EN-GENDERING INDIVIDUALS

I I

I'
I.
A Study of Gender and Individualisation in Reform-
~angpagein Modern Keralam, 1880's-1950's

Dissertation submitted to the Mahatma Gand hi University for the

award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

School of Social Sc
-atma Gandhi University, K o t t a y a m 686041
 CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1. ASPECTS OF 1NDIVIl)UALISATION

The Order of Gender
internalities : Hollowing them Out
Creating the Right Attitudes
Subjects : Carving them
Strategies of Re-presentation
End-Note

2. NAMBUTLRI, ANTHARJANAM, &IAN,

WOMAN : RE-FORMING MALAYALA BRAHMINS

Reformism Reconsidered
Self-Knowl.edge
Self-Correction
The Reformer's Burden
End-Note

3. NEGOTIATiNG WOMEN'S SPACE

Blurring the Distinctions

Rethinking Womanhood
Society and 'Womanly' Capacities
' Womanly' Power, ' Womanly' Society
End-Note

4. 'UNNAMEABLE DISCONTENT"

Problernatising Reform
' Illusions'
Woman the Giver
Paradox of Self-Fulfilment
5. \VOMAN AND Ttlli: FEMALE BODY

Reading (Through) Dress

Meaning of Bare-breastedness
Aesthehcising the Body
1vlar.ginalising the Body

END-NOTE
 In a broad sense, this work is about individualisation' as a historical phenomenon in

modem Malayalee society. More specifically it revolves around the 'en-gen~eringSof fie

Individual in modern Keralam, the mechanisms of which have been in operation ever since

the nineteenth centllly but have gained strength and scope thereafter. This is an initial

attempt at exploring how gender has entered into the very definition of the Individual, in

modern Keralam, investing h e r h with speczc 'capacities', implicating h e r h in new

collectivities. So persistent is this twin .emergence that it seems quite pertinent to say that the

Individuai did not simply emerge here, but was en-gendered

In the existing literature on the history of Keralam, considerations of gender occuby

a relatively minor space.' But the m e cannot be said about the category

1. The 'Individualisation'discussed here pertains to a shift in f m s in the srtuatedness of the individual

i?om being the member of a p u p etc. to a social curego9 in itseK When 'Individual' is w&em thus,
i.e., wtth the capital 'I' it indicates the latter, and when wdkm with the lower case, it indicates the
former.

lie term 'engendering' is used in this work in two difFerent senses. In the f
mt sense it refers to the
coming into being crfthe Individ~cal.In the second m s e , the word is split, the first two a l p h a k
treated as a p& 'en-'.This would lead to reading the word 'ensendering' as 'covering or
sli~rolrding(rhu Individuuo wifhgedcr, placing g e d e r into or upon (Ihe Individual)'. By evoking
these two together, me seeks to emphasise that bdvidualisatim and gmdering are nat separate
phenomaton but aspects of the same, accuring s i m u h ~ s l yThe. use of this term in this work is
intentimally ambigubus, to WIy both senses at the same time, and separately, according to the
specific camtext.

3. Historical work on gender, gender-relations or e m 'Women' in Keralam is relatively rare. A survey of

Women's History h hdu published in 1992, could i h t l f y only one work w~rthyof metrtion: See, A.
(..continued)
 Historical data about women far any period in K d a m ' s past is neither plmW nor easiIy

accessible. But the category 'Women' has played a major role in legitimating the paradigm

of Progress and Liberation within which much of the history of modern KeraIam has been

minenB5The accouni of the glorious entry of 'Malayak Women' from b a r h i m and

(..continued)
Basu, 'Women's History in InQa: A fIistoriographic Suntqr' in K. O E q R.Piersan, J.Randall (etl.s),
Writing Women's History: Intemtioml Perspectives, London: Macmillan, 1992,pp.18 1 -209. The
seminar m 'Women in Keralam Past and Pw' held m 1995 (February 11-12) at
ThiruMnanthapurarn did see a number of papers with explicit Wrical thwnes, but the share of such
work in the -1 wiume of social s c i e c research in Keralam sems quite low, as evidenced by
other seminars, See Absmcts (Four Volumes) of the 'hernational Congress of Kerala Studiw' at
Thirumanthapuram, August 27-29, 1994 and also Abstracts of the 'International M r e n c e :
Europe and So& Asia 500 Years' held at Calicut and Cdun, May 18-20,1998. An article which
surveyed e x i h g sociological work in Keralam and indicated possibwes for further research,
published in 1976, compldely ignored the possibllrty of studylng gender-relations. See, Joan P.
7- Mencher and K.Raman Unni, 'Antlmpologid and Sociological Researcb in Kerala: P a s Presart
and Future D i r d a ' , in Burton Steiu(ed.), &says on South M i a , New Delhi: Vikas Publishmg
House, 1976,pp.121-148. It seems that mearch interest in gender and gender relations is relatixly
recent in KeraIam, especially in the discipline of hstoty, at p m t , at the end of '90s, one stin 6nds
very lale substidal work in these a m .

4. It must k m s dthat here we m a n by ' W o r n ' a q r y that has been hsstorically pduced and
treated as if it referrd to some homogenous, unambiguously ident&ble realrty. h h s nat refer to
'Women' in the smse of a group of people actually existin&shdarto each other by virtue of their sex.
Hera when the caprtal is used, the r e h e is ahmys to the h e r and when the lower case is used, to
the latter.

5. This has had a long pasf going back to the officialGazetteers and Manuals. The relatively hgh levels
of female h r a c y is interpreted as evidence for the superiojl of Eociety in V.Nagam Aiya's Report on
the Cemw ofTrawrncore (1891) and is an important element in his repmmtatim of Tiruvitamkmr
as an ideal E l u r h Kmgdom, and.this was n o t i d by reviewers (Se,Nagam A i y : A Biographicul
Sktch, ' I h i r u e p m : Keraldayam Press, 191I, p.36,written by 'An Old SchwWow and
Friend'). This cantinued ta figure in represmbtims of Tiruvitamkmr for much later. See, h r
instance, the note an 'Trmmrean Women' which appeared in The Star of lndiu q u M in
Travancore I@mtion and Listener Vol7(3), Nov. 1946, p.13. By the 1930'sthis was beghhg to
be qudmed, as in the &rial ofthe Kesari which pointsd out that the claims v r d i n g the higher
status of wometl here were Mse. See, 'Tiruhtnkmrine Pattiyulla h d a Prasangmgal' ~ (Speech=
about Tiruvhnkmr in London), Kesari, 2 1 June, 1933. REpnnted in A Balakrishna Prllai,
(. .continued)
subordmation to civilization and freedom has too often served to support the larger picture

of progress of Kaalam fiom pre-modern to modern times, in a wide variety of contexts.

Important attempts have been made to qualifL this pichue, such as made in a recent work,

which has sought to examine "..... whether women's creation of a self-image challenged or

differed from conceptions of Womanhood projected by the dominant discourse within

social reform and political movcmentsf16in Kerb or in yet another which has sought to

identify the 'limitations of liberation' for women in the modemisation of Malayalee society.'

But its persuasiveness has remained more or less undiminished; it has preserved its

dominance, forming almost a part of the commonsense of the average educated Malayalee.

Perhaps oqe could attempt to s M focus away fiom the category 'Women' tg the

phenomenon of en-gendering. No doubt the emergence of this category is important in such

a history; however, here, it does not enjoy centrality. Perhaps the attempt could be to show
up 'Women' as a histaricdy-given category, not an already-given one. What might be at

stake here is discussed in the following points.

(..continued)
Kesariyude Mukhaprasangangal @htods of Kesari), Kattayarn: D.C books, 1989, p.91. Tlus
criticism obviously stayed withrn the same paradigm. In academic accwnts it has remained a pow&
presence up tothe presetrt, though no 1-r unchallenged. See,Abstmcts, op. cit., n.3.

6. Meera V e l a y u h , ' C m & g Traditims:The Social Cmstructicm of Gender in Tramcore', Paper

presarted at the Internatid Congress of Kerala Studis, ThiruMnanthapuram, August 27-29, 1994.
See,Absrmcrs Vol3, pp. 16768.
7. R.Jefiey, Politics, Women and Well- Being, N.Deh : OUP, 1993, p. I .
- 1 ) The history of the en-gendering of Individuals is not the same as what is today familiar as

'Women's ~istory''Here it is the discursive conditions under which it becomes possible to

speak of such categories as 'Mm'or 'womentg, and the ioclusionary and exclusionary

moves by which these are constituted, that get highhghted. The effects which such id& as

'Man' and 'Woman' have upon the red, hther, become central to such work--how they

operate in the reorganisation of institutions, reordering of space, reform of the conduct,

conbol of individuals and reconstitution of power-networks. The history of en-gendering

> would concentrate on the spec& ways through which men and women begin to recognise

8. In order to avoid generalising what is a -ry that a a a m d a m various approadm, me may be *

more precise m specifymg what is meant by 'Women'sHisbry' here. In this m G it wrrespcmds to
l Certeauts descriptioa of a history that is n-sary ikr a group,: "It mdantly tnends the
~ i & e de
rends in tbe fabric that joins past and pm&. It assures a "mmnhgiiwhich sumKxmts the violence and
division oftime. It a t h e of refbrences and mmmvalues which gmanbx a sense of lmrty
and a "symbolicttCMnrnrrnicabi of the group.... It leads to an avoidance in the uruFyrng
r e p r d c m of all traces of the Qvisian which organk its productid"' Michel de Certeau, 'History
and Fiction', in Heferologies,Mancbester: Mandester University Pms, 1986, p.205.

9. Feminist hstoriagraphers have voiced the need to h d a ncmdiological grounding m f i c h to base the
category 'Women' for sometime now. The need to assert the identrty of women over other
msideratims such as raee or natjanalrty was linked to fem&im's early polttical asphtims. See,
msays by Gerda Lemer md athers in B.A. Caroll(ed.)Liberating Women's Histoy: Theorehad atxi
Critical Essays, &ago: University of Chicago Press, 1976. Feminist theorebcians have sought this
c ~ m m inwa d y a s t r u c t e d 'common qerience. Such 'commm experimce, was fbun4 for
example, in the specific nature of w m ' s activities in which xllental, manual and d d abilities
are combined (H.Rose,'Hand, Brain and Heart: A Feminist Epistemology for the Natural Sciences',
S i p 9(I), A m 1983, pp.78-90); or intheL'sensuous, mum q w attributed to women's
labour in the produdmn of we-values (N.Ha- 'The Feminist Standpoint: Dewfaping a Ground
for a Specifically Feminist Historical Materialism'T in S.Hading, M.Hhkka (ed.s), Discuven'ltg
Reality, Dordrecht: D.Rei&l, 1983, pp.283-310); or in the relatiad charaar of M e subjedvrty
in, C.Gilhgan, In a Different Voice: P~}chological Theoq orad Women's Uewlopmenr,
M a s s a h a s : Hanmrd University Press, 1982, or in the cmmm condaim of lack of access to
power in G. L.emer, 'New Approaches to the Study of Women in American History', h n B.A.
Carroll, ibid., pp. 3 1-39.
themselves as gendered subjects, as 'Manf and 'Woman', and adopt modes of conduct

deemed appropriate to such subjectivity. The problems involved in the simplistic acceptance

of the category of 'Women' are well-known by now.'' Such problems have also been raised

regarding the writing of the histow of Kerdam in a recent paper which has sought to

demonstrate how the use of this category here has almost invariably worked to foreground

and privilege S m a m women and their struggles, to the exclusion of other women".

The ideas of Progress and Liberation which have so vitally informed most available

accounts of the history of modem Malayalee society too cannot be treated as given. Here,

they may be interrogated in their speciiicity as ideas which manifested in the period o f

concern here, in a particular sucio-cultural context. In other words, the question 'To what
I

extent were women or men liberated in Keralam through Modemisation?'would be replaced

with several others: 'What were the elements that entered the idea of Liberation as it was

articulated in late-nineteenth and early twentieth century-Kerdam?'; how did it differ when

10. See, D.Mey, Am I that Name: Feminism and the Category of 'Women'in History, Basingmke:
Macrnillan, 1988; G.Joseph and J.Lewis, Common Dzflerence: ConJicrs in Black a d Wife Femjnist
Perspectives, N Y:Anchor h s , 1981;F.M i a s and N.Yuval-Davis, 'Cmtmtulismg Feminism-
Gender, Ethnic and Class hvisions', Feminist Rm'm 15, Nov.1983, pp.62-75. Anti-foundatidst
trmds wrthin feminism have w i d a more deep-raaching critique. Julia Ktisteva, for example, argues
for a form ofpractice in f i c h , "the very d i d m y manhman as an qqwiti.m b c m m two rival
entitis may be un&rstd as bd@g to m&qhysid"' J.hsteva, 'Woman's The', Signs ?(I),
1981, p. 33.

11 . T.M. Yesudasan, ' 'Caste, Gender and Knowledge: Towards a Dalit Feminist Pet-sp&wel, Paper
,
pmmted at Grassrm Politics Colloquium, D q t . of Political Science, Univwsity of Whi, Mar&
10-11,1995, pp.5-6.
applied to Man and Woman'?; 'what mutations has it undergone in the course of the present

century?', and so on. Such questions m y either help to contextualise these concepts and

thereby make them descriptively more adequate, or simply dismantle them.

The statement that the individual was en-gendered in modem Keralam seems to imply that

the sex of the body was never important in the older order in Keralam, or that notions of

psychological characters supposedly accompanying physical sex were irrelevant before. But

we do have ample reason to believe that the codes of conduct within particular social groups

in nineteenth centmy Kerdam were organised, among ohm consjderations, by those of sex

also12 and that this continued to mark evnyday life weU into the twentieth century.

Anthropologists and observers have noticed sharp segregation between the sexes, and

Merent codes of conduct for the sexes among traditional communities, both matrilineal and I
C

Such codes Mered sigmficantIy fiom group to group. As for notions of

12. U r n Chakravad m f b to such a social o q p i d m of the sexes in her conception of 'Bdmuucal

Patriarchy' in uhich she sees taste and gender shaping each h e r , and the boundaries bdmm castes
maintained crucially ttuuugh women. PatmdaI &, she maintains, mum that this stnrcme can
be qtoduoed &out violating the herarchid order of closed endogamous circles, mch distinct from
and hgfier or lower than the &er. Brahmanical patriarchal c;odes for women d&r according to the
status of caste-grmps in the hierarchy of castes, with the most stringent control over W e sexual@
for the higher castes. The usefulness of this model fbr undersbnding pre-modem society in Keralam
be judged at this point; it calls fbr much more detailed inquiry. See her article 'Conceptuahing
Brahmanical Pabiarchy in Early India: Gender, Caste, Class and State; Economic and Political
Weekly Vo128(14), April 3, 1993, pp.579-85.

13. M.S.A.Rao,who carried out field work in Malabar in 195 1, ndm the obsenation of strict sqqgaiisegregation
Mwm male and h a l e sibhags in the Nair T u r d (Nair homeseead) cmce they passed childhod.
(M.S:A.Rao,Jbcial C h g e in Mulabar, Bombay: Popular Book Depot, 1957, pp.77-79).He also
notes strict sex-segregaticm in the Narnhtiri Illam, the Brahmin homestead, but of a Merent sort
(..continued)
universal P~irtashadharmam(Manly Duty) or Slreedhurmam (Womanly Duty), they might

have circulated; however, the specific codes of conduct of specific groups seem to have

been of much greater practical import than them.

What is significant about the period under consideration is that gender attained an

unprecedented centrality in the visions of ideal society; gender seems to have become a

crucial element in the v e q definition of the Individual, around which visioils of an

enlightened society of the future were woven. This in fact, often required even a rejection of

earlier notions of sexual difference. However the whole issue of continuity and change from

the olde~order needs serious consideration. How elements of the older order might have

undergone transformation; what strategies have ensured their survival etc. are questionsI that

must be confronted. At present one does sometimes see the tendency to deploy the notion of

continuity as a substitute for analysis in order to obtain explanations for the apparent

paradoxes presented by modernity in eral lam.'^ Rather than assume a continuous history

(. .continued)
(ibid.,p.83).A fuller account of sex-segregation in the Illam may be obtained in Kanipayyur Sankaran
Nambutiripad, f i l e SmmnakaI(My Memories) Vo1.s I,K K d I a m : Panshangom Press, 1958.
For a description of s e x w a n in everyday among the Maws of Mayyanad, see,
C.Kesavan,Jem'tasamru,n (Life-Struggle),Kctkyam: S a h b Pravarthaka Sahsikarna San&cm
(Literary Workers' C-emttm Society, henceforth, SPSS), 1965. Also see, Blmshmunny,
Pathonpiam N o o i d i l e Ketaiattt (Kerntarn in the Nin-th Cetltury), 7lxkstu: Kerab S a w
Akademi, 1988.

14. See how a EairIy r h t work of Kerala history that ernploys Manrian tmls uses continuay as
explanatton: "One important reason is the wial s t m k h e s s resultulg from the weak industrialisation
process in Keratam. In Kedam where w o r n ' s edumbon and technical sMls have develaped
considerably,this control is made possible through traditional social norms. Caste, religion and other
(..continued)
 based on overarching categories such as ov omen''^, or completely deny the possibility of ,
,-
continuity, it could be possible to enquire into the spec& ways in which elements of the

older order continue to survive and circulate in the present. The history of en-gendering

need not be taken to be a celebration of the discontinuous, as if this meant a complete and

total denial of continuity.

(3) The history of en-gendering, ideally, would be much more than an exploration of the W2s

and changes in the ideas abut gender, for the en-gendering of Individuals seems to be much

more than a change in the realm of ideas. New ideas were definitely gaining ever-hex

p u n d by the late nineteenth century, but alongside these, whole sets of practices that
*
aimed at fashioning a new s d 6 were being proposed and set in operation through new
institutions. PhysicaI sex was treated, explicitly or implicitly, as an important factor,that
-
(..continued)
superstitious practices and belie& duence women W y . Chastrty and morahty are effective means
of ~ o l l i n woman's
g reproductrw pdmtd..... These obligatims appear to bs the latest version of
feudal normtt (my italics). K.N.Ganesh, Keralathinte ImIeRnI (Tne Y e d a y s of Keralam),
?hinrwrmthapuram: Dept. of C u h d Publications, Govt, of Kerala, 1990, pp.238-39. Such an
a m u n t fails to mfrm the hwncal ma&aion r e q m d as 'mod& in Keralam in any
serious terms, prefwring to hint at a certain 'incompletenas'alane.

15. H w 'Women' can serve to hi@ght this is d e m d by hstorian Robin Jefiiey's use of thls
category to s m the dimensions of change in the history of the State of Tiru-
i "In the
18501s, the Tramcore Gwemment e n f o r d caste-laws which required most women to go bare
breasted; in 1915, a Tramcore woman on a government scholarship graduated in d c i n e h m the
lhiivenity of London". @J-, 'Introduction', The Deche of N i r Domimnce: Satiety a d
Politics in Trzrvrrncure 1847-19Q8, London: Sussex Univershy Pms, 1976). Here the category
'Womm' helps to highhght the vision of continuously wtfiung social change.

16. It may be mentioned that it is the new ideal of self which began to gain ground in the late ninetead~
(..continued)
determined the capacities that could be possibly generated in the natural body and the kind

of disciplinary reanen it could be subjected to17. Michel Foucault speaks of the complex

relation that existed between sex and truth in the modern age, which persists despite all

corrections--to the extent that even if a 'virile woman' or 'passive man' or same-sex love

may be accepted as socially benign, there is still the belief that "... there is something like an

"error" in what they do.. . a m e r of acting that is not adequate to reality".'8 He remarks

that in the West the late nineteenth century was a period of intensified research into sexual

identity in which the norm was powerfully established by the assiduous recording of a i l

variations fiom it1' Now, possessing a set of mental dispositions supposedly natural. to

particularly-sexed bodies was projected as important, and to engage in activities not 'in tunef

with one's sex, it was argued,would have h@ effects. For instance, the 'excessive'

intellectual activity of women, it was often argued, would impair their capacity to bear

children, and provoke hysteria. " Ideas of this kind or similar ones, quoted as scient4ic

I..
continued)
century in Kerahm that is indated when the capital ' St is used.

17. Such 'capacities' do not realiy preexist in M e s ; they are hoUowed out. Displinary power fihons
such 'capacitiest."....it d~ssociatespower h m the body, on the other hand, it turns it into an 'aptitude',
a 'capactty', which it seeks to increase; QI the cxher h d , it reverses the course of the mew, the
power that may r w i t h m it, and hms it into a rehtion of strict subjectim".M.Foucault, Discipline
and Punish, Harmondsworth:Pengum, 2985, p ,138.

18. M.Foucauh ' Introduction', Herculine Barbin, New York: Panthem, 1990,pp. 8-1 1.
19. M.Foucauk, ibid., above, p. 10.

20. A detailed account of research into gender m Eurcpe and North America in the he 19' century may
(..continued)
opinion, did appear in Kerdam in the period concerned." A whole range of institutions that

gained greater spread in early twentieth century, in fact, seemed to call for human capacities

that appeared to be given by gender. Whole sets of practices were recommended in the

fashioning of the Individual, which it was claimed, would help herlhim to conform to a

gendered subjectivity-measures of 'positive' and 'negative' sort. For instance, in rn@dem

educational institutions, the sexuality of teachers and students were subjected to strict

observation and anyhng that seemed to indicate same-sex affection was carefUy weeded
22
out, But probably more powehl were practices of the 'positive' type which ranged h m

elaborate schemes that hegrated several minor practices, like 'Womanly' education', to

relatively simple ones like wearing a blouse, a ravukka.

Yet it is not easy to make ghb distinctions between 'ideas' and 'practice', on this

(..continued)
be found in B.Ehrautichand D.EngL& For Her Own G d : 1 5 0 Years of the Experts' A h c e to
Women, London: Pluto Press, 1979.

21. See, for instance, the argument put firth by Member K . K u n j u h h a Pillai rwrdmg the
inadvisabdQ of preventing Assistant Schoaf Inspemesss fiom marrying. See, Proceedings of the
Trawrncore Sri MuIam Assembly Vol II, 1 935, pp. 67-68.

22. See, Mulayah Munoram, 'Prakriti V i Caseukal', (Anti-Natural Cases), March 26, 1906;
Makqala Manomma; W r i a l 'Utkrkhthavidyabhyasayu~Sadacharavum', Wgher Education and
Moralrty},October 20, 1906. This editorial was about the hrnissal of the Proflrssor of Physiology,
Narayana Rao, fbr making homosexual advances to a studmt from Emakulam. 'fhe previous year, the
Prohsor of Mathematics, Subramany Sastry, had been dismissed for the same offence. The.Editor
s KO% Gavemmmt for its prompt acticm. It may l
m p h ~ l a t e the x that there were aher mxms, and
that this particular &ce was only a concocted reason. But that this particuIar o&ce was indeed'
advanced toj u e disrmssal'isin itselfsi@cant.
 ground: their interpenetration is so dense that realms exclusive to each one are cli£Jicult to

dsthguigh. Perhaps it is this highly close-knit relation that may be h6ghhghted here, without

&eating'ideas' and 'practices' as water-tight compartments.

(4) ~tmight be me that more men than women were exposed to modem howledge (by coming

into contact with State institutions, institutions of the 'Civiliskg mission' such as those of

the protestant missionaries, by studying in modern schools etc.) earlier, and for longer

periods. Bit this need not automatically authenticate a simplistic claim that would pit

modemising men against women they sought to modernise in a relation of domination-

subordination; indeed, several q d c a t i o n s must be made, which would add to the

complexity of this power-relation. First, not dl men had equal access to the institutions
I

mentioned above, and a great many factors--geographic& economic, social, cdtural--

mediated men's entry into, and contact with, such institutions. Secondly, it need not be

assumed that the claim to superority often put forth by those who were in contact with

modern institutions over those who were nof was readily accepted. A text Wee ~ r d u l e ~ u r , ~ ~

for instance, was involved not only in the e a t i o n of the new Woman but dso of the

new Man. In m y eighteenth-and nineteenth-century Enghsh novels, aristocratic figures

occupy the space of Manhood, who are then 'tamed' by the ideal Woman who is the

23. O.ChanduMenon, fndtrleh, Kottayam :D.CBooks, 1991,firstpublished, 1889.

 .r

embodunent of middle-class In novels like lradulekha the aristocratic male of the

older order cannot sign@ Manhood; not even the ideal aristocratic male, as ~ e e ~ k s h ? '

tesaes. Manhood is not linked to tradition and the established order in these novels; rather,

these present several impediments to 'me' Manhood. And if one assumes that the idea1 of

modern Man was already legithised then how is one to explain the struggle for legitimacy

of the new Manhood that saturates not only the late nineteenth-century Malayalam novels

but also a great deal of writing informed by ideas atered in b o u g h Enghsh sources,

produced around this period?

Thirdly, it is true that by the late nineteenth century, those who had acquired new

education (who, arguably, were mostly men) claimed authority and capacity to evaluate the

social Me in local society, including home-life, the dady routine of women-folk and
I

domestic rituaLZ6However there is evidence to suaest that h s authority was by no means

passively accepted by women. The stubborn 27 resistance of women to modemisation was

24. For an interesting m d y of h s aspect, see, Nancy Anmmng Desire and Domestic Fiction, Landcn,
Oxford : 0 U P, 1987.

25. Chemmhhu Chathu Nair, Meemkshi, Thrissur: KeraIa Sahtp Aka&, 1990, first published,
I 890. In fact reform-language was one of the agencies through which the nau ideais o f M a n k 4
began fo assert legrfimaqv.

26. For instance, see the d~scussimof Taiikmhlpnarn, the puberty r h d of young Nair girls,
published in the Nair S a h p Pan'shkari Vol l(2) 1916, in wkich all the participants are m,that
tao,modem - educated men,

27. K.P.S. Mmm in h$ autobiography rela- how C.Knshna Pdhi, a prominent Nair refbrmer of the
(..continued)
perceived early by missionaries and later by social reformers.28

Fourthly, even if one were to take that a fully-formed, already-legitimated Man did

indeed fashion Woman as his Other, this does not mean that wbman was constituted as

powerless. As we shall see in the following chapters a definite sort of power and authority

was.attributed to Woman, and this was to stay on as a decisive dement in conceptions of

gender for a very long tune. And lastly, those who did come under the sway of refomism

accepting the superiority of the modernised Man did not always remain passive: this relation

was itself not a smooth but a contested one.

The history of en-gendering would involve tracing out the new networks of power-

relations between the sexes that were formed in the period of concern; it would also be

concerned with studying the transformation of already-existing power-relations. But it

(..continued)
early 20' cmtury managed to reform women of his household. The story m l d acttially be read as
revealing women's resistance to reforming, and the strange ways in which it was sometimes overcome.
The stary g w hke this: wanen in the household put up mistan= to Krishna Pillai's sugption
that they l q g n their daily routine d y after an early-morning cold-water bath, he managed to make
them toe Esr his h e only by f e i
w epilepsy. The h i p n (the Kanipn is a local fundaxtry, who
is consulted in the event of such grave happenings, regardmg the solutians,as well as the reasons,
h c h he may reveal through astrological 'inquuj- the Prasnam or through Other means) was fetched,
and he, in accordance to a prior agreement, prmounced that the g m k s L w r was upon the house
due to the inadequate observance of Shuh!hnr @unty) by the women of the house. The remedy, of
course,was, C .Krishna Pillai's origtnal suggestion! K.P.S Menon remarks: ".....with this,the womq in
order to p a c e the goddess, made bathing M r e dawn a habit". K.P.S. Menon, Atmakatka
(Autobiography), Kottayam : SPSS,1968,p.29.

28. Mateer, Native 11J2 in r'ravuncore,

See, for exarnpie,'~ev.~amuel London, 1883. Precisely for this
reason, reformers felt the need to make them special targets of reformist activity See, N.R. Kndman,
(..continued)
 would also focus upon the larger interests at work in pleas made on behalf of 'Men'or

'Women' or addressing them, increasingly f d a r in these times.

(5) Ideally, the history of en-gendering would be also an account of the resistance to such en-
gendering as much as it is of its success. For instance, the history of dress-reform (which is

dehtely of importance in the history of en-gendering) in Keralam, when written some day

will reveal not only smooth acceptance of 'proper1ways of covering the body but a whole

series of moves and counter-moves, reversals and redeployments, reinforcements and

withdrawals. Resistance, however, could be conceived of as much more flexible, and

contextual. One would not seek a spec& form of resistance, such as, say, 'f-e' or

'popular' which has been margumbed by masculmst or elitist academic practice. It would

be accepted that resistance sight be found in varied forms, ranging from ouhght rejection

to evasion or reinscription.

(6) The present work does not give much space to the de-g of economic changes that

characterised the period under focus. But en-gendering is bound up in a complex way with

the transformation of the body into a labouring economically useful force." These were

times in which the economic use of time, resources, human forces or IanOwge, their

(..continued)
Smranu Vol U(Mmir), Cherthala, 1958, p.34.

29. The machinery of ensemdering deploys a mechanism of power sigruficantly similar to that described
by Mchel Foucault as 'nan-sovereign power'. M.Foucau& 'Twoh r e s ' , in Colin Gordon (ed.),
(..continued)
1ninima.l and efficient utdisation to generate a maximum of material. goods, labour, and

me-g was being recommended as no less than a necessity.30%s would be f v m y

in the twentieth century in Kerdam in the various projects of reform, centred

upon community-building, as on State initiative, especially in Tiruvitamkoor. Very often,

the usefulness of the body was seen to depend upon its 'natural' capacities, which seemed

determined by its sex: this underlay the enthusiastic promotion of the division of labour in

wIlictl Men would be producers and Women, reproducers ("Since Woman is we&" wrote a

missionary-author,"she has no capacity to labour to produce wealth and cannot but depend

upon what Man provides her with".3')

But economic change or politico-legal events are no ultimate determining force in

the history of en-gendering-the Iatter cannot be reduced to the terms of the former. The

history of en-gendering would not be the weaving together of the history of economic or

political change and of the ~ansforrnationof gendered existence, into a single unsed

history. It would be more an exploration of the points of contact of these distinct

hstories.This would call for the emergence of many histories that would togetha comprise,

(..continued)
Powcr:iYnowledge, New York : Panrhecro, 1980, pp.78-108.

30. S . Raju, 'Excurses into h c i p a t e d Future in the Worll)ds of Nation and Weal&', Lateral ,Stu<v
Series No.13, S c h d of Social Sciarces, MGU,K m y a m , 1995.

3 1. hlarurnakkathaythalda bhangal' (The Disadvantages of M a h h y ) from Kdtwsanghraharn Vol

'

1(5),1865, p.351
at best, a 'general histo~y'.'~

The material which is worked upon in this thesis is drawn fiom a variety of sources,

from different institutional backgrounds. It is not uncommon to h d many of the institutions

found involved in engendering to be othemise at odds with each other, often representing

different or antagonistic economic or political ambitions, and so on. Yet, by following their

involvement in en-gendering Individuals, one may be able to trace out a network of relations

linking them, even without their being deliberately involved, geared towards a common

purpose. The variety of writmgs that have been used as historical material, here-newspaper

reports, writmgs from Women's Magazines, school text-books, autobiographes,

anthropological work, writings by colonial officials, observers and native bureaucrats,

reformist writings, legislative debates, public speeches, government repork and proceedmgs

of reformist organisations, Malayalam literature, Gazetteers, Administrative Rrports,

biographies and so on--have together constituted a field in which new forms of subjectivity

were imagined, subjected to questioning and modification, opposed or e e d . This was

the field that made up the public sphere in late nineteenth and early twentieth century

Keralam in which 'Public Interest' became the key concern, and issues came to be debated

32. See M.Fouca&'s critique of ' T d History' in ' Irrtroduction', Archaenlogy of fimvledge, NewYork:
Pantheon, 1972,p.9.
in its terms. For instance, the 'Condition of the Nambutiris' could be now discussed here, as

m issue of 'public concern', something unthinkable in the older order. Ideas and infomation

produced and supported by the agencies of the State, as well as its woxkjngs, were now

topics of discussion; the Individual, what means were necessary for the fshioning of the

Individual, what impediments were to be overcome in achieving seK-transformation etc.

were all-too-frequently debated in these writings. This field was shaped in and through the

confluence of several elements of change in the socio-cultural environment in the highly-

charged political situation of nineteenth and early twentieth century Keralam: the

entrenchment of the politico-adminisbxtive machinery of modern government with its

effects upon the social organisation and the distribution of power and authority; mission

establishments with their increasing dissemination of westem howledge, new notions of

religion, faith and ritualistic practice and new technologies hke printing; the emergence and

soliacation of new modes, techniques and ethics of economic production; the formation

of a reading public; the emergence of the modern literary institution; the emergence of new

fornls of social interaction such as debating societies, reading-clubs and stree-samajams

(women's associations) etc. By the end of the nineteenth century the public sphere had

certainly emerged as the space in which new forces contended with established socio-

cultural and political forces for hegemony. As we might see later, it was already a structured

space that actively promoted gendering both in its very structuring (by assigrung 'special

slots' to women in sir~esamajamor Women's Magazines) and in the circulation of new

ideals of gendered subjectivity within it,

The writings used here, in a strong sense, embody the above-mentioned

confrontation and pronounce it as a historical moment. They facilitated and marked the

erosion of the legitimacy of the established modes of ordering things and people and the

subjectivities given in the older order(s); the emergence of a new notion of the Self focused

upon an interiority; the projection of a new vision of social order into the future. We assume

a strong intertextuality between these texts drawn fkom different sources. Here, texts that

claim to represent reality and those which do not are considered to be equally implicated in

the construction of new realities.

The claim made here, that this work uses 'texts', must be further c l d e d . In one

sense, these are all 'texts' in that they are all writlea But by 'texts1we mean sometlung rarer

than ordinary speech or writing something constituted by sets of rules, thus preserved and
rarefied. For the lrmited purpose of this w o k the tern 'discourse' will refer to the sets of

d e s which enter into the constitution of these texts. There is yet another sense in wllich

these writings may be characterised as 'texts' -- these are writings that very often describe

ideal subjectivities and social forms, juslrfy them and prescribe the means by which one

may transform oneself and society in the given model. That is, they are text-books-- boob

that provide authoritative information and duections on a particular subject-matter.

So at one level, one may d y s e these texts in order to identdy the thcoretrcal
supports set up for the ideas of 'Man' and 'Woman', to investigate the elements that come

together in their formation, to s p e c 6 the interlinkages of these elements, to trace out the

changing relations set up between these ideas; the ways in which they are posed against

other ideas, the shift in their content and so on. At another level we may look for the

specfic means of self-transformation they authorise; the manner in which they order and

jus* these means, the changes recommended from time to time etc. At one level we treat

these writings as the textual space in which subjectitivities get constituted, modified,

contested and so on according to specsc sets of rules; in the second, they are treated as

manuals, guide-books, which reach out into the world outside 'the text, recommending the

institutional f o m , the concrete activity needed to reahse ideal subject. and social foims,

However these levels may he treated as separate only at the analybcal level.

Though the institutional network is not thoroughly explored here, the textual

material used constantly refers to it, indicating a complex mairk of power formed through

an ensemble of institutions, texts, practices etc. in which a certain howledge of gender and

the hdrvidual and the means which are perceived to be effective for fashioning the

(gendered) Individual feed into each other. These texts are mostly those which have been

produced in active engagement with institutik, very often produced from within them.

Perhaps one could make use of Michel Foucault's notion of ~ i s ~ o s i rtof ldenote
~ the allove
mentioned ensemble, interconnected and heterogenous, which constitutes subjects and

orguises them. Perhaps it is no coincidence that this concept has been translated as

apparatus on the one hand, "and as grid of intelligibility on the other.35The Dispir~fhtisa

strategic function of responding to a specific historical situation-here the specific historical

situation of Malayalee society in the period The construction of modem

gendered identity happens at the very heart of the struggle between forces generated in and

through colonial presence and the prevailing order(s), and the Dispusillfreferred to emerged

in and through such battles. Having a strategic nature, this has had considerable flexibility,

proving highly adaptable.

One may broadly characterise the chief method employed in this work as

inkrpretalive. No claim is made that the interpretation of any pdcular text, action or

practice made here conforms to the meaning or sigdicance it could have had in the shared

contexts of agents involved in them. Further, here, 'interpretation' does not resolve to unveil

any deeper meanings existing unknown to agents that seems closer to some 'true' meaning.

34. ibid.

35. In H.Dreyfus and P.Rabinow,MicM Foucault: Beyond Stmchcmlism a d Hermeneutics, Chicago:

University of Chicago, 1983, p.157.

36. It may lx mmtimed that the 'Malayalee sociw refered to here conrprised of the three distinct poIitrcal
units-British Malabar, and the Princely States of Kochi and Tmvitamkmr, inhabited by Malaydarn-
speaking people. Reference to ' MaIayalee Society' and Keralarn as a singIe cuhml unit mrs
m d y in the t m t d materials examined here. The names 'Tramcore' and 'Cochin' refer to the
States ofT ~ r u ~ oand o Kochi.
r
Rather, interpretation here would proceed to answer the question 'what makes it possible for

a certain meaning to be ascribed to a certain acf practice or text by agents in a specific

mio-historical situation?' It would also make reference to the effects particular acts etc nay

have had in concrete situations perhaps unforeseen by agents. The tern 'interpretative' may

therefore be used in this highly specsc sense to characterise the method used in this work

Lastly, it may be mentioned that the present work is by no means a full history of en-

gendering in modern Keralam. At best, it bfings together fragments of such a history which

could be helpful for firher investigation into that phenomenon. Perhaps it would not be

incorrect to characterise the present work as a tentative effort at exploring the possibilities of

such a history.
 ASPECTS OF
INDIVIDUALISATION I
 Introduction: The Order ofGender

" You are an interesting fellow ! What is your caste ? "

" Man ".

" Idiot ! 1 am asking what caste you belong to ".

" 1 h o w only of two castes--Men and Women. Of these, I belong to the first".

~lkurnari'(1897)

The above quote from an early novel in Malayalam presents a brief but pointec

representation of the political c o ~ o n t a t i o nbetween the established social order(s) and thr

forces that emerged out of their contact with colonialism in late nineteenth century Keralam

To the established social order, represented as one which orders people in terns of Jar

(usually referred to as' caste' in Enghsh), a new one that would recognise gender as the valii

principle of social delineation puts up a challenge. In the former representation an 'order o

Jari' is implicit; in the latter, an 'order of gende? is proposed2.In the former, people an

identified and placed in relation to each other through an abstract order based up01

difference in birth, while in the latter, it is the Merence in the sexual endowment of thl

t. Joseph Mooliyll, SukumaH(l897), reprinted in Dr. P.V George Irumbayam{ed.), Nahl Novelttk
(Four Novels), ?Iznssur : Kerala Sahrtya Akademr, 1985,p.362.

2. Here 'orde? refers to social order alone--social order as the manner of arranging people in relatim t
one another.
 body, something that seems more apparent and concrete, which is accorded prominence as

the key principle of social ordering.

Slrk~mruri(which incidently, has the self-claim of being both a story and histog),

published in 1897, narrates the story of the victory of the order of gender in its confrontation

with the order of Jati. Along with, as part of, or often as implicit in the textual staging of the

conkontatio~lbetween dPe Evil and Good, Primitive and Civilised, Wasteful and Useful,

False and Truthful, the antagonistic encounter between the order of Jati and the order of

gender is found dramatised in more and more variegated social situations.

The fist section of thrs chapter is devoted to the examination of the new notion of

SeK that was &g considerable prominence in these times, appearing with increased

frequency in writing and speech. The articulation of the notion of an internally directed

consciousness was a necessary condition for the imagining of the order of gender. It defined

an important difference between the two orders-- the individual in the order of Jaii was seen

to be determined by circumstances external to herihim, but in the order of gender, shehe

was to be shaped entirely by herlhis internaI qualities, qualities ofthe mind. This seemed to

mark out a level of equality between human beings : at birth, all human beings seemed

endowed with more or less the same possibilities of Self-development. Whatever inequality

3. See, Preface, op.cit, n.I .

 that persists would be the result of difference in the natural endowment of individuals or in

their development. The fidl development of such a Self would mean the full-fledged

emergence of the Individual who would be free and possessing the power to manage and

contribute to the development of material and human resources. However, what was given

before Self-development as its 'raw material' seemed importantly determined by the sexual

endowment of the body, assumed to be unambiguously given at birth, as male or female.

Self-development was to be a set of operations upon oneself by which the capacities

ostensibly given to men and women at brrth--internal qualities given by virtue of their sex--

were developed, sharpened, extended to transform them into (gendered) Individuals. The

third section of this chapter briefly considers the forms of training through which such

hdividuals were to be fashioned. As we shali see, sexual specificity being idended as an

important determinant of 'given capacities', merent sorts of training and curriculae were

deemed necessary for men and women.

The representation of this internally-focused consciousness as the true essence of

human beings was accompanied by criticism of the older order(s), the charge that these

obscured, suppressed or misdirected inherent human capacities. AU sorts of refornlism of

twentieth century Keralarn would make this their hinge-point. Thus the theme of 'liberatingt

the hdividual from hidher subjection to the established order(s) would be inexiicably

entwined with that of fashioning (gendered) Individuals through the development of their

inherent capacities. This also installed reformism as the truly legitimate sort of political
 smggle, sidelining s t r u d e on behalf of the group or faction for political advantage,

rcoi~omicprivilege etc. In fact, subscribing to a liberatory politics aimed at transforming

people into (gendered) Individuals, described as the bringing of people into their true Selves,

came to be perceived of as an important condition for any group to make factional clairns on

its bel-lalf. The political aim of reformism was identified as the creation of an ideal social

order in which gender alone would figure as the unsurpassable social division, other than

inborn differences in capacities. New institutions that would be in tune with the Individual

were i~nagmed,especially within reformism. The second section of this chapter focuses on

these projections.

The fourth section attends to the specific strategies of legitimation that were put
I

into play when the older order(s) wwe'written off ' and the new order 'written in' in the

struggle for hegemony so evident in these writings. The uncompromising rejection of the

established order as immoral, unjust and wastefid and the projection of the new one as the

sole alternative was not the only means by which these writings make the new order

acceptable. Other strategies, more subtle, perhaps more penetrating were also to be found.

Some of these are considered in some detail here. There is no claim, however, that this is a

complete and exhaustive list of the textual strategies put into operation in the struggle for

hegemony in late nineteenth century Keralam. By detailing a few of these one merely aims

at demonstrating the importance of subtle forms of confrontation in asswing the triumph of

modernity. This would, perhaps, help to quai@ the popular image of a newly-emergent
 modernity invigorated by its supposed moral superiority, malung a direct assault upon an

'effete and immoral' tradition and securing victory on the strenbrlh of this, so very familiar in

great many accounts of the history of modem Keralam produced in both non-academic and

academic contexts.

1. Internalities: Hollowing them out

The early Malaydam novels published in the late nineteenth centuy were strongly

committed to the project of salvaging the Individual fiom the oppression of the established

social order(s). In being so they sought to establish human Self-development as the true goal

towards which individuals must shive, to prescribe the internally-focused consciousness as

the means towards this end and to uphold a vision of ideal society in which human beings

would be valued for their ' essential', ' internal' qualities. The seat of these internal qualities is

referred to variousXy by various texts-- 'mind', 'conscience', 'soul', 'heart' and so on-all of

which more or less refer to a space which is within the individual, invisible, perceived only

through internal qualities which are considered to ensue from it.' These texts are linked by a

common concern about the development of these qualities, and by the belief that t h ~ srnay

be achieved through directing consciousness inwardly. Consciousness is made to seek out

4. It m y be important, for instance, to enquire h o w and why a particular qualrty gets, id&& wah the
'mind' or the 'hecart', what differences are perceived h e e n the 'heart', ' mind', or 'soul' etc. Here,
however, one need nat now enter into a discussim of these qudons but limit focus to the
c o m m a & attribtrted to hem.
 its origirl which is also taken to be the seat and source of these internal qualities. Hereafter

wc will usc tl~eterm 'internalily' Lo rcl'er to both this supposed inner space and the very

preoccupation with this space. The that are supposed to issue forth fiwn this

internality k e kindness, patience, intelligence etc. are what we call 'internal' as opposed to

birth, inherited title, status, mherited wealth and others whch are 'external', the

determination of which lies largely beyond individuals.

Tlie idenacation of this new goal for human We, the means prescribed for its

attainment and the vision of ideal social order that accompanied it operated w i h these

texts setting the standards by which the established social order(s) were assessed: the

construction of the prevadmg orda(s) that is to be found within these texts is crucially
I
dependent upon h s ideal vision, whose very opposite they were at times made out to be.

These novels are thickly populated with characters who display the hollowness of inherited

wealth or title,and those who tesbfy to the genuineness of the Self based upon a well-

developed intemahty, whc are contrasted to each other. The well-known contrast between

the aristocrat Soory Nambutiripad and the less blue-blooded Madhavan in 1 d u / e k h 5

which is
sufficiently illustrates this point. But Potheri Kunharnbu's novel Sarclswa~ivijuyu~,

relatively less-known, displays the working ofsuch contrast in establishing the truth and the

5. 0 .Cllandu Menon, Indulekha (18891,K o # a p n ~: D.C. Books, 1991

 superiority of the new Self in bolder r e l i d .

In h s novel, the contrast is between the haughty Brahmin Kuberan Nambutiripad

and the young Pulayan who is the victim of his oppression. It reveals high birth to be

ephemeral and low birth to be surpassable; mherited wealth, transitory, inherited poverty,

surmountable. All that endures is the internality which one possesses, developed or not. In

'modern' times--time is marked 'modem'in this novel by the presence of colonial authority

as rival to, and check upon, the power of Brahmjns--only those with strong i n t e d t y wdl

attain true success a~dstable state of well-being. These are states that are to be attained,

m q be attained, are not given by one's inherited wealth or status. How one tides over a

crisis is determined by the condition of one's intern&@. Subhadra, the chaste and good-
I

hearted Antharjanam who loses her aristocratic status, falsely accused and unfairly tried,

survives this calamity with the help of missionaries who recognise her internd qdties to

be valuable; her internal qualities make possible smooth adjustment to a new, secure,

enlightened life among missionaries. The young Pulayan overcomes hs low brrth, poverty

and ignorance, rising to become a Sessions Judge in the colonial judiciary, acquiring

modern education with the help of missionaries.

Here we have Individuals who by vlrtue of their well-developed internat qualities-

6. Potheri Kunhambu, Sarawatiw~a~~am

(1 892) fiom Nalu Novelukal, op .cit.,n.1.
 either undervalued by the older order(s) (as in the case of Subhadra in Suras~ua~ivijuyam)

or suppressed and underdeveloped by it(as in the young Pulayan's case, in the same text)--

rise above their external circwnstances to attan stable states of well-being.

opens with the projection of a sacid order based upon Jati (in which the
S*ar.asw~~r~r~$!ayam

high-bonl exercise wllirnited authority) crurnbhg in modem times (characterised, as

mentioned above, by the presence of Western power) which is revealed to be fiail. It ends

with l i ~ eprospect of the establish~nentof a social order in which bmh, high or low, is

insignificant, and in which internal qualities alone determine hierarchy. The displacements

that constitute the story (kom high to low, low to high) are fuelled by the internalities of the

characters.

In these novels as well as in many other sorts of writing that gained greater currency
in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Keralam, the privileging of such an

internality is presented as a 'liberation' -- the freeing of the Individual from the bandage of
existent institutions. However, a new form of regulation was found to be necessary as a

condition for such liberation. This was self-regulation, which called for the nurturing of a

core of control within the individual that would constantly monitor and regulate thoughts,

actions, feelings and sensations. The human body was itself conceived to be a combination

of a controlling core and a controlled periphe~y,the controlling core being the human nlind.

Jnananikshepam answered the question ' What is Man' thus:

 "....thehand, the eye, the tongue and body are all subject to the mind. A man may move his
and and finger as he pleases but that part will h o w nothing of his intention. The mind rules
the object. That h c h is invisible is pior to that which is visible."'

To develop the mind into an efficient controlling core was to ensure greater mastery

over the body and its pulls. Without a training that develops it, it was argued, the mind could

prove positively harmful to the survival of the individual. A text-book meant for the

instruction of young @is reminded:

"The mind is always moving; it will nd stay at rest even for a single moment. Whether we
stay immobile or asleep, the restlessness of the mind dws not cease: such a mind, if not
wedded to education.... will trap us in a f o m of evll inchations and doubtless throw us into
the depths of hell"'.

And once the mind was well-deveioped its regulation was felt to be far more

effective than that secured by the imposition of external restrictions. It, then, was perceived

to be less cumbersome and more effective in minimising malingering or rebellion. The same

text-book asked its readers:

7. Jnannnikshepum Voll(l), Vrischikcrm (Nov-Dec) 1848, p.2. Quated in Dr. N. Sam, Kernlalhile
k r n u d a y k a Nuvodhamrn Sahityaoum (Literature and Social Renaissance in Kerala),
Thiruvanarrthapuram, 1988,p.465.

8. S. Sivarama Pillai and Chenkmah Devanarayana Rarnayyan, Stree Mdya G r i h PathmIi -. Fur the
CJse of Elementary Schools,(Text-book Series for the Education of Girls at Home)
~ruvananthapurarn: Bhaskara Press, 1914- -'15, p.2.
 "Will iyt~orantwomen who believe that god exists otlly in temples, and that there is no 3 4
beyond those idols, have fear of committing sinhl acts in homes where there are no such
idol^?"^.

A God who is finite, whose vigilance does not extend beyond its immediate premises

is,inadequate to the task of exercising corlstant vigdance over people. For this, god has to be
. .
a presence that reaches every where, whose vigdance extends into every detail of thought,

deed and feeling of people. For the ignorant women in the above quote, the authors say,

external restraint is necessary- such women, they claim, may be made to stay faithful ody

if the husband "teaches with a stick"". h~ contrasf women whose minds are developed,
i
control themselves:

"If women were educated, then beyond any doubt, knowledge would itself act as the guardm
of chastity and violatmn of chastity would not occur"".

Recalcitrance is an ever-present possibility in the former case; one may only &pard

against it In the latter case, recalcitrance would be dsarrned by penetrating deeper into the

min& making external sorts of constraint redundant. If suitably trained, further, the mind, it

was claimed, could become a tremendous source of power. The ultimate source of all

9. ibid., p.6.

10. :bid., pp. 12-13.

11. ibid.
 authority--whether it be over materials or over people--was found to be in the mind and its

powers. Therefore Self-development meant not only preventing the mind from doing

mischlef and making it into a core of regulation but also channelising the mind into

productive purposes' '.

To explicate this fbther, we may turn to a text written in 1901, a preface written by

Malayalam's well-known refolmer-poet Iiumaran Asan to his translation of a book of

techniques of self-mastay titled 'As a Man ~hinketh"':

". ... All the &rent goals of human life are achieved through knowing the madold parers of
the mind, controlling and chmelising them towards the achievement of appropriate ends.
Therefore there is no task more important to us than the study ofthe p m r s of the mind and
the ways in which they may be productively used. Our hawledge of external matters however
wide it may be..... wrthout spiritual knowledge, it wdl be neder complete nor useful. I

h~ particular, the mind and its powers form an asset o h e d at birth, comn~onto all
human beings, irrespective of caste and creed, an inexhaustible fount that grows as it is
utilised. The respa~sibhtyfor the management of this imperishable treasury lies equafly
upon all members of the human race, irrespective of religion, caste or sex-dfirence. But
it is doubtful whether one in a thousand of our women or men are suitably mscious of

12. It is worth noting here that these texts exude confidence in the feasibrlay of the project of transforming
the mind, takmg it to be a sort of taw material that may be suitably moulded, even when they accept
that the nind is, to a greater or lesser degree, already worked upon by established mdes. As we may
see later-such d d e n c e was important in reformism's scnrtiny of existing sorts of training in Iml
society, selecting the 'better'ones from the 'worse' while staying distinct from them.

13. N. Kumaran Asan, Prcface, Mmssaktr(l901) (Mental Power), Tolmakkai: Sarada Book Depot,
was a f i g h School text-book in Tiruvhnkoor in the 1910's. See, G. Sankara
1943, p.i. Mc~nc~ssnkn
Kurup, Ormgpde Olangnlil (On the R i p p l ~ of Memory), Kottayam: Sahitya Pravarthaka
Sahakarana Sangham (Literary Worker's Co-operative Society, hencefirth, SPSS), 1978, p -64.'As a
Man Think&' was &I inghsh work written by James Allen.
 :sg*aq ~ PUD uopeam30
mumy uaawaq hpoy~adnspm S p o u a aw
1~3.1
ayf JaAo Aofua 01 punoj are s3yaq m y huouadns a q 4109103 uop~mldxaalqrsnqd
E appo~d4qeua1y jo ~uawdo~a~ap
a q y sa3ua~agpa q JEW p o j sr. p. paapq
*&a!3os a a p h p y~ 4np y3ns jo ssausno~~suo:,
?
j o 3x1 aw k ~ q y s po p 8upq ~ ~ I E ! P ~ U I U &np yms jo u o p ~ q ~ u a pa=r 's3~aq
mq~y
IFuodn ST@J wtp h n p E UEW ssaI ou SI &~lqrssod s q asy@aJ
~ 01 p v .saqasuIaq
Aq VpaM p a p a p JO poolq ayrlrm ' ~ o q U a h oro h a p 01 alqpda3sns s s q ' l a ~ o d
30 ,,1mo3 alqgsngqxay,, UP s a s y o ~ d11 .s3yaq mumy 3 p s p b a 'uorl~sua~agp
. . j o suos
pwalxa m o p syealq y ~
q I E~ 'salpoq m y ssassod o y =ow
~ nr! 01 uado &y!qrssod
a
o w pamasad s! &!lwua~y s,auo 3 m d o ~ a ~ a'y3q e '/E3rl!qrssod
e pm L~r~~qrsuodsal
E sawyapun a%msed ayL 'alaldmo~aflpapouy r C l p l ~ o avuz
~ 01 sauas , a f ! p a l ~ o ~
@rypds, - a y l - L ~ p olul
~ ~ oApuapa
~ a ~ o w - ~ aaZlrnld
~ a 01 's! ~ ~' ays ~l a ~ayl
a ~alqvua ol.13p~o
ut a ~ 11: SE ' p l ~ o puralxa
papuaunuo3a~sl. ~ r. l ~ u r a ~uou rsrseydrua arp ' a ~ -ursppa3s~ \~ arp
. . . s,auo Bu!s!31axj .pa~unouue3rrlacl s! sflu!aq
ayl Llyssa3au lou sr. Srlou~a~ur
30 uo~pmunua~
l x a& r l ~ u r a j uarD
ut!umuI JO , Q ~ ~ u r ~ ~ apue ~ uaahzlaq uorlrrlaJ UIVLI.~~:,r? ' a 3 ~ s s dslt11 u]
 "We are superior beings in comparison to other creatures. That is due to the extraordinary
powers of our minds. Among ourselm we find that some are civilid, some superior, sorne
inferior. That too, in actuality, is due to the difference in pawerr of the mind. The mind is
indeed a wonderful thing, the seat of immeasurable power..... Knowlei&, h i r e , action:
wrthout the powers ofthe mind thus summarised in three segments, would nat this world itself
seem empty and useless?"'!

Following this is a text borrowed fiom the West for the use of natives. The

techniques of acquiring material and moral authority must be borrowed from the West. As

i'arangodiparinayam, another Malayalarn novel written in the late nineteenth century,

claimed, acquiring a new Self was not merely imitating the West in dress, manners,

behaviour or even acquiring their knowledge. It was, rather, the adoption of what seemed

fundamental to the dominance and authority of the West, the means of training through

which the self- regulating Individual with productive capacities may be produced.

The authority that such Individuals possess, according to Mumsakt~,is this:

"The self- possesed man wdl be able to behave well w d others~ preciseIy because he knows
perfectly well how he must behave. People will have respect and adoration for hls
substantiahty and discipline. Phey will believe that there is much to be learned from him, and
will autm-&cally feel that he is worthy of their trust... The more calm and self-possessed a
man h o m e s , the greater will be his ab&y to achieve popularity and capability to do good to
othe~s~'.'~

15. ibid., p.i.

 Ttis alone is identified as authority that endures. Merited wealth, title or status, in

order to be stable and productive. ;nust ultimately Lean upon this authority without which, it

was felt, they would certainly disintegrate. The first step prescribed towards acquiring this is

gair~itlg ktlowledge of the powers given to hutnan-beings.

"As lmg as nun believes that he is the slave of external forces such as time and space, he
wdl remain in bondage to them. But when he realises through hs own experience that he is in
himself a force that creates everythmg, that the origin of various changmg conditions l i s
wrthin himself, that he himself is the master of his conditions and capabilities, then he will
become the true master ofhis l&."I7

The text advises its reader to keep his thoughts under control, observe how thoughts

have power over one's He and the lives of others, to analyse even the most trivial-seeming

experience, in order to develop the mind into a core that generates power,'%eaching put to

other human beings and to the world in general.

But all this emphasis on internality and its development, however, did not entirely

banish the body : the body reappeared in the considerations of Self-development in subtle

ways. The hd~vidualwas to possess a certain set of physical signs indicative of membership

in a certain sex-group; shehe was to possess c e m n capacities, dispositions, tendencies etc

expected to accompany a pmcular set of physical indicators. But the Individual was not

17. ibid., p.8.

18. ibid., pp.3-2 1.

 reducible to the sexed identity g v e n by these combinations --shehe had to possess

'gender', which was corlsidered to be the result of the developrnetlt of sexed identity, visible

in her/ his ability to conform to an ideal subjectivity. This perception of difference underlay

the argument in favour of different systems of education for men and women.

"It seems that giving the same sort of education to men and women is inappropriate. That
Nature has not ordained Man and Wotnan for the same tasks is amply revealed by the
chfference in their bodies, dspositims and mental ability. In some sorts of affairs, men may
have superior strength. But in other sorts of affiirs, Man is quite unable to &splay the kind of
stamina Woman is capable of .. .. Examining Woman's physique and disposition, one may be
sure that she has been created for activity that requires greater endurance but less physical
strength. Normally Woman's mental make-up is gentle, maturing hster, imaginative, easily
stirred by emotions, attentive of detail and easily mtated. Man can never come clase to
Woman in such qualities as compassion, love and patiace..... even if womm do noc enter
public We,if they raise able children, is that not itself actding to the prosperity of the world?
Therefore the aim of their ducation is to increase such qualities as compassion, sympathy,
love, maternal affectbn and patience, and not to make them into second-rate men....Wmap's
duty liw in being Man'shelpmate in the strude of Me, in easing his toil by her
Wommlhess. She must achieve victory through compassionate words and deeds. N d
through competition"'9.

When the public domain was delineated as Man's, and the domestic domain as

Woman's, the claim was grounded in the faith in the determining influence of sexed identity

upon human capacities, as in the above quote.

These capacities were to be developed through the a c q w g of strong intemilities,

as mentioned before. The interconnection between this and success in worldly 'life in the

19. Thachattu D e d Arnrna, 'Stmevidyabhyasathinte Uddesham' (The Purpose of Fenlale Education),

Speech made at Chrttoor Bahka S;?hrpa Sbmnjam@rls' Literary Association), Published in
LnkshmiBhy Vol20 (I), 1913-'14, pp. 36-38.
 textual representation of the ideal Individual may be made evident by moving on to the

c;\~ar.actcrira~ion one of the tnany to be found in tlw

oi*idcal blarl i l l / bruttgo~Iipuriflc1~~ut~1,

early klalayalrun novels. Ttle cl~aiacrcrPangasasha Menon introduced in h e tenth chapter2'

represents tl~eideal, the desirable model of Manhood in the novel. He is, first of all,

presented as a man of sufficient education (that this education is clearly specified as not an

English one is significant, but this will be discussed later) arid skill in agricultural activity."

He is well-aware of the need for a training that provides not just the external trappings of

wustenlisatio~lbut one that develops internality and makes possible the development of

gven capacities as is made evident in llis long exposition on this subject.22He is also

presented as a man whose mind has been terrlpered by the education he has received.

". .. amply endowed wah mturity of mind, respect and obedience towards teachers, sympathy
in the needs of others, ddigence in maintaining a blemishless name and in&Bemcetowards
the wealth df others."23

nie judg~mnltswhich Pangaslla Menon makes about specific matters, for example,

En&sh education, are not those which may emerge from a position within the established

social order--he does not agree with the opinion that the wouble with English education is

20. n.1, p. 243.

Kihakkepattu Ranlankutty Menon, Parangodipurinaycrm, from Nalir Novelrrhl, CQ .~it.,

2 1. ibid.

22. ibid., pp. 246-54. .

22. ibid., p.243.

 that it would "bun evelything upside d0wi-1."~'His own criticism of English education

emerges not from fear of the social subversiveness attributed to English but from an

assessment of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the exisrent sorts of English

education. Further he is presented as possessing several well-developed abilities --- the

ability to produce, conserve and further wealth, to govern a family k l y , efficiently and

affectionately, to engage in @l agricultural activity.25 These are prior to the

achievements of the Individual, here, Pangasha Menon. He does not turn arrogant or

pompous despite such a remarkable record of achievement:at an early age.

"Hehas accumulated p q e r t y worth around twenty-thousand rupees by his own effort as

Jnnmom. And also around a lakh of rupees in other concerns..... But even his worst enemies
would not accuse him of sporting fancy airs or displaying arrogance.... He n& only avoidi
dressin up and parading around like a dandy, but also harburs a certain m n k q t for such
show."
k

The ideal Man,it is hinted, does not allow his success to eclipse his intmlality.

Success will not prompt him to deck up and display his body.

Such effort as the above, that is, the privileging of internal qualities above external

ones,atid of mental qualities over physical ones, as the criterion by which one was to be

24. ibid., p.247.

25. ibid., p p . 2 4 3 4 .

26. ibid.,above.
 assessed. was evident in the construction of the ideal Woman in much of the late

wititlgs inspired by the new ideas filtering in from the West. One finds
nineteenth cet~tu~y

that qualities such as beauty are considered less valuable in a woman; rather those who

display "a sense of discretion and discipline" wllich enable them to confonn to an ideal

subjectivity centred upon the home are now considered truly The heroines of the

late nioeteenth century tlovels in Malayalam are all charactensed by their strong

internalities, developed through suitable training. Many of these describe the advantages to

be reaped from educatmg women and set up models of Womanhood. The heroine of

M~'enakshr,for example, is a young girl carefully raised by her relatives ar~dappropriately

educated:
I

"Her parents and uncle being extremely dlligsnt and experieoced in raising chddren, especially
young girts,have brougt-t her up wrth a great deal of afktion, not permitting the unnecessary
recreations and socialising allowed to some girls, and have provided her with suitable
ed~catlon...rr28

Such education develops in her the ability to govern herself and widens other

"Severalfoolish men are still under the belief that beauty alone is the true quality of Woman.... Beauty
is no doubt valuable. But the beauty of women devoid of developed intelligence and maturity of mind
is found to be harmful not only to their husbands and children but also to their race and wurrtry But
there are some women who pay less attention to beautifying themselves and spohing haughty airs,
who would rather d e w thernselvs to careful management of household affairs, the comfort oftheir
husbands and upbringing of their children..... if (such) sense of dscretion.anddscipline is abundant in
a woman then that is what is most valuable in her." From, Cherumlathu Chathu Nair, Meenahhi
(1 890), Thrissur: Kerala Sahitya Akaderni, 1988, pp.243-45.

28. ibid., p.77

 40

capacities. Thus she is said to possess an inner space in which combines qualities as:

"Respect for the worthy, humility and devotion to teachers, compassion for the poor,
affection towards dependents, repugnance for the licentious, htemal feekg towards all
creatures, efficiency in housd~oldmanagement, reluctance towards unnmsary expenditure,
lack of the craze for ornaments, horror ofevil deeds."2Y

W ell-developed capacities and the ability for self-regulation are thus found necessary

for both the ideal Man and Woman. But they are found to occupy merent domains, the

public and the domestic. This is, further, seen to assign different sorts of authority to them.

The relationship between Man and Woman was envisaged to be of a contractual naturc: two

Merent parties engaged in an exchange for mutual benefit. The contract presupposes the
existence of two different parties before the exchange even ss it constitutes those whom it
I

links. In thls conkact, Woman must take charge of domestic life, familial relationships and

the emotional environment attached to them while Marl must locate himself in competitive

activities pertaining to the public domain. This envisaged sexual contract was implicit in the

formation of that new sort of journalistic institution, the 'Women's Magazine' in late

nineteenth century Keralam. The earliest of Wometl's Magazines in Malayalam, the

Keruleeya Sugumbudhini (13921, right at the outset, approved of this Merentiation, in

defming what women ought to know:

29. ibid., p.243

 "We will publish nothing related to politics. Principles, physiology, entertaining tales,
writings that energise the moral mscience, stories, Womanly Duty, the science of cmkery,
music. biographies of ideal women, the history of nations, book-reviews and other such
enlightening topics will be published.... We will publish no narrow argumentation on
reiis~:lon".30

Such a faith regarding what constitutes the appropriate knowledge for women still

strongly infbrmspresent-day Women's blayadnes." One rnay dso notice that it is precisely

religion and politics, that figure in the all-

the two topics shunned by the S~gunabodhini~

male discussions in ituftiiekh, conducted in a place far away fiom the wranghgs of

The topic in which the heroine intervenes actively, forcefully

domestic relati~nshi~s.'~

30. Quoted in PuthuppaHy Raghavan, Kerola P a t o Prmartham Charitram (fillstory of Journalisnl in

Kerala), Thrissur: Kemla Sahrtya Akademi, 1985, P.14 1.

3 1. The very name Kerc11cqn Sugzlnabodhini is indcative of the importance of developing internalrty in
the fashioning of Womanhood. Later Women's Magazmes would continue to uphold hs as their
mission. To quote just one instance, the ~ohllnlhrmrnin 19 16 dwelt in length upon the desirablrty of
female education and then presented itself as a tool fbr women's self-fashioning :"MakilaHa&urm's
uitimate purpose is to increase the mental culture of Malapla women in various ways, to dispel the
darkness of iporane from amidst them, and to make them deserving of the role of ideal housewives"
(Quoted in G.Priyadarshan, Masihpdhanmgal (Studies in M a w s ) Kottayarn : SPSS, 1974,
pp ,105- 1 1). The history of joumaiisrn that addressed Women' could itself prove quite interesting. For
instance, besides Women's Magazines', we find a 'Family Magame' being published in the second
decade of the twentieth century titled Sumangcrla which aimed at '!householders and housewives"
(quotad in ibid., pp.111-17). The si&cance of such subtle developments needs to ke probed further.

Indulekha, op.cit., n.5, pp.218-6 1. It rnay also be mentioned here that in mediem1 Kcralam, political
power and control of economic resources were not always and strictly a male preserve. Female rulers
were o h assigned considerable polrtical and economic power (whether they actually exercised it or
not is another qu+an). See, for instance, an acmurxt of the female Tampurans of -gal, in
K .Sivasankaran Nair, Venadinte Parimmom (The Transformation of Vmad), Thinrvananthapuram :
Dept. of Cuhral Publications, 1993, pp. 12047; pp.228-30. By the nineteenth century, these powers
were erther reduced through Bnmh i n t e d m or had fillen into & m e . The independent status of the
(. .continued)
 advancing her opinion, is one intmately bound to the domain of the home and familial

ties--the issue of chastity and marital fidelity among Nair women."

If authority ensuing iYom the acquisition of material goods or pmcipation in

political activity or knowledge-creation was deemed to be Man's, a different soit of

sort, was assigned to Woman as overseer of

authority, of an emotional and sentirne~~tal

domestic and emotional affairs. This authority was already acknowledged in Mrs.Richard

Collins' novel Ghaiakmadham (the Malaydam translation of The Slayer Slain, published in

1877) in which the preacher sees in his wife the guardian of his soul, the keeper of his home

and his children -- a moral authority which is effective not through coercion or the threat of

it but through gentle persuasion which made use of words and emotion, advice, Ijrayers,
I

(. .continued)
Rcrnis of Attingal ended in the eighteenth century; in the nineteenth century such powers were often left
unused, as was evident in the case of the Kavalappara family of Malabar where the only female heir,
on attaining matunty chose not to exercise control over eccnornic and other resources (See,
Dr.K.K.N.Kurup (ed.)Jrrvnlnppnra Pnpers. Calicut: Department of History, 1984). In nineteenth
century Tiruvitamkoor the Ranis were only regents, tllough in rituals of political power they were still
accorded hghest status (See the description of Col.Walsh of an interview wah Gauri Panathy Bhayi
in 18 19. He mentions that 'Not a soul but the Ranee, however and the European gentlemen sat dawn,
not even the Thumpooratty newly married, her bridegroom, the Ranee's &her and husband, the
widower of a former Ranee nor the Dewan or prime minister". Quoted in P . S h u n g m y Menon,
History uf Trcrwncore (1878), Thiruvananthapuram, 1983, p ,289). In the twentieth century such an
issue came up in Tiruwtamkmr after the demise of Shree Mulam Tirunal. The Mal-la M a n o r m
published an edrtorial an August 30, 1924 arguing that the senior Ttrmpuran of h g a l possessed
undvided powers under Marumakhthqam succession, and that the Karanmothy ( female head of
the family) did not rule in the name of a minor male successor but as the senior-most member. It was
also pointed out that in the Hindu Law, it was different. However, this was nat acceptable to the
British; the Political Agent, Col.Cotton, pronounced the Rani to be the regent. See, s p w h by Col.
Cotton at Derbar,Molayjla Mnnornmn, September 2, 1924.

33. ibid., pp.4446.

 cntrenties, tears, affectionate gestures. But this made it no less an activity of management

or ruling. Woman 'ruled'the home. if in a different way.

"Ruling a home is as taxing as ruling a country peacefully. Childcare is an even-l~eaviertask.

Wt~ata child sees and hears for the first time are its mother's face and words. If the child must
g r w up into an ideal citizen, the mother must be conscious of the unportance of this (task)
and strive to bring it up wrth careWuw

Chattanbi Swanikal, a promhent spiritual and refonnist fibwe of the period,

delivered a lecture in the x c o ~ l ddecade of the twentieth centuq to the ~rlernbersof a srree

surn~rjum(women's associahon) in which he elucidated the Man-Woman relationship. We

find Ium pouring scorn upon those who call Woman R h a ~ a(she who must be ruled) and

names her the superior party in the Man-Woman relati~nshi~.'~

He bases his argument upon
I
a curtain perception of capacities inherent to Man and Woman, the combination of which

brings forth the Universe itself. 36~incethe responsibility of reproduction is deemed

Woman's, authority within the borne is seen to fall to her as mistress of the household and

mother." And this authority is seen to make her more important to the Universe. Man's

34. Taravathu Ammalu h a , S p d at Annual Meeting of the C h h r B a h Pathasala Sahitya

Samajam, reprinted in hkshrnr8hnyi Vol20 (U), 1924,pp.364-66.

35. Chattambi Swamikal, 'Pmpanjathil Streepurushanmarkkulla Sthanam' m e Place of Woman and Man
in the Universe) from K .Maheshwaran Nair (ed), Chcrt~amhiSwcrmikal: Jeevitmrm Kritikalum
( C h a m b i SSwarmkal: Life and Works) Thiruvananthapuram : Bhwma Books, 1995,pp.808-12.

36. ibid., p. 808.

37. ibid., p. 809.

 duty, says Swamikal, is merely to arrange adequate material support while Woman who

performs her duty within the limits of her home rules the world itself with invisible

authority.38

Crucially, the maintenance of the sexual contract in which Man and Woman erypge

in activity amicable to their 'natural' qualities is absolutely necceswy for the availability of -
such authority to women. Woman should not aspire to cross over to occupy Man's roles.39

(Sw& was, indeed, speaking in a context in which such aspirations were begiming to

be more and more in evidence).

Besides helping men and women attain the h d of authoxity specdc to their gender,

Self-development was dso prescribed as the ideal m e w by which they could attain the

state of Swafanlrqyam. S w ~ t a n t y a mfigures here as a state in which external constraints

have been removed and internal mechanisms of regulation installed. The word Swatanrtyam

does not have an equivalent in 'freedom'. It means, rather, 'possessing self-means for

sumival'. One may find here a conceptual transformation at work in which people begin to

perceive an equivalence between 'freedom' and Swatanivyam. Many discussions sharply

distinguished Tanihunni~ham(wantonness) and Swafanfryam :

38. ibid., p.814.

39. ibid.
 ",Swnrcmrr,~lrnrefers to action h a t results from h e terrtperuly of natural instincts throuyl~
dscipline; in contrast wantonness is action resulting from lack of di~cretion".~

One could demand Swaranlyan~only after fkst undergoing Self-development:

.
"Given d~atthe bputes betwen men and women continue to rage in Europe despite the fact
that European women are educated and possess a certain amount of social rnobhq, it is
rather strange that our women, who are totally uneducated and confined to their homes have
started a r w g for Swatmhynm. ..... Befbre our women are granted Siuatanwrn they must
be educated and morally s o ~ n d . ' ~ '

seemed to necessarily enable one to conform to ideal

Besides, ,Slvafanfyc~rn

subjectivitiesas Man and Woman. In text after text which sets up the conbast between those

who have developed them-Selves and those who have not-- such a s in the contrast between
/

Pankajakshi and ' Panchamritham' in C.V.Raman Pillai's play ~ u m p i l l a k k a dor~between

Madhavan and Soory Nambutiripad in Indlrlekha, Srvatanltyam gets defined. This notion,

further, serves as a nodal point in redefining the relation between the Self and the

40. ' Sharada', ' Strmatantqam' (Women's Freedom), in Shcrrada Vol2 (3), 1905,p.58. This contrast is
found to be repeated in a great many numberof texts, which dscuss Swanrtmtryum. A fairly long
dscussion of the implications of S w a n t m f y m and its rising popularity in the changing social
environment of early twentieth century KeraIarn may t~ found in M.Rajaraja V a m Tampuran,
5hmitdacharuvichurom(Thoughtson Swial Customs), Thiruvananthapuram, 1931.

4 1. P.K. Narayana Pillai, ' Streekalude Swatantrya Vyavaharam' F e Demand of Freedom by Wmm)
from Nu-wr Vol 1(2), 1903, p.80. This was a speech read by him at the meeting of the Malayabn
Association ofthe Maharajah's College, ThiruMnanthapurm.

42. C.V.Raman Pillai, Kunippilfaknlavi from Prohmancrmnlcr, Kottayam: SPSS, 1973,pp. 1-3 1. These
plays were written in the first hvo decades o f t h e 20' century~.See,Preface, Pmhasonrrmalo.
 Collectivity. In Swamikal's text referred to above, the attack is directed against "......idiots

who, repeating and observing the dictum Na Srree Swalantyamarhati, shuts her up Like a

caged bird" "who are incapable of recognising thatt' ...with Man's presence and help,

Woman is the Mistress of the three worlds, completely free (Samatanlra~ w a i a n ~ r a ) " ~ .

