Gendered Discourses of Hindutva

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyze the ways in which women's issues are being articulated within the Hindu Right wing party- BJP. It seeks to analyze the shift in the discourses of womanhood reflected in BJP'S election manifestos and campaigns over the years. The BJP's manifesto of 1998 elections saw a manifold increase in the issues pertaining to women. A full chapter was devoted to women's issues. The chapter was titled as "Nari Shakti”. The discourse of womanhood saw a shift from "Matri Shakti” used during early 1990s to "Nari Shakti” since late 1990s. While Matri Shakti contains the element of self-sacrificing mothers, the discourse of Nari Shakti resonates with the image of an empowered woman with active role in the economic sphere. But despite this expansion of women's issues focused by 1998 manifesto envisaging a far greater role for women in public sphere, the embeddedness of women within the structure of family remains firmly entrenched. A separate chapter in the manifesto was titled as "family and society”. Despite the fact that the BJP has incorporated all the issues raised by the feminist movement in its election manifestos since 1998, the discourses of revivalism and familialism remain firmly entrenched. These two discourses get clear reflection in BJP Vision document 2004. The increasing importance laid to women's economic role can be seen in NDA's election manifesto for 2004 elections which promised to unveil National Policy on Women's Economic Empowerment before end of 2004.