Playing for Real: Hindu Role Models, Religion, and Gender 9780195667226, 0195667220

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Playing for Real Hindu Role Models, Religion, and Gender

01g1t1zed oy

Govotet:s singi ng their way arou nd from one pilgrimag~· spo! to another. Respeas are paidtoArnbamata: "jaiArnba" (anOllR·r fonnofthcgockk.·ss. Bhavanimata). Then a prcscntcrinasaffmn pagdi ( h e adge ar) and kuna pyjama- that i.~. trad itio nal Mahar:1.shtrian drc.s who continue to exert influence in society IO this day. An industry of aClivities by ardent followers make the prismatic, often rose-tinted, memory of a person more of an influential force 1han the living person him/herself might aaually have been in 1heir time. This is arguably the case for the seventeenth-cen1ury Maratha warrior king, Chhatrapati Shivaji, whose character and rule, Sh ivshahi, is consis1ently rcsurreumNG FOR RE.Ai.

her. Phoolan always saw herself instead as the incarnation of Durga, the restorer of dhanna, social justice. In prison, she built a Durga shrine; and when she surrendered, it was before a portrait of Durga: 'In my soul, it was to her I surrendered' ( 472). The two female role models Phoolan developed in prison-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and Kiran Bedi, female police chief-have also both been openly identified with Durga in public rhetoric. Phoolan admired both women for their independence and strength in a world of men, and their roles as arbiters of justice. By aligning herself with Durga, Phoolan made her raging, bloodthirsty desire for vengeance through castration into a socially restorative act. Whereas Kali embodies the pure power of destruction and is a manifestation of ultimate disorder, Durga is self-controlled and protective, a representative of the true cosmic order. Durga also is the goddess who has a long history as a symbol of Indian nationalism in the north, as Lise McKean, Paola Bacchena and other scholars have shown (Bacchetta 1993, 1996; McKean 1996). Phoolan's self-created Durga persona was subject to distortion when it became part of the public consciousness, dominated by male journalists and politicians. When Phoolan was inducted into the Samajwadi socialist political party after her release from prison, her personal story was subsumed in a discourse of male-male conflict. When she first offered surrender after the massacre, Phoolan said, 'I didn't know anything about the political campaign that was building around me at that moment in the cities. Even if I had known, and been able to understand, I wouldn't have reacted any differently ... I didn't know how to live anywhere else but the jungle' (446). Phoolan plainly states that she had no concept that the country of India even existed. Illiterate to her death, never having attended any school, and not even knowing how to count, Phoolan could not be seen as a savvy interpreter of contemporary politics. It was the coalition of low-caste male politicians in the Samajwadi Party who drew on a long-standing tradition of political rhetoric focusing on emasculation of the enemy and foregrounded Phoolan's castrating persona as a beacon to mobilize low-caste voters against high-caste p()litical opponents. As Ann Weaver puts it: ... in an election in which India's lowest castes were reaching for national power of their own for the first time, Phoolan became

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at once both symbol and avenger of atrocities committed against the 'lower castes-a woman who had taken justice into her own hands and achieved a singular vindication, despite her own bloody, violent tr.iil. It was not the character of Phoolan Devi that mattered but the trend she represents: as a creation of the worst aspects of a monstrous social structure, she could lead a credible challenge against the Caste system that has defmed India since ancient times (Weaver 1996, 90).