The individual is, thus, envisaged to be both 'fiee' and implicated in new institutions.

To be thus implicated was also a way towards co~mandjngauthority. Gender strongly

mediates this implication determining whether the Individual is to be implicated in the

public or the domestic domain. With its focus upon the internal and the naturally-given, and

its recognition of the deterministic role of sex, Individualism in Keralam logically entailed a

perspective of gender- Werence. But ths Merence was at once organised hro~~ph
the

projection of the Man-Woman relationship as a complementary, power-free one. So

obvious, so unimpeachable did h s seem that when it was found necessary to illustrate the

nature of Complementarity, the Man-Woman relation was ofien called up as a sort of ideal

model.

"As a m g the sex= between whom in regard to Nature has imptinted certain unalimable
structural rllfferences making them out for two dlstinct functions, man for swiety and woman
for home, so in the variegated Universe, the law is nat ofequhty but of complementarity.'P5

44. ibid.

45. N. Subrahmnya Aiyar, Onam Day Speech at Maharajah's College, lhuvananthapumn,

(..continued)
. Creating The Right Attitudes

111 the late nineteenth century the institutional networks that made up social life in

Keralam were increasingly the target of critical scrutiny. The missionaries who had

established thernsetves here in the nineteenth century had regarded many of the local

institutions and practices with absolute horror, they being completely contrary to western

and cluistim notions of decency and civilisation, as in Augusta Blandford's condemnation

of the Sunlbandhanr sort of marital alliance as "very revoltingw." Such judgements were

increasingly deployed in the various power-struggles that punctuated the late nineteenth

centruy." Statements similar to that made by V.Nagam Aiya offering apologies for the

"looseness of the prevailing morals and the unbinding nature of the marriage tie, which

(..continued)
Subodfrini Press, 19 16,p. 13.
ll~imvana~thapuram:

46. Augusta M.Blandford, I1he Land of the Conch- Shell, London: Church of England Zenala
Missionary Society, not dated (c. 1901), p.39.

47. Robin Jeffrey's The &cline of'Nqvar Duminnnce ( h d m : Sussex Universrty Press, 1976) gives
detailed accounts of some of the struggles between mmt groups in late 19a century Timvitamkoor.
By thls time educated Nairs and the E z h a ~ of
s Thvitamkoor and Kochi, Tiyyas of North Keralam
and others were beguvllng to confront the authorrty of non-westernisedNambutiri (Malayala B1-)
aristocracy. As is clear from JefEey's work, such struggles tmk place not d y betwem those who
were getting westimised and those who were not, but also between Westernducated social groups
themselves, such as the Tamil Brahmins and Nairs in Tiruhnkwr.
 possesses such fascination for the majority of our population "" (obviously refemng to

as a valid form of manta1 arrangement) could

h o s e groups which accepted S~imb~7n~ihurn

be increasingly read as !lot only tile criticism of 'barbarousness' made fiom the side of

'civilisation' but also as assaults made upon Western-educated Nairs by Western-educated

Tamil Brahmins who dominated government service in Tiruvitamkoor and were enga~edin

srsuggle \kith them over the question of employment in the government.

Recent work on the late nineteenth c e n w in Keralam has revealed the extent to

~ h c productivity
h was becoming a norm, a criterion by w h c h institutions were assessed,

and an end perceived to be all-important for the future of modem collectivities such as the

nation or the in fact, at tunes productivity seemed to be more imporma than

I

'civilisation' as a norm of evaluation, and lack of productivity seemed more serious a defect

than 'barbarousness'; 'barbarousness' sometunes seemed ar.1 easily elininable defect if the

institution appeared to hold the possibility of being msfonned into a productive one. The

caste system, for instance, seemed to hold this prospect:

49. S.Raju,' Excurses into Anticipated Future in the Wor0)ds of Nation and Wealth', Working Paper
No. 13, Later01 Shr* Senes, School of Social Sciences, M.G.Universrty, Kdtayam, 1995.
 "Some regard caste as th? mark of the bwst and these pehaps may be tempted to ask why we
sllould trouble ourselves in the twentierh century wnh an account of duties and pnaices
intetlded to regdate a s ~ i a sqstem
l of an antdlu\ian period. Perhaps so, but I sl~allonly add
that there are those eve1 outside India and outside the pale of orthdox Hinduisms who hold
that d ~ system
e ofcaste has solved several of the social problems that threatened to undermille
Lvedern civilisation, and the s).stm should be maintain4 of course with the laterday abuses
elintlnatedH.'O

'I'he caste system. it is suggested. offers the prospect of being bansfolmed into ail

efficient system andogous to the ~ v a r h n gof the body in w,kich the perfection of the body

"does not depend on ever); sell doing the work of every other cell but in each doing its own

appointed work"."

system of marriage
The criticism raised in these m e s against the Smb~~ndharn

alliances condemned it not only as an immoral arrangement; it was found despicable ;dso

because it seemed to hamper the bearing and rearing of a healthy future generation. 52 An

5 0. li.G.Sesha h y a r , ' Dharrna', Speech m?de at the opening of the Dhnrmnlqrr at Thuuvananthapuram.
R ~ w i wV019(3), 1910, p.21 I .
Published in thehfniohar Q~~nnerly

5 1, ibid., p.2 14.

52. It is worth mentioning here that by this time, p r d u c t i w was also the norm by which the qualay of
domestic Me was evaluared. The home, by now, was increasingly expected to be the site in which
children were not only to be brought forth, but also raised into obedient, useful, p r d u d v e
subjects.The ideal Mother, therefore, was not just she who gave birth; raising children into productive ,

subjects became the crucial component of Motherly Duty. Notions of Motherhood already prevalent in
local society often r @ s d a distinction between Pefftrmmo (the Bearer) and Poltammcr (the
R a r e r ) . Duty to one's mother was oflen perceived as the obligation ensuing om having born from
her, and not affected by her goodnesshadness. In 'Sahrtya Panchanan' P.K.Narayana Pillai's
reniniscences of his mother, we may detect the change: "IS it not the case that the r e s p a and devotion
(..continued)
author writing in 1865 opined,

"Though it is seen that t I ~ eprogeny of unions in which men and women live together in mutual
fidelity are army and heaithy, the children of parents of easy morals are weak and sickly.
And besides, it is clear from the condition of prostitutes that the immoral woman dow not
have the Pnrivrrrro's (dmoted wlfe) capacity to bear & l h and this is therefore an
impedunmt in the way of increase in numbers."

But besides being a bad arrangement for bearing children, it is also unsuitable for

proper rearing: "If children arrive, the father's attention is required beside the mother's in

their earliest upbringmg", and Marumakkatkyam (matidmeal descent) does not allow for

(. .continued)
we feel for our mothers does not ensue from (re.rpectfor)their good qualities or knowledge? It is also
not common to increase or decrease the dewtion to me's mother by measuring such: qualities
according to some standard. But in my mother's case,there are indeed special reasons for the urtense
devotion I have &It towards her". He then goes on to describe an incident through which he U u s t r a ~
his mother's readmess to sacrifice her life for her chrldren (P.K.Narapa P~llai
Smoranamnndnbm(Domain of Memories), Kaltayam: SPSS, 1964, first published, 1943, pp ,104-
109). It was mentioned earlier that infernal qualities were considered important in the adequate
performance of Womanly Duty. In overseeing the home and being a moral guide to the h i l y , the
mother would have to be a strcag In&vidual in this sense in order to be an able performer of M&erly
duty, and therefore, respecr for her would also be the response to her internal quakes. Indeed, in the
West, during the end of the 19' and early 20' centuries, women's role as M d e r was kgmning to
stressed above that o f the Wife, and the importance of the maternal role was perceived to be such that
'expert' advice was found necessary in the upbringing of children. See, Diane Richardsm, Women,
Motherhood a d Child-Rearing, Mac&: Landon, 1993; Jane Lewis, Women in Englarmri 1870-
1950: Sexual Divisions and Social Change, Sussex :Wheatsheaf h k s , 1984.

53. , From 'Manunakkathayathalulla Doshangal' (The Disadvantages Ansing out of Matnlmy) in

Vidpsangraham- The Cottupm College W r t e r l y Magazine Vol 1(5), July 1865. Reprirrted in .
Yi~wsangrahamJtrIy 186.1 - April 1866, Kaltayarn: Benjamin Bailey Rsearch C-, CMS
College, 1993, pp.34748. 'lie author of this tea, was the Malayalee ewgelist of the CMS, Rev.
George Mathen. See, Dr.S.Chandanappally, Rev. George Mathen: Krithikalum Padh~ngalurn
(Rev.George Mathen: Works and studies),CbdanappalIy, 1992,p ,574.
 011 anotl~erside, tlis system, and d ~ einstitution of the Toravad constituted by it

secmed to prevent tile increase of material goods dlrough energetic production. In a 'Plea for

Parncion' made in 1907 these points were made with exceptional clarity, justifiying the

partition of I arm~ads:

"Ernanicipatedfrom the thraldonl of the family, the junior member learns to look upon himself
not as a zero as he formerly was but as a un it..... He becomes industnous and prudent. The
net result is to supply the incentive to produce industry. Partition supplies not only the
incentive to industry but also the means to start it".55
a
.

Such criticisms of ,Sutnbancr'hamand the 'Ibravadcombined to form a general picture

of decay and backwardness, amply used against the Nairs by their adversaries.56it came to

54. ' Marumakkathayathaluh......' ibid. The crhcisrn of Manrmakkrrthapm (matriliny) p d the

Snlnbcrndham alliances as permitting sexual anarchy and moral decay was voiced earlier in 1-1
society by the 18th cerrtury Malayalam poet Kunjan Nambiar. However this critique had no refbrmist
overtones. For a reinterpretdon of Nambiar's social criticism, see, Dr.K.N.Ganesh, Ktmjnn Narnbiar
: Vnklnrm Scrmoohuvam, Sukapurarn : Vallathol Vidyapdmn, 1996, pp. 189-208.

Changanashery K. Pameshwaran PiIlai,'A Plea For Parthon in Mamnakkathayam Tarawads', in

hlalobnr Quurrerly Review Vols 6(1)xt(2), 1907, pp-15-29, pp .83-9 1. The tensions that accumdated
in Mcmrmakknfhqi farmlies in these times is acutely documented in many autobiographes. See, for
instance, V.R. Parameshwarari Pillai, Aa Ezhtipartr Vmshcmgol (Those Seventy Years),
~liruvananthapuram,1974, pp . I 2- 17. The figure of the fkar-inspiring, often oppressive firanawn,
demanding total obdence from younger members, is also commonly to be hund in autobiographies
of indviduals who lived in these times. See,for example, K.M. Panrkkar, Smaranadnrpa~snm@&nor
of Memory) Vol.1, ThiruMnarrthapuram, 1949, pp.3-5.

56. See,R.Jeffrey, op.cit.,11.47, pp.203-204:pp. 184-89. The figure of the hapless Nair woman subjected
to an exploitative system of sexual alliances surfad as a metaphor in many varied srtes for a long
time. For example it was used to describe the subjection of the Malayalam language to the domination
of Sanskrit at the AI1-Kerala Prolpessive Wr'iers' Conkrence at Kottayam in 1945. M.P. Paul,
s p a 3 on this topic, daimed that "Once upon a time a Kcrranman called Ezhutachatl (the
mcognisedforefmher of hic~layainrnliteratzirt.)married off a g r l tiom the Ibrmad of the Dravidas to
(. .continued)
 be used evm in characterising 'Malayalees' it1 general as a people seriously lacking in

moral and productive habits. "The Malayalees are as a class the tnost idle and hon~esickof

the whole Hindu community", wrote a 'Hindu Liberal' in 1891, "owing to the enervating

influence exercised on their character by their peculiar system of inheritance and their

obnoxious system of promiscuous marriage or no marriage at all"."

The relationship between the individual member and the institutions of the existent

order such as the laravador the I l i ~ mwas perceived to be such that the health and strength

of the latter seemed directly proportional to the degree to which they cancelled out the

possibility of the emergence of the Individual, as the 'Plea for Partition' quoted above claims.

The Individual, now granted timelessness, is found to be stifled and undervalued in the
1

existent order. This was not the case in the new order imagined as a1temative. This was seen

to rely not upon the suppressiorl of the 'Individual but on the efficient extraction and

extension of hiher capacities. This echoed from as early as Francis Buchanan's comment

on the Nayadis of Mdabar:

(. .continued)
the Sansknt bridegroom. The wife can accept a g R from her husband *out loss of honour. But
intercourse wrth other sorts of literature was not permktd"' (M.P. Paul, 'Malaylasahrtyathinte
Kuravukal'; ('The Failings of Malayatam Literature) in Purogamana W i t y a m Lnthintl (Why
Progressive Literature?), Kuttayam: SPSS,1953,p. 19, first published, 1946).

57. Quoted in R.Je%ey, ibid. Published in The Hindu, 6 February, 1891, p.6.
 "A wretched tribe of this kind buffeted and abused by every one, subsisting on the labour of
the industrious is a dis5mce to any country; and both compassion and judce seem to require
that Diey should be compelled to gain a l i v e l i h d by honest industry and be elevated
somewhat more nearly to the rank of men"."

This account implicitly draws upon an ideal relation possible between inhviduals

and the collectivity, ie., a relation in which the individual is implicated in the collectivity

through herhis productive contribution to it, a linkage that seems 'positive'. The Nayudi,~,in

order to be made honourable constituents of the country must be mnsfomed into

industnous and civilised subjects, who do not eat into the resources of the collectivity and

lead a sterile existence within it but are able to find their own upkeep.

Such bansfomation was prescribed to local people as most desirable by the

protestant missionaries in the nineteenth century. The ideal Christian was not to be slotllful.

Th~smarked representation of the ideal native Christian, such as in the character Tejopalan

in Siikumari, whom, it seems," ..... had no aversion to any sort of work. Because of the fm

conviction that it was unworthy to beg, be a burden, and that it was worthier to earn one's

koep by labouring as much as one's streng$ll permilled, he canied on happily ui humble

tasks, content with the pay he received".'"et a 'positive' relation to the collectivity implied

5 8. F.Buchanan, A Journey fiom Mndrm Through Mysore, C m r a and Mainbar Vol II, N.Deh: Asia
Educational Services (henceforth, AES), 1988, p. 144. first published, 1807.
 more than finding subsistence far oneself. In Gharakuvadham in which spiritual goods are

established as more valuable than material ones, Paulose, the ideal christian, accumulates

spiritual goods through his devout practice of christian virtue, labouring not out of desire for

worldly goods but in submission to the divine command that those who do not labour

should not eat6' His spirituality animates the eniire community, working to strengthen

internal bonds, doing good even to foes (like Koshy Kurian, his oppressive landlord ) and

inspiring others to participate all the more actively in the quest for christian salvation; in that

sense, he contributes 'positively' to the collectivity. In contrast, Koshy Kurian labours to

increase personal gain, neglecting spiritual. duties. h a collectivity whose basis seems more

spirituaI than material, Koshy Kurian is a member who does not care to establish a 'positive'

relation with the collectivity, and is therefore desening of criticism.

This was also found necessary for the secular collectivities imagined more i?equently

by the end of the nineteenth century such as the community, the nation or the modern

family. These too are found chamcterised by the reliance upon the expanded capacities of

the Individual, not on their suppression. One's success and prosperity must not impair others'

chances; besides, it must contribute to the general welfare of the coLlec@vity:

..... strive towards ~mprovingthe ecanwnic tmdi-tionof the camnunky and

"(ulndividtials).
towards improving me's own condition in and through this, without hiring to get rich by

60. me, y a m : D.C Bmks, 1990, p.41, first published, 1877.

Mrs. kchard Colhs, G h a ~ a ~ d h o K
 appropriating &erst wealth, then they are indeed practising ideal Human Duty...... To make
one's livelihood by one's own effort, through the help of others, and to make available
appropriate facilities to ensure the(smrre) future existmce of thoso who $ad m meself, is
the primary duty of every member towards the progress of the communrty". '
I

By the late nineteenth century, Man's duties were spelt out. Man was expected to

produce not only his subsistence but also of hls family, as countless articles that appeared in

the pages of contemporary Women's Magazines would reiterate. When the collectivity of

the nation was projected, the male subject, in order to have a 'positive' relation to i< was to

produce above the subsistence of the family. The fist prince of Tixuvitamkoor, in a speech

made in 1874, quoted at length from the Administrative Report of the State that gave the

picture of self-sufEciency and contentment reigning in the "mal Arcadia of Travanco~.e"

J

only to qualify it thus:

"But the very contentment and canservatim have proved the greatest obstacle to industrial
progress... ... It has seldom or never entered into the thoughts ofthe peasant or those who are
much worthier than hm,to endeavour to make Wo blades of grass grow where d y me d m
.62

6 1. A. Gopala Menon, k m u l i a p I ~ r s h u m( P r o g m s of Society), ThiruMnanthapuram: S.R.Book

Depot, 1924,p~.29-31.

62. Prince R .Varma , 'Our Industrial Status', h r e delivered to the T m d r u m Debating Society,
26 September, 1874, Kottayam: CMS Pms, 1874, pp.34. It may be natedthat the demandsthat were
being made upon the Tiru-r &rhr in the late 19' century tfirough the Molapli Memorial
(189 1) and fihava Memorial (1 896) clearly voiced protest that the Sirrkar was nat d o i i justice to its
citizens, who were desirous and capable of estabhhmg a 'positive' relation with the &an.
Respmsibilrty for adequak maintenance of this relation, it was claim&, equally fell upon both
(..continued)
 In a strong sense, this is an appeal. for new subjects who will have a M e r e n t

relationship, a 'positive' one, based upon their conhbution as economic producers, with the

collectivity, the nation. Given this imperative, this 'contentment' could well be inverted to

being a breach of duty towards the collectivity one belonged to:

'What we know and have hown for a long while in m t times is a condition of perennial
want in greater or leser degree.... the lazy and cmtmed Tramcore ryct ekes out a
miserable existence, and his inexpensive clathing, f h l and d m k d b u t e their q u a to his
general indciency....$463

Here we have a "Travancore ryot" who is inattentive to improving his own lifestyle,

remaining contented with a simple and inexpensive way of Me. But $ice it does not

produce a surplus, it becomes a breach of duty towards his collectivity, here, the nation,

(..continued)
hdividuals and the Collectivity. The State was thus assigned a definite role here. The MaiayaIi
Memorial claimed that: "As the Malayah Sudras are the most loyal portion of your Highness' subjects, ,
as they are in the point of intelligence, general culture and attainments not behind any other class in the
country .... and as it is that they mainly d b u t e to the resources of the state... their claims on your
Highness' government are &r stronger than t h e of any h e r class in the country" (Quded in
RJefEq, ap .ck., 11.47, p. 170). me fibMemorial also claimed for Ezhams a share in governmat
service on the grounds +~ the Ezhavas paid more taxes than any other social group, that all the
d u d Erhams were hardworking and loyal subjects ~JdTmy, ibid., pp.206-207). This canthued
in later demands such as hose made in C.V.Raman Pillai's fidesheeya Medhwfvum (Foreigg
hmimnce), ThuuMnarrthapuram:Gwemment of Kerala, 1994, b t published, 1922.

63. V.Nagarn Aiya, Speech at opening ceretnmy of the Agricultural and Industrial Exhibitim at Oachira,
14 June, 1909,'lhiruMnarrthapm: Govemmat Press, 1909, pp.3-4.
 Of course, what is to be noted in all these different instances--ranging from the

ideal Christian community to the Nation--is that they all call for individuals who would

have a 'positive' relation to the collectivity, linked to it through expanded effort and

productive presence.

The female subject too, is expected to exist in such relation with her collectivity:

author a f k r author emphasises that women are not merely vessels that give birth but agents

of Reprodtidion This notion, as used here, needs explication: it includes both bearing and

rearing and personal care of other members of the family; it also refers to the

institutionalisation of a set of domestic practices in and through women which were

intended to develop children into complete Individuals, to sustain and further the

Individuality of the other members, As Reproducer, Woman is taken to be responsible not

only for biological reproduction of a new generation but also for social reproduction through

reproduction of institutions- i.e. the reproduction of the family through the everyday

maintenance and transmissio.l of modern family-values and practices and generally, the

reproduction of the collectivity through the transmission and maintenance of collective

values and practices." Woman, too, was thus assigned a duty towards the collectivity and

the possibility of a 'positive'relationship between women and the collectivity was conceded.

64. Being a Reproducer'also involved being the provider of aesthetic pleasure within the M y , . This wdl
be treated in greater detail in Chapter Five.
 But ul the late nineteenth century this was still a promise held by the future, to be fulfdled

only through the actualisation of Ideal Woman and Man, and the Ideal Modern Collectivity

in an inter-related way. A critique of the contemporary inadequacies of women- among

which the lack of such 'positive' relation to the collectivity figured as the prominent one--

seemed urgently called for. Socialising practices of women in contemporary society were

roundly condemned as "......Relating nonsensical tales to young children, frightening them

with descriptions of terrrfyrng creatwes, inculcating false beliefs and thus polluting their

minds and

This account, drawn from a novel, coxresponds almost exactly to what surfaces in the

childhood reminiscences of the Ezhava reformer C.V. Kmhkarnan regarding the state of
I

women among the Ezhavas of Mayyanad, his native village, in this period.66innumerable

accounts of the inefficiency of local women may be found in Women's Magazines of the

period, and tile need to educate them to rechfy ttus f a g was being advanced in the late

nineteenth centuzy itseLf. So also was the importance of transforming women for the

65. Ko~PadooMen~Lakrhmike~~m(1892)fromNaluNmlukal,op.cit.,n.l,p.146.hdesd,by
the late 19' oentury,the kind ofeducation which women were to be g i m was already a debated topic.
See, for instance, the debate between 'N.R.V' and 'N.A. Amrna' which appeared in the F/i&mnodini
in 1897-'98. See, N.R.V, 'Streevidyabhyasam' (Women's Education), Vi@vwtdini Vol 8(2), 1897,
pp.73-77; N.A. Amma,' Streevidyabhyasa Dodmkhahm' (RdWtion of the Argument Opposing
Education of JVomen), Yi@nudini Vol8(1 I), 1898, pp.42743 1.

. - 66. C .V.Kwhimman, Njan (Mysew, Mayyanad: C .V. Kunhiraman Memorial Publicatims, 1970, p -52.
actualisation of the modem collectivity:

"......Childrenof ignorant mothers may be expected to be ignorant and senseless. Because

cfihdren are completely under the care and affedim oftheir mothers for at least seven or eight
years, it is beyond doubt that they will come to share the g d n e s s or evil of their
mothers.... ..thefortune, webre and prosperrty of a nation are d endent upon the superiorrty
or inferio* ofthe sense ofdiscretion possessed by its women".
3

A suitable sort of training that would enable the creation of such a 'positive'relation

between young women. and their fardies, community and nation was urged as an

immediate need (it may be sigmiicant to note that very often this was conceived not as the

creation of a new relation but as the radical transformation o f an already-existing one). ''
The advantages of e d u c a ~ women
g were thus listed:

"If women are educated they attain great discretion of mind and are enabled to advice their
men in times of need, hke ministers. They will be able to keep all the accounts, lrke managers.
They are made capable of caring for men,like mothers. They would keep good watch upon
money and other valuables, they will be able to nurse and care for (the sick)....,169

68. Protestant missionaries in Keralam seem to have perceived a robust relation bemeen mothers and
ctrildren, probably with reference to rnatnlineal groups, which they hoped could be transfbrmed into a
nludem one through their intervention. Mk. Hawkesworth, a missimry stationed at Ka#ayam iii
1846, emphasised the necessity of educating MaIayalee women m this ground: "Ifmothers in England
exercise such an influence over the minds of their &h, how very desirable is that in this country-
where the influence of mothers is supposed to be greater- the minds of females should be direcred in
the right way !" From a l&r dated 15 Apd 1846 in me Misstomy Register, September 1847, p.
476.
 The 'positivet institutions were also imagined to be significantly different fiom

those consh&ting the established social order in the specific means by which they were to

be maintained. One may remember, for instance, the contrast set up in Saraswativijuy~m

between the order ofJaii in which obedience is secured through the threat of violence and

excommunicatio~and the order of gender, prevalent among missionaries, in which self-

regulation prevailed.70The collectivity may pressurise the Individual in a negative way only

when she/ he offends herhis 'positivetW a g e to it: only that would constitute an offence."

And ultimately, effective maintenance of such relations hinges upon "socid consciousness",

" c o m b n e n t to duty" among members.72"With the spread of enlrghtcned consciousness",

it was hoped, offences against the collectivity would The new order aimed at
I

completely eliminating offences, even if only in a distant future. The power of' self-

regulation seemed to offer this prospect .

Besides minimising offences through self-regulation these institutions, ideally, were

to rely upon certain 'intend forces'.Thismay be well-illustrated by briefly referring to the

discussion about romantic Love in this period, which surfaces as an 'intend forcet capable

72. ibid., p.19.

73. hid.
 of ensuring the solidity and longevity of the moIlogamous marital union. Romantic Love,

I'rcnlutjl, was at the very outset constituted by makirlg less important the aspects of bodily '

desire which were accorded prominence in the notion Kamam, ox lust. Term by tenn,

I'rtlnram and Kamam are opposed:

" Unblemished love is a natural quality. It is not dependent upon the hckness of one's purse,
one's station or lineage, it does not bend before the commands of parents and uncles. It is
in~possibleto u p r a it and replant it elsewhere. Readers must note that love and lust are
vastly dfferent. (Lust). .....isllke a forceful storm, it lasts M e . It is pedable. Love is &vine,
eternal. It is ever-mild, g d e . . . ...love accompanies virtues k e persistance, truth, patience
and fiith. Lust is the accompaniment of evils lrke falsrty, danger, indiscretion, jealousy,
impermanence and so on.""

Love appears as an 'internal force' which seeks not the body of another but the

internality of another. Hence the prominence assigned to Anihakkaram Vivaham - & the
75

Malaydam novels of the late nineteenth century. Love calls for a d i s c i p k g of bodily

desk, reserving it for the culmination of the Love-relationship in marriage. This is a

relationship in which sexual union is placed at the pinnacle of intimacies which may be

reached only when the couple has gone through all other forms of intimate interaction-- that

of sight, speech, touch or movement. Without such 'ascent' enduring union seems

74. M.Subrahnmyam Pillai, Vyabhchararn' (Adubry),in N a y r Vol 1(2), 1902, p.89. Also see,
K.Lakshmrkutty A m , ' Premavum Kulapatakavum', (Love and Murder), Muty RaniVol 1(7), 19 13,
pp.209-15.

75. See the secrmd chapter of Induleklacl, op.cit., n.5. The translation of Attthnkkamna Vivaham would,
roughly, be ' Marriage ofinner-in-ents'.
 impossible. But strangely enough, sexual union seems the most dispensible of all elements

constituting romantic Love. In Indulekha, the heroine, pining for her lost love, wakes up

from a bad dream about hun, calling him her 'husband'. Since the hero and heroine were yet

to be united in marriage, this mode of address creates confusion. J u s w g it, she

retorts,"Sowhat ? Is he not the penon whom I have made my husband in my mind The

heroine who nonchalantly declares that wealth and socd eminence are insigmlicant to her

in the choice of a husband7' displaces her grandmother whose advice to her regarding such

matters is strikingly Merent: "If women turn out well they must improve their Tarma&.

You must get a good husband.. My,cluld, what ma- is wealth alone".78 Love, being

above and beyond merely perishable material considerations, could apparently povide a

h e r foundation for marital unions-this argument is found frequently in writings of this

period opposing doW7'

In early modem Malayalam literature one may find that Premam is closely

76. Indulekha,ibid.,p.267.

77, ibid., pp.42-44.

78. ibid., p. 107.

79. See, for instance, P.K.KocheapmTarakan's n o d BaZikrrsdmrn (1 922) m which a group of young
Syrian Christian girls swear not to submit to marriages involving dowry and only to those based an
Anuragam (Loye), (BalikasQdamrn,Thrissur: K d Sahrtya Akademi, 1993, p.98.) .
 associated with animated w ornanhuod. The heroines of early modem novels--

Ind~rlckhu, Lakshrnike,suvanr or Meenakshi which have romantic Love as the abiding theme

testify to this. It is through displaying a tremendous capacity for Premam, often agairlst

severe odds, that they assert themselves as Individuals, and the success of the Love-

relationship depends upon the steadfasbess of the heroine's Love (here one may mention

that the critic Sanjayan has expressed surprise at the presence of a relatively weak hero in

to the remarkably strong-ded heroine in indulekhosl.But given h e

acco~~~panirnent

positioning of the sexes within Premanl this is not surprising). Kumaran Asan's poetry too

offers splendid examples of female characters who are the very embodiments of Prernam-

those in Nalini and Leela are particularly worthy of mention.82These are characters whose
I

80. This is true for almost all the hterary genres that bewme papular in thrs perid in KeraIam. This is
evident in the early Malayalarn novels, mentioned before; in modem Malayalam poetry such as in
N .Kumaran Asan's work. See, Kumuran Asmle % m p o m KritihI (Complete Works of Kumaran
Asan),. Kottayam: SPSS, 198 1; in early Malayalam short story, such as in those of Mmrkothu
Kumaran [see, Moorkothu Kumrc~nteKnfhakal (Shortstories by MmrkoChu Kurnaran), Kozhikade:
Mathrubhumi Publicatims, 1987; early 'social plays' such as C.V.Raman Pillai's farces (see,
Prahsunamla, op.cit., n ,421. The them of m d c Low was to prove highly durable in popular
Malayalam nmls, well into the 20' century, in 'social novels' like Mmrkathu Kumaran's Vasumuti
(1 914) B r a d d e d account ofthts work, see M .Kunhappa,M m r h h u Kunaaran: Jeevachafirram
(Biography), Kattayarn: SPSS, 1975, pp ,248-55, and in popular novels by much lesser hewn authors
like Tmappalh Bhasbran Nair, Bhrati Athava Parcjnyangal, Aleppey: Vidyarambham Pms,
1947, or K. Damodaran, Omana, Thirummthapuram: I n h Publi&ms, 1947, (TurdWan).

8 1. (MR.
' Sanjayan' Nair),'Chandu Menonte Kathanayakanmar' (Chandu Menon's H e m ) ; 'Indulekha
Atham Shreemati Yuvatt' (Indulekha alias Ms.Young Woman), in Sahiiyu Njhslaam, KO&&&:
Mathrubhumi Publications, 1989, pp. 93-97; pp -97-100.

82. See, N. Kumaran Asan, Jkmpoorna Kritikal, op. cit., n.80.

 entire mature life seems drrected towards the pursuit of unblemished P m m m , which leads

them away from the normal progession of llfe laid down for women by convention. When

the union with the beloved becomes a real possibility in these texts, the body of the lover

becomes superfluous-- as if it were nothing but the vehicle of a mind which had sought

union wih another mind. Asan's Chinlavishfayaya See fa (Thoughlhl Seeta) celebrates

Woman when Seeta is made to recognise her Womanhood, its "unestimable value", and her

difference from Raman, who being King, political power personified, guardian of

established and dominant values, has no capacity for 'pure Love' -- Shuddha ~ a ~ a r n . ' ~
When Love is activated between a Man and Woman, the latter is to draw the former into the

world of emotional rela;ranships and altruistic exchange in domestic life. A Love-

relationship makes it possible for Woman to influence Man, to make him sensitive to

personal and human relationships. This is probably why it was sometimes felt that true

83. For at1 interesting note an this aspect, see, S. S d e v i , 'Swapnkntharthata Chintavkhhyaya
Seztayll' (Self - FuElrnent in Chtntnvishruyq Seeta) in Kerala h r a 1996, pp. 133-34.
htemtingly, in Chinthavlshtqqw &eta, Pr-m -
(Love) is seen as a Pasam (a bindtug rope)
upon women when not reciprocated.Pranayam (Lave) can become an ambling force fbr Woman d y
h e n the object ofher Love responds to it. The man who does not respond to u n b l d e d Pmayam
is worthy of criticism, as is Raman, in Chintm'shtqqw Seeta. It is worth ndng that Asan's Seek
was widely a c q t e d as a p m i v e m&l of Womanhood in literature,q u 4 - the lhhatim
on female existme. [See, for indance, Joseph Mundashety, 'Sahqahde Streeq(Womanin Literature),
from Putiya hhchchapdiil, ~ s s u r Mangaldayam
: Press, 1955, pp.3445 and Sukumar
Azhikde, Asante Seetuhyam, Kodikode: P.K.Br&ers, 1954, pp .55-56.1 Lalitarnbika
Anthadanam wrote a b u t h ' s S&a thus: ".....That was the S- of the 20th century. She was the
symbol ofthe modem Indm Woman caught between duty and In&viduahty. That measure suaad us
all. All the q d o n s whrch Asan made Seeca ask must have arisen silently, within the hearts of the
womm of my timid"' 'EniWru W v u m Ishtappetta Malayala Kavi' ( M y Fawrite Malayalam Poet)
fiom L. Antharjanam, Alll~lhtlaaikku Om A m u g h (Preface to an Autobiopphy), Thrissur:
Current Books, 1991.
 '89E-692'dd 'S961'SJaW8 'X'd : W T ! P X ' ( ~ d ~ J .
uwqyuny 30 dqd)~ D ~ U ~ D JWD NU W J ~ a ~ u w ~ n d uoilyyuny
f~q ~
. w q q o '(.pa) mays
~.rw 'a'vu! 'qvpuw '=s 'w lsrg s!q j o w m ~ ~ ~ q - aqa a~ y~rm
o prq
w '~a1qd e r r ~ m
q 8uy eyl q p p q m s! ays + n g ewuo!ssed E y I~WJ-jlas Jay y j~q~ W J a apmu s!
P W 30 -3 Jay WaH 'JO'WmJay30 P Y V ayl osle st: O W BrrpI a q W WW u! sllq O W ?W
atp j o 3-3 r: %qwy;rsm!w OW aqmay B S B q~ . u p e y hqd ~ s , m h ~ 1
U\qqqq G ~ w JoJq
. a p w lou q srq p m p y awm an a a q &uoprnI y m u s=uI
eyr oslopua d l q y a y ~~
osle uroBornuy lo w o h a aaopr. Vnyn slunme vow qnoru. 'p!q! 58
30 m a s B I~OYJIM SI O ~ M
m o v . ~- . " ~ oEj 4 q n u u ~ o 3s l ay I E a ~s p a IOU saop a 3 1 o ~
~ur
laams e lo h n ~ a qJOJ L3m3 30 $no sapmw o y m a
v -.-'.&padso~dpm a x ~ a ~ s pp~our
s q rn ~ ~ J O J
3upuanw 8~04s
e aq lsnur ~ U J
01 slualq r
mur e u t r u r o ~a u , , : a 3 ~ p u p3pi
1-8 ',,Yy 01111330 @p"~ap IIv pas s p J B M 1
Urn( S ~ ! l d nPm w sly W p d jo alqedm aq r p a p I ~ sIq q a q w q ~ uw-10~e
~
WFM aq u! Aim s! uau ej! 's! l e y '~~ d s aj ro asuas e u! sanlossg~u o g m # ~'WOM E y3ns
q l t r ~ ag A q am1 q -8u!yl an!uwe w j1aq y SI ssatnpmoM *aJaylpaa~auramu spy a ~ g
p a ~ ~ spsm aru11~q~ alns q A m auo uayr 'mua~a~ar j o A y l ~ s!
o ays
~ wyr SUI~GQJayl utnu aLp
u! a~!dsqWu saop peho~s! ow WOM aylj! 'AEM alms ayr UI .rtl!y u! laq ~ omdsa j ayona
01 qnoua 8uom aq lsnw ays 'wru a dq a n g j o PI am 01 p a d q n s s! WWOM e u a w , ,
 victims or seductive objects, Premam seemed to endow them with active agency. W i t h

modern marriage and courtship 13rernam is seen to work as a cohesive force that permits

Woman to exercise influence over Man in a positive way. The second chapter of lrtliulekha

in whch the progress of the Love-relation between the superbly self-controlled heroine and
the emotionally weakened hero is detailed, illustrates this brilliantly.

One is not arbping that romantic Love was the actual force which enabled the

increased acceptance of the monogamous marital union or ensured its popularity and

cohesiveness in twentieth century a era lam.'^ This was a time in which legal enactments that

sought to stabllise and reorwise marital mangements were being actively contemplated

and carried out-from the Malabar Marriages Act (1896) and P-Thmu Pillai's attempt to
I

introduce marriage legislation in the Tiruvibmkoor State Council in the same year, up to the

spate the of f d y legislation in Malabar, Koch and Tiruvitamkoor in the 1920's and 30's.

The very structure of the patrilineal family that was being upheld as desirable in the refonn

movements of the period and given legal recognition progressively, itself seemed to imply

moral obligation between the parties constituting it. The Malayalam novelist Taka&

Sivasankara Pillai in his autobiography remembers listening in his childhood (in second

decade of the twentieth century) to a speech in favour of individual partition of Tamads by

86. 731s has been dmmnd-R.Jeffr-ey gives detailed references in his Politics, Women and Well-Being
New Delhi: Oxford University P r w , 1993, p .5 3.
 the Nair reformer Mannath Padmanabha\ in which he claimed that there "...is prosperity

o111y in those homes provided for by husbands. We need to keep our women in place by

making them virtuous. For this husbands must be made to bear their expenses".87 Making

the husband occupy the position of chief provider (and possibly that of the head of the

household) seems to bind the wife in a moral obligation to the husband. Tracing descent in

the male h e , it was argued, would impose a moral obligation upon the fatherhusband to

suppolt his family--in fact, some discussion of the reform of rnatriliny supposed that such

-.obligation already existed, being 'natural', a product of the ' natural -tyf felt by a man
towards hs offspring which, it was claimed, was really stronger than his feelings towards

nieces or nephews. Legislation was often characterised as intended to give recognition to

this 'natural' a8ituty." Such bonds given by moral obligation implied by the structure of the
I

modem family itself must be distinguished fiom those given by Premam. Of course it was

argued at times that the very structure of the monogaxnous relation lent itself to Premam. As

the authors of the Numb~iririFamrIy Hegtrlcliion Commitiee Report argued, "If there is but

* 87. Takazhl Si~sankaraP h i , Ente BaIyaknlnkath (My Childhd-Story), Thrissur: Mangalalayam

Press, 1967, p. 102.

88. See, Sir C.Sankaran Nair, Speech at 4th Annual Conference of the Keruleeya Nair *majam,
reprinted in the Mulayla Manorama, 11 June, 1910. The 'natural affinity ' supposed to exist between
the Weer and his natural children is of course questionable. An interesting account of a cl&rent sort
of affinity, between the maternal uncle and nephew, may be obtained from the autobiography of
Prrthezhathu Raman Menon. He has included a short memoir by his maternal uncle in this work in
which this afhnrty surfam appwing to be no less b s e than the s u p p d y 'natural' a£fhty
between fither and children. See, Puthehathu Raman Menon, Kazhchappdtikal Vols. I & I1
(Viewpoints), 'Thrissur, 1959, pp.27-4 1.
 one (we) the natural course is to continue @mi& Ife) affectionately. If there is more than

one (w*), to have equal Love for each (w@) is what is unnatural".'9 But the distinction

between these two forms of bonding was also dear, even as it was accepted that they could

lead to each other. An argument that was made against making divorce diBcult in Nair

family legislation precisely identified this distinction: it claimed that marriages which were

not organised by both fonns of bonding--those, for example, which were not inspired by

Yremam, simply held together by moral obligations given in legal ties-- were not redly

healthy .gO

A third form of bonding that was seen to underlie the monogamous marital union

was that activated in the mutual moral shaping expected from the husband and wife within
I

it. It was simply not enough to insert a man and woman as husband and wife within the

modem family-form, so it was claimed, at times, they shodd be capable of bearing the

obligation to shape each other. Mariam in the novel Gha1~kavadhammakes exactly this

point when she objects to her father's choice of a bridegroom for her: "I know well &dt if
Iam not wedded to someone who is more inteuigent and compassionate than myself then I

89. Nambufiri fimtly Regulrrtion Committee Report and Druj Regulation, Thrissur: Mangalodayam
Press, 1925, p. 12.

90. Se, 'A Nayar', 'N'ayar B~lIumStreekalum' (Women and the 'Nair BiU), ?he Mahila Vol4(9), 1924,
pp. 293-96.
 shall definitely tun1 to evil ways".91This also underlay tile objection that was sometimes

voiced against including Sheelavati (the mythological heroine whose wifely devotion was

such that she would comply even to her husband's demand that he be taken to a prostitute's

house, by carrying him there upon her shoulders) arnong the exemplars of 'Indian

Womanhood'-- i.e amongst Seeta, Savitri, Damayanti and others:

"But is it not that such wives (asSheelmri) encoumge evil tendencies in some men? It seems
more mportant for a peaceM I&that a true wife be ever-dihgmt in persuading her husband
away from evil ways and directmg her e&rt to his ~rnpmvemetrt"."

Thls too is different from the bonding attained in Premam, though the latter was

often found to be in active co-existence with the former.

The 'internal forces' which were seen to ensure the cohesion and efficiency of the

modem family are therefore many not just Premam alone- they are, however, mutually

supportive. It was the complex interaction of these that was found to underlie the stability of

modern marriage, Measures of a negative sort, such as the regulation of divorce in the Nair

Bill (1924) did figure in legaI enactments that sought to institutionalise the patrilineal

92. Gauri Arnma, Speech at 8th Annual Day of the Balika Sama~amat P&t& Vernacular Girls' High
School, published in the Mahila Mandjram Vol 1 (1-121, 1926-'27,p.78See also, KMaralM
sS- retehg of the story of the chastity of Pakkanar's wife in Aiteehyamla (CoUectim of
h l Lqmds and Tales), Thrissur: Current Baoks, 1992, pp. 186-88, 6rst pubMed in eight v01tu-m
M e e n 1909 and 1938.
 family-form, and wele found essential to the "community's survival and m o d well-

being".93But the stability of the modern f a d y was clearly perceived not to rest upon

negative The importance of 'internal forces' in modem institutions other than

the modern family can hardly be underestimated, given the innumerable references to the

necessiq of sense of duty towards the nation and the community and of Deshar;neham

(Love for the country) or Samudnyasnehum (Love for the community) and so 014 in

nationalism and refonnisrn in twentieth century Keralam. We have also seen how important
*

gender-difference is in all the internal forces within the modem family, as an element that

shapes them, and is shaped by them in turn. How this element appears within the internal

forces that are to ideally underlie other sorts of collectivities needs to be explored in detail.
.I

Subjects :Caning Them

Authors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries perceived a huge gap

between this ideal Self and its actual presence in contemporary society. Such lack
t
somehmes appeared to be a 'characteristic feature' of people. K.M. Panikkar, writing about

93. 'Nayanmarude Vivahadanam' (Divorce among Nayars), Malayah Manoratnu, 12 June, 1924.

94. Premam was, in thls way, r e q p s d as a 'social need'. Presenrting the draft of a Cid Marriages Act
in the legislative assembly in the Kochi State in 1935, S a h d a m K. Ayappan argued in ddmce of
Premnmwhich he claimed, had"... a very important place in worldly I&",as an i n d i v i d h g force,
separating people from established idtutianal stnrmres. However he did nat forget to clan&: 'To
say that love must be g m t d M r n is nd to say that lust must be granted M m " .Quated in
M.K. Sanoo,Sahodaran K Ayppan, Kabtayam: D.C. b k s , 1981, p. 15 1.
 the Nairs, found the lack of a umtied, organised, internally consistent Self to be a stxiking

fcaturc of tlrese people. The 'Nair attitude' towards religon seemed to reveal dlis :

" ......in the unorganised and uneducated hurnan mind, be it ' civil& or ' primitive', there is a
horimntal straMcation of the most contradctory ideas which lie absolutely undisturbed in
the orchary course of life. It is not an uncommon sight to see a thoroughly hmduised Nayar
who talks about Absolutism and Illusion and believes in paying a Kantjan to get the devil out
of his lmle niece."''

But learning English or acquiring Western knowledge, by themselves, were found to

be inadequate solutions to such lack This awarerless was clearly presenc for instance, in the

characterisation of the 'I3.qB.L' holder Parangodan, the target of m o c k q in

With English education, Parangodan loses the sense of self given to

f3urangud~~riraqvam.

him by the established order.% Here is how he tries to figure out the 'true'nature of Nair
I

Sumbandham :

"He had held the view that the Nair Sambandkcrm was as stable as ordinary marriage. He
had also published some books affirming this. Then,in order to please a fiend, he altered his
views and claimed that it was no be#er than concubinage. One does'nt: know what opinion
wit! surface at the next turn-about".97

95. K.M. Panlkkar, 'Some Aspects of Nayar Life', Jo~tnaalof (he I2oyai Anthropologrcal Institute of
Great Britcrin Vol.48, 1916, p.285.

96. "By the time one understands who Tipu Sultan is, one would have forgotten who one is"-
Pcrrcrngodipn'napm,op .c& n. 1, p ,249.

97, ibid., p.268.

 Were is depicted an unsure, vacillating self, s e e h g to figure out what it real& is.

Parangudiprimyam marks an important moment: the registering of a breakdown of the

sense of self given in the established order, and the perception of a lack This Iack is that of

the mechanisms for the construction of a truly Wed,strong new Self. In these times this

was a concern that provoked writing, bringing forth great many plans, projects, critiques and

evaluations.

The act of projecbng the ideal, first of dl trained the subject's gaze upon itself. This

placed the subject witbia a new visibility; self-knowledge would pmiifcrate in and through

this visibility. In other words, an image of 'lacks', 'defects', or 'shortcomings' was revealed

which seemed to call for corrective action. For the protestant missionaries of nineteenth
I

century Keralam, such self-knowledge--the adrmssion of one's sinfulness in the light of

divine faith--was the essential fist-step towards dvation. In Sukuman', it was admitted that

"......teachingthe utterly ignorant is far more diflFcult than enlightening those who are

educated and sensible"y8and further, that it was far more dit6cult to inculcate the principles

of the christian religion in those natives who were scrupulous about their (native) religious

In Sukumari, Mata, who is

observances, than in those natives who were not so fastidio~s.~~

highly dedicated to her native faith, is one such resisting figure. She is hiilly overcome by
- --

98. Sukumnri,op.cit,n.l,p.293.

99. ibid.
 the power of persuasion, by words, to accept a visibility of herself as sinner, She chooses

for herself the name Jeevi (meaning 'living thing':')after baptism, r n h g a metaphorical leap

into the new subjecthood.'" By the late nineteenth century, such imperative was no longer

confined to religious proselmsing. And the mirror which gave insight into oneself was no

more Christianity alone. Dewan T.Madava Row, Timvitarnkoor's well-known moderniser,

in his rnalual of the ideal upbringing of the young10' found it pertinent to point out tlmt

"Science is the ultimate truth regarding worldly things. We must occasionally examine

whether the facts in our knowledge are in accordance with this truth" .I0'

How the appearance of the ideal model turned one's gaze upon oneself is clear from

the following short passage kom V.Nagam Aiya's Travanuore Stare Munual:
I

"....closerintercourse with h g l d d i a n sisters is desirable in the -rests of our Indian

sisters in as much as this wdI elevate them and open their e F to the hgher sphere of
usefulness wmpied by the women-kind of Westem countries and enable them to see Wer
their recognised infl~renmin society, morals, religim and politics, their achve participation in
the work of their husbands through all the grades and ranks of life from the rince to the
peasant instead of a hurnble,passive, unexpressed subordmte -eration.. )I:
..,."

100. ibid., p.295.

I0 I. T.Madava Row, Hints on the Training of Native Children, V. Nagam Aiya (trans), Kattayam: CMS
Press, 1889.It may be noted that the Dewan was the firmer palace-krtor in Tiruvitamkwr,

102. ibid., p.59.

103. V. Nagam Atya, The Trmnncore State Manual Vo1.U (1 9061, N.Delhi: A.E.S, p.300.
 The attention of 'Indian sisters' is here first directed at a model considered worthy

of emulation--the women of Westem countries. This seems to immediately evoke another

image of women's social role--"humble, passivet' etc.--a lacking one that is projected 0x1

oneself. But this does call for a more complete evaluation of oneself--search for defects,

assessment of elements possibIy positive. Nagam Aiya is prompted to undertake an

assessment of "Hindu Women", admtting that their illiteracy was indeed a defect while

simultaneously searching for elements in 'Hindu Women' that would reveal cultivated

nature. '04

As Parangudipari~arnpointed out, self-correction had to necessarily follow self-

knowledge if a strong new Self had to be fashioned. This was solidly mphasised by the
I

protestant missionaries in Keralam in the nineteenth century. Among the texts which they

circulated there were many which gave advice about what constituted 'correct training' that

would build a new Self.

Let us consider a text published around 1849, H e m Gunderi's translation of a

German work titled Manuha Hridzyam (The Human Heart) in ~ a l a ~ a l a nThis

'~~

describes, step by step, how a sod steeped in sin may gain salvation. The first step is of

104. ibid., pp.300-302.

105. Rev. H.Gundert (trans.), Manusha H r i w m me Human Heart) in Vajrasuci, Kobtayarn : D.C
Boaks, 1992.
 course the gaining of self-knowledge-- the visibility of one's sinfulness through repeated

exl~ortationsof god's messenger which arouses horror at one's state of sul and provokes
106
repentance. But the sinner must not despair; he/she must engage in systematic effort to

rectify this undesirable state. Systematic, regular efFort is necessary for making the 'ascentf

of the soul possible and for maintaining it. The regimen the text recommends is called

Daivahhaki(vi1A (Training in piety), l u 7 through which the sinner acts upon hidher

soul so as to 'raise' it towards god. Such self-correction and vigd must continue until death:

"Alas, Man cannot survive-- if he does not develop, he will surely decline".'08 This sort of

training turns the sinner away fiom the material world and prepares M e r for the

heavenly world. The text uses the mirror-metaphor to describe its function which it claims,

is to reveal the deceptiveness of material pleasure "as in a mirror" lo' which the readp ,nay

gaze at to see hisher worldliness, following which shebe must to god in remorse.

But along with this sort of mining which turned one towards the other-world,

training of another sort, that which b a t e d one towards this world, was also introduced by

106. ibid., p.6.

107. ibid., p. 19;p.25.

108. ibid., p.26.

109. ibid., p.26.

 the missionaries, best represented by the missionary boarding-school110. Such tr'ahhg

imposed controls upon pupils so as to prepare them for the eficient performance of 'natural

roles' which also seemed quite important to the project of other-worldly salvation. This

involved not only prayer but also the ordering of pupils in space and a precise apportioning

of their time among various activities. These were to be maintained through surveillance,

norms of conduct and periodical examination. In short, the this-worldly training introduced

by the missionaries was of a disczplimry sort."' The prominent CMS evangelist

Rev.George Mathen, in a lecture delivered in 1867 identified three key elements in this sort

of training: 'Increase in Knowledge', 'Exercise of Mental Faculties' and 'Inculcation of

Good Habits', "'all three requiring diligent training the third as much as the fist AS

we shall see, this sort of tmirhg was also to develop boys and girls into ideal Men and

Women, imparting the spec&c skills that were to help them conform to subjectivities

110. ForthedescriPt;mof~inamissionaryboarding-school,seeSuhmari,op.cit.,n.l,pp.310-15,It
may be noted once again that the expressed i n t d m s of this work included providing an account of
the life of Basel Mission converts of North Malabar.

111. As Wchel Foucault has pointed out, such training "..increaswthe form of the body (in economic
terms of &ky) and dirmnishes these same f o m (in p o h d terms of obedience)". M. Foucault,
Discipline and Punish, Harmondsworth:Pmguin b k s , 1986,p. 138.

1 12. Rev. George Mathen, S p d delivered at Kollam Division Cutchery, 13 August 1867. Published as
'Balabhyasanathe Kurichu Om Prasangam' (A Speech on the Training on Children) m Dr.Samuel
Chandanappally, Re~Georgef i t h e n . f f i t i h l u m Padtaamm, *.George Mathen: Works and
Critical Study); op.cit., 11.53,pp.418-19.

113. ibid., pp. 419 - 20.

 deemed ' natural' to them, besides developing self-governance.

'This form of training proved highly adaptable-- it could be used, for example, to

produce ideal Citizen-Subjects for the modem Nation. The test of the success of a school, it

was later remarked,

". ..... is the culture, mental and moral, it imparts to its votaries. In so far as a s c h d can show
a roil of well-cmducted, well-trained nfriminl, leadmg a honest life as g d citirens, arid as
long as it lives, mtinues to turn out such good products, its success is achieved..... ""'

The ideal school works up011 pupils as a raw-material to produce full-fledged

Citizens. Hence the comparison of the school with a ~ i n t . "Disciplinary

~ training was

recommended by a Dewan of Tiruvitarnkoor as the exemplary means of producing ideal

I

Citizen-Subjects:

"Such an education should be given under condtions favourable to the health of pupils. Their
U e s should be developed and trained by vigorous exercise. Their eyes must be trained to
see, their ears to hear with quick and sure discrimination. Their sense of beauty must be
awakened.... Their will must be kindled w h an ideal and hardened by the discipline enjoined
by seIfantro1. And through the a c t i v h of corporate life in the school, it should grw the
pupils experience in bearing responsibrlrty, in organisation..... It is only by yarting such an

1 14. 'A Prize Distribution'- S p d to the students ofthe Mar Dimysius Seminary, by M.Rajaraja Varma
Tamnpuran, Inspector of Schmls. Published in MalqaIa Manorama 3 November, 1906.

115. ".....Ourminthasalwaystoremainopen.Wehavetoreoeivedaya~rdaytheroughoretakenM
from the mines, smelt rt, drain the scum ORthe metal, allow it to cool, examine its touch, heat it again,
strike and cut it into shape, polish its surface, rim the edges, and then stamp on it the hall-mark of
currency and send out into the world the sterhg coin to play its part". M.Rajaraja Varma Tamp-,
ibid.
 education ..... that the state can evolve out of them in the fulnws of time,g d men, men of
character and morals, and useful and exemplary

And if Citizen-Man could be produced through such training it seemed that the

Reformer-Man could also be produced by it:

'What is the use of the 'pass' secured by an indvidual d it does not give him the ability to do
good or hls family and c o m m ~ Therefbre,
? rather than fbcus upon a 'pass', we must k
aEmtive to correct training .... We ha* experienced the sheer po~ntle.snessof g -
religious reform and the reform of customs, industtlal development and ather social changes
before an ignorant public.... Imagine that a schaot as described above (the model referred to
was that ofa mtssionaty boarding-school) is established in Singxi, and that several of our
chrldren spend their entire c h i l d h d in that ennobhng atmasphere, eattng clean and
wholesome f h i , learning languages, the scimcs and ather subjects, engaging in sports and
other kinds of physical exercise .....instilling in themselves religion and rnorahty?physical and
mental strength, ernergmg successful in exarninatims....... If they are the householders of the
future, the representatives ofthe cummunay, then will anythmg remain beyond our grasp?"":

As early as in the &st missionacy boarding-schools such as the Talashery institution

described in Sukumari, the need to inculcate W s deemed appropriate to sex was

recognised, and Werent sorts of training for boys and girls were proposed In the late

116. Dewan M.Ktlshnan Nair, Speech at the opening of a building at Vanchyoor to house the Maharajah's
Higher Grade En& Schml, Thiruvananthapuram, 8 October, 1919, From Occasional Speeches
Delivered by h u n Bahadur M K r i s h n Nair 1916-1920, Thiru~nanthapuram: Govt. P m ,
1920, pp. 87-88.

117. N. Kumaran Asan, 'Oru Boarding School' (A Boarding School); 'Schoolinte Prayojanangal' ('The'
Uses of the School). Both appeard as edaorials in the Yivekodqyrrm, April-May 1910.Reprinted in
G.Priyadarshan' (ed.), Kumamn A . ~ a ~ t Mukhaprasangnngal
e (Editorials of Kumaran Asan),
Magode, 198 1, p. 195-97.
 nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the criticism of the existent system of public

educatiu~lthat was being extended Ihrorigh Slate-supp01-twas two-fold: one, that it was not

sufficiently cbsciplinary; two, that it did not help girls to develop the capacities which would

have enabled their conforming to the subjectivity deemed 'natural' to women.

I'arangudipurinuyam strongly voices d i s twin critique.' I s The figure of Parangodan Volol

represents the newly-educated male whose insufficient training has alienated him fiom the

established social order but has left him weak, doddering and pompous. At the same time,

existent forms of female education are found inadequate in that they did not seem to quip

women to be able managers of the domestic domain. Parangodiparinayam ident5es the

disciplinary rigour and sexually-Merentiated curricuium of schools in England to be the

source of the power of the ~nghsh."' I

To illustrate the pattern of the numerous plans and proposals for educational

reorganisation that frequently appeared in this period, one may briefly take up one such

scheme which appeared in the S~vadeshabhimaniin 1924-25. This proposal, however,

118. Parangodiparinayum, op.cit.,n.1, pp. 249-54.

119. ibid.. p.253. The education of white women is thus described: "....besidesbeing educated in th~s
rigorous, disciphary fishion, white women are trained in all the tasks they have to perform, including
attendng to the cornfort of their husbands and the care of children, with considerable diligence. A
wtute man does nat have to pay any attention to household affairs after his marriage. H s wrfe is
capabIe of rnanagmg all f i r s . If the family is well-off she supervise the sewants in their work to
fuEl aII domestic tasks and makes sul5cimt c o d m s .... If nat then Qe adjusts accordurgIy.. .".

120. L.A. Ravi Varma Tampuran, 'Lokopakaramaya Oru Vidyabhyasakramam' ( A Scheme of Education
(..continued)
 stands apart from those which advice the reorganisation of female education, seeking to

separate it fiom the general sort of public education, taken to be more suited to equip pupils

for participation in the public domain. This seeks to reform the education o f both boys and

girls, putting forward two special subjects, Grihasthadhmam (Householder's Duty) for

boys and G r i h n i d h a m ( Housewife's Duty) for girls. The former was to comprise of:

Methods of p d c i n g and utilising wealth; obligatmns and dmes towards parents, spouse
and chldren, and the World in general; principles ofthe correct instrudm of the young.
Through tkis subject the pupil must be made fiirly aware of his duty....."

Grihnidharmam was to consist of

"....the care of the home, hygiene, principles of nutritirm (nat coolung), home-nursing,
principles of supervising junior members and servants at home, care during pregnancy,
principles ofmoral @........ instead of Mathematics, subjects lrke music, painting, embroidery
and other crah may be made availableto the pup& as

(..continued)
Useful to the World) in Swadeshbhimani Vo13 (5-61, 1924-'25, pp . 2 17-22.

This proposal in fact, twk serious note of the complaint that the boohsh training in schools was
actually impairing the development of practical and m a n a m skills in not d y girls but also in
bys. "The spread of the new education", wrote one author in LakEhrniBb, 'bas made young men
lorter around schools and school-books at the age in which they ought to mert themselves industriously
and gain experience in accumulating wealth".Tlus is linked to an earlier observation that "In reahty,
one may h d very few men who are truly Manly among upperaste Malayalees". Kagallmr
Kunhukuttan Tampuran, 'Streekalude Apathul(The Danger Facing Women), Lubhmi8hqd Vol5 (a,
1909-'10, pp. 236-40. Also see, Vengayd Kunhiraman Nayanar's lampooning of m o d e m e d u d
Malayalee men in K.Gupalaknshnan (ed.), Kesari N q w n a d e Kn'tikal (Works of Kesari Nayanar),
Kozhikode:Mdhmbhumi Publications, 1987, p .33.
 The study of music, painting and such fme arts had an important, though debated,

place in thr ideal cwriculurn for girls. I'urungudiparinuyam lampooned these as fairly

useless skills which, it claimed, only added to vanity. Female education on a public scale

often aimed at securing a balance between the ' useful' and the 'accomplishment'.'" The

predominance of the latter over the former was never encouraged, and indeed may be found

advocated only rsl.ely.l2'' But these elements continued to figure in proposals of female

education. One reason for k s could be that they provide the pupil with a convenient means

of focusing attention upon on& own activity. It may be of some importance to note that

women's leisure, and contrasted to the

these were often reconmended as a way of r e g u l a ~ g

o r h a r y experience of women spendmg leisure time in s o c d company, chatling and

'gossip'. Indeed, the necessity of regulating social interaction among women was, ofien

perceived as an important requirement in reforming them.'2s Many types of activity other

than music, painting etc. cane to be recommended as means of filling up women's leisure--

123. The Administrative Heport of Tiruvhnkoor for 1890-'9 1 remarked that the "useful should always be
preferred to the mere accomplishment"in schools WEe the Sircar Guls' School, and reported plans for a
. cookery class. See, Administrative Report 1890-'9 1.,p ,178.

124. See, for an example, the memoir of Kan'mpatta V.K. Lakshrmkutfy N e t y a m , wife of the EIaya
Tumpuran (Junior Prince) ofK& in M a m l r - Manoram Weekly Oct-Nov. 1938.

125. One of the first steps taken by the preacher to refbrm his v d k in Ghiakawrdhrrm was to "....forbid
some indecent women who leave their households and n d e c t their homes, idling away their time liere
and there, charing and chewing betel....." from entering his home Ghatahvudtaam, op-cit, n.60,
p.89. It is not uncommon to find hquent refemaesto women's tendency to indulge in idle 'gossip' in
articles published in Women's Magazines ofthese time.
 prominently, cottage industry.

However in all such debates regarding what elements were to figure in the ideal

Womanly education, and in what proportion, the single most important criterion for

inclusion was this: the element in question should be i n s m e n t d in initiating the pupil into

hidher specific domain, the public or the domestic, as a useful, a c i e n t and obedient

subject. This is well-reflected in the discussion regarding the place of Enghsh in Womanly

education which appeared in the Women's Magazine Sharuh in 1905-1906. In reply to the

question whether Malayalee women needed to learn Enghsh or not, different answers were

given. But it was commonly accepted that the answer would depe upon whether the

knowledge of Enghsh would or would not help Malayalee women perform their 'natural'
I

role better. Enghsh, it was argued, was not so essential in the domestic domain as it was in

the public, and hence was relatively less important for women. On the other hand, the

arbment in favour of the inclusion of English insisted that howing Enghsh would

definitely make women better home-makers and increase the pleasures of home-life, that

women's grasp of English would increase the pleasure of communication between ( the

modem-educated) husband and wife, or that it would throw open a whole world of books

on house-wifev, childcare or other Womanly skills, or that the mother's competence in

Enyltsh would filter down to the ~hi1dren.l~~

- --

126. T.Ammukkutey Amma, 'Narnmude Streekalum figlish Vidyabhyasavum' (Our Women and English
, (. .continued)
 By the third decade of the twentieth century, Womanly education seems to have

gained considerable sound. It figured promirlently in discussions on education, it was seen

to underlie the achievement of many a wornan considered successful in the performance of

her 'natural' role. The mother of the Maharajah of Thvitamkoar herself, in a text written in

1942, was seen to have undergone such a training that appeared to be the basis of the

' success' the text attributed to her : "She studied all the subjects best suited to women-folk-

music, literature, painting playing the Veenu.... There are not many women who are as

well-versed as she is in the secrets of good Wornally education figured

hgh in proposals for reform of public education emanating from Merent quarters-for

instance, in the Educational Reforms Committee Report in Tiruvitamkoor of 1933'~' or in

the Tinrvitamkoor Education Reorganisation Committee Report of 194612', and also in

(..continued)
Educatrm) in .Warah Vol 2 (3), 1905-'06, pp. 50-52; V. Narapm Artlma, 'Streekah Vendataya
Vdyabhyasam' (The Educatim Which Worn Require), Sharadn Vol 2(12), 1905-'06, pp.271-73.
See also, P. K a ~ m m a ,'Streekalum Paschatyavidpbhyasam1, (Women arid Wsstem education)
hkshmi8hay Vol 8(10), 1913, pp. 33 1-37, for a defarce of En& educatim for w o r m using
sirmlar arguments.

127. Vennikulam GapaIa Kurup, Vanchirajeshwury,TiruvaUa, 1942, pp. 1 6 17.

128. Report of [he Travancare Educalicln Reforms Committee (Statham CoPwnittee Report), 1933, pp.
26546.
 independent proposals like 'A Plea for a New Outlook in Travancore' (1940)'"~ or in the

scheme for Women's education suggested by the orpisation of women-teachers in Kochi

in 1927.13' Interventions made by members in the legislative assemblies of Kochi and

Tiruvitamkoor during discussions of educational reform, as well as independent resolutions

proposed by members endorsed this.'" Speeches and resolutions passed at the conferences

of the All-India Society for Educational Reform at k v m t h a p u r a m in 192713', and at

Kozhikode to select representatives for the All-India Women's Educational Conference,

endorsed a curriculum that would train women to be capable-bearers of modem domestic

130. N.G. Nair, A Plea far a hrew Ourlook in Trmncore, Singapore : Kerala Bandhu Pms, 1940, p.44.

131. 'Kochtyde Stree Vidyabhyasam - Putiya Scheme' (Women's Educatian in K d - New Scheme),
Matupla Munoram (henceforth, M M ,16 August; 19 August, 1927. ?his was prepared by a sub-
committee ms&g of Elizateth George B.A. LT,an hispectress of Schools, Mrs. A. Velapdha
Mencm B.A. LT,who was the Headmistress of the Ernakulam &Is' High School and the Secretary of
the K x h i sfreesamnjam, and P.K. Draupadt Amma1 B.A.LT, a Headmistress (MM,16 Augu$
1927). Also, see, MtoriaL 'Stree Vidyabhyasa P a w ' (Scheme for Women's Edudm), MM* 20
August, 1827. Indeed, me of the justijicatims put fbrward for the necessity of such an Associatigl
was the formulation of an adequate scheme of Woananly edudon through ccmsultatjms k w e m
Women-teache~s.See, ibid.

132. Smt. T.Narayanr Amma, Discussion on Supplementary h t s - Eduation, 15 November, 1933,

Proceedings of the Sn'Mulnm Assembly (ha&* P.S.M.A) Vol II, 1935, p.100; Smt. K. Dw&i
Antharjanam, Speech, 26 July 1937, P.SMA VoI X, 1938, pp.215-16; T.Madhavi Amma brought a
ml~on in h o u r of compulsory dmmshc training in girls' schocrls in Kochi in 1928 - qorted in
MM, 1 March, 1928. A resolution of the same sort was h t d u c e d by her earlier in 1926. See,MM,
2 December, 1926.

133. See, for i n m e , Speech by T.V. Narayani Amma on this occasion, reported in vanjtuhumam Vol
1 (1 0), 1927, pp.366-7 1.
 13" The innulnerable women's meetings organised by various reformist
respo~~sibility.
135
and sfp.t.c.sun~ajums were occasior~sfor discussiotl of the ideal plan of
olgu~isatior~s

education for women, and its practical in~pIeinentation.

Schools for girls were often sensitive to the criticism made of the avadable public

education for ~ l sThe

. management of a new girls' school at Tiruvalla in 1919 claimed

awareness of the inadequacies of the available sort of education and proposed Womanly

134. See, report on conference held at Kozhikode to select Malabar's r e p m t a t i w for the Worn's
Educational Canferene. This was presided over by K.P. AmmukutEy Amma. Reported in M.M,13
Dwmber, 1927. Report on Siree Vi&bhhwsa (Women's Educational) Confefence at K o d k d e ,
MM, 6 December, 1928. This meetmg was presided over by Kalyanlkutty Amma.

135. To mention just a fkw, see report on meeting of the Bahh 2khitycr Snma~amat Vadakkan Paravur,
M.M,10 March, 1925; Report of the women's meeting at Annual Conference of Kerala Catholic
Cmgress, MM, 28 May, 1925; Report of annual meeting of the streesamjam at Kapattmr Syrian
Christian Church, M.M, 25 September, 1926; Report of wornens' meeting organised byd-India
Women's C d r e n c e at Thiruvananthapuram, M . ,24 November, 1927; Report of womm's meeting
at the SNDP Yogam Annual Cmference, MM, 16 May, 1928; Report of the meeting of Christian
Women's Sangjam, MM, 27 November, 1928; Report of the Joint Annual Meeting of Mika
,%mjums of the Varappwha h @ s h and Malayalarn Schools, M.M, I5 February, 1928; Rqort of
Annual Day Celebrations at the Girls' School at Irmjalakkuda, M.M, 2 M a d , 1928; Report of the
meeting ofMu~hnt.sanghom(Mothers p u p ) of Knshnapurarn St. John's Church, M M ,14 January,
1929; Report of the meeting of AFT Sfree -jam at Karunagappally, MM,20 February, 2 929;
Report of the women's meeting at the Nair Conference at Karuvatta, MM, 6 May, 1929; Report of
women's meeting at the SNDP Yogam Annual C d r e n c e , M.M, 13 June, 1929; Report of
Trjpunithura Nair Karcryogam meeting to discuss the formation of a streesnmojam,M M ?19 October,
1929; Report of a Christmas Day Celebratim by Syrian Christians at Chengannur, M M 12 January,
1919; Speech by E.Kalyan~kuttyAmma at the iirst All-Kerala Hindu Women's Conference, Sokodari
Vol2(3,4), 1929; Speech by M . A r n r n w Amma at Annual Meeting of the Manorma Samajum at
Kottakkal, 11 Mahram (January-February) ,1105 M.E (1 930), in Malaycla Masik., Vol 1(1),
Medam 1 105 M.E (April-May, 19301,pp.22-29; Speech by Karayi Damayanti at Talashery srree
samnjnm in M i f m d i Vol2 (8), 1914, pp.19-20; beech by T.C. Kalyani Gmma at the Sahityasabh
(Literary Meeting) at Thrissur Girls' School in Mangalodcrpm Vol 1 (51, 1913; Speech by T.C.
. Kalyani Amma at the Vivekdap Samajnm GirIs' School &hityo Samjam's Annual M&g,
Deepam Vol2(8), 193 1.
 education as solution:

"Seeingthat female education is in a very decadent state among Syrian Christians and that the
few who have gained English educsrtim, having had no chance to obtain sufficient knowledge
and training in subj- related to hausewifbry, have h r n e burdens to their husbands, this
girls' school has boen established with the sun of endins such disadvantages and giving our
grls and young women enough general howledge along with training in piety, etiquette,
morals and home ~anagemmtM q u e s . ....4,136

Interestingly, Womanly education has never really ceased to be a concern in

Keralam, though its content and orientation has been the cenke of much discussion, and this

has evoked suggestions for modifications e r ~ . " ~

Yet, even though schools were Iooked upon as key sites for achieving the ideals

advanced by the projects of self-correctior~they were by no means the only sites of such
I

effort. 'Take, for instance, the little-noticed institution of the streesamajam (the wornen's

association) which operated in close connection with reformist organisations, schools,

churches, etc. By the e d y twentieth century they were beginning to appear all over

13 6 TiruvaUayile Penpallikkdathe Patti' (About the Girls' school at Tiruvalla), MM. 22 January, 1919;
'

Also see, Report of Schwl Day Celebrations ofTirumwlapuram Balikattsatham, M.M, 2 April, 1929;
.!,.. Report about Sacred Hearts' Convenb Tllrissur, MM, 4 June, 1927.

1 3 7. See,&rial, 'Gnhabharana Murakah Vidyabh yasathilulla Sthanam' me Place of Tehiques of

Home Management in Education), MM, 1 9 February, 195 1; P:T Bhaskara Panikkar &.a1 (ed.s),
Streekalude Padhapaddhati (Scheme of Study for Women), Thirummthapurarn : Kerala Strrte
Resources Catre, CANFED, 1979. Also, much of the early &rt of Kedam's Popular Sciealce
Movement, the Kerala Sastra Sahrtya Parishat, to popularise science among women followed this
track, wrth ideas Ue 'Kitchen Science'.
 at Thimvananthapuram was conducting a quiz on
Keralam. In 1907, a srreesamuj~~m

dorneshc management;'" in Palakkad, muher such group was felicitating a member on her

husbands securing of the Rao Bahadur title;'" news of the Attingal slreesamajum was

reported in 1909;'" that of the Guruvayur streesamajam i11 1908;'" activities of a

my4
k'
,srreesanrajam at Kozhikode were repotted in 1905;' 42 an A y a B~alikaSamajarn was fonned

at Tiruvalla a slreesamajam was operating at Talashery in the 1910's that made

in 1909;'~~

arrangements to home-deliver library books to women and conducted classes in childcare

and sewing14";the effort of the Head Ustress of the 'Girlst School at Kollam to start a

13 8. ' Swadeshakaryam' (Local News), M M , 13 October, 1909. The qu-m asked was this: "There is a
family consisting of a husband, wrfe and two children, a boy and girl, below five years of age. The
husband earns a salary of Rs.20. With this amount all expenses includmg rent, food, clothing and for
children must be met, and a saving must also be made. How may one calculate the spending? If after
ten years, the husband's salary rises to Rs.35, how may one organise spendmg? Matters like expens=
on children's schoolmg should not be mbd".

139. ' Palakkatte Stmesamajam Vartha' (News of the Streesamijam of P a b d ) , MM, 23 July, 1910.

140. ' Swadeshakaryam'(LoA News),MM, 18 September, 1909.

141. Mk1, 19 December, 1908.

144. Mmrkathu K e p p a , Prehce to C .K. Revati Amma, Sbhasrapmmima (Autobiography),

Kottayam: SPSS, 1977, p.iii.
- stwc,samaja,n there was Sireesomujams continued to spring up
reported in 1909.'~~

throughout Kcralam in the cowse of the twentieth century, often in connection with

reformist organisations, religious institutions or by thernse1~es.l~~

Prominent figures of the

period addressed them. T.K.Krishna Menon remembers Chattambi Swarnikal lecturing on

' The Place of Man and Woman in the Universe' at a streesamajam at Emahlam in the early

14 6 . Sec,Report on activities of the Kannur streesnmnjam, MM, 12 August, 1924; Report (m the Bulika
Sahitp &majam at VadaWEan Paravur, M.M. 10 March, 1925; Repo~ton Kaltayam Sfreejana
~mz~hycrswkasanghom (Women's Social Service Group), MM 14 March, 1925; Report m
a c t i ~ e sof the K&& Ladres Club, M.M, 27 October, 1925; Rqort an the formation of a
sfreesamnjam at Mattanchery, MM, 27 November, 1925; Report an YWCA Annual Celebrattons at
Kunnamkulm M-M, 5 January, 1926; Report on the Streesamajam at Kaipattoor Syrian Christian
Church, MM, 25 September, 1926; Report of a meeting to form a Hindu Mahila Samajom at
7Iiruvananthapumq MM,18 January, 1927; wort of Mahihsevclsanghom, M.M,29 October,
1927; Report ofmeeting ofBharateeya Mahila Samnjam at Chalappuram, MM, 24 Dewnber, 1927;
Report of the first meeting of the Kidangoor Anfhayuna Samujarn, M.M, 2 October, 1928,Report of
meeting of Christian Vanrila Samajam at K e y a m , MM, 27 November, 1928; Report an the
activities of C h a l a p p w Bhrrraru Mahila Sanghorn, M.M, 22 February, 1928; Repott of joint
Annual Meeting of the local Marhrrlsanghom (Mders' p u p ) and Sfreesamajnm of the Anglican
church at Alappuib, M.h.I, 15 March, 1928;Report ofMarhmsanghom medng at Krishnapuram St.
John's Church, MM, 14 January, 1929; Report of first Annual Meeting of the Kumbalangi Balika
Sama)~m, MM, 1 April, 1929; intimation regarding the' Annual Meeting of the Marthoma Shejana
Suvjshesha Sabha at Karthikappally, 2 April, 1929; N& by R.T.Ammmi Antharjariam, Secretary of
the Anthikad Antlaarj'crna Samnjam, M.M,4 April, 1929; Report of the Munorama Strcesamajam at
Kmkkal, MM,3 July, 1929; wort of the Pallipat Nair Mahilusamjam, M-M,17' September,
1 929; Speech by V.A.Santhanamamma,' Streekalum Kalavidyaurn' (Women and the Arts) read at
P e r m o o r Streesamajam, published in LakshrniBhyi Vol 9110). Makarnm (January-February),
1099 M.E (1914), pp.392-97; S p e d by B-Bhageerathy Amnu at an art exhibition organid by Ihe
Bharateep Stree Sanghorn of Kozhlkode, published as 'Kalayil Streekalkulla Stl~anarn'me Place of ,

Wonla in Art) in The Mahila Vol 7(1), 1927, pp.1-16; Report of s m d Annual Meeting of the
Paravur Streesamajam, MahilaRumm Vol, l(1). 1916, p. 19; Report of the second Anntversary
Celebrations of the Maywad S'treesarnajant ,MahilaRaham Vol 1 (51, 19 16 .
 twentieth ~enhuy;"'~Mahatma Gandli addressed the Hindu Vmita Sat~ghom st

in 1 9 2 7 . ' " ~ 0 1 n e n 'Magazines

n~i~uvananthapurarn s actively promoted them and reported

their activities. Some .sfreesanlajarrrs had their own magazines, such as the Manoranla

Sanlajatn of Kottakkal which brought out the Malayola Mariko in 1929, '" and the H ~ d u
iMuhila Mandiram of Thiruvananthapuram which had its own magazine, the MahiIu

'
mn~l'iranl.j0

Srrc.esomajams were also important in their recommendation of new sorts of social

interaction between women, contrasted to older forms, now devalued as 'idle gossip'.'51

147. T.K . hshrla Menon, ' Smaranakal' (Memories), appended to K. Bhasbra PdIai, C h n t t d i Swamikd
:Jeevachuritram (Chattambi Swamikal : Biography), Kottayam : SPSS, 1960,pp.154-56.

14 8. ' Mahatmajiyude Rajadhani Sandadanam' (The Mahatma's Visit to the Capital), MM, 1 1 October,
1927.

149. M M , 3 July, 1929.

150. Women's Magazines were important as a medium through which ideas regarding Womanhd and
Womanly education were dsseminated. Proposals of Womanly education were d~scussedhquently
in these. The &st issue of the Mnlapic~Mosih published by the Manoram &mcijatn s e down ~ such
discussion as one of the chief aims of the magazine [See,'Swantarn Karyam' Worial Nate) in
Malayokr Mosika Vol 1(I), 1930, pp. 1-5. A proposal on Womanly education appeared in the early
issues, titled ' Streevidybhyasathinte M a t h ' (Mdel for Women's Educatian) by B.Kalyani Amina,
in Vol 1(1), (2) and (3), 1930, pp.6-15, pp.33-112, pp.65-78 respectively.] These a c h e d not only
s The Mahiln were bwght sine 1924 anwards in
homes but also schools and s t r e e s a m a j a m ~ i e of
all the Girls' Schwls in Tiruvitarnkoor by government order. The Mahila, Vol4(5), 1924, p. 1.

15 1. Padmini, 'Narnrnude Streekalum Samudayavm' (Our Women and Society), LdshrniBhuyi Vo18 (8),
1907, p ,196. Also, see, P.G.Pofinamma, 'Streekalodu' (To Women), S a h d r i Vol 2(5), 1929,
pp. 127-33. The tiembers of the ThiruMnanthapuram Streesamajnm too stressed this aspect of
' usefulness' in a felicitatory address presented to Mrs. Catherhe Booth Tucker in 1908 in which it was

mentioned that the monthly m-gs were availed by women "..torenew old acquaintances, to contract
(..continued)
 90

Now, within these groups, social interaction, ideally, would help women's self-

w an sf om at ion. These groups were usefbl, an author argue4 for "...lrzcreashg our worldly

experience, actualising our aims through the power of affection, bringing civilisation and

sophisticatioil to our habits," making clear that these are not associations for pursuit of

women's selfish goals or for the simple pleasure of social

The importance that was granted to the need for separate and different training for

the sexes is understandable, given the fact that the development of gender-difference-

training men and women to operate efficiently within different domahls deemed 'naturaltto

them--seemed important for the realisation of the governmental concerns of the State it1

early twentieth century Keralam, such as, for example, the concern regarding population

improvement. Speaking at the Baby Welfare Week celebrations at Kollam in 1924, 'the

Secretaq of the Rama Varma Club told his audience.

" .... We should not forget the reahy that as fathers, we are obliged to pay direct attentia to
household matters. Yet men are bound to be absorbed such amrs as) understanding the
ways in which legislatian, municipal authority and the pdubim of wealth are organid in
other countris. It is women who are likely to be more attentive to advice given on such
mawrs as the care ofyoung children and pregnant women and opporhties for social work

(..continued)
new ones and to rub away angularities."It was hrther claimed that this had helped them to "appreciate
the b e& of personal mtact, the interchange of ideas and the cultivation of social amenities".
Published in &ra& Vol 14(I), 1909, pp. 9-10.
 .".L53
ammg the poor and the ~gfiorant..

It is hardly surprising, then, that the State was an active advocate of different

curriculae of education for men and women.

It may be briefly mentioned that there was dm considerable debate around the

' question of what wodd be the ideal sort of training for young men that would be of use to

them as participants in the public domain. The report of the committee appointed to study

unemployment in Tiruvitamkoor recommended in 1928 a revamping of the educational

system and stressed the improvement of agxi~dtuxaland industrial skills among educated

youth and ernphasised the need to accept agricultural activity.'" The tendency to look upon

government service as the ultimate goal of modern education was criiicised. Education,

however, was not to produce an unthhhg labouring class. N.G. Nair in his 'A Plea for a

New Outlook in Travancore' observed that "The so-called educated youth on the threshold

of a new life, too r e h e d in his own opinion to fall back upon manual labour. ... '' was no
153. ' KoUathe Shishuvaraghosham'(Baby Week Celebrations at Kollam), M.M, 19 January, 1924.

15 4. 'Tiruvrtamkmnle Tozhilillaima'(Unemploymentin Timvitarnkoor),M.M, 9 June, 1928; also, MM, 6

July, 1928. The need for a more flexible system oftraining that would produce dBerent levels of sMls
in pupils, assumed to be male, of different levels of intelligence, was recornrn& much before-see,
K.G. Sesha Iyer, 'Some Pressing Problwns of the H a t , Speech delivered at 13" College Day
Celebrations at Maharajah's College, Thhmanthapuram. Published in The Malabar Qwrrerly
It~.vrew7/01 9(4), 1910, pp.295-307.

155. N.G.Nair, op.cit.,n.131, p.2.

 more the ideal. The ideal was also not " the militant, mechanical youth who know only to

command and obey nor the weak, desponding, undisciplinedyouth".156

The ideal youth was

to be he who did not hanker after government senice, who did not shun manual labour, but

who wodd "..... raise the dignity of manual work itself by bringing into it a scientific spirit
tr I57
o f pionewing experimentation and organisation . The need raised here is for education

that would develop young men into ideal producers.

IV. Strategies of Re-presentiztioyt

Much of the w-ritmg that projects the internally-focused consciousness and new

forms of social o r d e ~ gand institutions as desirable also hint at the presence of

considemble resistance to these in late nineteenth century Kerdam. The fear that the

acceptance of these new goals would completely upset the existent social order, disrupt

ordinary life, and the abhorrence towards these as essentially foreign ideas are 9 frequently

touched upon, condemned, explained, allayed and dealt with in a number of ways. These

wrimgs had to legitimise the new goals as valid, credible, essentidly better alternatives. We

find that this was done through the deployment of specific strategies of presentation,

156. bid., p.55.

157. ibid., p.57.

 through specific ways of presenting new gods of Self-building new sorts of institutions

etc. that seemed to assure their legitimacy and validity. h this section, some of the

frequently-encountered strateges ate briefly discussed. This list, however, is not exhaustive.

First, the emotive meaning is retained, while the conceptual contents of existent

usages pertaming to sex and ideas referring to sex-specific qualities and sex-Merentiated

domains are changed. For example, the notion of humsham which in everyday contexts

was associated with not only manliness, but dso bravery of fantastic proportions and hence

with bragging (such as in the phrase P m w h a m ~arayuka)'~~

now got defmed in such a

way that it came to be associated with hither-worldly, concrete, material sorts of power and

authority. For instance in the political polemic Videsheeya Medhavitvam (Foreign

Dominance), written in 1922, C.V. Raman Pdai linked the term to the capacity for modem

political management; in an article titled 'Paurushamf which appeared in a reformist

I60 .
journd in 1927 , it came to be firmly attached to material sorts of power, economic and

158. In Rev. Gundert's dictionary, Parrmhum is defined as "Mmly,the measure of a mantt,"Manliness,

bravery", "bragging, boast" and "....Eantastic,presumptuous". Rev. H.Gundert, A Malayalum and
EngIish D i c i i m r y (1892), N.Delhi : AES, 1989, p.728.

160. C.N. CheUappan ,Nair, ' Paurusham' in Kerulu NaPadini Vols 1(1), (2), 1927, pp. 77-82, pp.134-38
respectively.
 political. Mobilising the well-hown proverb Panomilluihavan ~ i n a r nI,' ~the author of

this piece argues that Paurnhum essentially consists of acquiring the capacity to

accumulate material resources and effectively exercising the political authority deriving

from it. The wealth that is the sign of Paurnsham is not that which is inherited, plundered or

amassed through dishonourable means, but that whch is acquired through hard labour.'62

Such wealth alone can be the sign of Puurusham. Such P a u m h m is, further, central to the

formation of t l ~ emodern community. The author, therefore, wges Velufhedarhu Nair (a sub-

goup of the Nairs) men to attain Paurushm :

"Only whm the aminunity gains access to public affiirs can it advance upon the path of
progress. Therefore, Veluthedathu Nairs, you must attain Paurnham through the
accumulation of wealth and glorious deeds, leading towards rhe progress of the community
wluch weahh maka possible....11163
/

Women are advised to support this male endeavour by being good, self-controlled wives

Glorious deeds still figure in

and mothers and efficient, hardworking h~me-mana~ers'~~.

Paunisham as in the older order, but now they are linked to the accumulation of wealth, to

161. ibid., Vol ](I), pp.80-81. Another version of this proverb &redly l i i Paurnsham with wealth:
PatiamiEhtha Purushan Pinom ( A man without wealth is but a corpse).

162. ibid., Vol 1(2), pp. 135-36.

163. ibid., Vol 1(2), p. 137.

164. ibid., Vol 1(2), pp. 137-38.

 this-world.

Similarly tile existent ideas of sex-specific domains get redefined; For example,

intellectual activity was associated mainly wid1 men in the established cultural milieu--

especially it, the aristocratic high culture. lG5 Now, wlule this exclusivity is retained to a large

extent, what is identified as intellectual activity changes radically. To quote from the

MIlavadi :

"The Brahmm is as intelligmt as the European. But the Brahrmn d e w all his intelligence
and scholarship to deciphering the d&rence h e e n the soul and the ' Supreme Spirit' ! Dow
this ...do anyme any g d ? The Europeans, in ccllntrast, have, like Puruskakesanhl, (Lion-
Hearted Men) laboured to establish in the world the locomotive and the stmnship". l M

The same sort of reconstruction may be seen with regard to the home. The

deheation of the home as women's space mnight not have been new. What is different is that

now the domestic domain seemed to consist of entirely new elements. For instance, among

Malayda B r a , the inner-quarters of the Illam (the Malayala Brahmin homestead) was

165. Tlus is stdmgly revealed in that most of the women who enpged in high-d&al and literary
activity in the premodern and early modem period in Keralam-judpg h m the legmds around the
Kozhkde Manoram Tampurati and much l a t e r , h the works of T o t t a u I k k a ~ m m aand
Kuttikunhu Tangkachi-made it clear in their own ways that they were indeed situating themselves on
terrain wl-uch was nut grven to them, or clearing a space fbr themselves d i n an essentially-male
domain. h her play Ajnathvasam, Tanglachi makes this clear in the openjng {Nundi) scene. See,
S.Guptan Nair(ed), Kufikunhu Tongkachiyude Kritikal (Works of Kutiikunhu Tangkach~], Ihssur:
Kerala Sahrtya Akademt, 1979, p.240.
 largely the space Inhabited by women-folk, who were restricted from freely moving

outside. The Nambutiri reform-movement did not completely and fundamentally unseat this;

but the inner-quarters, the home itself, was completely redefmed. The daily routine of

women within I l l m ~ s was traditio~~allya highly regimented series of ritualistic

was to be fully or partially displaced with a new one that gave stress to
~bservances.'"~This

home-management, child-care etc. The homestead and the specific agency granted to

women in it are transformed. The place assigned to women--their place within the Illant--

seems undisputed; but the function a ~ b u t e dto the home, the power-relations traversing it,

the practices of domestic life, and the agency of women, are all different. Change is to be

made not by a simple rejection of the institution but by a radical redefitllti~nof it.

Secondly, the ideal is situated in local tradition and history, and a place is

found for it within one's cultural past. This is to refer to a golden age in the past--

'Hindu', 'Aryan', 'Muslim', 'Nair', 'Pulaya' or whatever-in which the sexual contract is

found to have been operative. The establishment of the order of gender becomes in part the

redrscovering and restoring of one's own, indigenous tradition, the revival of a certain long-

167. Even bathing was a ritual :" After finishing wrth the scrub and tile d p they (i.eAnthar~anam~) nust
come upto the steps and anoint their forelieads with the paste of raw tunnenc and castor-seeds, malung
~tby rubbing these upon the stale-step by the talkand drp agah, l l ~ firste thing to be done after
bathing is anointing the forehead with sandal-paste and e~nbrocatmgthe facewith &nth grass. Ulule
doing this one nust sit,ficing eastward...." See, Kanippayur N .Sankaran Nambutiripad,
Sn~ornnnhlVol I (My Memories), K u 1 ~ 1 I k u l a m: Pandmgom Press, 1963, p ,159. For a detaded
account ofthe routine of wo~nen111 Ilkams, see, ibid, pp ,15846.
 -
lost golden age. This swutrq was vely widely used. An author writing in 1926 sought to

rcf~ltt' idea that wo~ncnin ancient India wert uricivilised, stressing that one had to see

not just tllr difference between 'ancient' m ~ d'modern' but also the sunilarities.'" R~ddeed,the

main effo~there is to demonstrate that wornen's status, duties and education in ancient lndia

were entirely consistent with modem ideals of Womanhood and Womanly education:

"'CVornen in those days were not educated slr~lplyfor adornment's sake. It was insisted that the
la~o\vltxIgethus gained must be u d properly. The conversatim between Draupadi and
Satyabhanw Mfies to this. The Grihnp1~7~ryikcl CMislmss of the Holrsc) should not just eat and
sleep; she must have QoDd grasp over management of domestic expmdrture. She must be
aware of the occasions in which special expenses are incurred and of the means by which they
may be

h a t h e r such article seeks to place Wornanliood within lndtan legacy, making

reference to works of diverse content and produced in different times, to speak of 'Indian

\IVoma~d~ood':the Epics, the works of Many Yajnavalkya and Vatsyayma,

rblcghadrrinm and ~ h u k ~ ~ l r d a mModem

.~" ideals of gender were sought within these. A

commentary on Vatsyayana's szr trm titled Bhu~adhrmam(Wifely Duty) in Malaya h ,

16 8. Neduveli Narayana Menon,' Pracheenabharatathile Streekal' (Women in Ancient Inda), The Mahilo
Vol6(5), 1926, p. 155.

169. ibid., p. 160.

1 70. Cl~iraymkizhP. Govinda Pillai, ' PracheenabharatathilePramadajanangal' (Young Women in Ancient

Inha), Luhhmifihryi Vol5 (S), 1909 -'lo, pp. 33940.
began with this argument:

"A false notion has spread among Ws&rners that women are not valued in Inch, that they
are asidered to be but slam by men, and that this is the huh of the social norms and
customs oftradrtional Hindus...(bul) Many English scholars... haw agreed that Hindu women
were perFect in their roles as daughters, wivs and mothers... that their greatst happiness lay
in the achievement of success by their children; that they believed that their true glory
praceeded from complete respect and devdcn to their husbands".I7'

Similarly when the modern ideal of Womanhood was put forth as desirable in

Muslun reformism, it was found to have been present in the M u s h past and accepted by

tradition. An author in the Muslim Vanita argued that "The K o m says that women have

rights like men. ... the Muslim religion lays down that men and women are equalrr .172

Another author claimed that lsIam was the Deliverer of women in Arabia and that its spread

encouraged women's freedom : "By giving women S'watantlyam along with men, qnd by

pointing out the natmd bond between women and men, Islam saved women from this abyss

of dangerw'73

Through these efforts there emerged a set of mythologcal heroines--from Hindu

17 1. Quoted in K. Bhaskara Pillai, Swadeshabhimunr, Kottayam: SPSS,1950, pp. 98-99. A commentary

with the same name appeared in LakshmiBhuy, serialid in VolS(1 )and (21, 1909, pp. 44-48 and pp .
73-78 respectively, but the author is not named.

172. Ayesha Mayarl,'Namnludeffirtilavyam'(OurDuty), i n l 7 1 e M t d i r n VanilaVol 1(5), 1937-38,

p. 133.

173. P.Idros, ' Islam h u m Innum' (Islam Then and Now) in The Muslim Vunita Vol2(4), 1939-'40, p.32.
 Mythology--consecrated as 'Indian Womanhood'-- Seeta, Savihi, Damayanti and others. It

was often argued that Womanly education in hdia must seek to raise women to the exalted

state of their foremothers. Those involved in c h h g out educational programmes for

women, it was suggested, must:

" ......havegasped well these modefs 0.of Indian Womanliness) that give howledge. about
Inda's ancient culture ..... ... the help of W&m m e n interested in instituting Indian
Womanlin~sin the model of the leading women of h b ' s past Ue Seeta, Sauitri, Damayanti
and athers may be accepted by the a om mission.

This sometimes led to the displacement or questionhg of some established ways of

venerating mythological heroines. The veneration of Panchakanym (Five Virgins), for

example, was often part of morning Japum (chanting), at least i

n many S m a m homes.'71

Later, it was asked why Ahalya, Tara and Draup* who were not chaste-and in the c'ase of

Ahalya, not even self-controlled-were adored along with Secta and ~ a o d o d a r i . ' ~ ~

Tlus strategy was to become ever-more popular in the twentieth century. The thane

of 'Glorious Indian Womanhood' was to attain tremendous popularity through M a h h v i

174. T a t h Madhavi
~ Amma, Speech at K d i Women's Educational Cmfemce, published in
Vanilakursumam Vol l(1-12), 1926, pp 7-10.

175. ' Ahalp, Draupadl, S w a m , Mandodari TathalPanchakanya Srnarennityam Mahapatakan-

ashanam' was the chant.

176. N.Lalitamb~kaAnthajanam, Seeto Mural S a V t i Vflm (From Seeta to Satyawti) , K e y a m

:SPSS,1972, p.68.
 Vallathol's poetry. Here Indian Womanhood is equally represented by mythological and

historical figures; Womanhood is M y installed as part of Indian he~itage."~

The

desirability of the sexual exchange is affirmed as valid for this society, its 'hdianness'

strongly arbwed.

Thirdly, the activation of a process of selection within the existent social order is

recommended so that certain aspects are found worthy of preservation, while others are

dismissed as undesirable. Here, the new ideals function as a silent standard that h e s what

is desirable and what is not; but the impression given is that their function is a limited one-

the encouragement of 'good' elements of the older order, and the elimination of 'bad' ones--

a rather innocent-loohg 'correction'. That Christian education need not always require the

total elimination of all ideals of female virtue of the older order, but only a 'correction', was

often proclaimed by the protestant missionaries in the nineteenth century :

177. For a survey of Vallathol's female characters sw,Shooranad Kunhan P h i , 'Vallathol Kawtayde
Stree' (Woman in Vallathol's Poetry) in Kairalee Sambham, Thiruvanarrthapuram, 1979, pp. 3 19-
34. Also see, M. Leelad, Malayah Kdra Sahiw Charitram (H~storyof Malaylam P m ) ,
rlhrissur : Kerala Sah* Akademi, 1980, pp .201-203. &ides, semral reteIlings of stories of ' Indian
Women' also appeared in Malayalan~,particularly of characters from the lbjput tales, who were
idealised as patriotic hdan Women. To point to one instance, one may d m Pallathu Raman's
novels. He was a prominent writer and reformer active in these time, and p d u c e d several n o d s
antered upon such female charam. Of these, ' Rajastham Pushpam' (?he Flower of Rajasthan)
retold the story of Maharani Padmini and her resistance to Muslim aggmsian; 'Vdasakumari'and
'Vanabala' were built a m d such female characters in a similar historical s&g. PaHathu Raman,
Moonnu Novelukal (Thee Novels), Fort Kochi: P a M u Memorial Publishing House, 1998.
 "Toa Hmdu female, chnstian education is almost a transition from irratialal to rational
being. Sprightly gentleness of character, with a strong dspositim to confide, gmcefirlnessand
timidrty of manner, combine often wrth an eIegance of form and engaging countenance, are
thereby rescued from a wild thoughtlessness or from the dullness of ignorance to exhibit in
some manner the original idea of Woman's creatioi~".

Christian educatio~lis seen to be a total revolution; but it does not seem to require a

total uprooting of all that was there before. Rather, it appears to be a sophisticated process

which retains 'good' elements while discarding 'bad' ones, to create ideal, 'original' Women

out of native women. Similarly i11 Meenahhi, one may see such a process of selection

operahg with regard to existent systems of training in local society. Of these, the

acceptable one is that whch is undergone by a repentant Kocharnmalu under the

supervision of a venerable pahiarch and ascetic which involved strict conpols on the 'body

and mind through such practices as fasting and J a p (chanting). The aim of this baining

was to insert Kocbammdu into the World, as a chaste wife in a monoganlous marital
I79
union. The unacceptable sol? of training is that whch is presented as the n o d sort of

education for Shrcdra women, and this is virtually stripped off its claim to be an education at

all:

178. Rev.G.Pettitt, 'TllmeveUy Mission' quoted in 'Brief Review of the Past astory of the Tinnevelly
IMIssion', The Church Missiomty Intelligencer Vol 11, 185 1, p . 116.

179. hieenahhi, ap.cit., n.27, pp. 233-35.

 "I do not call education that system which gives some command over me or two languages
and s m e bit of music, or enables them (LC. wamen) to dance half-xtaked without the slightest
shame More men, to seduce them with eye and g&ure... .""'

Further it is learning ".,...lewdsongs and verses which encourage the seeking of

paramows, and give advice on how to seduce and dupe men off their money, which most of

our people call 'female ed~cation"'.'~'in Meemhhi school-based Womanly education is no

doubt upheld as ideal. But this does not seem to imply a rejection of all the existent forms of

eaining. Apparently, those which resemble modern education are acceptable--i .e. those

which promote an internally-focused consciousness. In devising training programmes at dle

practical level, the necessity of such selection was stressed as early as T,MadavaRow's text:

"Thereare several games that are suitable for bath boys and girls among native people. We
must nut reject them as uncivilised or reprehensible. They offer children happiness; they
exercise their bodtes. In a populous country, it is nat wsy to establish new sorts of physical
exercise other than those already in prevalence".'"

180. ibid., p.155.

18 1. ibid.,p. 126. A less stringent criticism of a prevalent form of h l e education is found in Kunchlata m
which it is remarked that such edu&on may give "greatfamiliarity with the Kavyams, Natakams and
Alankurams", but is incapable of producing what is accepted as more important, "a blemishless aod
wetl-n~formedmind", Appu Nedungadi, Kur~alaia,Alappuha : Pusthakashala, 198 1, p.9. However,
it was s o m c h s explicitly stated that a SansIrrh-based education duch gave importance to J h v p r n ~ ,
(rr,takums Pw&y and Plays) etc, would only promote sensualrty, and that by avoiding these and
teaching the Dharmsasruu~~(moral canan) instead, women could be nude virtuous.
Shreeknshnadasan, 'Bharyabhamam'(Rulling a W h ) , kurabodhini Vol2(4), 1906, pp. 150-57.
 In this reckoning the heroes and heroines of early modenl novels in Malayalam

may be easily made to appear fully ' Malayalee' -- as not at all alienated from the established

order, only resisting its 'evils'. The author of /ndtdekha is careful to tell the reader that the

heroine, despite her Enghsh education, ".......has not abandoned her identity as a Malayala

woman even a wee bit, Hatred towards the Hindu faith, or atheism or the total contempt of

e v e d i n g (native), has not ever1 touched indulekha".'" That lndulekha has attained

Individuality does not seem to jeopardise her status as a 'hlalayala woman', since she is said

to follow local, custom in manners, speech, observances, habits and so on. She seems to

represent the 'purified' version of a Nair woman which Enghsh education has made real.

Here English education has not alienated its recipient -firomher socio-cultural milieu; it has

merely enabled her to make a judicious selection. In this strategy, the new ideals are, posed

in such a way that they do not seem to be a threat to the older order in the saw of

displacing it. Rather, their role is made to appear a limited one, of elevating the better

elements of the older order, strengthening the older order rather than displacing it.

Fourthly, models for comparison are constructed. In this, a 'good' version of a

specsc practice or institution of the older order, and a 'bad' version of the same are

contrasted. The 'good' version is that which seems closer to the new ideal; the 'bad' one is

that which is distant from it. In Meenakshi for instance, we find two versions of the Nair
 Taravad contrasted to each other. Of these, the 'good' one is that of the herohe

Meenakshi, the ideal Woman, while the 'bad' one is that of Kochammaly uncdtured and

materialistic, the very opposite of Me&. The 'good' Tarmad has as its head, the

Karatwar Gopala Menon who qualifies to be an. la4 The other members of the Tarmud

are his sisters who ably attend to domestic duties, lead sexually-disciplined lives and are

highly conscious of their importance as the bearers and rearers of a future generation.18s

Though not the modern nuclear family, this 'good' Tarmad is constituted by the sexual

exchange, with Man and Woman in the roles deemed proper to them. In the 'bad' Tarmad,

in contrast, there is a role-reversal. Women earn here, and that too, through evd,

promiscuous ways. Men here are was~els,idle pleasure-seekers who do not mind living off

'
women's dishonest income. 86 it is worth noting here that neither the Karanovor of the ideal
1

iTcrrmd, nor his disciplined sisters are Enghsh-educated. The 'good' does not seem to be

constituted by Enghsh education, but seems to represent the real Nair T m a d , which

produces the id& Woman, Meenakshi. In the 'good' Nair Taravad, it so seems, the new

ideals are easily acceptable. T~ISstrategy of constnrcting opposing models would continue

184. Meenakshi,op.cit.,n.28,p.142.

185. ibid.,pp.66-69.

186. ibid., p.228.

 to figure in much writing particularly in fiction, for many years to come.18'

T
End - Note

The writings referred to in the previous section probably hint at the formation of

a number of new fields'88 in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Keralam-

--artistic, educational, legal, legislative, commercial etc. They also higlight the

emergence, as an immediate need, of the development of skills among people that

would enable them to operate effortlessly within these fields, to make smooth manuoeuwes
- - -

187. See, for instance, a novel which cetr~esupon the Nair Taravad written in the 1930's and set in the
arly 1920's. K . Gopala Pillai's PulukoIgnmnm Afhava Irutfum V e l z c h r m , Kollam: Sri h m a
Vdasom Prw, 1954.

188. "In analytic terms,a field may be defined as a netwok, or as d g m a t m of objeaive rehons
betweedl positions. These positions are objectively d h e d , in their exisknce and in the dete&at~ans
they impose upan their occupants, agents or i n W a n s , by their present and p&al s-on (sirus)
in the structure ofthe hsdmtirn of specis of power (or capital) whose possession commands access
to the spec& profits that are at stake in the field, as well as by their objective relation to other
positims (domination, subordination, homology etc.)... In highly ~ ~ t societies,
e d social
the
cosmos is made up of a number of such relatively autonomous socia1 micracosms, ie., spaces of
objective relations that are the site of a log~cand a necessity that are spec$% and irreducible to those
that regdate d e r fields".(P. Bourdeiu and Loic J.D. Wacquarrt, InWucn'op~to RefIxive Sociology,
Cambridge: Poky Press, 1992, p.97). The field is, further, a site of struggle, in d i c h those who
dominate must always contend with the resistance of the dominated (ibid., p.102). Hubitus is "...the
generative ($not c d v e ) capacrty inscribed in the system of dqositians as an art, in the strarigw
sense of practical mastery..." (ibid., p. 122). "Habitus being the social embodied, is "at home" in the
field it mhabits, it perceiwzs it immediately as endowed wrth meaning and mtr:rest. The practical
knowledge it procures... (is like) the mincidenc;etetwem dqositims, and position, becwew the "sense
of the game" and the game, explains that the agent does what he or she "has to do" without posing it
explicrtly as a goal, below the level of calcuIatron and even consciousless, beneath &course and
representation". (ibid., p. 128).
 and adjustments, to adjust to the changing internal configurations and e x t d alignments

o f these fields. Certain groups of people in Keralam--particularly those who had water

access to modern howledge--acquired such skills earlier than others and could stake ever-

geater claims within them.lg9So it needs to be kept in mind that these writings were

relevant, in this period, only among limited circles in Keralam, which meant that to large

sections of people, these were more or less Irrelevant. For instance, even in the 1930's when

the ideals of modern domesticity had received considerable ckculation and support fxom

various sorts of reformism, the ideal modern home was far from being actualised as a

general feature of modern social life here. Large numbers of women continued to be active

in traditional agricultural and artisanal work and in the modern labour force. In the Kuttamd
paddy tracts of Tiruvitamkoor whde the work of reclamation was done by men, the rest of
I

the major agricultural operations fiorn planting to harvesting were all done by women1". In

1911, over thuty percent of the labour force in the plantations in Timvitamkoor were

women 191. At the beginning of the twentieth centruy, the bulk of the coir-spinners,over

189. Such competeace was inevitably chlrned whenever a particular gmp sought entry into a particular
field. See for instance, a plea for greater representation in the leplative assembly made on behalf of
the women of K& made by ' A Cochin Lady' in 1925, in which such claims are advancad. MM,, 28
March, 1925.

19 K.T. Ram Mohan, Material Processes crnd Dew lopmentalism: Interpreting Economic Change in
Colonial Tiruvitamkoor 1800 - J 945, Unpublished Ph.d. Thesis, Thiruwanthapuram: Centre for
Development Studes, 1996, p.86.

191. ibid.
 sixty-thousand of the total eighty-one tl~ousm~d
in Tiruvitamkoor were women'92.When

tile dornestic/public divide was accepted in the classification of occupations of female

population in Thvitamkoor, the greater share of women-workers came under the

classification 'Domestic ~er\.lce'"~.But the classification itself was betrayed when it was

mentioned that female 'working dependents'--women who actively helped male-earners in

their income-generatmgwork--were included in it' 94.

Thus to large sections of women, the ideal of modern domesticity was inaccessible

and indeed, impossible. But the Census of 1931 also showed that women ill those social

groups in Thvitamkoor which had relatively less access to modern education were more

frequently engaged in income-generating work by themselves, and therefore fkther away

I

from the ideal Domestic f om an"^. Even for those groups which managed to enter the new

fields, the need to acquire cultural capital that would ensure smooth operation and secure

survival within them was certainly urgent--and any incongruency between the mhabitants of

192. ibid.

193. -
Cemtlr. of India 1931, Trmncore Part I, p.240: Out of the tatal of 1,128,770 female workers,
692,164 were classified as king engaged in 'Domestic Service'.

194. "Taking all occupations together, we see h a t the number of women workers per 1000 men has mom
than doubled itself h e m the last two censuses. This is mainly due to the inclusion of female
workingdqadmts under domatic service at the present cams and their exclusion at the previous
..." ibid., p. 241.

195. See, table m the proportion of female to thousand male earners in some important castes, ibid., p. 241.
 a particular field and their habitus was acutely perceived1%.

As far as the historical actualisation of modern domesticity in Keralam is concerned,

by the 1930's the demand for reconstituting farmly life along modem h e s was openly and

vociferously advanced via djf€erent sorts of reformism, and legislation that could help to

reakise this was actively contemplated and carried out. By this time, the ideal of modem

domesticity too had gained considerable circulatioq as mentioned above. There were also

concrete signs of the institutionalisation of modem sexual morality: in 1930, the

Tiruvitamkoor Surkar pensioned off a class of traditional women-workers supported by it-

the Devodnsis, despite meir protest.197

The Census of 193 1 commended this : "No woman

has been returned as a prostitute in this Census of Travancore. Probably, the abolition of

196. For example, total unfhliarity with the p r d u r e s of busin~sd i n the modem l e g s h e was
sometimes found to be dwacteristic of the Jenmi Qand-lord)members, especially Nambutiri
I
(Malayala Brahmin) members, and o h commented upon. ?he inabllrty of the Nambutiri-member to
communicate in hgM, to Wow adequate p r d w e in drafting IegisIatim etc,was n d . MM,3
May, 1927. Changanasery Parameshwam Pillar remarked about the efforts of Nmbutii-members to
draft a law : "It is evident that the number of Nambdii rnernhrs in this House is only three,and that
they lack bath the numerical m g t h and the technical support to draft a BilI appropriately and make
the House approve of it.... The introducer of the BilI la& experience in law and the ability to
understand the prcrcedures of this House where the debates are all -ductad in Enghsh..." (ibid.).See,
also, cements by the M-Ms reporter on the speech made by Parameshwaran Tuppan Nambuh in
MM, 1 March, 1927.

197. 'Swadesha Vartha' (Local News), M.M, 3 August, 1930. interestingly the p d o n of grievance
submitted by the Dmdasis to the Sarkar was reported to say that it was unfair to abolish their
professim at the ,very moment in which women were being encouraged to enter the public domain
through State support, such as in the granting ofjobs in public service.
 Devadasis has contributed to this happy circumstance." '"
But d~en,there are also developments that might complicate the impression that

modem domesticity was on its way. The entry of women into the public domain by the

1930's in Keralam is one such developmet~t.Modern rnedicd institutions in ThvitamE;oor

had beell training and employing midwives ever since the late nineteenth cenhuy.lg9By the

1930's, several wornen had entered the various professions, become members of legislative

bodles, and begun to gain attention within the field of modern literature. As will be seen in

Chapter Three, women who sought employment though modern education were often

criticised for l a c b g the skills and will for modern housewifery, and the pursuit of higher

education by women was itself often interpreted as a rejection of their 'natural' role.

Considering these developments, the historical constitution of modem domesticity in

Keralam appears as a problem in itsexf, calling for htoiico-sociological erlquby, which is

'
not pursued in the present work. It could be that women's entry into the new institutions

outside the home did not really affect the formation of the modern family, but how this

became possibIe, what effects it had.in the formation of the modern family in Keralam, and

other such questions should be the subject of separate and more detailed enquiry.
I

198. Census of lncl~a1932- Travancore- Part-I, p. 169. lhat an equivalence between Dewdasi and
'prostrtute'is perceived is itself signdjcarrt.

199. Administrative Report of Tramare,

See, Adminisrrotive Ileporf of Travanmre 1868-'69,p.60;
1869-70, p.69.
 NAMBUTIRI,
ANTHAWANAM, MAN,
WOMAN : RI$~ORMING ,

MALAYALA BRAHMINS
Introduction: Reconsidering Reformism

'> * > ,

'
*t7 t L&*M,.,A(

f .---, f movements in~twentieth century Keralam have

often been
:,. ':.-i-c ?, ,,
1'
I;
K,

characterised as representing part of a 'Malayalee I<emissance! It has been claimed that

X
the experience of 'Renaissance' in Keralam was of a more specfic and intense sort

compared to the North Indian experience, that the sirong anti-caste t h s t of avarna groups

in reformism made it a stronger and more fundamental experience of social change.' Thus

the social change that took ~Jacein late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Keralam

(which comprised of several elements, prominently, the increasing opposition to traditional'

lrmrtations upon individuals, including those of caste) has been most often characterised as

an essentially liberating experience that freed the individual fiom feudahsm, c a q and

debilitating family-forms. "At the begining of this century", writes A-ShreedharaMenon,

"caste and feudalism encircled Keralam ...Institutions like untouchablty, polygamy,

polyandry and ma&y flourished under the patronage of feudahsn. The larger section of

people in society did not have the freedom or ?he opportunity to grow or develop accordmg

to their o m ambition^".^ The experience of 'Renaissance' (along with other factors like

:
!2. A. Shreedhara Menon, Kerala Samkaram me C u k of Kerala), K-yam: SPSS, 1992, p -18I .
progressive legslation etc. on the part of the State) however, seems to have altered the

scheme fundamentally:

"The ordinary man in Keralam t h y has been liberated fiom the bondage of caste and
feudalism. The instituboris that functioned as q e h n m t s to the socio+cmomic progress of
people have all been r d u d to ruins...."3

It has also been recognised that the formation of organisations which set up the

building of modern communities as their nlajor god was a d e n t feature of this period, and

that the ideas of individual liberty and social change gained circulation in and through such

The new identities given by the new organisations are considered to be of a

~rganisations.~

sort which respected and fostered lndividual aspirations. Very often, they are projected as a
t a 'first stepfsin the sense of paving the way for movements based upon identities that
s o ~of
I

could be potentially shared by a greater number of people, such as the national movement or

3. ibid., p.181.

4.
x
A. Shreedhara Mmcn writes It is l n t e d g to note that it is the cornmunity~r@s&ons that have
played the major role in ushering in 6 1 change in Keralam". (ibid. p. 1 74) Also, P.K.K.Menm, The
Histmy ofthe Freedom Movement in Kerala, Vol.II[, ThiruMnanthapuram: Govt. of Kerala, 1971,
p.455.

Mannath Padmanabhan in his SmarannkaI(Memories) (Kottayam: SPSS, 19681, j u d e s his

participation in cmmmhybuildtng despite his disbelief in caste, in these terms. He had abandoned his
castename, 'Pillai'. Also se,preface w h m by M. Govindan to M.K. Sanoo, S a h d r a n K
Ayyappn, Kattayam: D.C Books, 1989. Several other public figures active in nationalist and
communist mo-ts haw attempted such juficatian. For instance, in a mmt autobiography by
V.R Krishnan Ezhuthachan it is m d o n e d that he was active in both the nationalist movement and in
the Ezhuthackan Samnjam, the community-moment, at the same time, and that the two did not
really clash. See, A m b t h u (Autobiography), Thrissur, 1997, p .33.
the communist movement. It has been argued that ".....communalapproach to problems in

Travancore and Cochin was gradually widened and transformed into a national and political

movement to achieve the goal of fieedom and responsible The 'awakening'

&> ."," ., I
-> A

that r a - m o v e m e n t s made possible is seen to underlie this. It has also been claimed that

the progressive ideas that gained prominence in and through muda&m movements such

as the Shree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) movement facilitated the rise of the

movement in Keralam. There have been, however, noteworthy attempts to

j. ,
. LF v . . c . . ( ,,+
,>.%a, ' a --h 7, k t 1 9 d tc r.+flt'
'
c l d But, despite their differences, most of these accokts largely rely upon .I
P ~ , d *r .~ ~ u . \ .
the notion of an already-present Individuality whch the 'Renaissance' helps to release or GI';' d

develop; m h s sense they remain dong with the self-claims advanced by the spokespersons

of reformism itseK even when they occupy apparently-opposingpositions.

bTtT' 9
6 . . , "P.K.K.

p.1 5 .
Menm , op.cifn.4.,p.455; P.K.Gopalalolshnan, 'Smudaya Parirhkarana Prasthanangal'
Reform Movemmts), in Keralam Chantram Vol I, Kahi: Kerala History Assaiatim, 1987,

7 P.K. Gopalaknshnan, op.cit., n.1, p.523. E.M.S. Nambubripad, howevtr, has argued that the
poIiticisahon of the mas= which social reform movements made possible was htd, and that they
did not necessarily aid the formatian of movements wider in scope. He views the social reform
momw1ts and the nationahst movement as distinct fim each other, which, however, exerted mutual
influence. The limtted nature of the social reform movements is found to lie in that they were often
opposed to wider natimalist intern. E.M.S Nambuliripad, Kerahm-MuI~lika1udeMafhndbhumi
(Keralam- Matherland of Malay a k ) , liruvmanthapuram: Deshabhmani Public~tims,1981,
pp.269-70.
ci< , +< r ' -There have been, at mes, attempts to explore internal c o d c t , expressed or

dormant, within d h a movements, or , stress

, one aspect (i.e. liberation of Individuals or
7lt ' :\ '
1 f l * ~ , r; h r . ; ~ w+,cfr h
b r .L
Il 4 -fT_: r' '

i
institution-building) over the other in refomism. Scholars have, for instance, have differed 7'

in their interpretation of the famous consecration of an 'Ezhava Shivan' by Shree ~ara$na

I , c-I t
,r-
:
I o

Guru at Aruvippurarn hi 1888--some have preferred to see in it an attempt at

while others interpret it as 'social protest'.' A thud position has viewed it as

~anskritisation,~

a1 "intervention in popular culture, with a view to transform it in the image of, but distinct

fiom, the upper-caste culture", but it is further argued that this was appropriated by the

rising , Ezhava middle-class to suit its aspirations, and thoroughly institutionalised in the ,
- , i '
.I e&i.:. : ,: ., h* b!., \>,.,: ~;-~.:.L>..,\i
h 2 ~ ~ , i;,.
~ \ :".:,>;;\
",' ..I
L \ , , i ,

, . L' I I L - W l .d ,

SNDP ~ogarn."[The tension between hdividual-hiration and codunity-building has

often been accepted as a key feature of Nambutiri reformism too, in both its journalistic1'

S. Examples are K. Ayyppan, Social Revolution in a Kerala Village: A Shldy in Culture Change,
Bombay: Popular Prakasan, 1965; C.H. Heirnsath, 'The Function of Hmdu Social Refbrmers - W h
Special Refemce to Kerala', Indinn Economic and Social History Rm'ew VoI.15 (I), January -
March 1978, pp.27; R. JeEey, 'The Social Origins of a Caste Association, 1875 1905 : 11e -
Founding of the SNDP Yogam', Sauth Asia (41, October 1974, p.40.

9. M.S.A. Rao, Social bfovements a d Socia1 Iiansfirmation : A Study in Two Backward Chss
Movements in India, New DeIhi, 1979; P.Chandm Mohan, 'Social And Polaical Protest in
Tramcore : A Study of Sree Narayana Dharrna Paripalana Yogam (1900 - 1938)', Unpublished
M.Phd Dissertation s u b 4 to M,New Deh, 198 1, pp. 101 103. -
10. P. Chandra Mohan, 'Popular C h and Socio-ReIigous Reform : Narayana Guru and the E d ~ v a s
ofTravancore', in Shidies in History Vo1.3(1) n.s., 1987, pp.63-78.

11. See, among innumerable articles of this sort, K.C.Narayanan, 'Verunangatha Vakku' (Ever-grem
Words) in Malhmbhumi Week& Vo1.74(45),January 5 , 1997, pp.6- 10.
and academic characterisations. A recent paper on the Nambutiri reform movement has

sought to argue that palpable tension existed between the liberatory aspirations of

Antharjanams (Malayala Brahrmn women) and the interests of those who aspired to build

the modem cornrnunity.12 The advocacy of intra-caste marriage of young Nambutiris

(Malayala Brahrmns) is seen to be stemming from economic, not liberatory-political

'
intcxests. The reformist initiative is itself' seen to have arisen from the need to modernise

the community (in fact, the pre-existing caste), to make it an effective player in the modem

public domain.14

What is s M g about most of the above work is that key notions Like 'Individual',

'liberation', 'protest', 'community-bddmgt etc. are hardly ever subjected to close

examination. Take, for instance, the notion of 'liberation'. Even in the disagreements that

arose within Nambutiri reformism in the 1930ts, the rhetoric of liberation was M y

implicated in the project of transforming men and women into useful and hardworking

subjects; it always refered to a collectivity into which the individual was to be integrated be

12. Toshle Awaya, 'Women in the Nambutiri 'Caste' Movemerrt' in T . Muushima and H.Yanapawa
(ed),History and Society in South irndu, Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studes, 1996,pp .5 1-
52. She concludes that "... In order to establish the castes as &scr& -es, it has been essential for
the caste leaders to manipulate the sexualrty offemale members oftheir own castet'. ibid., p .54.

13. ibid., p.50.

14. ibid., p.48.

it tile 'Nambutiri Community', the 'Indian Nation' 'Malayalee Societyfor whatever. Eve11in

attcmpls that were rnadc to redefine the rlotion of women's liberation and link it to wornen's
BTL &)4
-
participation ig equal terms to men in the public domain, their integration as 'useful' subjects

into a modem collectivity is upheld. Even those accounts whch at times recognise &hatthe

notion of 'liberation' voiced within reformism was not equivalent to the commonsensical

understanding of 'freedom', have not tried to state it explicitly. In most instances, the effort

is to describe the experience of refom as the movement of the "Ordinary Man" fiorn a

condition of constraint to a state in which these are removed."

I
(But, as elaborated in the previous chapter&
-.
notion of swatantryam that had gained
-.

currency in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Keralarn was hked to the

reahsation of a self-reflecting consciousness that could at the same time conform to an ideal

subjectivity. The 'free' Individual when imagined was always and already implicated in

modem collectivity. When one goes through the writing left behind by reformist

movements, one f i n d s an intense concern with farhioning Individdty, even when tlus

activity is described as 'liberating the h d i v i d d - one need only to note the intense debates

over the content of individuality, the specific practices that were found necessary for its

fashioning the lands of institutions that were prescribed for the attainment of this end and

so on, especially marked within Nambutiri reformism. Reform movements may then be

15. op.cit. above, n.2, n.3.

regarded as institutions that sought to fahion Individuals, rather than as forces that

'liberated' a pre-existing Individuality. Fashioning Individuals need not bc taken as the

production of docile subjects; indeed, it implies the conferring of new sorts of agency on

Individuals so fashioned, individuals equipped wilh the capability to effectively operate

within the modem community and the modem public domain. However, this agency should

not be equated with 'f?eedom' in its commoxlsensicd usage (i.e., lack of all sorts of

constraint). Again, treating reform movements as institutions that fashion Individuals does

not mean that they must be conceived of as a sort of machinery, mechanically producing

subjects. Refom-movements do appear to be a h d of 'apparatus' or as a part of one, but

for instance,
they were also indisputably the site of strude about fasluoning. By the 1930'~~

the so-called consematives m n g the Malayala Brahrmns had been completely drawn into

reformist language, speaking in the interest of 'Nambutiris' etc. The disputes that raged

wihn Nambutiri reformism in the 1930's could be read more hutfully as debates about
+,
7c
1
.'!,>
I
'
ty- P:

farhioning Rher th& as e tussle between 'less liberating' snd 'more liberaring' positions.

Even if the reform-movement did function as a sort of machinery, what it was to be, who

was to operate it, how it was to function, under what conditions and h t s it was to work
M..
,$

and a host of other critical matters was constanly at the centre of debate and struggle.
cl

The project of modern community-building that appears at the heart of the reformist

agenda in Keralam was by no means a simple assertion of pre-modern collectivities. The

modem c o m u i t y which reformers set up as their god was distinct in many stnldng ways.
'The formation of the modern cormunity was clearly seen to be dependent upon the

deshction of preexisting forms of howledge and practices found characteristic of the

oIder collectivities. It required that their members be subjects, who participate in the process

of making the community, not those who are simply born into it, or simply get used to its

practices and usages. The rnodem community, further, can be described as a substantial

entity with sets of features idenaed as 'characteristic of? or 'typical to'; it is not, as the pre-

rnodem collectivity, a set of groups interlinked through networks of sharing and

obligahons, arranged in hierarchy, exhibiting a sort of 'family resemblance' in practices,

customs, in the structuring of everyday routine etc., often recopisable as a totality only
C&>\..\. ,
. .
from the outsidei6.Almost w r y a k n - r n o v e k n t in Keralam displayed remarkable xed

16. Sm for instance, Kampayyur S&m Nambuthpad's hcriptim of the murajopm ceremony in
which the pre-modem d x t i v i t y of Malayah Brahmins as a lwse collection of pups, hierarchically
lmked, fiwclearIy. Kanippayur Sankaran Nambutiripad, Enre Snaclramhi Vo1.3, (My Memories)
Kunnamkulam : Panchangom Press, pp.80 -100. The phrase PuratherLku KodukknI (clumsily
translated as 'Giving to Outside'), interestingly, meant both the practice of serving f d to the Nair
-
Adiyar (servant class) after serving first the male memhrs and then the female members of the Illam,
and the practice of marrying off a w o r n from a group of higher up in the hierarchy (say A d d h ~ n )
into a group lower down (say kgmcm), usually, out of h c i a l dificulties. The fbrmer meaning is
given by Kanippayur in Ente Smnrc1nah1 Vol 1, p.32, and the latter by the Ma1a)pnb Manorama,
which published an editorial in 1906, attackmg it as a swiaI evil, causing much pain to families.
Apparently, womm who were thus married off were treated as A w n - members of a group lower on
the hierarchy-den they rehuned to their natal homes cn special masions etc. See, M u h ~ w k
Mamrctma (henceforth, M.M.),Editorial, 'Puraththekku K o d d d h l ' ('Giving to Outsi&3, August 1,
1906. Kanippayur also hints at the lack of a uni&d set of rules governing conduct anwmg the
Nambutiris-he &rs to clash b&ven Merent authorities regarding interprbcn of rules of
penitence etc. An interesting h a of such disagremmt is mationed-here the issue was the
penitence prescribed to a certain Narnbutiri accused of adultery which was kally takm to court in
1877. The cwrt appamtly came to a decision by the argument that the prooedure of trial by o n M
was not ~mnjversal[vaccepted among the Malayala Brahmins. Ente SmaranahI Vol 3, pp. 134-44.
Here one may see how the ridon of the modern CO W
and the tendency of the cornmumy to
(..continued)
 for e n b g internal herarclies and practices that worked to mark distance between groups-

be it Nambutki, Nair or any other. The relations envisaged in tile modem comlmity,

between members and thc collectivity, ideally, were to be different fiom those in the pre-

modem collectivity. Re-formation of the collectivity clearly implied the re-irrlcgration inlo

- - of...
.i,:*it, of the members
+- - > .. +.
a s defuutely targetcd (Ile loose pre-
the collectivity as itldivid~als.'~

modern collectivity in which several groups with 'fanlily rcsenlblance' were interconnected

through networks of obligations and hierarclucd arrangement; but it sought to transfoml tlis
. I .
,P,* ' ,

Here the creation of the individual and

into the intelterndy-hornoge~lisedmodren comm~u~ity.
/

Ihe building of the modern community need not be regarded as opposing tendencies. If the
.!
. , . . ,. . > .+
, , >
9>*9:\.'?.
3 . )

view which regards -vehicles t h ~ u g hwhich forces tlmt release an

already-present lndividuahty are activated is unacceptable, tllis does not automatically

1

endorse a perspective that would regard them as simple efforts at iristitutio~l-buildmg.One

consequence of either acoel r'ng tacitly the comnloo-sense notion of liberati011 or faihig to

scrutitusc it closely is the reiuforce~nentof tile idea that the project u; 'liberation', is

(..continued)
possess ' universally accepted' rules are operative in the court's rubs, and how they are enlployed to
make decisions regarding practice witl1in the prc-rrrodem collectivity. For a l d e r version of tllis
incident see, K.P.Padmanabha M m a Hisfor-of Kerala, C d m : Government of Codin, 1929,
pp.267 - 70.He quotes the eye-wimess account of 0.Chandu M m here.

17. An incident reportod by the M.M in t l ~ e'SwadesbavaRha' (Lacal N m ) column of January 16, 1930
i illustrates this well. This was abut an attempt to form a conunm h t of T a d and Malayah
Brahmins to respond jointly to political issues. Apparently a rneetirlg was called at Kihmcor.
However, the whole effort tuned out to be a nonstarter, with not a single Malapla Brahnin evpn
approaching the venue.
I
somehow 'pure', free of all interest, not entangled in power-politics. Indeed, such

interpretation of Achara Vip/uvunl (Revolution in Observances) has resulted in the

constitution of a modem ~nythologyflourishing around figures like v . ~ . ~ h a t t a t i r i ~ a d . "

? k s is not to devdue the role such figures have played in aikmwt struggles, or to

downplay their personal suffering but merely to remind that the subtle shift involved in

considering them to be hallowe4 exalted beings rather than historical actors, needs to be

cautiously taken, since such adoration often blunts critical and historical perspective. For

example, there is some basis to put forth the hypothesis that the demand for reorganising

power-relations within IIlams was the result of not just the humanistic re o SF of some
h,( net.?
3o w 2 8 3 lsh, ,,,,:-,. .,.,
young Nambutiris to the gross injustices they witnesse+ibut also of the need to cope up I:\"
I
- > .jL\ .
with the breakdown of Patriarchal power in the I l h . In 1905, the Maiayala Manommn Y''*

b r

was warning the Malayala Brahmins of this danger, pointing out that women and thc
t # t,

sewant-class in the Nams were colluding against the men, and that unless Patriarchal power

was reinstituted on s stronger and more modern basis, all would be l ~ s t . ' ~ ~ oafter
o n this

18. The large numbsr of articies appearing m this topic in cantemporary Malaplam journalism aU
participate in tb.Academic perspective on mial reform m o v e m a in the all-hda context has
undergone remarkable change in the r m t years-traces of hero-worship are being steadily erased.
See, for example, the coUectiun of recent essays. Patricia Uberoi (ed.), Socinl reform, Shmraliy and
the Smrt., New Delhi : Sage Publications, 1996.

19. -rial, M.M., 'Smarthavicharathlnu Idavanmatinte K a m g a l ' (The Reasons for Occurrence of
Smarthavicharam), 12 July, 1905.
warning, the sensation-making 'Kuriyedathu Tabit case2' broke out, seemingly confirming

the Mulayala Manorama's warning. Criticisms of the systems of alliance prevalent among

the MalayaJa Brahmins had been voiced much earlier, for example, by the protestant
$
-,. L * tlT 8 I ,.,,

missionaries in the nineteenth century2', but it was this incident that reformer1 would
-1.
refer to as a turning-point in ihek consciousness,something that opened up a new awareness

of the 'condition of the Nambutiris' and the need for orchange within l l l o d . It may be

-
ms was the Smartkavicharam (the ritual* trial of ofiders ofthe norms of sexual mduct among
the Malayala B h s , in which the Antharjanam suspected of such breach was stripped off her
status as Arrthajanam and labelled Sadha~arn-literally,'a h g that makes (the trial) possible1-and
then subjected to a hghly rhalised p d u r e of questiming, and e x m u n i c a t e d If proven guilty.
The Sadhnam could be excommunicated only if she &sed to the breach of conduct, if a
d s i m d d not be extracted, she was returned to the fllam as Antharjanam. Ifproven &, all
the men whom she named as her accomplices in the o e c e would also be exGOmrnunica& along wrth
her without any further enqurry into the tnah of her statements. The exmunicated men, hawever,
were pe- to obtain pampu, wh~chwas a fbrmal permissim to undergo trial by ordeal in order to
prove themselves n& &. This was to be granted by a smarthun, an i m p o m authority in
Smarlhcharam. 'The trial by ordeal could be sought nut only by the exmunicated man but e m
by hs male progeny on his behalf. But this option was nat availabile to the woman. For a h i l e d
account of Smurthavichrum, see, Kanippayur Sankaran Narnbutiripad, Chapter 7, ibid., pp.115-
130.The incidmt mentioned here was the Smarfhavl'ckaramofthe Antharjanam named Tatri (Savitri)
of the lllum called Kuriyedathu, wh~chwured in 1905, which was exceptional in that she narr~ed
s q - f o u r p a m o m , which included scions of the most esteemed and powern families of the
Malayala Brahmm aristocracy. The extraordinary nature of the case prompted the Raja of K& to
aUw a Puntshavlcharam in wh~chthe accused men were allowed to cross+xamine Tatri. But no one
escaped. All svrty-fbur, along wrth Tatri, were excommunicated.

2 1. See, ' Manrmakkathayathalulla Doshangal' (The Disadmtages of Matdm y) in Vidyasanghrahtam

VoI. 1(5), July 1865, pp.347-48. n i s was a magazine published by the CMS missionaries fiom
Kottayam, as the magame ofthe CMS Collese.

22. V.T.Bhattatinpad,Kar~pakam,Thrissur:Best~ks,1988,p.2;Alsos~,InterviewwithV.T.
Bhartatiripad in- I!T-+w Kandethal @iscovering V.Tj, Memathmr, 1984, mducted by D.D.
Nambutiri &.a1 ., aIso see, Kanippayur Sankaran Narnbutiripad, op.cit., n.16, p.117.
remembered that the major -rgamsation that worked for the constitution of the

modern Nambutbi commdty, the Nurnbttfiri Yogakshema Sabha (YKS from now on) was

formed not vexy long after this incidentu. This evidence would not only q u w the

'materialist thesis' regarding the origins of the YKS but also afford a less romantic

conception of the struggle to reconstitute family-relations in Illams. This, of course, would

stroxlgly qua& the veueration of heroic Liberators.

:y. .+
Th~schapter proposes to briefly examine the project of fashioning individuals as it
>-
.- Mrrinuur..L:;
P - a r t ! ( ..!.I ' DL -(tL

was presented within e& twentieth century. nlis

involves an exploration of the way in which 'traditiont comes to be constmcted in reformist

. . . . v- -
self--howledge, as the necessary 'raw material' available for reformist transformatio~l-

which is made in the first section. This argument implies that 'tradition' gets constructed not

by merely assembhg together various elements of the pre-modem social order, but by the

active interpretation of these elements and their interconnections with the help of categories

gven by modern knowledge. Here, two such key images, the 'Nambutiri', and the

'Anthajanamtwhich also figure in transformed fashion in the modem c o m r n ~ t y ,are

studied in some detail. These images may or may not conform to pre-modem social reality,

but it is bcyond doubt h a t they were central to reformist se6knowledge, aid therefore,

crucial in making reformism itself possible. The importance of seK-knowledge in the

23. The Nambutiri Yogabhema Sabha was started in 1908.

project of self-transformation can be hardly underestimated. As early as 1822, we do find

evidence for attempts on the part of the State in Thvitamkoor to put checks upon the high

rates of dowry among the "Nambutjris and Pottis" (which was found to be causing suffering

to Antharjanams, loss of their sexual chastity and prolonging spinsterhood among them).u

The importance of seE-knowledge seems to be that such measures on the part of the State

could have some effect only when a new awareness of their 'condition' was produced and

actively circulated among these groups themselves.

The project of fashioning Individuals (and the modem Co~nmunity)stressed the need

for instituting new practices that would be useful for the . But what

these were to be, what institutions would serve to establish these, and a host of other

questions were intensely debated in reformist circles--even the nature of the ideal form of

socid ordering according to whch the modern community was to be organised was a matter

of debate. But stdandy, amidst these differences, there was the common acceptance of the

need for a non-reciprocal relation of power between the Reformer and those who were to be
> 6 t-, : < .<
24. A Royal Proclamation issued in 1822-23 A.
y- arkadahm 3 1, (July-August), 1998 M.E. in the name
of F?.aru P a d Bhayi expressly criticised &high rats of dowry among 'Warnbutiris and Pottist',
observing that the Bruhmasvom endowments granted to the Malayala Brahmins were being alienated
as a result of this. It fixed the rate of dowry at a maximum of 700 Kaliym Panam per marriage, and
ordered that grfs of these groups must be wedded between the ages of ten and fourteen. Further, it
ordered that all unmarried young women of these groups above fourten years of age must be given ,

away in marriage within two years @om the date of the proclamation. This procIamation has been
reprirxted in Kkhkke Madathil Govindan Nair and Dr.B.Pushpa,Chan'kathinte Aeduhl(988-1022),
Thiruvananthapuram, 1992, pp. 18 1-82.
 refol-med. And this relation was most intensely exemplified in the relation posited between

the Narnbut3i- Man as Reformer and the AntharJanams whom he was to reform.

. Serf-Knowledge

The transformation of the MalayaIa Brahmins into a modern community fully

capable of operating within the political, socio-economic and cultural institutions of modern

society was unquestionably an item that figured kigh up on the agenda of 'Nambutiri

refom'. The means towards achieving this end were also clearly identified-the fashioning

of the Individual. The Nambutiti Kuhunba (Farmly) Regdation Committee stated this in
I

unequivocal terms:

"...But the true and permanent well-being of the community d a not depend upon the
promulgation of royal legislation. Members of the community must reaIise that it rnamly
depends upm the abilities of each individual and act accordingly... The corn* wdl be
truly blessed only when such howledgeable and open-minded indviduals become
TOUS US."^^

The modern 'Nambutirf community was to be a collectivity that would be built and

maintained through 'positive'efforts of Individuals. But this did not involve the dismissal of

25 The Nambuti~Kuhrmba (Family) Regarlnrion Commitfee Report and Draft Regulation, Thrissur :
Mangaldayam, 1925, pp.92193.
the older collectivity in total@. Rather, what was envisaged was a Re-fbrmarion--the

uansfomation of those who bclonged to the older collectivity into hdiviuals duough which

a community organised on modem lines would be created.

The agenda of self-kmsformation meant that reformisnl was intensely concerned

with looking 'inwards' into the existing collectivity and the individuals comprising it. This

self-inspection produced a large body of knowledge that claimed to represent the truth about

26 Dismissal of identities given in the older order, a o l l y or partially,for new ma, buth secular and
relqyous, was a h i i i a r stmtqgy in Keralam by the 1930's.A section of the Pulayas under the
leadership of John J o q h Pampady adopted the name Cheramar to denote a new colfdvlty they
hmed; in 191 8,Parayas petaimed the Maharajah of T i r u v h d m r to allow them to change their
name to krnbavar (T.M.P.Chentarashery, A y j w h I i , Thiruvammbpum: Prabhatam Publicatians,
1989,p.126; C . A b h y u , A-mkali, Thhvanarrthapuram: Dqt. ofCuhra1 Publications, Govt. of
Kerala, 1990, p.216.). In KO&, Pan& K.P. Kanrppan s@ the surname ohemran for the
members of A r q a aommunity, befbre, a member ofthe Araya comrnmrty, Dr.Vdukutty, had called
-
himself 'Velukkutty Arayan' see, Ethrmanwr Gopalan, Daver Ennu Karmadheeran (Biography of
P.K.Dewer), Kochi: Dewer Smaraka Samiti, 1993, pp.14-15. In a pamphlet written in 1920,
Sahodaran K.Ayyppan questioned M a v a reformers thus: "Is it enough to remain Ezhans for all
times? Our Swami (Sree N a r w m Gum)has been advising us to abandon the narraw pride of beiig
Ezhava, and embrace the sacred and noble pride of being 'human"'. (Sahodaran K.Ayyappan Jati '

Vyatyasam'(1920) CCa*Di£Feren&, reprinted in M.K. Sanm, Snhodaran A p p p a n , Kotbylun:

D.C.Books,1989). In the wake of nationalism, individuaI activists were giving up local names for
'universal ones': Kunhappa Nambiar became 'K.A.Keraleeyant,V i u Nambisan became ' V i u
Bharateeyan' (K.C;opalan Kutty, 'lle Civil Disobedience Movement in Malabar' Indian Economic
and Social H i s t o ~Reuiew, VoI.26(4), October-December 1989, p.461). Several new religous
-
identities also emerged in such rejection of established ones one may remember the reviva! of
Buddhism in Malabar among Tiyyas by reformers like C.Krishnan. Also miportant is the emergence
of nm religious sects Eke the Praryaksha liaksha Daivu S a b h (Society of the God of Immedtatc
Salvation) -red around the remarkable figure of Pokayd Yohannan, later called Shree Kumara
Gum Devan, WtHch attmcted the untouchable Jan's (See,Vijayan IKangaha, Shree Kumara Guru
d~p?Jeemckin'rrasanghraham (A Condensed Biography), Thrissur, 1978; Shreekumaru
Gzimdevnn, Katayarn: Shree Kumara Dharma Sarnajam, 19 8 3 For a m t study of the Jbbha, see,
P.Sanal Mohan, 'Religion, Social Space and Idartity: Construction of Boundary in Colonial KeraIarn',
Paper presented at, the Conference of Subahrn fisbrians, January 3-8, 1998, at Giri Institute of
Development Studies, Lucknow.
the nature of the collectivity and those who belonged to it. The author of a text titled

Vnlkkunnady (Hand-Mirror) claimed:

"This hand-mirror has been craRed to reflea some of the figures that inhabit that hetl, the
Anthoppurum (innerquarters) fi only f i r ghosts. This mirror wdl reflect images mly vaguely
due to the inadequacy of the materials used to make it and the ineBcienq of the craftsman
who made it; only that whatever gets reflectedin it is true. h any case, I hope that h s will aid
Anthajanams to perceive themseIves and gain self-~onsciousness, much more than that faded
piece of b- to be fwnd t&y in ~nrhcrp~rrrams".~'

Tlle Valkkantzady that is to be rejected is not really a mirror at all, but a piece of

bronze; where as the newly-fashioned Valkkunnudy recommended by the author promises

.--'
insight. This looking most ofien revealed lacks, defects, lack of the abiliy to

produce and conserve wealth, lack of freedom and so on. Through such insight such famiiiar
I

figures as the stubborn an& unreflective 'elder', the passive, suffering Antharjanam, the dull,

lazy and ineffective youth came to represent aspects of contemporary reality of Narnbutiri

Iife :

"Quarter of a century back, the Nambutiris' condition was quite pathetic. In those days, the
Nambutiri community was dozing on the couch of evil aristocracy within tllat gradually-
degenerating mansion of the older order. The community possessed virtually nothing for the
attainment of success in w o d y Me. The Nambutiri had no idea what modern education or an
honourable l i w t e was. He grew up with absolutely no thought about I&. The Narnbutiri
had no thought of community or nation...... h short the Narnbutin comunrty of those days
was Ned with young men lacking education and responsibilrty, elders who were adamant and

27 M.R. Bhattatiripad, Volkkcrnmdy (1930) (Hand-Muror),Thnssur: Manplodayam, 1963, pp. 13-14.

 cx~lsemve,and Antharjanams who lacked freedom and

But obtaining a disnal picture of the self through introspection did not necessarily

lead on to rejecting it--rather, it was recommended that one must try to correct it, to up

gaps, remedy Iacks. The existing collectivity would, then, be transformed; it would not

wither away. Obtaining insight, therefore, was crucial in reforming and widely accepted as

such. A major part of reformist writings were dedicated to this project--of exploring the
' !hi
current state of affairs in the co~ectivel:, discovering a past for if making general
/

assessment of the preparedness of the members for modem life and so on.

"lt is of scarce doubt that ifa corn* is to be led towards a glorious future, its past and
presmt must be known.h e may charaderise those &rts to reform society nd based upan
accurate howledge of the past and the present of the c o m m m as smdar to the hrtless
exercise oftrying to build fbrts in the sky".29

Numerous articles that appeared in the Yogakshemam and the Unny Nambuliri,

speeches that were made in the innumerable meetings of the YKS, Narnbutiri Ywa Juna

Sanghorn (Nambutin Youth League) and other for% compilations o f articles brought out

under the auspices of the YKS etc., addressed the need to provide such bowledge. It was

dsseminated through a wide variety of media including fiction, poetry, songs and plays.

28 M.R.Bhattatiripad, ' Kaal Noottanrlmdil' (Within Quarter Century), Marhrubhurni Annual Number,
1936, p.51.

29. Paray1 Raman Nambutiri {ed) Nambutirimar me Nambutiris), Thrissur : l'agakshemam

Vayanasala (Library), 1 9 I 7, p.I .
 But, as already hinted above, this involved not just neutral, objective and value-fi-ee

description, though reformers often made this claim. First of all, one needs to consider that

only when liberal ideas, filtered through English sources (that were already in circulation in

the late nineteenth century in Keralam) were accepted as necessary for knowing oneself and

the world by sections of Malayala Brahmins did reformist zeal and self-howledge begin to

accumulate. Kanippayur Sankaran Nambutiripad remembers that in the first decade of the

twentieth centmy when the 'Kuriyedathu Tatri' case broke out, the newspapers were

vociferous in their criticisrrl of such practices as the Snrarthuviuharam, interpretirig it as

evidence of the breakdown of Pam'archal power, and the moraiity that accompanied it."

Kanippayur remembers that the majority of Malayala B r d m h s who were little E d a s

with the newspapers, and almost totally isolated from what ckculated 111 local society as

'Western hardly touched by it." it is quite possible to t l d that these

sections interpreted Srnarhvicharam quite Werently . For the Smarthavicharanz was also

a procedure of 'purification' which restored to the Illmn an 'original purity', lost in the

sexual misconduct of its members, to be regained by either punishing the transgressors, or

30. ? l ~ Malapla
e Manorama covered the case in detail in a series of reports from June 1905 until mid -
1906. Kanippayur Sankaran Nambutiripad in his Enle Stnoranaka2 also rnmtions the Mitavadi's
comments, op.cit., n.20,p. 1 16.

3 1. K.Sankaran Nambutirilu I, Ente Smoranakal (MyMe~nories),Vo1.3, ibid., above, pp. 1 16-1 17. For a
detailed account of Smarthmichnram as it was practised in the early twentieth cmfury in Malabar,
sm, C .A. Innes and F.B. Evans (eds.), Madras District Gazetteers: Malabar (1908), Madras : Govt.
Press, 195 1, pp.383-84.
acquitting the Antharjanam. Far from signifying a lack a failing or a state of decadence (as

it did to the newspapers), the successfd conclusion of the Smarrhavicharam could dearly

sipfy the good health of the mechamisms of regulating sexual conduct among the Malayala

3 2 ~ t e rreformism
~rahmins. , would more or less accept the newspapas' interpretation,

though seeking to reinterpret the simcance of Tatri's action. 'Western Knowledge' was

openly aclolowleged as indispensible in the generation of insight: "There is no other way

than to allow the Western sun to reflect from your minor of knowledge by cleansing it of

the dirt of superstition accumulated since ancient times, using the water of ~ o r n ~ a s s i o o " ~ ~ .

What is involved here is not simply a project of rendering transparent the harsh

reahties of life within Illams, but also actively interpreting it in order to jurfifi ihe .needfor

intervention by modern-impired reformers. %s is probably most evident in the reformist

revelations of the harsh regimen that Antharjanams had to follow and the near-total

32 V.T.Bhattatiripad m h e d this pmsib~lrtyin a fictional reration of a mversation between antt-

reformist Nambutiris. In this conversatian, the Raja of Kwhi who ~andudedthe vicharam is bailed as
the g u a b of dhurm, sa&guararding the health of pre-reform Nambutiri power, and its internal
mechanisms of regulation. One participant, arguing that times were adverse for the Nambutiris, points
out that th~sRaja alone tried to set the exampb of "earlierKings": "Hewas a shudy-minded man. It
was he who conducted the Smurtbcharana of that W h m m from Ktrriyedathu. It was his
courage that made it possible to ostracise all the sixty-five that slut named." The Raja of Kochi
emerges as a "hrmaraja" in the "age of Kali". Here the authority that would &vely turn
Smarthawcharam into an instrument for ousting transgressors of norms of canduct is recognised as
the saviour ofthe comrnunrty (V.T.Bhatiatiripad,Karmwpkam, op .tit., 11.22,pp. 198-99).

33 Edappally Narayana Raja, 'Sarnayathinte Vila' (The Value of Time), in V.S. Narayanan Nambutiri
(Compiler), Sc!mu&wbodhamm (htmcting the Corm-), Thrissur: EdappaUy Yogakshema
Upasabha, 1916, p.66.
dorninatio~lof men over women in Illams. It was as if the revelation of the Antharjanams'

restricted existence automatically required that they be projected as passive victims, meekly

submitting to male oppression, who would definitely end up in silent and unrelenting

suffering without help horn (male) reformers. It was as though one could not think of

reforming the Anthqanam without &st projecting her as a victun who could not help

herself. In the following passage, put by a reformist author into the mouths of

'Antharjanams', this surfaces fairly clearly:

"We are helpless. There is no one who sees or hears our w m . We do not even have the
W o r n to complain. If we speak out the truth, even our husbands and &hers get angry....
h a n g us there is no me who does not &r as maidens, h w , widows or as wives of
old men. We are prepared to do any amount of work in the kitchen, to toil without rest from
daybreak till ten at night. All t h s e are our regular duties. Ifonly we were lucky enough to see
that there is someone who Loves ushW I

Antharjanams are then made to entreat women of other castes not to accept

Nambutiris as husbands:..." we are watching diligently for the results of your land efforts.

Save us! Save us!t'35

This also required that any sign of subversive action on the part of AntharJanams be

34 Patirishery Narayanan Nambutiri, 'Anthajanangalum Bandhusamudaya Streekalum' (Anthajanarns

and Women of Related Castes), Unny Numbutiri Vo1.9(3), 1933, pp .201 -202.

35 ibid., above, p.202.

rejected as misguided and undesirable. In the famous reformist play ~ i l u m a f ? ~the
,

rebellious Devaki puts up s t i E resistance to her family's efforts to reintegcate her into the

Illam. Detained in her own Illam, she appeals to her reformist cousin to lead her out of her

home, explicitly opting not to leave on her own: "If 1 leave like that, what fate will befall

me?... Who d grant me refuge? Will I not have to live among strangers, like Uma

~ehn?"'~.The reference to 'Urna Behn' is sigdicant. This was the name of Uma Devi

Naripettq who, according to V.T.Bhat&atiripadfsversion of her s t o d 8 discarded her

identity as Antharjanam, taking several lovers, and W y marrying a workng-class,

unlettered Muslim. Devakg then, must not follow U r n Devi's example; she must wait for a

reformer to lead her out into W o d o o d . Thls is also evident in reformist recreations of
Kuriyedathu Tatri's story in which the effort is to 'explain' her acts. "But I do not treat this
I

as merely the story of a fallen woman", wrote Lalitambika Antharjanam about her recreation

of Kuriyedathu Taws story in her shortstmy Pratikaradevaia (Goddess of Revenge),

"rather, I view the event and h s individual as the harbinger of the revolution that was

activated in the community later on".39In this text, and also in much later versions, such as

36 M.P.Bhattatiripad,&hrmah'(1944), Thrissur: Current Books, 1991. Inciddy, this was a play wntm
with the conviction that ''women should struggle for heir own M o m , no one else wdl"(pr&ce).

