The Quest for Manhood: Masculine Hinduism and Nation in Bengal

Subho Basu, Sikata Banerjee

Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Volume 26, Number 3, 2006, pp. 476-490 (Article) Published by Duke University Press

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The Quest for Manhood: Masculine Hinduism and Nation in Bengal

Subho Basu and Sikata Banerjee

Seven millions sons, oh devoted Mother, you have made into Bengalis, not men. Rabindranath Tagore, Bongo Mata (Mother Bengal)

oal! thundered eighty thousand spectators in Calcuttas soccer stadium when Abilash Ghosh of Mohun Bagan grabbed a quick pass from Shibdas Bhaduri and hit the ball into the net against East York. Within two minutes the final match for the Indian Football Association (IFA) shield between East York, a British military team, and Mohun Bagan, a team of Calcutta Bengalis, came to an end on 29 July 1911. So electrifying was the victory for the Bengalis that many started tearing their shirts and waving them in the air. Even members of the Moslem Sporting Club (a pioneering soccer team of Bengal Muslims), forgetting bitter moments of Hindu-Muslim conflict during the anti-partition movement that took place between 1903 and 1911, went almost mad . . . [started] rolling on the ground . . . on the victory of their Hindu brethren. The event became international news as Reuters reported that for the first time in the history of Indian Football, a core Bengali team, Mohun Bagan, won the IFA Shield by defeating a competent White team. Euphoria did not die down as the next morning, 30 July 1911, the Bengali , a nationalist daily of Calcutta, published a poem by the Mohun Bagans:
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The Bengali narrative of this event no doubt demonstrates the relationship between sports and nationalism in the imperial context. Indeed, recent research demonstrates that sports, with its tense spectacular drama for a limited period, highlights moments of nationalist outpouring and transforms the imagined community of nation into concrete reality marked by intense emotion, sentimentality, and display of physical prowess.2 This sporting event can also be read as a spectacle transmitting and creating a specific idea of an imagined Bengali community. This event in Calcutta also touches a crucial cultural aspect of emerging Indian na1. These details were derived from the Web site of the Mohun Bagan Athletic Club (www.mohunbagan.sports-india.com/ History-1910-1919.html; accessed 20 September 2005). We have, however, veried their authenticity, individually cross-checking original sources. 2. For further details on the subject, see Gary Armstrong, Football Hooligans: Knowing the Score (Oxford: Berg, 1998); Gary Armstrong and Richard Giulianotti, eds., Fear and Loathing in World Football (Oxford: Berg, 2001); and Seth Koven, From Rough Lads to Hooligans: Boy Life, National Culture, and Social Reform, in Nationalisms and Sexualities, ed. Andrew Parker, Mary Russo, Doris Sommer, and Patricia Yaeger (New York: Routledge, 1992), 36591.

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tionalism among Hindus of Bengal, namely, the quest for manhood. No doubt the effete image of Bengalis portrayed by many British colonial officials impinged on the consciousness of Bengali Hindus who from the late nineteenth century engaged in a political project of recovery of physical prowess through a physical culture movement. This project was intimately linked with notions of competing masculinities within the colonial milieu. Masculinity, like other forms of identity, is historically, politically, and culturally constituted. However, as Robert W. Connell claims, one form is always hegemonic. 3 In the nineteenth, twentieth, and early twenty-first centuries, Anglo-American hegemonic masculinity valorized/valorizes traits such as rationality, martial prowess, muscular strength, competition, individualism, and male camaraderie, as well as a zero-sum approach to confrontation.4 It is important to note that even within the parameters of hegemonic masculinity, masculinity was multifaceted, never just the sole exercise of raw power. Further, the hegemony of a certain cultural form of masculinity within the nation also shaped relations with femininities and female bodies. Hegemonic masculinity has had a complex existence within the British Empire. On the one hand, imperialism configured its ideas of hegemonic masculinities by defining itself against a supposedly effeminate colonial other, and on the other hand, the colonized subject created a masculine cultural space that resisted this feminization. With colonizer and colonized locked in struggle, terms of which had been set by Britains imperial authority, not surprisingly various nationalist responses occurred in incorporating the values of hegemonic masculinity. However, this incorporation did not merely duplicate
3. Robert W. Connell, Masculinities (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995). 4. Charlotte Hooper, Manly States: Masculinities, International Relations, and Gender Relations (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001).

British ideas but was itself an imaginative configuration of nationalist myths and icons based on traditional cultural ideas aimed at challenging alien colonial rule. The dynamic dance of competing masculinities under the British imperial gaze happened in various colonial spaces: Ireland, Palestine, and Australia.5 This study of Bengali nationalism is the study of a particular intersection of masculinity and nation in a colonial space quite integral to Britains empire in India: Bengal. The quest for masculinity became a crucial component of elite nationalism in Bengal in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Colonial rule had been variously interpreted by different segments of Western-educated Bengali elites as the loss of manliness. The search for manliness and the supposed assertion of virility through revolutionary violence thus became a critical component of elite nationalist resistance to colonial rule. Scholars engaged in exploring implications of this quest for manhood have sought to understand why this effete selfimage has had so profound an impact on the consciousness of Bengalis. A critical pioneering study by John Rosselli has explained such concern in terms of the elite project of nation building and rights of citizenship.6 According to this study, by claiming the loss of manhood under colonial rule and by initiating a project to reclaim masculinity through political action, Bengali elites could distinguish their political project from the already existing rustic culture of violence and brute physical force exercised by landlords and their retainers. Such exclusive political focus actually transformed elites into sole actors losing and gaining manliness in Bengal divorced from a wider rustic but robust physical culture. This line of argument obviously provides interesting insights into the supposed

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5. For Ireland, see Begona Aretxaga, Dirty Protest: Symbolic Overdetermination and Gender in Northern Ireland Ethnic Violence, Ethos 23 (1995): 12348; Catherine Innes, Virgin Territories and Motherlands: Colonial and Nationalist Representations of Africa and Ireland, Feminist Review 47 (1994): 114; Angela K. Martin, The Practice of Identity and an Irish Sense of Place, Gender, Place, and Culture 4 (1997): 189219; and Patrick McDevitt, Muscular Catholicism: Nationalism, Masculinity, and Gaelic Team Sports, Gender and History 9 (1997): 26284. For Palestine, see Joseph Massad, Conceiving the Masculine: Gender and Palestinian Nationalism, Middle East Journal 49 (1995):

46783. For Australia, see Richard White, Inventing Australia: Images and Identity, 16881980 (Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1981); Marilyn Lake, Women and Nation in Australia: The Politics of Representation, Australian Journal of Politics and History 43 (1997): 4153; and Lake, Mission Impossible: How Men Gave Birth to the Australian Nation: Nationalism, Gender, and Other Seminal Acts, Gender and History 2 (1992): 30421. 6. John Rosselli, The Self Image of Effeteness: Physical Education and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Bengal, Past and Present 86 (1980): 12148.