The media, capitalizing on the mythic potential of Phoolan's story, ironically focused on her reputed sexual appetites. Completely reversing Phoolan's fear and hatred of sex, newspapers described her as a 'one-armed nymphomaniac' who seduced her victims before castrating them. By such cruel reversals, Phoolan was transformed into the male masochistic fantasy embodied in the fierce goddess: the seductress who punishes male desire. Sunil Sethi, an Indian journalist, describes Phoolan in these stereotypical terms: 'Phoolan's two great gifts are rabid cunning and fatal chann-an irresistible combination and a great achievement in a woman who is so brutal ... It would have been impossible for Phoolan to be anything but an Indian, and she is tailor-made for the Indian imaginatic,>n' (cited in Weaver 1996, 91). Such inversions of Phoolan's character are worse than absurd. They represent only male sadomasochistic sexual fantasies and betray the essence of Phoolan's message. During her long imprisonment, as her myth began to congeal in the popular imagination, Phoolan lost her personat will and agency. She was transformed into an immobile, symbolic object, a murti of the goddess, trapped in walls of concrete. While still in prison, Phoolan received a series of marriage proposals from wealthy Indian industrialists and·even a Frenchman, which amused the prison officials. 'I didn't think it so funny,' recalled Phoolan. 'Men were still demons for me. They would always be demons ... I alone knew what I had suffered. I alone knew what it felt like to be al.ive but dead. At. an age when young women wait patiently for their husbands, squatting by the fire and cooking chapatis, I was a stone in the jungle, a stone without feeling or regrets. I was no longer a woman. A stone couldn't marry a man when it was a man who had made the stone' (Devi 1996, 487).

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PLAYING FOR REAL

Becoming a somewhat clownlike figure in the circus of Indian politics, the illiterate, powerful MP Phoolan Devi, the erstwhile clacoit leader and punisher of men, took up residence in a plush New Delhi residence known as Phoolan Palace, wearing saris and lipstick, surrounded by a weak, younger husband she referred to as 'my wife,' a vicious female guard dog, gtiards, lawyers, journalists, and sycophants. A shririe to Durga also made room for Buddha, Jesus, and Ambedkar, icons of low-caste religious and political identity. Although she finally achieved the. respectability and ordinariness she once craved, Phoolan's victory somehow rang hollow. She was ridiculed by the press, pampered by New Delhi socialites, apotheosized in folklore, viewed with disdain by upper class women, and dismissed by cynical urban young men as a hype. Brutally shot down by a gunman outside her posh residence on 25 July 2001, in circumstances that still have not fully come to light, Phoolan died less like a hero than like a common criminal, which many now damningly say she was. In a twist of bitter irony, shortly after her death Puni Lal, her first husband and torturer, led a cohort of feuding family, friends, and foes who filed claim to Phoolan's nearly 1 billion rupee estate, seemingly the only valued remnant of her tragic life. Like so many women who have attempted to speak out against atrocities committed against their gender, her voice was unrecognizably distorted and finally transformed, while real structural changes that might more permanently and effectively restore justice to India's women and poor remain elusive. As male politicians shout slogans of vengeance, castrating high-caste opponents with swords of words, the memory of Phoolan 's bloody and intoxicating acts of real castration have quickly receded into a blur. No one actually seems to have read her book. In publishing her autobiography, Phoolan hoped to overcome some of these distortions and to make her own voice heard. By drawing on the powerful role model ofDurga, Phoolan gave personal meaning and purpose to a brutal and excruaating existence: It was my hope that my testimonial 'Would give help to others: other women, my sisters who have been humiliated, and my brothers who are being exploited ... I wanted respect. I wanted them to say, 'Phoolan Devi is a human being.' because then

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they would say it about others... In my next life, perhaps destiny will not be so cruel. Let Durga hear her prayer. Stng of my deeds Tell of my combats How I fought tbe treacherous demons Forgive my fatltngs And bestow on me peace (Devi 1996, 497).

Notes 1

I am indebted to Cecily Czapansky, whose undergraduate paper on Phoolan Devi and fierce goddesses, written for my· class in 'Goddesses, Women, and Feminine Power in South Asia' at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1997, first inspired me to consider this matter in depth. 2 I, Pboolan Devt was reprinted by Penguin Books, New Zealand in 1997; it is still unavailable on Amazon.corn's US website. A search for the title on internet search engines turns up references in Europe, Southeast Asia, and India, as well as inclusion on several required course reading lists in the US, but no references in the US popular media. By contrast, a fairly extensive nUmber of film reviews ofShekhar Kapur's film '1be Bandit Queen' have been published, and the version of Phoolan's life presented In the film, desp~e Phoolan's own protests, is the one most popularly known ..

