Make Me a Man! , livre ebook

194

pages

English

Ebooks

2012

Écrit par
Sikata Banerjee

Publié par
State University of New York Press

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194

pages

English

Ebooks

2012

Lire un extrait

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

State University of New York Press

Date de parution

01 février 2012

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9780791483695

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

Make Me a Man! argues that ideas about manhood play a key role in building and sustaining the modern nation. It examines a particular expression of nation and manliness: masculine Hinduism. This ideal, which emerged from India's experience of British imperialism, is characterized by martial prowess, muscular strength, moral fortitude, and a readiness to go to battle. Embodied in the images of the Hindu soldier and the warrior monk, masculine Hinduism is rooted in a rigid "us versus them" view of nation that becomes implicated in violence and intolerance. Masculine Hinduism also has important connotations for women, whose roles in this environment consist of the heroic mother, chaste wife, and celibate, masculinized warrior. All of these roles shore up the "us versus them" dichotomy and constrict women's lives by imposing particular norms and encouraging limits on women's freedom.

Sikata Banerjee notes that the nationalism defined by masculine Hinduism draws on a more general narrative of nation found in many cultures. If the outcomes of this narrative are to be resisted, the logic of masculinity, armed manhood, and nation need to be examined in diverse contexts.

Ackmowledgements

1. Introduction: Constructs of Nation and Gender

2. Empire: Christian Manliness and the British Gaze

3. Nationalism: Masculine Hinduism and Resisting the British Gaze

4. Cultural Nationalism, Masculine Hinduism, and Contemporary Hindutva

5. In the Crucible of Hindutva: Women and Masculine Hinduism

6. Heroic Mothers, Chaste Wives, and Celibate Warriors: Feminist or Feminine Nationalism in India?

7. Summary

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Voir

Publié par

State University of New York Press

Date de parution

01 février 2012

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9780791483695

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

Make Me a Man!

SUNYSERIES INRELIGIOUSSTUDIES

Harold Coward, editor

M A K E

M E

M A N !

Masculinity, Hinduism, and Nationalism in India

S I K ATA B A N E R J E E

S T AT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K P R E S S

Published by STATEUNIVERSITY OFNEWYORKPRESS ALBANY

Printedin the United Statesof America

No partof this book may be usedor reproducedin any manner whatsoever without written permission. Nopartof this book may be storedin a retrieval systemor transmittedin any formor by any meansincluding electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording,orotherwise without the prior permissionin writingof the publisher.

Forinformation, address State Universityof New York Press 194Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2365

Production, Laurie Searl Marketing, Michael Campochiaro

Libraryof Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Banerjee, Sikata. Make me a man!: masculinity, Hinduism, and nationalismin India / Sikata Banerjee. p. cm. — (SUNY seriesin religious studies) Includes bibliographical references andindex. ISBN 0-7914-6367-2 (hardcover) — ISBN 0-7914-6368-0 (pbk.) 1. Nationalism—Religious aspects—Hinduism. 2. Masculinity—Religious aspects— Hinduism. 3. Hinduism and state—India. 4. Nationalism and feminism—India—Religious aspects. I. Title. II. Series. BL1215.S83B36 2005 155.3'32'0954—dc22 2004006922

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

O Thou, Mother of the Universe, vouchsafe manliness unto me!

O Thou, Mother of Strength, take awaymyweakness,

Take awaymyunmanliness and make me a Man!

—Swami Vivekananda, Nineteenth-CenturyIndian Nationalist

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SIX

NOTES

INDEX

153

157

175

163

111

Heroic Mothers, Chaste Wives, and Celibate Warriors: Feminist or Feminine Nationalism in India?

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FIVE

Summary

Cultural Nationalism, Masculine Hinduism, and ContemporaryHindutva

FOUR

ONE

Empire:Christian Manliness and the British Gaze

In the Crucible of Hindutva:Women and Masculine Hinduism

Introduction:Constructs of Nation and Gender

Nationalism:Masculine Hinduism and Resisting the British Gaze

Contents

139

SEVEN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

THREE

TWO

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Acknowledgments

A grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada made research for this book possible.I am also grateful to all the women and men in India who were incrediblyhospitable and took the time to answer myendless questions.The Rockefeller Foundation enabled me to spend a month as a resident scholar at the Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy, where I finished up this manuscript among luxurious surroundings.Conver-sations with myfellow residents clarified mythoughts and stimulated my writing.Thankyou, FebruaryGroup! Thanks are also due to Christine St. Peter, Annalee Lepp, and Helen Rezanowich, mycolleagues at the Univer-sityof Victoria, who made the Bellagio trip possible bycheerfullycovering myresponsibilities as Chair.I would also like to thank Harold Coward for his encouragement and support.Finally, this project could not have been com-pleted without myhusband, Dan, who listened, edited, provided support dur-ing periods of doubt, and patientlyput up with the chaos of an ongoing book project.Thankyou.

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