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decline of such concerns in postindependence India in terms of the departure of British and ubiquitous Indian landlords from the political stage of Bengal under the twin impact of nationalist revolution and peasant movements. This essay further interrogates such concerns and argues that while this thesis of elite action provides critical insight into the quest for political manhood, it highlights only one aspect of a diverse and complex project concerning the idea of physical effeteness of elite, educated Bengali Hindus. While building on Rossellis thesis,7 this essay further argues that the very notion of effeteness was built into the condition of the existence of Western-educated Bengali elites. They were haunted by the unhappy awareness that they were creatures of colonial modernity. As British rule produced geo-histories of India, Bengali elites realized that they never had a culture of political virility in comparison to Rajputs, Sikhs, and Marathas. This realization, along with the colonial construction of the image of Bengali elites, namely, babus (government clerks), as an effete population, prompted a political project that challenged both the foundation of colonial stereotypes and their self-identity as a product of colonial social engineering. This project of recovery of manliness became an important political agenda as Bengal slowly descended into cataclysmic epidemics in the late nineteenth century under the impact of colonial modernization. The quotidian experience of physical violence committed by British soldiers on the streets of Calcutta as much as communal riots between Hindus and Muslims further confi rmed the necessity of such a political project from the perspective of Bengali Hindus. It is against this background that Bengali Hindu elites initiated a wider political project that appropriated the colonial modernity of state building but sought to redefine it in terms of nation building and organizing a political revolution. When such a revolutionary project of elite nationalism faced steep competition from Gandhian mass nationalism in the after-

math of World War I, Bengali elites searched for an alternative international revolution through vanguard political organizations. This explains the revolutionary penchant of Bengali elites to forge critical connections with wider Marxist movements or the right-wing militarism of Japan. The quest for masculine heroism did not die out. It instead assumed new forms by integrating itself with wider political currents of diverse forms of global revolutionary movements of the early twentieth century that provided alternative methods of articulation of such masculine anxiety within the matrix of modernizing movements. Bengali nationalism was also a part of the nineteenth-century quest in India for Hindu masculinity, which was incarnated in militant Hindu nationalism. This essay excavates the manner in which this quest for manhood circulated through and created a particular interpretation of a BengaliIndian imagined community. The particular constructions under scrutiny comprise a reading of the popular novel Pather Dabi (Demands of the Path) by Saratchandra Chatterjee (1876 1938), the boys adventure story Hire Manik Jwale (Flash of Diamonds) by Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay (18941950), and finally the writings of Saraladebi Ghosal (18721945), who was a particularly strong female voice in support of this quest for manhood.
Gender and Nationalism

The dynamic intersection of manhood and nation within Bengali nationalism began with empire and Christian manliness, the particular interpretation of hegemonic masculinity that shaped the imperial lens in Bengal. The linkage between British notions of hegemonic masculinity and institutions and imaginings of empire has been a topic of contemporary research.8 Inherent in this relationship is the pejorative judgment of the conquered. Indian men were conquered because they were effeminate and were seen as effeminate because they were conquered. Their conquered status constructed them as not muscular, not aggressive, and not
tions: Masculinities in Britain since 1800 (New York: Routledge, 1991); and Norman Vance, The Sinews of the Spirit: The Ideal of Christian Manliness in Victorian Literature and Religious Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).

7. Ibid. 8. See David Alderson, Mansex Fine: Religion, Manliness, and Imperialism in Nineteenth-Century British Culture (Manchester: Manchester University Press,

1998); David D. Gilmore, Manhood in the Making (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990); Donald Hall, ed., Muscular Christianity: Embodying the Victorian Age (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994); Michael Roper and John Tosh, Manful Asser-

skilled in militarism, all values associated with femininity. It is important to emphasize that the tensions between the British imperial gaze and the counter gaze of Indian resistance involved not only competing colonial masculinities/male bodies but also femininities and female bodies within the nation. Recent work has demonstrated that in India during the nineteenth century the images of chaste wife, heroic mother, and celibate warrior are three common expressions of femininities/female bodies that have circulated in the conflict between British imperial authority and Indian nationalisms.9 Such imaging did not necessarily construct submissive or apolitical roles for women; indeed, many women used these iconic images to catapult themselves into nationalist politics. Women revolutionaries such as Pritilata Waddedar, the well-known martyr of an attack on the Pahartali Railway Officers Club in the port town of Chattagram on 24 September 1932, were clearly inspired by such an ideal. But this entry, whether as chaste wife, heroic mother, or warrior (revolutionaries, political activists), was defi ned by ideals of heteronormative chastity. A womans body remained heterosexual and chaste, as it embodied national honor. Indeed, her body became the canvas on which competing masculinities were played out. Any deviation, usually sexualthat is, aggressive sexuality, love outside of marriage, queer desire, or relations with the otherbrought dishonor.10 This dance of gender began, at the height of imperial expansion, with an interpretation of hegemonic masculinity commonly known in that era as Christian manliness.
Christian Manliness and Empire

Christian manliness formed the bridge connecting empire and gender in terms of both emphasizing the British need to guide Indians (who
9. Sikata Banerjee, Make Me a Man! Masculinity, Hinduism, and Nationalism in India (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005). 10. While this article does not have the space to provide a detailed example of the implications for the lived experiences of women in terms of these assumptions, although the section on Saraladebi will point out some implications, such analysis remains incomplete, as her elite status in terms of caste and class mediated her social location in ways that are/

were not aware of these values) and presenting India as the ideal venue for practicing Christian manhood. Christian manliness was a Protestant construct. It emerged in the mid-nineteenth century when British imperial power was at its zenith and drew on various traitsself-control, discipline, confidence, martial prowess, military heroism, heterosexuality, and rationality. However, even at the height of imperial expansion, many British elite were beset by a masculine anxiety (represented by the works of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hughes, and Charles Kingsley) that industrialization and urban decay were sapping the manliness of Britons.11 The robust values of Christian manliness were created as an antidote to the effeminate decline of society, and it became clear in the process of such articulation that an important component of this remasculinization was empire. Conquering and holding British imperial lands were vital aspects of this rejuvenated masculinity. In 1866, the Religious Tract Society of London published a monograph titled Christian Manliness: A Book of Examples and Principles for Young Men . Its contents outlined several characteristics necessary for constructing an ideal Christian man: faith, personal will to decide, resolve, fidelity, courage, energy, perseverance, strength, gentleness, self-mastery, and prudence. The title as well as the language of the tract very clearly assumed a male audience. Reverend John Cairds Christian Manliness: A Sermon and Samuel Smiless best-selling Self-Help shored up this construct.12 Sir Henry Lawrence, a much-revered colonial administrator and military commander, linked his imperial presence in India with his Christian duty.13 John Brookess book Manliness: Hints to Young Men drew a link between national progress and manliness, wherein manly nations are sure to progress and unmanly nations are bound to be conquered.14 He argues that the

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were not accessible by the poor, Dalit, and tribal women of India. For a detailed analysis of the situation see Banerjee, Make Me a Man! 11. Vance, Sinews of the Spirit. 12. Christian Manliness: A Book of Examples and Principles for Young Men (London: Religious Tract Society, 1866), 95; John Caird, Christian Manliness: A Sermon (Glasgow: James Maclehouse, 1871); and Samuel Smiles, Self-Help (London: John Murray, 1879).

