The Hindutva project has involved the active involvement and use of the imagery of Hindu goddesses in its mainstream political movements. Hindutva parties routinely rely on iconographic images of Durga, Kali, Bharat Mata, and Sita to glorify an idea of a Hindu past. A feature of Hindutva politics is exploiting the goddess imagery to meet its political goals. The goddesses’ images are refashioned to draw ordinary Hindu women to the cause of the Hindu nation and, notably, not to bring about progressive change that would challenge normative gender roles.
There is a saffronisation of goddesses’ imagery where figures like Bharat Mata, created during the nationalist movement in India, are now widely understood as the symbol of an imaginary Hindu nation. The Hindutva thinkers selectively craft the goddess imagery and the goddesses’ role in the epics to complement their political goals. Karline McLain (2001) points out in Sita and Shurpanakha: Symbols of the Nation in the Amar Chitra Katha that selective reading of epic and famous figures overlooks the regional and alternative interpretations of such tales and figures. For instance, Candravati’s Ramayana dealt with Sita as the central voice of the epic, recounting the tale from her perspective and speaking about Sita’s struggles. In Navaneeta Dev Sen’s (2000) words, Candravati’s Ramayana is “a narrative about a woman, narrated by a woman”. However, such retellings are not appropriated by the Hindutva brigade as they defeat the gender ideals prescribed for women through the glorification of figures like Sita, Savitri, and Parvati.
The current political scenario uses the age-old trope of equating women with goddesses, with several political parties – not just right-wing ones – perceiving women as reflections of Durga or Sita. Deification places women on a pedestal and does not address the issues that are necessary to create an equal, gender-sensitive society for women. Although deification offers a form of spiritual authority to ordinary women, it is a known popular trope used by patriarchy and has little to do with women’s freedom. When women are placed as goddesses, they are expected to maintain specific standards and follow specific codes, and if they fail to maintain the codes, they are labeled as “bad women” who deserve to be abused. Right-wing organisations developed their unique idea of empowerment by endorsing words like ‘women’s power’ . According to Nandita Banerjee Dhawan (2017) in From ‘fire-brand’ to ‘water-brand’: The caste politics of Uma Bharati, they have, to this end, co-opted the language of feminism and emulated feminism in speaking about women’s development and women’s oppression. However, , they do not support Western feminist ideas of empowerment as they think it is damaging to the Hindu society, disturbing family structure and Hindu values. Their strategy aligns with what Christophe Jaffrelot (2016) in the book chapter, ‘The Hindu nationalist strategy of stigmatisation and emulation of ‘threatening Others’ An Indian style fascism?’ calls a “strategy of stigmatisation and emulation of ‘threatening Others’.”
Samjukta Gombrich Gupta (2000) argues that for ordinary women, the famous models of womanhood have been characters like Sita, who renounced all pleasure of the palace in Ayodhya for her husband, and Savitri, who fought the god of death to bring back her husband’s life. Kathryn Hansen (1988) in The Virangana in North Indian History: Myth and Popular Culture, points out that although these figures have no real connection with women’s everyday lives, it is difficult to overlook these images for the behavioural roles they convey. Hindutva politics taps into the imagery of benevolent goddesses like Sita and Parvati and warrior goddesses like Kali and Durga to create its brand of feminism. Through the co-opting of words like shakti/power, Hindu nationalism creates a space where women feel a sense of authority and belonging . However, there is ambiguity regarding what this empowerment means for women’s position within the Hindu nation and their position based on caste, class, and gender in the larger patriarchal society.
The narrative of Hindutva thought celebrating the martial power of Durga, Kali, and Ashtabhuja, – in that case, there would be constant anxiety about Hindu women possessing too much power to be equal to men or having control over their actions, their sexuality, and their way of living.
Kali. This image reflects how deeply goddesses are integrated into women’s everyday lives and how we follow and emulate them. Photo: Indranil Saha.
The goddess sans martial power portrayal under Hindu nationalism is not just given to the women of Hindutva or whom Hindutva thought deem worthy, – it is equally relevant in the lives of every Hindu woman in India who must reflect the roles these goddesses communicate . The symbolic representation of the goddesses conveys a formulation of behaviours for women that conform to the normative gender roles in a patriarchal society. For instance, the representation of Sita as the ideal Hindu model of womanhood for ordinary women suggested a feminine social code that women should not transgress, thereby controlling women’s sexuality and expressions. These narratives convey behavioral codes and duties of an ideal wife and ideal woman that ordinary Hindu women are expected to observe. When it comes to the issue of women’s empowerment and agency in the interpretation of goddesses under Hindu nationalism, there remains a gap between the perception of goddesses and what is expected from ordinary Hindu women.
In this celebration of warriors and mother goddesses, women are encouraged to emulate goddesses’ roles. They are seen as repositories of the strength of the goddesses. Nevertheless, what does it mean to follow the footsteps of goddesses? Does following their footsteps help in subverting gender stereotypes and altering patriarchy? It is not a new phenomenon that goddesses are utilised in mainstream politics to foster a feeling of unity and attract the masses. The dominant narrative of goddesses under Hindutva thought and politics leaves little scope for the imagination of goddesses rooted in regional and personal understanding of goddesses. Using goddesses and figures like Sita also conveys an image of ideal Hindu womanhood that the current political narrative creates. The idea of a Hindu woman also comes with baggage. It is someone who is not a Muslim and also not ‘low’ caste, or indigenous woman. Thus, we must be conscious of the ideal Hindu woman image; what does it mean? Is there an ideal image at all that women must follow?
Also read: Do We Need to Rethink the Idea of the Bharat ‘Mata’?
The portrayal of the goddesses under Hindu nationalism forms a dominant North Indian, upper-caste narrative that disregards plurality and leaves no scope for alternative retellings or narrative traditions of the divine feminine outside the dominant/symbolic interpretation of goddesses that Hindu Right propagates. The point to note here is that the mythical-historical figures who are deified in the Hindu nationalist discourse fit the image of the chaste, domesticated, upper-caste Hindu woman model. Durga, Parvati, and Lakshmi all represent an image of a fair-complexioned and fully clothed . When women are expected to follow in their footsteps, it automatically negates and marginalises women who are outside the so-called “Hindu woman model” – that is, the Dalits, lower caste women, and indigenous women. Sumathi Ramaswamy (2010), while speaking about later representations of Bharat Mata’s image, pointed towards “the (unnatural) fairness of her complexion,” which produces a bourgeois understanding of the goddess as an upper-caste Hindu woman. The fair-skinned Bharat Mata has little connection or resemblance with the diverse skin color and racial groups that constitute India.
Goddesses can be perceived as an imagined space where women can express their thoughts, ideas, and wishes, which in turn becomes an emancipatory act. It is an imagined space where all forms of perception exist. It can mean being assertive, having the ability to speak, having a voice, and having agency. Goddesses can be perceived in ways to question and subvert gender discriminatory norms and realise the ability to live on one’s terms. How women imagine goddesses as repositories of power can challenge how goddesses are represented in current mainstream politics. There is a plurality in the goddess imagery where she is nurturing but not binding within rules. The current scenario’s representations reveal another significant factor. Though goddesses are glorified for their role in slaying demons and their Shakti, their actions and powers are controlled through domestication and specification. A goddess as a woman with command over her power and sexuality remains problematic.
Sohini Ganguly is a PhD candidate in Feminist and Gender Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada.