37 ibid., above, pp.75-76.

38 V.T. Bhaffatiripad, K b r m p a k a m , op.cit., n.22,pp.284-96.

39 N . h h a m b h Anthajanam, Inrpafuvarshathinu Shesham ( f i r Twenty Years), Katbyam: SPSS,

1952, p.7.
 Tatri's act is indeed reinterpreted as an act of subversion
Madampu Kunhikunan's ~hrnrht:'"~

against rnale oppression and not simply as excessive self-indulgence--however,such acts are

no longer to be emdated since the alternative of refonn is available. Indeed it is

ur~equivocallyargued that to prefer such acts of subversion instead of the reformist

alternative would not be acceptable at all--as is evident in V.T's retelling of the story of Uma

Devi Naripetta. In both Pratikar~devaiaand Bhrashi the seemingly recalcitrant figure of

Kuriyedathu Tatri is ultimately subjugated to the figure of Antharjanam-as-victim, She is

portrayed as the famila htharjanam--young, innocent, docile, passive--who came to

undertake desperate acts of revenge. In Bhrashi, the kansgressor leaves the job of fighting

injustice towards women among the Malayda Brahmins to young male refomlexs,

acknowledging her act to be undesi~able.~In Praiikaradevata too, Tatri condemnsiherself

as a 'sinner1beyond any hope of sal~ation.'~

lnterestindy, in many texts that relate the oppression of Anthajanarns, especially

literary texts, there appear female figures who are not passive at all, and in fact wield

considerable influence--quarrelsome co-wives who manage to dorninate their husbands,

domineering, conservative Anthaganarns hell-bent upon oppressing daughters or daughters-

40 MadampuK~,Bhrasht,Kottayam:SPSS,1991.

41 ibid., above, p. 185.

42 op.cit., n.39,p.41.
in-law. But these figures too must be reintupreted as ignorant collaborators who ensurc

their own slavery (interestingly, the undesirable Uma Behn is fiuther faulted for having been

a dominating co-wrfe, in V.T's story).43

In self-rcpresentatio~lsby AnAntharJanarns one does find, very often, the figure of the

passive Antharjanam accompanying statements about the oppressive structures that resixkt

them. Speaking at the Shree Mulam Assembly in 1937, Member K. Devaki Anthqanam

evoked the &en familiar picture of Antharjanarns thus:

"Most Anthajanams observe ghosha @urdha). They have eyes but are prdubrted from
mjoymg p l m sights. They have legs but their movement is circumscribed. Their state is
quite like that of household utensils.... In short the Anthaganam is a jailed creature.
Antha janarns are constarrtty policed; they are not permitted to b&e k&air, to see the
world. An htharjanam is born crymg, lives her &I in tears and dies weeping....'* 1

Also important is the fact that the representauon of the 'Nambutiri', 'Anthajanam'or

of life w i t h li/ams perpetuated in and through self-knowledge was indebted to depictions

that pre-dpted Nambutiri reformism. In earlier accounts by Europeans the 'Nambutiris'

appear mysterious and ahen, even threatening to the Western eye.45But towards the close

44 Spd~byK.De~kiAnthajanamintheShreeMuhmP4ssembly,26July,1937,J'roccudingsofrhc
Shrce Mulam Assembly Vol.10, 1938, pp.214-15.

45 A b u t the 'Bramen=' of Calicut, h a r k B a r b a s wrote early in the 16' century, " n ~ e y

believe atld
respect many truths, yet do n& tell them" @uarate Barbossa, i%e Land of Malabar, Source Series
No.1, The M a h g of M d e m Kerahq Kattayam: School of Social Sciences, MGU, 1991, p.35).
(..continued)
of the nineteenth century this arrogant, inscrutable, oppressive-lmking figure was being

increasingly accompanied with or even replaced by other sorts of characterisation. I'he

'Narnbutiri' was still an oppressive figure, an impediment to the well-being of others, a

squanderer and parasite, R e b h g the Tiruvitamkoor Sarkar, the missionary Samuel Mateer

wrote thus:

"As it is crowds of sensual and dissolute Brahrmns are maintained in idleness, their
intelll~echxaland manual labour is last to the community and they are enmuraged to continue to
regard themselves as quite a f i r a t species of man from the mched down-troddm low-
caste population".46

By the early twentieth century, the modem-educated sections of local society had

begun to share this criticism. "They are the lords of the soil," wrote T.K.Gopd Pmkkar
/

about the 'Nambutiris',

..."passessing large powers of oppression and dominat~onover the labouring classes, the
N a k .... their social liberties are circumscribed by the opprobrious jhtemtion of a priestly

(..continued)
?Tus distancing of the Nambudiris drew severe criticism from Europeans in the 19' century,
particularly from rnissionari~like Samuel h r . "Arrogantand oppressive, vindictive and cruel",
wrote Francis Day, "these Brahmins will turn aside than tread on a worm or on any other insea, but
wdI think the murder of a sIave no crime, should he provoke his death by too near an approach to me
of his b i g d race...." (Francis Day, lhe Lcrnd of the Perurnis- Its Pasf d Its Present (1863), New
Deh:AES, 1990, p.306). Here the Narnb- are nut fbund to ti devoid of respect for,&I but those
who scrupulously avoid wilful destruction of minor &-forms wdI give no ccmcession to human liW
which, to Day, seemed the hghst firm of l&. Such behaviour seemed quite alien to -rn noticals
of mercy, compassian, humanity and so on,and the ' N a r n b W were easily cast as 'ifihuman'.

46 Rev.Samue1 b r , The Land of Ckariiy:A Rescfipiive Account of Travancore a d its People

(1870), N.DeIhi: Asia Educational Services, 1991, p. 183.
 class who have ever-remained an obstructtve elemat in their national em~rnn~".~'

But by this time, th~sfigure was becoming less distant; its distancing was becoming

less fear-inspiring. Increasingly, 'Nambutiris' came to figure as 'simpletons', benign folk

bewildered by the rush of progress, and therefore 'backward'. Rendered passive, they

seemed to deserve more of persuasion and sympathy. "Considering all these factors" wrote

the &rani Deepika in 1906, (the 'factors' mentioned prominently included their lack of

En@& education) "it must be pointed out that the Nambutiris will fall a step below lower

classes like the purayas and pulcps. Hence they must be given precedence among the

Educationally Backward classes:.."48 The MaIqaIa Manomma too found it necessary to

persuade the NambutLis, and opted to tolerate their resm?menttowards well-meant advice,

on the grounds that this was a result of their 'simplicity': "Our experience has shown,that

their simple-mindedness can be such that they might make such interpretation"(ie., that the

M a l q d a Manomma's advice was intended to spite them).49in his report on the Census of

Travancore of 189 1, V.Nagam Aiya wrote thus about the 'Nambutiris':

"The Nambutiri's hospitality and chanty are proverbial (and the Bmhmin grresr) .... is most

47 T.K. Gopal Panikkar, Malabar and its Pblk (1900)),New Deh: AES, Reprint, 1983, pp. 1 1-12 .

48 Nazrani Deepika, 'Nambutimrude Vidyabhpsasthiti' me Condhm of Education of the

Nmbutiris'), b b e r 5,1906.

49 -rial, 'Malayala-Brahmanarude A d h u n I k a W me Modem Condition of Malapla Brahmms),

M.M, July 19, 1905.
 h d y treatad, and inspite ofthe uncouth manners and queer conversatian h c h he may meet
wah, he is certain to a n y away the ha piest recollections of the Illom .... They are simple,
JB
innocent, unobtrusive and unassuming.

Contemporary ethnograpluc work, too, made use of th~sattributed 'simplicity' to

interpret Malayala Brahmins--this was best exemphfieied in Edgar Thurston'sinterpretatiion of

the belief atmbuted to the Nambutiris that "Europeans have tails" as evidence for their

'simplicity'.5'It is interesting to observe that h s attribution of animal q h t i e s to Europeans

is not interpreted as a kind of 'Mering'. In fact, the 'Othering' of the Europeans appears all

the more clearly in a story a ~ b u t e dto the Narnbutiris in which the 'origin' of Britain is

narrated and the British are identified to be the me descendents of the monkey-atmy of the

. ~ ' late nineteenth cenhuy Malayah novels, the 'Nambutiri'is

~ ~ ~ r n ~ a n aInm many
I

50 V. Nagam Aya, Report on the Censzu of Travancore Vol, 1, 1891, pp.686-88. Writing in 188 1-'82
about the Murajayam, the =sim in which large numbers of Mala'%la Brahmins were accorded
lavish hwpitatalrty at the Padmanabha Swamy temple, in kmmnthapuam, Nagam Aiya
c o m t e d upon the 'Nambutiris', depicting them as a strange mixhire of discipline and excess,
innocence and cunning, ignorance and scholarship. Here the 'Narnbutiri' appears an alien breed, but no
more fear-inspiring, indeal, as a strange species that need not be feared, m e that may be obsenwd.
Quoted in Nagam A i p : A Biographical Sketch by 'An Old School-Fellow and Friend',
Thiruwthapurarn: Kernlabyam Press, 1911. It is hk&r~g to nate that even mditimnl
cerernonles like the Mzrrnjapnm were by now massions for collecting infbrmation, not just modem
Censuses.

51 E. Thurston and R.Rangabri, Castes and Tribes of Southern lndia Vo1.V (1909), New Delhi: AES,
1987, pp. 15960.For other accounts of the Nambutids anachr-c nature, see, F. Fawceq 'Notes
on Some of the People of Malabar', Madras GovernmentMuseum Bulletin Vo1.3(I), 1990, p.85; L.K.
Ananthahshna lyer, Cochin Tribes and Caste Vol.LI@}, London, 1909 - 1912, p.288.

52 T.K. Gopal Panikkar, op.cit., n.47,pp.69-70.Now, whether this story was really the product of the
Narnbutiris' 'Otharing' of Europeans is n d confirmable. The same belief (that Europeans have tails)
was attributed to the Nairs of North Malabar by Francis Buchanan in the early 19'cent~. See, F.
Buchanan, A Journey from Madras Through Mysure, Camra and M.labar (1807) Vol.1, New
(..continued)
 L
inevitabily pitted against the ideal Man almost feature by feature. In ~ndulekha" for

instance, the figures of Kesavan Nambutiri who insists upon understanding the white man's

powers in his terms--as the result of magic--and of Soov Narnbutiripad, the woman-chasing

simpleton whose gestures of courtship appear beastly to the thoroughly-modern heroine, are

but versions of the Nambutiri-as-@ble simpleton. Even the malevolent Kuberan

Nambutiripad of ~ a m a t i v i ~ ' q y a ~turns

n ~ ' out to be a fearful and gulhble character when

confYonted by modern legal machinery. In Indulekha, Madhavan, the hero, and Soory

Nmbutiripad, form several pairs of contrasts. Madhavan's merit lies in his personal .
qualities and achievements, Soory's, in his birth and inherited wealth alone; Madhavan has
r

-.r
7
the capacity to e on his o through government service, Soory has to depend on the
-1(
labour of others; Madhavan is equally at home with what are specfied as 'Western' and
1

'traditional' knowledgees, Somy knows nothing; Madhavan is capable of Love, Soory knows

only lust. Nambutiri reformers later openly acknowledged their debt to such depictions

preceding reformism among the Malayala-Brahs. V.T. Bhattatiripad, in a speech,

remarked:

(..continued)
Deh: AES, 1988, p.5 14. For mother version ofthe story ofthe 'origd ofthe Europeans, See K.P.S.
Menon, Allnakatka, KWyam: SPSS,1971, p.64.

53 O.ChanduMenon, Indulekhu (1889),Kottayam: D.C. Books, 1991.

54 Potheri Kunhambu, Saraswativijayam (1 8921, Reprinted in Dr P.V.G. Irumbayam (ed.), Nalu
Nuwlt~kal,Thrissur : Kerala Sahrtp Akademi, 1985.
 "ChanduMenm wrae the novel Indulekha. Marumakkatky (those groups acknowiedgng
mafn'liy)women tmk it to their hearts. We m the other hand became painfully and angnly
aware of our grandfatheh- that Swry Nambutiri's-idiocy and lecherousnas"''.

The image of the suffering Antharjanam, too, predated reformism. "The condition of
b=i'
\q?lb
the Nambutiris being thus," remarked the Nazrani &epikq( "that of their females requires
,
little narration. To be born female i~the Uams of Nambutiris where even sunlight docs not

fall properly is itself hellti.56 In Indulekha the Anthajanam figures precisely as what should

not be accepted as the model for the self-transformation of women.57Sar~zswa~ivijqum

too

narrates the story of the passive, good-hearted, gentle, innocent, voiceless, all-suffering
3
Anwanam (guarded with "Moslem jealousy", wrote Nagam Aiya in the ~ a n u o pwould
?
grow in enormous proportions w i t h reformism, quite outdoing the image of the Nambutiri

in its ability to legitimate

However, this image received a sharp jolt with the Kuriyedathu Tatri case in which a

figure unrepentantly 'sinfd, calculating ruthlessly bold and outspoken, who could-argue

55 V.T. Bhathhipad, S p e d titled ' Punarvivaham Athava Vidhanvinham' ( R m m r k g e or Widow-

marriage), Appended to K u r m p a k a m , op-ch.,11.22,p.345.

56 Nmrani&epika.op.cif.,n.%rf~

58 V.Nagarn Aya, Tmvancore State Manual Vo1.U (19061,New Deb:AES, 1989, p .272,
59 Such importance was gmted to this itsm in the agenda of Nambutiri dormism that to ather observers
sometimes it &S as if the sipficance of this movement lay mainly in this. See, C.J. nomas,
'Nambutkhre Pattif (About the Nambutiris), Dhihrfyude Ltal, Koctayam: SPSS, 1960, p.8.
"Like a banister" and defeat her opponents, seemed to take the f i o n t ~ t a ~The
e . ~Malayola
~

Manoruma felt obliged to explain :

"In earlier times, human beings were much less crooked and false. In those times if
Antharjanams happened to commit some folly OUI of f o o ~ e s or s innocence, they would
readily confess..... they had no intention of delikrately de&g anyme. The Anthajanams
these days must be smocrth operatars."61
subjectd to s m r ~ h c h a r u m

It is not really surprising to see that the image of Kwiyedathu Tati would continue to haunt

the reformers for a very long time.62

Sometimes the lacks and failings that were pointed out in self-howledge were

interpreted as the lack of gender. The inability of the Narnbutiris to engage in productive

activities or acquire the skills necessaty far modern politicid and cultural life was sometimes
I

60. M.M., Report on Sinarthavicharam, 22 July, 1906.

6 1. MM.,
ibid.

62. 'An interesting analysis of refohst retellings of the story of Tatn is to be found in K.M. Savitri Devi,
'Kuladayaya DeMta: Kuriyedathu Tatriyude Avatarangal' ( G d h s who is a Whore: The
Incarnations of Kuriyedathu Tatri), in Kerab PadknmngaI~),Forthmrning. She analyses three
retellings-the M a w l a Manoram's; Labmbika Antha janam's Pt-atikaradevuta and Madampu's
Rhrasht. Besides it is interesting to note that V.T.Bhaimripad upheld the reformist reading, arguing
that if only Tatri had been permiwl to wed a suitable man of her choice, she would have nat taken
such a path (V.T.BLattatiripad, 'Kuriyedathu Tntn h a Sadhanam'me 1Sbdhnam called
Kuripdathu Tatri), Appmded to M GoM'ndante Kmifakal Vol Il (Poems by M.Gwindan),
Changanashery: Renjinla Publications, 1989). Other than the stridy reformist versions there are
others that lmk Tat& a d to a 'lugher purpose' Ilke M.Govindan's poem 'Oru Koodiyaththinte Katha'
(The Story of a Koodyattom) (ibid., above, pp .171-2 15). See also hs a&cle 'Kalayum Kamawm'
(Art and Bodily Desire), appmded to ibid. K.M.Savitri Devi (ibid.), mentims that the story of Tatn'
circulated in Illam by word of mouth, and that it served as a waning to Antharjanams, indicating to
them what they should not be.
 IN J ,-..(
openly read as the lack of 'Manliness'; similarly, the lacks iden&6ed in AntharJanams 4
read as the lack of 'Womanliness'. in the proposals put forth rega.rding the reformation of

the collectivity along modem lines, often it was implicitly accepted that one lud to acquire a

gender in order to be an individual; that one's had to be developed. [n

one of the most famous of all reformist plays in Malayalam, Adrrkkalqyil Ninttu

Arangalhekkzt (From the Kitchen to the Frontstage), the lack of Manhess emerges as b

crucial in the hero Madhavan's self-appraisal:

"Am I n a a Man? Can I not earn my keep through labour, like others? 1 d e b l y can .. ..Yes,
I haw decided to learn some English, mme what may....I must certady get to h o w what the
sky,and what the earth is."Q

Similarly, Antharjanms were to be bansformed into Women-capable domestic

managers, Reproducers-efficient organism of heir spec& domain, the domestic. Implicit

in this was the recognition that Anthqanams in the pre-refom order lacked Womanliness.

An author in the Unny Narnbutiri recommended,

" .....Gve them an education capable of makmg them ordinary women, of making them human
beings! Let them also -me women! Human beings! Let the community prosper! "@

63. V.T. Bhattatinpad, AduWcaJayrl Ninnu Arangathekku, (19301, (From the W e n to the F-ge),
K a y a m : D.C. Books, 1994, pp.22-23.

64. Mwthinngode Bhntrrttan Nambutiripad, 'Nambutiri S1-' (Nambutiri-Women), Unny

Nambuhri Vol 9 (2), 1933, p. 157.
 Yet, precisely because of the amibution of qualities like innocence, piety, patience
PV r w a t
! I : \ ,

X
and chastity to them, they seemed sometimes much better candidates for Womanhood t h q

say, womer. of the

I

'looking inward, to iden* one's shength and wealmesses so as to enable self-

transformation was a widely-acknowledged need within Nambutiri reformism. Its

importance was perceived to be such that efforts to fashion Individuals and a refomled

community that was thoroughly-modem through them, were considered fitless if not

guided by such insight. ~evolvi& around the collectivity of 'Nambutkist, reformist self-

howledge helped to set up the Narnbutiri-Man and more controversially, perhaps, the

Antharjanam-Woman, as the h d goals of reformism-as we shall see, in the proposals

regarding self-correction that were put forward within Narnbutiri reformism.

65. Ihis way d charamrising Antharja~msis kmd to be carried over na ooly into reformist hrature,
such as MmUurin@s Aphonre Mahl (1932) (Uncle's Daughter) ('Thssur: Kerala Sahhqa
Aka&, 1989), but also in depictims of Amharjsnams in t e a like P.K. Kocheapan Tankan's
BaIikasac2amm (1922), Thnssur: Kerala S a w Akademi, 1993, in whirh the young Anthqawn
who a q u k mdem education and mys of lit%repmsms pun, ideal Womanhood, s q l y purified
and perkckd by d m edudon .
Self-Correction
?
a/ ( i\"A '
,%<

Nambutiri reformism was by no means homogenous as far as proposal3 were

% 9

x'
concerned, In the various proposals regarding e-form (found not only in the list of concrete

suggestions discussed in the YKS meetmgs but also in reformist speeches, articles in

reformist publications,-ew~in reformist literature or theatre) we do fTnd differing even

opposing positions. Such Merences have sometimes been characterised, for example, as a

'liberal-radical' conflict.66 in this section the attempt is indeed to demonstrate the variety of

positions that were raised within Nambutki reformism dhowever, there is no claim that this

is an exhaustive account. But since it is not possible to make detailed enquiries into the self-

claims reformers made about the political orientation of the various proposals here, the .use

of terms like 'radical', 'liberal' etc, wiU be eschewed. Instead, in order to demonstrate both

the difference and the sharing between them, we have prefemd to focus upon certain

spclfic ones. It is hoped that this will help to sllift attention away fiom the correchess or

inc~mctnessof political labels fastened on to reformist proposals and bring into light the

speclfic ways in which they conceive of the re-formed collectivity and the measures by

which it was to be realised.

66. For an account of the &ct between ffctions characterised in this way, see. V.T. Bhattatiripad,
Karmctvipaknm, op.cit.,n.22, pp. 18 1-83. The editorial of the Keson', plrblished in December 1933
nukes use of this h m e of reference, Appendiq ibid., pp.36042. Here we use the term 'Re-form' to
denote the ideal vision that is projected in reformist proposals. %P - ..
r Q c
- 4 ,

\ -,
>?'
- I - r
I '. . 7.
I

1' LvIFi.
1 , .
'C " L T < ;
(*. 1 1
. , :L\ l 2

G , , . I r h t l
 It i s possible to regard all these proposals as fomdations of the means of self-

correction of thc 'Nambutiris'. First, all of thcse share a minimum degree of acceptance of

the presence of a 'Nambuthi community' as a substantial entity, with a certain unified past

and present. Each of these accept to lesser or greater degree the history of the 'glorious past'
.,- 1. . 7 ( - c " 4 .Iy ~*&,+,d<,,.),'x; r , >
1 ?

5 r
Q $?.+
- 0 > 5.;
>> , - \'%+ -\,'a. ,J.

of the Narnbutiri*, as well as the evaluation of the present as a period of decline. Secondly,
r
all these accept, in various degrees, die need for self-correction. Thirdly, they all accept the

necessity of human intervention for Re-form to be actualised. However, if such

commonalrty may be found, equally or even more importantly, there are Werences

between them. For example, even when each of these proposals or sets of suggestions

accepted the history of the Nambutiris' 'glorious past', it is important to note that in each

case, this served to legtimise quite merent versions of the ideal modern collectivity.

Here we first consider a Memorandun? prepared by the K o W Upasabha (local

unit) of the YKS proposing the Re-form of the Nambutiris, titled Swadharmatztrshtanam

(Performance of h e ' s Own Dhma), published m 1 9 1 7 . The

~ ~ replies submitted by E.T.

Divakaran Moos to the questionnaire circulated by the Narnbutiri Farnily Regdabon

Committee, published in 1925,~'have important sharings with this. By examining these we

67. LSwndharmam~kianam (Perfbrrnance of One's Own Dharma), Memorarmd~impresented to the YKS' by

the Kotlakkal Upasablaa (sub-unit), 1917.

68. E.T.DivakaranMoos, Replies fo h e Questionnaire ofthe Nambutiri Family l<egt~Iafion

Cornmifree
and Some Opinions, Thrissur, 1925.
might obtain a definite version of imagining Re-fom.
I '
~9-f
fi

1
In these proposals, the modern Nambuiiri community is envisaged as one which

preserves its internal hierarchies, norms, values, knowledges, kinship and marital

mangements but which has acquired sufficient means to ensure its contmued prosperity in a

rapidly modernising world. Internal changes are not ruled out; but the= are to be kept

minimum. Customs, practices and usages already prevalent are not regarded as

anachronistic. In fact, there is the conviction that it is quite possible to retain them wide

acquiring certain skills hke En&& education, and Western howledge, necessary to protect

the interests of the cornunity in the modern world. The Memorandtlm even found that
some of the traditonal institutions of the Nambutiris were in tune with the needs of modem
I

society :

"In these days in which Western scholars have published a great many works that dwell upon
the n w s r t y of the divisian of labour, there is very Me need to elaborate upon the m e s s
of Varnaashmmas discovered by our Rishis, the creators ofthe ~rnrifis."'~

So also, it was felt that the traditional SanMt-based education could be effectively

reformed into a means by which the Individual could be fashioned. It recommended that the

Hrohmacharyashrurna (celibate life prescribed for young Narnbutiri men) could be

converted into a full-fledged period of training in which

 "....the mrcipline enjoined in eduation, true hurmlity, repulatary pradices by which self-
control is instilled and the means by which V d c knowledge and knowledge n-sary in
practical life.. .. are provided,"70

Side-by-side it was also suggested that Nambutins should acquire Enash education

and Westem knowledge in institutions of learning organised according to "the principles

rnherenr in the GuniklrIa system of the olden days.... whlch would promote also a trve

understandmg of "eastern knowledge7"' and lauded the educational endeavours of Tagore,

Gandhi and M u h i Ram.'' it further noted that "accorchng to the Parashum Stuthi,

Brahmins are not prohibited kom entering professions like agriculture prescribed for

Vaishyas ....,173 and hence recommended trades like finance, banking etc. as well as h e

formation of Aficulhlral Co-operatiye ~ a n k s . But,

~ ' at the same time, it suggested that "this

must be done without much intermption of ~ u ~ a s ' "On

~ . the one hand it insisted that
I

splntual pursuits be retained as the distmguishmg feature of the Nambutiri (even

recommenhg that they preserve and further their ' spirituality' so that others would retain

70. ibid., p.27.

73. ibid., p. 19.

75. ibid., p. 18.

their faith in Nambutiris' spiritual powers, thereby retaining traditional sources of income,

like ~ r a l i ~ r ~ ~ hOn
atn ~ ) . hand, it allowed that customs and practices appropriatu to
the~ other
w

the adopted professions, as well as those necessary for the "preservation of the body" (in dl

the vagueness of this specification) may be accepted even in preference to established

77
ones.

The Memurandurn and E.T. Divabran Moosf suggestions, however recommended

that the internal hierarchies of the community must remain more or iess intact. E.T.

Divakaran Moos held the view that kba-caste marriage of younger rneq7' and altering of

control over property in I I l m need be allowed only according to specific circumstances.79

Both rejected e n h g Smbandham, refusing to characterise it as immoral or wasteful.80

Both are silent about female education; Moos suggested permission of intra-caste marriage

with some more frequency as a solution to the "problems related to maniage of girls":' the

76. ibid., p.8.

77. ibid., pp.30-31.

78. E.T. Divakaran Mms, op.cit.,n.68,p. 14; p.63.

79. ibid., pp.2232.

80. ibid.,pp.71-72;pp.16,17;Mcmorondrrm,op.~it.,n.67,pp.11-12.

8 1. E.T.Divakaran Mas, op.cit.,11.68,

p.14.
 Memoratdurn rejects the proposal to allow Anthqanams to travel by rail on the ground that

it will cause ~arnbarkltadoslzarn~~

Reforming, in these proposals, seemed to involve two things. First, it meant

acquiring certain new skills like En

as
h education; second, it meant setting right internal

'imbalances'. Moos went on to discuss the crisis of the community in the language of

Ayurveda, diagnosing it,asbasically due to internal aberrations, and prescribed a cure that

would restore the 'disturbed humours' to their normal state." The reformist organkition was

conceived to be one that would not only provide the essential W s for modern life but

would also work as an agency that settled intend d i ~ ~ u t e s . ~ ~ ~ suggestions

~ e c l f i c like the

Iimired support for ha-caste marriage are considered to be imeasures that would redress
-,r\op q;: I.*\
?.tL.*

I
imbalances. The reformed community iseet to be'mked s+mdt by increased population

or material prosperity as by better internal regulation and a bare minhm of mofications

absolutely essential for the preservation of a speczc way of life in a rapidly modernising

society. These proposals too accept the present to be a sorely lacking one; however, they

propose to remedy the lack by rejuvenating a Mestyle they consider truly characteristic of

82. Memorandum,op.cit.,n.67,p.24.Rou&lytranslatedas'po~utimthrou&contact'.

. 83. E.T. Divakaran Moos, op.cit.,n.68,pp.6266.

84. ibid., p.22;pp.6869.

 A second pair of proposals that may be considered here me the Narnbtrtiri Family

Regtilation Committee Reporr (192jlg6and the NambufirzFemale Erlucaiion Commission

Xeporr (292~*',both of wluch, again, have important sharings, and which articulate a

specific position vis-a-vis Re-form. In both, the reformed community is one which has

adopted modern arrangements of f d y Me; which has reorganised property-rights,

t

A
inheritance and management/ which has clearly accepted the modem domestic-public

demarcation as the key manner of organking social life. There is the h conviction that

unless such modernisation was not undertaken, survival m modem society was impossible.

It a w e d at the same time for the greater exclusivity of the Nambutiris-for instance,
I

through strong resistance to Sambandham marriages This inhered in the very defmition of

the family accepted in the Family Regulation Committee Report in which the family was
accepted as consisting of the householder (the eldest male member), the younger men, the

85. It may,of course, be asked whether thls was really characteristic ofthe Nambutiris or not.

56. Narnbu~iviKururnba (Family) Regulation Committee Reporf and Draj Regulation (henceforth,
N.K.R.C.R.), 1925. The Co- was presided by %amangaIathu Guptan Nambutiripad
(AKTMK).

8 7. Nambaori Stree yidyabhyma Cornm~ssjonReport (Female E d u h m ) (hencefirth N.F.E.C .R,),

1927. This Commission was also presided by AKTMK Guptan Nambutiripad.
women and children." This is different from the dehition prefemd by E.T. Divakaran

Moos, in which the Tarmud is not only the immediate family but also includes the

Adryar(the Nair servant -class), Veluthedan(the washerman), the Velakkaihulavan (the oil-

man) etc. who are seen to have certain distinct rights over the ~ o r a v a dBesides
. ~ ~ being a

more exclusive unit, the modem Nmbutiri community was also to be strong in numbers

and this too was found necessary to bargain effectively in one's own interest in modem

society:

"Ifthewar of life is to be won, then an army is necessary. Guns, swords and spmrs might not
be needed for commun+hfk, but tangus, a m and legs are all needed in great numbers. We
have known from experience that the Janrni-Kudiyan Bill and the Religiwx hdtuttons
Regulation all are the victories wan by groups h c h are energetic and populous, over those
who are not...."w

In both these proposalsiC

there is a sbong plea for the transformation of the Nambueiris
i2'''-

-m"
and the Antharjanarns intoA~enand Women. This is regarded as the single most necessary

step in reforming the community. Nambutiris were continually urged to engage in gadul

89. E.T. Divakaran Mms, op.cit., n.68, pp.24-25. That the N K R C .R fixussad on the family - the
Kutumbam -
and Replies, an the Tarmad, may itself be a signdim diB&nce (here, the t e n
Taravad was used by Moos to inhate the Narnbutiri homestead).

90. N.KRC.K.,op.cit.,n.86,p.84.?hiswasonewmmargumartthatwasputforthh~vourofintra-.
caste marriage of younger men of the Illam. These legislatiofis,i.e, the Janrni- Kudi'n Bill, and the
R c l i ~ o u sInstitutions R~gulationwere opposed in the Y?S as d h e n t a l to the interests of
N ambutiris. See Muhpla Manoram, Report of the 18' YKS Sarnmelanarn at Chowara, January 9,
1926.
agriculture, indusw, finance and other professions, and to acquire modern knowledge. The

Farnily Regulation Committee Report cautioned that

'We must not consider it very fruitful to enter the struggle of life wrth our share in the family
property as the sole source of support. Only he who is capable of earning through his own
labour vvlll be successful in these times.""

Women of the community were to receive an education that wodd equip them for

modern domesticity - indeed, it was not so much the complete lack of education that
seemed the The sort of education received by the AntharJanams was found

useless in modern Me, and hence to be replaced with a new scheme that would prepare

them to be efficient housewives and good companions to modem-educated husbands.g3*The

Werence between the two is well-evident in the responses obtained to the questionmire

circulated by the Femde Education Commission. W e the well-known Sanskrit scholar

Punnashery Narnbi recommended a scheme that would be helpful in preparing

Antharjanams for p e r f o m c e of daily rituals and practices carried out in IIIams and h e

92. Accordmg to the Census of lP2diaI 1931 (Tramcore, Part I), The Malayala Brahrmns had the third-
highest number of herates among women, 43 2%. The number of literate women among the Nair and
Syrian Christian groups were 29.1% and 34.8% respectively (p.290).
essentials of bt~hen--ement,~~ the other responses, on the contrary, suggest a form of

training that would prepare Antharjanams for modern domestic life." The Repon a p e s

with the latter, Iaying down a curriculum that included languages, music, lustory,

geography, painting, cures for children's ailments, post-partum care, sewing and enough of

mathematics for house-managementt%

Such a clear-cut definition of roles is also well-evident in the Draft Regulation

prepared by the Nambutiri Family Regulation Committee, in which control and

94. Punnasbery Nmbi Nhkanta Sharrna, Response to Quesbonnaire, appended to ibid.,p.32. He advises
tmching grls their rnother-tmgue and basic arithn-dc that would aid them in domesic duties. &deqi
it is sugg& that they must learn to asc;e& &his (astmkms), to h o w time by measuring
shadows by day and the position of stas by n& and to calarlate the P a d n g o m (almanac). 'This
is nat for the sake of laowing alone. It has effects upon Fortune as well" (ibid.). It is further
recommended that Antharjanams may be given adequate howledge of Sans* not for the attalnmerrt
of a 'cultured mindtbut for awidmg mistakes in chanting Sthotkmms. To cause such mistakes, Narnbi
reminds, would cause Dosham. Dosham is neither sin nor simple injury. h is that particular negative
msequence that is sem to mult fiom the transgressian of a oertain norm, or the i n w ~
perfbrmance of a dual. Most doshams could be mmW through Prqaschittam @enan=) or ather
Pariharams (ways of 'makmg amends?. It m y be also ranembred that it was precisely this routine
of Anthajanams organised around riarals that was the taw of criticism of reformers : ".....they
(Anrkarjammss)start working in the kit,&= by the age ofeight....when a few years pass in h s &*on
other tasks are Ioaded an...&at is called NedikkaI (makmg &rings). .... From early morning to 10
O'clock there is nothing but n e d i k l and namaskarans towards east, towards south, what more, to
.- evwy comer. To G u m w p r A w n , VaikrEafhappan,Kavil Shastuvu and every other deity.... Then the
'C'
.,.-
.. <., two Nazhihs (the Malayalee measuredf';mee) in the aftem- are set apart to reading Puranas and
.->f" Churudu Pidichu Japikknl (reprep&; holy chants a certain number of times everyday d one's
hgers upm the h e a d worn around the neck)...." Madampu Narayanan Nambutiri, Respume to
Qu&onnaire, Appended to NEE.C.R,ibid., pp.65 - 66.

95. S e , for mstance,the response ofthe Raja of Chirakkal, ibid., pp.29-30.

96. ibid., pp.13-14

management of property is hrdy entrusted to men. These changes, however, did not seem

very drastic. In the traditional way of life, there was already a strong division of space, with

women being assigned the inner-quarters of the Illam (the word Anhr~anammeans 'inner-

people'), and men, the outer world. It seemed quite possible to modemix without drastically

violating divisions--the Report put forth the suggestion that young girls be educated in

iilom by lady even though it was critical of the seclusion of Anthar~anams.~~

When

faced with criticism of the apparent assent given to the ghosha system (seclusion) in the

~ r p o r tits
, ~defenders
~ described it as a 'practical, viable strategy' to spread modem fernale

education.'" In both proposals, Re-form was not to be achieved through a violent and direct

confrontation with the established order, though there was a clear perception of the power-

stakes involved in re-forming The Draft Family Regulation sought not to uprqot the

established family structure but to institute an effective set of checks and balances that

97. ibid., p. 16.

98. ibid., pp.7-8. The p r e s e d m of existing n o m in modem institutions hke the Nambdri Vic$.wlayam
(School) and fbr quite some time,in the meetings ofthe YKS, was scrupulously advocated (for a brief
account ofthe routine ofthe Udyalaym, see, Madampu Kunhrlruttan, Abhiw*, Ka6tayam: SPSS,
1986,p 18). Sometimes this was k c r i k d as a strategy to disarm m s e d v e resisbnce to mdem
educatim. See, for instance, V.T. Bhattatiripad's r h g of the explaption given fbr such rdes by
h a manager of the Nambutiri Vidplayam while he was a studmt them in Karmavipaknm, q . c & n
22, p. 149.

99. Edttorial, Unny Nnmbutin VoI 9(5), 1927, pp.406-409.

100. M.Rarna Varma Tamban, 'Nambutiri Balikavidyabhyasam' @Iu&<m of Nambutiri Girls), in Utmy
Nambutiri Vol8(5), 1926, pp.815-16.
 152

would ensure good management by the Karanavar - even when it strongly recommended
a L

measures for improving&&vidual. initiative of younger men. The position of Karunavur

was made into one that could be potentially occupied by any d u i t male member who

sought to fom a separate family-unit on his own and, not just the eldest son.''' All adult

male members could interfere in the management of properties and resources, unlike in the

earlier arrangement. Reforming here appears as a subtle process of change by whcb existing

structures are altered by ailowing new institutions to proliferate in and through older ones,

and not through sudden or violent measures, The reformist organisation is expected to play

the role of initiator of this process. The Family Regulation Committee Report rejected the

possibility of the reform organisation playing the role of mediator in disputes working to

maintain status-quo;it rather preferred to conceive of the reform organisation as a platform

which would discuss ways and means through which Re-form could be attained, and as an

'
agency working to implement measures found necessary, O2 mobilising the necessary

support from both inside and outside, such as petitioning the State to initiate legislation

101. The positim K a m m n occurs bath in conn&on with the joint family and the separated M y unit
in the Draj Regulation, pp. 1-8.
1

hr& ( - . a , . , - * \
0 '

102. The Y B also2 forurn which organised p- against measures it fbund objectianabls. For
example at the YKS meeting at Edakkwi m 1930 it was decided that Nambutjris must observe a day
of fisting in protest against the Raja of Kochi's reluctance to give approval to the Nambutiri Bill. See
awunts in the ' MuIuyula Manorama as Editorial, January 15, 1930; and as a report,
' T k u v r a t a r n ' (Vow ofFasting on the Birthday ofthe Mahanja), January 25,1930.
 103
etc.

The con~eptionof the ideal modern collectivity and the project of Re-fonn found in

~e speeches and writings of V.T. Bhattatiripad - the core of ideas that came to be

identified as the 'radical'position -- was one that called for a thoroughgoing modernisation to

be achieved through directly attacking and demolishrng established institutions.

Modernising the economic life of the community was thus conceived as involving not only

modemising @culture as enterprising lmdlords but also the removal of feudal relations

Acquiring modem education was to be not only the obtaining of a necessary

themsel~es.~~'

skill for modem life but a means towards developing nsistance towards the older order.lo'

Modemising f d y life was seen to need much more than the promotion of hba-caste

marriage or the provision of training in modern domesticity to Antharjanams -- it' also

- -

103. Indeed, State e&rt in T i i ~ o o towards

r modemising Narnbutms was almost at least as old as
the YKS, The State which supported the Otkoohrs ( V d c Schools) was by 2909 &ve& funds to
popularising a modem s&wl for them at Kdakkada. (The Tmvancore Administrative Report, 1911-
'12, p.69). Later the State in Kochi was urged to h e legishm that wodd d k d the funds of such
i n v s as the Mathm to the promotion of modem education runang Narnbutiris. 'Ibis was much
debated in 1926 See, Mahyala Manorama, ' Kochi Nambutiri Matadham Sthapana -tian'
gochi Nambutbi Rellgtous and Charitable Tnstituticms hgdatian), January21, 1926;also articles in
M a w l a Manoram, January 28, 1926; reports of meetings against and in &WUT of the B&
February 6, 1926,article an the Bdl, February 13, 1926.

1 04. V.T.Bh-ad, ' K.N.Kuttan Nmbutiripad' (Originally published in Unny Nambutit?, 1948),
Appended to KurmaYjpakam, op.cit., 11.22,p.200.

105. V.T.Bhattatinpad,'Nambutiri Penkidangab Oru Ezhuthu' (A Letter to Narnbhi Girls), published

in Unny Nambutin,.January 19, 1930.Appmded to f f i m @ k a m , op.cit.,n.22.,pp.310-2 1. In this
text he pmcribes a ' d m education' for those young Anthajanams who were denied access tn it.
seemed to need promotion of remarriage of widows and even the separation of young

women forced into rnaniage with old men,'& and providing a more open education to

women that would expose them to the world. The debate over the suggestions of the Female

Education Commission demonstrated the specihity of this position quite well. While a

section argued that giving a limited education to Anthaxjamms in Illams was adequate to the

0 7 was the strong counter-argument that the transformation of

needs of the c o m ~ ~ , 1there

Antharjanams into Women cannot be achieved without providing them with an exposure to

the world outside, effectively brealang the ghosha.108The ideal modem Nambutiri

community thus reformed would be one that had no rigid boundaries with larger

collectivities such as the 'Nation', 'Keralam', 'Hindu' etc. At the same time the identity of

the new Nambutiri-the Nambutiri-Man-was to be completely distanced from the identity

J

of the Narnbutiri given by the traditional order. This, however, did not seem to require the

total abandonment of the name. As E.M.S. Nambutiripad remarked in the Ongallur meeting

of the YKS,

106. V.T.Bh-tiripad, ' P u n a ~ v a h a m Mwgd Vidhavavivaharn' (Remarriage or Widow-Marriage),

Sp& at AIathur Upasabha, November 14, 1930. Appended to Karmavipahm, ibid., pp.344-47

108. See b n a l , Unny Nurnbutiri, op.cit., 11.99,also, Kuroor Narayanan Bhmtuipad, 'Samudaylka
Swatarrtryam' (Community Freedom), in Unny Nambutiri Vol9 (I), 1 927., p.88.
 'The only' requm I make of you is to emulate the model of the early leaders of the
Yogakshema Sabha. What did they do? They saw that without English educatim the
community would be the laughingstock of miety-they were wdling to sacrifia that amount
ofBmhmanpm in order to spmd English education. In the same way, if we & not
our lazy tikif each man and woman of the community do not k g m to live through labour-
we wiU bscome the target of not just the ridcule but also the hatred of athers....Destroy
the
Bruhmanyam so that each persan may be sent to work (destroy it only ro that exten0 -this
is all I ask."'0g

Along with this, the task of the YKS was def4ned as forging an identity for the

Nambutiris which was completely separated fiom the identity of the Nambutb-i given in the

older order, preparing them to five "likethe ordinary citizens of Keralam" and "co-operating

with the progressive forces that were working to build a itee, socially-just and prosperous

united Keralam". However, he c l d e d that "a Keralam devoid of Jati and communi~"

need not be accepted as the final aim of the YKS."~ Remarking that such a Keralam was

inevitably in the future, he pointed out that "our programme must be aimed at making the

Nambutiris capable of playing the role they deserve" in that society.''' hawing out the

implications of such a stance, he went on to say that the exclusivity of the Nambu~

community must be ended,l12 and that active efforts must be initiated to form a common

109. E.M.S Nambbpad, Presidential Addms to YKS 34' h u a l Meeting utkd 'Namb&ip
Manushyanakkan' (To Make Man out the Nam&), &amber 24, 1944, Desabhrmani, 1945,
pp.25-26.

I 10. ibid., p.34.

111. ibid., above.

112. ibid., pp.34-35.

front among modern community-building organisations to end jali hierarchy and mobilise

people towards building a united and progressive ~era1am.ll 3 While the identity of the

'Nambutiri' was not to be necessarily given up, it was to be transformed into one that would

not clash with the larger identity of being 'Malayaleel.

In the 1930's the YKS meetings witnessed charged debates over these different

positions, with proponents of each byng to discredit and displace others. As E.M.S. pointed

out later, this was based upon the mistaken notion that the different positions articulated

were completely incompaiible with one another.'l 4 The notions of Swa~anfryumand the

Individual that recurred in all these proposals were not drastically different; the fashoning

of the Individual was commonly accepted as the goal of reformist activity. But also stdung

is another commonality which m through all these proposals: the way in which they

conceive of the relation between the Reformer and those subjected to reform, especially

between the reformist Nambutiri-Man and the Anhqanam subjected to reform.

, . .I

! ; >
, , ij'; \., . < ., , . ,, m .% A,' *t . --
i'%qT
113. ibid., pp.43-48.
"f&; ti*' ,
!*"
ht7-
,

! ' .: .
~awu,~;;.,!.v,
I*,< I,,, "5 : , ,=
' "

..-,.+'L : ;-,<,
: , ;
w (.(.+\,
o+.i + i l c
... ' ' . '

r.;&\*;
,. I ' j , , >

.o' \ \ I,.
.\\. .,*, ' . : * I ' " : !-d',i- ",$ j - , ,.-, : 8 ' !,

114. ibid.,pp.56. F 7 ? ? u ~ ~ , ' i ~ k~ ~* ~ ,, 6,t,!wc2\%2 ,, ,, c.x 4

& ? > , < j &,it,?..
, J iy,..&$& ?*, >:I:.\ *
p 5 !, % ; , % ,;,T>7L%',"
, ,
-
'+u.{;4,-,,..._ l
' (
' ! -r
111. Reformer's Burden

Reforming Anthqanan~swas an intense concern within Nambutiri reformism which

gained considerable momentum by the end of the '20s. Suggestions regardmg this involved

many elements--preparing Antharjanams for modern domestic life by instructing them in

modem housewifery; the promotion of monogamous intra-caste maniage; making

Anharjanams desirable sexual partners for modemised Nambutiris by altering their dress-

conventions; making them informed companions by addmg to their understanding of

modern society, its norms, rituals, practices etc.; equipping them with the necessary skills @
Id
-greater interaction with the modern world. There was even the argument that

reforming Antharjanams wodd remain incomplete wtd they "attain education and success

in examinations, employment and assets like the women of other communities, put an end to

all sorts of restrictions, and enrich the community's inner and outer domains...r1115

Reforming Antharjanarns was, however, always at the centre of debate; reformers drffered
I
very significantly in their conception of the reforming that the Anthaxjanams were to

undergo, the best means through which they could be reformed, the priorities that were to be

kept in mind hformulating the means of reforming etc.

Thus, some reformers argued that AntharJmms were to be reformed without any

115. V.T. Bhattatiripad, Karmmipnhm, op.cit., 11.22, p.339. From the Speech Wed 'Nmibutiri
Manushyanayi Maranmedal' [Ifthe Narnbutiri is to turn into Man) made in 1930.
depletion of the 'special virtues' that, they claimed, were to be found in others held

the view that they should be reformed by removing dl particularities that may be found in

them;l17 some felt that a modem education that introduced Aatharjanams to modem

domestic life provided in the seclusion of l l l m was s ~ ~ i e n t others

; " ~ strongly argued

against this, favouring greater exposure to the world outside;'lgthere was also the argument

that Anthqanams should voice their demands and opinions through sireesamajams which

did evoke alarmed responses that this went agajnst the spirit of complementarity expected in
-
.-- d
ideal modern family life.120There were also arguments that -would be attained
--

116. Kanippayur Sankatan Nambutiripad in an artide titled 'Stree Vidyabhpsam'(Wamen's Education),

Unny Nambutiri Vd9( I2), 1928 rema&ed thus: 'Though they possess little-indeed n m e at all--of the
abuaa & for wntmporary Life, our female world is radiant wih several rare and universally-
valued vixtues. To allow such virtues as simplicity, mildness of disposition, s e I f w b ~If-sacrifice
and compassion to get worn out d not d b u t e to our w e h . . . if (htharjanams are] sent to
' public schools, these will e r n . .but this is not to say that statusquo must be p m d . Odythat
many of these virtues, which are e t e d and desirable in anyme, but whrcb are not abundant,am to be
found in Narnbutki w o m q and that these must be p M . " (pp.724-25). Also see,
M.LakshmrWnrtty Amma, 'Nambutiri Balikarnanrte Vidyabhyasam' (Educatim of Nambutiri Girls),
from Unny Narplbutiri Vol9(1), 1927, pp.76-8. The same calltim was voiced by sum respondents to
the Female Fducaticn Commission's questiamk. See, for instance, m p s e s of Tottaikattu
Madhavi Anuna and O.S. Nambutiripad in the append^^, Nambutiri Female E$ucatim Commission
Report, op xit.p.87,~ -26 and pp.72-74 respectively.

117. K m r Narapnan Bhattatirpad, ' Samudaylka Swatantryam' (Social Freedom), Unny Numbutifi Val.
9(1), 1927, p.88.

1 18. M.Rama Varma Tamban,'NambutiriBalikamande Vidyabhyasam'(Education of Narnbutui Girls) in

Unny Nambulfri VoI 7(5), 1926, p.815-16 in which the rewmmmdatim of the Female Educatiarl
Commissim's report is defended.

119. W a l , Unny Nambufiri Vol9 (51, 1927, pp 406-9.

120. See, for instance, Kaqpayur Saukam Nambutiripad's r q a n s e to a speech made by a radical that
(. .continued)
only when AntharJanams actively entered public against h s it was argued that

encourapg women to overstep their role as managers of the domestic domain would lead

to war between the sexes that would ultimately undermine social life itself.'22 1
,,,c d ,*:
p-yY<-~',:.

There was, however, little doubt that the active agent of change who

seemed to possess true in-sight into the past and the present of the community, who seemed

to possess the capability to suggest and initiate measures that would shape the future-

community, and hence seemed prideged to suggest and implement alterations i r k the

established way of life, potentially affecting all members--was male. The formation of the

YKS was simficant in transforming the nature and extent of male power with1 the

community. The annual meetings of the YKS became fora in which all (male) members who
1

could be counted as mature men who attended the assembly could express opinions

regarding the general affairs of the community123 (despite the fact that women's attendance

(. .continued)
A n t h rjanams must be encouragedto take dxisias on their own through streesansajams in an arhcle
titled ' Stm S m j a r n ' in Unny Nambutid Vol7(6), 1926, pp.347-57. Also see the presidmtml s p b
at the Edakkuntll meting ofthe Numb utin' Y~cvajana Sangham m 1930, reported in the M M, 'V&
Pangti' (Women's Column) titled 'Antharjanangalum ParishkaraMlm' (Antha rjanams and Reform),
February 6, 1930,in which strecsarnqc~mare mmmended.

122. Kanippayur Sankaran Nambutiripad, 'Dambatya Bandham' (Marital Relationship) in Unny

Numburin Val 7(7), 1926, pp.423-32.

123. See, ' Draft Law ofthe A! Y.K S prepared by Patirishemy Narayanan Nambutiri, 1923.
 at the YKS meetings rose steadily, especially by the 1930's). This authority was ofien posed

as opposed to the traditional sorts of male-centered authority within the community, to the

authority of the Smarthm, the Vaidikam and the ~ddhyufls.'~~

in these stxugdes

Anthajanams continued to remain 'Anthar-janamsl-people who inhabited the 'inner' space

of IIIams. They came to be conceived of as objects of re-forming not as its agents.

t

Anthqanams were to be 'led out', 'rescued', 'liberated', ushered on the frontstage from the
/ I
kitchen', by the Reformer-Nambutiri. Here the distance between Merent positions vis-a-vis

reforming Antharjanams is considerably reduced-whether the Anthqanams were to be

'protected' (as E.T.Divakanm Moos and the Kuiumba Regulation Committee recommended

in their different ways) or 'empowered' (as V.T. Bhattatiripad and E.M.S.

Nambutiripad argued, again, in their very distinct ways). It is no surprise that the theme of
1

the liberation of the hapless Antharjanam from the clutches of tradition through the agency

of the Nambutiri-Reformer happens to be stnlaagly recurrent in reformist literary writing12'.

124. E.T.DivakaranMoos expressed regret and diswntmt about such struggles in his Replies.., ap.cit.,
11.68,pp.1-8. See also, report of a resolution passed at the 7' AnnuaI M e h g ofthe Nambutin Yuva
k Jam Sangham at Chwvara in 1926, in MM, January 19, 1926. AIso see, report of the request made
to the Tinrwtamkoor Sarhr by V m r i N. Raman Bhmatqad regarding the Murujapm ceremony
in MM, Oct 1, 1929 in the ' Swadesha Vartha' News) column. Such d c t was already
evident in the traditional institutions of learning ofthe Nambutiris by the 1910's. One such pratest was
led by K m r N e h n t a n Nmbutirjpad (laterto become prominent inthe nationahst momnmt) as a
student at the Brahmmam M a t h (traditional school) at Thrissur against a corrupt wdhyan
(teacher). See, E.K. Kd-rdn Muthachan,Kumor Piography), K u r n a d w r , 1997, pp. 18-22.

125. R e f i , d b r a r y e&rt produced shortstoriesde early shortstories of N.Lalitambika Antharjanam

such as Yotrmsanam in ANthekathakal . (Early Stories), Kobyarn: SPSS, 1953;
M .R.Bhamtiripad,Valkkannudi,op.cie.,n.27,Modi-hgode Bhamtratan Nambutiripad, Atmahoory,
(..continued)
 The corresponding 'reverse' theme--that of her death and devastation in the absence of such

a guiding light--is e q d y conlrnon. And in texts Like liifurnari, Anthsrjanams art wamed

against seeking to venture into the world on their 'ownt12"- that is, without the aid of a

Nambutiri-Reformer. When the Antharjanam makes an alliance with a man of a Wercnt

community, it may be made under the guidance of the Nambutiri-Reformer--thenit becomes

legitimate. 12'

But it is critical to note that the new sort of male-centered authority was si@cantIy

merent from older forms not only in extent but also in nature. Thus the relation between

the Narnbutin-Reformer and those whom he sought to reform, especially Antharjmams,

was envisaged to be decidedly Merent fiom the relation between the Nambutiri and the
I

Antllajanam within the strictly Patriarchal i/lam. Kanippayur in his Memoirs remembers

that the submission of the female members to males was fostered in illurn by a number of

(..continued)
Thnssur: Mangaldayam, 1943; V.Ts. short stories wlieaed in KT- Yude Kuthkal, al,ssur: Kenla
Sahitya Akaderni, 1990; several plays, from AdukkaIwI Nlnnu Amngathekku (1930) ta
Tazilkendmthilekku (To the Work-place) (1948); novels like M d i r h g d e ' s Aphnnre Makcrl(1932),
Thrissur: Keralr Sahtya Aka*, 1989:)

! 127. Se V.Ts of his sister's marriage to a Nair under hs guidancs and supervisim; mapare t h ~ s
I
wrtb his condemnation of 'Uma BehnHschoice of marriage to a workingclass Muslim in
i
i Karmavipakam, *.at., 11.22,pp.262-268, andpp. 284-93 m~p~tive1y.
i
means, like, for example, preferential consideration towards boys1". Boys and girls were
-
PAW.'~A
strictly segregated from an early age physically, and very different daily routines ww), 6

prescribed for boys and girls'2g. The obligations and bonds of marriage too were apparently

quite different-indeed the nature of &age in the traditional way of life was the target of

some of the most severe criticism of the reformers. It was pointed out that the tie of marriage

in Veli involved no bonds of sentimental affection, and that it was contracted merely for the

sake of maintaining the rihabstic practices of the Illam, for obtaining heirs, or worse, to

facjlitate the mamiage of daughters1". Reformist criticism of married Me in the Illam often

claimed that the husbands power over the wife was a violent, coercive one, which could

even send the d e to her. grave. M.RBhat&tiripad's explosive play Marukh&ikkulfile

M a h r a k a m (The Hell Beneath the Cadjan Umbrella) which dwelt upon the violence

mfhcted by a husband upon his wrfe, it is claimed, was based upon a me incident.13' '

In contrast to this, the relation between the Reformer-Nambutiri and the

128. Kanippayur, Enre Smaramkal (My Memories) Vol I, Kunnamkularn : Panthangom Pms, 1963.
' Antharjanagalum Penkidangalurn'(Antharjanams and Young Girls), p. 115.

129. ibid., 'Anhrjanangalute Dinacharya' (Daily Routine of Anthajanarns),

Kanippayur,
-
'Brahmadmpd (Celibate L&),'Vedadhyayanam' (Study ofVedas), pp.160 200.

130. ibid, p.43.

131. P.K. Aryan Nambutinpad, Nulukem'I Ninnu Nam'lekku (From the Homskad to the Country],
Thrissur: MangalpQpn, 1969, p. 106.
Antharjanam he rescues is not one in which the latter is made to obey the former through an

ever-present, d veiled, threat of violence. In fact, the Reformer is expected to guide the

Antharjanam by helping her to develop her own internality (manying her was often

projected as the first move in this direction). Thus the Reformer-Nambu~was to take the

responsibility of developing the Antharjanam wilhgness to accept the

'Nambutiri-Man's Burden' was often found crucial in the making of the ideal Reformer-

Nambutiri: ".... It is not befitting to reject the plea of an orphaned woman to take her in,

being a devotee of the community, or a man (Manushyan)... I have abandoned my

community-Me for the future-welf..e of a hapless womanrq .132

Radical reformers bied to suggest measures by which the element of Love would be
I

brought into the marital union, so that the trdtional bonds of marriage would be

completely transformed. V.T. Bhattatiripad, for instance, suggested that AntharJanarns

should adopt modem dress, acquire modern knowledge and familiarity with modem ways of

life in order to establish a new sort of relation--one of companionship--with their modern-

But besides these suggestions V.T.'s Literary re-creation of the young

educated hu~bands."~

132. 'Anthappurathil NlIlnuUa Aahuamm'fThe CaH from the Inner-Quarters) in Valk;annudy,op.cit.,11.27,

pp 90-91. It may be nated that being a 'devotee of the m u n r t y ' and being a 'man' are nat exactly
opposed to each ather in this passage.
Anthaganam as active agent in Lave elsewhere deserves attention.134The Reformer-

husband thus appeared to be teacher, guide, protector and lover to whom the Anthaqanam,

besides being the object to be reformed, is also the object of desire. This non-reciprocal

relation of power was justified by projecting an ideal future in which Anhyaxlams would

fully attain Womanhood and exercise that spec& sort of authority attributed to Woman in

and through the domestic domain. It was expected that in such an ideal society, this non-

reciprocal relation, which seemed to be 'the need of the hour', would be unnecessary.

The appearance of the woman-~eformer'3 s - h ~ a n a m s like Parvati

134. ltt is interesting that while V.Ts short stories hke 'ViA- or 'Enkil' (&st published in an
anthology titled Rajunirangum in 1928; r e p a in YT.yude Kathkal, op.cit, n.125) make the
wgin-Antbqanam both a desirable object and an adw subject in Love, she is liberated almost
inevitably through the a g m q of the male Reformer-in &ct under his supervisian, in much of his other
writings, especially his play Adukkalqvil ... (op-cit.,n.63) in which the Reformerhero Madbavan
brings Tdy, the Anthajanam he 'lihrates' through marriage ta the stage, with these words: "Let
Woman remain w a k for the sake of Man's merit. Yet it is upc~lher delicate shoulders that the weight
of that great msthon, the home, rests.The cornrn&s dewloprint requires the sympathy or"her
c& 11.63,p.78),7hetransition ofthe AntharJanam f b m "being wife
maternal heart." Abukkcrlayil ...,op.
according to the Books, but practically a slave canfined to the comer of the W m....to app- in
the f+mt stage as the Mi-s of the Home "must necessarily be md&d by the Refbrmer. The
Editorial of the MM w q m t u b d the Reformers (m the p&rmance ofthis play m so many words.
w r i a i , January 15, 1930). The writer Keshamdev found it b e a g to con- V.T for
revealing the 'tnxth' about Anthqauams: "It had nM been known Wore that N m b h women were
capable of the qualrty of Love and hat they h e w how to kiss the mthey loved" ('Rajanirangam-
Oru Amclanam' origdly published in Unny Nambutin, 1932; appended to KT-Yde Kathakal
q-cit., n 125). Here the uptuning af the stemtypical figure of the Antharjanam is quite easily
discernible. However, 'Liberation'd i c h is the dxmnelisatim of such capacrty into certain cleard
roles,must occur though the agency ofthe ma1~RI:fbrrner.

135. By the end of the '205, the issues surrounding the 'libeman'of Arrthajanarns kgan to be v o i d
forcellly within Nambutki refomst circles-female educatian, dress-ref or^^ monogamy, widow-
remarriage, in&-caste marriage, M o m oftravel &. In 1928, an Anthajanam k a m a member of
the Numbzitin' Yuvaj~nuSangham for the h t time (rqmrted in MM, December 12, 1928)
(..continued)
 Nenminimangalam who abandoned ghosha and actively entered reformist circles--

complicated this relation but did riot overturn it. In the writings of the Antharjanams who

participated in discussions there is a tense acceptance of the Nambutiri-Reformer's key role

in their liberation. O.C. Devaki Antharjanam, writing in 1928, opined:

(..continued)
A n t h a ~ o mkrncr~nmwere bgmnmg to be formed numerously in thls pend. The Anrhayana
Scrrnc~~c~rn of 1dangmr in 1930 passed radcal reasoiutions among whrch were requests to the
govemrnerrt to grant them government jobs dong with other women, and to gve opportunrty to
Anthajanams who had gained basic educatian to study in h d o n etc. (Report in the M M ,February
I 5, 1930). The M M in 1929 made favourable comments on the ' Awaketzmg of the Anthajanams',
swing in this developmart their imminent libemon. ".... They organise Snmajams... A woman from
Changanashery prwided over the Karunagappally Samajam" W M , Editorial, ' Anthajanangalute
me
Unarchcha' Awakening of Antharjanm}, June 8, 1929). ,An Antharjanam., Smt. P a m
; ~ k e z h appeared~, in public at the Edakumi Yogam, for fithe hrst tune wtthout Ghosha (MM.
Edmrial, 'EdaHmmylle N a m b h Sarnmelanangal' (The Nambutiri Conferences at Edakkunni),
January f 5, 1930). Antharjanams also participated actiwly h d e b around the legislatian proposed

-
to be implemented (the h h m u s episode in wh~chV.T. Bhatbtiripad and M.R. Bhaaatrnpad created
a fictitious'Vanneri Savitri Antharjanam' and made her voice radical opinims should not obscure this)
such as the Nambutiri Bill proposed by Gauri P a k in the K d i mslative Assembly (reported in
, MM, January 23, 1930). In 1930, women students were admirted to the special school k r Nambutitls
,t- -
7; . at '; a Special Schwl fbr them was begun at PanjaI. At the 22nd sessian of the YK;S at
.
.
E
2." +-F Edakhm there was but me woman pmmt as spectator, at the 25' sessim at Karalmanna, 75
r i d *y: Anthajanams were presmt (P.K. Aryan Nambuthpad, op-cit., n.131, p.122). Several Anthajanarns
C
.;$ YLk,#b emerged as able spenkers and propagandists in the ' 30s. The Presidart of the Yuvqjam Sangham's
r- .P ' m&g at Vellinezhy in 1929 was a woman. By the '40s, Anhajanams had appeared as full-fledged
" 1: 7

.- 5 political activists-natably, b d u Narikkatiri, Arya Pallom and athers-participating in Safpgrahas

> ' +',, . 0 -
,ql ' . such as the one orgamed at Paliyam in h c h the ArrtharJanamswere severely beaten up (See, Cherai
-,.
.. Pc. :,+,- Kemla Ramadas, 'Pahyam: Samaravum Vivaranangalurn' (Paliyam: 'lke Struggle and Accounts of it),
<.,rr ** Pahmngal(6), January 1997, p.164); by the late VOs, a girls' hostel for degegoing
+* ' Antharjanarns was begun at Thrissur; Anthqana Samajam were active in 'propaganda urging them
\x ,A% t.
to be independent hancially, especially in the background of the furore raised around reports that
A'- young Antharjanarns were being sold off to Sidhipur (Kamataka) and Sirsi (Maharastltra). Worth
r
special mention is the play Tozhilkendrafhileh (To the Work-Place) writtetl and performed by
women of the Anthavana Samajam of Thrissur in 1948 (See, T.K Anandi, 'Theatre as a Form of
Social Protest: Enactment of Plays and h s e of Consciousless among Nampudin Women of Kerafa',
Paper presented at the International Congress of Kemla Shrdres, 27-29 August 1994,
Thiruvananthapuram. Abstracts Vol III, A.K.G Centre for Research and Studies,
Thirumanthapuram, pp ,174-75).
 "...It is nat enw& that they (Nombutihs) h a m e ready to liberate us...we too have to gd
ready to Mlbraoe that hdorn... So the firrt thing that Nambutuis Eharld do foday is to
prepare us for this. M d prepadness is Sarlt to c- ... In this amurn we will mt
desire proper M o m (mtanhyam);we should nat, at thls tune, strive for it. What we
Arrthajanams request you u@y is to end~vourto secure our liberty to wear cldes and
omamarts accordmg to our husbands' tasks, to trawl kely with thm and to pursue proper
married Me.In redip thisf i e d m is notfor our sake alone; you, too, will h freedom in
precisely the same proportion as we do. As unremedied all p u r
efforts are bound to end asfarc~alexercises ...

Here there is no doubt regarding the acceptance of the Nambutiri- Reformer's role in

preparing Antharjanams for swatantryam; however, there is also the hint that the

swafanlryam of men is dependent upon that of women.137Anthajanams who wrote in

contemporary journals and newspapers and spoke in refohst meetings were critical of the

lethargy they perceived in the Reformer-Nambutiris' W e n t of their 'responsibility'

towards Anthajanams. Parvati Nenmkhangalam's speeches are especially worth noting in

this regard--her challenge to radicals whether anyone in the audience would be willing to

136. 0.C.Deb Antharjanam, 'A@galude Ad~pntaravushyans' (Our Immdate Need), MM, February
13, 1928.

137. The Anthajanarns d o argued in this fashion were o f h reiterating, albeit w d a~ -rent stress, the
argummt put forth earlier by d e R e f o m that the w m m w s h e itself depended upon its
L

women. In accounts which spoke of the 'glorious past' of the Narnbhi community, the goIda1 age
was often f w d to coincide with times in which Antharjanams were respected and 'liberated'. "The
Nambutiris of the Old gave Anthatjanams the position of the goddess of the Home...", wrote one
author,... "ln those days there were many Anthaijanams, h o , like ' Kuroor Amrna', h e as pamgons
of virtue." (7vf.N.Neelakantan Nambutiri, 'Antharjanandute Adh&wstal (The M d e m Condition
of Anthajanams), in Vanitakusumam Vol 1(5), 1926-'27, p ,125.) This period is fbund to coincide
wrth the period of the emergence of Narnbutiri 'achieved like Viluamangalathu Swanliyr,
Melpathmr and Adi Sankara.The d&mt stress in the a r g m e m of Anthajanams, however, calls
foramtim. ,
wed a widow;"' her criticism of radicals like V.T. and E.M.S regarding their self-distancing

from com~nunity-refom.~~~
But the criticism of the Nambutiri-Reformer's power over the

Antharjanams figures more stringently in some short stories by Lalitamblka AntharJar~am

) ' ~ ~Prusad~mIJ1 (1939). The

written in the 19301s,notably lttr ~ s h u y a m a n o ~ ( 1 9 3 5and

former mocks at the Reformer- husband's blind faith that his wife must be n e c e s d y his

inferior and demonstrates how the non-reciprocal relation between the Reformer and those

who were to be reformed by him actually cancels out the establishment of the ideal
P 1

----- I,.: - i , : * t i

complemenw(kxual
- - J exc'langer m the family. In the latter the male Reformers' expectation

of gratitude from the women whom they 'rescue' and turn into reform-workers, receives a

sharp and biting retort.

I

Above all the Merences that mark the proposals regarding re-forming

hthaqanams, the pervasiveness of the projection of the above-mentioned non-reciprccal

relation between Nambutiri-Reformer and Anthaijanam specifies a level of correspondence.

,/-
-
.> -,
--
* - --\>

13 8. I Reported in MM,, December 29, 1930.' For a brief account of Nenminimangalarn's work as a
' Woman-Reformer, roc a commemorative article by Prmji, 'Pamati N ~ ~ l a m Unny ' ,
Nambutid Vol. 1(2), May-June 1947, pp .63-73.

139. ,' V.T.Bhattatmpad responded to this criticim in his speech at the Alathur Upasabha in 1930. See,
; Kur~pakamm,op.cit.,n.22,p.351.

140. i From lrupatu Varshailrinu Sheshom, Kotla~am:SPSS,1962, pp.78-87.

I
 If the goal set up in most of these proposals is the fashioning of a c o m u n i ~ g a n i s e d
7
/-^ - . -,-., .P [t
1
, I
I
I.$C.!LV~ f, - ha '
according to the order of gender& which complementary sexual exihange was to p&vdJ
-+. ---
the chief means fowardr its achievemsnf seemed lo be the instiiution of a nun-reversible

relation ofpower between ihose who came infoconfactwith the norms and mores of modern

socieg earlier, and ihose who could not. That the nature of this relation was envisaged to be

of a 'pastoral' does not in any way make it any less a form of power.

Making the Nambutiri family a site of reform also implied that it was also to become
-t

a site of pastoral power. Within the ideal reformist f d y (consisting of the Nmbutiri-

Reformer, the Antharjanam whom he brings out of the Illam, and chddren) the agent of such

power was dehitely the male.

TV. End-Note

In this brief exanination of Narnbutiri reformism, modem community-formation

appears as a complex process envisaged to occur through the shaping of Individuality. The

ideal modem community, the goal of reformism, is most often conceived as organised by

142. The notion of 'pastoral' power is elaborated in Mchel Foucauit's work, nrrtably in 'The Subject and
Power', appended as 'Afte~~ord to H.L.Dreylr; and P. Rabinow, Michel Foucuult: Beyond
SrnchrraEism and Hermeneutics, Chicago: University of Chrcago Press, 1983, pp.208-226.
 the order of gender, and thus the fashioning of Individuals also involves the developmerlt of

gender--the fashioning of Men and Women. The refo~mistproject saw a number of

proposals that put forth ways and means towards achieving this end, all of which were

based upon creation of howledge of' the community and its members resulting from self-

examination (which, however, was heavily reliant on modem notiox~sof the ideal Individual

and Community, working as an ideal s ~ ~ d a r dIn

) . reformist self-knowledge both the

Narnbutm arid the Antharjanam of the traditional order appeared as 'l a c h g ' figures, largely

devoid of the qualities of Man and Woman. Further, it projected the Illam as the complete

opposite of the modern family, in which women were in submission to men. However; this

also seemed to require that Anthqanams be projected as passive figures, incapable of their
I

own liberation. Given this, the liberation of Nambutiris and Antharjanams seemed to call for

different strategies. While reformist speech and writing exhorted men to actively take up the

chdlenge of self-transfomation through a variety of means, ranging from adoption of the

techniques of agricultural management etc. to mounting open challenge to authority in the

w

Illurn, the reform of Antharjanams .was expected to occur through the agency of the

Nambutiri-Reformer, mainly in the role of modern husband, father or brother. The ideal

modem community that wodd be constituted through compiemenWy relations between

I

Man and Woman was to be realised only in a hazy future when self-transfomation would

finally be complete.

T - 1 '
However, there is no attempt here to pneralise about +movements of the early
twentieth-century Kerdam h m this brief look at Nambutki reformism. It might be possible

to agree that all -0vements that set up the building of a modern community as their

goal were Implicated, in one way or the other, to a greater or lesser extent, in the project of

fashioning the Individual. Yet the specific ways in which this was dealt with could have

been quite different and it is probably very important to focus upon this difference. Also the

different sets of 'initial conditions' that reformers had to work with could have been

siecant-for example, the strict delineation of space between men and women in the

I l l m might have been important iu the making of reforming strategies aimed at

Antharjanams. But say, among the Syrian Christians, Nair groups, ~rnbalavaril~~
groups

etc, the established delineation of space, duties etc which were quite different from that in

Illurn could have worked to throw up reformist strategies quite Merent fiom those of

Nambutiri reformism. Again, it might be true that reformist activity of most sorts were

initiated mostly by men. But this does not render the enquiry into different reformist

sbategies pursued by Merent groups redundant.

As far as the Nambutiri community is concerned, the modem community organised

1
t
according to the order of gender contmued to figure as a distant dream for very long even in

143. By Ambalmsjs, me means the groups that tra&anally earned livehhmd through temple-wenice - the
Variers,Pisharad~setc.
the post-refomist, post-Lndependence tunes. The play ~aianam'" ((The Fall) (1976) whch

dwells upon the post-lndependencr Nambutlri Illam depicts a gloomy scenario of

devastation of the Illam by the new forces unleashed by modernisation. The familiar

stereotypes--Antharjanams,passive, suffering and victimised; the young Narnbutiri, a~gty

md liustrated--all appear wit11 interestirlg touches here too. However, the oppressive force is

no longer tradition, but a modernity that has 'betrayed'the Nambutiri, and the ideal modern

community continues to be located in the future, yet to be a c t d s e d .

144. K.S Nambutiri, P a t a m (The FaU),Ka#ayam: SPSS, 1976

NEGOTIATING WOMEN'S
SPACE
Introduction :BLURRING THE DISTINCTIONS

The ideal of modem society as fundamentally divided into public and domestic

domains continues to strongly inform amtudes towards gender in today's ~ e r a l a m '

However, its survival was not so much the result of a lack of questioning or alternate

models; nor was it preserved unchanged until the present. Rather, it has persisted against

questioning and co-existed with modified versions of itself. Towards the rnidde of the

twentieth century, a particular version began to gain prominence that is arguably found

continuhg in contemporary Malayalee society. This was probably crucial in ensuring the

survival of the ideal of the order of gender, in minimising the force and number of

alternatives to it, such as the ideal of gender-neutral personhood and the vision of modem
1

society it entailed.

The core of this re-vision lay in an increasingly-frequent assertion that the capacities

attributed to ideal women had application in an ever-increasing number of institutions other

than the home, situated in the public domain. This worked to make the neat bifurcation of

The drscussion on the issue of wornens' role in society in Keralam in the wake of the International
Womens' Year fell clearly withm the terms set by this ideal of m&m society. See,a compilation of
articles, fickara Samarzvayum, presarted at the Jnternational Womens' Year celebrations conducted
by the Thrissur-based cuhral orgatusation, Sakridya Vedi 'hat this &ues to enjoy prominance
in contemporary KeraIam is well-illustrated in Sharmila Shreekurnar, 'Keraleeyatayum Streemvum:
Om KeraIa Piravidina Sarnmdathe P a d (Keruleeyatu and WoManhd: About a Debate on KeraIa
Day) in Kernla Pa&mngal(7), forthc-. This article is about a debate on Womanhood that was
c o n d u d in a ~orn'm'sCollege in a town in Keralam on Kerala Day, November 1, 1996. It clearly
shows how the te& of discussion about wder are set by this ideal ofmodem society.
 173

space into domestic and public domains less important in reckoning the order of gender. In

practical terms it jushfied the entry of women into the public domain, particularly into

institutions such as schools, hospitals, charity organisations, reform institutions or

orphanages. It even served to justify the carving of specilic areas in institutions that seemed

crucially dependent on ' M d y ' capacities, such as those of economic production, or human

management and political struggle, where women, it was claimed, could function with

greater efficiency than men. ln fact, this version was sometimes extended in such a way that

Womanhood and Manhood seemed associated with form of power that seemed not only

different but even antagonistic.

