Recuperating Indian masculinity: Mohandas Gandhi, war and the Indian diaspora in South Africa (1899–1914)

BackgroundDepression is reported as one of the most common mental disorders. Research on Indian men’s understandings of depression is limited.AimThe authors aimed to explore South African Indian men’s understanding of depression in a community, and how this guides help-seeking behaviour.SettingCommunity dwelling participants in Gauteng, South Africa.MethodsAn exploratory qualitative design was employed and a purposive sampling method was used to recruit participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven Indian adult men and analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsThe findings of this study yielded a total of six themes. These included understanding of depression, depression is taboo, diverging gender role expectations and depression, help-seeking behaviour, barriers to help-seeking, and mental health community support.ConclusionThe findings suggest a lack of understanding and awareness of depression among participants and discussions around mental illness being regarded as taboo. Gender roles and societal expectations were considered as one of the contributors to depression onset. Coping and help-seeking behaviour included adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms with professional psychological help being least prioritised. Self-stigmatisation and fear of discrimination were highlighted as barriers to help-seeking behaviours.ContributionThis study contributed to the limited body of knowledge on understanding of depression among Indian men in South Africa and highlighted the importance of mental health awareness campaigns and professional help-seeking behaviour.

Over 20 million Indians live outside India, and they constitute a major immigrant population in popular westerns nations like the USA, Australia, Canada and the UK. However, there is paucity of scientific information on acculturation of Indian immigrants. The present investigation was part of a larger study on sexuality and sexual health involving a community sample of adult Indian men living in Australia. All three dimensions of acculturation (i.e. behaviour, values and identity) were measured using the Suinn–Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation scale (SL-ASIA, 26-items). Two hundred and six participants completed the SL-ASIA scale, and the mean score was 2.28 (SD 0.46) representing a bicultural pattern. A large proportion (n = 93, 45 %) of Indian men expressed that they hold on to Indian values. On the other hand, a similar proportion (n = 75, 44 %) responded bicultural behavioural pattern and over half of all participants (n = 119, 58 %) did self identify themselves as bicultural. A weak, positive and significant correlation was found between length of residence and unilinear measure of acculturation among Indian migrant men. Those who lived in the metropolitan cities of India, prior to migration to Australia, had significantly higher scores of unilinear acculturation (meaning more Western) than those who lived in non-metropolitan cities. Significant difference was observed in values and self-identity domains of bilinear measures of acculturation among Indian men based on their place of residence prior to migration to Australia. As with past studies, biculturalism was the dominant acculturation pattern in the present study. In contrast, Indian immigrant men tended to hold on to Indian values. This finding highlights that migration, among Indian immigrant men, could have varying effect on different dimensions of acculturation. Also, it confirms the emerging concept of ‘cultural values’ as an acculturation variable and its importance in acculturation studies. Length of residence in a new society and place of residence prior to migration seem to play a vital role in the acculturation pattern of migrants, and such contextual factors need further investigation. Policy and practical implications are discussed, and recommendations have been made for future research.

Anthropometry of south Indian industrial workmen.

To examine cultural differences in response to anger provocation, affective, cognitive, behavioral, and cardiovascular responses to social confrontation, role plays were measured in 20 Indian male immigrants in the United States and 40 White men. Participants engaged in 2 interactions with a nonacquiescent male confederate and were instructed to suppress or express their anger in counterbalanced order. Following each role play, participants state anger, and resentful and reflective cognitions pertaining to anger were assessed. Participants' videotaped behavioral responses were assessed for problem-solving skills and negative and positive verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Blood pressure and heart rate (HR) responses were recorded throughout the session. Results revealed that Indian participants used more introspective strategies comprising of repression and rational coping self-statements to anger provocation than their White counterparts. White participants experienced significantly higher HR responses and showed more awareness of physiological sensation compared to the Indian participants, but only when asked to exhibit their anger. Indian participants had a faster diastolic blood pressure (DBP) recovery when allowed to engage in anger inhibition (which is a culturally determined mode of functioning) compared to when they had to exhibit anger before inhibiting it. White men showed a heightened cardiac response to anger expression, something not seen among Indian men. Indian men, in contrast, exhibited delayed DBP recovery from anger expression and increased introspective cognitive strategies when asked to engage in anger exhibition, a behavior not congruent with their culture of origin.