13. Henry Lawrence, Essays, Military and Political, Written in India (London: William H. Allen, 1859), 43. 14. John Brookes, Manliness: Hints to Young Men (London: James Blackwood [ca. 1860]).

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Jewish, Greek, and Roman nations fell because they had lost sight of or were unaware of the proper notions of manliness, best exemplified by ideas of Christian manhood. He then goes on to claim that there is no need to search human history for examples of Christian manliness as the Bible provides the most inspiring model, Christ. Drawing on such assumptions, Thomas Hughes penned The Manliness of Christ . Hughes draws on Britains Indian empire to elaborate his story about the manliness of Christ.15 However, these texts clearly distinguish between mere muscular Christianity and Christian manliness, not only including physical strength/martial prowess but also going beyond mere muscularity to emphasize moral dimensions.16 Further, despite the allusion to the folly of muscular Christianity, many proponents of Christian manliness placed a muscular body at the center of their discourse and were avid supporters of athletics as an expression of masculinity. Terms of manliness and manhood shifted in colonial observations. Although some references to Indians commonly conflated effeminacy and a lack of martial prowess, other observations about Indian manhood were based on broader interpretations of Christian manliness. For example, while the martial ability of some groups of Indian men may have been acknowledged, simultaneously these same groups would be condemned for being unmanly because of a perceived lack of rationality (the martial Sikh), honesty (the devious Maratha), and/or childlike behavior (the loyal Gurkha).

The intersection of Christian manliness and empire manifested in both fictional and nonfictional narratives. In the fictional realm, adventure books written for British schoolboys incorporated the message of Christian manliness by celebrating its alliance with imperialism; simultaneously, patriotism and military courage were also emphasized as potent traits in this intersection.17 The focus on youth and construction of imperial masculinity formed an integral component of the Christian manliness movement as British society reproduced its values through the socialization of its children.18 Nonfictional accounts also disseminated ideas of Christian manhood. For example, the monograph published by the Religious Tract Society referred to British colonial administrators and military leaders such as Warren Hastings, Henry Lawrence, and General Henry Havelock as living examples of Christian manliness. Havelock was a favorite icon representing Christian heroism, and books such as General Havelock and Christian Soldiership by Reverend Frederick Smeeton Williams and General Havelock; or, The Christian Soldier by Lieutenant Colonel B. D. W. Ramsay celebrated his valor.19 Within this discourse of hegemonic imperial masculinity, the most potent symbol of the effeminate, native, other was the Bengali. Much has been written about the Bengali babu, or government clerk, as the archetypical effeminate figure constructed in opposition to the hardy, masculine, imperial British ruler; the stereotype needs little further elucidation.20 But it is worth presenting yet again Thomas Babington
courteous) behavior and punished for effeminacy (excessive emotionality, manipulation, lying, deceit, and weakness). Additionally, the BOP underscored the need to be athletic by running articles on how to excel in rugby, cricket, swimming, and rowing. 19. Frederick Smeeton Williams, General Havelock and Christian Soldiership (London: Judd and Glass, 1858); B. D. W. Ramsay, General Havelock; or, The Christian Soldier (London: n.p., 1871). 20. Joseph Alter, Celibacy, Sexuality, and the Transformation of Gender into Nationalism in North India, Journal of Asian Studies 53 (1994): 4563; Indira Chowdhury, The Fragile Hero and Virile History: Gender and Politics of Culture in Colonial Bengal (Calcutta: Oxford University Press, 2001); and Mrinalini Sinha, Colonial Masculinity: The Manly Englishman and the Effeminate Bengali in the Late Nineteenth Century (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995).

15. Thomas Hughes, The Manliness of Christ (London: Macmillan, 1879). 16. Caird, Christian Manliness, 146. 17. Martin Green, Dreams of Adventure, Deeds of Empire (New York: Basic Books, 1980). 18. For example, see G. A. Hentys At the Point of the Bayonet: A Tale of the Mahratta War (London: Blackie and Son, 1902) and Through the Sikh War: A Tale of the Conquest of the Punjab (London: Blackie and Son, 1897). These are but two of the popular booksby the 1890s they were selling at a rate of 150,000 units annuallypublished by Henty using Britains empire in India as a backdrop for tales of derring-do. Henty was not the only author who wrote adventure stories that utilized ideas of masculinity to create energizing myths for empire building. H. Rider Haggard, Arthur Ransome, and R. M. Ballantyne also added to this discourse. See Christopher Gittings, Imperialism

and Gender: Constructions of Masculinity (Sydney: Dangaroo, 1996); and Richard Phillips, Mapping Men and Empire (London: Routledge, 1997). The Religious Tract Society in 1879 launched the Boys Own Paper (BOP), which in short order reached a circulation of 1 million. Christian manliness comprised an important component of this publication, as authors such as Ballantynepraised by the BOP for being at once amongst the manliest of men and the sincerest of Christians (quoted in Phillips, Mapping Men, 54) wrote action-packed Christian adventure stories for boys. The magazine published adventure stories set in the United Kingdom as well as various other parts of the empire: India, Africa, and the American frontier. Another staple of this publication was the public school story. These events set in English public schools taught boys the values of Christian manliness through characters who were rewarded for proper manly (honest, courageous, strong, and

Macaulays famous words describing the Bengali, as this most powerful image of an effeminate India formed the basis of British confidence in their own masculinity:
The race by whom this rich tract was peopled, enervated by a soft climate and accustomed to peaceful avocations, bore the same relation to other Asiatics which the Asiatics generally bear to the bold and energetic children of Europe. . . . Whatever the Bengalee does he does languidly. . . . He shrinks from bodily exertion; . . . and scarcely ever enlists as a soldier. We doubt whether there be a hundred genuine Bengalese in the whole army of the East India Company.21 The physical organization of the Bengalee is feeble even to effeminacy. . . . During many ages he has been trampled upon by men of bolder and more hardy breeds.22

In British eyes, these feeble effeminate beings required the straightforwardness of Christian honesty and the manliness of British energy to enjoy order and stability.23
Bengali-Indian Responses to the British Gaze

Certain sections of the Indian elite internalized this British colonial criticism. They began to ridicule themselves for their weaknesses and inability to defend their motherland. For example,
The Bengali alas is always pathetic, Eats, dresses, slumbers, and guards his domestic, Should you give him a mealno matter trash or treat, That instant hes your slave and falls at your feet! So why does he worship those red feet with flowers? Abandon your lion-riding, in these parts O Mother [reference here to the warrior goddess Durga, who is a major Bengali diety, can also represent motherland in this context], Should such a breed worship you, who will then be porters?24
21. John Lord, ed., Macaulays Essays on Lord Clive and Warren Hastings (London: Ginn, 1931), 31. 22. Ibid., 10910. 23. Alexander Duff, The Indian Rebellion: Its Causes and Results (London: Nesbitt, 1858), 286. 24. Anonymous, Poem to the Goddess, quoted in Chowdhury, Fragile Hero, 1.