The fist section of this chapter is a brief examination of the debates around gender

in the early twentieth century when different versions of the order of gender were produced

and circulated. In h s section it may be shown that by the end of the 'twenties, 'wornen'

had begun to figure ever-more commonly as a group that had common interests, claims on

the State and specSc role to play in society, especially in Kochi and Tixuvitamkoor'. But

the just&ation of such demands (which included reservation of government jobs for

, women, support for their professional training etc. which certainly seemed a far cry from

demands for the fashioning of the Domestic Woman) hardly involved a rejection of the

'different capacities' argument. The second section focuses on those institutions in which

'Womanly' capacities were found to be of use. Indeed, their number and variety

progressively i n c r e d , and this seemed to jusbfy ever-greater avenues of employment for

. wornen in the public domain. Even today, working in such institutions is considered

respectable and the employment of modern-educated middle-class women in Keralarn is still

concentrated in these institutions. In the third section, a text that figures the ideal new

Woman is examined. Though this reading it may be made apparent that the ideal new

Woman is no longer associated exclusively with the home but with the exercise of 'gentle

power' in general. Another text which associates Womanhood with 'gentle power' is also

examined in which this power is pitted against what is identified as 'male power'. This

A
evokes the vision of a 'Womanly Society' seen to bc more beneficial than what it replaces, a

'Manly' one. Here the idea of complementary sexual exchange itself is revised-it is no

more an exchange between domestic and public domains, but one that takes place between

'Womanly' and 'Manly' capacities in the management of society itself, in whlch 'Womanly'
I

capacities are seen to enjoy a defmite superiority. However, this does not mean that by this

period, the reinterpreted order of gender was unanimously accepted; nor did it mean that

women were freed of obligations towards the home. The fourth section makes these

necessary qualifications,
C

By the 1930's appeals made on behalf of the 'Women of Tiruvitamkoor', 'Women of

Kochi', 'Malayalee Women' or simply 'Women' repding their participation in the public
domain were to be found much more frequently in writings especially in contemporary

newspapers and magszines. In these appeals, 'Women' often appear as a distinct collectivity

which is supposed to have interests and problems, sometimes opinions, spechc to them,

beyond considerations of caste or class. Anna Chandy, for example, spealdng on behalf of

the 'Women of Keralam' in 1929, idenaed such a collectivity on the basis of a 'common-

condition' above and beyond considerations of caste and class. She said :

"How is one to say that women in Keralam are nat slaves 7 The -&on of women of
various castes and meeds m Keralam are varied. There are AntharJanarns who stay in their
inneraurtyards with the female servant, the cadjan-umbreb and brmm bangles; there are
the M u s h sisters who s u e cmstant hell in G h s h (seclusion) who are made the target of
their men's derisive laughter for lacking the Adam's apple; 3 - girls, who, a b r being
widawed in the prime of yo& are tonsured and left to lead a miserable existence, cursin life
itself, Qlristianw m m who are cursed fbr life due to the sternnes ofthe dowry-system."Q

What is s&g about thls speech is not merely that it strongly criticises the dental of

modem knowledge and ways of life to large sections of women in Keralam. In fact, it: is

stdcing because it does not endorse the ideal of domestic Womanhood as the ultimate goal

of female self-transformation. It is actually a very strong argument made in favour of the

enby of women into the public domain, in favour of paid employmex~tfor women. The

'Women of Kerdam' are found united in their common grievance regarding the lack of

adequate circumstances for the development of their internahties and hence Womanliness

2. Anna Chandy, 'Stree Swatampthe Patti' (About the F r d o r n of Women), Speech delivered at the .
Vidyabhivardhm Sabha at Thirumanthapuram in 1928; published in the Sahodaran, Special Issue,
1929,pp. 135-36.
 176

itseIf. But the relevance of this Womanliness is found to be not only within the home.

indeed, Anna Chmdy strongly argues that women must be given the circumstances to

employ their capabilities in public institutions and earn incomes. 'Womanly' capabilities do

not seem entirely distanced fiom the world of economic exchange; there seems to be a need

for them within public institutions which women must be allowed to Ilfill.

Indeed, by this time, this argument about the participation of women in public

institutions was getting stronger, appearing alongside invocation of 'common interests',

'common grievances' etc., of 'Women'. By the 1920's women's participation in modern

political institutions was being increasingly permitted in Tiruvitamkoor and Kochi. In 1919,

women in Thvitamkoor were patially enfranchised;3 in 1922-'23, women were made

eligible to sit in the House as members of the Shn Mulam Popular Assembly, and the

Legislative ~ o u n c i lIn
. ~ Kochi too, women were partially enfranchised- and the demand

that 'Women' must be treated as a separate constituency with representation proportional to

the number of voters along with other special constituencies like 'Industry and Commerce',

'Jews' or 'Planters' was voiced in Kochi in 1925 .' More or less the same demand was made

3. P .K .K. Menon, The Hisfoty ofthe Freedom M m m e n t ~nKernla Vol.II, Thiruvammhpuram : Govt.
of Kerala, 1972, p.60.

4. ibid., pp.6364.

5. ' A C& Lady', ' C& Legislatiw Council', Malaya& M a n o r a m (henhrth, M . ,Mar& 28,
1925.
 177

in Tiruvitamkoor by the Malayala M m m m a in the same year? By the 193Us thae were

women-members in both Houses actively supporting the 'needs of Women', voicing their

grievances, arguing for a fam share for women in reservation of governmentjobs etc.

Not that by now 'Women' bad managed to oust considerations of community or

class in such bargaining. However, it is found h t this category was often upheld over and

above, in some cases, even against, community or class. In an editorial pubMed in 1929,

the Maloyala Munorama congratulated the Tiruvitamkoor government on the appointment

of the three lady graduates in the Hunu Cutchq and High Court. It elaborated on the

advantages of giving governmentjobs to women thus :

"...through the competition k v e m women of chfkrent castes and creeds we may hope that
consciousness of m t e will deawe, that the cmsciousn~ssthat dhately there are only two
a s h , men and women, wdl increase and that the c~aperatimof M partis wiU be
acknowledged to be essential to the welfare of rhe nation, p m g an end to unnecessary
competition (between them)...."'

6. MM,, -rial, 'Tiruvitamkoor Niyamaxllrmana Sabha' (Tiiruvitamkoor Legislave Assembly), June

4, 1925. By then Dr.Mrs.Punnm Lukose was already a member in her capacity as h b a r Physician
and Head ofthe Medical Departmerrt. The Madras Mail had dacribed her appointment as H a d of the
Medical Dep- as an expmsian of 'Feminism in Tramcore'. The Mail's report under this title
was reprinted in the MM,, October 4, 1924. Reports of requests to appoint women-members were
fiequart enough. For instance, a plea s u b 4 to the Madras Governma by the members of the
Kannur Sfreesamjum was reported in M M , August 12, 1924 in the localsews column,
'Swadeshakaryam'; anaOher report on a resolutigl seelung to appoint a woman-member to the ,

Thtnrvananthapuram Municipality appeared in M M , August 25, 1925. Women were urged ta arter
the sphere of modem pohics, as a de& group, ccmscious ofthe 'specific' role they were assigned in
modem society and their 'specific' interests. (Elmrial, 'Streekal h y u r r ~Unarukafle ?' (Wid Nat
Women Awake?) in Vunjtakusumam,Vol.l(ll), 1928, pp 1-2).

7. M M ,Editorial, 'Streekalum Sarkarudyogavum' (Women and Government Service), September 27,

(..continued)
 Responding to the Tiruvitarnkoor government's decision to nominate five women

fiom different communities to the Shree Mulam Praja Sabha in 193 1, The MahiIa sought to

assert their commonality o f interests above communal considerations :

"If anyone was to opine that Womankind as a community, being di&mt from men, needed
to speak only their needs and gnewces, and not make communal arguments, then m e cannat
but agree that this is a superior thought."'

In 1930, Gauri Pavitran, wornan-member of the Kochi Legislature who belonged to

the Ezhava cornunify, introduced a Nambutiri Farmly Regulation B d , and her speech

began with the cladcation that she was introducing the Bill".... on behaIf of my dear

brothers, the Human community and your sisters, as your representative ....'19 Her BIl

included special provisions that gave more economic independence for Antharjanams;lo

these efforts were welcomed as attempts to ensure the welfae of women'' which probably

8. 'Pm&MmalalikaloT@lrds of Five Ccrlours?)in the 'Mahilabhashanam' Column which cowed

news items regding warnen in The Mahh Vol12(1), 1931, pp.3-9. The five wofiaen nom$lated were
Mrs.G.SankaraPillai, Srrrt. M M , Srrrt. Rudrnoi Anna Chandy and Penina Moses, from the
Nair, &va, Araya, Syrian Christian and CMS Ch.ridan groups.

9. M.M, 'Nambutiri Parishkarana Bill' (lknbutki M r m Bill) in the 'Vanita Pangti', a oolunm j%r
woma, March 31,1930.

10. M M ,'Vanita Pan# (in which the salient fhtures of Gauri Pavitran's Bill were discussed), 1
January, 1930.

11 . M M , Report cn the meeting of the Upasubh (subunit) of the Nanrbutin Yogabhema Sabh,
(..continued)
 179

d creation of family legislation for the Nambutiri community by the member of a

j u s ~ e the

Merent ~ommunity.The meeting of the Nambutki Yogakshema S a b h in 1930 also passed

a resolution requesting Muthulakshmi Reddy, member of the Madras Legislature, to

introduce a Bill that would help the reform of h b r j a n a m s . '

By the 1930's,several women had begun to emerge in the public domain as active

and able participants. The reform movements saw the emergence of figures Iike MutukuJarn

Pamati Amma, Arya fallom, Parvati Nenminimmgalam, Devaki Nariklmtiri and many,

many others; a galaxy of women-writers had also emerged as prominent literary figures- B.

Kalyani Amma, Taravathu Ammalu Amma, Bdamani Amrna, Kadathanattu Mrtdhavi

Amma, Mtarnbika Anthiqanam, Mary John Tottam, T.C.Kalyani Arnrna and K.

Saraswati Amma;legislative assemblies in Tiruvitamkoor and Kochi by tlus time had

articulate and active women-members-- Tottahttu Madhavi Amma, Anna Chandy, T.

Narayani Amma, Mrs.K.K. K m d a or Gawi Pavitran; individual women had also entered

professions Iike law, medicine and journalism, and begun to occupy higher positions in

t e a c h g and education: Anna Chandy, &.Mary Punnen Lukose, Dr.Mathilda John, B.

Bhageeraty Amma, Gauri S u h d , Dr.C. Rugmini Amma;in the political upheavals of the

'30s, women were active as orgmisers and participants-- Mukkapuzha Karthyayani Amma,

(..continued)
December 29, 1929.

12. ibid., above.

T.C.Kochukutty Amma, A.V.Kuttimalu h a , K.E.Sharada,Lalita Prabhu, C. Kudukkavu

Amma, C.R,Devaki Amma, Devaki Narikkatiri, Akkamma Cheriyan, Ratmimayi Devi and

many many others. More and more women continued to emerge successful in university

examinations, and these were events found worthy of being news, reported in da~hcs.'~
8

Communities feted their young women successfid in examinations by orgamsing public

meetings.'"There were also other signs that women were actively seeking to gain space

13. See for instance, the report of the success of Then&ummdl %ya Joseph in the B.Sc.
emmination in the &lass, h m the Univers* of h d m , (MM.,'Swad&akaryam', 6 August,
1924); report ofthe success of U.Demki Amma in securing M.A.LT degree (MM, July 14, 1925);
of the success of Ms.W&John in the FRCS examindm b m Edmburgh Universw, ( M M ,
July 2 1, 1925); of a M u s h woman Hawa Beevi, the first m m g her peers to join the intermdate
class at Warnen's College, rhiruvanarahapuram (MM, August 8,1925); report ofthe s u w s m B.A.
(Hons.) exam of lkkavamma Tampuran, the h t woman to gain this degree in the K d i royal family
W M ,Oaober 29, 1925); report ofthe atbinmat of M.PW, Ph.d degrees by E.3 W M.A han
American University (.Ad., May 13, 1926); report on the a#ainmatt of M.A. d w by ajVeUala
woman, V.S. Chellamma, the &st to do so anwng Vellala women W M ,May 15, 1926); report of
the retum of C.K m after obtahng an LMP d q p e from Madras, becoming the kst hdy-
d-r of the Ezham mrnmumty, (MM, March 8, 1926); report on the retum of Paru b l a , a
Thiyya woman from the U.S. after e a h g medical degrees (AX., March 12, 1927); report of the
success of K.C. Annamma in the Maths B.A. W s . ) exam of the Madras Universrty, she being the
fust woman to do so W.M., May 3 1, 1927); report of the success of C.Memakshi Amma, h the
prehinary part of the Banistership Exminatim @d.., March 14, 1928); &rial crm 'Mrs. Anna
Chandy B.A.B.L.'cmgmt&mg her an her success in the B.L.degree exam, king the first Malaylee
woman to attain such success (AIM, January 1 1, 1929); report of the s u m s of Kamalamrna, the
h t Nair woman to ham secured the M.B.B.S. degree from Madras Pmidency Medial College
(MM, November 5, 1928).

14. Mary P w e n was presented wrth a gold m&I by an asmjatim of Syrian Christians at a public
meeting in 1906 after she passed the first Arts Examhation. She rmived another medal at a public
meeting when she graduated in 1909 (R.Je%?ey, Politics, Women and Well-being,N m Dehi: OUP,
1993, p.93). U. Devaki Arruna was awarded a gold medal fbr her s u w s at the M.A. LT.exam by
the Tiyys of Kannur, at a m A n g presided by Koravathu Krishnan in 1925 (M.M., July 11, 1925);
the Vilakkithala Nair community awarded a medal to K.P. Janaki Amrna, the first woman of that
communrty to gain the LMP degree WM.,October 19, 1928). Local organisations also organised
cmgratulmry functim for women-s&olars. The Sanmarguposhini a h a at Vaikom awarded a
gold medal to the first lady graduate from Varkom taluk, N. Gauri Amma W M , November 30,
I..continued)
within the public domain, and consolidating the space gained. In 1927, a 'Tiruvitamkoor

Lady Graduates' Association' had been formed with the aim of putting an end to the

unemployment of well-qualified women;15 in 1925, the 'women of Kunnarnkulmt

submitted a Memorial to the government of Kochi requesting that women of sufficient

qualification and talent be given jobs in Merent departments of in 1927, a

separate organisation of wornen-teachers was operating at ~ o c h il7. In 1929, the President of

the Women-Teacher's Conference at Koclu, MIS. Velayudha Menon, just5ed a separate

(..continued)
1926); a felicitatory function was organised at Kdmmangalam to award a gold ntedal to the first
woman graduate in the Muvattupurha taluk, Ms. PuWdrsrl Mary. W M ,November 13, 1926).
Women's muy into public employment, especially to higher posts in teaching a. was reported in the
newspapers and a h formed occasions for public meting. When V.K. Karthyayani Amma was
appointed Sanskrit tutor at Women's College, ThiFuwanthapuram, a public meeting was held at h e
Ammula Girls' Schml in her honour in 1926 CUM., W b e r 23, 1926); the appointmerrt of K
Easwari Amma as En& at Lady Wellington College, Madras was reported, (Ad..,
November 6, 1926). In his Travancore State Manual (1940), T.K.Velu Plllai ahowledged ths
developmeart. Describing the c-ces under which the Thvitankoor government decided to
allow the entry of women irrto legislative b d e s , he wrote. 'The women of Kerala haw always been
better c i w c r i b e d than their sisters in other parts of In& and the countries of the west... (by 1922)
many women had already prwed their capacity for successful leadership in libem1 proksions as well
in humbler callings. Several had risen to high rank in the service of Government. "ibid., Vol Ill,
ThiruMnanthapuram:Kerala Gazetteers Department, 1996,pp .684-85.

15. 'Tozhddatha Birudhadharinikal' (Unemployed WmenGraduates), m V a n i t u ~ u m a mVol .l(l1),

1927, p.349. Also, 'Streekdurn G o v e m m ~ ' ,(Women and 'the Gow-1, The Mahila
Vol -11(I), 193 1, pp.3-5. More or less the same demands fbr job-resenation were put forth mlutians
in a women's h c e in 1936 at Thimvananthapumm, prasided by Mr5.R. Krirhna Pillai, (E.N.
Meenakshi Amma,'V& Lokam',M..NNairMus~kaVoI 1(2), 1936, pp. 122-26).

16. MM, 'Swadeshakaryam', July 30,1925.

17. This Upadhyayr'ni&fighorn (Lady Teacher'sOrgatusatim)had appointed a sub-wmmhee to devise a

new scheme to re%rn~Women's education at KO&. MM, 'Kodziyde Streevidybhyasan~Putip
Scheme', August 16,1927.
organisation for women-teachers, claiming that the issue of W o r n d y education needed to

be contemplated with great seriousness, through active discussion amongst lady teachers."

There were also signs that authorities were at least pmally resporlding to these aspirations-

- the Committee appointed by the Timvitarnkoor government to investigate unemployment

observed in its Report (1928) that the problem of unemployment among educated women

needed to be solved on an immediate basis, and that an employment bureau for women must
19
be set up; in 1925, a special class for women in typing and short-hand was set up at the

in the same year efforts were being made

Fon T e c h c a l School at Thiru~anantha~urarn;~~

to move a resolution in the legislature to admit women-students to the Law College at

Thmvananthapuram;'L in 1927, women-students were actually admitted there."

However these developments were not interpreted always in favourable light'. Indeed I

19. M M , 'Tozhilillaima Comnkmyude Report' (Report of the Unemploymart Committee), July 6, 1928.
The Report observed that every year there were about 450 women who secured pass in examinatims
and cculd seek employment in Tiruvmmkoor.

20. M - M , ' Swadeshakargnm', February 28,1925.

22. MM,'Pmd~Vaahapl'~dNews).JuIy19,1927.Fourwo~enhadappliedmdSarah
P h e n was the first tojoin, fitlowed by Anna Chacko w . M , July 2 1,1927). However thm were Jso
criticisms a w s t woma joining the legal professim. See, speech by Justice Changanacheny
P a r d w a r a n Pillai at h t meeting of h w m m t h a p u r a m GrrIs' College Associatia,
Vunitakzllsumam Vol 1(8), 1927, pp.271-74.
throughout the '20s and '30% one comes across persistent complaints that they went against

the spirit of complementaq sexual exchange and were detrimental to the creation of ideal

modern society, especially in contemporary Women's Magazines. "How many women do

we come across these days who after higher education banker after employment 7" wrote

an author in the Mahila Mandiram in 1926, "...One cannot but say that they themselves are

. ~was repeatedly w e d that women who had

responsible for their pathetic ~ o n d i t i o n " It

received modem education were actually neghgent of their 'natural' role:

"Our women who have received modem education are usually found negligent in the
performance of domestic duties. Lf a woman who has had the fortune to be a wifk and the
mistress of a home surrenders the wefire of her spouse and M dm to servants and the
preparation of fmd to hired cooks, then the home will itself suffer badly....For peace and
comfort to reign in the home the mistress of the household must assume all responsibilrty".24

The complaint that Westem-style education eroded women's 'natural' quahties and

23. G.R llmhnm 'Utknshta Vidyabhyasavum Streekalum', wgher Education and Women), Mahila
Mandiram Voll(1-ll), 1925, p.455. See also, among innumerable such a r t i o l ~ ,'Japanile Oru
PenpalUoodam' (A Grls' School in Japan), MM, May 3, 1924; Kaveri Amrna , 'Nammude
Pradhanapetta Chumatalakal', (Our Chief Responsibilities), M.M,October 10, 1925; 'Streekalum
Rashtnya AbhrMidhiyuml (Women and the P-s of the Nation), M;M. April 1, 1926; C.S.
Subrahmanyan Potti, 'Streekalum Sarkar Udyogavum' (Women and Govemmmt Employment),
Sumartgala Vol 1(2), 1916, pp. 40-43; T.C.Kalyani Amma, 'Om Adhyakh Prasangam' (A
Presidentml Speech), Deepam Vol 2(8), 1931, p. 312-13; K.P.Krishna Pillai, 'Na Stree ,

S w a t a n m h a t i ?I, Sumangala Vol . 1(51, 19 16, pp ,179-83;P . S W l u Kovilamma,

' Streekalude Purogati' (wom&~rcgms), MaIayrrla M s i k a Vol. 1(9), 1(10), 193 1, pp. 25865,
pp.294-99 respectiwly; P.K.Damdaran B . 4 B.L, 'Streekalum Grihabharanavum' (Women and
Home-Management), ZG h d r i Vol 2(4), 1929, pp . 117- 120; B.B. Amma, 'Adarsham Avashyarn'
(Values are Necessary), n e Mahilo Vol 1 1(2), 193 1, pp.33-39. ,

24. B.B.Amma 'VidyabhyasavumManovlkasavum',(Wornen and the C k e ofthe Mind) in Tke M~rhila

Vol 16(3), 1936,p.241.
that "... women are turning wanton and disobedient in their imitation of the had

begull to be heard since the turn-of-the-century years, but now it came to be linked to

xnodem educated women's aspirations regarding entq into the public domain.

"At first it was the Education Department that was chosen as the bade-field. When the
pushmg and pdhg, h c h g and pinching in that field was more or less over, young pis have
begun to move into other sorts of training, lke medicine.... Respected sisters! Have you ever
contemplated on why we fuss so much over this totaly meaningless higher education ?... As
women our godordarned duty is the care of the home and service towards our husbands.
Govemmmt setvice and pohcal activity are beyond its purview. Because it is universally
seen that they impair the perk-ce of the duties mentioned above.. .."I6

Women-members in legislative bodies in Kochl and Tinrvitarnkoor made repeated

requests to the government to institute education that would &ah women in domestic

management and chddcare in schools.27 In 1929, the MuIayaIa Manorama adnutted that

there were two opinions regarding women's education in every counby, one recommending

25. Taramthu h l u A ~ r n a ,Speech at Chiamr B a l h Pathashala Sahrty Samajam, h k s h m i t l m

Vol 20(10), 1924, p.358. But such complaints had been made much earlier. For example, ten p r s
back, an author writing in the Nurani Deepika opined thus: "Tday's modem-minded women are fir
b&nd old-fashimed women in qualities essential to women such as (the abilityfor) care of husbands
and children, home-management, g d morals, ettiquette and so on ". 'Om Pazhamakkaran' (An Old-
Fashioned Man),'Namrnude Streesamajangal' (Our Women'sAsw5atians), Nazruni Deepika, March
31, 1914.

26. Mary Kurien, ' Streekalum Uknshta Vidyabhyasavum', (Wornem and Higher Edumm}, MM, April
4, 1926; also see A.V. Kora Ancheri, 'Keraleqa Mahilamanikalude Gnhakrrtyam', MM., September
10. 1928.

27. T.Narayani Amma. S m d session, First Assembly, 24 March, 1934, Proceedtngs of the S r e e
Mulam hsembly Vol Il, 1935 pp.950-51. T. Madhavi Amma hrducecl a resolution s e e b y the
institution of Womanly education fbr girls in K&i (MM,March I, 1928).
special domestic-oriented training, and the other, one that would make women men's

competitors and give them access to the public domain, and that the debate between the

It, however, sought to sires that a

advocates of these two forms was not really ~ettled.2~

domestic-oriented training was really important and that

"...thereis no doubt hat since men and women have mrert positions in society, their
education and sockdisation must be in accordance with their respective roles they must
occupy.... Men's aim is to b e m e part of the struggle of life. Wwnen ought to be their
helpmates, helping them achieve vi-ry in the struggle of M..

But the non-availability of Womanly education did not seem to be the only problem:

it seemed as though at least in Tiruvitamkoor, Womanly education was being actually

rejected wherever it was made available. The Statham Cornmittee Report on educational

reform in Tiruvitamkoor noted regretfully in 1933 that

" ...in no grade of g d s ' schools are domestic science, homwra ft, nursing, first-aid etc. bught
as part of the regular course. And it may also be assumed, merally spealung, that girls in the
8
state are receiving almost identtcal educatim as the boys.. ." O

But the problem did not end there...

28 . MM, Editorial, ' Stree Vidyabhyasam'(Women's Education), January 10, 1928.

29. ibid, above.

30. Report of the Truvancore Ed~tcatiotwlReforms Committee (1 933), pp.26263.

 ''the few experiments that have been tried in the Girls' High Schools have s h m that the
pupils themselves or their parents are nat anxious to take advantage of separate or special
c o u w of study, unless these courses can be made use of ukimately, wrth the same
advantage, as the pment courses terminating in recognired certificater"."

The root cause of such neglect was identified in the tendency to see education not as

something of cultural value in itself, but as a direct means of securing employment and

competing with men in the open market"32.

There were some authors, like Parvati Ayyappaa or Dr.C.1. Rugmini Amma, who

argued against separate sorts of education, arguing that men and women were equally

But how far this posed a real threat to the endorsement of

equipped with mental abilitie~.'~

Domestic Woman is not clear. In any case, the ideal of pms~nhoodfor women was the

target of persistent criticism in the '30s. In E.V.KrishnaPillai's play Pennarashu ~ a d z i ~ ~

31 , ibid, pp .265-66.

32. ibid, above.

33. See, for instance, Dr.C .I. R u m Amrna, ' Paschatya Paurastya Vanaakal' (Women of the West and
East), Shreemati, Special Issue, 1935; P a r d Ayyappan, 'Stredharmathe Patti' (About Womanly
Duty), areemuti, Special Number, 1935. Mrs. C.Kuttan Nair, ' Streepurusha Sarnatvathhulla Chda
Pratibandhangal' (Some hphato h d e r Equaldy), Mathrubkumi Special Number, 1938. In
the '40s,thls understanding gained msiderable sway, especially under the influence of 1& nnd
radical ideas, pawefilly v o i d by writers like Kuttipurha Krishna Pillai. See amang his essays,
'Streekalude Paratantrayam'(Wommls f3cn&ge) (19411, 'Russiaylle Streekal' (Wornen of
Russia),(1944). Rep& in Kuttipuzhapde Prabkanrhangal flireekshanam) (Essays of Kuaipuzha-
-Observatian), Thrissur: Kerala S a m Akademi, 1990, pp .1 1-1 4; pp 54-5 6 . Pmamma Bhayi,
'Nammude Sarnbathika Nilayum Streekalum' (Our Emomic Condrtlon and Worn), ,
Vunituhmnm Vol 1(9), 1927,pp.318-20.

34. E.V.KnshnaPlllai,'PennarashuNadu'(1935),repdinB~KKritikdVol.~Ko#ayam:D.C
Books, 1980, pp.356-402.
 187

(The Land of Woman-Government) the target of criticism is the firebrand Bhageeraty

Amma who refuses to take up a domestic role. The championing of women's rights is

interpreted as stemming from a desire to usurp Man's role, and the play ends with the

tam116 of the shrew. Sanjayan, writing in 1936, criticised women-speakers:

"Haveyou heard any of our women make speeches these days ...(they) begm by scolding men
quating f b m Manusmriti of long ago ...Thse women have nat un* that to claim that
a woman can truly realise herself (only) by being like a man is n d m g but low lack of self-
respectqi.35

Against this was set up the ideal of Domestic Woman- persoded in Vasanthy of

Penmrashu Nadu who acknowledges the home as her true domain and is willing to devote

her well-trained mind to its well-being. Woman's 'tme duty' is established when Bhageeraty
Amma is shown her 'place'by her husband:

"You must go straight to the kitchen, you must a#end to the children. You must gude the
formation of my character. You must help, serve, nurse me, as my Queen, my servant, my
mother, my teacher.

Along with this, the pleasure to be had fiom conforming to the subjectivity given 'by

35 . Sanjay;in W.R. Nair), ' S m t i T a r a d Ammalu Amma- Oru Anusmaranam' (Taramth Amrnalu
Amma- A Remembrane) from Sanjqan-1936 le Hasylekhamngal (Sanjayan- The Humomus
Article of1936), Kozhikode: Mathrubhum, 1970, pp.16364.

36. PennarashuNadu,op.crt,n.34,p.400.Mu&ofE.V.'satherwritings~~hyscepticismoreven
shew dishke for women's aspirations towards public life. See, fkr mstance, essays in E. F Kritikal
Vd.1, op.cit., 11.34, hke 'Nandkdu' (1934), pp.173-76; 'PenpirannaMnmaf(l937), pp.234-36;
' Bharyal(l93 S), pp ,334-37; 'Huzur Pranaym'(l928) pp.473-75.
one's sex was stressed. "Motherhood is a state of great importance and responsibility",wrote

an author in Shrerntori in 1935." "There is no other position that will give greater pleasure

and satisfaction than being the mothers of ideal children."38

However, those who advised women to remain at home did not deny them power

the home. In fact they inevitably stressed the importance of making Woman the focal

point of the home, the guiding light of the family--as T.K. Velu PiUai did when he argued

that Women are, and must aspire to, being Grihnchakrmarfhinikal (Empresses of the

Home) instead of competing with men3' Between the two positions-i.e., between those

who argued that women had a role to play in the public domain, and those who assigned the
1

role of domestic guardian to them --there was fimdamental agreement that women needed tc,

be active agents in social Me, and make 'positivefcontribution to the collectivity: the dispute

was more about the specific domain in which they were to assume such agency. Secondly,

taking a job was not necessarily interpreted as a travesty of true Womanliness. That is,

much of the writings that defended women's entry into the public domain did not venture to

37. T.C.KochukuttyAmma, 'Mamba Mahima' ('The Greatness of Motherhd), Shreemah', Special

Number, 1935,

38. ibid., above.

39 . 'Sadasytrtakam'T.K. Velu Pillai, Speech. Published in the M.M ,November 15,1929; November 29,
1929, in the 'Vanita Pangti', the women's column.
 189

reject Womanhood in unequivocal terms;indeed, one even finds the argument that W g a

job, bringing an income etc. are signs of Wu~rtanIiness,

not the reverse. This was sometimes

palpable in the literary representations of ideal Woman. The thane of romantic Love

continued to appear persistently in popular novels of rhis period too, but sometimes with

interesting modifications as in V.I. M d y a r l s ~amalarn? This reworks ~ndulekha'$'

theme-- of Love triumphing over impediments. The narrative unfolds around the Love of

two modem-educated members of a Tarmad and it proceeds in more or less the same

fashion as in Indulekha, between the emotionally self-controlled Woman and the Man less

capable of this. The heroine Kamalam earns a B.A. degree, works in a Girls' School in

Madras away fiom home, takes tuitions, writes books, and saves money to support her

beloved's education abroad. Kamalam's capacity for Love is expressed in her willingness to

labour for pay; it does not s i p f y a lack of Womanliness but an abundance of it. flso, in

Anna Chandy's remarkable speech quoted earlier, there is the dogged effort to establish that

women's efforts to enter the public domain was really in support of their homes.42

Here there seems to be at work a redefinition of Womanliness intimating a

reconfiguration of the order of gender, not an outright rejection of it. There was also no

40. V.I. Mannadyar, Kamalam, Kozhrkde : P.K. Brathers, 1949, first published, c. 1924.

4 1. 0.Chandu Menan,Indulekha (1 889), Kctrayam : D.C. Bmk, 1991.

42. Anna Chandy, 'Streematanwe Patti', op-cit.,n.2,p. 142.

 190

necessary rejection of ' W o m d y ' capacities as d e w 6 Woman, though the interpretation

of such capacities were often disputed in defence of women's entry into the public domain.

In Anna Chandy's speech mentioned above, the interpretation of 'Womanly' capacities' that
excluded the capacity for physical labour is contested." However, she pointed out that

educated women were too sensible to seek work in departments like the Police and the

Army." Such an argument was often used against sarcastic comments about women's

employment, such as that made by a member of the Shree Mulam Praja Sabha in 1934, to

whch the woman-member, T. Narayani Amma, responded this way:

".....women who seek entry in public senice are generaly educated and enlightme and I
hope our well-meaning bmhefs will mcede to them s a c i e r r t wisdom and dtscretion nut to
apply for any post in the Police, M & q and Excise ~e~arbnents.'"
I

In fact, many of those women who were active in public life as legislators, public

speakers or reformers actually endorsed the dome& ideal. In the legislatures of Kochi and

TinrM:tamkoor, for instance, women-members were arguing a5mtively for both Womanly

education a d the resewation of jobs for women.& The same could be seen happening in

43. ibid.,abve,p.144.Foranotherexampleofsu&queSti~gsee,K.P.M.'SWAbd~~o?'
(Are Women Weak ?) LalrrhmiBhay Vol3(8), 1908, pp.329-37.

44. ibid., above, p. 146.

45. T.Narayatu Arnrna, Reply to query, Second Session, First Assembly, 26 May, 1934. From
Proceedings of the Shree Mtrlam Assembiy, Vol.ll, 1935, p.95 1.

46. T.Narayaru Amma, Discussion m the Statham Committee Report in the S h Mulam Assenibly,
(..continued)
reformist meetings in which women who made public speeches were found advising other

women to adhere to the modern domestic ideal.47

(..continued)
Demands fbr Supplementary Grants, Education, November 15, 1933, Proceedings Vol 2, 1935,
pp.98-99. DeMki Arrtharjamm, S p d , Generat Discussicm of Budget, 26 July, 1937, Proceedii~gs
VoI,lO,1938, pp.214-16. In this speech she calls for Womanly educatim as necessary for women. But
elsewhere she supported a motion that pleaded for posts that would anploy women, T.Narayani
Arruna's mutian requesting the governmart to appoint an Inspectress of W e r a t i w k i e t i e s to
encourage the spread of the C q e w v e movement among womm.(T.Narayani Amrna, Maim
no.391,Demands for Grants made by the Ckqeratiw Deparbnent, 3 August, 1937, Proceedings Vol
10, 1938, p.862). However, the obsenatim thd demands k r Womanly educatim made in legslative
bodies hardly reflected the ambiticxls of women was offen made. 'Ihe M.Ms correspondent in the
Assembly commesrted upon such a demand made by a member, K.Narayna Pillai, that "....ibis
opinion might earn the mmqt of todays womenfbk. He cuuld have demanded instead that women
should be given more repr-m in the Praja Sabha or that a woman should be appointed Deputy
President of the bslature. Is it nat a great error that in these days in which women are seeking to
entrust nat d y the job of amking food but even that of giving birth, to men, that Mr.Narayana Pihi
should condemn them to training in ~00Idng7".Mmhtaq' Sandarshakabhiprayam' (Vishts
Opinion), March 5, 1927.Obviously an exaggeraticn, this comment newreheless reflects the debates
over women's space in the period. Such deb* about women's space were more hqumt in the '30s.
For example P.Narayanan Nair members a debate sparked off by Sanjayn's article titted
'Sheelamtiyum Fatitivratyavum' (Sheelamti and Wifely Devotion) which appeared h h e
Mafhrubhumi, in whch more women than mesl twk part. PNarayanan Nair, Aru~ooffaPldihcde
(Though Half-Ceartury), Kattayarn : SPSS, 1973, p.133. See also, Sanjayan's concluding essay in this
debate, titled 'Sahdarare Namukku PinMn&(B&em, let us Retreat), published in
M~fhnrbhumr,Apd 15, 1935. Rqnnted in Sanjayan (M.R Nair), HasyanjaIi, Kozhikde :
Mathrubhurm, 1974, pp. 174-79.

47. In an interesting report, the M M covered the streesammelanam (women's wnference) wnducted
along vntb the 9' Meetmg of the Kedeeys Cathdic Cmgms at Pala in 1927 in which a s p e d an
Womanly Duty was made by A.T. Mary which stressed the need to be obedimt to the husband, and to
mainbin silence at times. Apparently, this speech was sharply attacked m the concluding s p d in
which asserted women's right to p M m and &gityas wives was asserted. W M . , May 7, 1927);
See also, speech by Junior Maharani of T i r u W o o r at VJT Hall, Thh~nanthapuram,M M ,
November 24,1927; Report of the Meeting of the Malabar Branch of All-India Women's Educational
Conference at Kofiode, M M , December 13, 1927. Speech by Sali Koyl, Principal of Kruisrcrva
Mahtlalayam ( Home fbr Christian women), Aluva, at the annual meeting ofthe Thirumanthapumn
branch of the All India Women's Conference, 1936, reportsd in M.N.Narr Masika Vol 1(2), 1936,
pp. 123-25.
 192

It is, then, rather difficult to h d conclusive evidence in the debates or in the

developments of the '20s and '30s that Womanhood, or the ideal of modern society

structured in terms of the order of gender, was being unequivocally rejected. However, as

we may see in the following section, there is plenty that indicates that 'Womanly' capacities

were being found to be useful in an ever-increasing number of institutions, not just the

home.

11. SOCIETY AND 'WOMANLY t CAPACITIES

In many modern institutions increasingly f d a r in KeraIam in the twentieth

century, it was recognised that 'Womanly' capacities did have sigmficant use! Take, for

instance, the modern school. It was established early enough that the modern school, ideally,

should not rely upon the application of violence to secure discipline. Instead, discipline was

to be secured through establishment of regular contact between pupils and teachers through

words, minimisingthe application of physical violence. The Director of Education of Kochi

in a circular issued in 1890 forbid corporal punishment in schools thus:

"No corporal punishment is to be hfhcted on a pupil in any class of a Srrkar School except by
the Headmaster of the School, or at his express order and in his presence. Teachers stand in
the place of pararts to theis pupils and land and encouraging words are generally W r than
blows to make boys work, so there should be no cane or strap in a teache$s hands to be an
 object of terror to his pupils.''g

Thus the teacher's words, rather than his blows, are judged to be more important in

securing obedience fiom pupils. However, it was often claimed that words were useless if

shehe who pronounced them did not prove to be an exemplar of whatever ideal that was

being pronounced. Regarding the correct upbringing of children, Dewan T.Madava Row

had advised that "...lfthe father's conduct is exemplary, the effect of such an example to

imitate will be far more useful than the fatherk advice..."49~deal

conducf therefore, *seemed

at times more potent than words in disciplining students.

One may be easily convinced of this by examining portraits of ideal teachers found

in biographies and autobiographies of people who lived in h s period. The ideal teacher is
shehe who is able to substitute the power of words for Mows; more crucially, shehe is one
i

48. Alfred Fork Sealy, Director of Eduation, Circular No.26 regardmg Corporal Punishment, 19 July
1890. Reprinted in the Archives Treasury,Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala State Archives, 1993, pp.99-
100 Of course, it should nd be supposed that corporal punishrrPent was avoided in modem schmk-
rather the contrary. There is ample evidence to show that this h u e d .

49. T.Madan Row, Hints on Training Native Children, V.Nagam Aiya (trans.), Kdiayarn : CMS
-
Press, 1889, p.60. This work also claimed that the Ruler Subject relation was s= paran-
child relationship, and that the State must be revered by rts subjeds in the same way =@-Fa
their fither, as a benewlent p-r and guide. I n t e h g l y eno& early missionaries often stressed
the necessity of such a relatirrm between the converts and the missionary. The missimary Ringletaube
who camed out proselytising work in Tiruvhnkoor, answering t h h e a ~queries put to him by
Co1.Munro regardulgthe P m Mission in South T i r u ~ o o inr 1813, w s e d this. In reply to
the query about the nature of the missionary's control over his juniors and mverts he begged the
querist"...to consider that among Infant congregations raised among the most stupid of Indrans, the
Missionary ought to have the authority of a Eather among Mdrqthe more so in ofjoinjng the
congregation or Ieding it, they experience nut the smallest compulsion. A Church that is governed
on the patriarchal,principle stands in need ofvery f&wregulatim The queries and answers are given
...I

in full in C.M. Agur, Church Hislory ufTruvancore (1903).New Delhi : AES, 1990, pp.593-94.
who sc~upulouslyadhered to what was said. R. Easwara Pillai, himself a venerated teacher

and educationist in Tiruvitamkoor, a student at the Maharajah's College in the late

nineteenth century, remembers that his teachers educated their pupils not only by

transmitting knowledge but also by their exemplary life-styles.5u This, he claims, was a

lesson he never wavered from.51One may also mention the figure of Vamana Baliga, as he

is etched in E.V.Krishna Pillai's memoirs, whose success as a teacher gets linked in this

account to his exceptional sense of non-violence, his uncompromising rejection of all

worldly temptation to luxruy." This is true for figures of ideal teachers in literary writmg as

In Varnana Baliga as he is made to appear in E.V.'smemoirs, many of the quahties

I

that make him a successfd discipharian seem distinctly ' his gentle ,

disposition, lack of shame in performing domestic chores and caring for childrelSSSspecial

50. R.Easwara P h i , Smramkcrl, emo ones), Kattayam :SPSS,1956, pp 5 8-59.

5 1. ibid., above.

52. E.V.Krishna Pillai, Jetvita SmarnnukcrI, (Life- Memories) Vol.1, KolIam : Sri Rama Viasom Press,
1938, pp.223-24.

53. See, for insbnce the figure ofthe ideal teacher who appears in Paravur K.N.Gcpah PiUai's Unmarhan
(The Drunk), Kollam : Sree Rama Vilasorn Press, 1938. This tells the story of the entanglement of a
modem-educated youth in the politiking and power-struggles in the official circle at,
Thiruvananthapuram.
54. What thse were supposed to be has been discussed in Chapter I.

55. E.V. f i s h Pillai, op.cit., n.52, pp.529-50.

 -
consideration for d y children,56 hs willingness to listen and to display af5ection and so

on. This ideal teacher resembles a parent, specscatly the ideal Mother. When the teacher

was female, this association was explicitly made.'? Jnspectors reporting on Mrs. Baker's

schooI for girls at Kottayam in 1879 remarked thus:

'We muId not be but struck by the b e a W order of the school-room, and the clean and
happy appearanca of the children who %I that they haw in Mrs.Baker not d y a most able
mistress, but a most kind and loving mother.5g

Order and happiness, mistress and mother, seem entwined in the success of Ihe

School. The si@cance of motherliness in &g the teacher an effective disciplimman

was voiced early in the twentieth century, in the discussion of the issue of employing

Assistant Inspectresses in the Department of Public Education. In 1909, the Director of

Public Education received a report that it was not advisable to make married yomen

permanent officers, which was accepted. Against this, a memorandum was submitted ,to

Dewan P. Rajagopalachari which claimed that it was mostly married women,

56. ib~d.,above.

57. See, B. Kalyani Amma's recollection of her teacher, Augusta Blandford, in O r w ' I Njnnic (From
Memories), K. Gomathy Amma (ed.), Kattayam : SPSS, 1968, pp.23-24. Also se,Pavumba
Padmanabhan,'Em Gunmadha' (My Teacher) in h c h he remembers hls teacher, Mutukulam
Parvaty Amma, Shashtyrrbdapoorthy Upnhra Gradhum (Volume commemorating 6ornBirthday)
Mutukufam : Shashtyabdapoorthy Celebratims Cornrni#ee, 1964,pp .152-53.

5 8. Madras ChurchMissionary Records VoI.XLVI, No.2., February 1879, p.54.

 "...whoare more capable of greater kindness to pupils, o f caring for children, paymg
considerate attention to their wishes, o f s e h g out their mental abilities and weaknesses, and
suitably instructins

By the 19301s,there was much greater acceptance for the argument that stressed the

use of 'Womanly' capacities in the ideal modern school. In 1926, the Director of Public

Instsuction of Kochi admitted that

"It has been quite evident that it is women who possess the natural ski1 and efficiency in the
instruction of children, than men. My wish is to a oint women as teachers in lower classes
not only in pis' schm1s but also in boys' schools."
P

The Junior Mahmani of Timvitamkoor, speaking in 1929, &inned the propriety of

appointmg women-teachers in primary schools, iden-g in them 'natural' capacity to be

good teachers, and recommended 'teaching. medicine, nursing to womenn61The President of

I

the Women-Teachers' Conference at Kochi in 1929 pointed out that not only women-

teachers but dl women are engaged in teaching and that all women must pay special

attention to teachmg children in their homes.62in 1931, the same argument regarding the

59. Quoted in N.Balaknshnan Nair, K. Chimmma :Jemckcrri~am,Thuuvananthapuram : Sri Vilas

Press, 1947, pp ,4243.

60. ' Matdabhashanam' in The Makila Vol .6(7), 1926,p .395.

61. Princess Setu Parvaty Bai, Speech at Vanidasam School, Bangalore in 1929. Quoted in Vmikulam
GopaIa Kurup, Varchjirjeshvaary, Tiruwlla, 1942, p,43; also see report of her speech at a Women's
me&ng at Ooty, M M ,May 3 1,1928; report ofher s p d at Thirummthapurzuq M M.,November
24, 1927.

62. ' Kachiylle Adhyaph Sammelanam' (Lady- Teachers' Conkrence at Kd), MM,13 March, 1929.
merits of appointing married women-teachers was being reiterated."

The number of modem schools in Thvitamkoor and Kochi generally grew in this
period. Between 1865-'66 and 1904-'05, the number of vernacular schools in Tiruvitmkoor

rose from 12 to 1483,64attendencerose from 865 to 99757 pupils.65Women were gaining

ever-greater access to schools as students and teachers. In 1898, 19% of all girls of the

primiuy age group in Tiruvitamkoor and 14% in Kochi were going to scho01.~By the late

1950'q 87% of the girls of this age-group in Keralam wen in in 194 1, 15% of a l l

the teachers in Tiruvitamkoor, and 30% in Kochi were women.68Ever since, this figure has

continued to increase.69

63. R Easwara Piliai, ' Udyogawsn Vivaha*' t Marriage), The Mahila Vo1.11(2),
~ l o y r n e n and
1931, pp.9-13. &gardmg the marital status of h s p m s e s , ihe bspute was still going on.
T.NarayaniAmma, woman-member o f t h e Sree Mularn Praja Sabha, strongly objectedto the denial of
this post to married m e n , as was pqosed by the S W a m Commi#ee Report. See, Dembh for
Supplementary Grants - Education, November 15, 1933, Proceedings VoI.U, 1934, p,98.

64. RJ&ey, The Decline of Nayar Dominance, London : Sussex University Press, 1976,p -80,
65. ibid., above. b 1901, there were 3683 educ.anal b h t i a n s in Tinrvitamkwr providing 1 school for
792 persons, and 1.9 square mde area, and 119 schools per Tduk on an average. (P.K.Mi&ael
Tharakan, ' S w i e b o m i c Faaors in E d u d n a l Developmmt : The Case of 19' Century
Tramcore', Working Paper No.290, Centre for Development Studies, Thlruvananthapuram, 1984,
p.4).

66. R J&y, Politics, Women aid Well-being, op.cit.,n.14, p.55.

67. ibid., above.

68. ibid., above, p.69.

69. Recmtly women have outnurnkred men in t e a h g at the school-level. See, Dr.S. Radha, Women,
Men and Development in Kerala, hmlarrthapuram, 1994, p 6 8 .
 A second set of institutions found open to women as employees were those of

health.7uAs early as 1905, Sharada canied an article recommending the medical profession

to women, claiming that it suited their 'natural' talents. In Tiruvibmkoor women were

being trained in the Health Department in modern middery, much before and had also

'
begun to work as nurses by early twentieth century7 . The article in Sharada argued:

"....It is n w to consider whether a woman possesses all the special qualities essential for
a d w r . A -r needs to be thou- sharp; h i d e s , endurance, compassim, patience
with the sick and love for fellow-beings are n-ry. Since these quahes am inherent in a
woman, she is fir more eligible for bs professim than men. Moreover we knaw by
experience that Woman @lays greater efficimq and h e s s in nursing the sick than Man.
The talent fbr nursing is inherent in w o r n . They have d y to gam experience in the clinical
side.

For nurses too, there were restrictions upon marriage imposed on the basis of the
I

purely practical consideration that mmied nurses would have to divide their time and

70. t Tiruwhmkmr early enough. See, Trawncore

Women were part of the m d c a l ~ b h h m e n in
Administmtive Reporf 1869-'70, p.112. Here the need fbr womenqloyees was stressed in the
cantext of popularking vaccimt~anamong women.

The Administrative RepoH of Tiruvitamkoor of 1869-70 reported that four midwives had been
attached to the Lymg-in hospital as nurses @. 1 12); the previous year, e@t Nair women had begun to
receive training in modern midwifery (2dministrative Report 1868-'69,p ,691.In the Adminish-atiw
Report 1898-'99, female health workers ranged from S u r e to sick nurses, including Assistant
Apathecaries, Matrcsls and Licensed Midwives in matWnity a x (p.99). Eficiatt nursing was kst
hhduced in Tiruvitamkoor State Hospitals in 1906 employing eight European ntms (Travrrncore
Administmtive Report 1932-'33,p. 179).Hospitals for women were extmded. The Zenzlna Missicn
Hospital for women received a special grant h m Shree M h Tirunal to add a number of beds for
women. The Viaria Hqital for W m at K o h was founded in 1897. In 1927, a W~nen's
Medical Service was operatmg here, and midwifery caIssw were bgm at the District Hospital at
Alappuzha. See, T.K.Velu Pillai, 7 h Trmncore Store Manual Val 3, (1 9401, h m n a d a p u r a m
: Kerala -rs Department, 1996, p.678; pp.702; p.715.

72. ' Streekalum Vaidyavum', (Women and M d c a l Practice) S h a r d Vo1.2(9), 1904'05, pp -12-15 .
 199

energy between domestic and official duties.73Again, this was objected to on the very same

grounds raised against the necessity of unmarried status for Assistant Inspectresses. In 1926,

P.K. Narayana Pillai criticised this d e thus:

"It is totally &gless to insist that nurses must necessarily be unmarried. Everyme wiU
agree that women, in comparison to men, have greater natural taleat, patience, and maturity
for thu profasion. This is why, of course, womm are appointed in hospitals fbr this job.But
such quahes are found in greater brilliance in married womm. It is married women, rather
than unmarried ones who have greater experience, patience and skill in nursing."74

Here the government's objection was not that 'W o d y ' capacities are irrelevant in

the health-care institutions, but that these would be wastefully utilised, to the disadvantage

of the health-care institution, if divided between the home and the official domains. Such

objections were advanced by the government in other instances also, as, for example, when

the eligbility of women for clerical jobs was being considered. Regardrng hs the
I

government argued that it was a c u l t to arrange accommodation for women-staff during

circuit visits, especially when all other staff were men.75In this case too, only umamied

7 3. Report of Question-Answer Swim in the Tiruwtamkoor rnlature, MM., August 8, 1926. Mrs.
Punnen Lukose, the HeaG ofthe Medical Deparlment advanced this reasm.

74. ibid., above. Of course, this reply was na really an answer to the pradcal m c u b rased by Mrs.
-
Lukose. In hct,when fairly the same objedan was raised with regnrdto the Assistant Inspectress= of
Girls' Schools, T.Narayani Amma gave a much-more pointed reply h e n she argued that domestic
dutres affect bath mamed and unmarriedwomen more or less alike. Proceedings V0l.Q 1934, p.98.
women were to be ~onsidered.'~

In the 1930's, the variety of institutions in which 'Womdy' capacities were found
essential increased. In 1934, Sanjayan, writing in the Mathrubhumi i d e n ~ e dcivic

government as such an area:

"...in reality women have greater abilrty to goem municipalitiesthan men. The delineation of
public govemmerzt as an exclusively male preserve is a relic ofthose older times when brute
force was the law. The h e f qualities that rulers need these days...^ wornanly quahies like
patience, gentle drsposition, tact and resourcefUIness. There is not much -race been
governing the home and governing a municipalrty.' ~ 7

What is interesting here is the association of 'brute force' with men. This (i.e., 'brute

force'), w h h was earlier associated with the traditional order, now gets N e d to 'men'. In

turn, 'Women' get associated with the sort of power of modem governance- that which is

non-coercive and proceeds fiom qualities such as love, compassion, patience etc. In fact

such redefinition of State power was at least as old as T. Madava Row's text on the training

which the father-figure is moulded in a benevolent form, and then it

of 'native children~~~in

is argued that the State resembled the benevolent father who would protect and guide his

76. ibid., above.

77. Sanjayan (M-RNair), 'BhamadUaram Streekah' (Pohcal Authority to Women), (1934); ,

reprinted in HusyanjaIi, KoxMde: Mathrubhumi, 1974, p.49.

78. T.Madava~ap.clt.,n.49.Infi~thefigursofm&mfatherthatrepla~thatofthskcrrmr
in writings was o%ma benevolmt me. But such qualities were found more characteristic of Woman,
than Man.
children without excessive violence or the use of superstitious faith.79 In fact such

redefdtion opened up certain institutions of State power as potential sites in which

'Womanlyt abilities could be utilised. In the definition of many other modem institutions

too, such potential was opened (whether it was fully explored or not in practical terms is a

different question). For instance, in one text, the modem comuriity was said to be held

together not by coercive bonds but by the power of love, and it was claimed that its leaders

needed not only "knowledge"but also ltpatimce"." Further, the t r h g organisation and the

factory are recognised to be similar to the community in these respects:

"Thec o m m a must be envisigled as a large tradmg oqpkatim or hcbry and only those
who have the n-sary capacity to manage must be assigned to ldershrp. In bath, the
leaders, besides being clear abut the objectives and h e pradical means, must also possess
the discretianary smse to rwogrhe the d&mt skds and abdities of parti& mdvidual,
and assign different tasks accordmgly, and the knack to make individuals perbrm duties
happily without s u b j h g them to pain.""
I

This text, A.Gopala Menon's Sammhyulkkarsharn (Pxogress of Society), nowhere

recommends that women should be assigned leaderdup tasks in the modem community. But

fiom the list of qualities found necessary for leadership of the community (and by extension,

of the trading-organisation and the factory), and given the fact that by this time it was

79. ibid., p.60.

80. A. GapaIa Menon, S a m w b p I h r s k a m (Progress of Society), ThiruMnanthapuram : S.R Book

Dep* 1924, p.23.

8 1. ibid., above.
common enough to identify many of these as more natural to Woman, it is obvious that it

leaves open the potential for arguing in favour of women's eligibility for employment in

these institutions as managers.

Besides, certain spaces for women began to be carved out in institutions that initially

seemed to admit no such space at all -- for instance, in the institutions of econornic

production and exchange. The Tin~iramkoorCo-operatives Enquiry Commitfee Report

(1934) sought to draw upon 'Womady' capacities in encouragmg the growth of the co-

operative movement.

'Women who by but.. possess hgalxty and the.propensq to save must be trained in such
qualitia, and the ficikies for these are not provided by institutions that merely pmvide
finance.*'gz
i

The woman-member in the Shree Mdam Praja Sabha was insisting in 1937 the need

to appoint an Assistant Inspectress of Co-operatives to provide encouragement and advise to *

women in h marketing and production-efforts undertaken by women's

s fie~d.~~The

82. Trmncore Co-operafives Enquily Committee Report (19341, Chapter 1, p. 101. Speaking at the
Tiruwihamkmr Cosperatives Canference in 1930,B.AnandavalIi Amma argued that woma too had
to bear part of earning subsistance, and more significantly, that "the principles of cooperation may be
more naturally fbund in women's nabre..... women, when together, are more lrkely to ~ r wrth n
each other than, men...." B-Anandvalli Amma, 'Streekalum Sahakaranavum' (Women and Co-
operation), Speech pubMed in Mmgal-rn Vol. I7 (S), 1930,pp.592-94.
83. T. Narayani A m , Motion No.391,Demand for Grants made by C q e r a t i w Deparhnent, 3
August, 1937, Proceedings, Vol. 10, 1938, p.862. Replying to this, the Regrstrar of Cooperative
Societis P. Parameshwaran Pillai, admitted that ' W o r n with their inborn habit of thrift and their
particular knack for e f k t h g savings are quite fitted to come into the movement" (p.862).But he
remarked that women's response had been hrtherto quite inadequateax of 1766 registered Cc-
(..continued)
organisations were mentioned approvingly in the ~e~arr.~~'~otta~e-~ndustry~
was also

being widely recommended to women and this encompassed a wide variety of activities

including weaving, preserving food, basket-making sewing vegetable-f&g animal-

husbanh etc." Middle-class women were urged to set up such units both for their good

and as a form of social senice, employing poor women, and the example of lace-making

industry in South Timvitamkoor organised by white women who trained and employed

local women, exporting the products successfully, was cited.86Lndeed, after the '20s a d

'30s which saw important legislation sanctioning the partitioning of joint-fdy

prope~es,87cottage-industry was often prescribed as the panacea to the multifarious

- - - - -

(..continued)
operative Socides, d y 9 were of women. Streesamjams were found to be dEaive as fwal pants
for the f b d m of q d v e societies4e Report mentimed the k m a r b b a p u r a r n Hildu
VaPlita Sanghorn and the Adoor Sree Chithrm R1asom VanifaSanghorn (Reprt, pp. 10 1 04).In
1926 the M.M. reported the inauguration of the Mahila Bhushanum Cooperative Sociep, at
Mwvattupuzha W.M.,'Moova#up& Varthakal', July 20,1926).

84. The mtMmmaaimed above were engaged in selling mdq rice-preparation or weaving.

85. Chengannur Bhargavi Arnma, 'Nammude Dhrmam', The Mahila Vol.6(5), 1926, pp.16146.
Streesamjam were once again identified as the most &dive organisations ta encourage cottage
industris among women by the Director of Industries during the dscussion on the Mdm proposed
by T. Nmyani Ammzl in the debate over the Demand for Grarrts for Industry. lhis urged the
govern to mtraha a scheme of home industries f i r women. The example of the Hindu Mahtla
M u d r a m in T h i n r m p u r a m was p o d out. @iscussion of Grants for Industry, T.Narayani
Arnrna, MWon No.395,p.868; Response to dscussion from Director of Industries, 3 August, 1937,
Proceedngs Vol.10. Such demands were being made earlier itself in the legislature (7'. Narayani
Amma,Discussiun an the Budget, 28 July, 1934, Proceedings Vo1.3, 1935,p.354).
6 . Sara& Kayyalakkal, 'Vidyabhyamhmu Sesham', (After Education), Makila Mandirmn Vol.Z(ll),
1926-'27, pp. 17-21.

8 7. l%e Kocbi Nair .Regulation of 19 19 which limtted the Karamr's powers, followed by the Koclli
Nair BiIl of 1937-'38 which ended the Kuranrrwrr's authority and ficilrtated partitioning of properties;
(..continued)
ailments that, it was feared, wodd strike various social groups. Nair women were advised

to employ themselves in such activity to case the S c u l t i e s of the ~ ~ r a v a d , ~ ' ~ . ~ . ~ .

young Nair men in

Nambutiripad gave Anthar~anamsthe same advice in 1944.8Y~ddressing

1956, Mannath Padmanabhan advised them to convince their kinswomen that fullfilling

domestic tasks was not enough, and that they must engage in income-generamg activity

around the i l ~ i n e .Such

~ proposals were being advanced in a society in which large

xlumbers of women were Iabouring in agicdtural, artisanal and industrid production; but

'cottage-industry' was dearly distanced -from that labour. This income-generating activity

was fumy tied to the apron-strings of Woman's role as resource-manager of the ~ o m e ? '

(..continued)
the Nair Bill of 1925 in T i r u v k k ~ 3which
r allowedpardtion; the Madras Mammkkathayam Act of
1933 which a U d individual partition on demand by a majority of members of the joint W y ; the
Mappila M a w h y a m Act of 1933; the Madras Nambutiri Act; the U a n Act; the Nanduhlad
Vellala Act etc.in Tkuvitarnkoor etc.

88. Konniyoor K. M e a d d u Amma,'Nair Streekalum Grihavuml,(Nair Women and the Home) The
Mnhilu Vo1.6(4), 1924, pp.125-27; T o t t a W Madhavi Amma, 'Vyavasayam' (Industry), 7he
Mahih Vol.ld(B), 1936,pp.403-11. Princess Setu Parvaty h, Presidential Address at the All-India
Women's Cderence, 'Ihuuvananthapuram, Wed 'Financial Independence: Wide Gatmay to
Freedom', The Makiia Vo1.16(1), 1936, pp.20-30. N.Ammini Amma, 'Streekalum Kudil
Vr;ivasayavun1(Womenand Cottage Idustry), 7he AdahfluVol.16 (I), ' 1936, pp.403-11.
89. E.M.S, Nambutiripad, 'Nambutiri Manushyanakanamenkil' (Lfthe Nambutiri is to Become Man),
S p e d at Yogakshem Snbha Annual Chrence, Kozhikode: Oesabhmm, 1944, p.22.

90. M a d Padmanabhan, Speech at the 1956 Nair Mha Sammeluplctrn, Kidangoor A.N.
Gopahhidma PiUai (ed.), Munnathinte Sampoom Kntiki (Cotrrplete Works of Mainam),
Kottayam: Vidyarthmmam, 1977,pp.89-90.

91. One interesting after-em of h reworking of the Home seems to be the increasingly positive
revaluatim of Mammakkatkprn (matrilmy). It may l x remembered that earher, the cmteqmrary
condition of the rnatdineal way of life.was diagnosed to be m e of decay which left women without
rucccur and support (Sir C.Sankaran Nsir, Speech at the 4* h u a l Me&g ofthe Kemleep Narr
(..continued)
 suggested that "withindustrial training women will be able
An advocate of cottage-ind~!.stry

to make productive use of things that are mostly thrown away as useless, in their homes

Larger ventures were seen to add to the perfection of Wornadmess by taking

tllernsel~cs."'~

up the idle h e of Domestic-Woman, thus contributing to her self-culture, at the same tine,

enabling her to do her "duty to society" by uplifting poorer women.g3And this activity too,

was seen to be in tune with 'Womanly' capacities: "I believe that women have a natural

talent to produce commodities efficiently-what is needed is adequate ~ ~ g " 9 4

Similar developments may also be observed in the attitude regarding the entry of

women into the Police. It might be remembered that advocates of women's enby in to the

(..continued)
Samajam at T h i r u d p u published~ in the M.M., June 11, 1910). Also, it was o h charged
that it encouraged g r d among Nair women. In I n d u l e h (q.cit., n.41) for instance, a Brahmin
charader remarks: "Howawfully cruel! What will nd the f e m a l ~of these drxty Nairs dare to commit,
who would take as husband the richer man..." (p.119). A similar criticism was also voiced in
Meenahhi (Cheruvalathu M u Nair, Meemkshi (1 890), Thrissur: Kerala Sahrtya Akademi, 1990).
But by the '40s, it seemed to be seen in -rent light. Dewan C.P.Ramaswamy Alyer of
Tisuvitamkmr showered praise upm it at the apening ceremmy of,not surprisingly, the Women's
Work Exhibition at Thirunnanthapurarn in 1946.: ...the matriarchal system was responsible, in a
sense, fbr the high ]eve1 ofducation, and was at the foot of all progress made in KeraIa. There was nu
greater misfortune t h f would encounter Keraln than the substitution ofthe present social economy
by a system prevailing on the &st Coast which reduces the W o r n to an omamenfa1a p p e h g e
and economic nulli~".(Report of speech, Trmancore Infomtion and Listener Vo1.7(2), 1946,
p. 12). That the m o m i c in@- of women were h d y linked to an a h i s t i c domesticrty could have
possibly been me reason h y t h s became possible.

92. K.Prjyamvadamma, 'Streekalum Vyavasaya Parisheelanavum' (Women and Industrial Training) in

Shreemati Special Number, 1935, p.47.

93. L.Mmakshlkutty Amma, 'Streekalude TozhhIlairna' (Women's Unemployment), Mahiln Madtram

VOI.1 (1-121, pp. 208-17.

94. ibid., n.92,p.48.

 public domain had often insisted that educated women would not aspire to ' un-Womanly'

vocations such as the police department '15 But by tile 1940's, the Tiruvitamkoor govermnent

was boasting of its women-police. Now the duties of the Police did not seem entirely

incompatible with Womanliness: special tasks were identified within the general business

of maintaining law and order that seemed to call for 'Womanly' capacities. In 1947, The

Trm~ancoreInformarion and Lisiener proudly canied a photograph of its women-police

with the following caption: "The State's pioneer experiment in the enlistment of Women

Police has been marked by unqualified success both in dealing with the problem of the

woman-delinquent and in the performance of the wider duties of citizenship.""

Inthe political smggles that marked the 1930's, especially in Malabar, the rising tide
I

of Gandhian nationalism was accompanied by remarkable participation of women as

activists, speakers and ~r~anisers.'~Gandhian ideals of political struggle gave special

95. Refer nates 44-45 ofh s Chapter

t
96. Travancore Information and Lisfener Vol. 7(1 I), August 1947. But S .3. Nair had suggested in the
Shree Mulam Praja Sabha back in 1934 that educated w o r n and members of depressed classes be
given representation in the Police. See Proceedings Vo1.2, 1935, p.820.

97. Women twk part in the Civil Disobedience Movement in Malabar in many ways ranging from indirect
support to Khad popularisation, anti-liquor actions, social work, 'Harijan work' etc., to participation
in high - level political &oc as organisers and activists, leadmg demonstrations, courting arrest
as volunteers, assuming 'Dictatorships'. Several wornem's oqanisatims sprung in the course of the
'
M o w such as the Rashtrip Stree Sabha of Kannur in Apd 193 1, the Balikrr Bbrat Sangh, the
Kerala Mahila Desasm'h &ngh etc. For details, see P .K.K. Menm, op-crt,n.3 pp . 172 - 265. It also
saw the rise to pkinmce of notable women-writers- such as the pmess Kadathana#u Madhavi
Arnma. For a note on her work, see Pr0f.M. Achutan, Swotanh3.a S a m a m m M a w l a Snkityavurn,
Thrissur: Current Books, 1994, pp. 3 1 1-12. A number of activists and hteUectuals who lived through
these tima recall women's participation as an 'event' in itself, See, P. Narayanan Nair,
(..continued)
empl~asisto 'Womanly' qualities--love, cornpassion, etc.-- in the many forms of so~agraha.

Often it was in the constructive activity that women-activists rooted themselves even wlde

actively participating in agitations and oryanisational workg8it may be remembered that

when Courage figured among 'Womsnly' qualities, it seemed to follow Woman's capacity

for Love." This appsrently, made it different from 'man's couraget:

"Only when a Woman's love is aroused does she become capable of praiseworthy deeds of
-rage. ...A Man's mirage is abso1utely animal. h is displayed only in occasions that give
rise to fame and hmour. But Woman's Courage? It is sublime. Warnan does nat hape to earn
b e by her courage. On the contrary, it is through lwe and strength of mind that women
become courag6ous".'O0

And patriotism is, after all, Swarajya Sneham (love for one's own country).

The two extreme poles of 'Womanly' participation in political struggle were already

laid during the Vaikom Satyagraha in Tiruvitamkoor in 1924. On the one side there Was the

(..continued)
Aranooflundiloode(Though Half-Century), Kmyam: D.C B d s , 1973,p. 112; E.Moidu Maulavi,
O m h I (Memories), KO&&&, 1960, pp.39-40; A.K. Gopalan, Enie Jeevita K a t h ('The Story of
My Lifis), rhiruvananthapurarn: Desabhimani Publidans, 1980,p .31.
98. See, for instan=, the reminiscenm of the prominart Clangress-woman of the 1930's, Mukkapwha
Kartyayani Amma, Mathnrbhumi Weekly,Novemkr -January 1983-'84. Another prominent pokcal
figure, A.V. ~uttlmalu'Amma was also active in canstru&ve work-the orphanage at Kozhikode and
the children's home at Vebdukkunnu were founded and run at her initiative. (C.Achyuta Menm,
Awr Rajyathinu Vendi Jeevichchu. (Tkey lived fbr the thmy), ~ v a m n t h a p u r a m ;Prabhatarn
P u b W g pp.41-44, 1980). Many of the Streesamafams established during the Civil Disobedmce
Mwematt in Malabar were enpged in canstructive work. (P.K.K. Menon, op,cit.,n.3)

99. This has been discussed in greater detail in Chapter I.

Pidvari (Handfulls of h c e ) Fund raised by the housewives of Mayyanad fiom their homes

and their neighbourhoods which enabled the opening of a canteen for satyagrahiis in J d y

1924."~ At the other extreme was the call issued to women to actively participate as

saryagrahis to "deliver the sacrifice", interestingly, in the cause of orher women who

suffered from Jati disabilities,lo2 and both these were voiced together. In 1932, during the

C i d Disobedence Movement, a furore raised over the Talashely Joint Magistrate's order to

codscate the Tali of Mrs.Prabhy a 'Dictator' of the Congress, as part of a h e imposed on

her. lo' This was interpreted as a gross insult to Indian Womanhood and chaste wifehooJ

the Tali be@ the symbol c f a woman's married status (thus to remove the Tali could be

interpreted as making the woman a widow lo' ). One could be at once a chaste wife and a

dedcated political activist; i.e, one's Womanliness was not compromised in Safya+rah;

10 1. M.M ,' Swadeshaka'tyam',June 5,1924.

102. Vadakkecharuvil P.K. Kalyani, ' Keraley h d u Streekalodu Oru A b h y a M ( A Request to Hindu
Women of Kerala) in M M , July 24, 1924.

104. KarnaIa Visveswaran,'Srnall Speechw,'Subaitern Gender:, Natimalist Ideology and its

Historiopphy', Subaltern Shldres LX, Shahid Armn, Dip& Chakravarthy (ed.), N. D e b , OUP,
1996, pp.87-118. She challenges the thesis that the Women's Qudm' cased to be an item of
negotmion with the colonial state in the twesltieth century in Indian Nationalism, and shows through an
examination of the debates over sexual sqgqption and gendering jail attire during sayugraha, that
women's bodies continued to figure as nationalist signifiers, m a a i n g that ". .. now the terms are
reversed. ?he point is that now it is the colcnial state that is u& to rule because it degrades womm
by forcing them to live as widows." (pp 99- 102). Nationalist satyagrah, therefore, needed women-
participants as 'Wome;l', saturating this sigmfier all the more & qualities such as non-violence,
compassion etc. Visveswaran sees in this a stmtqp of containment @ -117).She further points out the
unmistakable elitism involved in this m-ateg which privileged upper-class women (pp.89-90). . .-
indeed it was these qualities that were being called upon.

The specscity of this justification of Woman's presence in the public domain cannot

be stressed enough. h was, on the one hand, different h m the endorsement of employment

of women in institutions such as schools, hospitals etc. in the hope of attracting more girl-

pupils or women-patients. For example, in f 893, the Malclyala Munorarna recommended

that more women should be appointed as small-pox inoculators to popularise inoculation

among women folk generally averse to male inoculators.Io5 This continued to be advanced

even in the 1930's, for example, in the call for more intense reformist activisnl by

Antharjanams which, it was supposed, would attract more AntharJanams to reformism.106

On the other hand, it was also different fiom the argument that women's intellectual
competence being equal to men's, they deserved equal recognition in the public domain,

found voiced as early as the late nineteenth century, for instance, in K u W u Tangkschi's

play Ajnorhavasam in which the work of the fernale playwright is bed to be no less
lo'
worthy of public attention than the male

105. Educating women, employmg women as health workers and teachers, it was calculatd, would enable
the penetration of the seclusion of women in I d society. The cumulative of reaching women '

was rwgnised early enough in the 19* century. It was during the small-pox epidemic in Kochi in
1893 that the M M made this sug~estionM M , 'Kochi Governrnendu Drishtiveppan' (For the
AEmtion of the Kwhi Government), May 27, 1893; it is to be found in the Trava~acure
Administrative Report 1869-70, p.112, also.

106. V.T.Bhattatiripad, Speech titled ' N W y u d e Ettathilalla Narnbutiriyude Mahima' (19301,

Karmpakarn, Thrissur: Best Books, 1988, pp.351-52.

107. KufOkunhu ~&gkachi, ' A j h v a s a m f in Dr.S.Gupm Nair (ed.), Kuttihnhu Tanghchiylide

(. .continued)
 Wid1 ' Wornally' capacities finding application in ever-greater number and variety of

institutions, the relevance of the public/domestic divide as the organising-model of ' Manly'

and 'Womanly' capacities relatively faded. One consequence of this was the increased

association of Womanliness with a specific, non-coercive power and less with domestic

space. Along with this, manliness cane to be associated with "brute-force" -- as in

(..continued)
Kn'tikal, Thrissur ; Kerala Sahitya Akademi, 1979, p.240. Later, e m the literary sensib* was
found to d m to 'essential' quahies of W o r n . Ambady Kartyayani Amma, speaking at the All-
Kerala Snhiw Parishnf (Literary Confkmce), opined that "...theknowledge and pleasure to be had
from literature has been compared to a flower. Whom d m a b e r suit more? If only those persons
who have natural taste in music are to write p- then women who have natural talent in music must
be encouraged to take this up". ( M M , Reports of AJl-Kerala Sah* Parishat, May 3, 1927). Sunilar
arguments wem fkquwrtly made mprdmg the issue of women's erhry into the lrterary domain. To
mention examples, K,M.Kunhulakduni Kdarnma, writing in 1916, argued that women are capable
of literary creation because of their inherent innocence and compassion. See, K.M.Kunhilakshmi
Kettdamma, ' Sahayavum Smsamudayavum' ( L k a t m and Women), Mahib h b w m VoI 1(3),
1916, pp.50-52; also, B.Bhageraty A m , ' Kalayd Smkulla Sthanam' me Place of Woman in
Art), The Mcrhila Vol 7(1), 1972, pp. 1-16. This, of course, i s f i r from Kutthnhu Tangkachi's
justification. However, the standards by which ' literature1was to be SWfrom mere writing were nut
to be gender-spdc. C.P.Achyuta Menon, reviewing TaCtalkathu Ikkaw k n @ s play
Subbdrarjuram (1891), remarked that " w o r n who are not cmtmt wah the glory that may be
earned through the performance of d d c tasks, beauty and g d character, and are hell-bent
displaying their clwemess in the literary field also, do not deserve any sympathy. One need not give
any thought to the author in criticising a p a n , injudging, it to be g d or bad." (C.P.Achyuta Mmm,
'Subhadrajunam', fidyawnodit Vol 2(I I), 1892, reprinted in T.T.Prabhakaran (compiler), C.P.
Achyuta Menonre Njrmpanangal ((CriticalWritings of C .P.Achyuta Menon), ThhMnanthap~lram:
The State Institute of Languages, 1994, pp. 106-9. Whether this was challenged in the early twentieth
century is not clear. Many women-authors who engaged in lrterary production in the 20th century--
were traditionally-trained. One may mention here now-We-known poets llke Mangalasheril
Kochukutty Amma, Karuveli Gaurikkutty Amma and Paruvakkattu Ammukkutty Amma, narrted in
R.Narajana Panikkar's Kcrakr Bhasha Charitram (History of Malayalam Literature) Vol 5 ,
h m a n t h a p u r a m , 1942, p.223, p.316. h i d e s being poets or short story-wnkrs, women were ,

also active as writers of children's books and as translators. To cite just one example, the work of T.C.
Kalyani Amma may be mentioned. She retold Aesop's hbles and stories from Banabhatta's
Kadamban'kathosc~gararnfor children; she was also noted as the translator of Bamkim Chandra
Chatkrjee's novels. For a note on T.C. Kalyani Amma, see, P.A. Menon, lnnalathe Gndphranmr
flesterday's Prose-Writers), Kottayarn: SPSS, 1988, pp. 174-80.
Sanjayan's text, quoted above. With such institutions growing in a densely interpenetrative

fashiodogfor the entq of women into these institutions also grew. This e
neof women into

the public domain--without any necessary threat to their 'Wom&ess'--has come to figure

prominently in the picture of Kerdam's 'progressiveness':

"Kerala Women haw benew &om the expansion of educabonal opportunities.. Educated
women in Kernla h d jobs in reaching, nursing, social work and rela~edjeldr".'~

'WOMANLY' POWER, 'WOMAN.Y' SOCIETY.

