Image and Reality
Indian Diaspora Women, Colonial and Post-colonial Discourse on Empowerment and Victimology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20061885 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Karen A Ray (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2002 |
| Pages | 135-147 |
| Publication date | 2002-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Women and the Colonial Gaze (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan UK (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1057/9780230523418_12 |
| OpenAlex | W2494779014 |
| ISBN | 9780230523418 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 7 |
During the colonial era in India, the image emerged of the "native woman" as a weak and powerless being who needed male colonial protection to save her from hopeless exploitation. While the development of this view certainly owes much to imperialist aims and agendas, a closer examination suggests that a similar ideology which emphasized women's helplessness was inherent in "native" paternalist ideas. This made the image more invidious because it arose at the beginning of the demand for independence from the British Raj, and was enshrined in the propaganda of the abolitionist movement in early twentieth-century India, which sought to end the system of bonded Indian immigration to other colonies within the tropical British Empire. Abolition was the first great campaign in India to involve all nationalist factions, Hindu and Muslim, moderate and extremist, and, in addition, introduced a new player to the Indian political scene: M.K. Gandhi. Its ideology emphasized the figure of vulnerable, exploited Indian village women, an image so pervasive it still haunts the current campaign to empower Indian women in village panchayats (local councils). This representation of abused immigrant women was a powerful one, embodying absolute purity defiled and absolute innocence ravished; at the same time, these women were portrayed as frail creatures seeking protection from emancipated men, rather than wanting to achieve their own political empowerment.KeywordsIndian WomanNative WomanBritish GovernmentAbolitionist MovementGreat CampaignThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves
Caste · Colonialism · Diaspora · Empowerment · Hinduism · Ideology · Indian nationalism · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · History · Law · Religious studies · South Asian Cinema and Culture
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |