain Shaheed. "Hindu Nationalism and the Political role of Hindu Women: Ideology as a Factor." A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol. 28, No. 1 (January-June 2013).
» Todd, Douglas. "Hindu Nationalism 'Bigger Threat Than Islam.'" The Search, June 7, 2012.
Durga Vahini
In December 1992, 55,000 women participated in anti-Islam demonstrations in the ancient city of Ayodhya. This demonstration was one of the first high-profile, visible contributions of Indian women to the political right wing.
While this type of confrontational action is not encouraged by all Hindu nationalists, women in the movement have been used to symbolize a victimized Hindu culture and the need to return to a "Mother India" and "pure" ideals of womanhood, in which women's roles as wives and mothers are the most important parts of their lives.
The Durga Vahini was created in the 1990s as the women's youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and is one of the many active women's groups that have emerged in the Hindu nationalist movement. The Durga Vahini was started by female political activist Sadhvi Rithambara to mobilize lower- and middle-class women to contribute to Hindu nationalist culture. Main principles of the group include seva (service), suraksha (safety) and samskara (values). In Hinduism, the warrior goddess Durga is the principal form of Devi, or the divine feminine spirit. Legend has it that the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, along with all of the Hindu gods, unleashed Durga to slay the demon Mahisasura.
Women who participate in religious political organizations in India are often critiqued by traditional feminists due to the movement's emphasis on a strong patriarchal authority structure that undermines women's independence and adheres to the idea of a male-dominated society. Women who are involved in these movements, however, see participation in them as an entryway into the political arena that they cannot otherwise easily access. Many of these women see the reclaiming of the traditional female space (home) and the pure ideals of womanhood as a form of empowerment and a way for women to command influence and become participants in the public sphere.
While the Hindu nationalist movement emphasizes traditional gender roles, women who participate often appropriate traditionally masculine traits and adopt assertive, militaristic identities. Thus they enter the political sphere as mothers/nurturers and soldiers--a balance many scholars see as defining the inherent ambiguities of female participation in right-wing political movements.
The type of training program seen in The World Before Her is popular among women's wings of Hindu nationalist groups and focuses on self-defense techniques. These camps typically admit women 15 to 35 years old and are designed to empower women as fighters in the nationalist movement, as well as to combat the rise in sexual abuse of women and young girls in India. Training focuses on "de-feminizing" and desexualizing the female body, and many Hindu nationalists blame Westernization and Islam for an increase in sexual violence. It is a common belief among Hindu fundamentalists that Hindu women have been sexually violated by Muslim men for centuries. Due to this belief, women have become a weapon for violent mobilization against Muslims and a symbol of the threatened Hindu culture and religion.
Sources:
» Bedi, Tarini. "Feminist Theory and the Right-Wing: Shiv Sena Women Mobilize Mumbai." Journal of International Women's Studies, Vol. 7, No. 34 (May 2006).
» Central Intelligence Agency. "The World Factbook: Religions."
» Chandrashekhar, Vaishnavi. "India Anti-rape Protesters: Don't Just Get Angry, Do Something." The Christian Science Monitor, January 4, 2013.
» Chatterji, Angana. "Orissa: A Gujarat in the Making." Sikh Spectrum, February 2004.
» Gupta, Smita. "Durga Vahini, the 'Moral Police.'" The Hindu, February 5, 2013.
» Joseph, Manu. "Secularism in Search of a Nation." The New York Times, December 5, 2012.
» Karon, Tony. "Hindu-Muslim Violence Imperils India." Time, February 28, 2002
» Sabhlok, Anu. "Gender in the Hindu Nation: RSS Women as Ideologues." Journal of International Women's Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1 (November 2005).
» "Self-defence Camps for Women." The Times of India, May 16, 2013.
» Shah, Chayanika. "Hindu Fundamentalism in India: Ideology, Strategies, and the Experience of Gujarat." Warning Signs of Fundamentalism, January 1, 2004.
» Soherwordi, Syed Hussain Shaheed. "Hindu Nationalism and the Political Role of Hindu Women: Ideology as a Factor." A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol. 28, No. 1 (January-June 2013).
» Todd, Douglas. "Hindu Nationalism 'Bigger Threat Than Islam.'" The , June 7, 2012
The Miss India Pageant
The inaugural Miss India pageant was held in 1959, about 10 years after India gained independence, as a way to promote a new image of India internationally. Beautiful, young women showcased Indian textiles--traditional symbols of resistance to colonialism. It wasn't until 1994, when two Indian pageant winners went on to become Miss World and Miss Universe, that Miss India was elevated to prominence.
Vimla Patel, the founding editor of the popular Indian women's magazine Femina and an organizer of the first Miss India pageant, has often said that the pageant played a role in defining the modern Indian woman.
In Making Miss India Miss World: Constructing Gender, Power and the Nation in Postliberalization India, Susan Dewey writes, "When India became independent, there were, because of the various states in India, different kinds of women. There was a Maharashtrian woman, there was a Punjabi woman, but nobody had identified what was an Indian woman. There was a question mark here. Who is the Indian woman? Nobody knew. Who was going to put all these threads together and make one fabric? That was the question. And the answer to that was Femina and Miss India."
Every year, in August or September, Femina magazine and The Times of India print entry forms for the Miss India pageant that thousands of young women from all over the country fill out and submit. To be eligible, a woman must be taller than five feet six inches and under 25 years old. An entry form is accompanied by two photographs--one full body shot and one close-up--and the judges evaluate the women's natural beauty and figures based on the photographs. Based on those criteria, approximately 100 women from across the county are selected as finalists to undergo second-round interviews. From there, 20 women are chosen to go to Mumbai to compete in Miss India, with the hopes of continuing on to compete in Miss World and Miss Universe.
For 30 days prior to the contest, contestants are housed in a hotel, where they undergo a strict grooming and training regime that includes two fitness classes a day, meals catered by a dietician, cosmology and skin bleaching sessions and seminars on fashion and modeling. Contestants are also advised on how to champion social causes without being overtly political, as a way of appealing to Indian middle classes, as well as the judges. The women are allowed to leave the hotel only a few times and are under close supervision.
While Miss India is seen by some as a gateway to social mobility, a majority of the contestants are urban and from northern India and have elite, cosmopolitan backgrounds. Pageant officials frame the Miss India pageant as a celebration of Hindu women's empowerment in an attempt to align it with Hindu nationalist politics and avoid attacks for encouraging sexual exploitation of the female body.
Since 1996, there have been numerous protests against pageants in India. In 1996, when India hosted the Miss World pageant, demonstrations led by the Durga Vahini and other women's nationalist movements raged across the country.
The Miss India pageant is watched by over one billion people worldwide.
Sources:
» Dewey, Susan. Review of Making Miss India Miss World: Constructing Gender, Power, and the Nation in Postliberalization India. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2008.
» Runkle, Susan. "Manufacturing Beauties." India Together, September 2004.
» The Times of India. "Miss World: India's Winning Moments."