Along with the increasing assent to the application of 'Womanly' capabilities in an

ever-growing number of spheres in the public domain, the figure of the ideal Woman also

underwent change. Now it seemed quite possible to be Womanly without being necessariIy

limited to the home. Wamaniiness came to be associated ever-more with the power of,

fahoning Mviduals and not necessarily circumscribed by the domestic domain. Th~swas

108. N .R.Krishnan in hi: m ma rum (Memoir) mentions the expansion of the network of the social service
intitutims begun at Chathala in the 1940's. Along wrth what was orginally only an orphanage, a fmt-
aid c h c was begun, and then, nursing and midwiery- trained volunteers began operating from there.
S m , an organisation called 'Young Women's Hindu Associatian' was beyn to manage the
orphanage; soon a midwifery and nursing training school and a lying -in hospital was begun. A creche
for the children of poor fhmihes was also begun afterwards. The YWHA had charge of aLl these
i n h o n s , including a weaving-school. N.R.Krishnan,Smamna VoI 2, Cherthala, 1958, pp -34-83.

109. . Richard Franke and Barbara H.Chasin, 'Kerala State, hdia: Radrcal Reform as Develg,rnent','
MonthIy RPYiew Vo142 (8) ,January 199 I, p. 15. My italics.
 212

firstly distinguished from that power of subjecting the body using violence; secondly, it was

dstmguished from a mechanical discipline that ignored inhidual particularities of the

subjected. As Balamani Amma pointed out:

"The old-timers insist: "only children brought up wrth punishment will improve". The new
reformers who treat those old-timers with corxtwnpt, an the dher hand, are insistent in the
name of discipline that each movement of the child must b assigned a particular time and
yield a particular advantage.....Many of those who are overly cancemed about the health and
education of children do n d realise the truth that only health that is built upon happiness is
lasting, and that in a slavish mind, educatim does n& shed light but mmly produces smoke."
110

Attentiveness to the individual characters of students, and the ability to mould dlem

through pleasing and soothing interaction were upheld as those qualities that made wornen

better teachers at the primary-schoollevel.

1

To demonstrate the reconstructed image of ideal Woman, we may examine a text in

which such reconstruction is actively undertaken, the biography of a reformer and

philanthropist of Thvitarnkoor, K. Chinnawna, (1882 - 1930). 2~ctivelyinvolved in Nair

110. B a l d Amma 'K W l u d e W me Care of Q l l l h ) ,Mathmbhurni Weekly Vol 28(49),

1951, pp. 26-7.

111. M M , August.9, 1928, Report on a motion brought by a woman-member of the Kochi L@ature
requsthg that only w o r n tre posted as teachers in primary schools. She attempted to jushfy this
demand claiming that women passesed the natural a b i i to reccgruse the specilicities of indiwdual
minds and develop them accordingly.

112. N.BalMshnan Nair, K Chinnumma: Jeevacharih.am

' (K.Chinnamma: A Biography),
Thuuvamnhpuram: Sri Vilas Press, 1947.
reformism,' I3she was a teacher and Assistant Inspectress of Gkls' Schools and the founder
of a philanthropic institution, the Hindu Muhila Mandiram at Thiruvananthapm. In this

text, Chinnama is projected as ideal Woman, a figure worthy of emdation. This reading

shall try to explore w h t elements go into the making of this image, and how they are

connected.

In the opening chapters, the image of Chimamma-as-ideal Woman is already build

up through a combination of several elements : her training under the missionary Augusta

landf ford; l l4 her steadfastness in Love; her successful marriage1l and perfect rendering of

wifely duties, her d d in music, embroidery, home-management and other 'Womanly'

'
accomplishments,' highly moral influence upon inferiors and servants, great chanty, piety,

self-control and frughty."' But even as t h ~ simage gets cladled, Chinnamma is not

113. She was actively involved in orgaming sireesamrnelarrtlms ofthe Nair Service Swi&y, and was one
of the earliest women- in Nair reformist meetings. S e , MM, 6 May, 1929, Report of
Streesammelamm at Karuvam titled 'Karumttade Sarnudap Sammelanangal' me Commulity-
M&gs at Kamntta). Her s p e d at the Nair W m w at Perunna in 19 11 is clted in N.
Balaknshnan Nair, ibid, pp .I 87-92.

114. ibid.,pp. 10-12.Anatheraccount~fherschooI-lifeattheZenana~simSchmlmaybetbundin

B.Kalyani Amrna's memories Om/ Ninnu (From Memory) B.Gomathy Amma (ed.), Kcttayam:
SPSS, f 968, Chapters 1 and 2.

115. N. BalakrishnanNair, op.cit.,n.112, pp.23-26.

1 16. ibid., p.45.

117, ibid., pp.4647.

 214

identified with the ideal Domestic Woman. Service as an Assistant Inspectress of Girls'

~chools,'In it is pointed out, did not make her turn away from Womanly values. In oficial

capacity, she is said to have been committed to encouraging Womanly education119and to

posting teacher-coupIes together, believing that this "was very agreeable to the culture of

their minds"'20She is made to emerge as an ardent votary of employing rnanied women as

teachers claiming that they were more experienced in handling young children. 2' Her

speeches, in which the home is identified as the child's fist school, and the mother as its

first teacher,"' are prohsely quoted from:

"...the or i n d m of a home or a cornrnunrty are in women's hands. Women whose

minds are cultured by interamon with g d people, who lead moral lives and how their
duty, need to k present in every communitJ;. Those who make life in the world peaceful and
happy, those who bring forth great men and women to the world are those who have realisised
I
the true htmtion ofed~catian."'~

118. B. Kalyani Amma, rememixring those times, remarks that poorer school grls, Ilke herself and
Cl~innammawere often looked down upon by their well-off classmates. She poults out that gaining
employment was a way in which the former could, later, attain equalrty with the latter. "...Inlater days,
when we attended social gatherings as teachers or i n s p ~ e s mafter passing examinatims, those very
'ladies' who had mce made fun of us prepared to receive us with respect and assume a kendly
manner". From 8. Ka1y3miAmma, op .tit., n.1 14, p.66.

120. ibid., above.

12 1. ibid., pp.4244.

122. ibid., pp.6668. -

 ---

But, then, the duty of Woman does not seem to end here. The author quotes from a

speech made by Chinnamma at the Nair Conference at Perunna in 1911 :

"Donat the Westerners or any other C ~ u h n g merely in dress or

O worth e m
manners. Instead, hitate their noble deeds and act in accordance wrth their noble ideas.
Civilised Westem women have been engaged in, and prepam to engage in, curing the sick,
spreading education, popularking religion, working for the promotion of social welfaqe,
striving to ease the H c u l t i e s of prisoners, nursing the wounded in war, and other virtuous
a&- useful to the world. Let us knit& them in such d d . " ' "

With the establishment of a home for destitute women, the Hindu Mahila Mandimm,

Chinnam~llais shown to be questioning the centrality of the home in definrng Womanliness.

To a relative'sanxious quay whether she had forgotten her home, she is said to have replied

: "My individuality does not require a home for i t s e ~ . . . . "Apparently,

'~~ social work had

distracted her fiom domestic responsibilities. The text projects,the Mandiram as, one big

family, and Chinnamma as the mother.'" Her struggle to maintain normal life in the

Mandiram and find resources for its upkeep is described in a series of anecdotes-her

journeys in search of funds; sacrifice of food and other resources meant for her f d y ;

124. ibid., p. 189.

125. ibid., p. 120.

6 ibid., above.

127. Mundiram means home, and Bakishnan Nair points out that Chimamma was usually r e k i d to as
'Am1-Mdher- by all the mmates. ibid., pp.14041; p.109; p.113.
 216

neglect of personal problems and ailments.'" One parhcdarly hmowing account is that of

her labour to find resources for the Mondiranl while her own son was dying.lw

Such willingness to suffer excruciating material constraints is linked to

Chinnamma's project of redeermng the Individual fiom destitution. The author distinguishes

it from "the older sort of sacfice" like Saii,the which entails a loss of resources, mataid or

human. 13' Chinnammais is recognised as 'me sacdce' wluch, &e the former, does not

proceed unilaterally from a lower to a higher social class, or necessitates loss:

'Real sacdice is m d y for the benetit of lesser people. A mother would serve an unruly or
unhealthy son with greater dligence. A nurse abandons her s l q and toils not for the healthy,
but for the ailing, all the teachets labours are net for bright studatts .,,.but for the less
intelligent ones. Pubtic se- spend more resources not on law-abidmg citizens but m law-
breakers ...Social workers labour harder to uplift ignorant and depressed c o m m ~ e s ."13'
.,
>

All these institutions are akin in that the inequahty in the relation between refomers

and objects of refom is maintained in and through such sacrifice, though both parties are

ensconced witkin a common regulation in them. The charity that is enabled by such
- sacrifice is different :

128. ibid., pp.127-32.

129. ibid., pp. 145-6.

130. ibid., pp.176-77.

 "Inthe old order, chanty worked to &the distance and hierarchy &wem groups, but
now, charrty works to transform those who receive it."

This is in contrast to the f d a r notions of charity-such as that embodied in the

story of ~ o v e l i , 'in~ ~which the enormity of loss is d-important (which probably ensures

the giver's dominance) and not whether it served a 'good' purpose. Modern charity, in

contrast, is said to be intended to make the recipients productive, disciplined Individuals,

"..to promote the physical and mental development of those people whom society has

rejected as inferior and make them capable of self-help"l" Just as the ideal mother was not

expected to overindulge children, Chinnamrna's effort was not only to provide inmates with

a comfortable life but also to give them sound training. The text quotes Chinnamma's letter

to her spiritual mentor :

". ..(weare) preparing to establish a weaving house...the children have been sent to school (it is)
attached to the iuthtian). A Eurasian woman has been appointed to q a r t sewing lessons.

133. This is the story of the Malayalee Mval of Onarn. Mmlr W b a l i ) , the great Asum King, once
ruled over Keralam and during his reign, all were allke and there was no c h d n g or filsehood. But the
t and persuaded Mahavishnu to incarnate as Vanaam,the Brahmin
jealous gods conspud to ~ l shlrn
mi*. The Dews h e w that Maveli, famous for hs boundless charity, wouId nd refuse a n w g
Vamna asked of him. Approaching Maveli, Vamna demanded t h e paces of land h c h the IClng
grantad him. But Vamna grew into gigantic proportions and scaled the earth with one & and the
heavens with the d e r . He then asked Muveli from where he was to take his third pace, to which he
o&red h own head, thus keping up his reputation as great giver. Huwever, he was allowed to visit
hls subjects once a year in the month of Chingum (August-September), and the festival of Onan1 is
said to coincide wth this kit,when Mmii's subjects prepare to receive him with festivities.
 2 18

From the 1gLbonwar& a music teacher will be appointed."'3s

A regular routine was established for inmates with f w d time-segments for various

activities, so that "... these orphans who have never ever taken their bath, prayer, food,

schoolwork, craftwork, music lessons, rest and recreation at regular hours have now learned
tr136
to do so.....

However, discipline in the Mandiram is shown to be maintained through 'love'. The

text mentions Chimamma's words to two young women found bruilty of violahng the

Mundiram 's n o m of sexual conduct :

"I have decided not to let you spoil others outside by throwing you out as a punishment for
succumbing to evil daires. Till I am convinced that you are morally sound, tdl I see in you the,
abilrty to bear the respmsibllrty of life upon yourself, you are in need of instruction. For h s
to be achieved, 1 prefer not to hate but to love you. Hate is useless."I3'

135. ibid., p .I 12 . n e First Yearly Report of the Mandiram (1 920) mentimed that the instrtdon included
"an orphanage, a school for general education, a workshop, a &cal school and a girl students'
hostel". It claimed to have provided training in sewing, weaving and makmg articles out of grass and
cadjan-leaf in the workshq and technid school (pp.4-10).

136, op.cit.,pp. 115-26.The report(ibid.,above)oftheMandirammentimsthataregularm~ewas

established there, with slight mrktions fbr duldrm of &reat a-oup. @p. 19-20). Interestingly,
the routines and rules of mduct in the orphanage and the stub' hostel were more or less the same.
Compare the above wrth the routine and mduct-rules prescribe for the h-1, published in 7k
Mahila VoI 6(7),1926, pp.394-95. Also, the reformatory school of the Tiruvitamkwr government
foUowed the same lines, providing training in printing, book-binding, weaving etc. besides in drill and
scouting. T.K.V~I;Pillai, llre Trwancore Stute Manurrl Vol 4(1940), Thvuvananhpunm: Kerala
h x t t e r s Dept.; 1996,p.308.

137. ibid., p.198.

 2 19

Self-correction was not to be achieved through force or the mechanical execution of

punishment, but through self-evaluation. h e of Chinnamma's letters is quoted :

'Why do you beg pardm of me? You must ask yourself a fkw questians, and tf you h l that
you have indeed comnuttd an office, then ask forg~venessof yourself. You may hide from
me.But you can nwer hide h r n yourself. Hence try and byour awn disciplinarian".'38

It ended with the advice: "Read this letter carefully, and you must re-read it

everyday."13'

In this text Womanliness gets reinscribed in a new space traversed by 'Womanly'

power. This is not limited to the domestic yet docs not fully arcompass the The

potential concerns that may be raised in this are health, education, hygiene, nutrition,

fertility etc, which straddle public and domestic domains, b l h g , though not blotting out

their distinctiveness, an area where non-violent, non-materialistic values operate. Populating

it was a reticulation of institutions- ranging from State agencies to local Streesumajams -

all of which call for specifically 'Womanly' capabhties, and cluster around the project of

138. ibid., p.232.

139. ibid., p.233.

140. D. Rdey, " Am I fhar Name?-" Feminism and ,he Category of 'Women' in Hlistoly, h e a p o h s :
Uniwrsrty of Minnesata, 1995. Here the author &scusses the ccxlstruaion of the 'Social' as the
'special realm' of 'Women' in 19a Century Europe. See pp.4446.
fashoning the Individual. By the '40s, these were prolrferating in mutually-linked

networks.'" Refom organisations, for instance, established schools, hospitals and

orphanages with hostels, creches, health-centres or workshops attached; charity institutions

were sometimes linked to hospitals, schools, prayer-halls, Srreesumajams, or with State

agencies of health, public welfare or law and order; schools and colleges had service

organisations, wornen's samajams or prayer-groups. For example, the 'Young Women's

h d u Associatiod formed at Chertala in the '40%first began managing an orphanage.'" By

1944, its network included a h t - a i d clinic, creche for children of poor labourers, a lying-in

hospital, a weaving-school, and a nursing and midwifely lraining centre.'43This network

drew actively upon orher s~rmlar networks. 'The first-aid clinic was modelled upon

Ranganayah Ammalts Streedharrnafqam at bvananthapuram, and with the help of

women-volunteers from that institution, attending to patienl, touring the neighbowing

14 1. The need for such a network of instrtutions was stressed by Shree Narayana Guru. Observing the
general tendency towards b u i l b g temples as part of reformist adivity, he advised that this was not
enough to promote worship (which, he pointed out, should take place "in every home, and every
heart"). Sree Ngrayana Guru, 'Om Sandesham'fA Message) 1908, Repninted in P.K.Balakrishnan
(Compiler and Editor), Naruylur Gum- Anthology, K&: Publications Sub-Committee, S.N.
Cwltenary CeIebratim, 1954, p.75). By 1917,he was arguing that 'the important temple must k~ the
school". (Narayana Guru, 'Ksh~galekkuri&om Sandeham' (A Dauk About Temples), ibid.,
p.81). In anuther message giwn in 1910, he recommended educaticmal in&uticms for bath men and
women, iktories, institutions for the p r o d o n of trade, technical schmls, literary organisatians and
libraries (ibid., p.77).

142. N.R.Krishnan,Spuram (Memories) Vol2, Chertalla, 1948, p.34.

143. ibid., p.83.

 221

countryside offering advise on health and hygiene, and examining pregnant women.144

State-sponsored efforts for the promotion of heal& hygiene etc. drew upon non-

governmental institutions. The State-organised National Baby Week Celebrations in

Tiruvitamkoor held regularly in the '20s which targeted women in order to improve the
145 '

health of infants drew upon voluntary organisations like the YWCA also.

In some imagining of ideal future society, greater prominence was given to such

institutions as the above which seemed to call fur 'Womanly' capabilities, than to

institutions like the army, the police or j u d i c i q which were projected as 'Manly'. An

essay published in 1924 in The Mohila attempted to imagine this vision with remarkable

clarity: it made a distinction between two kinds of society, one based upon the power to

destroy life, and the other, upon conserving it. The former was characterised 'Manly' and

the latter, 'W o d y ' , Indian society when examined in this framework was found to be one

subjected not only to colonial rule but also to 'Manly' priorities :

" Our rulers claim that there are not enough doctors, schools and hospitals in the country
because rmlaary expendituretakes up most of our income, leaving little for these items. They
Meve that it is more important to dmroy life ,than m s e m it. If women possessed as much
-

3 44. ibid., pp.4243.

145. See, Reports of Baby-Week Celebrations published in MM, January-February 1924; January-
February 1925.

146. V.K.Chinnamlu Amma, 'Sarnudayathil Streekalude Sthanam' (The Place of Women in Society),
TheIdahila Vol4(7), 1924, pp. 250-57.
 paver in public llfe as men, it is definite, such a view would never circulate in any
co~ntr~+~.~~

Western societies in which women are active in social work seem more 'W o d y '

and by virtue of this, appears closer to the ideal.Id8

It puts up a strong defence of applying 'Womanly' capabilities not only in the home

but also in the public domain, and women are granted power in the public domain as

preservers of Me. In fact, society is redrawn to resemble the family.'49 Women are d i k e

Men and this, precisely, enables them to make a Werent intervention :

'No woman can walk past the bullet-ridden corpse of a fd-grom human king in a arefree
manner. She wdl remembr that each of these nowdad human b e i were products of
women's labour."'s0
I

And this intervention which is important in a society that values human life can be
I

made only by Women : "As long as Motherhood is assigned exclusively to women by God,

Women's intellect and opinions must be given prime importance (in social afairs) ..Man

147. ibid., pp.253-54.

148. ibid., pp. 250. Feminism in 1 9 century

~ Britain was, i n t e h g l y , trymg to infuse colmialism wah
'Womanly values- in reforming the empire. See, D.Riley, quit.,11.140, pp.53-55.

149. ibid., p.250.

150. ibid., p.255.

can never h o w the value of human life like a woman does.."lsl

In such a society, tht q d t y , not the size, of the population is what is important:

'We am n d living in an u n c i W age. Ifwe were then it would have beat necessary fbr us
to increase the papuldmi at any cost. But m the twentieth century, it is nat the size but the
qua& ofa swiety that is the sign ofprogress. Have not fbur crores of En* canquered
~ Indians and crushed them in their fists ? it is better to have few subjects who
t h Q c m r of
are strong and healthy than many who are weak and ignorant."''2

Women are therefore urged to enter social work and other such activities and not just

be mothers. The close connection between such work and domestic life is unequivocally

"lf the c w s sanitation senices are not sat~factorythen even lf women k e q homes spotless,
there will be no respite. If foodstuffs sold at the markd-plam cause disease, then however
much housewives may slog in kitch~fls,no g d will arise. If there are not enough doctors to
I
cure h e s s and midwivw to a m d to births, then however mu& women may cover their
children with afkhon, childdeaths will nat de~rease.'"'~

Here the complementarity emphaslsed in the sexual exchange almost recedes :

'Womanly' and 'Manly' foms of social power are competitors, and this article is a

vociferous argument in favour of the former as superior to the latter. Such assertions were

15 1. ibid., p.252.

152. ibid., p.256.

153. ibid., pp.253-54. ,

 frequently encountered in the post-War years. "For women, politics represents good sense

and hygiene", said Dr. C. R u p i n i Amrna in a radio-talk broadcasted in 1944,

"men are farthful to ideas, women to human beings...Inthe field of social regeneration again
women have an important part to play...... for Woman is the true fountainhead of social virtues
and she by her gentle and loving but nevertheless wise lnnuence can restore society to rts
normal condition"lN.

IV. END-NOTE

Yet the developments discussed in the foregoing sections did not herald the dawn of

an era of 'liberation' for women. The number of women attaining higher education and

'
securing employment, at least in Tiruvitamkoor, was not neghgible. 551n 193 1, thkre were

154. C .Rugmini Amma, 'Women and Post-War Recmstructim', Travancore Information and Listener
Vol5(4), December 1944, pp. 4344. This sewns to have been a cornmanenough theme in the post-
war years. See, Report of Sir C .P.Ramaswamy Aiyer's speech, Trmncore Information and Listener
Vol 7121, 1946, p. 12; also see MM, Report an Annual Canference of the Othara Streesanmnjam in
h c h Anne Mascme spoke on the same lines, January 4, 195 1. In fact it sometimes swhces e m in
arguments that were completely opposed to women seeking space in the public domain. Puthezhthu
Raman M m , a staunch opponerrt of women moving out of the (modem) home, quated a '%thinker"
who is said to have claimed that "...If the ruling authorities in all countrie were wwnen then not wm
the sound of war would have tea^ heard". Puthezhathu Raman Menon, ' Streepurusharnalsaram'
(Competitim between Women and Men) in Arivulla Ajmnikd, K o h S . T . W r Pms, 1955, pp.
41-56.
 225

4 12 women-employees in the Tiruvitsmkoor Public Administration--25 for 1000 meR 56 a

the
considerable increase fiom 1921 when there were no women employees at all.157~ut

memoirs of women who lived in those times are full of accounts of the struggles involved

in embarking upon such effort. Akkamma Cheriyan, a leadmg political activist in

Tiruvitamkoor of the 1930s, remarks: "In those days most men, especially Syrian Catholics,

were reluctant to marry young women with college education. This was probably out of fear

that it might erode male d o m i n a t i ~ n . . . " 'often,

~ ~ ~ ~it was against such opposition that

women like her went to college and worked (she was a B.A.LT holder and a school-teacher

till her enhy into politics in 1938). C.K.Revati Amma has written that she could take up

public life only after her last child was born, when she was f~rt~;"~Ldtambika

Anthajanam recounted that the opposing pulls of domesticity and the public world

generated such tension between them that her body broke down before i t ; i 6 0 ~ ~ a m

Pamaty Amma gave up her ambition to become an ascetic at her mother's entreaties, though

15 8. Akkamma Varkey (nee'Cheriyan), A p p e n h to I I J 4-nte Katha (The Story of 1 1141, Kouayam: D.C
Books, 1977.

160. N.Lahnbika Anthajanam, 'KathayenM Katha' (19471, Athmakathuikh Oru Amukham (Preface
to An Autobiography), Thrissur: C u m Bwh, 1991, pp. 101-107.
she managed to remain unmanied to pursue a reformist and litnay career;i'l~ochattil

Kalyanikutty Amma too remembers her early struggles-- especially the confusion that

followed &om her partaking in inter-caste dmmg;162tl~e

poetess Mary John Koothattukulam

had to abandon her husband's home and her own family to escape an oppressive marriage,

and seek refuge in the home of the reformer Dr. Palpu, and find a job in the Postal

Department (she was one of the earliest women to be employed in the Thvitamkoor

Anchol (Postal) Department); only later did she engage actively in literary activity;'" l e

nun, teacher and poetess Mary John Tottam has written about her first struggle, to escape

marriage and enter into union with god in the Church, and her subsequent toils to pursue her

passion for poeby within the constraints of the ~hurch.'~'The ideological amour to be

donned in such struggle was more or less availabIe in the 1930's, but the practical

acuities remained. Higher education and employment did not necessarily mean the

attainment of equality with men, not even in marriage. The fust Malayalee woman-graduate,

1 6 See, 'Short Bicgmphy' appended to Munrkztlam Parvary A m m Shnsh~pmrthppharaGrandhtn

(Commemorative Volume in Celebratim ofher 60th year), op .tit, n.5 7.

162. Kochattil Kalynkutty ~ K D Palhihpm

, Vmhiyorathe Martideepangaiirm me Traveller and the
Wayside Lamps), Thrissur, 199I.

6 3 Mary John Kootha~ukulamhas related this in her Kaiht Paranju Katha (The Tale the Wind Told),
Kottayam: D.C Books, 1988.

4 . Sr. Mary Benigna (Mary Jchn T m ) , Loknme Yatra (Farewell, World), Bharananganam: J e w
Publications, 1986. Also see, Elanjipoo: Mary Jokn Totturn Saptuti Upaharm (Commemomtive
Volume an her 70th year), Kdtayarn: Saptati Celebratim Commit&, 1971.
 227

B.Kalyani Amma, who was in many different ways set up as the model of Modem

~ o m a n l ~ ~ h e r sadrmtted
elf that she did not interact with her husband as his equal:

"1was obedmt to my husband, and other than this, in no way did 1 W the duty of advising
him.. . I hew that it would not be liked by him.. .. He wwld at times ask my apinion when
embarking m some new endeavour. In such sihdms, I would give azly such replies that he
would fmd agreeable." '"
Sexual segregation was still strictly followed in most institutions.Ch. Kunhappa in
his memoirs remembers how women-students were assigned a stair-case of their own, how

they were granted special facdities for borrowing books and how professon had a different

way of interacting with them in the premier institution of modern education in Rochi, the

Maharajah's College at hakularn.'" However, the argument that special concessions for

women should be ended because women were seeldng equdty with men, '61 that special
I

165. See,K.C.KesavaPllla~'PoylJ~~omJangamaDeepa~m'(APncelessL;unpisLosttothe
World) appended to B.KalyaniAmma, op.cit, 11.57;Taravath Amrnalu Arnma, Preface to B. Kalyani
Amma, Vpzhmtta SmrumkrrI (1916) Thrissur: Mangaldayam, 1958; Anna Qlandy, 'Stm
Swatantryathe Pattii, op .cit.p.2, p. 142.

167. Ch.Kunhappa, Smaramk.1Matram (Only Memories), Kohkde, 198 1, p. 130.

16 8. Women tachers in T i r u m o o r received g m t e r pay than men-teachers, and in 1929, it was

suggeskd that these be ended, and equal pay be gven to bath men and women. The M M man
editorial against this s u g p h n . MM, 2 1 May, 1929. However this was accepted in 1930.See, MM,
January 24, 1930. '
posts must be ended, was sometimes advanced in the late '20s and ' 3 0 s . l ~The
~ limitations

placed upon manicd women seeking employment did not fully end even by the ' 5 0 s . ' ~in
~

195 1 the rneetmg of the branch of the All-hdia Women's Conference at Ernakulam passed

a resolution requesting the Tiru-Kochi government to end limitations imposed on nurses

regarding maniage."l The issue of birth-control, which would have s i d c a n t relevance to

women's enby into d ~ epublic domain, remained a taboo subject in the '30s, even to

Women's Magazines like The Mahila, otherwise 'progre~i~eq.L72

The discussion on birth-

control at the All-India Women's Conference at Thinrvananthapuram in 1935 saw heated

debate.

1 69. In I937 a member of the Shree Mulam Praja Sabha moved a motion urging the abolrtlon of the post of
Assistant inspectress, argurng that this post was redundant. He,further, pointed out that 'Nm,when
an ammpt is made to set MI males and &males on the same fbotrng and the h l e s are asserting
equal righh with males in all walks of life, I do not how &y we must allow the rdmticm of this old
custom of giving separate merit as far as the Inspectress is mcerned". Proceedings VoI 8, 1937,
p.403.

170. Robin Je&y pomts out tbat nursing was not so very popular in Keralarn e m in the ' 50's (op.cit;
11.66,p.195) several reasrrms could be thought of in order to account for this; one ream might have
been the disabues that were imposed an nurses regardmg marriage.

17 1. M.M, September 7, 195 I, 'Nezhsukal Vivaham Cheyyaruthenna Niyamam Swagatahamallennu'me

Rule That Nurses should Remain Unmarried is not Acceptabte), p.6.

172. In response to the Kesun'k suggestion that women-legislators should p&m the government to initiate
Wyplanning measures in T i r u W o o r , it was asked, ".... is the notoriety of being 'deniers of
Motherhood' an ornammt to the women of Tiruvrtarnkoor? Surprising!" CMahilabhskanam', The
Mrrhila Vol1(10), 1931, pp.5.

173. Akkamma Varkey remembers how Margaret Sanger's speech about birth--01 and its relwance f i r
women at the AU Inda Worn's Conference at ThhMnanthapuram in 1935 unleashed much
revulsim. (A.Vakey, I I 14-Nte Kathn,op.cM.158, p -17). For a brief accourrt of the debate UY the
(..continued)
 Reinscribing Womanhood thus did not also mean that diffkrences between women

were drastically reduced. Often evocations of 'Women' and their 'common condition', Iike

Anna Chandy's speech displayed sharp awareness of differences between women: the

common condition of 'women' is refered to in this text as something that exists above such

Werence which is, however, accepted as real. Much of the social work undertaken by

women was in the direction of 'uplifting' women of lower social standing. The ident%cation

of some occupations as 'Womanly' meant also that others were excluded as not 'Womanlyt.

Women-activists and social workers were active in efforts to dissuade women from such

activity as, for instance, the sale of l i q o ~ . 1 7Other

5 professions such as dancing had to

undergo a mitisation before being accepted as ~ 0this also applied

~ to professions
~ ;

(..continued)
issue at the Conferace, se Kochattd K a l p h t t y Amrna, op .cit., n , 1 6 2 , ~ ~140-4
. 1. Birth-1
was certainly discussed in the '305%with the Kesan' publishing articles an it. Kal& Amma's
article 'SwatantryamWayd Adhunh Matakanmar' (Modem Mothers d o are Advocates of
Freedom), published under the name ' Mrs C.Ku#anNair' in The Mahila Vol 1 1(2), 193 1, pp.47-52,
first appeared in the Kesan'. The issue of population and its control was hqumtly &cussed in
Kesari, S e e , ' T i r u ~ o o r i l eJamsankhya Prashnam' (The Population-Problem in Tiruwhdcmr),
February 15, 1933; 'PrasaMthinu License' (License for Chddbirth), July 11, 1934; reprinted in
A.BaIakrishna PllIai, Kesariyrrde MukhaprasangangaI (Editorials of the Kesan) Ko#ayam: D.C
Books, 1989, pp. 131-38, pp. 142-45 respectively.Asceticism, however, was sometimes recommended
as an acceptable birthcontrol method. See, REaswara Pillai, 'Uttaravadrhathvrte Kaimactom'
('Transfixof Respansibilrty), The Mahila Vol 16 (I), 1936, pp ,200-05.

175. MM, August 4, 1928, 'Kdiniyamasabhasammeham' (?he M&g of the Kochi Leg.lslatu~),The
woman-member demanded that if the government could not implement prohibrtion then it should at
least make laws to prevent women £iom buying and selling liqour. A motron was moved later
r e q u h g such a law. MM,August 9, 1928.

176. Dancing was rehabhted by Mahakavi VaUathol in kis institution, the Kerala Knlamandalam. Tfia
(..continued)
related to theatre and cinema such as acting and singing."' The reinscribed Womanhood

was hardly able to resonate with the struggles of women-agricultural workers which were
r 17K
beginning to surface in the 1930 s or with the unionisation of women-industrial

workers.'71

(..continued)
necessrty of such 'sanitisatim' was emphasised by an intellma1 figure of no less statwe than
Sahodaran K .Ayyappan. Sahothran K. Ayyappan, 'Vallatholurn hadasih.avum' (Vallathol and
Dwdasi System), in Sahodaran Weekly, August.9, 1952. Appended to M.K. Sanoo, Sahodamn
K Adyappan, Kottayam: D.C Books, 1989, p.292. The last courtdancer of the Tiruvitarnkmr palace,
Inhbhai Tanghachi, was of aristocratic heage, and she remembers the opposition to what was
perceived as 'Dasi Attorn' (A derisive way of referring to dancing) when she started training in dance
at the age of five. For a note on Indu-abhai'slife, ssee, ' N r b n Rajasadassif Tudang ...' (Dancing began
in the Royal Court...), in Vanifa,December 15-31, 1997, pp.87-88.

177. In the note refbred t o above (n.1761,lndirabhai Tangkachl remembers that she had to quit acting in
h s due to opposition fiom the palace- authorities. When Kumaran Asan's Karulta was adapted for
the stage in 1932, the fkrnale roles wre all played by men-the courtesan VasaMdatta being played by
the h o w Oachira Velukhtty. (C.L. Jose, Nndakathinte Kanappurc~ngaZ(Unseen Faces of Theatre)
Vol I, Kouayam: D . C . b k s , 1996, p.3 1). By the '40s, a galaxy of stage- actresses had emerged-
W o r n Vasudevan Nair, C.K.Rajq Omallur C h e h m a , Mavelikkara Ponnamma,
Ambalappuzha Meenakshi Amma,C.K. SumabkkuEy Amma, Kodungalbr Ammini Amma (ibid.,
pp.3940). The a c t i ~ t yof the KPAC too brought on stage a number of actresses; in the 'anti-lap
Mefas'organisedby the communists in the '40s,women were active m organising and pamcipatmg in
plays etc. Mrs. M.R.Bh&atiripad, Arya Pallom, Bhargavi Amma (See, P.Narayanan Nair,
Aranmtradilude (Through Half-), Kottayarn: SPSS, 1973, p.228).

178. K . Demyatll recalls a tughly successful stnke by them in the Arnbalappuzha area of A l a p p h . See,
K.Devayani, ' AIappwhayde Stree Munnmgal' (Women's Upsurge in A l a p p h ) , Paper presented
at the seminar Women in Kerala :Past and Present at Thiruvanarrthapuram, February.1 1-1 2, 1995.

179. Women- workers were also begummg to be unimisd in the 70s.K.Demyani (ibid.,) refers to the
first women's trade union, of coir-workers, the Ambulappwhn Kuyampiri Tozkilali U~lion,with
herself as secretary. However, the general absence of women in the early trade-union leadership has.
been ncted, though they were active in agitations (K.T. Ram Mohan, 'Material Processes and
Devefopmentalism: Understanding Ecrmomic Change in Tiruvitamkoor 1 800-1945', Unpublished Ph.d
Thesis, CDS, lhiruvanarrthapuram, 1996, pp. 15 8-59). This is despite the fact that often separate
f i d ~ r committee
y were organised for women workers with full-time women activists. n e y were also
gven special r e p d o n in union management cmmmtks. Along wRh annual union mfkrerices,
(..continued)
 However, one can hardly deny that this has proved to be one of the most durable

ways of conceiving gender and of j u s m g women's participation in the public domain.

One reason for this was probably its flexibility, which permitted women to move out of

their homes without losing their claims to be Women, both resting upon and perpetuating a

cultural milieu in which gender conhued to be considered a valwble quality in tile

Individual. Another reason could have been that its boundaries were never very rigid, that

potentially, any realm in which a highly Individuahsed and IndividuaLising disciplining was

necessary could be marked out as needing 'Womanly' capabilities--as was seen in a previous

section. A third reason could be that the challenges to Womanhood were never mounted

powerfully enough. It is true that the leftist critique of women's philanthropic work as

bourgeois tokenism had already begun to appear in the '40s,l and continued to be made tdl

the '70s.'~' The communists had also acknowledged a need to penetrate institutions such
I
as

the School and the Family, but did not recopse anythmg particularly 'Womanly' about

them. Other ideals for women were often put forth in leftist literature--such as in the work of

(..continued)
women's meetings were also held. It was in such a conference, that the Mahrla Smghom was formed.
P.J .Cheriyan, "The Communist Movement in Tramcore: From O r p s to the Uprising of 1946',
Unpubhshed Phd. thesis submitted to U n i v e r s ~of Calicut, 1993, p.332-35.

180. C. Achyuta Menon's play W n a f h i n t ePen1 (In the Name of Service), writfen in 1940, hunched a
caustic critique against womensocial workers. It was published only 1975 (Thrumanthaputam:
Prabhatam Publishers).

18 1 . Cherukad Govinda Pisharody, Devalohm, Thiruwanthapuram : Desabhirnani Publications, 1 97 1

In h s work the woman social-worker appears as a dssoute upper middle-class social butterfly.
Chelukad Govinda ish ha rod^,'" notably, his depiction of the lawyer and dedicated party-
worker, Rajamma of Devalokam lR%or the school-mistress and activist Nani of ~crthassi,""

(who is an able teacher, home-manager and political activist, but has nothing marked

'Womanly' in her). The ided family itself was sometimes reconstituted in leftist writings: it

was no longer an enclosed space constituted through gender-difference, but more a center of

political and social activity, of debare and discussion, open to the world outside, with all

members, male and female, as cqud and energetic participants.1g5 But whether all tllis

gathered enough force to seriously question the reinscribed Womanhood is yet to 'be

investigated. All these are but initial speculations into the question regardmg the remarkable

persistence of Woman as ided in Keralam. But it may be quite obvious that with the

reinscribed Womanhood being available as ideal, it was easy to make a caricature qut of

182. For a survey of female characters in Cherukad's work, s ~ M. , Leelanty, Streesnnblp~rm

Chenrkcrdintc? Nuvelr~knlil (The Idea of Woman in Cherukad's Novels), lhiruvananthapuram:
Prabhatam Publishing, 1990.

184. Cherukad Govinda Pishady, Mtrtbossi(l959), Thrissur: Kerala Sahrtya Akademi, 1989.

185. Cherukad Govhda Pishardy, Jeevituppta(l974), (The Path of Life), Thm~nanthapuram:

Desabhunaru Publicatims, 1984. In this work, Cherukad describes hs attraction fbr a reconstructed
ideal of family in whch male and female members would be equal and active partners in social and
pohcal work(pp.250-55). &so for an interesting account of a progressive marriage, see M.R.
Bbatbtiripad, 'Varan Delhkkm, Vadhu Kollathekkm! m e Bridegrocrm to Deh, the 13ride to
Kollam!). Reprinted in M R B p d e UprrnpongaI, Kozhkde: Mathmbhumi, 1988, pp.30-55; also
see, A.K.Gopalan, fink Jeevl'ta Katha (The Story of My t&), k m a n t h a p u r a m : Deshabhimani
Publications, 1980,p.176. In the '40s,communists organid a domestic labour-union in Alappuzha,
which indica* a recmceptualisaticm of the family as consthted by househoIders and servants.
However thrs was short-lived. See, P.J.Cheripn, op.cit.,p.29.
 233

women's aspirations to move away from Wamadhess--to describe them as 'Man-hatred',

'hysteria' or 'unreasonable discontent'. Writing in 1936, Sanjayan advised those women

whom he perceived to be rabble-rousing hberationists:

"Raisinsunpractical hullaballoo is Man's special fookhness; to make thmgs work without

any commation is Woman's special skill. All they {I-e., Womn) need to do is to put into
actim that domestic pmctice in the literary field or in any other field they may choose to
86

186. Sanjayan (M.RNair), ' Slummati Tamnth Arnmalu Amma: Oru Anusmaranam' (Shemati Ammalu
Arnma: In Memory), &om Sunjayan- 1936 le H a s - LRkhampfgal VoI 3, K&&: Mathrubhumi,
1970, pp. 16344.
UNNAMEABLE
DISCONTENTm
Introduction :Problematising Reform-

In the previous chapter, it was pointed out that by the 1930's the issue of re-forming
women into 'Women' was being actively discussed in Keralarn. Much of this discussion

was directed against obstructive tradition, but by now the complexity of the discussion was

certainly of a higher order. For instance, now, the question whether the domain of modern

domesticity was redy the space that offered greater mobility and power to women was

increasingly raised. Th~simplies that a process of questionhg was initiated about the claims

of what emerged as the 'modern' to have provided adequate conditions for women's self-

reahsation, within its own terms. The possibility of engagement with modem ideals of

Womanhood or Manhood, domesticity, motherhood, Ind~viduhty,public life etc. seems to

have g o w n stronger; one finds not only simple receptiveness1 to modern ideals of gender

circulating in and through reformisms but also acceptance characterised by efforts to probe,

reorganise and reimagine them.

The writing of Lalitambika Antharjanam (1909 - 1988) is relevant in ins sense. In

her work written over a period stretching from the 1930's to the 1980's we find a complex

and comprehensive engagement with modem ideds of Individdty and gender. Born in a

I. To what m t and how this mxptivenas may be characterised as 'simple' may b quesboned. For,
even when m&rn ideals of Womanhood, domesticity, motherhood a.were more or less
unproblernatically acoepted, that acceptance also involved a lmg engag- with what was perceiwl
as 'tradition'. This aspect has been briefly &It wrth in the &-st two chapters of the present work.
relatively less conservative illam, she was educated at home, and came into contact with the

p o l i t i c ~ u l t u a lmilieu of early twentieth century Keralam at a relatively early age.' An

active supporter of Narnbutiri reformism, she attended the Nair Conference at Mavelikliara

without the Anthajanam's cloak and the cadjan-umbrella3 in 1932; in 1934 her play

Vi~ihavwivaham(Widow - R e d a g e ) was performed at ~ulakkacla~;

by the end of the

thirties, she was known for her shortstories among which many were sharp critiques of

traitional life. However, Nambutiri refomism was certainly not the horizon of

Antharjanam's

Like many of her female contemporaries, Antheanam too expressed a certain

Antharjanam has spoken about the liberal &cation and m d e m ways of life in her d d h d home.
She had W r s for all subjects; she grew up wearing a blouse and slart, a tidy rare thing among
Malawla Brahmins. The house was always full of poets and artists, and she recalls the debah
between her father's brothers, who were disciples of Kerala Varma and Rajaraja Varma (whose
diffemces regadmg language and Irterature are well-hm),and beWem me uncle who firnured
the Cmgms and another who was loyal to the King. She d m that all the M a l a m m a p i n s ,
newspapers and b k s of those times reached her home, and that there was a separate mrfing-rm.
Q u d in K.Surendran, ' A hjanathinte W o k a m ' in Anthtjbnam: Om Padhwmm
(Antharjanam : A Study), Ramapuram: Antharjanarn Shastyabdapmrthy Celebration C ,-
1969, pp.73-74.

3. P.Bhaskaranunny,Anfharja1~7mMutal Mudhavrkui?~Vare (From Anthaqanam to MadhaMkutty),

Koctayarn: S a m Pravartaka S&ahrana Sanghom (henceforth, SPSS), 1987, p. 15 .

4. ibid., p.15.

5. As mentioned in Chapter Two there are shortstories like Irtl Ashaspmno? (1935) and Prmudam
(1939) which severely criticise the refom movement and the ideals of gender it p r o p a m . The same
period saw many of her s t r h g l y critical recanstructians of Nambutiri life in Illams - for instance
Moodupadalkil(1939),Kuctasammaram (I 940)etc.
unease with modern domesticity--even while admitting that she was within more-or-less an

ideal domestic setting. A fiiend remembers her words to him:

"Some unnameable discontent, terrible desire, is constantly gnawing my heart. A feelmg that
god had entrusted me wrth some noble rqonsibllrty, that I had not yet Willed even the
smallest part of it".6

Commenting favourably on Anthy anam's abilities as a writer, he immediately

observes: "But still, Lalitanibika believes that a woman's creative skill lies in her fashioning

of her children's desires and imagination. Indeed, AntharJanam has frequently described

her Me's shugle as one to attain balance between domestic and public existences, between

motherhood and career as a creative writer.' About herseIf, she wrote:

I
"She stubbornly strived to engage in domestic, social and literary d u t i ~all at the same time.
All these were (equalr'y vital) components of her existence. She could n d refuse any of
hem.. .H9

6. Vakkom M . Abdul Khadar, Chitradarshini, Thnssur : Sara- Publishmg House, 1946, pp ,8849.

7. ibid., pp.88-89.

8. See, for instance, her article ' Katha EnkrI Katha' (1947) in Atmakathaiih Oru Amukham (Prehce to
an Autobiography), T h s u r : Current Books, 1991, pp.101-107; 'Kathaylla, Oru Katha' in
Agnipushpungal, Kattayam : SPSS, 1960, pp.10-I1'; 'Oru Katl-ukayude Anubhavapadhangal'(The
Lessons fiom a Woman-Writer's Experience), 1975, in Abnahthaikh .....(ibid); ' Kathaikku Pinnrle
Katha' (Story Behind the Story) from Antharjananl : OrtrPaadhanam,pp .cit., n .2 p .I 00.

9. ' KathayaUa, Oru'Kathu'(Nat a Story,a Letter), ibid., pp. 10- 1 1.

 Such effort, she claims. destroyed her health: "Before the prime of youth was over,

before &g From her autobiographical writing it is

forty-five, to become usele~s,.."'~

clear that the 'responsibility' she identified in ganmose terms as 'god-entrusted' and 'noble'

was l i e d to a perception of ' social responsibility' to be fulfilled through the historically-

contingent institution of modern literature," which, by this time, was already drawing its

subjects. Thus drawn towards a different subject-position, yet not moving out of her chosen

world of modem domesticity, she cannot but seek a re-evaluation and re-visioning of borh.

Her engagement with contemporarily-circulating ideals of Womanhood, h d i v i d d t y and

domesticity may be read as the effort to make namable, what seemed '~nnarneable'.'~

Anthajanarn's work dtffers from reformist propaganda literature in tlus respecf. It is

a meditation upon the strengths and wealmesses of modern ideals of gender; it works upon

them so as to derive new power-equations, reimagine them so as to remedy their internal

fissures and faults - and precisely though such activity,it strengthens them in the very

process of questioning and re-evaluation.

10. ibid., p.10-11.

1I . See, 'Kathakartriyude Marupadi', (A Woman Short-story Writer's Reply), Atmakathikku.... op.cit.,

n.8,pp.54-55.

12. In ' Kathayalla...' (op.cit., n.8), she tries to find reasons for her appamtly unreasonable rrttempts to
balance domestic and public lives. She can, however, mly fall back upon a rather sweeping theory
about "EasternWomen" being more c o t r m t t d to the home and the M y in comparison with their
Westem counterparts.
 It may be finally mentioned that this reading of Anthajanam's writings does not

explore its literary and aesthetic aspects. Nor is the effort to capture the social reahty of the

period as reflected in it. Ofgreater interest here is the possible ideal world that she hints at

in her re-visioning of the order of gender which in fact, has little to do with 'social reahtyt in

any narrow sense. One is attempting to place this body of work within the history of

imagmhg gender and the Individual in modem Keralam, as an important historical event,

That most of her writing falls under the domain of the 'literary' does not exclude it fiom

. such a readtng. Here literature is treated neither as a farm of communication somehow

isolated fiom socio-cultural forces, nor as a reflection of 'social reality'; it is, more, space in

whch 'social reahty' is negotiated and re-imagtned. Participating in contemporary debates

through shortstories was characteristic of Anthar~mm~s

style as author.') But even
I

otherwise one cannot but notice the remarkable persistence of certain themes over quite a

long period of time - from the '30s to the end of the '70s-- in her writing. Antharjanam's

writing h d s space in the present work as a noteworthy instance of reimaging gender and

en-gendering marking a time in which a complex and qualsed receptiveness to modem

13. For instance, Ihr Ashsyamano ? (Is this Desirable?) (1935) was a reply to a derogatory arhcle
published in the Yogabhemam which claimed that it was man who wrde articles in the publication
under female pseudonyms and not women themselves. See, Preface, lrupahd Varshathinu Sshr-rrn
(After Twearty Years), Kaetayam : SPSS,1962. Realism, in the same mlume, was a m m t on nm
trends in M a l a y a h hterature. Another piece was directed against T.K.Velu Pillai's proposed
amendment to the exismt Nair BU which apparently pemdtd polygamy. It was tded Bhedagt~p
Kondulia Bhedagu~(Amendment with an Amendment), and appeared in the late '20sin the Women's
Magame Shreem'ti. Mentioned in Ahtrahthatkku ...., op .cit., n .8, p .92.
 gender-ideals became possible.

I. 'illusions'

The critique of the philosophy of the hdividual is a perennial theme in

Antharjanam's work. More specifically, it is the rational, competitive, self-sacient,

productive Individual in the exclusive sense, that is critiqued here. Ln these texts such

Individuals pursue chosen life-projects, focusing m a d y upon narrow personal trajectories,

and in the process, refuse or ipore their social bonds.Their inward-looking seems to severe

them from ties with others. In other words, they are nebgent of what is made to figure as a
I

more important responsibhty -- the forging of harmonious, non-violent, tolerant, equitible

social relationships. Two among several such characters, the separatist-feminist Bhanumaty

d ascetic-devotee of Devi'm ~radhakanurn"may be

Amma of Uwathinu ~ e r e l h the

mentioned here. These figures are similar in that they strive towards chosen goals through

imposing iron dscipline upon themselves. The former sets up a commune (kom which she

hopes to initiate resistance to male domination) in which inhabitants must conform to very

strict rules of conduct; the latter, seeking to know Ultimate Truth, undergoes severe

15 . From Takrnna Talamura, Kottayam : SPSS, 1957.

austerities and cuts himself off completely from the world outside the temple. This is true

even when the personal pursuit is one dedicated to the s d c e of others --as in ~vivahiia.'~

Here the lady doctor chooses to implicate herself in only such relationships that would not

impair her singularity, that would allow for certain well-defined dxstance with others,

devotedly pursuing her profession. In all these texts, Individuals are ultimately made to see

their efforts as h i t l e s s labour and through such narration, a critique of such an ideal of the

Individual is articulated.

Three important aspects may be identified in this critique. The most commonly-

stressed aspect is the demonstration of the impossiblity of the pursuits so steadfastly adhered

to by such Individual-characters. It is as though one ntust, one wjll, get entangled in social

bonds, at one point or another. h these texts, the moment in which helplessness beforeI such

enmeshing is revealed exposes the wealmess of the self-dXcient, rational, calculating

'
Individual. 7hUdayaihinu Nere, Bhanumaty Amma's harsh self-disciplining breaks down

... the ascetic realises the futility of his exertions upon

before bodily desire; in Dev~yum

noticing the sameness of the face of the idol, the object of his unflinching adoration and that

17. T h ~ texts
e however do not have a tragic qualrty. The fate that beblls these characters pronlpts
r d h k h g about their sense of self-fuElmmt. The Ind~vidualdoes not hold k n against the flow of
events, shehe subjects hersel-lf to reevaluation.
of the woman whom 11ehad so staul~cblyresisted."

A second aspect is related to the role of social ties in giving the Individual a sense of

independence and mobility. It reveals that what underlies such feeling is the strength and

support given by social relations. Social and familial relations swroundiag the individual are

what gives herAirn the sense of being free, independent, or mobile, though this might not be

for instance, the ambitious young writer who

immediately apparent: in ~ahiqakaran,~~

neglects his filial duties, does not notice that the support of familial ties was that which

made his very dreaming possible. Only at the death of his mother does he realise this, and

the sense of freedom disappeares, and his committment is directed towards his f d y ,

towards immediare social reIationshps. I

Thirdly, such Individuality is seen to trap the person in an illusion of self-fdfhnent

and power. When thus illusion fades, the person is left emptied of emotional resources to f&

back upon. This appears in several of Antharjanam's texts, notably in Vishuaroopam '' and
Varum 'I, eF in which the ideal of the Domestic Woman as companion and guide of Man

I 8. Ileviyrrrn Aradhknnum, op.crt,.n. 15, p.2I . "Hehad run away from aU that was true, calling it fils.
But life had to engulf him, for its own completeness".

19. From Mdrpa&thil, Kottay;im:SPSS, 1952.

20. KoQfayam : SPSS, 1971.

From Vi.~war(~)pum,

2 1. From Dheerendtr Majumdamde Amma, Kottayam: SPSS, 1973.

 and as the disciplinarian engaged in fashioning her children&. In Vishwaroopam the 'fall' of
a sparkling, successful Woman -- Madame Talat -- is narrated. Wife of a successful

diplomat, close codidant of her husband, competent manager of his 'social contacts', she

neglects to build relationships of caring and love, preferring to send her children off to

boarding-schools. Only after her husband's death does she realise the ephemerality of her

power, and sees that her neglect of immediate familial ties had left her all alone. In ~ararn,~~

the protagonist is the efficient mother who devotes all her energies to ' develop' her children

into perfect hdividuals - whose efforts backbe. Here too, the neglect of the effort to forge

close relationships leaves the protagonist lonely and in pain. These figures provide sharp

contrast with other heroines of Anthqanam's texts, especially women rooted in a more old-

worldly socio-cultural d e u . The heroines of ~~akulmanketam~

or ~ a ~ h a &are
~ raged
n~~

mothers alienated from the modern ways of their highly-hdividdstic children, who draw

back into solitary lives and do experience pain, but do not collapse into anger or despair. If

such disillusionment does not lead to pathetic withdrawal as in Vish~aroopmand Varum,

it leads to other sorts of personal disaster. In U*aihinrr iVerez5 the pathetic plighf of
r

22. ibid., a h .

23. From Pavin-atnotiram,Kottayam : SPSS, 1 979.

24. FromYiJwaroupam,Kattayam:SPSS,1971.

25. op.cit., n. 14.

 Kadha, the poetess, once an admirer of Bhanumaty Amma, is equally simcant. She rushes

into burdening do~nesticityat the collapse of her ideal, completely losing mobility and

ability of self-expression.

This critique may be read as a reaction to the conineme~rithat seems the lot of the

' hard' Individual. In order to be free and to exercise power, the Individual is required to turn

inwards and away from the web of hidher social ties. Antharjanam's wrihgs stay well

within Individualism in their focus on the hbvidual, so the inward-orientation is

reinterpreted rather than rejected oumght. In ~anlrsh~a~utri,~~

the Anthqanarn who is the

very paragon of charity is asked why she undertook such severe fasts. She replies that they

were undertaken in order to h o w the the plight of those who did not have food. subjecting

oneself to rigours is reinterpreted as a means of knowing others, as the means of

strenbgening one-self through lmowing and sharing the experience of others. This could

also be read as a reaction to the tendency of familiar models of the order of gender to regard
r

all spaces, irrespective of the domain in which they fall, as spaces in which the full-blooded

Individual may be rooted. in the above-mentioned texts, characters who are highly-

individualistic are most often found to show preference for such spaces. Or they transform

the particular space they occupy into a highly Individualising one. This is yet another sort of

confinement which these characters take upon themselves as fieedom. Thus in

26. Frorn ,ktIvalhinte Svarom, Kattayam : SPSS, 1968.

 y protagonist initially favours the institution of modern writing to the
~ a h i ~ u b r o nthe

neglect of the hame where he cawlot aspire towards personal ambitions; in ~vivahita?~
the

institution of medical senice is favoured over marriage by the protagonist, and so on. But in

~ a r a mit, ~is ~the home which is tuned into a highly lndividualising space. This may also

be read as a reaction to such exclusive drawing of the energies of individuals towards

' goals', 'ambitions' or ' ideals' set by certain instituti ens, which, however, can only promise

but not guarantee s e l f - W e n t . The logic of this confinement endows events with such

signrficance that they acquire the power to bring about changes in the very course of lrfe of

~ ~ , event, the death of her husband, brings

the protagonists. In ~ ~ ~ h w o r n o p oar nchance

a ~ 'doctor's unexpected
Madame Talat's satisfied existence tumbling down; in ~ v i v a h i ~ the

adoption of an orphaned infant triggers off a series of experiences that h d y upsets her

sense of Ilfilment. Such unease with cohement is also evident in Antharjanarn's

autobiographical writings mentioned in the previous section. In her fiction, the attempt to

resolve the unease goes beyond a critique to the espousal of a more 'moderate' version of h e
 Antharjanam's short-stories which reconsmct life in Illams, are often critical of

tradition as the obstacle to Individualistic aspirations. Many of these figure female

characters who display signs of being Individuals, such as in their use of strategies to resist

tradition- the heroine of ~ o o d ~ q w d a t h istruggles

?~ against her existence as the co-wzfe of

an old man; the widow of ~tirrarommafam"speaks in defence of her sexual transgression;

the Tatri of Praiikaradrvafa 'explains',35and the heroine of Jeeviiavum ~oranavurn~~turns

hysterical rather than get meekly reintegrated into the Illam as a young widow. It might be

true that the victim-status of the WarJanam is pronounced in these texts compared to their

rebellion. But the critique of tradition as a social ordering that makes victims, and not

Individuals, out of women, remains intact. However, the alternative to this oppressive

tradition is hardy the full-blooded Individual. Indeed, in ~avitromotiram," the

32. This seems similar to the Gandhian version of individualism which too is distanced from full-blooded
Indvidualism. See, Dr.T.K.Ahmed Nizar, 'Toward the Transmodem : A Note on Gandhian
hdvidualism', Rsion Vo1.7(1), January 1998, pp. 18-28.

34. ibid.

35 . From Impah4 Vnrshathinu Xhesham, Kottayam : SPSS, 1962.

36. From KalufhinteAedukal, Thrissur: Mangaldayam, 1950.

37. From Pavitrumofirnrn,Kmyarn : SPSS, 1979.

oppressiveness of tradition and the inability of full-blooded Individualism to deliver its

promise, are placed side by side. Instead, the 'moderate' version of the Individual, which

places premium upon the Individual's ability to relate to others, to establish amicable,

tolerant and equitable relations between human beings, is put forth. Such relations are

distinct from relations of rational give-and-take between individuals in full-blooded

Individualism. Within full-blooded hdividualism the former sort of relations appear to be

those of unequal exchange. In Avivahita, the lady-doctor takes care to avoid them,

perceiving an unequal exchange: "She saw that in the joint venture with men, the profits and

losses were so divided that all the profits went to one party and the losses to the ~therl'.~'

The criticism of the Reformer-reformed relationship articulated in texts like Ifu

~ s ~ ~ u m u and is followed by this Merent conception of ideal social

n o~roteekrhakaP~
? ~ ~

relations. These are characterised by a kind of 'pure Giving' in which change in the otha is

effected through subjecting oneself to rigours, through self-sacrifice as in Mulappliitre

~ 'which 'AmminhiAmma' prevents sectarian strife by thrusting herself between

~ a r n m in

39. From lncpafzr Varshathtnzr Sheshom, Kottayam : SPSS, 1962.

40. From Moad~cpadathil,Kottayam : SPSS, 1 952.

4 1. From Agnipushpqngal, Kottayam : SPSS, 1973,

the quarrelh~gp u p s ; in ~ a h i ~ c ~ k a r in
~ nwhich
" the Mother 'gves' herself, whose loss

fillally changes her son; or in ~ a n ~ ~ ~ h ~ uduough

r r ~ , 'boundless
' charity which is also

selfless. There is no reforming impulse identified in such acts; they are projected as acts of

'pure Giving' which, however, elicit change in, response from, the other. There is no

expectation regarding return on the giver's part, but the other's response does come, and so

does pleasure. Giving is not sacrifice in a negative sense; it is seer1 to bring pleasure.

Tlis also links up with the r e d e f ~ t i o nof Love as an 'internal force' that binds

Individuals together. The metaphor most commonly used to depict the quality of Love in

these wtitmgs is that of Mother's &--pure, nourishg, Me-giving, pleasurable, internally-

generated, natural, a d most importantly, beyond the t e r n of insmental exchange. The

metaphor used to conjure it up as a force is that of an unrestrictable flow or flood, that is

ever-spreadmg, uninhibited --not regulated. Here there is an oblique critique of the d-too-

f&ar suggestion that Love may be deployed as an instrument for the specsc purpose of

fashioning Individuals, within a moral regulation and the narrow limits of an institution.

Instead, Love figures here as a force that multiplies human relations based upon 'pure

, not confinable w i h any one institution or moral code. In

Giving' i n f ~ ~ t e l yand

Mhppa/inle Manam, 'Amminhi ~mma';Love exceeds all sectarian consideration, and

 248

spreads uhitely among all around her. Concluding her dw story the poet's beloved says:

"That is why I say: I am quite in favour of My-planning. But breast& must not dry up.
Breast& that is Amrtam (?he Nectar of Zmmoralf y) . Breast-milk that is hfegving....ktit
rr 44
flow forth £iom our women's breasts on to the land, the nation, the entire Universe.... .

The image of a flood of breast-milk erasing all strife will recur again in

~ tendency to reach out to others i s compared to the spider's

~ o m l a k a Pthe
~~nisakshi.~~ln

instinct to weave cobwebs: irrepressible, working without any invitation. Love figures as the

correlate to this in Maralakal: when Lilly Thomas is denied the opportunity to Iove, she

takes the veil, describing her act as a smo&ering of oneself in cobwebs oneseK a suicidal

feedmg upon one's own blood.47

This chain of reinterpretations adds up to a re-visioning of modem society its& the

I

advancing of a 'moderate' version of the Individual; social ties as ideally based upon 'pure

Giving'; the projection of Love as the force that helps such bonds proliferate. Tradition is

not treated en mmse as the enemy of modernity here; indeed, some parts of tradition are ,

seen to be more sensitive to 'moderate' Individual. The common strategy of seeking

r+
elements of 'modern' within tradition was mentioned in previous chapters; here, other

elements, equally perceived as such, which, however, go against the full-blooded Individual,

arc identified within tradition. The deployment of such strategy probably marks this as a

political move--it seeks allies against an enemyfrival. And crucially, it sets the stage for a re-

presentation of the order of gender itself fiom which new power-equations may be derived.

In that sense too, this is a political move.

Perhaps what is most interesting about: this re-vision of ideal society (which draws

upon a 'moderate' Individualism and conceives social relations as ideally based upon a sort

of unconditional 'Giving' to the other by each) is that it serves as a base for a new projection

of the order of gender implying new power-equations between the sexes. It may be
remembered that the more familiar version of the order of gender (discussed in Chapter
-t

One) conceived of the Man-Woman relationship as a complementary sexual exchange.

However, as was mentioned in Chapter Two, such complementaxity seemed actually

possible only in an indehite future, and requiring a nonreciprocal relation of power

between Reformer-Man and the objects of reform. The revised order of gender in

htharjanam's writings rejects instrumental exchange as constituting the basic nature of

relations between the sexes. Instead, these relations are seen to be based upon unconditional
'Giving' by Woman unto Man (indeed, it is rather difficult to find a projection of the reverse

relationship in these texts, i.e., of unconditional 'Giving' by Man unto Woman. Perhaps this

is all the more the reason to identrfy in these writings the articulation of a sexual politics).

This is well-expressed in several of Antharjmam's texts in which the mother-child

relationship is made to stand in the place of the Man-Woman relationship, for instance, in

48 ~ak'ihalmnr,
~hnchuroylrntma, " Kdahharadeva[upide ~ j n i n ~ u r n b iand
t ~ Orrnoyudu

u ~ ' . with the projection of Woman as Giver is the assertion of sexual

~ ~ ~ u r a i hCoupled

difference and the uniqueness of Woman. Through this double move, the project of re-

forming women by Men is made to appear superfluous.

Perhaps this point can be made clearer by readmg three texts-- Panchrqimma, lrli

and h?ealism5'--together. While the first of these is a meditation on the

~sl~us~arnano?"
I

Man-Woman relationship, the other two have a revelatory turn in whch the folly of

Reformism and the falseness of Man's sense of control over Woman, and a certain ' h e

nature' of Woman, and the Man-Woman relationship, seem revealed in the end. In

5 0. From yisvaroopam, Kottayam : SPSS, 1 97 I .

5 1, op.cit., 11.48.

5 2. From Agtipwhpangal, op .cit.,11.44.

1'~mcltarayzrmmathe male infant's efforts to raise himself up on lus own is made to evoke

the image of a life-force pushing its way ahead in a trajectory of Progess which appears

risky and ever-changing:

"Experiment, Experiment. Me's progress is through unceasing experimentation. No failure is

failure there. No victory complete. From one point on to another. And from there, to yet
another. Human life is but a chain of such mwemmts....He first laughed in the ectsasy of
success. But then, bawled aloud, in the fear of failure"."

His activity takes place under the loving eye of his Mother, and this is what marks

"That beloved form, the source of all solace, who prides in h ~ sactivities, who is considerate of ,
his &ilings, in h o r n each movement ofhs evoked a smile."'

However, in Itu Ashmyamano? and Realism, the scene seems the reverse, initially.

Here the male characters are fully immersed in Man's world-- that of reformist activity in ltu

Ashasyamano? and the literw institution in Realism-- and further, they are completely

convinced of the superiority of these worlds and coddent of their power over women. I3ut

the wives, in both these texts, strongly share the qualities of the Mother of Pancharayumma:

both are 'sources of solact', who pride in the activity of their husbands, who have an

(..continued)
53. ibid., above.
 overwhelming concern for them, and are considerate of their failings. But while the mide

infant of Pancharayunt~natakes to its Mother as its chief source of solace and pleasure

naturally and unhesitatingly, the male characters of I ~ Ashasyamano?

u and Realism have to

be made to overcome their arrogance to recognise this in their wives. The plots of these

latter texts are constructed to this 'end' -- 'end' in the sense of the ending of the t e a and in
the sense of being a goal, an aim. In i t u Ashasyantano? the wife proves herself to be his

equal in intellectual combat, yet prepares to renounce victory, announcing that she was

p
asserting the dignity of Antharjanams and not competmg with him. In Realism the wife

shakes her husband awake into the realisation that his fear was unreal, a result of his

mistaken idea that she was somethxng that could be exchanged between men, a passive

object of male desire, either as Chaste Wife or Prostitute. h both texts, Woman asserts her
I

uniqueness and non-dependence upon Man. Both texts end in Man's recognition of this

difference, which prompts his w i l h g submission to her, and a scene of harmony is conjured

up in the 'end'. Pancharl~yuntmatoo ends in a scene of blissful communion: "Clinging on

to that bosom filled with Amrml, he could re~nenlberody one thing: life is a river of milk.
I*

And he, but a sugary kiss that melts in it."'"~ is the reforming imperative (in iltr

Ashayanlano?) or a false sense of possession on the part of Man (in Realism) that stands in .

(..continued)
55. ibid., above.

56. ibid., p.16.

the way of such blissfir1 communion. For this to be possible, Woman must reveal her

difference, her non-dependence upon Man, so that she may establish herself beyond Man's

l Re-former or Possessor.
c o n ~ oas

The difference between the above projection of the order of gender and that model in

which it is constituted by complementary sexual exchange is obvious the critique of the

Domestic Woman to be found in these writings. in ~ i . s h v a r ~ ~ ~ r n ~' ~a m m ~ ~ t h e

and

Women-protagonists' worlds are completely dependent upon those of their husbands or

sons. The power enjoyed by the efficient wife or the disciplining mother gets eclipsed once

the husband dies or the sons tum rebellious. In comparison, the aged mothers of texts We
59
Vyakrthankelcrm .. - the sense specified before) do not
and others who are 'Givers' (in
/

experience such terrible fall when neglected or rejected by their sons, even when

experiencing disappointment and pain. While in the first case, Women's worlds are

dependent upon Men's, it is not so in the second. These mothers withdraw fiom the

alienating modem worlds of their suns into niches of their own without anger or malicc

against them. Women, being Givers, are not seen to enter into instrumentalist exchange with

Man; indeed, it is no coincidence, that Antharjanam uses the metaphor of breast-milk for the

5 7. From Yishworoopam, op.cit.,n.49.

5 8. From Dheerendu Majumdantdr Amma, Kottayam : SPSS, 1973.

59. From Pavitramotiram, Kmayam : SPSS, 1979.

 For, giving the breast is something that
capacity to reach out and build love-relati~ns.~

resists instrumentalist exchange under ideal conditions. In texts Like Iiu Ashasyarnano?,

Realism, Pancharqwmma and others, considerable stress is placed upon male responre to

'Gving', but there is absolutely no cdculatian regarding what should come in return-- male

response gets translated at the personal level to a simple recognition of Woman's difference,

her role as Giver. Nothing more seems expected.

Perhaps what is more interesting here is the grounding of Woman's difference which

situates her beyond the project of Refom. h sharp contrast to the f d i a r proposals

regarding the acbhation of Womanhood, here, education, tmhhg, acquiring of skills etc.

have nothing to do with being Woman-as-Giver. The interrogation of Domestic Woman

seems to pay off-- what is m m g d s e d in the construction of Domestic Woman is given

the Body-- rather,,the b o w processes seem to be more impo&t

new ~iguficance.~'~hus

60.
.
S e , for instance, the image of the unceasing flow of breast-milk conjured up in MuIappalnte Manam.
From Agnipushpgal, op-cit.,n.44.Also in Agnisakrhi (1976), Thnssur : C u m B&, 1990,
p.151.

6 1. Indeed, the specficrty of Antharjanam's reworking of Womanliness and Motherhd could we11 be
illustrated by comparing it wrth the p w of Balamani Amma, her contemporary, whose work has
also focused upon the experience of Moeherhd. I l e critic T a m Sankaran has observed that
Balarnm Amma's conception ofthe child d&n significantly from earlier notions ofthe child held in
Maiayalm socie~yin that while the latter celebrate the child as a source ofjoy, the k m e r conceives it
as he nucleus of the firturplluman being entrusted to the Mother. flayattu Sankaran, ' Bharateeyata'
from Balanllrni Ammn :Sashtypoorthy Smaranika, Kozhikde : Balamani Amma Shashtypoorthy
Celebrations C o b , 1969, p p . 4 5 4 6 ) . Indead, many of BaIamani Amma's poems are reflections
provoked in such an experiace of Motherhood (See, for instan=, 'Ammayurn Makanurn',
' M a t r u c h u m h ' , "Pichchaveppu','Mazhavellathil' etc. h n Saparwm, Kozhikode : Mathrubhumi,
1985); in these, domestic duties and the husband are very much a presence. (See 'Prabhatathil',
(. .continued)
than education or training in domestic management in becoming Wornan in this projectiorl.

Gestation, for instance, gets reinterpreted as a process of 'Giving':

"She could still remember the first nlovernents which tickled her very soul. Those priceless
days, hope-filled months of holding dearer than me'sown soul, something hidden from sight,
h o r n only by touch; giving b l d from one's own b l d ; soul from one's own soul; desires
fromone's own desires. That load was no load. That fitigue, no fatigue. And then, the great
pain.....Only if me goes as far as the gates of death may one receive the new life." 61

TIus however, is not the sane as the feminist celebration o f Writing the heodyb"- it

is not the plurality or irreducibility of the Body that is being evoked here. Rather it is the

Mother's body that is celebrated, re-evaluated, reconstructed as the source of Woman's

originality. Giving buth becomes a moment in which the most terrible pain is transformed

into great joy and bemendous strength (~aydvakkir)p%process with powers to e&ct

mental transformation, changing anger and violence into Iove and willingness to

'Give'(Kodt1nka1ii1O m 1 1 ~ )giving
~ ~ ; birth inspires 'Giwrg'(Mtt2appalinte ~ m t u r n ) ~ ~ a n d

(. .continued)
'Adukkalay-11'ec., ibid.). In contrast, Antharjanam's reflections upon Motherhd focus not so much
upon 'bringing up' as on the experience of pleasure in the relatim itself, in fact, seemingly more
indebted to the conception of the child which Tayattu refin to as the earlier one.

63. See, for instance, the e w t i o n of the Body in French Feminism in Helene Cixous, 'The Laugh ofthe
Medusa' in E. Marks and Isabeil de Courtivron (eds), New French Femi~lisms,h d m : The
Harvester Press, 198 1.

64. From ~ilivatililoode,'o~,cit.,

11.48.

65. From Kalnthinte Aedulmi, Thrissur : Manylodayam Press, 1950.

v i c e - v e ~ ( ~ v i v a h r i ait) becomes
~~; a means of recreating oneself, f?eeing oneself of the

failings or lacks of this Me (Kanrththminte Numm ~handrika)~'.

Motherhood becomes a

basis upon which the collectivity of Woman may be imagined. In ~nehayachakP~

it is

identi6ed as strong enough a basis upon which communication becomes possible between

the coarse, uncouth, old beggax-woman and the young wife of a rich man; so also m

~ ~ the Kwathi Kali's maternity sbengthens the bonds between her

Churannu ~ u l ina which

and her childless misbess. Reevaluation of maternal bodily processes sometimes happens

indirectly, as in Anthaganam's description of the process of creative writing in the Preface to

i ~ ~which she makes it resemble the matanal-body processes of gestation and

~ g - m s a k s h in

chddbirth on the one hand, and the process of bodily transformation of blood into breast-

milk on the other, rather thal view it as a cerebral process. At work here is a groundmg of

Womanhood that appears less vulnerable to construction and ~onfonnationto norms, based

on something that seems 'natural.',not 'cultural'. What happens is a cultural reinsription of

- -- --

(..continued)
66. op.cit.,11.44.
From Agnip~~'hpangal,

67. From MmdtcpahrhiI, Koetayam : SPSS, 1952

69. From lrrrpoht Varshnrhinu Shesham, op .tit., 11.39.

bodily processes, a reinterpretation that wears the appearance of a dis-cove~y.~'

The claim that this writing has strong feminist strains in it could be relevant in this

sense -- in that it c o n m s a political interpretation on behalf of Woman. The scene of

harmony between Man and Woman is always established in there writings through Man's

acceptance and approval of Woman's difference from him (and thereby through the

abandonment of Reforming empbasising the necessity of unequal relations). This is far fium

the extension of the sexual exchange into the public domain, as was proposed in the

previous chapter . As elaborated in Muloppalinie ~mam?'here,Woman's role in the public

domain stems fiom her Motherhood-as-Giving, and not from her attributed capacity to

discipline. In this sense h s projection of the order of gender remains unique as an

I

oppositional reworking of the order of gender which draws upon what was marghahsed in

earlier versions. This docs not destroy the scheme in itself, but through questioning it,

extends its life.

72. This makes it possible, in a sense, to characterise these mahations as phenomenologcal, since they
eschew rationat analysis,seehg to 'bring to light' M l y experience.

73. From Agniprishpunngal, q ,tit., n.44.

IIL Paradox of SeIf- Fulfme~tf

Perhaps Apisakshi, AntharJanam's only novel, exhibits in equal measure the

strengths and the limitations of her engagement with the ideas of Individuality and gender.

Its strength is best evidenced by the fact that her re-vision does work as an effective

instrument for reinterpreting the past of 'Malayalee Women' in the twentieth century. In

Agnisakshi, Anthajartam gives an account of the historical experience of upper-caste '

Malayalee women of the twentieth centuy, seelang to Iink women of Merent generations

through bonds of understanding reworking of their past made into History, re-presented to

them. Needless to say, such a History reaffirms the group, 'Malayalee Women'.