References Bacchetta, P. (1993): 'All our Goddesses are Armed: Religion, Resistance, and Revenge in the Life of a Militant Hindu Nationalist Woman'. Bulletin ofConcerned Asian Scholars 25:4, pp. 38-52. Bacchetta, P. (1996): 'Hindu Nationalist Women as Ideologues: The 'Sangh', the 'Samiti' and their Differential ConceptS of the Hindu Nation'. In Embodied VW/ence: Communalistng Women's Sexuality tn South Asta, K. Jayawardena and M. De Alwis (eds). (London and New Jersey: Zed Books). Brubaker, R.L. (1978): "The Ambivalent Mistress: A Study of South Indian Village Goddesses and their Religious Meaning". PhD dissertation. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press). Caldwell, Sarah. (1996): 'Bhagavati: Ball of Fire'. In Devt: Goddesses ofIndia, J.S. Hawley and 0. Wulff (eds). (Berkeley: University of California Press).

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PlRlNc fO& Rw.

Caldwell, Sar.ah. (199')): Ob Temfytng MOlber. SexsUIHty, Y-wlence, and Worship oftbe Goddess Kah. (New Delhi: Oxford Universay Press). Devi, Phoolan. (1996): I, Pboolan Devi: 1be AUlobiograpby ofIndia~ &mdU Queen. (London: Linle, Brown and Company). With Marie-Therese Cuny and Paul Ramb:di (Orig. pub. in French as Moi, Pboo/an Devt, retne des bandits, Fixol; reprinted by Tune Warner/Penguin New

l.ealand 1997.J Emdl, K.M. (1993): Victory to tbe Mother: 1be Hindu Goddess of.'Vortbwest Indta in Mytb, Rttual, and Symbol (New York: Oxford University Press). Hancock, Maty E. (1995): 'The Dilemmas of Domesticity: Possession and Devotional Experience among Urban SmartaWomen.' In From tbe Ma'81ns of Hindu Marriage: Essays on Gender, Religion, and Cu/lure, Lindsey Harlan and Paul B. Courtright (eds). (New York: Oxford University Press). Kinsley, David. (1986): Hindu Goddesses: Visions of tbe Divine Feminine tn tbe Hindu R.eltgfous TradUton. (Berkeley: University of California Press). McKean, Lise. (1996): ' Bharat Mata: Mother India and her Militant Matriots'. In Devi: Goddessesofindta,J.S. HawleyandD. Wulff(eds). (Berkeley: Univetsity of California Press). Ram, K. (1992): Mukkuvar Women: Gender, Hegemony and Capitalist Transfonnatton In a South Indian Fishing Community. (New Delhi: Kali for Women). Weaver, Ann. (1996): 'India's Bandit Queen'. 1be Atlantic Montb/y278:5, pp. 89-104.

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Index

Abhudhyanagar Sarvajanik Ganeshotsava Manda! 73 absence 96 absolutes, 122 action 2, 103, 109 without the desire of fruits 33 Adbyatma Riimilya1)(l 134 adult(s), adult world . 10, ~2 authority 88-9 child relationship 84 adultery, element in gopi story 13, 124-7, 131 adulthood 87 as-work 83 Advani, L.K. 2ln, 38 agency 20, 53, 75, 115, 143, 175 agnipari~a 119-20, 133-5 Agnivarpsa, ~Fire-Lineage Akhil Anjirwadi Sarvajanik Ganeshotsava Manda) 73 Akhil Bharatiya Sena 76 Alexander the Great's invasion 31 Alba 37 Amar Chitra Katha 132 ambiguity 6, 114 Aniruddha lo6

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anti-cow slaughter campaign 64 anxiety 145 Arjuna 33, 43 arya and (the 'noble' as member of the upper three classes) and mleccba ('those who speak · "m/eccb"'-i.e.barbarians), 29 Arya kingdoms 30 asceticism 126, 135 Ashtavakra 100n Asoka 29,31 astilrya ('orthodoxy' or 'those who say "It is"') and nastikya ('heresy' or 'those who say "It isn't"') 29 auspiciousness, 154 authoritarianism 42, 77 n authority 2, 5, 10, 17-8, 43, 52, 57,97, 165, 172 in the class room 83-9 avan:ia 27 Babri Masjid demolition 38, 56 backwardness 97 bada admt, perception of 92-3 Bat.sa Kabtr Manasamangala