Such self-denigration was the implicit background for the powerful and eloquent call to manhood articulated by Swami Vivekananda (18631902) and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (18831966), who called on Indians to be men and wrest their motherland from the British with force if necessary. Two images, formed by ideas of hegemonic masculinity and the deeds of ancient Hindu warriors, illustrated this narrative: the Hindu soldier and the warrior monk. Savarkar eloquently celebrated the former model of manhood. Although he was not from Bengal, the Bengali elite would be familiar with his texts. An exploration of Indias weak martial spirit formed the thematic framework of almost all of his work. He posited that the British conquest could be explained by the degeneration of a once powerful and mature masculine Hinduism, one that had reached its zenith during the rule of the Marathas under the warrior king Shivaji (163080). In Savarkars mind Shivaji was an ideal representation of masculine Hinduism expressing martial prowess, courage, muscular strength, and the ability to be organized and efficient. 25 As president of the Hindu Mahasabha (literally, the Grand Association of Hindus, a Hindu nationalist organization), Savarkar claimed that he wanted to Hinduise all politics and militarise Hinduism, and he urged young men to re-learn manly lessons from the legacy of Hindu martial honor expressed by Shivajis glorious military resistance to the might of the Mogul Empire.26 Although his image of masculinity centered on male bodies, it is clear that extraordinary women could also embody these traits of masculine Hinduism. One example is Lakshmibai, the Rani (Queen) of Jhansi who fell in battle protecting her kingdom rather than capitulate to the British.27 But in Savarkars texts, the Rani could claim this warrior status only by erasing all visible markers of her sexuality. The figure

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25. Savarkars texts The Indian War of Independence (1909; Bombay: Dhawale-Popular, [1960]) and Hindu Pad-Padashahi; or, A Review of the Hindu Empire of Maharashtra (1909; Pune: Manohar Mahadeo Kelkar, 1942) best express the intersection of Hinduism and hegemonic masculinity in the model of masculine Hinduism.

26. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Hindu Rashtra Darsha: A Collection of Speeches Delivered from the Hindu Mahasabha Platform (Mumbai: Laxman Ganesh Khare, 1949), 302, 201. 27. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, The Indian War of Independence (Mumbai: Dhanvale Prakashan, 1960), 147.

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of the Rani embodies two models of woman in the nation that recur in Hindu nationalism: the heroic mother and the masculinized, celibate woman warrior. The chaste Rani fought in the guise of a masculine warrior (literally donning male clothing) to defend her sons birthright. Vivekananda was a similar advocate of manliness. He bemoaned the effeminacy of Indians and urged Indians to overcome their woman-like nature and become men: No more weeping, but stand on your feet and be men.28 His writings moved beyond ideas of physical strength and martial prowess to include notions of muscular spirituality. The warrior monk embodied his particular fusion of hegemonic masculinity and spiritual vigor. In terms of female activism and its relation to masculinity, it behooves us to query whether in his view women could take on the traits of masculine Hinduism to serve the nation as warrior monks. The answer is a qualified no. Vivekananda held a rather ambiguous position toward women. On the one hand, he extolled the virtues of historical figures such as the Rani of Jhansi and even celebrated various women of his timeSister Nivedita and Saraladebiwho had transcended traditional gender roles to enter the public sphere as nationalists. On the other hand, wife and mother were held up as potent images in his interpretation of womens role in the nation: The height of a womans ambition is to be like Sita . . . the patient, the all-suffering, the ever-faithful, the ever-pure wife, and Now the ideal woman, in India, is the mother, the mother first, and the mother last. The word woman calls up to the mind of the Hindu, motherhood.29 The valorization of such images led him to ignore actual women when he was organizing the Ramakrishna Mission as a training ground for warrior monks. Women, because of their potential for seducing a warrior monk away from a path of spiritual righteousness, were to be kept under strict surveillance in the religious organization.30 Celibacy was a vital part of Vivekanan-

das vision of the warrior monk. All dedicated followers of the Ramakrishna Order were to be monks who had embraced celibacy and accepted the wearing of the saffron robe (as did Vivekananda) of Hindu holy men. In this narrative of male celibacy, the sexuality of women becomes a perceived threat. Thus, it became necessary for women not to enter the Ramakrishna monasteries. Further, because of their primary roles as mothers and wives, woman-making education was to be kept separate from man-making education and to include only a rudimentary introduction to religion, arts, and science, with an emphasis on housekeeping, cooking, sewing, hygiene. . . . It is not good to let them touch novels and fictions.31 Likewise, women ascetics, skilled in such arts, could be trained as educators of women in separate institutions. Wife (pure and chaste), heroic mother, and celibate female ascetic represented the entirety of womens role in the nation. We may note that female sexuality has been erased, and it can be inferred that women who do embody markers of femininityjewelry, makeup, and colorful clothingthus enhancing their sexual nature are not deemed appropriate participants in the nationalist struggle. Tanika Sarkar argues that as Indian men felt effeminized in the public sphere under an imperial gaze constructed with ideas of hegemonic masculinity, they responded by asserting their masculinity in the inner world, or the domestic sphere. One impact of this masculine gaze was the creation of a chaste wife, devoted to her husband and children. Politically, these ideas informed many of the reform movements of the nineteenth century.32 This dynamic dance between manhood and womanhood released images of political activism (i.e., warrior monk, Hindu soldier, and chaste wife) into the common cultural milieu; these ideas were available for use by authors in their fictional work. This essay focuses on a resolutely muscular interpretation of hegemonic Bengali masculinity (more Hindu soldier than warrior monk) as

28. Jyotirmayananda, ed. and trans., Vivekananda: His Gospel of Man-Making with a Garland of Tributes and a Chronicle of His Life and Times with Pictures (Madras: n.p., 1992), 29.

29. Swami Vivekananda, Our Women (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 2000), 1112, 2627. 30. Chowdhury, Fragile Hero, 134. 31. Vivekananda, Our Women, 37.

32. Tanika Sarkar, Hindu Nation, Hindu Wife: Community, Religion, and Cultural Nationalism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001).

represented in the opening pages of this essay by the spectacle of sport. It is crucial to remember that both male and female bodies can take on and voice their support for such masculine traits (obviously with different implications for lived experiences). Finally, as will also become obvious, female bodies either disappear in some articulations (i.e., boys adventure stories) or emerge as chaste wife, heroic mother, or celibate warrior (Pather Dabi ). Pather Dabi became an iconic work among nationalists. It depicted underground revolutionary organizations centered on a mythical revolutionary figure, Sabyasachi, a name that draws on the warrior hero of the Indian epic Mahabharata . Published between 1922 and 1926 in a serialized form in the Bengali periodical Bangabani , the book obviously sought to highlight revolutionary alternatives to the Gandhian nationalist movement. This was the period when Gandhi unilaterally withdrew his Khilafat movement in response to an alleged growth in violence. The disappearance of the Gandhian movement caused confusion and rethinking of strategy among nationalists, and various forms of political alliances were organized in different corners of India to confront the colonial state. At the same time, Bengali Muslim politicians felt that the Indian National Congress was providing far less attention to their specific community interests. Newly emerging Muslim Bengali middle classes felt that they were unable to realize their interests within the framework of the congress. Hindu Bengali politicians now felt threatened by the rising Muslim Bengali political assertiveness and sought to defend their government jobs and landholdings. This new competition for jobs and offices actually undermined the fragile unity within the nationalist movement. By 1926 complex factors within Bengali society coupled with the gradual rupture of unity within elite politics contributed to massive communal riots in Bengal. While the mainstream nationalist movement suffered a temporary political eclipse in Bengal and ended up in fractional squabbles and communal bickering, there developed a wider political action centered on armed revo33. Saratchandra Chatterjee, Pather Dabi (Demands of the Path) (Calcutta: Rupa, 1993).