Antharjanam herself describes this work as a sort of 'Her-storyt:

this serves to hdp women of the younger generation to understand

"(I will be satisjed) ......if
their mothers and grandmd~ers;(yjf will help) ....membersof the older generatian to conduct
a s e t f e h ~ o n a; d athers, to bring together and study the tears and dreams of a past
time.1174

The merent trajectories taken by women in early twentieth century Keralarn in their

search for self-fuI&nent are unravelled through two central characters, Dev& Manamballi

and Thankam Nair. The pursuit of different trajectories by these women breaks up an

original unity, an intimate hendship, characterised by a complete openness to each other, a

- -

74. Preface, Asisakshj, op .tit., n.60, p .9.

dose Llowledge of each other's internal lives. It makes impossible the keeping of a pronuse

to maintain tIzls unity through sharing their chddren -- that is, the dream of building a bond

bglwern women, 1101 restricted by the boundaries of family-units. Devaki and Thankam

finally come to occupy spaces which they had not originally desired; all the same, they are

isolated from each other, pursuing their respective personal goals. Such confinement causes

dissatisfaction, often interrupting their absorption in pursuit of personal gods. Chmce

events disturb the normal flow of lives. Thankam takes to life as the wife of a well-placed

official and the mother of a son, a life she hexselfrecognises as a comfortable one:

"I was begnning a new life. My son's arrival. Husband's promotion. New duties in life.
Immersed in alI this. (I). ... dd'nt feel time go by. I was happy, aitmted. Then there was no
time to thmk of old re~atimshi~s."'~ I

Yet, chance events provoke unease. Thankam admits that the events in the world

outside, in which the struggIe against foreign rule was heightening, had little impact upon

her:"... AU this had on me only the effect of a detective novel,."76But, witnessing the sccne

of a nationalist demonstration being b m M y broken up by the British police (&om the

balcony of her safe, secure home, an apartment, not only strictly limited but. also raised h g h

up from the ground), she is plagued with @t:

75. ibid., p.92.

76. ibid.
 "Howweak I am! How wfetched! Why did I not run down into that crowd, why d d 1 nat say,
'1 am a h an l n h . I am also with you...Take me with you, sister"'"

Recogrising the woman leading the demonstration to be Devaki, Thankam enquires

about her whereabouts, only to realise that their spaces were not only separate but in

opposition to each other. Such reflection comes forcefully only in old age, when she

experiences an intense desire for reunion.

As for Devaki, her long career is marked by restless wandering from one role to

another-she becomes fitst a social reformer, then a political activist and later, a Ganhan

social worker. A series of events ending in the collapse of sexual discipline and mutual trust

in her ashram shocks her out of the Me and beliefs of a social activist into ever-more severe

isolation as a ascetic. This, however, prompts self-reflection and re-evaluation of her beliefs:
I

"Even the word ' d ~ i r eused

' to draw her into a fwy. But did she manage to hate the creative
urge lnhereslt in alI Living beings? She looked around the ashram wrth a si&: disciples,
daughters; Mataji, Mother. Yes, all of Woman's dearest wishes must anchor at this shore in
order to be fuWed. She desired to cover the mtire living world in a kiss, to call aloud, "My
children!". But no one wants Mother; they want a Gum, a ~ o ~ i n.""i . .

It is obvious at this point that this History of 'Malayalee Womanhood'-- found

implicated in the wider project of Individual self-=lment-of the twentieth century is a

crilical one. Through the critical component it distances itself from the commonplace view

77. ibid., p.97.

of this period as an 'era of Liberatioil' for women. In fact, the discontents of such a project

,ue highlighted here. As discussed in the previous sections, full-blooded Inhvidualism has

been a perennid target of criticism in Anharjanam's writings. Here too, this helps her

reading of the past: the entq of women into the public domain, and their taking up of the

modern domestic role--both which appeared as part of modernity here are seen to have led

women into the space of the'hard'-individual, isolating them fiom each other. This is seen to

have denied them real self-fulfilment, even amidst social recognition and personal

happiness. Also, it is seen to have obstructed the formation of a collectivity of Wornen

based upon bonds of sharing. The haghung of this collectivity is never explicit but remains

an abiding presence throughout. It seems highly mformed by Anthaqanam's conception of

blotherhood as elaborated in texts like Mulappalinie Mamm. Thankam and Devah are seen

to beIong to it in equal measure, as 'Mothers', hinting at a vision of Motherhood that does

not shun public llfe, and of public life that cannot shun Motherhood but rather derives its

basic driving-force fiom it:

"Devak! Manambah has no escape h m Thankam Nau.We are the two faces of an era. The
new generation has two mothers, will you not accept our ~hiidren?"~~
 Yet, at this very poinf the limitations of this re-vision are also evident. ' l l ~ e

cornminding of spaces which the two protagonists seek to effect, the recreation of a

wholeness hitherto prevented seems, however, quite impossible. For, it seems to be obtained

through an exchange. In other words, though a cornminghg is sought,what happens is only

an exchange. Thankam brings to Devsld her wn, i d Devaki presents Thankam's

granddaughter with her Tali, the symbol of her self-control steadfastness and dedicatedness

--the two exchange what they consider the most valuable achievements of their lives. 7 5 s

exchange is celebrated as the moment of communion, which seems to imply the effacement

of boundaries through the use of the metaphor of mother's milk-as-flow:

"It was as if breast-milk was flowing from aU ofNature's body - the end of tapas - a new era ,
was being born.""

Thus, even as the vision of the commingling of spaces remains, it seems actualised

by the mere act of mutual exchange. The tension is obvious : hdividudity is by no means

unseated.

It could thus be well claimed that it is possible to find an interrogation of

Individuality and gender in Antharjanam's writings but not its overcoming. But even the

significance of this interrogation has been weakly perceived. It has been far more comnlon

80. ibid., p. 15 1.
to read her as a champion of the 'ti-eedorn of Antharjanams' or stress the celebration of

h.lotheshood in her wrihlgs. Perhaps one reason for this tendency is t l ~ efailure to pay

attention to the critical component in her witing directed at the ideals of Individuality and

gender commonly in circulation in Kernlam in the '30's. Trus requires a historical reading a

re-evaluation of Antharjanam'swork as is ' event' in the history of imagining the Individual

in modern ~ e r d a n . ~ '

8 1. There have been cther interning readings of Antharjanam's writings which do not necessarily employ
a historical perspective. See, for instance, Mema Alexander, 'Outcaste Power : RmaI Displaement
and Virile Mateinrty in Indian Women Writers', EPW, February 19, 1989, pp.367-72; N.K.
Ravindran, 'Ammamarude SankatangaI' (7he Sorrows of Mothers), Kercrla Podhanungo1 3, October
- Decenlber 1993, pp.324-37; Jancy James, 'Feminism as Smial C o n h m t : T h e Case of
Lalithambrka Anthajanam', Idinn Literomre, May - June 1996, pp .26-37.
WOMAN AND THE FEMALE
BODY
 264

Introduction: READING (THROUGH) DRESS

In the project of fashioning the Individual the body occupied an ambiguous position.

At one level, the lndividual as imagined within the order of gender was considered to be

shaped entirely by herlhis qualities of the mind. However, such attributed qualities seemed

to proceed kom sexual dtfference marked in their bodies; 'correct training' was ideally to

develop and channelise these, and therefore drrected at bodies. Not surprisingly, propods

of 'correct mining' involved both the preparation of boys and girls for subjectivities deemed

'natural' to them and the inodcation of self'-control -- control over bodily urges.

The iltnguing way in which the body's ambiguous placing continued to haunt the

project of fashoning Wornan tviU be discussed here. For tfus we draw upon the history of

dress-reform in late 19th-eaily 20' century Keralam. In these times local society witnessed

remarkable transformation in the modes and functions of dressing. By explicating the

ambiguities in the advocacy of fernale dress-reform, it may be possible to show how the

femde body gets reinscribed as a source of pleasure. It will also demonstrate how a non-

reciprocal relation of seeing gets established between Man and Woman as seer and the seen,

as almost inbuilt in the sexual contract. The ambiguous presence of the body has continued

to complicate the project of fashoning Woman, perhaps to an ever-greater extent, today.

In nineteenth century Kerdam, dress and ornaments served to mark social

difference. "Anyone after living a little while in (he counby," wrote a C.M.S. missionary
fiom Kottayam in 1884, "even at fust glance tells to what caste a stranger belongs by the

way he or she wears their hair or garments".' Indeed, this was a centuries-old way in which

difference between social groups was s i m e d in Keralam. The Synod of Udayarnperoor

(1599 A.D.) emphasised its necessity through one of its canons:

"The Church is partjcular that the dflkrence between fiithhl folk and those who do not
possess %rfh should be expressed externally through dress and omamentation as well. Why?
To distinguish these groups by their a*. The Synd upon wing that there is no difimce
between Nazranis and Malayalces in dress and hair, bids them to make ~ e r e n c e . " ~

Besides, different styles of dressing distinguished various groups linked together in a

co~nmon~lctwork(later perceived as a single caste). For instance, different styles of wearing

the Mtrndu (the long piece of cloth covering the lower body). prevalent among

Anthajanams of the Addyan and Asyun groups of Malayala Brahmins was one way of

distinguishmg them.3Dress and omamentation also marked hierarchical distinction- groups

lower in the Janma-bhehnz order were prohibited fiom using h e r clothing, umbrellas and

1. Quoted in Robin J e f i y , The Decline of N q r Domimnce, h d m : Sussex University Press, 1976,

p.10.

2. Canon 14,(S: IXD.XVQ, Dr.Scaria Sakaria(ed), Udqanpcrmr Sunnahadosinte Kanonakal ('The

Canons ofthe Synod of Udayampemr), Edamattom: IICS 1994, p .240, The translatian is free. This
Synd was convened by the Latm Catholic bishop Menem, and part of the Portuguese efforts to
transform Synan Xians. For an account of this evmt, see, Rev.Mathew Daniel, Kerala Kraistava
ISi7m~~karam,Tinimlla, 1985, pp ,69-86.

3 For an account of .Antharjanamsl drws, see K.P.PadrnanabhaMenon, History of Kcrob Vol.IIl,

(1929) New Delhi: AES, 1984, p.49.
L
gold jewellery. Jati-goups had to strictly maintain these signs. Breach of such conventions

to Ilosharn- inviting inauspiciousness, as the story of the Santuriri's (the

was tar~tmour~t

ruler of Kozhikodc) shoulder-ache showed ." Besides, lower-caste disregard for such

conventiotls would be read as a challenge to upper-caste power. The well-known 'Breast-

Cloth Struggle' of the oineteenth century in south Tiruvitamkoor involved not only the issue

of feminine modesty but also smggle around ~otr.' Wearing the upper cloth would si&

symbolic equality of the Channars with upper-caste Nairs, and the Tiruvitamkoor Sarkrlr

conceded the demand for feminine modesty whde rehsing to allow that specific mode of

dressing that implied symbolic equality Channars with Nairs. The Proclamation of 1865

allowed dl classes to use the Kuppayam (blouse) but not the upper-cloth. Indeed, here is

other evidence to show that the steadily-modemising State of Tiruvitamkoor was not at all

averse to the demands of 'modesty' (read 'Civilisation') provided it did not interfere with the

4. The last powerfbl Srrmutiri (Zamorin) of Kozhkde is said to have suered from an incurable pain in
the right shoulder. At last a simple remedy was prescribed: that he shodd wear a w& torthtc-mrtndu
(here, upper-clath), on the ri$t shoulder. Wonder of wonders, the pain vanished, but along with it the
fortunes of the Samrrtiri rulmg-house. The pain had resulted from the Goddess of Prospew resting
heavily on the Samunn'k right shoulder. By wearing the wet torthtc-muhc on that shoulder, the
Samzrtiri committed an inauspicious aa, driving the Goddws away, and with it, the source of wealth
and power of the rulinghouse. S m afterwards, the power of the Samutjri ruling house su&rd, but
since the Goddess was m s e c r a t e d in the market place, the prosperrty of Kozhikode as a centre of
trade remained unimpaired. See, Kottarathil Sankunni, Aitcehyamclla, Thrissur: Current Books,
pp.116-118.

5. R.lefiey, op.cit., n,.1, pp.50-85 gves a detailed account of these struggles. Also see, R.N.Yesudas,
Thc Pcopl~'s Itevolt in Trmncorc: A Hnckwnrd Cmk Movement Fir SacinI Freedom.
Thhvananthapuram: Kerafa Historical Society, 1975.
b
maintenance of social hierarchy: when the Public Works Department was set up in

Tiruvitarnkoor in 1863, the clothing of the upper parts of the person was a condition for the

employment of women as labourers6 In nineteenth century Tiruvitamkoor, dress marked

social distance and deference; at the same time through newly-emergent forces, reading in a

person's dress qualities such as 'modesty', 'Civilisation', 'decency' or the lack of these, was

slowly begGzning to gain gound. In the 'Breast-Cloth Struggle' these ways of reading dress

got entangled in one another.

The differentiating function of dress continued well into the twentieth cenhlry with

important additions. For example, adoption of new modes of dress was a way in which

'Westemised' people could be idenbfied from those who were not. For a long time, wearhg

modern dresss would si& close contact with modern institutions-- those who closely

interacted with such institutions had to resort to such dressing. 'Sahitya Panchanan' P.K.

Narayana PiIlai remembers how the Peishkar Rajaama Rayar (who, he remarks, was highly

insistent on the observance of local norms of dress that worked to m k off social hierarchy)

had to wear a shirt when he met white officials, and how one such meeting got delayed

because the shirt was missing.' An old student of the school for the scions of the royal

- - -- - -

6. ibid., p.92.

7. P.K.Narayana ~ i l l aSmarammcrt&hm
~, @omain of Memories), K o t t a w : SPSS, 1964, p. 1 16. P.K
wrxtes: that "Beause all those who sought Gvours from hun knew well of his aversion towards any
craze fbr dress and ornamentation, they would go bfom him only in duty dress, and that which hardly
(..continued)
 farnily of Kilimanoor remembers that in the 1910's the school dress-code for in

Tiruvitamkoor was observed in that school only during the &y of the Inspector's visit. On

other days, they would all go to school in Kaupeemms (loin-cloths).' Takazhi Sivasankaa

Pillai remembers wearing his first s W on joining an English school in the same decade, and

how by that tune, "those who wore shirts did not go to work in the fields

Wearing new sorts of dress also began to signify new sorts of social hierarchies, It could

even activate self-gaze, it seemed, that revealed one's 'lacks' or 'inferiority'. The reformer
I

C.Kesavan vividly recollects such an experience in his childhood :

"AH the children were sitting on the floor. In the group there was a child wearing a satin
Kuppayum and a cap that covered the ears, s&g a little apart, close to the wall on the right.
A somewllat special consideration was given to the 'Ktrppqm and cap'. I was wearing a
small Torthumundu (n m r s v variety of cloth won1 around the waist covering the lower'
body), that was aU. I felt ashamed of myself'.'0

Weruing certain sorts of dress did signify 'moving up' in modern social hierarchy.

(..continued)
r covered the hees.I have seen the Deputy Tahsildar of Am balappwha keep aside a m u d u for the sole
purpose of deploymg it before the peishkar on his circuit visit". (ibid.,p.120).

8. C .R.&jaraja Varma, Adhyopahe Amakarha (Autobiography of a Teacher), Khnanoor, 1976,

p.13.

9. Takazhi Simsankara Pillai, O r v r d e TeerangnIil (On the Shom of Memory), Ko#ayam: SPSS,
1985, p.23. In an earlier work, Ente BuIyakaIu K a f h (The Story of My ChiIdhd) he remembers the
reverence with which children looked upon a teacher who wore a coat and carried a cld-umbrella,
appropriately call'd 'Coat-Sir', (Thrissur:Manga1odayarn Press, 1967,~.132).

10. C.Ksavan, Jeevitasammm, (The Struggle of Life) K a t h y : SPSS, 1953, p.28.

C-Kesavanremembers a visit to the SNDP Yogarn's Industrial Exhibition at Kollam in: 1905

as a 13- year-old, in which the leading men wore dark shirts, turbans and long coats. "It was

surprising to many", he remarks, "that such clothes would suit Ezhavasl'." One could even

make 'use' of this simcation of modern dress, as the reformer C. Krishnan found out, on a

journey to Ceylon in 1899 :

"Tobe free ofnuisance from dher people, I started oE in European fashion, hat and aU. I was
mvinced of the efficacy of this trick after journeying in a train for m e tune. Because
people would move away at the sight ofthe hat there 4 s no nuisance in the compartrnmt at

Because dress could thus differentiate people, it was very frequently a charged site of

co&ontation. It was nodal point of nationalist struggle: European styles were replaced by
I

with local ones, foreign cloth with khadi. Wearing Khadar and the Gandhi cap gained

political siguficance in Malabar during the Civil Disobedience ~ovement."Discussion of

the reform of official dress of teachers was sometimes polarised around approval and

disapproval of 'local' and 'foreign*fashions.14Changes in dressing were also crucial in the

1 1. ibid.. p.409.

12. Quoted in K.R.Acl~utan,C.Kn'shmn: JemcImrifrnm (C. Krishian: A Biography), K&ayam :

SPSS, 1971, pp. 19-20.

I 3. See, P.K.K.Mwon, 7;he Hislory of' the Freedom Movement in Kerala Vol.LI, Thiru~nanthapuram
:Govt.ofKeraia, 1972, p.209.

14. &,for instance, the debate on the resolution moved by member E.lkkanda Wamer in 1930 regardng
(. .continued)
 constitution of new identities in most varieties of reformism : in the Yoguhhema Sabha for

instance, the issue of dress was a charged one; in the modern school for Nambutiri boys at

EdaIikunni, initially there were stnct rules disallowing teachers and students from wearing

K~lppqamsduring formal sessions." The twenty-first session of the Yogabhemu Sallha

was regarded to be revolutionary in that at this session the participants did not bathe or

remove their shuts before 1unch;'be self-assertion of the lower-castes clearly involved

open rejection of established dress-conventions-- the mass meetmg of Pulayas at KolIarn in

I

1915 saw the rejection of wearing the Kulla and Mala (certain ornaments worn by women

of this social goup);'7in movements that sought to organise them, such as the Pratyakshu

Raksha Daiva Sabha, they were encouraged to wear 'white clothes' and keep themselves
1

(..continued)
reform of teachers' h s in K&i State. Reported in the MM, 18 August, 1930. In 1927, another
member, Kullhunni Raja, bad brought a similar resolution regardmg the d o r m of government
servants jn Kochi. See,' K d u Niyama Sabha' (K& bslature), MM 1 7 Deoenihr, 1927.

16. P.K.Aryan Nambutiripad, Nnlukenil Ninnu Nanilekku (From the Homestead to the h d ) , 'Ihrissur :
Mangalodayam, 1969, p.104.

17. T.H.P.Chmtarassery,A p n k a l i , Thirumanthapuram : Prabhatam Publishing, 1989, pp. 103 6.

Interestingly, tile Malayalee reported that a h r the act of reject~on,two of the g a r h d s were taken by .
, the president of the meeting, Changanashery Parameswaran Pillai, and the Chief Secretary of
Tiruvttainkoor, bath uppercaste men, as curios. In order to be permid as 'curios' or 'aesthetic
objects' the Kallo and Mala had to be first stripped offtheir function of signifling disrence and social
dstinction wrthin the Janmn-Bhedam order.
 clean.18

But, besides this, the new dress-code was also found to si& the wearer's

implicatedness in the project of modern Self-building. Modem dressing figured high-up in

proposals of 'correct training'. So, often, dress was seen to signify not only a certain

subjectivity but also a cwtain internality. Wearing 'white clothes' by lower castes therefore,

could si@ not only the rejection of the Janma-bhedom order but also purity of minds.

1 Mahatma Gandhi in 1925 found the Malabar style of female dress praiseworthy not only

because of its simpticity, convenience or 'Indianness' but also because it seemed to sigxllfy

an inner-purity and willingness to sacrifice. He remarked that the white colour of women's

apparel in Malabar reminded him of Seeta, following her husband into exile.lg

Simultaneously, the acceptance of modern conventions of dressing which involved cdvering

the body had become indrspensible in the set of operations by which the Individual was to

be fashioned. An author pointed out, "...And,especially because we human beings do not

Mfil our desires unresticted like animals, is it not shameful for us to leave exposed those

18. P .Sanal Mohan, ' Religion, Social Space and Identity: Construction of Boundaries in Colonial
Keralam', Paper p m e r d at The Conference qf Sirbaltem Historians, January 3-8, 1998, Giri
hstitute of Development Studies, L u h o w , pp. 20-2 1.

19. 'Timvitamkmrine Patti' (About Tirumamkoor), M.M, 7 Apnl, 1925. This was the translation of an
article by G a n h a b u t his visit, published in Young India.
pats that incite desire?"''. Illhe 'human being' is defmed here by I d h e r ability to control

bodily desire; covering up those parts which excite desire becomes necessary to become

human. Covering the body is perceived as a way of ending the display of the body and

therefore fibwed importantly in efforts to transform one-self by developing firmer control

over sexual desire. Only when it figured thus did dressing have this importance. By itself, it

was even felt that adopting modem dress could be a distraction from Self-building often an

sought to
empty imitation of the West (as, for example, the novel ~amn~odiparnayurn~'

show). Vengayil Kunhkarnan Nayanar, writmg in the late nineteenth century, would

lampoon the new fashions as signs of lack of Manliness, not compensating for the absence

of proper training :

" ..... These days there are mostly half-female men. Necktie, collar, shirt, overcoat and so on.
.

Though the need for exercise is often tom-tomrned, there are few smart young men who can
walk for a Nmhiko {an i n d i g e n o ~measure
~~ of time) or two ".U

New sorts of dressing therefore were not found effective in themselves in Self-

20. Vadakkumpattu Lakshrm h u m , 'Vastrachchadanm' (Covering W&I Dress), Sharada Vol 1(2),
1906, pp. 13-15.

2 1. Kizhakeppateu Ramankutty Menon, Parangodiprinqm (1 8921, Reprinted in Dr.P.V. George

Irumbayam (ed), Nolu Novelukal (Four Novels), 'lhnssur:Kerala Sahrtya Akademi, 1985.

22. From ProEK. GopaIakrishnan (ed.), K e s d Napnanrde Kritikd (Tne Works of Kesari Nayanar),
Kodiikode : Mathrubhumi Publications, 1987, p.33. The quutation is from the essay 'Paramarthan?
(The Truth).
building this cautionary word continued to be voiced weLl into the twentieth century. ln E.V.

Krishna Pillai's essay Shirfukul (Shirts) (1934) the shirt is criticised as the sign of a

generation that shuns labour and lives as parasites.u Covering the body was a necessary,

though not sdcient, element in Self-building. In the imagining of ideal Men and Women

in early Malayalam novels, the importance of 'decent dresst--si@cmtly, not the bIind

imitation of European dress is swessed. Thus the heroine of Indulekh, characterised as

wholly a 'MaIuyala Siree': however, keeps her torso covered with an upper-cloth always.a

She, however, does not wear European faduon. The heroine of lndulekha, thus is 'decent' or

'civilised', but not 'Westernised'. Western dress became acceptable only when it was

required along with 'correct trainingt as in modern schools etc, Gandlu's criticism of

adoption of Western-style dress by men in Malabar, voiced alongside his praise for wqmm's

dress is s i m c a n t here:25.while the former seemed disagreeable as it appeared a blind

23. From El! Kritikal Vol. I (The Works of E.V), Kottayam: D.C Books, 1978, p.187. He writes :"Lfit
were the olden days, aU m m aged behvm twelve and ninetysix years would have reached the fields
or gardens before dawn, dad in their singlemundus and armed with the stag pickaxe and spade"
(p.186). 'The shrrt has some disabilities. He is totally averse to the pickaxe and the spade. The fields,
the crops and garden-landsare aU in dke enenlity with him.He can't stand the smelI of paddy, tapioca,
yams, tubers, millets all these are alien to him." @. 187).

24. O.ChanduMmon,InduIeh(1889),Kottstyam:D.CBaoks,1991,p.25.ItwasndintheIate
nin-th century &if that among the issues that appeared most fkquently in the newly-arisen Novel,
S~I?an~chcha&nam(Covering the Breasts) was a prominent one. See Kesari Nayanar's criticism of
the 'epidemic' of novel-w~itingwhich he warns of in the essay 'Novel' From Kesan' Ncynamde
Krithikal, op.cit, 11.22,pp.70-75.
imitation, one-to-one comespondence with Western fashion was condemned, but not

dressing as part of a regimen of Self-building.

Though covering the body was stressed as equally important for both men and

women, it seemed to have special importance for women. The nakedness of young

Nambunris invited reproach £iom those who advised them to modemise, like the Malayala

in Meenahhi, it was criticised as a sign of sexual ~ver-indul~ence,~~

hlano~arna;~~ in 1928,

ever1 a scholar as eminent and venerated as Punnashery Nambi Neelakanta S h m a could be

criticised for 'indecent display' on account of his conventional attire, as it happened at the

Kottakal Suhipa Parishar convention.za But the efforts to end female nakedness were far

more determined and persistent. This will be examined in greater d e t d in the next section.
I

26. 'Malapla B r a h a r u d e Adhuukavasta' (The Modern Con&m of Malayala Brahmins), MM, 19

July, 1905.

27 . Cheruvalathu Chathu Nair, Meenokshi (18901, Thrissur: Kerala Sahitya Akademi, 1988.

28. It was the ?hirumanthapuram-based lawyer, Mallwr Govitlda Pillai, who made this criticism, h c h
however, irritated many of the Nambi's followers. Mentioned by E.V. Knshna Pillai in
Jeeviiasm~r~~nakaI Vol LI (Memories), Thuuvanatd~apurarn:Shree Rama Vilasom Press, 1948,
p.62 1.
 S e d submissiveness of shudra women to the upper-castes, particularly the

Nambutiris and Kshatriya groups, has often been projected as an important element of

upper-caste dominance in Keralam, and the nakedness of the female torso has been taken to

be connected to it." Historians of Keralarn in the twentieth century have often drawn upon

this interpretation.30Thus, the pre-Brahmin past has been characterised as one in which

K "Women commonly used a Mulakkacha (garmenfcovering the breast) and a light upper-

29. Such interpretation has been in prevalence since the late 19' century in K e r a h , evident in the
writings u&med by modem ideas. RJefEq quotes a letter that appeared in the newspaper Paschimn
Taraka (Western Star) which clearly demandrates the prwmce of such mtexpretatian, how it h e . a
signifi- e l m among the grimces voiced against trad.ttia1 authority. It said, "The maid is
indignant that women should be compelled to play the harl* and go about with bosoms bare to catd.1
a lover as a fish is aught with bait." The Nair woman, the 'Maid' ofthe letter, is made to emerge as
victun, sexually explow and baring the b o r n is part ofthis undesirable state. This was to become a
key element in the criticism of upper-caste authority by the various kinds of reformism in 20' century
Keralam. fistory-writing of various caste-groups has been an unportant terrain upon which such
b d e s have b m fought. To meartion me such account, see K.Darnodaran, EzhaYanrde Itihsam
(Saga of the Edums), KolIam: Sri Rama Vilasam Press, 1929 in which there are hints that the upper-
case opposition to the adaptim of the breastcloth by the Channattis of Tiruvitamkmr in the 19"
mtury was a mlt of their anger at the dmial of the sight of the beautiful b d e s of these women to
upperems @. 16). Also see, Kaqpayur Sankaran Nambutu-ipad's reburtal of the 'sexual
exploitationt thesis commonly a d m d by Nair refbrmers aginst Narnbutvis in hts work
Acharavimarshanam (Critique of Customs), Kunnamkulam: PanAangom Pms, 1968. The chef
targets of this polemic are the reformer Puthehathu Raman Menan and the historian Elamkularn
Kunhan Pillai.

30. Se,Elanlkulam P.N.Kunhm Pdlai, Kercrlom Anchum Aorum Noottavmdukalil (Kernla in the Frfth and
S ~ C I d e s } , Kottayam: SPSS, 1961; Paul Manavalan, Kerabsamskcrrmim Kraistmw
Missiono~manim(Christian Missianaries and Keralats Culture), Kmayarn: D.C Books, 1990; P.K
Balakrishnan, Jati, Vyavasthayrrm Kernla Chorifrmrn (Caste Order and the Nstory of Kernla),
Kcmyam: SPSS, 1984.
cloth irrespective of caste,"" a conventioll that Brahmin dominance seems to have ended.

Robin Jeftiey writes: "The Nayar girl was taught to bare her breasts as a mark of respect

before such incarnate deities (ie,Brahmins), her greatest pleasure sllould be giving pleasure

claims that even if female bare-breastedness predated the

to them". 32~.~.~alakrish~~an

advent of the Brahmins, it was perpetuated as an element of the dominance of B h n s

over the lower-ca~tes.~"

What is interestmg here is the extraordinary attention given to female bare-

breastedness, linking it to the Nair woman's obligation to provide sexual pleasure to the

upper-caste man, while both men and women of the groups lower in the Janma-bhedarn

order were equal1y expected to display their submission by removing their ~ ~ ~ e r - c l o t h . ' ~
\

The antluopologist Fred Fawcett who argued against prudery regardmg female'bare-

breastedness ("In Malabar, where there is prevalent the idea that no respectable woman

3 1. Eiamkulam P.N.KunhanPillai, ibid., p.190.

33. Balaknshnan writes: 'The sight of ' high-breasted females'..... must have been a great challenge to the
(op .tit., n.30,p.363).
Dhcrrrn~~sntras"

34. There is evidence to show that this was a long-established practice here. Jacobus Canter Vischer, the
Dutch Chaplain of K d i bemeen 1717 and 1723 A.D, noted it in hs l m r s about life in Kochi. H e
says: "The petty Rajahs, subordinate to the Rajah of Cmhh (those of Mangatti, Porcad) must thus
show their respect to h q and they should remove their upper garmerrt in hls prwence and remain
bare-shouldered till he pves them permission to resume it..... The women make the same obeisance as
s folding their arms in h t " . From Letter XIII,reprinted
the men,letting fall'their veils or c o v e ~ g and
in K.P. Padmanabha Mepcn, History ofiernlrr, KO&: Govt of Kochl, 1929, p.30.
I
covers her breast, there has crept in lately, chiefly amongst those who have travelled, a

feeling of shame in respect of this custom of dress. Dress, is, of course, a conventional

affair, and it will be a matter of regret should false ideas of shame supplant those of natural

dignity such as one sees expressed in the carriage and beating of the well-bred Nayar

lady.")') found it necessaty to defend female bare-breastedness and not similar conventions

of male dress. Though Fswcett's work was pubfished in 1915, the fieldwork was carried out

in the closing decades of the nineteenth centwy. It is clearly that by then, the sense of shame

was mainly regarding exposure of the@male body. Male dress conventions, it seems, took

longer to change. %en K.P.Padmanabha Menon wrote about the Nairs (in his work first

published in the late '20s), he obsewed that the attire of Nair menfolk had not changed ,

much: "The dress of the men cannot be said to have improved much for they still Satisfy

themselves with wrapping around their middle,a piece of cloth between four to five cubits in

length........1r36

However, male bare-breastedness was at least as important as fe~nalebare-

breastedness, in trahtional authority and such signs of submission were to be produced by

both men and women of groups placed lower in the Junma-bhedam order before bolh men

and women placed higher up. K.P.Padmanabha Menon mentions an incident that raised

35. Fred Fawcett, hraprs ofMulabar (1 915), Madras: M S , 1984, p. 198.

36. K.P.PadmanabhaMenon, Histoty of Keraln Vol IIL, op.cit., n.3, pp. 200-201.
1.

muctl discussion in Kochi in the early twentieth century in which a young woman had her

rcrv~rkka(blouse) stripped off for not removing it in the presence of a princess of the royal

house of ~ochi.)' Such obeisance was to be paid to Gods--the general practice was to

appear bare-breasted before deities in temples. Musicians playing Oeva-Va&umr (musical

instruments of the 'godly' variety such as the Edakksi as differentiated from the Asura-

Vc~dyannsuch as Chenda) did not wear the upper-cloth, d i k e those who played the Aszrru

type. Not permitting women to cover their breasts does not seem to have been linked to

forced display; in fact, as Fawcett observed, tile reading of uncovered breasts as sigmfymg

immodesty seems to be of recent orign.

Autobiographies and travellers' accounts testify to the ordinariness of the sight of the
I

exposed female torso, its commonness as everyday sight. John Henry Grose wrote:

". ...... the women of these countries are not allowed to cover any part of their breasts, to the
naked &splay of which they annexe no idea of immodesty which iri fact ceases by the
familiarity of it to the eye. Most Europeans at their first arrival experimce the force of
temptation.... but it is not long befbre these impressions wear off, and they view it wrth as Mle
emotion as the natives themselves, or as ofthe obvious parts of the body the face or hands".38

There are a great Inany autobiographies in which female bare-breastedness appears as a

cormnon sight. K.P.S.Menon remembers thus : ".... Nairs did not think it shameful to speak

37. ibid., p.204.

3 8. Quoted in K.P.P.Menon, cp .crt, n .3, pp.20 1-202.

 of breasts. Because they did not cover them.... Even when family members were together,

speaking f3eely of c e m parts of the body was not Breast-feeding too is

40
remembered as something done in public, and by children well past their Xancy.

n ~ '(and as Fawcett hinted, in ihe

In fact, as observers like William ~ o ~ anoted

above quote), there seems to have been in force a reversal of the Western notion of

modesty. Elic Reclus' account of the reaction of Tzvathis (women of the T i p caste) to

European 'civilising' is telling:

". ..the women, however modest and dscreet, will wear no garment above the waist: they are
not prostitutes, rhey ST, r h t they should cover the bosom. English ladies who engage them
as nurses haw tried umr and over again, in the name of English decorum, to make them wear
a neckerchief but have mcountered the determined reslstanoe wh~chthey would have ofired
had they been asked to promenade the hghways un~ldhed."~'

K.P.S.Menon recalls that in his childhood wearing the blouse was associated with

dressing-"*--and not with modesty."

Verhan~kcrta/--immodest

t
39. K.P.S. Mmon, Amknthir :Autobiopphy), Kottayam: SPSS, 1971, p.2 1

40. See, Cherukad Govinda Pisharody, Jem'tnppafa (Path of LA),~ ~ t h a p u r a m

Chita
:
Publishers, 1984, p.41; K.P.S.Menon, ibid., p.2.1.

41. Wiharn Logan, Molnbar Manunl Vol I(1906), Madras: AES, 195 1, p .134.

42. Quoted ui K .P.P.Mmon, op .tit., n.3, p.2 10 . n e italics are mine.

 The association of tht covered breast wid1 immodesty seems to have been more

general than might be expected, from today's perspective. Abbe Dubois noted it for the

s travels in India, in the early nineteenth century:

~ k ~ ~ a d ains ihis

"Ofall the women in Jncha it is the courtesans.... .who are most decently clothed. Indeed they
are partjcuIarly carifbl nb to expose any part of their body..... Experience has no doubt taught
thein that for a woman to -lay her charms h m p s sensual arctour instead of exciting it, and
the imagination is more captimted than the eye. ""

hterestmgly, this has crept into a late nineteenth century text like ~ e e n a k s h i , "which
~

explicitly attacks female bare-breastedness as immodest &splay. In this work there is a

seduction-scene in which however,. the seductress does not appear before her victim with
breasts exposed. Rather she took up a "specially laundered Bukku m u s h mlindzi and threw
I

it over her shoulders in tilt- Makkuna Nut surprisingly, this figures as an

'eroticising technique' in some of the 'seduction manuals1--Ambopudeshamr-- in which the

aspiring courtesan is instructed in the arts of seduction by her senior--such as in Venmani

Mahan Nambutiripad's Arnbopadesham in which the aspirant is advised to keep her well-

formed breasts covered with an attractive upper-cloth (Md-rnzi~d)so that her body

45. Cheruvalathu Chathu Nair, op.cit.,11.27.

becomes desirable to the eye of clients.47

One may object that the covered female bosom did not aZwqs sign@ the sexually-

available female in the traditional order. True; it could also signify a particular position in

the Janma-bhe&m order. Wearing the Kuppqam was required of Muslims and Christians.

Cloaking the body using the Puthappu (Cloak) and Olakkuda (Cadjan leaf-umbrella) were

Covering the body,

obligatory for AntharJanams when they ventured out of their 111ams~~.

therefore, seemed to have been a technique adapted to diverse purposes-used in a certain

way, it could si& one's identity; used in another way it could enhance the erotic appeal

of the body. But the point is that the exposed female torso does not seem to have had the

connotation of immodesty in any general sense4'

1

47. Shlokam 35 .of Ambopudesham by Venmani Mahan Narnbutiripad. From Dr-Shmlli

Narayanan(ed), Venmani X,itiM (Works of Vaunanis), Thrissur: Current Books, 199 1, p.4 10.

48. For a description of the dress of Antharjanams, see, K.P.P. Menon, op.cit, n.3, p.49. In his
ProcIamatiun of July 26, 1859, the Maharaja of Tiruvttamkoor agreed to let alI Nadars wear the
jacket Ike Chstian Nadars. The 'Nair style' of wearing the upper-cloth was prohibrted; instead, the
style of M i c k ~ t h i k a l(fid~erwomeu)was permitted. (S.Mamr, Ihe Land qf Charily, NewYork,
187 1, p.305). Mwrkoth Kmhappa mentions that Tiyya women of north Keraiarn had a special way
of wearing the uppersldl~called Madiputhakkal. Mentimed in Mwrkoth Kunhappa, Moorkoih
K~rmaran:Jeevuchan'trum (Mmrkothu Kumaran: Biography), Kmyarn: SPSS, 1975 pp .258-59.

49. Thebodesofwommdofi~reassitesof~~ntestatimbetweenvarioussocialgroupsinthetalesthat
circulate about such c m e s m o n . Often,in these, clothing the female body becomes an act of challeslge
to higher authority or between groups, in rnainIy maledriven contest. To mention two such tales: one
is woven around a heroic figure, an Ehava rebel named Velayudha Panlkkar who lived in the mid-19"
century in Arattupuzha in Tiruvrtamkwr. He is said to haw internled in conflicts around
dress-codes at Ka+larn and Pandalam (in which an M a w woman d-10had worn a nose-stud
had been am& for having broken the wtablished dressde) by beating up those who were behind
(. .continued)
 The sight of worneIl moving about freely without shame regarding their exposetl

bodies was noted by a great many visitors to South In&a who have left behind accounts

since Marco Polo. In Marco Polo's writing an association between nakedness and sin was

made: "Man and woman, they are dl black, and go naked all save a fme cloth about the

middle. They look not on any sin of the flesh as a sinjO".By the nineteenth century, h
s
association appears in much stronger terms in the accounts of missionaries. In Christianity,

nakedness could sigmfy innocence only bbtfurc! the fall; the sense of shame came after it. A

conversation between a missionary and a colonial oficial in Mdabar in 187 1, reported by

the nlissionary, shows the strength of these associations in the missionaries'reading of local

society. The missionary was W.T Sattimathan, on a trip from Madras to Malabar. He
J
writes thus:

(..continued)
the outrage and dstributing Torthus (upper4dhs) and nosestuds to a thousand Ezham women.
(Mentioned in Prof. M. Satyaprakasham, &mnsakm? Mooloor SPadmrnbhu Panikkar,
Tbiru~nanthapuram: Dept.of Cultural Publications, Govt.of Kerala, 1998, pp 29-30). There is
another tale around 'Kalyashery Achd~an',an Ezhava notable of Kayarnkulam who lived around the
same perid-around 1850-who made Ezhava women wear the Torrhtt and the ear-stud by force, in
cantestation with the Muslim tradesmen of the Kayamkulam and Kartikappally markets. (Mentioned
ill A.P.Udayabhanu, Entc Kathillcrimclkrrl (Autobiography), Thrissur :D.C Books, 1991, pp. 173-79).
In the former instance, the issue hardly seems to have been that of femininemodesty, in the latter, the
tension is said to have begun when Muslim men harassed Erhava women in the Kayamkulam market.
However, in the second case, the women themselves are mentioned to have resisted the atten~ptsto
clothe thern. (ibid.).

50. Marm Polo about Quitm(Ko1lam). From Prof K.A. Nilakanta Sastri (ed.), Foreign Notices ofSouth
Indin.from Megasthenes tu Ma Hunn, Hr storical Series No. 14, Madras: Universrty of Madras, 1930,
pp. 181-82.
 "Onentering Palaghaut, 1 ndtioed a change in costume, language and manners of the people.
The women were also sparsely dressed djust a piece of cloth around the waist and another
small piece thrown loosely over the shoulder.. ..... We may hope that as educatim spreads, and
the Gospels elevate these people in the scale of society, civllisation, the handmaid of education
and Christianity, will spread also, and they will emerge from the socia1 and moral degradation
in which they are sunk.. .. I may briefly allude to a conversation I had with the station-master
at Palaghaut, who endeavouredto defend the customs and habb ofthese people. He said that
they were simple and more in accordance with nature, with a state of primeval innocence, and
not iU-adapted to the climate. He forgot that savages reabsed in a state of nature hs ideti of
cl-g cmnpatible wrth ' innocence"'.'t

True to his faith, the missionary points out: that nakedness can signifjl only sin, and not

innocence, unless in a state of nature. In any case, the naked body can sigufy only sin or its

lack, the denial of 'civihzation' or lack of it. Female bare-breastedness seemed an

unmistakeable sign of sexual excess and unscrupulous display for materid gain. Missiomy

writings often made ths claim:

"Hear, readers. Tne Shudra women of Malaplam an mining sexual maturrty receive cIdh
from many and became the wives of many, bearing many children. Even the m h e r cannot
know the paternity of her many children.... Due to such evil pramce, there is absolutely no
faithfulness W e e n husband and wife or love for me's hher or hldm except out of the
desire for material gin.....Women, in order to make a living, give up their hmour, and llke
offering bait to fish, cast off their uppersloth and display their bmsts in order to grab
wealt~~".'~

Missionaries were not the only champions of such sensibility. AU the representatives

51. W.T.Satthianadhan, 'Notes of a Tour Through Tramcore and TirmevelIy', Madras Chwch
Missionary Record VoI.E#MU, No.6, June.1871,pp.177-'78.

52. 'Vimhathe Kurichu' (About Manias) from b ' i ~ s u g m h a mVol 1(5), July 1865. Reprinted in
F/icjusangrahamJuly 1864-April1866. Kmyarn: I3enjarnin Baiiey Research Centre, CMS.Collese,
1993, pp.282-83.
 of 'civilization1--colonialoficials, the modemising Tiruvitamkoor State and the institutions

that it created, upheld it. Lncreasingly it was gaining ground among the newly-educated

classes in Keralarn,.lndeed, signs of change were getting clear. In the Repori of rhe Cemzrs

of 1891, V. Nagam Aiya noted that Shudra women,

oj'7m1lanr~orr

not, as a rule, cover their bosoms while at home, nor do they do so outdwrs in North
"....do
Travancore. Civilization is steadily advancing from the South, the effxts of wllich are clearly
dscernible in Trim- there being not one Nair girl who will walk out without an upper
c~oth".'~

By the early twentieth century, the practice of young Nair women c m g lamps

bare-breasted in the annual Aral procession from the Shree Padmanabha Swamy Temple

was being opposed in the newspapers as barbarous," and by 1905, the Arut procession saw
I

women with covered bosoms." Tllis fixing of the sigdicance of the female bare-

breastedness as indicative of either sexual excess or sexual exploitation was made easier

through acceptance of texts B e Kerala Mahatmyam as providing authoritative accounts

7
regarding the origins of female dress-conventions in Keralam. Since in this text the Shudras .
5 3. V .Nagam hya, Reporr on the Cemlrs of Travancore Vol 1, 189 1, pp.76869.

54. Madros ;rimes, 19 May, 1903. Quoted by R.Je&ey, op.cit., n.1,p. 189.K.P.P.Menon, op.cit, n.3 also
mentions this change (g.214). The criticism also appeared in the editorial of the Keraln Panchiha of
Kunni (Od.-Nov.) 12, 1901, edrted by Swadeshabhimani K.Ramakriba P h i , the crusading
journalist of early 20th- cemury Tiruvhmkoor. Merrtioned in K.Bhaskara Prllai, Swcrdeshnbhitncrni
(Biography of Swadeshabhimani), Kottayain: SPSS, 1956, p.93.

55. R.Je&y mentions tlus, quoting from The Hi~d14.op.cit.,n.1, Note 33, Chapter 6.
of Keralam are said to have originated fiom Apsaras--heavenly courtesans-the dress-

convention prescribed seemed to fit in well with the 'vice' associated with .public

That is, this text appeared to confirm the white Man's claim that female bare-breastedness

among Shudras was the mark o f their over-indulgence in sexual activity, and sexual slavery

to Brahmins. And since it was Brahmins who were seen to be deriving pleasure from the

sight of female nakedness, this text formed an important source of ammunition for the

newly-educated groups in their struggle against the dominant Brahamin groups, growing

more intense by late 19th century, as evidence against the Narnbutiris. One advantage of this

was that it seemed to absolve the Shudra groups h m the responsibility of their women's

bare-breastedness.

This was probably why this practice was roundly condemned by all the reformisms

of twentieth century Keralam which upheld aspirations of community-building 57 In what

56. The Malabar Marriage Commission Report of 1894 found that the aristocracy which defended
Sambandhum relied upm the authorrty of the Kerala Mahatmyam according to which 'dsmdmis'
of 'celestial danzsels' brought by Parashuraman (who is said to have established the Brahmins in
K e r a h ) were commanded to ".... ......mfy the desires of Bcahmans, enjoining on them to put off
'

chastrty, and the cloth which ~ v c r e dtheir breast, and declaring that promiscuous i n m u r s e with
three or four men in common was void of the least taint of sin". (Malabar Mrriage Commission
Report, 1894. Quoted in F.Fawcett, op.cit., 11.35,p.227). However, quoting t h s opinion, Fawcett
expmsed doubt about treating it as a dependable account @ p ,228-29).

57. Here one may mation a rather curious incident from the hstory of Ezhava refomism. It was related
by the wife of the prominent Ezham reformer, K.S.Shanku,Kunhiamma. The incident, might have
never happened at all, but the way in wh~chit is related probably illustrates how the association
h e m the e q o s k l hie body and sexual excess had b e rather t i d y din reformist
circles. Kunhiarnrna says: "Once he (her husband, KS.Shanku) conducted a fatha @rocession)of
women wearing the blouse. T h e decision was to get about twearty women from Kmayarn to wear the
(..continued)
was probably a move to encourage covering of breasts by poorer Nair Women, the Nair

confese~lceheld at Aiyitur in 1916 took the decision to permit women to wear the shorter

In any case, by the end of the '20s and '30s, even

'jumper' instead of the longer hpP~JnamsY.

women of royd families--the defenders of the local custom--of Kochi and Kozhikode were

striving to wear the blouse.s9 his is not to say that by that time bare-breastedness had

ended--an anthropologist studylng the Nair Taravad in the early '50s noted that even at that

m e , women-members were not provided blouses by the Taravad but by their husbands if

they wished their wives to be so attired.60in fa@ a few decades back it was not strange to

(..continued)
rmtkkn and take them upto Changanashery. It was I who walked in front wearing a rmkka. A I d of
people had gathered (#I the way to see this. But afkr some t h e many of the women removed their
rmrkkas and put them on their laps. I have heard that a person called Kidangoor Mundan approached
these women who were reluctant to wear the ravukka in a completely naked fashion". Quded in
M.K.Sanm, Sbree Nnrajnna Gzrm Swami: .lewcharitram (Biography of Shree Narayar~a
Guru),Kmyam: SPSS, 1986. T h e use of violence to clathe women who &sed to be reformed is
sometrmes mentioned in histories of reform and reformers. For instance, see, Ettumanwr Gopalan,
Dmer Enm Karmdheeran Piography ofP.K.Dewer),Kochi: h e r Smaraka Samiti, 1993, pp.42-
44, which gives an account ofthe use of force in makingA r v women cover their bosoms.

5 8. N .Bdahshnan Nair, K.Chinnnmmrr: Jemchan'trarn (Biography), Thiruvananthapuram: Srivilas

Press, 1947,p.105. There were attempts to devise costumesthat would not offend exisling conventions
of dress while achieving the end of feminine modesty, such as the Knmppan Kcrchcha, devised by
Pandt K.P.Karuppanfbr Aroyn women. See, ibid., p.42.

59. 'Kochi Rajakudumbavm Atlnte Bhaviyum' (The Royal h I y of Kochi and rts Future), M.M, June
28, 1927. The article mentions that young women of the royal fimify had began to attend public
meeting and celebratims wearing the rmkka and mel-mund~t.Also, 'Samutiri Rajammsathile
Streekalude PanshkarabhilashamfPsire fbr Reform Among the Women of the Samutiri Royal
House), M.M, April 28, 1930. In hs report, the reststance put up by some women of the Samutiri
royal house to part;cipatins bare-breastedly in a ritual procession is rqorted.

60. M.S. A.Rao, Social Chnnge in Maiabcir, Bombay: Popular Book Depot, 1957, p.77.
see old women going bare-breasted in rural areas in Keralam. But by the '30s, the

condemnation of bare-breastedness as moral degradations, had crystallised into a force to be

reckoned with.

AESTHETICISING THE BODY

Rejection of older conventions and adoption of modem dressing was often an act of

defiance by women in these h e ~ . ~ ' literatrue,

ln it sometimes symbolically expressed tile

resistant female subjeds struggle agatnst the older order as in the reformist play ~iirrmaii.'~

In Kirlrmaii the Nambutiri-gul's struggle against forced reintegration into the IIIanl
I
is

expressed in her determinabon to wear a blouse. In this play, the resisting heroine Devaki

61. In wearing mcdern dress it seems that women were often forced to resort to strategy. K u n h i a m
Shanku (op.cit.,n.57)makes thls clear : "I myself wore the ravllkka fbr the first time only at the age
of twenty, Tkat too, under die compulsion of my husband. I would cover the rmtkka by covering
myself with a cloth in the presence of my maternal uncle and others... ."(Quoted in M.K.Sanm, op.cit,
11.57). A.P. Udayabhanu menticas two such instances, one invoIving the Ezhava reformer C.V.
Kunhiraman's sister and another involving Lady Mandath Krishnan Nair, wife of a Dewan of
Tiruvitamkmr, both in which the women wmpl ied witll their husbands!wishes by wearing the ravltkkn
in their presence, but &scarding them when in their own homes. Mentimed in A.P. Udayabhanu,
op.cit., n.49,p. 178. h 1915, an article by Puthezhathu Rarnan Menon which condemned the adoption
of rnwlem dress by womm as empty mitation received sharp retorts from women-authors who saw it
as part of the efforts to attain 'cjvilisation'. See, C.P.Ka1yaniAmma, 'hukaranabhramam' me
Craze for Imrtation), LakshmiBhqvi Val 10(12), pp. 457-462; Mrs.K.Kannan Menon,
' A~ukaranabhramam', LcrkshmiBhqvi Vol 1 1(1), pp.22-27.
r
relies entirely on her cultivated mind her only source of strength. Indeed the mind was of

central importance in the projection of ideal Wornan. ln the ideal rnorlogomous union, the

partners were to be attached ro each other through tnerltal compatibility. Such statements as

the one quoted below are only too frequently encountered in writings about Womanhood hl

this period:

"lt is true by experience that a specla1 ir~terestalways develops towards the beadul woman
at fim sight. But if love and respect towards her born at &st sight nust be sustained a r b i n
other quatities are essential, Of these the most important me is the lack of mIQ".*

WIlile any sign of bekg rnar~lyUI women was frowned upon, cowage displayed by

women in the race of any danger to their fatxlllieq or in resistance put up against any

suppression of Womanh~esswas heartily applauded.6JThus Devald's insistme on Wearing

the blouse in Hilrnlzaii is approved as a defence of Wornahless, Womanly modesty.

Covering the bosorn by women was a defiance of tradition in favour of union with men

imbued with new values ald chis often irlvolved a struggle with tradiiional authority. l'o

illustrate this, we draw upon an incident related in the autobiopp11y of the reformer (2.

Kesavan. The female figure in tlis account is the wde of C.V. Kmhhnan, a p~~minetd

63. V.R.RamanMenon, 'Streekalude Saundaryabhramam' (Women's Beauty-Craze}, LakshrniBhayi Vot

20 (1 1), 1924, p.292.

64. Puthdlathu Raman Menon, 'Paurushamulla Streekall (Manly Women), LahhrniBi~nyrVol lo@),
1914, pp.309-20.
 fibwe in the Shree Narayana Movement, and it dates around the fate nineteeth century,

period in which wearing the blouse began to gain popularity in Thvitamkoor. The fashon

reached Mayyanad (Kesavan's native place, near Kollarn) corn Thiruvananthapuram

through a sister-in-law who was married there. Being presented with two ravukhs Mrs.

C.V. Kuhiraman says that she ventured to try them on. Kesavan quotes her :

"......Itoo found them mctive, and tried them an, at once. Yes, pretty good. But ticklish; I
took them offfoldmg them and carefully, shmed them to A m m very enthusiadi~tlly.Amma
(mother) sized me up : 'Where are you going, to galliwnt ? Fold and put them into the
clothes-box....If I was very scared of Amma, she would kill me. At night I shawgd them to
Vasanthy's father (C. V ) . Good, you can wear them, he agreed. It would be alrigbt now, I
thought, since Vadhyar (teacher, meaning C.V )had agreed...... Vudhyir left in the morning
and 1, in my simple mind, came out, wearing the ravukka..... engrossed in some day-dream I
ddn't see A m m come.But I heard the sound of a twig of h o o d being brokm and turned
around quickly. n e r e was A m m , all fire and fwy. 'Xmve it at once, you hussy, dancing
girl (Afrakn')!So you'll wear the K u p p p r n like a Muslim !" I removed the r m h that
day out of f a r of being beaten by Amma. But I too was stubborn... If Amma did'nt want it,
Vadhpr did. I wouldht wear the r a w h a during day-time. The night was mine. When I saw
that Amma was asleep, I would take out my ravrrkka and wear it., duping Amma. Vudkyor
would come only late at night, like a Gandharvan .tt6'

Wearing the ravttkka here is already an act of rebellion against the established

I authority @ m u )which would see wearing the r m k k u as a sign of being a ' dancing-girlf

(Afiakkari) or detect in it a change in the wearer's position in the Jannm-bhedam order

(being a m u s h ) . The wearer of the blouse, however, wears it in defiance, seeing in it a way

to make herself attractive to her husband. He needs it, even if Anrnla does not. The
'husband' emerges out of a conlbination of the images of "Vasanthy's fathert', "Vadhyar"

(teacher) and "Gancl'harvarr" (celestid lover, seeker of beauty, favouring young and

beautiful virgns). It is for such a marl--modern in tastes and inclination--that the woman in

the account dupes traditional authority and wears the rmrkka.

It may be arbwed that this account merely c o t f m s the fear voiced by many

reformers that unless modern dressing was not strictly regulated by placing it withm, as an

elernent of, a regime of ' correct training1, it would turn into a technique of displaying the

body as an aesthetically-pleasing object, instead of being an instrument of buildmg sexual

self-control. But aestheticising the female body did sometimes appear as a sort of necessity--

indeed, we do sometimes frnd it being advocated by those reformers who insisted upon

'co~recttrainingt for women. The propogmda in favour of modern dress for h t h a r j k a r n s ,

actively carried out by Nambutiri reformers is particularly striking in this respect.

Acceptance of'*modern dressing by Antharjanams was considered to be of prime importance

for the promotion of monogamous unions between educated Narnbutixis and htharjanams--

reckoned to be of considerable importance in the project of fashoning the modem

Nambutin cornlrr unit>. It was pointed out that the traditional garb of Antharjanams would be

repulsive to Inor. fin-educated young Nambutiris, and the remedy prescribed was to make

hthqanarns adopt modem dress so as to make them appealing to modem men. Addressing

Antharjanarnr in one bf his most well-known speeclws, V.T.Bhattatiripad stressed its

hportance in attracting not only modern men, but even those of the older order.
:
Aestheticising the female body-adoming it with culture--is identil5ed as of equal

importance with culturing the mind.So, along with advising Antharjanams to cultivate their

minds? V.T. also tells them to pay attention to their dressing:

"Many of us are turning head over heels about this (t.e, about tntra-caste marriage) na
k u s e of our kcinartion for your sense of beauty, but merely out of a a c e m for morality.
1 do nat hde the ha that many of us who are married are f d up of your ugly, disgusting
dress and omamentation, and are able to do no more than curse

In this account, elements of dress triuhtionally sigmfymg the Anthaganam get

marked out as primitive, disgusting, unhygenic while the new dressing gets presented as its

opposite--attractive, sign of culture, cIeanliness and good health. A healthy body,

apparently, is not enough to hold a man; it must be aestheticised, 'clothed in culture':

'What is the difference bemeen you and the Pisharas-wr? She is &rk-complexioned; her
tresses are mostly fillen. ir, contrast your body is rosy and bright. But firkatakam does nut
favour you. Why? h k at your ears and the Pisharaspr's. A *-rate ear-stud (on her's).
(OnJ Yours, an ugly and clumsy Chithi! Is nat your back aH dirty wrth oil and gnrne from
sweat that keeps dropping from the Charadu m your neck? .... Alas, ifthls dress is dspsbng
e m to Karkutahm, then how can it be appealing to folks like Madhavan?.... It may be true

66. S p e d at Aliyathur Upasabha Yogam, 'Nambutiri Manushyampi M a r a n a m d mthe Narnbutxri is

to become Man). Reprinted in Appendix to V.T.Bhattatiripad, Karmpakam, Thnssur : Best Books,
1988, p.330-3 1.

67, jbid., p.332. Tlzls suggestion was strmgly opposed elsewfiere by the Aniha janm-turned-Reforn~er,
Parvati Nmmhimanplam. She wrm that this was but a ruse to ensnare men: "A woman must
saduce only her husband but not through a d c a l dressing. A man attracted by such dressing will
defiitely turn away h ~ usn if b s and o m n a ~ t get
s soiled; to make such a man me's llusbancl is
surely a nzistake. . One should try to seduce only wrth unblemished love-Premam....". Pamati
Nauninimafigalarq 'Street~m'(Womathess), Stree Vol 1(1), 1933, pp.15-16.
 that grandmathers may murmur if they dmlt see that plantain-like I'cmpn or that Ok%r which
resembies the Ernhronliri!~betel-box, or the Kolltthu, so very like the cme's neck. But dm?
grant it too much importance.... htharjanams who have any afktiorl for their husbands
must definitely give up those hded bronze bangles, acknowldgns at least the bd that they
give us immense discomfort in cold weather ..... I have a word to say about hair. Hair on the
Ilea4 like the plumes of fie peacock, galerally appears bautiful. But upon an Antharjanam's
head its condition is pitiable. Nrrngcmn bathes at four Nnzhihs before day break. This
Nangemn who moves around the kitchen and the Vndokni until late afternoon gets no time
to untangle her hair t i 4 up in its wet mdrtion..... What more? (When you). .. approach the
bedroom wah your hair hanging in the a d i t i o n of the haystack during the rainy season, our
nostrils general1y get blocked by themselves...."68

Ln h s passage hygiene is advocated not merely for the sake of good health but more

prominently of rnalang the female body attractive. V.T.Bhattatiripad was by no means a

lone fibwe in hls emphasis of this need--it echoed through out the instances of the advocacy

of dress-reform for Antharjanms in Nambutiri reformism.69 The 'union of mindst,

6s. ibid., pp. 333-35. Korkntnkcrm and M o d h a n are characters who appear in V.TS play AhJrkalcyl '
Ninn,,Arcmgathekktr (From Kitchen to Frontstage). Chnrndlr, Chilhi, Poops, Okkzr, Kaluthu refkr to
traditronal ornaments worn by Antharjanams. Pishcrrosyar is a caste-name meaning 'woman of
Pi.sl?or@ caste' wrth whom Nambutiris often established Sambmdham ties Nangema was a
personal name common amon3 Antharjanams; Nczzhika is a focal measure of time; Vadakkmi refers to
a part ofthe Illam.

69. See, report of the 2 0 Annual

~ Confkrence of d ~ eYogc~ksherncrkbha at Angadippurarn, M h f , 27
Dezember, 1927; report of the 21"' Annual Conference of the Y.K.5' at Mavelkkara, M.M, 29
December, 1928; Mwthiringote Bhavatratan Nambutiripad, ' Pwrvacharam Athava
Kezhnatappul(Custom), Unny N~~rnbutin Vol 7(11), 1925, p ,645; P .M.Ma~ezl~i, ' Antha janangaliun
Avarude Veshabhw&anagalum' (Anthajanams and their Dress and Ornamentation), Unny
rVambutiri Vol 7(12), 1925, p.715; Presidential Address at the 9h Annual Yogam of the Nambutj~
Ylivn Jonn &nghom, Unny Nambutin' Vol9 (4), 1927, p.281; M . b n a Vanna Tamban, 'Nammude
Bandhukkal' (Our Friends), in the same issue, p. 36 1. But Nambutiri reformism was by no means
unique in this rwpect. In eady Malayahn novels, tlle heroines' dressing is justdied as not only ndest,
but also aesthetrcally pleasing. See, O.Chandu Menon, Shnrck in Dr.P.V.G.Irumbayam(ed.),
Anrhnppayipide Nowhtkrl: Chandurnenonte Mnrc~daylrrn (Anthappayi's Novels and Cflandu
Menon's Shnroda), Thnssur: Current Books, 1991, pp.357-58. Also, see, Meemkshi, op.cit., n,27,
pp.76-77.
 curiously, seemed to require an aesthestic presentation of the female body; aestheticising the
I

female body seemed yet another important means of cementing the modern monogamous

marital union. Here, wearing modern dress was not only a technique of attaining sexud self-

control; it was a way in which aesthetic pleasure h r n the female body could be

accentuated.

In fact, inbuilt into the very cox1struction of Woman is a role as provider of pleasure,

as the 'Vessel of Cdture'. ~tis in this sense that Woman differs fium ~ ~ r l i of
n bclassical

texts. In texts like the Na~ds'as!rarn,Werent types of women--Kulina, Vesya and Bhryu--
are constructed as entirely di£€erent fiom each other with different lifestyles, functions,

sexual preferences, gestures, movements,70 even group ehcs." In tius tradition of

representation, the vesya was the vessel cf culture, the provider of pleasure--aeswetic,

intellectual and bodily pleasure--to men, of certain social standing at a price.72The list of

70. Dr.K.T.Rama Varma, Kamapooja Kcralnrhil (The Worship of Kanla in Keralam), Kozhikde :
Classic Book Trust, 1985,p.58-59.

71. Thls is well-dustrated 111 the story of the Yakshi 'Pa~d~avankattu Neeli'sung in the Yiliat~chanpatiu
folk-tradition UI South Tiruvitamkwr. This is the story of a Vesp murdered by a Brahmin priest in
revenge of having lost all his wealth to her. She des swearing that she had ally adhered to the ethics
of her group, and c u m no sin.She is then transformed into a Yahhi. For a fdler account of this
Yillatichanpath,see, UUmr S.Pararneswara lyer, 'Panchawnkam Neeli', Ulloon'nre Pmbcmdhangul
(Essays by Ulloor), Thiruvananthapuram : Uloor Memorial Publicatims, 1980, pp. 309-28.

72. K.T.Rwna Varrna claims that around forty years back there was IrCtle stigna attached to the tern1
L'csy, and that it was conmm for lrttle girls to dress up and ask their mothers, "Have I not b m e a
Yes5'vunow" (op. tit., n.70, p. 10). Whatever be the truth of this clam, krnale personal names like
'Vesukuuy', 'Vesamani' etc were certainly known in Keralam in the early part of this century. To call
(. .continued)
6

d ~ skills
e o f the ideal vesya, according to Arlhdsar.trarn, included singing, playing tnusical

ins~unents,recitation, dancing, acting belles-letters, painting making fragrances, the art of

lolowing the minds of others, dress and decoration, massagng and seduction." The Kulina,

in contrast, was to bear heirs, perpetuate tsaditional norms and values, and the above skills

were forbidden to hex. The provision of pleasure, bodily and otherwise, was to be the

Vwya:s specid task, while producing legitimate progeny was that of the Kulina!~.This

division seems to have held good to a certain extent--for example, in the completely

different codes of conduct prescribed for Brahmin women and Devadaris observed by Abbe

Dubois. He remarks :

"The courtesans are the only women in India who enjoy the privdage of learning to read, to
dance, to sing. A well-bred and respectable woman fbr t h s reason would blush to acquire any
ofthese accomplishments.""

To Western observers, such cultural activity and sexual availability seemed

inextricably bound in the Vevya,and the former stood as condemned as the latter. Singing

by devadasis, for instance, seemed

(..continued)
grl children ' Vesdhtty' as a term ofendearment was also hewn (op.cit.p.70).

73. Q u d in K.T.RamaVarma, op.cit., n.70, p.55.

74. Abbe J..A.Dubois,op.cit.,n.43,p.586.

 ".. ....o& vulgar and lewd, and sung not only before assembli~of men, but e m the deities
with a view of exciting the lasciviousness ofthe men".'"

One may also remember that discussions of female education in late nineteenth

century often mentioned the criticism that education would make women immoral

emanating from non-modern sources, countered by advocates of modem education. By

early twentieth century, change was in sight. In a footnote to the above observation of Abbe

Dubois', the editor added :

"In these days female educatim is slowly extmdmg to all classes, and the prejudrce which
formerly existed no lmger a p p l i ~to women learning to read and write, though dancing is stdl
restricted to the proksional dancing girls and not ccglsidered re~pecbble".'~

Womanly education included leaning literature, painting music, etiquette etc. and

the new Woman was to take over the function of being' the 'Vessel of Culture' &om the

Vesyu--but in a signflcantly dlfereni w q , by bringing accomplishments such as music into

the interior of the modern home as sources of pleasure to the family. This, in effect, was to

turn them into instruments assuring the longevity and stability of the modern home by

increasing pleasure in domestic life. Modem Woman therefore was iinagined to be a

combination of the Reproducer and the Vessel of Culture, with the latter subordinated to the

75. John Shortt, ' n e Bayadare; or Dancing Girls of South hdla', Journal of Yhe AnfhropologrcalSociety
uflondon Vo1.3, 1870, pp. 183-84.
 former, and the former rely~ngupon the latter for strength. Tllroughout the period lasting

fiom the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century--and even into the present--a steady

process in which Woman acquires the accomplishments of d ~ eVesya--no doubt in the

sanitised' manner mentioned above--has been in

This may be: further explicated by referring to two early noveIs in Mdayalam,

~ak~hntikesavam''and indnlekho7' In Lakthmikesavam, a contrast is set up between

Lakshmi, the ideal Woman, and a courtesan called Mysore Mulhuma~lichm,who however
1

resemble each other in remarkable ways. Both are peerless beauties; both possess

considerable musical gifts and are capable of evoking male desire. But Lakshrni's beauty and

music are solidly installed w i t h the modern home, working to provide pleasure to her

husband-to-be, and her family. But the courtesan's accomplishments are for all meh of a

certain social standing who can pay a price. The hero Kesavanunny visits the courtesan to

listen to her famed voice but is mistaken to be an aspiring Iover since in the established

77. It has been noticed that RajaRaviVarma's depiction of Malayalee women i s not of nubile
7
adolescents or voluptuous mistresses, but of "adult, self-assured women", who are "sensuous
but not seductive, forthcoming but not coquettish". It seen that only thus "could they be the noble
spouses of breeding worthy of the new domestic realm", which however, was still in a nascent
form in the collective aspirations of the new middle-dass in Keralam. R.Nandakumar, 'The
Missins Male: The FemaIe Figures of RaviVarma and the Concepts of Family, Marriage and
Fatherhood in lgthCentury Kerala', South lndinn Studies, 1, January-June 1996, p.73.

78. Komattil Padco Menon, b k s h m i k s a ~ m(1 892), in Dr.P.V. k r g e Inunbayam, op-cit.,n.2 l .

 understanding, the courtesan's musical W s and sexual appeal are inseparable. But for
-+,

Kesavanunny, the courtesan's music cannot be an instrument of sexual seduction: "Though

Kesavanunni was not too much stupefied by the matchless beauty of her form, her

wonderful song impressed him "."

To Kesavanunny, the courtesan's beauty and her musical skills are strictly separable:

her music cannot be an ins-ent of seduction. Lakshrm's accomplishments have no

economic significance-- they carry no expectation of material gain-- unlike those of the
" courtesan. Woman is in part KuIina in that she must be sexually chaste and produce good

progeny; at the same time, she also brings pleasure into the monogamous marital union. But

Woman is unequivocally distanced from the Yesya in that her accomplishments are not for a

price. In Indulekha the heroine refuses to entertain the unwelcome suitor with her music

precisely because she wants to turn down his suit. She performs only for her close relatives

and acquaintances and not for material gain, and tells her mother that she would play for

him only if he behaved "with dignity"."

Dance, siguficantly, took much longer time to get thus ' sanitised'. In Meenahhi, a

distinction was made between 'me' and 'false' sons of dance, pitting Mohinlyat~ornas
'false' against Kafhakali as 'true'." Mohin[ya~onrwas thus stignatised because it seemed to

)i@iljt.lt the body and exude erotic appeal, while Karhhli was seen to be a form of dance

that did not foreground the body but appealed to the intellect. Mohinryarlon~ had to remain

in h s condemned state until reworked in Mahakavi Vallathol's institution, the Kerala

Kaiarnan~olarn." Items like Esal, Mzikhi fhi and ChandoM Nn'tham which not only seemed

related to folk-forms like Klrrathihikkali and Kakkarisinatukam but were also perceived to

be lewd and ribald, were purged fiom the repetoire. ' h e overtly sexual allusions have been

interpreted as the expression of the Spiritual in erotic The stigna against dance,

however, lasted for quite some time; only in the recent years has it shown signs of

&sappearing. However, by mid-'50s, the possibility of imagining dance as a source of

aesthetic pleasure and not as necessarily as an instrument of s e d seduction, was

83. Writing a foreword in 1975 to hls play written in 1940, C.Achyutha Menon profusely apologised for
his use of the term ' Mohiyauakknkal'(Mohiniyattom Dancers) to mean 'women of loose mo~als'.
He requests that the "Proponents of that exquisite art should nat be anged. At the time hs was
written, V&thol had d y undertaka the initial preparatians to revive Mohiniyuttom in
Kalamandalam". C.Achyutha Menon, Sevanathinte Peril, Thhvananthapuram: Prabhatarn
Publications, 1975, p.7.By the 1940'5, such ' sanitisat~on'of dance was p d g from other quarters
as well. inaugurating the buildings of the Sri Chithrodaya Narhakalaya (Dancing Schoo1)at
Thiru~nanthapuramin 1941, Dewan C.P.Ramaswarnylyer heartily endorsed it. See, his speech on
the ~ c a s s i a l 'n~e
, Art of Dancetin P.G.Sahasmsrma Iyer (ed.),SelectedSpeeches anti Addrefses of
Sir C.P.lhmswnmy [ver,Thiruvananthapuram, 1943, pp 20-23. For an intimate account of
'sanitisation' of dance in Vallathol's institution, se the autobiography of the Kathakn1i artiste '

KalamandaIam Knshnan Nair, Ente Jeevitnm Armgiium Antyaroiylum (My L& Onsbge and
Behind), K o t t a w : D.C.Bmks, 1986.

84. Vmu G,Nirmala Pmikkar, Mohini'ffum, Thrissur, 1983, pp. 18-20.

 beginning to open up.'
1

In this reckoning one may see how wearing the blouse gets thus 'sanitised'. On the
one hand, it gets removed from the association with the Artakliari (dancing girl; woman of

easy reputation) dominant in the established understanding; it begins to sign@ 'modesty',

'civilisation',of the wearer. At the same time, it may serve to accentuate the aesthetic appeal

of Woman's body, bringing pleasure into the husband-wife relationship. Woman, therefore,

may aestheticise her body, but within strict limits:

"It is m c u k to a q t that the hearts of those women who beaut@ themselves with showy
clothes and expensive jewellery are indeed pure. If this is done for the pleasure of their
husbands, then their sin is forgivable ..."g6

Woman may be the provider of pleasure in the monogamous marital union, but is
I

sb-ictly different fiom the Vesya in that her accomplishments serve the very different

purpose of cementing modem mamiage." Women's Magadnes in Malayalam have been,

85. In 1952,Mahakavi Vallathol is said to have made a speech dehdmg the dmdasis attached to the
Tirumah h s o m temple at Kochi against a ban, arguing that they were the bearers of certain
tradrtims, and that he would value art more than good morals. Criticking this, the radcal reformer
Sahodaran K.Ayappan wrote: "One does nat understandthe need to dedicate some worn= to the Gods
as prostihrtes for the encouragement ofdancing. It is quite possible for thm to learn dancing and earn
a living by it wxthout txmming dwdasis". From &hodarm. 9 August, 1952; quated in M.K. Sanm,
,%hodoran K Adwppan. Kottayam: D.CBooks, 1 989,p ,292.

87. The concern over. fashioning appropriate dress d e s for the new Woman was evident in Bengal in
these times. Se,Hmani Banarji, 'Attired in Virtue: 'Ihe Discourse on Shame ( i ~ aand
) Clothing of
(..continued)
 sirice the mid-twentieth centmy, engaged in negotiating between Woman-as-Reproducer

and Woman-as-the-Vessel-of-Culture in their projection of ideal and desirable w o m d y

subjectivity. It is common enough to fmd Women's Magazines offering advice to women

about ways of developing their 'Individuality', 'Personality' etc. and at the same time

suggesting ways in which women may deck themselves up in order to be attractive to men--

and, in the same breath, warning that their bodies should not gain precedence over their

minds in projectmg them-selves. This tendency was already evident by the '50s' with
I

'Women's coIumns' publishing articles offering such advice. To quote one such:

'We should nat forget our individuality in our obsessim wrth fashion. Fashion wrthout
individuality is like curry wdhout salt. No matter how a#ractive the sari is, no matter how
expensive the ornaments are, if they do not suit our ind~viduahtythey wsll never b h d , ke,
curd and paddy mixed together."88

(. .continued)
$
the Bhndrurnahih jn Colonial Bengal' in Bharati Ray (ed.),From the Seams ofHii;tory: Essays on
Indian Women,N.Delhi: OUP, 1995, pp. 69-83.The Malayalee artist Raja Ravi Varma's (1 848 -
1906) work to4 is said to have involved the search for the ' n a h a l ' b s of 'Indian Women', over and
above ~ r i o u sconventions of h s prscribed for women of various castes and regions. T h e 'Sari',
apparently, seemed to fulfil this need. From N.Balakt.lshnan Nair, Raja IhVarma,
Thiruvanattthapurarn: Katnalalaya Book Depot, 1957, pp. 91-92.