104 B~idasa

111

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INDEX

Bandit Queen, 1be 162 Barbaras 35 barbarian invaders 36 Barjatya, Sooraj 137 Barkley, Charles 39 Bedi, Kiran 174 behaviour 1,3,83, 96, 117 Behmai massacre 173, See also Phoolan Devi Behula 4, 6-7, 11-13, 17-18, 105-15 beliefs, framework 97 Bengal ideals of women-hood in Manasamanga/a 102-15 Bbagavad Gita 30, 33, 106-7 Bbagvata Purar;a, 122, 12~5. 131 Bhairuji (Bhairava) 146-51 association with Rajput aristrocracy 149 and miscarriage, connection 149-50 Bbaktt (devotion) 6, 121-2 ideal of teacher 85-6 Bharati, Uma, 172 Bha.ratiya Janata Party (BJP) 41, 45, 51, 56, SeealsoShivSena Bbalf4Ya Purana 37 Bhima, 43 Bhisma, 30, 32-3 bbumtputra, 54 Bijayagupta 110-11 Bipradasa 110 B~Qupala 110, 112 Bose, Subhash Chandra nn brabman 32- 3 Brahmans 3, 8, 27, 32, 36, 40-1,

44

o uzeob

Go gle

Bhakti oriented 30 role models in Sanskrit epics 45 Vedic 30 Brihanmumbai Municipal Council

64 British colonialism brutality 166

55

Calukyas, 37 cand 105-8 cartoon mouthpieces 71-3 caste, caste system 4, 5, 16, 19, 36, 163, 173, 175 differences, 168 hierarchy, 168 higher, culturitl superiority 87

lower, girl child abuse, 164-5 cellular phones and unregulated forms of communication amongst criminal elements 52 chastity and modesty 12, 20, 28, 45n, 110-14, 149, 171 Chauhans, 37 child, children, childhood independence 91 playfulness 83, 90-3 and schooling/education 82, 'J7 child marriage, 153 child-likeness 91 childishness 92 clas5room 2, 4, 96, 98n Clinton, Bill 40 coconut, as symbolic child 152 commercialism 42 communal politics 21 n communalism s-6

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INDEX communication technology, 54 Communist Party of India (CPO 53 compa.rativism, 42 compassion, 108 compliance 17 consumption 3 conventionality, 108 corruption, 55, 57, 71- 2 cruelty 15, 32, 172 cultural stereotypes 97, 143-4, 154 curiosity 96 curriculum knowledge 84

dadagtrl, 54, 76, See also Thackerey, Bal datva 28, 30 dalits 37, 39, 161, See also Phoolan Devi dancing 113 Daradas 35 daughter-in-law 109, 128, 141, 144 and mother-in-law, relations 143-4, 149, 153-4 deities, use for moral indictment of leaders 71-3 democracy, 54 demonology 52 Desai, Morarji 71 Devidin 166 devotion and reward, didactic association 106 devotional tradition See Bbaktt dharma, 121, 123, 125, 131 , 134 dbarmaraja ('the just or lawful king) 29

181

Dhanna-Sasuas 117 dbarmayuddba ('just war) 29 dictatorship (thokshahi), 54 Dighe, Anang 76 discipline 10, 82-3, 89-92, 96-7 disinterestedness 42, 44 disobedience l o6 diversity in unity 5 divinity 10 dowry, 142 Draupadi 31, 37, 43-4 Dumezil, Georges 4~ Durga Vahini 22n Durga, Phoolan's identification with 162-3, 172""""4 Durkhlem, Emile 44 duty 92, 131, 134 conflicts in different areas 103 sense of 28; Kantian 42 and principles, harmony 136 Dviirikiidiisa 110 earth's fecundity 43 empowerment 20, 172 Enron 60 epic role models, 117- 19 epistemic community 98 n epistemic authority 88-9 exploitation 6, 20, 70 failures, segregation in class 93 faithfulness 20 familial relations, 54 family 20, 21n, 28,41, 109-10 life, tensio ns 143 situation/structures 4-5 women's role, 107

