A Culture of Violence? Women in Twentieth Century Bengal

Senjuti Jash

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3388050

Abstract

Violence is one of the primeval instincts of human kind. It is not restricted by spatio-temporal frontiers and majority of human beings, irrespective of their gender, age, nationality, orientation, etc. are subjected to some form of violence during their lives. However, as the societal conditions have always enabled the subjugation of the “weak” by the “powerful”, violence against women has been identified globally as one of the most systematic and widespread human rights violations. Using three short stories authored by Jagadish Gupta, Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, and Mahasweta Devi in twentieth century Bengal as case studies, this paper seeks to examine the diverse trajectories of violence perpetrated against women in the aforesaid period. Analysing particular modes of violence like dowry-based homicide, witch-hunting, and rape as political instrument of oppression, this study intends to qualify Michael Taussig’s thesis on “culture of terror” by situating it against the wider backdrop of the “culture of violence” and the discourses of resistance that simultaneously emerged in twentieth century Bengal.

Highlights

This paper intends to approach the issue of violence against women by analysing its portrayal in twentieth century vernacular literature of Bengal
It will focus on three shortstories authored by Jagadish Gupta, Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, and Mahasweta Devi to illustrate how the trajectories of violence committed against women permeated the social, political, and economic realities of twentieth century Bengal
Picking up the thread from where we began, this paper has elucidated how violence perpetrated against women in twentieth century Bengal was endemic

Summary

Introduction

It will focus on three shortstories authored by Jagadish Gupta, Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, and Mahasweta Devi to illustrate how the trajectories of violence committed against women permeated the social, political, and economic realities of twentieth century Bengal. As the narrative of Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay’s “Daini” reveals, women from the lower sections of the society were exposed to the brunt of social superstition and violence.

Results

Conclusion