The South African War (1899-1902, or called Anglo-Boer War or Boer War), which was a war between the British Empire and two Boer nations, was one of the greatest wars in Southern African History. The British Empire eventually conquered the Republic of South Africa (also known as Transvaal) and the Orange Free State in 1902. The South African War was an experiment of new weapons such as Cartridge Rifle, Smokeless Powder, Quick Firing Gun and Maxim Gun, which were equipped by the British Army and the Boer Commando. Although the British Army has the newest weapons, they can not oppose against the two Boer nations with old military theories at the beginning of the war. The British Army was defeated in Magersfontein, Stormberg and Colenso at the “Black Week” in December 1899, which shocked the British Army and the British Empire. For the British Empire, military reform was the most primary issue after the war. The Boer tactic not only impacted British military theories, but also impacted military theories of Europe. The South African War was a cruel war in the nineteenth century, especially for the damage of civilians. About 26,370 civilians died in Concentrate Camp, which was uncommon in nineteen century war. It became a public issue at that time. The leader of Liberal Party, Henry Campbell-Bannerman, claimed that Lord Kitchener’s military policy was a “Method of Barbarism”. Humanity also emerged from the South African War which resulted in the Hague Convention and the Geneva Convention. By the limitations of Hague Conventions, Dum Dum bullet can not be used in South African War. The treatment of war prisoners was also improved by the Geneva Convention. It was an achievement of humanity in the South African War.

Background and Objective: There is a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and associated osteoporosis in south Indian men despite abundant sunlight. Here we present a study on the effect of dietary calcium on bone mineral density in elderly men. Methods: This study was done as a part of an original study on the prevalence of osteoporosis and vitamin D deficiency. One hundred twenty elderly men were included. The dietary calcium intake was determined by a trained dietician. Quantitative and qualitative aspects of food intake were accessed and the Published data on Indian food was used to estimate dietary calcium intake. Phytate to calcium ratio was calculated. Bone mineral density (BMD) was done for all the subjects in the lumbar spine, hip and forearm. We also studied sunlight exposure pattern and its effect on vitamin D level. Results: The Mean calcium intake of the study population was 455 mg/day which was lower than recommended dietary value. There was a significant positive correlation between calcium intake and BMD at all three sites. The mean phytate to calcium ratio was 1.0643. Phytate to calcium ratio was negatively associated with hip and lumbar spine BMD. The mean vitamin D level was 20.4 ng/dl and the mean BMI (Body mass index) was 23.3 kg/m2. Conclusion: The calcium intake in south Indian elderly men was lower than the recommended allowance and there was a positive correlation between calcium intake and bone mineral density.

Background The global incidence of testicular cancer is on the rise, although it remains a rare cancer accounting for 0.5% of all malignancies. Among South African men there appears to be a higher-than-expected incidence in Indian men. Objectives To determine the demographics of patients undergoing radical orchidectomy at St Aidan’s Regional Hospital Methods. A retrospective observational chart review of all radical orchiectomy patients seen at St Aidan’s hospital over 5 years from January 2015 to December 2019. The 2016 national census data was used to calculate the cancer incidence rates for this study period. Results. A total of 40 radical orchidectomies were performed during the 5 years, there were 26 malignant cases and 13 benign cases. The all-population incidence rate was 1.52%. When broken down by racial groups, of the 40 cases, 52.5% were Indian men with an incidence rate for testicular cancer of 5.62%, followed by 35% African men with an incidence rate of 0.3%, 7.5% Caucasian men with an incidence rate of 2.81% and lastly 5% were colored men with an incidence rate of 5.62%. Conclusions. Testicular cancer in KwaZulu-Natal is more common in Indian men and the incidence rate among Indian men is much higher than that observed in India or as reported in other parts of the world. This provides a unique opportunity for further characterization of testicular risk factors and genetics involved in cancer development. African men with a testicular mass are likely to have a benign cause rather than testicular cancer. Recommendation. We recommend broader studies, epidemiological, and germline mutations, and somatic mutations in testicular cancer affecting Indian males.

This chapter examines the politics of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century South Africa. It considers the South African War and itsrole in shaping modern South Africa through the postwar program of reconstruction under the watch of Milner’s kindergarten, in the context of the British imperial project. Factors that led to the war are outlined, including the role of Randlords, followed by a discussion of the reconciliation between the British and the Boers at the expense of black South Africans, the standoff between Smuts and Gandhi, reconstruction, segregation, the marginalization of black South Africans, and the genesis of organized black resistance to white minority rule under which union was forged.

Diet, central obesity and prevalence of hypertension in the urban population of South India

There is a paucity of scientific information about safe sex practices of Indians immigrants living in popular multicultural nations such as Australia. An online survey of adult Indian men living in Australia was conducted to measure the frequency of use of safe sex practices using the Safe Sex Behavior Questionnaire (SSBQ). Among the respondents of the SSBQ (n = 184), 16.8% (n = 31) reported that never insist on condom use, when having sexual intercourse. One in two men surveyed, agreed that it is difficult for them to discuss safe sex issues with their sexual partners. One in two men said that they used alcoholic beverages prior to or during sexual intercourse. There were no significant differences in SSBQ data among Indian men based on their relationship status. The current study has assessed a range of safe sex practices by involving a community sample of Indian men, and provides baseline data for further evaluation and comparison.

