Problematising Indegenity as a Response to Western Hegemony: Lessons from Indian Feminism

This paper locates the relationship of feminisms and Hinduism within two interrelated debates that have long been central to the Indian feminist movement: one, regarding the supposed “Western” origins of feminism and its relevance to the Indian context, and two, the possibility of indigenous roots, symbols and genealogies which can be claimed as pre-modern/pre-colonial. The paper traces a historical arc, from the social reform movement in the colonial period to the contentious relationship between feminist interventions and Hinduism in the post-colonial and the double bind for the movement, both claiming “secular” credentials and re-claiming myths and symbols from within the Hindu tradition to mark itself as suitably “national/indigenous”. Finally, the paper discusses Dalit, minority, and lesbian feminism’s efforts to locate feminism in indigenous, but non-Brahmanical Hindu contexts.