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INDEX

father, authority 84 female child, malnutrition, 153 independence (svatantra) 13, 110, 112 perceived dangers 15, 17 equates with waywardness 113 and wifely duties (patlvrata dbarma), conflict 11- 12, 14-15 infanticide, 142, 153 non-aggression 109 sexuality 14-15 fertile aspect 153 solidarity 13-14, 17, 130, 135 femaleness 16 feminine fear 12 identity 1 role 107 femininity 103, 108, 112, 163 feminist anthropology 14 femme fa tale 15 fertility 14, 144, 152-4 festival mandap, tableaux, political use by Shiv Sena 9-10 fictive kinship 144 Fire, 119 Fire-Lineage (Agnivarpsa) ~7 folklore, folkloric constructions of a teacher's role 5, 87, 94-5, 97 forbearance (ksama) 35 Foucauldian, 52 functional fictions, role models and role play for real 39-45 Ganapati utsava mandap tableux, political use by Shiv Sena 51, 53, 56-71, 73, 75

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GOL gle

Ganapati, use for moral indictment of leaders 71-3 gandbavantks 104 Gandhl, Indira, 174 Gandhl, M.K. 66, 119 Ganga Prasad, 60 gangsterism 64, 67 Gauri Puji, 125, 127 Gautama, ~i 34 Gawli, A.run 76 Gayatrl mantra 86 gender 2, 4, 8, 11-16, 18, 114, 141, 163, 169, 172, 176 and communal issues, 5 and dhanna 121 and Hinduness 3 roles 5, 41, 113, 115, 153 stereotypes 4 Gennan warrior and Indian ~triya 42-3 Gita Press 6, 7, 10 goonda raj, 55 gopis 8-9, 12-13, 17, 120-36 Gosvami, ]iva (GauQiya theologian) 134 Greeks, 36 Guill Khetwadi Sarvajanik Ganeshotsava Manda! 60 Guru, 96 gurukuls 86 guru-stsby a relationship 7, 84-8,

lOOn Haritas 35 Heracles 43 hierarchy, hierarchies 85, 107, 114, 165 high caste agenda, rejection by lower caste women 19

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INDEX H indu(s), Hinduism

5-7, 102-3,

142 mythology, 113 Right agitation, 58 society, four classes 27 women, 119 Hindu Goddesses, by David Kinsley 171 Hindutva ideology/mantle 6, 38,

45,53,60, 70 . 97 Hum Aapke Hain Kaun 137 human interactions, 103 humiliation and revenge, 171-2 home knowledge

humour 89

·

I, Phoolan Devi 162 IQ 97 ideal student (adarsb-Wlyaratb{)

92-6 identity, identities 1, }-4, 95 communal constructions 4 of students and teachers 82-

4, 89 ignorance 91-3 l~aku

47n

llaiah, Kancha 38 illiteracy, illiterates 82, 93 stigma of 93 imagery, use in cartoons by Shiv

Sena 9, 71-3 independence

11, 120-2, 153,

169, 171 and submission 17-18 Indian National Congress 53, 60 individuals, dialectical relationship with society 98n lndo-Aryans 31 Indo-European societies 42-3 inequalities 54, 154

183

injustice 171 in-migration 54 innocence 91 intimidation 104-5 Jalgaon rape scandal 60-1 Jamadagni 33 janapada nostalgia 30-1 Jodhpur fort, underground temple of Bhairuji 150 Jodhpur, Maharaja of 148, 152 Jodhpur, Maha.rani of 151-2 joint family system 128 Joshi, Manohar, 51 junkers and bureaucrats, opposition 42 justice, 103, 163, 174, 176 Kadu, Balchandra 62 Kali historically associated with dacoits 173 power of destruction 174 as a role model 170