As part of society, journalists and editors can play and often have played, in country after country, over different periods, crucial roles outside the columns of the newspapers or media platforms they work for. They can further causes, support campaigns, oppose the official and social establishments of the day. If and when they do that, they cannot but carry something of the stature of their profession on their shoulders, to the benefit perhaps of that role and to the augmentation of their public personalities. Albert Cartwright (1868–1956) had worked in a number of newspapers in South Africa in the turbulent period around the Second Boer War and later, opposing the ruling order in some crucial respects, beyond the call of ‘editorial’ duty. As a friend of General J. C. Smuts, South Africa’s most powerful politician and of M. K. Gandhi, who was pitted in a steadily escalating struggle against the Smuts regime, Cartwright as the then editor of The Transvaal Leader mediated between the General and his Indian opponent during the gutsy barrister’s first incarceration (1908). This led to a thawing of the relations between the Boer and the Indian and the forming of a patently conflicted yet elusively cordial equation between them, which eventually helped in the reaching of the famous ‘Agreement’ (1914) on the Indians’ grievances in that country. I intend to explore that role played by Cartwright both to describe his character and personality and also to draw attention to the fact that freedom’s battles have been not un-often, fought and in some of their ‘theatres’, won, by individuals from the world of the Press who have worked, almost unseen, from the wings with the ‘pen’ goading the process. Editor as mediator? Now what is that about? Editors helm newspapers and journals, they write editorials, sometimes fight their proprietors for their autonomy and more often capitulate to the owner’s control. They come thereby to be admired and respected or neither admired nor respected. They resist political authority and pay a price for that, or they ‘fall in line’ and pay a higher price in terms of credibility. But mediation? How does that become part of an editor’s role? It can and does, because public life, as life itself, is not all black and white. There are areas which can be called a blend of both and are like black and white photographs and films are quite grey and misty, something that makes the films of Satyajit Ray, for instance, ring so true. And editors, who are not in politics but are situated on its rims, while not being players themselves are yet so close to the action that happens around them as to be indistinguishable from its voltage. They can find themselves sought for or seeking clarifications, being offered or offering suggestions. It is in them to exacerbate or alleviate tensions, encourage or discourage policy and programmes and indeed, action including belligerence. While doing so they become mediators within themselves as well, mediating between their inner voice and prudence, the first impelling them to intervene and the second recoiling from overt action. That is the most difficult of the mediations they are called upon to attempt. The ‘loci’ of this essay is South Africa and the role of the press in that country during the turn of the nineteenth century when war and brutality overwhelmed that part of the African continent. Two striking Africans appeared in the word of journalism there at the time. The first was John Tengo Jabavu (1859–1921) of the Eastern Cape who as a teacher began to write articles for some South African newspapers in English and after apprenticing himself to a printer, by 1884, founded his own newspaper, Imvo Zabantsundu (‘Black Opinion’). This appeared in Xhosa, a brave and pioneering venture. Jabavu found himself at the intersection of liberal ideas in the Cape’s South African Party and the repressive policies of Cecil Rhodes’s ‘Progressives’. The second was John Langalibalele Dube (1871–1946) of the Natal, an essayist, educator and articulate politician who with his wife Nokutela founded the first Zulu/English newspaper Ilanga lase Natal (The Sun of Natal) in 1903. Deeply influenced by Booker T. Washington whose work he knew at the first hand as a student in the USA, Dube wrote for and spoke to a mixed audience in South Africa, wanting to combine western education and mores with local customs and traditions. Journalism, editorship and interventions by people of the eminence of Jabavu and Dube who belong to the place is important and impressive and impactful. But when the person concerned is an ‘outsider’, such a role gets invested with an additional stamp—that of a somewhat lonesome individuality. This is what happened with two of Jabavu’s and Dube’s contemporaries, M. K. Gandhi (1869–1948) who founded and ran Indian Opinion from Durban and Phoenix in 1904, mainly on the issues facing the Indian South African community, and the British-born subject of Victorian Britain, and essentially a visiting Briton, Albert Cartwright (1868–1956).