lutionary organizations. Established in 1902 and 1906, respectively, Anushilan and Jugantar, two revolutionary organizations, became active again in 1923. The period between 1922 and 1926 witnessed a powerful upsurge of revolutionary activities in Bengal as these organizations embarked on a path of militant nationalism that encompassed activities ranging from the looting of British banks to the assassination of colonial administrators. It would be wrong to imagine that such revolutionary organizations were limited to India alone. From the beginning, Indian and Bengali revolutionaries operated in Europe and the United States. During World War I peripatetic revolutionaries traveled to Japan, China, the United States, and various European countries in order to establish a network of revolutionary organizations. The government sought to stem the tide by arresting several of these politically active youth through wartime ordinances. After World War I in 1919 many of them were released. They fled to Burma and established connections with already-existing revolutionary organizations. As a consequence, Burma experienced an expansion in underground revolutionary networks. More important, in many instances such revolutionaries established connections with newly emerging Communist movements. Working as sailors and manual workers, such revolutionaries plotted international revolution in tandem with various other radical political movements.
Pather Dabi

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This time of political turmoil forms the context of Pather Dabi . 33 Saratchandra Chatterjee drew on his intimate knowledge of revolutionary organizations to posit an alternative to Gandhian nationalism. Yet it would be wrong to present Chatterjees argument simply as a critique of Gandhian nationalism. Chatterjee was also critiquing the everyday unmanly ineptitude of Bengali men such as Apurba, the central character of the novel. Put another way, the effeminate inadequacy of Apurba represents, in the novel, a major obstacle to the realization of political virility. In contrast, Sabyasachi, the figure rep-

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resenting hegemonic masculinity in the novel, will invigorate Bengals, indeed Indias, dream of national liberation. The central position of martial prowess in this dream of masculine nationalism is emphasized by the fact that Sabyasachi (the ambidextrous one) is another name for Arjuna, the famous warrior of the Mahabharata . The novels message is nicely captured by Sabyasachis recounting of the dying words of his political mentor: As I sat there weeping, he opened his eyes and looked at me. Then he said slowly, Dont cry like a woman along with these sheep and goats. But never forgive those whove destroyed the manhood of this country to preserve their power (208). In Pather Dabi , Sabyasachi embodies the eloquent appeal to reconstruct Indias manhood while Apurbaa well-educated, conservative Brahman boy enormously influenced by his motherrepresents the effeminate, men who are cowed into submission by their hunger for middle-class security. Apurba shares his mothers conservative religious views and orthodox way of life and rejects the heterodox Westernized way of life of his father and other male siblings. He follows strict rituals befitting a proper Brahman and remains devoutly loyal to his mother. The close relationship between the two may have been Chatterjees attempt to provide an explanation for Apurbas excessive cowardice and physical weakness (read effeminacy). Bengali men were alleged to be too close to their mothers and thus lacking virility because of overindulgence and protection. Though Apurba was no exception to this, he was also a sportsman. He was patriotic and peripherally active in the Swadeshi movement. But obviously he did not manifest the virile political nationalism Chatterjee deemed necessary for a true patriot. Like many Bengalis who migrated to Burma for economic reasons, Apurba leaves his mother and comfortable home to become the manager of a European firm in Rangoon. Once there, away from the enveloping love of his mother, he is forced to face a harsh reality and proves to be completely inept at managing the day-to-day routine of life. However, in the novel his cowardice is most shamefully revealed when he is unable to resist the humiliating treatment meted out to him by his upstairs neighbor, an Indian Christian. In his own way he is aware

of his weakness (note how his self-denigration echoes some of the ideas in the poem quoted above): But Apurba kept ruminating over the incident. Recalling the insolent behaviour of the Anglo-Indian he became furious. He thought, Its not just between that drunkard and myself. Its because we as a race have tolerated such insults meekly that theyve become bold enough to treat us so brutally (30). Indeed, Pather Dabi is a critique of this meekness and a rallying call to masculinize the Bengali character. Chatterjees depiction of Apurba ruthlessly exposes what, in his view, was the effeminate character of Bengali men. Apurba is rescued from this domestic turmoil by Bharati, a Bengali Christian girl, who also is the daughter of one of his AngloIndian tormentors. Through Bharati, Apurba becomes a member of Pather Dabi (literally, Demands of the Path), a secret revolutionary organization active among workers and led by the charismatic Sabyasachi, a revolutionary who is the motor force behind this organization. Apurbas patriotic support for militant action comes to an abrupt halt when he betrays the organization to save his job. Apurba is captured by revolutionaries, who sentence him to death. Sabyasachi intervenes and saves his life. Chatterjee uses Apurba to underline his contempt for the weak men who have surrendered to the British for security and the stability of a middle-class life. Apurba represents the effeminate Bengali ridiculed by Macaulay: nonmartial, cowardly, unpatriotic, treacherous, and lacking chivalry. He is so inept at taking care of himself that in his despair he ignores the strict Hindu caste pollution rituals (supposedly a central and immutable part of his identity) by accepting food and water from Bharati. Gradually, he does fall in love with her but cannot admit his attachment because of the Hindu caste system (which he conveniently ignores when his well-being is at stake). Apurba and his ilk are, in this novel, the reason for Indias enslavement. If Apurba is an unworthy patriot, then Sabyasachi is a true one. He bears a warriors name, embodies martial prowess, and is physically strong. However, like Vivekanandas warrior monk he is celibate, rejecting the love of beautiful women, dedicated to his motherland. He lives an ascetic, monastic life in his quest for