Kalyan 82, 88, 90, 92, 95 Kamadhenu 34-5 Karnbojas 35 . Kan~ka 29 Kapur, Shekhar 162 karma yoga 33, 44 Kan;ia, 44, 47 n KaSyapa 34 Klityayani Puja, 125, 127 Kauravas 35. 45n Kaushalya 14,31, 128-9. 135 Kiratas 35 knowledge 3 construction 83, 97, 98n as received 97

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INDEX

Kolambkar, Kalidas 62 Krishna 17, 30, 33--4, 37, lo6, 120-2, 124-5, 132--6 playfulness 10, 91-2 story adaptation for 1V by Ramanand Sagar 9, 12 K~ SandariJba, by jiva Gosvarni 134 f4atrlya (warrior) 6, 9, 27, 32-3, 40-3 and Brahmans, relationship 28, 47n decline 28,36 old and new in Sanskrit epics 2S-36,44 role in Indian independence

44 role model in post-epic histories 36-9 ~mananda, Ketakiidiis 104, 112 kulabadhu 110 Kunti 31 Lakhindara 106, 108, 112-13 La~n rekha 133 leader and supporter, reciprocal relationship, 54 · learning 83, 97 legalism 42 liberalization, 52 Lok ]agar (People's Awakening) 64 love and dhanna 13, 121-2, 1301, 134 Lowe, David 71 lunar dynasty 34, 36

Mahabharata 27-37, 43, 45n, 46n, 60

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mahafnana 106 Maharashtra, political agitation 53 male anatomy 166 desire 15 dominance 13, 17-18, 122, 154, 164, 171 opposition to, 154-5 fears concerning female independence· 15 female relationship 14 oppressive structure, 119 power 107, 173 sadomasochistic sexual fantasies 175 maleness 16, 172 Manasa goddess 12, 104-15 Manasa Purilt:ia 108 matigalakavyas 102-3 Manu 106, 110 manual work, children's altitude 93 Manusmrti 106 Markandeya 30, 46n Marmik(weekly) 71 marriage, 125 married state, women's highest felicity 109 martial nostalgia 31 maryada, 124, 127-35 rejection by gopis 123 masculinity 3 maternal authority, 130 Mauryan Imperialism 31

maya 134 Mayadin 166--7 Mehta, Deepa, 119 memorization, role in learning 97

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INDEX menstruation 145 Merton, Robert K. 40 Mlecchas 3>-7 model student See ideal student ( adarsb-vidyaratb{) modernity, 51 modesty Seechastity and modesty moral, morality 122, 127 authority 89 boundaries 110 in conflict with love 128 perception lo6 perspicacity 114 strength 2, See also maryilda morning assembly 86, 89, 93 mortality, 143 mother-child relationship 85 Mumbai bomb blasts, aftermaths 52 Mundakopantsbad 88 Muncie, Gopinath, 51 Murshidabad, Nawab of, 124 Muslim(s), 37, 55 marginalization and demonization, 64 namaz(prayer) in public spaces 57 mythological heroes 94 Nachiketa lOOn Naik, Keshavji 66 name-calling 89 Nandadas 136 Nandini 35 Narada 30 Nar.iyal).adeva 111 neo-~triya 38-9, 41

185

Neta lo6 norms and values

4, 29

obedience 85,87,94--6, 129 occupational roles, 41-2 o ppression 20 Pahlavas 35 Pandavas 31,35,43,45n Pandey,Gyanendra 70 parakiya 124-5, 127, 134 Paramars, 37 Parasara, Rsi 34 Parasurama 33-4 parent-offs pring relationship 84, 87 parents, authority 84 Parmaras 37 Parson, Talcott 40-4 Parvati 12>-7 pastoralism 43 Patel, Rinku 61 paternalism (ma-bapiSm), 54 patience 28 Patil, Shrikant 64 pativrata (devoted to husband as her lord) 7, 11-13, 15, 17-20, 44, 115 patriarchal ideology/ values, patriarchy 1~14, 105, 135, 153 patriline 3, 11, 14, 17, 144, 154 patriotism 87 patronage, 58 patron-protj!gj! relationship 84, 87 pauru¥' ('manliness' or 'heroism') and datva ('submission to divinely ordained fate'), tension 29