Synergy of iron, high sensitivity C-reactive protein and ceruloplasmin with oxidative stress in non-diabetic normo-tensive South Indian obese men

Introductionin many ways in this essay i speak with no authority, I am neither IndoTrinidadian nor a man, yet I seek to claim this space. I claim this space as an interested observer, one who seeks to understand process taking place in and around me, changing dynamics of gender and its intersection with ethnicity, class and identity, and ways in which popular culture shapes and is shaped by these continuous interactions. I claim this space also as a citizen whose identity is as much defined in opposition as in relation to my others', and who therefore needs to understand my others in order to understand myself.1 It is on this basis, therefore, that I proceed. This essay takes its cue from popular soca song of Denise Belfon during 2004 Carnival season in Trinidad and Tobago and varied responses to it. These debates provide a lively context for analyses of ongoing negotiations on ethnicity, nation, citizenship and gender currently taking place in region. The essay also provides an opportunity for a further contribution to still limited literature on Indo-Caribbean masculinities. This essay is also about Indo-Trinidadian men and Afro-Trinidadian women, a dyad that has been of some concern to historians. Interestingly, it has been of less concern to Indo-Trinidadian cultural nationalists who have been more concerned with opposite dyad - that of Afro-Trinidadian men and Indo-Trinidadian This dyad, therefore, is one that is replete with politics of racial and sexual transgression, and imbrication of race, gender and sexual desire.Trinidad and Tobago is a two-island nation-state located in southern Caribbean. While its economy has been largely dependent on oil and gas from its energy sector, its ethnic diversity and popular culture have been major components of its national identity. According to 2011 census, total population was 1, 328,019 with 50.1 percent male and 49.9 percent female. With respect to ethno-demographics, people who for census purposes define themselves as African (34.2 percent) and Indian (35.2 percent) comprise majority of population. The fastest growing 'mixed' group comprised 22.8 percent, an increase from 20.46 percent in 2000. The other minorities - White/European, Chinese, Syrian/Lebanese - though small in number, are highly represented in social and economic elite. Small numbers of mixed descendants of indigenous people also exist. The population of Tobago is 82.5 percent of African descent, a decline from 92 percent in 2000, reflecting small but increasing group defining themselves as 'mixed' - African-Indian, 4.3 percent, and 'other mixed', 4.2 percent. The proportion of Indo-Trinidadians in Tobago remained stable at 2.5 percent.2For decades, historians pondered situation where for most of first three to four decades of Indian presence in country, few intimate relationships were recorded between Indo-Trinidadian men and Afro-Trinidadian Bridget Brereton, writing in 1981, noted reluctance of Indian men to cohabit with Creole women, despite shortage of Indian women. She continued:As late as 1871 Protector of Immigrants believed that no single case of cohabitation existed and up to 1917 such cases were very rare. Of course language, customs, religion and caste were powerful obstacles to such unions, but individuals have always broken through such sanctions, and in Caribbean miscegenation was general rule. Perhaps Indians, who were mostly Hindus from northern India, brought with them caste-linked Indian contempt for darker-skinned, which reinforced existing race and colour prejudices in host society. Whatever reason, miscegenation was not to be an integrating factor in this period.3While noting that these relationships have generally received limited attention by Caribbeanist scholars, Audra Diptee, in her critique of this position, rejects these cultural arguments, especially those based on the prejudicial nature of Hindu caste system. …

A S WE APPROACHED THE Natural Bridge, I was touched but also apprehensive of the moment. At last, we would see this natural rock formation that had become associated with the historical accounts of a brutal massacre of one hundred and fifty-three Wintun Indian men, women, and children. Where was the precise spot? I wondered. Would the anguished screams of the victims still echo between the tall fir trees and the delicate white trillium flowers that grew along the trail? I glanced furtively at a small open area among the trees and imagined bleached human bones protruding through the brown earth. This image was particularly strong because John Carr had written in his book, Pioneer Days in California, that years after [the massacre], I hunted cattle over the battleground. Part of the bones still bleaching on the plains: skulls and arm and leg bones were scattered over the ground in all directions.' I stood silent but my thoughts leaped back to that brutal time, that time in Northern California when miners had come to rape the land of its gold and had stayed to rape the earth of all its resources. The results of the massacre that John Carr had noted had occurred in the Spring of 1852 near the Trinity mining center of Weaverville where hundreds upon hundreds of aggressive, often bitter, men inundated the small pocket valleys and numerous streams and rivers of Northern California in the previous years. Within months they had turned clear streams into sickening red sludge that oozed into the Trinity River. Fish died by the millions, particularly the salmon. Soon their four-year cycle was interrupted and this vital source of food was lost to the Native people. The miners shot deer by the hundreds, and imported hogs and cattle that roamed the hills and ravaged the vegetation. The California acorns that had provided food for many, now fed only the newcomers' livestock. In addition to the destruction of their food sources, the Indians themselves were savaged. They were often shot on sight, particularly if an Indian man was sighted while fishing or hunting alone. In fact, one hardy pioneer was quoted as taking no more notice of killing them than if he were killing a stray dog.2 Another indicated that he had murdered Indians, just to try out his rifle. Indian women were raped and forced into concubinage. The children, especially young girls of twelve and thirteen, were sold into slavery for amounts of one hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars.4 A good buy for a lonely miner.

Abnormalities in sex hormones are a risk factor for premature manifestation of coronary artery disease in South African Indian men