national freedom. But the masculine nationalism embodied by Sabyasachi is not available to all. A highly educated, transnational revolutionary who has kept in touch with leaders in China, Japan, and Singapore, he also embodies Chatterjees fervent belief, often repeated in his novel, that only the intelligentsia could understand the depth of the question of revolution, could sacrifice the trappings of material wealth and dedicate themselves to armed insurrection through secret cultlike organizations. Put another way, only manly action by dedicated intellectuals as peripatetic global revolutionaries can ultimately destroy the foundation of British imperialism. The manliness embodied by Sabyasachi also has a certain Hindu flavor in its celebration of mythic Hindu warriors and in its demonizing of Scheduled Tribes, the indigenous people of India who are not Hindu and follow diverse religions and autochthonous practices. Sabyasachi, though a Brahman, avowedly refuses to accept any formal religion but speaks of India in distinctly Hindu terms. He is not critical of Muslims but is silent about the Islamic current in Indian life, and it becomes clear that he despairs of Hindu cowardice in the face of Muslim aggression: When the Muslim marauders invaded the country, they desecrated and demolished the temples and vandalized the images of deities. But what did our forefathers do? They simply ran away (312). He also praises Rana Pratap, a sixteenth-century Rajput warrior who fought against the Mogul Empire and is valorized as a representation of indigenous Hindu resistance against a foreign Muslim emperor. This Hindu context is further explicit in the person of Ramdas Talwalkar, a Maratha Brahman, who is also a courageous, manly figure in the novel. This celebration of Maratha valor would without a doubt remind contemporary readers of the Hindu nationalist Tilaks use of Shivaji (163080), the Maratha warrior who challenged the might of the Mogul Empire, as an icon for political mobilization. Thus, it is possible to read Sabyasachi as an embodiment of a modern Hindu warrior recapturing the glory of ancient Hindu India. This Hindu context is further enhanced by the novels distinction between a sophisticated hegemonic masculinity

and crude physical force. Chatterjee resorts to racial stereotyping to enhance this contrast. In his novel, Brajendra, from Chattagram, not only looks brutal but is most vocal in his support for death as punishment for Apurbas treachery. This racialization becomes quite clear when it is understood that Chattagram is home to Hill Tribes, or the indigenous, non-Hindu communities that are demonized by mainstream Hindu society. Chatterjee buys into this depiction of the racial other: His face was round as an earthen pot and his body like a Rhinoshuge, fleshy and rough. His beady eyes were almost entirely shorn of lashes and the hairs of his moustache were like spikes that could be counted from a distance. His skin was coppery. Even at a glance one could make out that the man was a mongol and not an Aryan (212). It is the cosmopolitan and sophisticated Sabyasachi, a man of Bengali Brahman origin and Indo-Aryan appearance, who saves Apurba from the crude machinations of Brajendra. If racialized others cannot aspire to the proper kind of political virility, can women? Chatterjees response is an ambiguous yes. When Sabyasachi intervenes to save Apurba, he does so for the sake of Bharati, who is a brave and strong woman, more manly than Apurba. Throughout the novel she is courageous, willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of her beliefs, and steadfast in her patriotism. Indeed, without Bharatis help, the weak Apurba would not have survived in Burma. However, she is also chaste and pure and unwavering in her love for the unworthy Apurba. Although Apurbas downfall may have been his overindulgent mother, Chatterjee implies that his salvation may lie in the love of a chaste wife. When Sabyasachi saves Apurbas life he exclaims, I suggest we take no action against him. Instead, lets hand him over to Bharati. Let her try to make a man out of him (215). Thus the novel ends with Bharati giving up her peripatetic revolutionary life to be Apurbas wife. As a chaste wife, she will be responsible for Apurbas moral steadfastness and physical vigor. Indeed, within gendered nationalism, wherein the land is represented as a woman, very frequently real, living women as mothers and wives are responsible for the morality, strength, and courage of their sons and

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husbands. In order to shore up this responsibility, womens own bodies have to physically represent this morality in the form of heteronormative chastity. This is a notion that is echoed in Saraladebis work. To sum up, Pather Dabi represents Chatterjees search for a masculine Hindu Bengali who would not only defeat the British but would also remain as a challenge to the effeminate Bengali babu responsible for the degradation of society. This quest for manhood is also found in the writings of Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay, who wrote, among many other classic Bengali novels, boys adventure stories as a pastime. In the childrens novel that we have chosen, masculine Hinduism asserts itself not only in the daring feats the boy protagonists perform but also in the dream of a historic, Hindu empire. Such rhetorical devices challenge British beliefs that most Indians were incapable of daring adventure and that they had never been an imperial force (a marker of hegemonic masculinity).
Hire Manik Jwale

Born in 1894, Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay became one of the most gifted novelists in the early decades of the twentieth century. Along with Manik Bandopadhyay and Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay was one of those writers who could challenge Rabindranath Tagores powerful influence over prose writing even while this Bengali literary icon was alive. The architect of the adult novels that were the basis of the Apu trilogy made internationally known by renowned Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Bibhutibhusan is also known for his boys adventure stories, where young boys and men embark on deeds of valor in far-off places such as Kenya or Southeast Asia. His heroes are muscular, fearless, and adventurous, providing a nice foil to the British stereotype of the homebound, cowardly, effeminate Bengali babu. 34 We have chosen one novel out of manyHire Manik Jwale (literally, Flash of

Diamonds)because of its explicit rendering of masculine Hinduism. This novel was fi rst published as a serial in a childrens literary magazineMouchak , circa 194344and then as a novel in 1946. The hero of the story is the brave Sushil, a member of a landowning family in rural Bengal. Although his family has a prominent name in the village, it has lost its wealth. Therefore Sushil needs a way to make a living. However, unlike most Bengalis (e.g., Apurba), who would look to a safe and secure clerical post in the colonial bureaucracy, Sushil embarks on a glorious adventure to secure riches for his family. While in Calcutta, he meets a Muslim sailor, Jamatulla, who dazzles him with stories of treasures on a small islandChampa Dwipoff the coast of Java. Jamatulla has both a treasure map given to him by a dying sailor and the seal of an ancient Hindu king who was purported to have ruled this island. So Sushil, his cousin Shanta, Jamatulla, and a Malay pirate named Yaar Hussain set off on a perilous sea journey to capture this treasure. Bibhutibhusan very clearly emphasizes his celebration of hegemonic masculinity: Those who are afraid of danger and evade risks, they can offer little assistance to others in distress nor can they resolve crisis of their own life. Lakshmigoddess of wealth does not bless those who are cowards or lazy, she consecrates those who are concerned by danger or comforts.35 Additionally, Bibhutibhusan links hegemonic masculinity with imperial valor. In an attempt to resist the degradation of Bengali manhood in the face of British conquest, he unveils Indias imperial past. When Sushil consults Dr. Basu, the curator of a museum, to decipher Jamatullas seal, Basu informs him of the seals long association with the Indian colonization of a land named Champa. Sushil is thrilled to learn of his motherlands glorious past, and he rushes to the Imperial Library to learn more. There he discovers Vijay Sinha and his conquest of Singhal (modern-day Sri Lanka) as well as the

34. Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay wrote four such adventure stories against the background of China, Africa, Southeast Asia, and rural Bengal: Chander Pahad ( Mountain of the Moon) (Calcutta: M. C. Sarkar and Sons, 1936); Maraner Danka Baje (Drums of Death) (Calcutta: B. N. Publishing, 1940); Mismider Kaboch (Totem of the Mishmi Tribe) (Calcutta: Dev Sa-

hitya Kutir, 1942); and Hire Manik Jwale (Flash of Diamonds) (Calcutta: D. M. Library, 1946). Of these four, Mountain of the Moon refers to adventures in Africa; Drums of Death, to an adventure in China; and Flash of Diamonds, to adventure in Southeast Asia. Totem of the Mishmi Tribe is a detective story dealing with murder in rural Bengal.

35. Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay, Hire Manik Jwalie, in The Collected Works of Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay (Calcutta: Mitra and Ghosh, 1970), 9:287.

India! India! What a sweet name! What a great storehouse of ancient glorious heritage! Once upon a time, long before the invention of the barometer and compass, they crossed seven seas and left the imprint of Hindu tradition. They did not hold their swords and bows in weak trembling hands. They crossed seas, raised flags of Hindu religion and constructed great temples of Natraj in this distant land. . . . Those who in later years restricted Hindus from crossing seas in the name of religious scriptures and caste were unworthy inheritors of their glorious ancestors . . . they were mere shadows of Hindus not Hindus proper.36

Our architects constructed the temple at Barbudar We have established Siam [Thailand], Camboj [Cambodia] and Onkarbhat [Ankarwat, an ancient temple in Cambodia] Our son Vir Sinha conquered Singhal and left his indelible mark on the name of the island.38

Bibhutibhusan does not completely invent this image of the glorious Hindu overseas empire. In Indian history textbooks Indonesia and South East Asia occupy a symbolic position. They are proudly described as overseas colonies (upanibesh) of ancient Hindu/Buddhist Indian rulers. In 1926 Calcutta witnessed the birth of the Greater India Society. Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, a pioneering Indian historian involved with this society, popularized the idea of Hindu colonization through a series of articles that he then transformed into a tome titled Hindu Colonies in the Far East .37 The discovery of the wider maritime trading networks between peninsular India and South East Asia evident in widespread religious and cultural exchanges in the period between the fi fth and thirteenth centuries AD so much excited the imagination of the colonial Indian/Bengali literati that they readily embraced it as evidence of an empire. They
36. Ibid., 329. 37. Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Hindu Colonies in the Far East (Calcutta: Calcutta University Press, 1944).

Duttas repackaging of this ancient maritime connection with South East Asia acquired a new form in the political imagination of emerging Indian middle classes whereby it was constantly constructed as an example of martial valor. The quest for manliness that Bengali Hindus considered an essential part of their rejuvenation as proud citizens of an independent India was effectively represented by this reconstruction and celebration of a history of imperial expansion. Written in the twilight years of colonial rule in India amid growing communal tension, Bibhutibhusans novel Hire Manik Jwale unfolds a new plan for nation where Hinduness and Indianness were collapsed together. National glories were perceived as military strength and imperial valor. Muslims were uneasy associates in this project. For example, in the novel Yaar Hussain and his Malay Muslim followers were constructed as suspicious characters who could not be trusted completely. Jamatulla, an Indian Muslim of a working-class background, although

38. Satyendranath Dutta, Amra (We), in Dutta, Kabita Samagra (Anthology of Poems) (Calcutta: West Bengal Bengali Academy, Information and Culture Department, 1982), 89.

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ancient kingdom of Champa. Bibhutibhusan describes Sushils imagining of ancient Indians armed with swords who brought Hindu civilizationsymbolized by elaborately carved figures of Nagraj (lord of the snakes), Lord Shiva (who danced the world to destruction), and his consort Durga (a ferocious goddess embodying the martial spirit)to distant lands. Indeed, at the end of the story when Sushil and his fellow travelers discover the ruins of an ancient Hindu kingdom, Bibhutibhusan eloquently describes the tension between the dream of a glorious past and the reality of the colonial present:

celebrated in patriotic poems this ancient maritime expansion as evidence of Indian imperial ability. The most critical figure in this mythology was Prince Vir Singha, who was imagined to have established a political entity in Singhal in 544 BC. The empire of Srivijaya was also celebrated in Bengali mythology as the expansion of Bengali culture throughout South East Asia. Poet Satyendranath Dutta (18821922), who is widely remembered for his ability to experiment with different meters and words, poetically celebrated this ancient imperial legacy. His poem Amra (We), widely used in Bengali schools, constructs Bengali/Indian pride with a rather cavalier interpretation of history:

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trustworthy remained a subordinate partner in this treasure hunt. There was no doubt that Sushil, a Bengali Hindu, was the heroic leader as well as the deserving descendant of the glorious Hindu past uncovered in Champa Dwip (Vietnam). If one contextualizes this novel within the national project of masculine Hinduism, then foreign Muslims were excluded from this Indian Hindu imagined community; while even Indian Muslims (represented by Jamatulla) could never truly inherit a sense of belonging rooted in the glorious Hindu past, they could be loyal friends and partners in the project of masculine Hindu nationalism. It is important to note that women are not present in this and other boys adventure stories written by Bibhutibhusan.
Saraladebi Ghosal

periods alone (18991907 and 192426). For example, in her essay A Test for Bengalis, she wrote the following poem:
Let the imprisoned mind remain awakened The White Spy is near Grasp your sword named Kali and shield named Tara The Briton dare not defeat you.39

The following poem from her essay The Song of War asserts a similar theme:
Let us go in great numbers to war The Mother is dressed in martial garb Among the roar of cannons The dance has begun Dance today, in war.40

A concern with the location of Hindu manhood within the nation was not limited to the thoughts and ideas of men. Women of the nineteenth century also contributed to this discourse within the colonial milieu. One of the most ardent proponents was Saraladebi Ghosal, niece of the famous Bengali novelist and poet Rabindranath Tagore, who admired Vivekananda and was in turn admired for her outspoken nature. Saraladebi, born in 1872, grew up to be a rebellious and independent woman. She completed her BA at Calcutta University and challenged the social conventions of her time by taking a job in a school in Mysore at the age of twentythree. For an unmarried young woman to leave home and reside in a distant city was unheard of in 1895 Calcutta. Returning after a years time, Saraladebi came into contact with the militant nationalism in Bengal advocated by leaders such as Aurobindo Ghosh. Immersing herself in militant ideology, her own practice became shaped by the intersection of ideas of masculinity and nation. Her ideas were clearly articulated in the literary magazine Bharati , which she edited with her elder sister for two years (189597) and also for

These poems offer a celebration of martial valor, an essential component of hegemonic masculinity. Saraladebi believed that Indian men had lost their manhood and become cowardly. Again, like Bibhutibhusan and Chatterjee, she urged them to regain their masculinity, that is, martial courage and prowess. In Bengalis Birth Rights she writes,
The Englishman has strong fists while the Bengali is weak, but it seems that the fire of heroism is slowly animating the new Bengali so that he will not fear the fi sts of an Englishman. I will not accept that the Bengalis cannot be muscular. It may be possible that our weather may be partially responsible for our lack of muscular strength, but I do not believe this completely. The main reason for this weakness is our lack of exercise. If we exercise we can overcome the shortcomings of our weather as proven by the master lathial [a man who is expert in an Indian martial art involving the dexterous use of bamboo poles]. This fast disappearing Bengali animal has created a muscular body through constant exercise since childhood. . . . If we taught our school and college boys exercise and weapon play in addition to academics, or if at least boys learnt to wield weapons at home, we would not be such a weak race. We could probably flaunt our muscular glory.41

39. Saraladebi, A Test for Bengalis, Bharati, Ashwin 1312, 587. Bharati and the other journals we use as primary sources employ the Bengali dating system. For example, 2005 is 1411 according to this calendar. We cite the Bengali dating system, urging the reader to remember that these excerpts were written at the turn of the century, none later than 1918.