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INDEX

Pawar, Sharad 72 pedagogy, pedagogic authority 82-3 pebcbaan (recognition) 95 perception, formulations, 103 perseverance 95 person and technology, interface, 52 Peshwas 66 Phadke, Ratnakar 62 Phadke, Vasudev Balvant 66 Phoolan Devi 7, 15-17 illiterate 174 as a powerful member of parliament 176 and politics of vengeance 161-77 self-created persona of Durga 11, 15, 162-3, 172-4 Phule, jyotiba 56 physical hazards 111-12 playfulness 10, 90-1 vs destructiveness 91 plutocracies 42 political, politics 41 plebianization. 58 praxis sanctified by religion,

90 production and consumption process 1 professionalism, 42 pronunciation 86 'public consciousness, 174 publicspace, Hinduization 57 Pundras 35 punishment 89, 106 pupil-teacher relationship 6 Purdah, 120-1 purity, 107, 110-11, 120, 133, 135 Pu~ SUkta 8, 36, 39 purusbartba (' the goals/meanings of life,' central among which is dharma) 29 Puttl Lal 166, 168, 176 questioning 96, lOOn

Radha 3, 118, 120-2, 124, 126-7, 132-6

rajadbarma (' the king's law o r

58 use of divine figures 10-11, 51,53,56-71, 73, 75 polluting period of reproductive cycle 145 possessiveness, 115 poverty 168 power 2-4, 10-11, 57, 89, 103, 143, 165, in kno wledge regime 97 relationships between teacher and children 9 structures 14

o uzeob

Pratiharas 37 pravrtti('orientation toward this world') and nivrtfi ('orientation toward liberation'), 29 Prithviraj Chauhan 6, 37 private English medium schools

Go gle

king's duties) 29 Rajanya 8, 39 Rajputs 6, 31, 36 bravery and determination 31 pregnancy rituals and female solidarty 7, 14, 17, 141-55 women, 153 Rama 33-5, 44, 94, 118, 120-2, 128, 134-5 and religion, political manipulation 22n

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INDEX

Rilmilyar.za (IV Serial) 6, 123-4, 128-31, 135-6 Ramayar.za of vahniki 27-37, 45n, 46n, 60, 122, 124, 128 Rilm-carlt-milnas by Tulsidas 12, 122, 124, 128-31 Riis-Ii/a 120, 125-6, 132-6 Ras-pancildbyilyi, by Hariram Vyas 12, 123 Rathore Rajpurs 148 rationality 9, 99 n Rawat Rajpurs 147 realpolitik, 51, 53, 73 reasoning 82 rebellion and compliance 17 regional provenance 6 rejection and acceptance 17 relationships 1, 2 religion and politics 58-9, 64, 76 religious role models 5 remote control, notion of 51- 2,

54 representations 1, 3 resilience 28 resistance 18, 20, 153 retaliation 35 reticence, 145 /Jg Veda 35 Rithambra, Sadhvi, 172 Rodman, Dennis 39 role and role model, distinction

40-1 role choices 92 role model 174 construction and use and gender 11-16 media usage 20 misuse 45 role orientations 98n

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187

Roop Kanwar, 153 Roy Choudhary, Radhanath 111 royal lineages 31 Rupa, Jiva (Gaucfiya theologian) 134 Sabers 35 Sabnis, Vikas 71- 2 Sagar, Ramanand 6, 9, 12-13, 15, 124-7, 130-6 Sahni, Naina (tandoor murder case)

6o-1

Sakas 35 . 5akN 19-20, 102-3 Samajwadi Party (SP) 174 Sanaka 105-10 sanatana dbarma ('the eternal law) 29 Sangh Parivar 22 n Sankara Garu