40. Saraladebi, The Song of War, Bharati, Phalgun 1314, 983. 41. Saraladebi, Bengalis Birth Rights, Bharati , Jaishta 1310, 18990.

In her writings and speeches, Saraladebi reiterated the need for Bengali men to take on the traits of hegemonic masculinity. In a wonderful essay titled Foreign Blows versus Indigenous Punches, she lists incidents wherein many Indian men showed their virile manhood by standing up to English violence.42 According to the essay, she compiled this list by drawing on incidents reported in daily newspapers and disseminated by word of mouth. For example, she describes an event wherein a Bengali man, R. C. Chowdhury, was passing through the English neighborhood near the central park of Calcutta, the Maidan. In front of him were strolling an Indian and an Englishman with his dog. The Indian stepped on the dogs tail by mistake. The Englishman did not notice this; at his dogs yelp he turned, saw Chowdhury, and immediately punched him in the stomach. At this Chowdhury threw the Englishman to the ground and beat him.43 This essay lists several similar incidents, many of them involving Indians standing up to protect their womens honor, for example, the gentleman who protected a young woman who was being harassed by British soldiers and also the Sikh officer who physically attacked the British colonel who insulted his wife when she refused to dance with him. In her writings, Saraladebi made it very clear that the protection of female honor was an important part of manhood and also virile nationalism. To this end she formed clubs at gymnasiums to enable young boys to train their bodies. She used to place a map of India in front of these young boys and tie a rakhi , or red thread, around their wrists, the rakhi usually symbolizing fraternal loyalties. By binding decorative threads on the wrists of young men, Saraladebi pledged her chaste sisterly love; men used the same ritual to establish fraternal ties with other men. Under Saraladebis tutelage women urged their brothers to join the battle for independence, while men as members of a national fraternity vowed to join the fight for freedom.44

It is interesting to note that these clubs were alleged to have ties with secret revolutionary societies.45 In 1902 Saraladebi organized the first Pratapaditya Brata (loosely translated, the rites of Pratapaditya, a Hindu landlord, whom Saraladebi characterized as a brave warrior resisting imperial Mogul power). Under the mantle of Pratapaditya, young men would learn and practice wrestling, boxing, and swordplay. She also organized a Birashtami Festival (to celebrate martial valor) on the second day of Durga Puja (Durga being a female divinity embodying cosmic power that includes but is not limited to martial courage and prowess). To this goddess, young men were to vow in the name of bygone Hindu martial heroesKrishna, Rama, Bhishma, Drona, Arjuna, Bhima, Meghnad, Rana Pratap, Shivaji, Ranjeet Singh, and Pratapadityato fight for independence and dedicate their lives to building a strong and manly nation.46 As they chanted the names of these heroes, the young men would throw flowers at a sword placed in the middle of the room. All of these heroes, both historic and mythic, were (and are) celebrated as warriors in India. The martial valor of Rana Pratap, Shivaji, and Pratapaditya is commemorated in the context of honoring their defensive stance against the Islamic conquest of India; Ranjeet Singh is known for his valor against the British. Saraladebis use of Pratapaditya Brata, Birashtami, and Rakhi, all traditional and accepted Hindu rituals, as well as the presence of a divine feminine figure (Durga) representing militant anger, enabled her effort as a woman one who was articulating a message of aggression and martial powerto go forth without the appearance of being a radical challenge to the norms of her contemporary patriarchy. The Hindu tone of Saraladebis national narrative cannot be ignored. Indeed, rituals and icons disseminating this vision at times moved beyond a muted Hindu context into the chant of a more strident interpretation, projecting Islam

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42. Saraladebi, Foreign Blows versus Indigenous Punches, Bharati, Ashar 1310, 21626. 43. It is worth noting that most Indian cities during colonial rule were divided into native town and English town. The natives could not live in English towns.

44. Bharati Ray, Early Feminists of Colonial India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001), 9. 45. Ibid., 10. 46. Ibid., 40.

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as the enemy of the nation articulated by the valorization of masculine Hinduism. Although the nation was embodied as a woman, it was to the young men that Saraladebi called out to enter the fray and rejuvenate masculine Hinduism. Women supported the men, nurtured them, and instilled in them the values of patriotism and nationalism, but in invoking the martial men of Indias past women did not themselves vow to fight as warriors for the motherland. Saraladebi clearly locates womens primary role as being domestic: Women can turn their homes into heaven or hell, because they are the presiding deities in their home. . . . It is women who can create a beautiful home. . . . It is women again whose negligence can turn a home into an ugly and foul place. 47 Indeed, when writing of a womens organization she had founded, Bharat Stri Mahamandal (Association of Indian Women), she makes it clear that this organizations goal of enabling womens education was necessary because only educated mothers could socialize their sons to be great warriors and nationalists. Further, in this same essay she also argues that a part of this education would include training in the domestic arts, socializing women to be fit and obedient companions to their husbands. A wife is also responsible for her husbands moral strength; she must do her utmost to encourage his spiritual growth and dedication to charitable works within the nation.48 Thus Saraladebis vision of women within masculine Hinduism fits nicely with both Vivekanandas and Savarkars delineation of womanhood. Indeed, it is clear that Saraladebi would approve of Bharati as she managed both Apurbas home and moral character.
Conclusion

manhood and political virility. This narrative of indigenous masculinity (represented as warrior monk and Hindu soldier) also produced its corresponding images of womanhood: chaste wife, heroic mother, and masculinized warrior. The texts that we have analyzed illustrate the dynamic dance between the gendered metaphors the Bengali colonial elite used to imagine their liberated nation. Despite reformulations and adaptations, the derived nature of such hypermasculinized imaginings of revolutionary nationhood was evident in the way Bengali writers deployed their ethno-religious traditions to the exclusion of indigenous othersMuslims and/or tribeswhile confronting their imperial masters. This particular gender reconstruction obviously hints that programs of Hinduized nation construction are rooted in the wider heritage of the exclusivist masculine language of imperialism despite their supposed radical opposition to empire. Put another way, the cultural logic of masculine Hinduism and nation adopted the categories implicit in imperial hegemonic masculinity in their resistance to British gaze.

This essay has focused on the cultural construction of a Hindu nationalist masculinity within nineteenth-century Bengal. Bengali elites drew on traits of hegemonic masculinity utilized by the British colonial rulers to justify their presence and embarked on a cultural quest for

47. Saraladebi, quoted in Ray, Early Feminists, 66. 48. Saraladebi Ghosal, Bharat Stri Mahamandal (Great Association of Women of India), Suprabhat, nos. 131721, 37277; and Ghosal, A Womens Movement, Modern Review (October 1911): 34450.