88. V.Malaty, ' Feshionum Str&lum' (Women and Fashion), Marhmbhumi Week& Vol 3 1(30), 1953,
p. 26. ArtlcIes of this type were by now more frequent. To mention just two by the same author,
' Streekalum Sawidaryam' (Women and Beauty) in Mathrubhumi Weekly Vol 3 1(33), 1953, p.25,
also ' Kesa Susrowha' (Hair-care) in MnrhrubkurPli Weekb Vol3 1(40), 1953, p.33.
i. MARGINALISING THE BODY

The 'union of minds', so very prized in the writings of late nineteenth and twentieth

century authors in Keralaxn, dso seemed to require an aesthetic presentation of Woman's

body.Whether this indicated a 'return of the body' to subvert the project of fashioning

Woman as 'pure mind', or whether it actualty effected a marginalisation of the body by

demanding that it be aesthetically-cdturdIy-presented, was debated. h leftist literature, for

instance, one may &d efforts to imagine the Individual as primarily defined by the Mind.
4

Here, aestheticising the female body appears subversive to the fashioning of the Individual

and is treated as something to be combatted- So also, Prernam (Love) is rejected as a

super6cial refinement of Kamam (lust) which secretly sneaks back the body into what

should ideally be the 'Union of Minds'. This is pronounced in the novel ~ e v a ~ o k u in

rn~~

which the ideal communist-woman-intellectualis projected through the figure of Rajamma,

lawyer and activist. Replying to the criticism about his depiction of this figure, (the criticisn~

was that the novelist makes this character appear in working-class garb on her first meeting
\
with her suitor, instead of making her dress up for the o ~ c a s i o n ) Cherukad
~, (the author)

defended his depiction thus:

S 9. Cherukad Govinda Pishardy, D ~ 1 0 k a m( 197 I), Tl~iruvananthapuram:Chinta Publications, 1987.

90. ibid, p.XIV.

 "Womar~is not simply an attractive toy. She is as much an Indrvidual, equal to, as free as,and
with tho same Vitalitier qfi reason and emotion as an^'.

h~his Mzrihmsi too, Cherukad introduces his heroine Nani with the explicit comment

that she is physically unamctive." The better way, it seemed, was to accept Karnonl as a

physical need gven by instincts, and then to subject it to shict control by Reason and

Science. Reason, rather than Love, was seen to be the appropriate internal force binding

Individuals together in modem marriage. Thus in L)c.vu/okarn marriage is totally a contract

between rational Individuals. Rajamats suitor tells her : "...AndI have no Premam at all.

Not towards Rajamrna either. I'm prepared (for marriage) if Rajamma is prepared to agree

to an honourable contract".93

hdeed, Rajammais tsansfomation into an ideal comrade involves an overcoming of

Love which is portrayed as whimsical and lustful. Marriage thus becomes a real 'Union of

Mindst-- the physical attachment between husband and wife gets projected as simply the

satisfaction of unavoidable bodily needs in an orderly and socially non-disruptive manner.

%

91, ibid.

93. op.cit,n.88,p.229.CriticrsmofPremcrmassom&hgthatbhded~sonwasalsomadem&er
sources, for instance, in the writings of K.Saraswati Amma. She wrote : "Because the emotional
elenlent predominates in premnm, the powers of dr scretion may not work properIy. Premnm, which
gives the appearance of a mluable gem to the humble Manjadi seed, is dangerous". From
Pztmstzanmari~lathtttab k a m (A World Wrthout Men), Kottayam: SPSS, 1961, p.30.
Another ideal couple who appear in Devalokm is a working-class pair whose union seems

to be a contract that enables labouring and procreating together.94'Progressive Literature' of

the '30s and '40s too was seen to espouse a deep distrust of Pre~nam--but then it was

sometimes arbwed that the progressive writers were actually attacking 'bourgeois Premam'

mistaking it for the real thingg5 The 'real' Premam was then identified to be prevalent

among the worhg-classes only, which "... is for mating and making a living through
labour".96

By the '50%the inefficiency of covering the body, in language and in everyday

as a technique of toning down Kamam was being recognised. The double-edgedness of

covering the female bosom was already perceived in criticism of the nascent Malaydam

cinema, which would progressively find &te ways of organising the female body as a

source of viewing pleasure in the subtle play of concealment and exposure.98At the same

--

94. ibid., p.6164.

95. M.B. Menm, Premavum Purogan~onrrSahitymcm (love and Progressive Literature), Thrissur:
Mamg Publishing House, 1949.

96. ibid., p.7.

97. C .J .Thomas, ' V e s h a m Sadacharawm' (Dress and Moralrty)) in Ivan Lnte Pripputrm, Kattayam:
SPSS, 1953, pp. 19-25. In this piece, covering the M y , irrespective of whether it was intended to
aesthacise the body or not, was in itselffound to heightm the desirabilrty of the body.

98. P.K.Rajaraja Varrna, ' Cinemaylle Kuchabhramam' me Craze over Breasts in Cinema) in Ureetn~ti
K~inji,Thiru~nanthapuram,1953, pp.51-59. In this article, the focus of &scussion is the criticism
(..continued)
I time it was also being argued that it was useless to avoid explicit reference to the body in

language.99Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, speaking at a meeting of Progressive Writers in

, 1945, remarked:

"R~ose who are interested in the moralrty of the future seneration should not seek to childshly
conceal such terms as the above(i.r. terms 116 Mula-the brcmt) in asterisks; rather the e&rt
should be to impart sex education to them from an eady agelW".

Of course this was no fool-proof solution, judging from its subversion in the large
number of tracts and films of the soft-porn variety that claim to give 'sex-education'.

Such a criticism as the above continues to be voiced against the aestheticisation of

the female body from varied quarters -- ranging from leftist-radical political circles and

(. .continued)
that the female b d y was being excessively projected in the nascent Malapla cinema.

99. Explicrt reference to the female body, particularly to the female breasts, was common in Malayalam.
The breasts figred as tsbeautifut objects in the 'Hair-tmoe'descriptions ofN q i h s and goddesses in
medieval Malayalam literature, in the Kcrikottikhli songs goddesses (Koikorti&Ii was a dance
perfarmed in homes by women), in the Sfotrams chanted everyday in homes. The use of the word
Mzrla(breast) to simply indicate 'femalebas co~nrnon,as for example, in the saying 'Two heads may
mingle, four breasts, neverl, or in reference to the sexually-mature female as 'she whose hair and
breasts have grown'. But t bterm was not the only one in use to denate 'femalet.'Adukkala' (Kitchen)
was another. The sexual transgression of h f h ajanarns was called ' Adukkaladosham'; V.Nagarn Aiya
in his Manual g~vesa list of the dues a tenant was to pay the landlord at the time of renewal of the
lease (Kanampatfom)in which he mentions a certain due called Adrikknnkkanom h c h , he specifies,
was meant for the ladies of the house. (V.Nagam k y a , Travnncore Stcrle Mcmzmcrl. Vo1.3 (1906),
Madras: AES, 1989, p.3 18).

I 00. Changarnpuzha Krishna PiUai, ' Sahitya Chmtakal'(Thou&ts on Literature) in Purogamnna Sahicvarn
Entinu? (Why ~rkressiveLiterature?), Kattayarn: SPSS, 1953, pp.71-72.
 feminism, to rightist, conservative positions. At the same time, institutions which project the
I

need to beau* the female body have dso proliferated in the present-- cinemq television,

advertising, Women's Magazines, beauty parlours, beauty contests, fashion etc. But the
body, in both, seems equally marginalised: either treated as unimportant in the fashioning of

the Mind-defined Individual, or as primitive, a raw-material that needs to be cultured,

b e a u ~ e d bedecked,
, in order to be acceptable. This, however, is an inadequate account of
the organising of the female body as a pleasurable sight and the contestations around it, in

recent times in Keralam. This would certainly require much deeper inquhy.For instance,

how may one understand the 'sex wave' in Malayalam cinema of the '70s? What

implications does this have for the organisahon of the female body as beautdid sight? What

'event' does this point to? Such questions,and others, will certainly be of central importance
/

in the writing of the hstory of gender in Kerdam of the post-'50s.

END-NOTE
 Underlying the discussion in all the previous chapters has been the elaboration, in the

writings examined, of a new political rationality, one which specifically targets the lives and

conduct of individuals. This was of course also a period that saw new ideals of totalising

legal-political forms. This indicates not a confbct but the emergence of the project and

problem of attaining a balance between totalising power and an individualking 'pastoral'

power1through which a governmenf of individuals was to be achieved, as a key question in

discussions of society and power in Keralam in the period of concern. The government of

individuals involves the deployment of a form of power that aims at getting individuals to

acl and conamir themselves to ends projected in general models of possible action. Ths
/
presupposes and calIs for freedom and capacity for activity, and also reasonableness, on the

part of the governed.

Much of the above-mentioned discussion centering upon the Individual (in course of

which such a figure got constituted) focused upon the m e a s k s by which the ideal was to

be reaIised. It was mentioned before that the problem of self-government by individuals

occupied an especially important place here. But e q d y prominent was the issue of

I. This notion is drawn h m W&el Foucault's elaboration of it in 'Politics and Reason' in Politics,
Philosophy Crtlhtre: Inreniews and Other Writings 1977 - IY84, London: Rode@, 1988, pp. 57-
85.
 307
r
bringing them together; indeed, the public sphere itself presupposed the bindug together of

Individuals characterised by capacity for reasonable argument to form a 'general' or 'public'

opinion. The public sphere addressed individuals acknowledging their different particular

interests, at the same time pegging the rationality of the exercise of totalising power given in

legal-political forms to the fieedorn and reasonableness of lndrviduals themselves. In

modern institutions of 'correct training' such as the school, training in the exercise of reason

accompanied the orgamsation of space, time and activities. Newly-educated groups engaged

in self-evaluation in a variety of ways: for instance, the farces written by C.V.RamanPillai

in the 1910's focused upon the newly-emergent Endish-educated middle-class groups of

Thinrvananthapurm in h s period. All these were performed by the National Club of

h m a n t h a p u n r m and by students of the Maharajah's collegel' and they draw u ~ the

n

everyday urban life in Tluruvananthapuram. In general, such activity hints at the drawing

together of individuals as reasonable intellects, amenable to persuasion by rational argument

and appeals to 'general' interest, 'public' good etc. The language of reform generally

addressed not so much a subject guided solely by hidher interests, as a governable subject

whose egoistic interests are situated within the network of social bonds of associative

2. See, Dr.K.Ayyappa Panlker, C ZRcrmnn Pillcri, Thirumanthapuram: Universrty of Kerala, 1993,

pp .70-78. Also,the &mces between arly Malayalam novels, I ~ ~ i l e k h Eandt Parongodipan'nqwrn
have been interpreted as part of such 'self-fashioning'of the rniddeclasses. See, Meenakshi I. Nair,
'Adhunika Str-te Nirrnanam: Indulekhayun Parnngodi parinaymm' me Malung of Model-11
Wornanhm : I& ieba and Pamnngodiparintlycrm) in Kercrlcr Padhanangolfl' ,forthcoming.
 308

interests given within the collectivity in question (though it must be remembered that a

critic like Antharjanam would h d even this atomising).

The importance given to the techniques of self-government in the actualisation of

such a subject can hardly be underestimated. The specdi~interpretation that was given to

the notion of ~watupztryam(discussed in the fist chapter) was not a mere coincidence. It was

the correlate and instrument of a political rationality in which a continuity was identified
between self-regulation of individual members and the management of the collectivity in

general, and the inculcation of specific techniques of self-government for the attainment of

the former end. In the context of the period in question, the exercise of freedom and

rationality by individuals was posed against the traditional order as a project of 'liberation'.

The effort made in the present work has been to identify the ways in which tile

articulation of gender in these writings has accompanied and augmented the projection of

lndividualising power as necessary and desirable in social management. Gender can be seen

as implicated in the process of making individuals governable. Because gender seems iit
orwe 'natural' (with its reliance upon 'intend qualities' given at buth) and 'social' (given

that it seemed to essentially require training); at once individualised (being dependent upon

the endowment of particular bodies) and general (implicating individuals in well-defined

social roles), it seemed to link these, enabhg mutual. adjustment. Perhaps this makes gender

a far more effective correlate of IndividuaLising power than, say, self-identities implied by

the Jati-dSerentiation.Gender implies a series of relations that appear 'natural' and dso
 309

T seem to eminently serve the purpose of social governance, integrating individuals into die

collectivity through orgmsing sexual difference. Manhood and Womanhood are, thus, not

'ideal types', categories of historical interpretation, but projected goals to be realised through

concrcte activity, involving prescriptions according to which individual behaviours were to

be directed-- thus serving to institute a mode of governance. Nambutiri reformism, it seems,

did not merely involve imagining a new political framework for determining the conditions

and forms of possible activity for Individual members. It equally involved devising practical

+ ways and means through which Indi\~duaIsof diverse inchations, capacities, existences

etc. could be integrated within the newly-evolving collectivity with minimurn friction. The

organisation of sexual difference through gender was one of the key ways in which this

problem was to be dealt with (bur the model of separate gender-specific domains was just

one sugestion in this regard). The management of sexual difference seems to have involved

the development of management-techniques specific to its needs-- it was seen in the last

chapter how some of the techniques of managing the female body (which were intended to

, either aestheticise or rnarginalise it) in the project of realising the order of gender evolved,

coming together in the drive towards dress-reform in twentieth century-Kerdam.

The necessity of the exercise of pastoral power in the reahsation of the order of

gender was ernphasised in Nambutiri refomism. The constitution of gender-Merence in

these writings is bound up intimately with the projection and increased acceptance of this

form of power as the ideal way of achieving the goal of social government. It may be
 3 10

remembered that the domestic domain was conceived as one completely sealed off from

the world of political power; it is hardly surprising that this domain was projected as the

space in which pastoral power could be granted pronlinence3 . Woman, in this scheme of

things, would be conceived as the agent of such power. The closer identification of Woman

with pastoral power rather than a certain domain accompanied the heightened influence and

increasing spread of institutions resting upon such power in the public domain, which

seemed to automatically require people with 'natural' ability for such management there.

The idea of 'Womanly Society' represented a challenge put forth by pastoral power and a

society managed by govemment against sovereign political power. So also, discipline gets

adapted to the needs of govemment; a mechanical discipline is often argued against, and

instead, discipline which takes into account the peculiarities of each individual and is based

upon 'love', 'kindness' etc. is put forth. By the '30s,then, pastoral power acquires incieasmg

acceptance through the figure of Woman, who is projected as an agent-- i.e. a form of power

that does not appear to be pgwer at all.

Not surprisingly, then, attempts to reimagine the organi sation of sexual difference-

Antharjanam's critique may be read to be as one such attempt- had to address the question of

government. Anthajartam's critique reimagines the Individual and the Collectivity--

3. lie farmly was often projected as the model for society based on government. T.Madan Row's
manual of hldcare mentioned in Chapter Three upholds the m d e l of the Patriarchal family as the
model for gommient. However it is the model of a family mled by 'love' and 'smtiment',overseen by
the Mother, that appears in texts which uphold 'Womanly society'.
 3 11

Individuals are seen to be bound not by their reasonableness but through capacity for

giving in this revision. It also included a critique of pastoral power, again, replacing it with

relatiorls of 'Giving' between Man and Woman, with Woman as the do~ninantpartner.

But it must be pointed out that the construction of gender in these writings is neither

fully stable or free of inconsistencies. To take an example, one might refer to a text

mentioned in Chapter Three, witten by, ' A Cochin Ladyt, which appeared4in the MalayaIla

h1anoruma in 1925. In this we find forceful arguments being put forth in favour of treahng

'Women' as a separate constituency of voters and giving them greater representation in the

legislative council: the author quotes population statistics to show that wornen foml a

sizeable section of the population and points out that special constituencies like 'Commerce

and Industry' or ' Planters' were given disproportionately higher representation. 'Wdmen' is

then compared with communities such as the Anglo-Indian and Jewish, and it is noted that

the latter has been accorded unfair advantdge. However, in the concrete proposals regarding

the granting of greater representation to 'Women', the emphasis on gender-based identity

gets qualified in many ways. Here we h d figures like the "Tiyya lady" and "Christian lady"

emerging: in order to sbenbghen the presence of "Cochin Ladies", "Tiyya" ladies and

"Cluistian" ladies, it is recommended, must be nominated to the council (besides the Nair

lady-member h e a d y nuininated by the Government of Kochi), Such inconsisten~ies

4. Lady', 'C&
'A CO~~JI-I Legislative Colmcil', M o I q b Manorom, March 28, 1925.
 312

abound in the literature surveyed here, and probably deserve separate study. At the same

time, these were often noted with considerable clarity and addressed as problems inherent in

the construction, calling for soIution. The tension between 'Man' and 'Nambutiri' was

sharply identified in Nambutiri reformism, and quite a large body of writing by reformers

has been fueiled by this as a problem to be tackled. Again, as is evident from several of the

texts referred to in Chapter Three (for instance, in Anna Chandy's speech), the issue of

reconciling a general 'Women' with 'Nambuhi women', 'Nair women', 'Muslim women'

etc. was a Iive one.

In this section, we reiterate some of the questions that have been raised but left half-

way through in the previous chapters, highlighting them as lines that need to be explored in

fuller detail. These are no doubt tentative questions at best. But if may be it assumed that the

phenomenon of en-gendering Individuals did not somehow end by the mid-twentieth

century in Keralam, and that this is indeed a complex phenomenon duct can hardly be

encapsulated in any one work, then these questions need to be fiarned and pursued in

research.

First, to reemphasise some points already made: it has been claimed that the

prominence accorded to gender-distinction in the organisation of social life in contemporary

s KeraIatn is hardly the straight fonvard continuation of a premodern system of values. The

notions of gendered identity that utlderlay the visions of social change and the modem

society were c e m y dfferent from earlier models available in local society (even when

they drew upon the latter, redefining or remodelling them, and seeking legitimacy eom

them); modern ideals of domesticity and public life were also new (even when it was

sometimes accepted that oIder models needed to be reworked rather than completely

abandoned). Indeed, the claim of contrnuity between the old and the new was itself a source

of legitimacy for the new and repeated attempts to find the new in a 'glorious past', as p a t

of a long-lost indigenous legacy, were frequent. But those elements of the older models that

did not fit the newer one were to be eliminated; those aspects of the past that did not

c o d i the new, i.e an already-present legacy, were to be ignored or condemned. Further,

I

the resilience and strenb.th displayed by the order of gender in Keralarn seems to lie in its

openness to varied interpretations. Its continuity therefore does not imply rigidity, rather the

contrary. We have seen how the vision of complementary sexual exchange between Man

and Woman has been reinterpreted to produce different power-equations, to alter the

bounclaries of social domains, to have very different practical consequences and so on; we

have also seen how gender-categories have been subject to interpretations that increased or

decreased their incIusivity fiere 'Women' have, admittedly, received greater attention than

any other category). It was also seen that the construction of Woman involved not the

excluision of the body but a far more subtle move to aestheticise it, to 'cloak it with

Culture'. DoubtIess this history of change and adaptation has several aspects that rnay be
 3 14

followed into the post-fifties, and into the present in Keralam, which is witnessing rapid

and significant change in gendered existence.

It was also mentioned that social reform movements did not really abandon identities

given in the established order in their thrust against the jafi-order comletely-caste names

like 'Ezhavit' or 'Nambutiri' were by no means lightheartedly given up. Also, the objects of

social reform were directed towards several identities--national, regional, class-based or

religious. But at the same time they were also directed, perhaps more powerfully, towards
- more general identities, those of gender. Very often, a line of continuity was traced between

these--i.e, it was often claimed that a person who was a good 'Ezhava' could be a good

'h d u ' , or a good 'Malalyalee', a good 'Indian', and so on. But whether this was always tlle
. ,

case is not clear. Perhaps this could open a potential line of e n q w which would folloy the

mutual linkages of these Merent identities and their historical transformation in Keralarn.

Also, the specific ways in which gender has illformed these various identities and affected

their mutual relatedness could be studied in greater detad. For instance, one could study

how gender fibwed in the class-based identities put forth in the leftist politico-cultural

circles in KeraIam which began to gain prominence since the '40s. How was, say, the

'Working-Class Woman' conceived of ? What political implications did this have ? How did

this specific relation affect the way in whch class-based identities related to community-

based, regional, national or other identities ?.

It was also claimed earlier that increasingly the government of human beings came to
 3 15
t be identified as a ' Womanly' activity and that middle-class women's entry into the public

dornaitl was actively mediated by this. Around the same time, wornen were also being

actively o r d s e d in trade-unions and other polilicd bodies, such as the women's wings of

political parties. How these different sorts of participation in the public domain have

hstoricdly related to each other, what different sorts of authority (or the lack of it) have

they implied, are questions that may be pursued. Another important question would be

regardmg the presence of women in the public sphere in Keralam, It was observed before
P

and print media that addressed women indicates

that the early presence of streesan~ajan~s

that it was structured early enough on the basis of gender. Women's presence was certainly

not negligible, but women who entered the public sphere seemed strongly drawn to what

were highlighted as 'Womanly' issues. Of course the range and the depth of what qualified

as 'Womanly' did not remain static. O n e could well pose the question of the relation

between the partxipation of women in public domain and their presence in the public

sphere: whether the entq of women into the institutions of human-management as agents

and the identification of this activity as requiring ' Womanly1skills conferred upon them the

attrhorip to speak about such activity in the public sphere or not. Further, the ways in which

women have been mobiIised towards different ends-- fiom labour s t r u g l e s to the projects

of social management ranging from Family Welfare to the latest C D S ~poverty- alleviation

5. The CDS Programme was begin in 1995 at Alappuzha and it has sucmshlly drawn upm 'neighbour
hood groups' in mob~lisingwomen. The success ofthis mdmvour has attracted international atfention.
,a programme, can be investigated. This would throw light upon the changes occurring in the

gendered h c t w i n g of the public sphere, as well as upon the sorts of agency assigned to

them in the public domain.

Not much has been said here about the internal changes 'in the organisation and

everyday workings of tbe agencies of en-gendering though certain indications regardm6

such change were briefly mentioned. One could possibly inqujre into the changes in less-

noticed institutions such as the streesamajam: what different types of srreesmjams

f

emerged: what changes may be traced in their links with other institutions, say, those of

reform, ox medical and phdanthropic institutions, state agencies such as the co-operative or

industrial departments; and most importantly, what changes occured in their own intend

life. By focusing upon the latter, one could possibly gain considerable insight &to the

deveiopment of the modes and techniques of en-gendering and thrs could help one to

describe the history of contestation and sm&e around them.But one could also open up

broader questions through the exploration of the internal transformation of institutions, For
*

instance in the mass of State-sponsored legislation revolving around the family and

community in Keralam in this period and in the debates around them, the management of

sexuality was still conceived to be within the ambit of caste and kin alliance. But new

notions regarding sexuality, maternal health, fertility, or the concern with distinbpishing

'high' and 'low' sexualities was already in evidence in these debates and elsewhere. Perhaps

one could investigate through these the extent to which the 'deployment of sexuality' which
 317

a blichel Foucault talks about,%as emergent, and what hansfomations of the control of

sexuality via the 'deployment of alliance' might have entailed in en-gendering. This could,

in turn, provide insight into the vicissicitudes of political power in Malayalee society of

these times and into the varymg transactions between State and Civil Society.

It needs to be reiterated that this work does not provide an adequate account of the

historical actualisation of modern do~nesticityin Keralarn. It has been observed that the

ideals of modem domesticity had gained considerable velocity through many agencies; also,
-4

women had bebpn to enter public institutions. How this latter development affected the

constitution of modern dor,~:sticity here is yet to be examined. Indeed there is the claim that

the nuclear-farmly model was gaining steady acceptance in Keralam by the 1950's.' But the "

questions, how the totality of domestic practices were altered, and extent to which they were

altered, have received much less scrutiny. Again, the entry and solidification of modem

domestic values into the cultural words of rnarginalised groups such as the less-educated

proletarian goups, the traditional communities of the coastal and forest zones, the
+
communities that were formed in forest and forest-hge areas when migrant groups settled

there as farmers, is not well-studied. Such micro-studies are inevitable if one is not to view

e n - g e n d e ~ gas a sweeping phenomenon that encompasses all social sections and goups in

6. Michel Foucault, ,Yhe Hislon, r,fSemc~rliiyVol I, New York:Vintage, 1980, pp. 104-7, pp. 110-1I.

7. R. Jeffrey, I'olitics, Women nnd Well-being, N. Delh:0 UP, 1993, p . 5 3.

 the same way, with the same intensity. The cultural effects of State initiatives in population
a
management and its impact upon domestic life among people of different socio-cultural and

geographical milieu too need to be charted.

(6) It was observed in Chapter Three that the ideological jusacation for women's entry

into certain institutions in the public domain was more or less ready by the end of the 1930's

in Keralam. However the study of the historical emergence of the s p e c ~ cpattern of

employment of educated women would call for much deeper enquiry. Ideological
%
j u s ~ c a t i o n was clearly not enough. For instance, it was observed here that in

Tiruvitamkoor at least, the claim that the profession of me&cal nursing called for

'Womanly' capacities was frequently made by the 1930's. But popular prejudice against the

acceptance of h s profession by women did linger on for very long well-past thiq b e .

Robin JeBey's claim that the readmess of young women to enter the nursing profession

"resulted from the remarkable place that wornen occupied in old Kerala", and this "suggests

that all was not lost in the transition to patriliny" is not really an adequate explanation8.It is
+
not clear how the 'remarkable position' Jef%ey attributes to women of the older order in

Keralam is l d e d to the acceptance of the profession of public nursing by some of the~n;it

is not immediately evident how the older order, which did not take kindly to modem

medicine or medical institutions could have lent support. Perhaps here the caste-/class-

8. ibid., p. 195.
 3 19
'*
differences that might have operated in the structuring of the specific pattern of female

e~nployrnentin Keralarn, might have to be considered. Atso, though it is tme that women's

access into certain institutions of the public domain like politics, higher scientific research,

art or literature have been severely circumscribed, there are indeed a number of women who

did attempt to carve out niches for themselves there. The struggles and strategies invoIved in

these attempts are worth charting; and such studies may offer insight into the ways in which

gender-difference is consolidated in these domains as well.

*

(7) While the mutual linkages of categories like 'Man', 'Manhood', 'Wornmi and

'Womanhood' have been the focus of attention in this work a fuller history of en-gendering

would probably have to pay far ]nore attention to the consmction of Manliness and

Manhood. The public domain continues to be unambiguousIy identified as Man's space;

nonetheless, it may be important to follow the contestations around Madness within this

limitation, and their consequences and the institutions which have shaped and fostered such

notions. We have observed here that ideas of Womanly subjectivity underwent considerable
"v

reinterpretation in the early decades of the twentieth century; the question whether a

reworking of conceptions of Manhood has occurred in the time-period of concern here, or

beyond it, needs to be considered.

It is true that generally one encounters a much greater volume of explicit discussion

on Woman and Womanly ~~bjectivity

than on Man and ManIy subjectivity in the writings

that have been examined here. However, this hardly me'ms that the latter is ignored in tllem.
 Most often they rely upon implicit ideas about Man.Sometimes, contestation over Man is
a
implicit in discussions in which gender is not explicitly a major issue. The discussion

between Madhavan and Govinda Menon about the social duty of newly-educated natives in

a , example,
~ n d u l e ~ lfor ~ could also be read as a confrontation of two ideals of Manly duty.

(8) This work has touched upon the importance of the ideology of Premam in

demarcating a 'higher' sexuality. Modern Malayalarn literature, it was noticed, was a

powerful medium through which the ideology of Premam was disseminated and debated.
* This could prove a simcant enby-point into the exploration of the implication of modern

Malayalam literature in the history of en-gendering in Keralam. While the peculiar

positioning of the sexes w i t h the theme of Premam (which was discussed in Chapter One)

continued to be endorsed with greater frequency in Malayalam literature in this period, there
I

were interesttng reworhgs of it, such as the immensely popular pastoral elegy,

Changampuzha Knshna Pillai's Ranlanun (1936). It may be relevant to note that the

publication of h s work has been idenaed as an event of significance in the history of

-Z
modemism in lndian literarure.1° It could be that new trends in Malayalam literature were

also entwined in debates regarding gender in the post-fifbes period as well; for example, the

10. E.V. Ramaknshnan, 'Some D m Relevant to the Study of Modernism in Indian Pm ,

inMalang it
New :Moderni~min Malaplam, Marafhi and Hindi Poeby, Shimla: I n d m Institute of Advand
Study, 1995, p. 244.
 321
a
rise of the Modernist hero in Mdayalam literature could point to a reinterpretation of

ideals of Manliness. Ln the present work Lalitambika An tharjanam's shortstory Realism,

which was a part of the debates over new literary trends in Malayalam, was read UI the

context of her reworking of the ideals of modern gender. May be such a method could be

'
applied in the study of other texts, lke R U ~ I ~ M ~ . '

(9) One important claim put forth by the present work is that reflections upon feminine

e difference, or upon a specifically 'Womanly' form of socid power are much older than any

contemporary version of feminist thinking in Keralam. But it does not draw up a fuller

account of this view of reflection, even for the period under consideration. When .such a

history is pursued, surely, several other authors will have to be considered. For example, the

writings of K.Saraswati Animal2 who began publishing in Malayalam in the late '30s,

represent a rethinking of gender si&cantly Merent from that which has been discussed

I 1. Indeed, Ramanan sparked off a great deal of thdung on the theme of Premarn. Its u n p d e n t e d
P-
pop- was one reasan : in 1945, the critic Joseph Mundashery wrote about this work : "For some
time now,Rumanan has been Lwson One in the beach and balcony, the boat-jetty and vehiclestation,
temple-kitchens and bungalows, huts, fields, factories and army barracks. "(Preface to Ram~nan,
Kouayam; SPSS, 1987, pp.25-48). This work in fict, pmvuked several readings and revalwtms of
premm, among which K.Saraswati Amma's shortstory Ramani, vmttm in the '40s, published in the
collection Ponvlumkudam (1945) deserves pa&cular -ion. For a fuller account ofthe them of
Premarn in the writings of women writers in Malayalam litmature, see, N.K. Ravindran, 'Proble~nsof
Women's Liberation in Malayalam Literature: A Study Based an the Contributions of Women
Writers', Unpublished Ph.dThesis submitted to University of Kerala, 1 992, pp.245-88.

1 2. K .Saraswati Amma has publi&ed several collections of shortstories some of which are Kamtha ~ a t i l
&visible Wall), Kcmyam: SPSS, 1953, Ellam Tikanja B h r y a (The Perfkd W~fe),Kc&tayam :
SPSS ,1958;Keez&~na~ri~wer~emale)Employee),lhrissur: Mangal&yam,and collection of
article titled Pun~shanmriIiathnLokam (World Without Men), Kattayarn : SPSS, 196I.
 322

in the present work, namely, the work of Lalitambika Antharjanam. But such a history

would probably encompass not only the attempts to rework gender but also their caricatures

(such as in the character 'Kunji' created by P.K.Rajaraja varma13 which enjoyed

considerable popularity in the '40sand '50s.); it would pay attention to the ways in which

these attempts were opposed or appropriated. It may dso call for greater insight into how

such thinking related to the other strains of radical thought and social activism in Keralam of

the post-'50s. Through following such avenues one may be able to construct a history of

contemporary feminist thinldng and women's activism in Keralam that is,sensitive to its

specificites and &Terence from the evocation of the 'Womanly' discussed in the present

work.

13. P.K. Rajaraja Varma's numerous publications which cmter around the character 'Kunji' include
Krtnjiyammqwde Chintahl Vols.1 & 11 (Kunjiyamma's Thoughts),Kodtayam: Reskmi PubMug,
1969, Kunji Aviyal, Thrissur: Current Books, 196 1, I'residcnt Kzmnji, Kabtayam: SPSS, 1961,
Kunjjprnmqude Ahnahtha Nunjiymma's Autobiopphy), Kottayam: SPSS, 196 1 . The titles of
these works are themselves sigmiicant in that they highhght the problem of situating women, and the
Imkags betWm the public and dom&c domains.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
PKIILIARY SOURCES

A. REPORTS

a. Government Of Tiruvitarnkoor

Iiunjan Pillai, Rao Sahib, N, litport on [he C:emzls lkuvancore, C'erastrs of lndia, 193 1,
Trm-ancore- Part I, ThifZ1vmanthapwam:Govt. Press, 1932.
Nagam Aiya, V. Xt)part un the Cknsrrs ofTrm~ancoreVol I, Thuuvananthapuram: Govt. of
Travancore, 189 1 .
Hcporf(s) on zhe Administrution of Trmancore - 1868-'69,1&69-'70,1890-'91, 1898-'99,
131 1-'12, 1932-'33.
Heport of ihe 'I'ruvancoreE~llrcafionRefirms Committee, Thiruvananthapuram: Govt. Press,
1933.
Report of rhe Trmunco~*eEdilcation Re-organisation Committee, Thiruvananthapuram:
Govt, Press, 1946.
Repor! of ihe Travancort. Co-up em live.^ Enquiry Clommiliee, Thuuvananthapuram: Govt.
Press, 1934.

b. Hindu lMahila Mandiram

first Annual I<epurl of he Shree Mulum Sha~htyubdapoorihySnruruka Hindti Mahila

hlandiram, Thiruvananthapuram, 1920.

c. Nambutiri Yogakshema Sabha

k h u f iri kumily Hegz~larion Comrniifee lieport and Draft Regrlatinn, Thrissur:

Mangalodayam Press, 1925.
lVambzt firi bBmale Ldz~alionCutnmisJ.ion lieport, Thrissur: Mangalodayam Press, 1927,

Proceedings uf~heTravancuve Shri Mt~lumPruja. Suhhu; 1 933- 193 8.

- '?
 h e s , C. A; Evans, F. B. (ed.s), Madras Districf Gmeiieers: Malabar (1908), M a h :
Madras Government Press, 195 1.
Nagam Aiya, V. The Travancore Slate Manual 3 Vols (1906),N.Delhi: Asian Educational
Senices, 195 1.
Logan, William. Mulabar Manual (1887), New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 195 1.
VeIu Pillai, T.K. The Trm~uncoreState Manual Vols 3,4(1940), Thvananthapuram :
Kerala Gazetteers Dept., 1996.

D. M4 GAZJNES, JOURNALS, NEWSPAPERS

Church Missionary Regisler, 1 847.
Deepam, 193 1.
* Kerala Nundini, 1927.
LakrhrniBhyi, 1908- 1925.
M N NuirMasika, 1936.
Madras Church Missionary Record, 1871, 1879.
Madras Governn~entMuseum Bulletin, 1900.
Muhila Mundirun~,1926-27.
Mahilu Ratnurn, 1916.
Malabar Quarterly Reviav, 1 907- 1910.
MalcryaIaMasika, 1930, 1931.
Mulayala Manorarna, 1890- 1934.
Malcryala Manorama Weekly, 1938.
MangaIodqyam, 19 13.
M a p Rani, 191-3
Mdhmbhrimi Weekly, 1936, 1938, 195 1-'53.
Mitavadi, 1914.
Nair San~r&yu Parishhri, 1 9 16.
N q a r , 1902, 1903.
NuzraniDwpiku, 1906, 1914.
Saarabodhini, 1906.
Sahodari, 1928, 1929.
Sahodaran, 1929.
Sharada, 1905- 1908.
Shreenlari, 1 935.
Srree, 1933.
Sttmangala, 19 16.
Sh~adesh~bhimani, 1 924-'25.
~ose,C. L. NafakarhinreKonapurangal (Unseen Faces of Theatre), Val 1, Kofia~am:D.C.
Books, 1996.
~~l~ ani Ammq B. Ormayil Ninnlr (From Memoly), Gomaty A m % K.(ed), Kot'aym:
SPSS, 1968.
- Vyazhuvatto Smoramkal (Uemories of Sirleen Years), Thri ssur: Mmgalodaym
Press, 1958.
K&&V Amma, ~ochattil. P a i h i w m Vmhryomthe Munideepangalum ( n e
Traveller and the Way-Side Lamps), Thtissur, 1991.
Kesavan, C.Jeevita Samaram (Struggle of Life), Kottayam: SPSS, 1 975.
Krishna PiUai, E. V. Jeeviia Srnuranakal (Memories of a Life),Vols 1 & 2, Kollam: Sri
Rama Vilasom Press, 1938.
Krishnan Ezhuthachan, E.K, Kuruor, K w n a r d o o r , 1997.
fishnan Ezhuththachan, V.R Atmahrha (Autobiography), Thrissur, 1997.
Kxishnan N air, Kalama&lam, Ente Jeevitam A ranglum Anlyarayilunr. (My Life Onstage
and Behind), Kottayam: D.C.Books, 1986.
Krishnan, N. R. Smarunakal (Memories), Vols 1& 2, Cherthala, 1948.
Kunhappa, Ch. Smaranakal Matranz (Only Memories), Kozhikode, 1981.
Kunhappa, Moorkothu. Moorkothu Kumaran: Om Jee~~~charitram (Moorkothu Kumaran:
A Biography), Kottayarn: SPSS, 1975.
Kunkikkuttan, Madampu. Abhivau'aye, Kotlayarn: SPSS, 1986.
Kwhirarnan, C.V. Njan (My Self), Mayymad: C.V. Kunhiraman Memorial Publications,
1970. t

Lalimbdm M a r J a n a m , N. Atmakathaikhi Om AmuWzam (Preface to an Autobiography),

Kottayam: D.C. Books, 1986.
Mary Benign& Sr. Lokame Yalra (Farewell, World), Bharananganam: Jeevan Publications,
1986.
Mary J o h , Koothattukularn. Kariu P a r q a Katha (The Tale told by the Wind), Kottayam;
D.C. Books, 1988.
Menon, K. P. S. Atmakatha (Autobiography), Kottayam: SPSS, 1971.
Menon, P. A. Innalaihe Gadyakarannrar (Prose-Writers of Yesterday), Kottayam: SPSS,
1988.
Moidu Maulavi, E. Om~akul(Memories), Kozhikode, 1960.
Narayanan Nair, P. Arunuotundiluoie (Through Half-Century), Kottayam: SPSS, 1973.
Narayam Pillai, P. K. Smarana MandaIam (Domain of Memories), Kottayam: SPSS, 1964.
Padmanabhan, Mannath. Sntaranakal (Memeries), Kottay am : SPSS, 1968.
, M.Smaramhrpanam Vols 1&2 (Mirror of Memories), lliruvananthapuram,
P ~ a r K.
1950.
Parameshwaran ~ i l l a i , V.R. Aa I?zh~rpiu Varshangal (Those Seventy Years),
Tkinrvananthapuram, 1974.
Rajaraja V m a , C. R. Adhyapakanre Atniahtha (Autobiography of a Teacher),
Kilimanoor, 1976.
Rarnan Menon, Puthezhathu. Kazhchappa/trkal Vols 1&2 (Viewpoints), Thrissur, 1959.
Revati h a , C.K.Suhasrupoornimu (Autobiography), Kottayam: SPSS, 1977.
Sar&ara Kurup, G. Ormayrtfe OIangaIil (On the Ripples of Memory), Kottayam: SPSS,
1978.
Sankaran Nambutiripad, Kanippayur. Ente Smaranubl Vols 1, 2& 3, (My Memories),
Kunnamkulam: Panchangom Press, 1963.
Sanoo, M. K.Suhodaran K. Awappan, Kottayan: D.C. Books, 1989.
-Shree Narayana Glint Swami: Jce r-uchauilranz, (Shree Narayana Guru: Biography),
Kottyam: SPSS, 1986.
Satyaprakasam, Prof. M . Surasakcn?r Mooloor S. l'admanabha Panikkcrr,
Thkuvananthapuram: Dept. of Cultural Publications, Govt. of Kerda, 1998.
Shree K~drnaraGlirudevan, Kottayam : Shree Kurnara Dharma Samajam, 1983.
Sivasankara Pillai, T&az.hi Enfe Ba/yakalakatha (The Story of My Childhood), Thrissur:
Mmgalodayam, 1967.
-0rnlaylile Teerangalzl (Onthe Shores of Memory), Kottayam: SPSS, 1985,
Uday abhany A. P. Enfe Karhaillaimakal (Autobiography), ?hissur : Current Books 1988.
Varkey, A k k m a . 1114-nre Karha (The Story of 1 114), Kottayarn : D.C.Books, 1977.
Vijayan, Kangazha. Shree Kumara Guru Devan: Jeevachuriiraramgrahum (Shree Kumara
Guru Devan : Condensed Biograohy), Thnssur, 1978.
I

b. Fiction And Poetry

Appu Nedungadi. Kundalafa (188 7), Alappuzha : Pustakasala, 1984.

Bdamani Amma. S o p a m , Kozhikode : M a h b h u m i Publications, 1985.
Bhaskaran Nair, TottappalIi. Bharati A thava Parajayangal, Alleppy :Vidyarambhom Press,
1947.
Bhattatiripad, M, R. Valkannudy,Thrissur : Mangalorlayam, 1963.
Bhavatratan Nambutiripad, Moohringode. Aphanie M a h l ( 1932), Thrissur : Kerala
Sahitya Akaderni, 1989.
-Almahuty, Thrissur : Mangalodayam, 1943.
Bhattatiripad, V. T. KT-yude KathukaI (Short Stories of V.T), Thissur : Kerda Sahitya
Akademi, 1990.
Chandu Menon, 0.lndzilekha (1889), Kottaym : D.C.Books,1991.
Chathu Nair, Cheruvalathu. Meemkshi (1 890, Thrissur : Kerala Sahitya Akademi, 1988,
Colhs, Mrs. Richard. Ghtakavadham, Kottaym D.C .Books, 1 990, first Malaydam
tsanslation, 1877. '
Damodaran, K. Omam, Thhvananthapuram : lndira Publications, 1 947, (Third Edition).
Gopala Pillai, K. Pularolgamam Aihava Imtrum Velichuvu~n,Kollam : Sri Rama Vilasom
Press, 1954.
Gopala Pillai, Paraw, K. N. Unmadtan, Kollarn : S h e Rama Vilasom Press, 1938.
Govindan, M. M.Govincianre Kn'likal V01.2 (Works of M.Govindan), Changanaseny :
Renjima Publications, 1989.
Govinda Pisharody, Cherukad. Devalokam, Thhvananthapuram : Desabhani, 1971.
-
Mufhassi,Thrissur : Kerala Sahitya Akademi, 1989.
Irumbayam, George, P.V.(ed), Anthppayiyude Novelukalum Chandu Menonre
Sharadym, (Anthappayi's Novels and Chandu Menon's Skarada),Thrissur: Current
Books, 1991.
Kocheapen Tarakan, P. K. Balikasadanam (1922), Thrissur : Kerala Sahitya Akademi,
1993.
Krishna Pillai, Changampuzha. Ramanan (19361, Kottayarn : SPSS, 1987.
Kumaran Asan, N. 'Nalini', 'Leela', 'Chintavishtayaya Seeta', Kumaran Asanle Sarnpoorm
KritikaI (Complete Works of Kumaran Asan), Kottayam : SPSS, 198 1.
Kumaran, Moorkothy Moorkorhu Kurnarante Kathakai, (Short Stories of Moorkothu
Kumaran), Kozhikode : Mathrubhumi Publications, 1981.
Kunhamby Potheri, Sa~.aswativijayamin Irumbayam, George, P . V.(ed), Nalu Novelukal:
(Four Novels), Thrissur : Kerala Sahitya Akademi, 1985.
Kunhukuttan, Madarnpy Bhrushi, Kottayam : SPSS, 1991.
Lalitambika Antharjanam, N,Moodtqmtathil, Kottayarn : SPSS, 1 952.
- Kanneerinte Punchiri, Kottayam : SPSS, 1959,
- Agnpushpangal, Kottayam : SPSS, 1973.
- Savnihinre Svaram, Kottayam : SPSS, 1968.
- lruparu VarshfhinuSeshum, Kottayam : SPSS, 1 952.
- Takarnna Tg!amura, Kottayam : SPSS, 1957.
- Kottayam : SPSS, 1954.
Kili~~atzliloode,
- Vis-~varoopam,Kottayam : SPSS, 197 1 .
- Dheerendu Majumhmre Amma, Kottayam :SPSS, 1 973.
- Kalarhinre A eduhl, Thrissur : Mangalodayam, 1950.
- Pavilramoliram, Kottaym : SPSS, 1979.
- A4athe Kathkal, Kottayam : SPSS, 1963.
- Agnisakshi, Thrissur :Current Books, 1980.
Mannadiyar, V, 1. KamaIam (c.1924), Kozhikode : P.K. Brothers, 1947.
Mooliyil, Joseph. S~ikumari,fiom Irumbayam, George, P. V. M u N o ~ ~ e l u hThrissur
/, :
Kerala Sahitya Akademi, 1985.
Padoo Menon, Komawl, Lakshm~kesavan~in humbayam, George, P.V. (ed), Nalu
Novelzlkal, Thrissur : Kerala Sahitya Akaderni, 1985.
Raman, Pallathu. Moonnu Novelukal(Three Novels), Fort Kochi : Pallathu Menlorial
Publishing House, 1 988.
Ramankutty Menon, Kizhakkepattu. I'arangodprinayam in h b a yam, George, P. V.
(ed), NaIu Noveluknl, Thrissur : Kerda Sahitya Akademi, 1985.
Narayanan, Sheevolli. (ed), Venmuni Kriirkd, Thrissur : Current Books, 199 1.
Saraswati Amma, K. Ellain Tikanha Bhurya, Kottayam : SPSS, 1958.
- Keezhjeevanakkari, Tlrissur : Mangalodayam, 1947.
- Kunarhn Marrl, Kottayam : SPSS, 1 953.

c. Drama

Achyuta Menon, C. Sevanafhinte Peril, Thiruvananthapurarn:Prabhatam Publications,

1975.
Bhattatiripad, M, P. Ritl~mari(l944),Thrissur : Current Books, 199 1.
Bhattatiripad, V , T .Adukkalqil Nlnml Avanga1hekkd(1930),Kottayam : D.C. Books, 1994.
Krishna Pill4 E, V. Pennavarhzi Nadrl (1936), from E. V. Kritikal Vo1.2, Kottayarn : D.C.
Books, 1980.
Kunhhttan Tampuran, Mahakavi, Kodungdoor. 'Chandrika', fiom Haxi Sharma, 40.
(ed.), M~hukavi Kunhikuflan Tampzipante Swuruntra Nafakangal, Kozhlkode : P.K.
Brothers, 1965.
Kuttikunhu Tangkaci. ' Ajnatavasam' from Guptan Nair, S (ed.), Kutfikunhu
Tanghchiyude Krilikal, k s s u r : Kerala Sahitya Akademi, 1979.
Narnbutiri, K, S. P a r a m , Kottayam : SPSS, 1976.
'Raman PrlIai, C, V . Prahasanamala, Kottayam : SPSS, 1973

d. Essay Collections, Compilations

AbduMadar, Vakkom, M.Chiirudrshini, Thtissur, 1946.

Archives Treasury, ~hiruvananthapbam: Kerala State Archives, 1993.
Anh.uyamm: Om Pudhunam (Anthq'anam : A Study), Ramapuram : Lditarnbika
Antharjanam Shashtipoorthy Smaraka Committee, 1969.
Balaloishna Pillai, A. Kesaripde Mukhaprasa~gungd,(Editorials of Kesari), Kottayan :
D.C. Books, 1989.
Baldaishnan, P,K. (compiler and editor), Narayuna Gum-Anthology, Kochi : Publications
Sub-Committee, S.N.Centenary Celebrations, 1954.
Bhaskaranunny. Anlhamnam Mirlul Madhavikui~ Yare (From Anthaganam to
Madhavikutty), Kottayarn : SPSS, 1987.
Bha-tiripad, M,R,B. M.RB-yudc Upanya;~'onga/(Essays of M.R.B), Kozhikode :
Mathrubhum, 2988.
Elanjipoo :Maty John Tunam Soplati Upahram, (Volume Commemorating her Seventieth
Birthday), Kottayam : Saptati Celebration Committee, 197 1.
Gopalakrishna Pillai, G h g o o r , AN.(ed), Mannarhinte Sompoorna Kritikol (Complete
Works of Mannam), Kottaym : Vidyarthimitram, 1977.
Golindan Nair, l z h a k k e Madathil; Pushpa, Dr, £3. ChoriirafhinteAtdukal (988 - 1022),
Thiruvananthapwam, 1992.
Krishna Pillai, Kuttipuzha. Kulizpuzhqyude Praband7hangal (Essays of Kuttipuzha),
Thrissur:KeraIa Sahitya Akademi, 1990.
Krishna PiIlai, E,V. E.!F Kriiibf (Works of E.V) VoIs.1 and LL, Kottayarn: D.C Books, 1980.
Kunfiiraman Nayanar, Vengayil. Kesari Nayanumde KriiikuI (Works of Kesari Nayanar),
Gopalakrishnan, Prof,K. (ed.), Kozhikode : Mathrubhumi Publications, 1987.
Lalitarnbika Antharjanam, N . Seem Mtrfal Sarym~ari Yare (From Seeta to Satyavati),
Kottayam : SPSS, 1972.
Maheswaran Nair, K. (ed), Chatiambi Suamikal : Jeevimvum Kriiikulum (Chattambi Swami
: Life and Works), k v a n a n t h a p u r a m : Bhooma Books, 1995.
Mundashery, Joseph. P~thrya Kazhchchappadiil (In a Modem View), Thrissw:
Mangalodayam, 1955.
M~druk-uIant Parvati Amma Shush~abdapoor~hyUpahara Grandham, Mutukdam:
Shashtyadapoorthy Uphara Grandham Committee, (Commemorative Volume on her 60'
Birthday),1964.
Narayanan Nambutiri, V, S. Samudayabodhanam (Instructing the Community), Thrissur:
Edappally Yogakshema Upasabha, 19 7 6.
Nilakanta Sastn, K .A. (ed), Fursign Notices of South India from Megasthenes lo Mu ffuan,
Historical Series No. 14, Madras: University of Madras, 1939.
Occmsional Speeches Delivered by Dewan Bahadur M Krishnan Nair 1916-'20,
Thmvananthapuram: Govt. Press, 1 920.
Paul, M.P. (ed), Ptsrogarnana Sahityam Enlhinu?(1946), (Why Progressive Literature?),
Kottayam, 1953.
Prabhakaran, T.T. C.I). A chyuta Menunre Niruopamngal (Critical Studes by C.P. Achyuh
Menon), Thiruvananthapuram: State Institute of Languages, 1994.
Priyadarshan, G. Masikupudhrrmngal (Studies in Magazines), Kottayam: SPSS, 1974.
-K~imaranAsante Mu khaprmangangaI(Edit0rials of Kumaran Asan), Moongode,
1981.
Rajaraja V m a , P,K. Kunjyammapide Chintaw Vols 1 & 2 (Kunjiyamma's Thoughts),
Kottayam: Reshm Publishing, 1969.
- Kiinjl Avlyal, Thrissur: Current Books, 1961.
- Kunji An~mayudeAinlakatba (Kunjiyamma's Autobiography), Kottayam: SPSS,
196 I.
- Presidenl Kunji, Kottayam: SPSS, 1961,
- Shreemali Kunji,kvananthapuram, 1953.
Raman Menon, Puthezhathu. Arivulla Ajnunikal (Well-informed Ignoramuses), Kollam:
S.T. Reddiar Press, 1955.
Raman Nambutiri, Parayil. Aian~bu~irin~ur (The N ambutiris), Thrissur: Yogakshernam
Vayanasala, 19 17.
Sahasranruna lyer, P,G. Selected Speeches and Addresses Sir 12.P. l<omanvamy
Il:er,Tlliruvananthapurm, 1943.
S & ~ i a , Dr,Scaria. (ed.), Udayampcroor Sunnahcrdo.sir~/e (Canons of the Synod
Kar~ot~akaI
of Udayarnperoor), Edamattom: Indian Institute of Christian Studies, 1994.
S a j a y m (M .R. Nair). SuhifyaN i h h a m , Kozhikode: Mathrubhurni Publications, 1993.
- Husyanjali, Kozhikode: Mathrubhutni, 1974.
- S ~ ; ~ n j u y: ~1936-ilc.
~n ' Hu.syalekhunan~ul(Sanjayan: Hurr~ourousArticles of 19361,
Vol3, Kohkode: Mathrubhumi, 1970.
S d u n n i , Kottarathil. Aitrehyumda (Collection of Tales and Legends), Thrissur: Current
Books, 1992.
Samuel, Dr, Chandanappally. Rev. C ; L - ' U ~Mathen:
~L' Kritikuhlm Pacihunmvrm (Rev. George
Mathen: Works and Critical Study), Chandanappally, 1992.
Saraswati Amma, K. Pt~rusl~anmarilla~haa Lokam (World Without Men), Kottayam: SPSS,
1958.
Thomas, C.J. Ivan Et?le Priyapzriran, Kottayam: SPSS, 1953.
- Dhikkariy ide Kathal, Kottayam: SPSS, 1960.
YI Tye Kande t ha/ (Discovering V.T), Mezhathoor : V.T. Bhattatiripad Srnaraka Committee,
1984.

e. Accounts Of Native Society And People

Agur, C,M. Church Hisiory of Trava~1core(1903), New D e h : AES, 1990. I

Ananthahishna Iyer, L,K. Cochin Tribes and Castes Vo1.2, London. 1912.
Barbossa, ~ u a r t e .The Land of Malabar, Source series No.1, The Making of Modern
Keralam, Kottayam: School of Social Sciences, MGU, 1991.
Buchanan, Francis. A Journey From Madras Throzigh Mysore, Canara and Malabar, Vols
1&3(1807), New Delhi: AES, 1988.
Blandford, Augusta. The Land of /he Conch-Shelf, London: Church of England Zenana
Missionq Society, c, 1901.
Day, ~ r a r k i s T
. h ; ~ a n d[$the Penrmals- Ils l'ast qndifs Presenf(l863),New Dellli: AES,
1990.
Dubois, Abbe,J,A. Hindu Manners, Cz~~loms and Ceremonies(l906),N.DeIhi : AES, 1983.
Fawcett, Fred. Nayars ofMalabaP.(19 15), New D e h : AES, 1984.
Gopal Panikkar, T,K. Malabar and Its Folk( 1900) New Delhi: AES, 1983.
Mateer, Rev. Samuel, Naiive L f e in Travancore, London, 1883.
-The L a d ofChowry: A Descrp t ive Accounl of'Tra~~ancoreand lu People( 1870/,
New Delhi: AES, 1991.
Thurston, Edgar and Rangachari, R. Casks and Tribes of Soufhern India Vol. 5 ( 1909), New
D e h : A E S , 1987.
f, Other Books, Pamphlets, Tracts

Azhikode, Sukumar. Asanfe S e e r a w a m , Kottayarn: SPSS, 1954.

Darnodaran, K. fizhuvatwlle Itihasam (Saga of the Ezhavas), Kollam: Sri Rama Vilasom
Press, 1929.
Drafi L..uw of the Nambutiri Yogakshema Sabhu, 1923.
Gopala Menon, A. Samudayolkkarsham (Progress of Society), Thiruvananthapuram: S.R.
Book Depot, 1924.
Gundert, Rev., H. 'Manusha Hridayarn' (The Human Heart) in Vajrasuci,Kottayam: D.C
Books, 1992.
-A Malayalum and English Dictionavy (1 892), N.Deki:AES, 1989.
Kumaran Asan, N.(trans), Mamsakti (Mental Power), Thonnakal: Sacada Book Depot,
1948, first published c. 1901.
Raman Pillai, C,V. Yideseeya Medwitvam (Foreign Dominance), hvananthapurarn: ,

Dept. of Cultural Publications, Govt. of Kerala, 1994, h-st published, 1922.

Madava Row, T. Hints on ihe Training of Native Children, V. Nagam Aiya (trans.),
Kottayarn: C.M.S.Press, 1889.
Menon, M,B. Premavum Purtlgumana Sahiryuvt~m(Love and Progressive Literature),
Thrissur: Marxist Publishing House, 1949.
Nair, N,G. A Plea for u fim Ouilook in Trm~ancore,Singapore: KeraIa Bandhu Press,
1940.
Raghavan, Puthuppdly. Kerala Parra Prmarthuna Chariiram (History of Journalism in
Kerala), Thrissur: KeraIa Sahitya Akademi, 1985,
Sadwan Nambuhipad, Kanippayur. AcharavimarsshoMm (Critique of Custom),
Kunnamkulm: Panchangom Press, 1968.
Rajarajavma Tampman, M. Samudachuravicharan~ (Thoughts on Custom),
Thiruvananthapuram, 1930.
Members of S a h d a y a Vedi(Compilers), Vichra Samanvqvam, Thrissur, I9 76.

g. Speeches, Memoranda

D i v h a n Moos, E,T. Replies lo the Questionnaire of h e Namburiri Family Reguluiion

Committee and Some Opinions, Tbissur: 1 925.
K o W Upasabha, 5h~adharmunushiamtr1 (Obsewance of One's Dharma), 1917.
Nagam Aiya, V. Speech ai the Opening Ceremony uf ,/he AgricuI/~iraIand Indusmol
Exhibilion ar Oucbira, 1909.
Nambutiripad, E,M,S. Nambutirye Manushyanakkkan (To Make Nam butiri Man),
Deshabhimani, 1945.
M a V m a , Prince. Our lndusfrial Slurus, Kottayam: CMS Press, 1874.
Subralunanya Aiyar. Speecn made at Onam Day Celebrations at Maharajah's College,
 h. Tcxt- Books

B haskara Panikkar, P.T. Slreekallrde Pulhapaddhar i, Thiruvananthapuram: tierala State

Resources Centre, CANFED, 1979.
Si varama PiIIai, S; Rarnayyan, Devanarayanan, Chenkottah. 3 r e e Vidya Griha Pathavali,
Tkiruvmanthapuram: Bhaskara Press, 1914-'15.

F. ARTICLES

'A C o c h Lady'. 'Cochin Legislative Council', Malayala hlanorama, March 28,

1925.
A
'A Kayar'. 'Nayar Bi:Iurn Streekalum' (Women and the Nair Bill), The Mahila Vol
4(9), 1924, pp.293-96.
Amma, B.B. 'Streeyude Jeevitam' (Woman's Life), The Mahifa Vol 16(8), 1936,
pp.336-39.
-' Vidyabhyasavum Manovjkasaum' (Education and Mental Development), TAe
Mahila Vol 16(3), 1936, pp.240-43.
-'Adarsharn Avashyam' (Values are Necessq), The Mahila Vol 11(2), 193 1, pp.33-
!
3 9.
Amma, N.A. 'Streevidyabhyasa Doshanishedhm' (Refutation of the Argument
Opposing the &ducation of Women), Vic&avinodini Vol8(1 I), 1898,pp.427-3 1.
Amrnalu Arnrnq Taravath. 'Oru Prasangam' (A Speech), Lnkshmi Bhayi Vol20(10),
1925, pp.353-GG.
Ammini Amma, N.'Streekalum Kudilvyavasayavum' (Women and Cottage
Industry'), The Muhila Vol 16(1), 1936, pp-403- 1 1.
C
h u k u t t y Amma, T. 'Namrnude Streekdurn English Vidyabhyasavwn' (Our
Women and Enghsh Education), Sharuda Vol2(3), 1905-'6, pp.50-52.
Anchen, Kora, A.V. 'Keraleeya Mahilamaddude Grihakrityam' (The Performance
of Household Duties by Malayalee Women), MatayaIa Manorama (henceforth, M.M),
September 10, 1928.
hmdavalli Amma, B .' Streekalum Saldwanawm' (Women and Co-operation),
Mmga~oduymVol 17(8), 1930, pp 592-94.
'Anthajananga1.m ParisMvum' (Anthajanams and Reform), M.M, February 6,
1930.
Ayappan, Parvati. 'Streedharmahthe Patti' (On Womanly Duty), Shreemai~,Special
Number, 1935.
Bdamani Amma 'Kunikalude Raksha' (The Care of Children), Muihnibhumi Weekly Vol
28 (49), 1951, pp.26-27.
Bhageeraty Amma, B. 'Kalayd Streekalkkulla Sthanam' (The Place of Women in Art), The
Mahila VoI 7(1), 1927, pp.161-66.
Bhargavi Ammh Chengannur. 'Nammude Dharmam' (Our Duty), IAe Mahila Vol 6(5),
1926, pp. 161-66.
Bhavatratan Nambutiripad, Moothiringode. 'N ambutiri Streekal' Wambudri Women), Unny
Namburiri V d 9(2), 1933, pp. 156-58.
-'Poorvachararn Adhava Keezhnadappu' (Custom), U ~ n yhrarnhuiiri Vol 7(1 I),
1925, pp .644-45.
Bhattatiripad, M.R. 'Kaal Nootandinullil' (Within Half-Century), Mathmbhun~iAnnual
Number, 1936, pp.5 1-54.
Cotton, H. Speech at Darbar in Thiruvananthapwam, M.M, September 2, 1924.
Chandy, Anna. 'Streeswatantryathe Patti' (On Women's Freedom), Sahodaran, Special
Number, 1929, pp. 13346.
Chellappan Nair, C.N. 'Paurusham'(Manliness), Kerala Nudini
Vo1.s 1(I), (2), 1927, pp.72-82, pp. 134-38 respectively.
Chinnarnmalu Amma, V.K. 'SamudayathiI Streekalude Sthanam' (The Place of Women in
Society), The Mahila VoI4(7), 1924, pp.250-57.
Damayanti, Kmyi. 'Narnmude Streekalude Vidyabhyasamt (The Education of Our
Women), Miiarudi Vol2(7), 1914, pp. 17-20.
Damodaran, P.K. 'Streekalum Grihabharanavum' (Women and Home Management),
Sahodari Vol2(4), 1929, pp. 117-20.
Devaki Antharjanm, O.C. 'Nhangalude Adiyantaravashyam'(0ur immediate Demiind),
M.M, Febnrary 13, 1928.
Devaki Amma, Thachattu. 'Streevidyabhyasathte Uddesham' (The Aim of Wonlen's
Education), iLakshntiBhuyi'Vols 20(1) & (2) 1924-25, pp.3 1-38; pp.5 1-59 respectively.
Devayani, K. 'Alappuzhayile Skee Mumettangal' (Women's Upsurges in Alappuha), Paper
presented at the seminar Wonten in Kerula: Pasi and Presenl, Thiruvananthapuram,
Febnrary 11-12? 1995.
Easwara PiUai, R. 'Uttuavaditvathhte Kaimattamt (The Transfer of Responsibility), The
Mahila Vol 16(1), 1936, pp.200-05.
- 'Udyogavum Vivahavum' (Employment and Mamiage), The Mahilo Vol 1 1(2),
1931, pp 9-13.
-'Streekalum Swatantryam' (Women and Freedom), LahhnziBhayi Vol 5j 1 Q),
1909-'10, pp..424-26;V015(11), 1909-'lo, pp.468-7 1.
Editorial. 'Streekd Iniyuna Unarukayille ?' (Will Not Women Awake ?), Vunirnkusutnam
VOI l(1 I), 1928, pp. 1-2.
Editorial. 'Purathekku KodukkaI' (' Gving to the Outside'), M.M, August 1, 1906.
Editorial. 'Adyapakanmarude Shambalaparishkaranam' (Revision of Pay for Men-
Teachers), MMt May 2 1, 1929.
Editorial. 'Mrs.Anna Chandy B.A. B.L', A4.M, January I 1, 1929.
Ehtolial. ' Utknshtavidyabhyasavm Sadacharavwn' (Higher Education and Morality),
M.M, October 20, 1906.
Editorial. 'Grihabhxtranamurakalkku Vidyabhyasathilulla Sthanam' (The Place of Domestic-
Management Techniques in Education), M.M, February 19, 195 1.
Editorial. 'Streekalum Sarkarudyogvum' (Women and Employment in G o v e ~ m et),n M.M,
September 27, 1929.
Editorial, 'Tiruvitamkoor Ni yamanirrnana Sabha ' (Tiruvitamkoor Legislative Assembly),
M.M, June 4,1925.
Editorial. 'Antharjanangalude Unarcha' (The Awakening of Antharjanams), M.M, June 8,
1929.
Ehtorial. 'Nambutirimarude Vidhyabhyasastit? (The Condition of Education Among
Narnbutiris), hrazrani neepika, December 5 , 1906.
Editorid. 'Malayala Brahrnanarude Adhunikavasta' (The Mdayda Brahmins in Modern
Times), M.M, July 19, 1905.
Editorial. 'Smarthavicharathinu Idavarunnatinte Karanangal',(The Reasons for Occurance of
Smarthavicharams),M.M, July 12, 1905.
Editorid. 'Timvitamkoorile Bharanaghatana' (Political Constitution of Tiruvitamkoor),
M.M, August 30, 1924.
Editorial. 'Streevidyabhyasam' (Women's Education), MM, January 1 0, 1928.
Editorial. 'Streevidyabhyasa Padhati' (Scheme of Women's Education), M.M, August I
20,
1927.
Editoral. 'Edakkunnyde Nambutiri Sammelanangal' (The Nambutiri Conferences at
Edakkunni)M.M, Januay 15, 1930.
Fawcett, Fred 'Notes on Some of the People of Malabar', Madras Governmeni Museum
Bullelin Vol3 (I), 1900, pp. 84-86.
Gauri Amma. Speech at Pettah Girls' School, published in Mahila Mandiran~Vols(1-121,
-
1926 '27, pp. 75-79.
Govinda Pillai, Chrayinkuh, P. 'Pracheenabharatathde Pramadajanangal' (Women in
Ancient India), LakvhmiBhqi Vo15 (81, 1909 - '10, pp.339-44.
Tdros, P.' Islam Annum h u m ' (Islam, Then and Now), The Muslim Vanila Vol 2(4), 1939-
'40, pp.67- 68.
'Japan.de Onr Penpallikoodam' (A Girls' School in Japan), MM, 3 May, 1924.
Kalyani Ammq B . 'Streevidyabhyasatbjnte Mathruka' (The Model for Women's
Education), Mafayala Masika VoI 1(1), (21, (31, 1930, pp.6-15; pp 33-42; pp.65-78
respectively.
Kalyani Ammq C.P. Ihukarana Bhramam' (The Craze for Imitation), Lakshrnishayi Vol
10(12), 1915, pp.457-62.
Kalyani Amma , E.'Kerala Hmdu Mahilakal' (Malayalee Hindu Women), Sahodari Vol
2(2), 1929, pp. 87-94.
K a l y Amm%
~ T.C. 'Onr Adhyaksha Prasangm' (A Presidential Address), Derpam Vol
2(8), 193 1.
Kalyani Amma, T.C. 'Streekalude Avakashangalum B a d h y a W m t (The Rights and
Obligations of Women), Mangalodcryam Vol5 (5), 1913.
K d y ~ Vadalrkechamvil,
, P.K, 'Keraleeya Hindu Streekalodu Om Abhyartbana' (A
Request to the Hindu Women of Keralam), M.M, July 24, 1924.
'Kamvattayde Samudaya Sammelanangal' (Community-Conferences at Karuvatta), Mi M,
May 6, 1929.
Karthyayani Ammq Muklappuzha 'Ormakal' (Reminiscences), Mathrubhumi Weekly,
November-January 1983-'84.
Kaveri Amma. 'Nammude Pradhanapetta Chumatalakalt(OurChef Responsibilites), M.M,
October 10, 1925.
Kavamma, P. 'Streekalum Paschtya-vidyabhyasavum'~omen and Western Education),
LakshmiBhyi Vol8(10),1913, pp.33 1-37.
'Kochi Rajyakudumbavum Atinte Bhaviyum', (The Royd F d y of Kochi and its Future), ,

M.M, June 28, 1927.

'Kochiyile Adhyapika Sammelanam' (Women-Teacherst Conference at Kochi), M.M,
March 13, 1929.
'Kochi Govemmendu Dnshtiveppan' (For the Attention of the Government of Kochi), M.M,
May 27, 1893.
'Kochi Namputiri Matadhama Sthapana Regulation'(Kockii Malay ala Brahmins' Religious
and Charitable Institutions Regulation), M.M, January 28, 1926.
'Kochiyile Stree Vidyabhyasam-Putiya Scheme(Wornen's Education in Kochi-New
Scheme), M.M, August 16; August 19,1927.
' Kochi Ni ymasabha Sammelanam'(Meeting of the Kochi Legislature), M.M, December 2,
1926.
'Kollathe Shishuvaraghosham (Baby Week Celebrations at Kollam), M.M, 19 Janunry,
1924.
Kochukutty Armna, T.C. 'Mama Mahha'(Greahess of Motherhood), S h r e e m i , Special
Number 1935.
K.P.M. 'Streekal AbalUano?' (Are Women Weak ?), LakshliBI~ayiVol 3(8), 1908,
pp.329-37.
Krishna Pillai, K.P . 'Na Stree Swatan~arnarhati?'Sumangala Vol 1(5), 1 9 16, p. 179-83.
hnhddattan Tampuran, Kodungalloor. 'Streekalude Apathu' (The Danger Facing
Women), LakshmiBhqi Vol5(6), 1 909-'10, pp.23640.
Kunhul a k s h Kettilamma, K. M . 'Sahityavum Streesmudayavum'(Literature and Women)
MahilaKotmm Vol 1(3), 1916, pp.50-52.
Kurien, M q . 'Stree@um Utlaishtavidyabhyasa~lm'(Women and Higher Education),
M.M, April 4, I 926.
Lakshmikutty Pumna, L.'I'rclnavum Kulaplakavum' (Love and Murder), Mary ICal~iVol
1(71, 19 13, pp.209- 15.
~d~hmi.k~w ma, M. 'Nambutiri Ballkamarude Vidyabhyasam' (The Education of
Nambuhri Girls), Unny Nanlbtltiri Vol 9(1), 1927, pp.74-79.
Lakshmikutty Netyaramma, Ksrimpatta, V.K. 'Ente Smaranakal' (My ~emories),Malayctla
Manorama Weekly, October-November 1938, pp. 14-26.
Madhatl Amma, Tottaikkattu. 'Balikavidyabhyasm' (The Education of Girls),
Vaniiaku.sumam Vol 1(1), 1926-'27, pp.7- 10.
- 'Vyavasayam'(Industry), The Mahila Vol 16(9), 1936, pp. 403-1 1.
'Mahamajiyude Rajadhani Sandarshanam' (The Mahatma's Visit to the Capital), M.M, I 1
October, 1927.
'Mahilabhashanam' (Column repomg News about Women), 7Rr Mahiiu Vol 11(1), 193 1;
Vol 14(4), 1934.
Malay, V. 'Feshionum Streekalum' (Fashion and Women), Malhnrbhzrmi Weekly Vol
3 1(30), 1953, p.26.
- ' Steekalum Saundaryaumt(Women and Beauty), Maihnibhzm~iWeekly Vol3 1(33), 1953,
p.25.
- 'Kesa Sushroosha' (Hair-Care), Mothnrbhzrmi Weekly Vol3 1(40), 1953, p.33.
M a n e d , P .M. 'Antharjanangalurn Avarude Veshabhooshanagalum' (Antharjanams and
their Dress and Ornaments), Unny Nambutiri
Vol7(12), 1925,pp.115- 1 16.
Madantan. ' Sandarshakabhiprayam'(Visitor's Opinion), M.M, March 5, 1927, pp . 9- 13.
Mathen, Rev.George. 'Marumakkathayathaldla Doshmgal' (The Disadvantages of
Matriliny), Vidyasangruham Vol 1(5), July 1865, pp.345-52.
Mayan, Ayesha. 'Nammude Khavyarn' (Our Duty), The Mslirn Vaniia Vol 1(5), 1937-
'38, pp. 133-34.
Menon, Mrs, K. Kannan. ' hukaranabhrmam'(Craze for htation), LukshmiBhayi Vol
11(1), 1915, pp. 22-32.
Meenaksh Amma, Konniyur, K.' Nair Streekalum Gnhavum'(b4air Women and the Home),
The Muhila Vo16(4), 1926, pp. 125-29.
Meenakshi Amma, E. N. 'Vanita Lokamt(Wornen's World), M.N hrair Masika VoI l(2),
1936, pp. 122-26.
Meenakshikutty Amma, L. ' Streekalude Tozhilillairna' (The Unernployrnerlt of Women),
Muhila Mudirum Vol 1 (1-12),1926-'27,pp.208-27.
N&, Mrs.C.Kuttan. ' Swatanbyavadikdaya Adhunika Matakkanmd (Modem Mothers who
are Advocates of Freedom), The MahiIa Vol 1 1(2), 193 1, pp. 47-52.
- 'Streepurusha Sarnatvahulla Chila Pratibandhangd' (Some Impediments to
Gender Equality), Ma~hrubhumiSpecial Number, 1938.
N.R. V. 'Sh-eevidhyabhyasam'(Women's Education), Vidyuvinvdini Vol 8(2), 1 897, pp. 73-
77.
' Nambutiri Parishkarma Billt(Nambutiri Refom Bill), M M , March 3 1, 1930.
N arayani Ammq V. ' Streekalkku Vendataya Vidyabhyasam', Sharada Vo12( 121, 1905- ' 06,
N arayanan Bhattatiripad, Kuroor. 'Samudayrka Swatanqm', (Freedom in the
Community), Unny Nan~butiriVol9(1), 1927,pp. 87-88.
Narayana Menon, Neduveli 'Pracheena Bharatathife Streekal' (Young Women in Ancient
India), The Mahila Vol6 (5), 1926, pp.339-40.
Narayanan Narnbutiri, Patirishery 'Anthaganangalurn Bandhu Samudya Streekalum'
(Antharjanarns and Women of Closely-Related Castes), Unny Numburiri VoI 9(3), 1927, pp.
200-202.
Narayana Pallai, P.K. 'Streeldude SwatanQa vyavahaxam' (Women's Demand for
Freedom), N q a r Vol 1(2), 1903, pp. 1-20.
Neelakantan Nambutiri, M.N.'Antharjanangalude Adhunikavastba' (The Condition of
Anthajanams in Modern Times), VanifakusumamVol 1(S), 1926-'27, pp. 1 22-28.
Nenminimangalam, Pmati. 'S@ee~am'~omanliness), Stpee Vol 1( 1), 1933.
'Om Pazhmakkarant. 'Nammude Streesamajangal' (Our Women's Associations), Nazmni
Deepika, March 31, 1914.
'P.C. 'Anuragapareekshanamf(TheTest of Love), M.M, January 1 1, 1927.
Pachi Amma, B.'Streekalurn Swatanhyavum' (Women and Freedom), The Mahila VoI 1(3&
1921, pp 108-13.
Padrnuu. 'Nammude Streekalum Sarnudayavum' (Our Women and Society), LokrhmiBhoyi
Val 8(8), 1909, pp. 199-20 1.
Pamkkar, K.M. 'Some Aspects of Nayar Life', The Journal of the Royol Anthropdogicul
I
h t i i u t e of Great Britain, Vol48,1916,pp.280-92.
Parameshwaran Pdlai, Changanashe~y. 'A Plea for Partition in Mamakliathaym
Tarawads', Malabar Q ~ e r l yReview Vol 6(1); (2), 1907, pp. 15-29; pp. 83-91 .
respectively.
- Speech at First Meeting of the Thiruvananthapurarn Grls' College Association,
published in V~nilakraumamVol 1(8), 1927, pp.271-74.
Pennamma Bhayi. 'Nammude Sambathrka Nilayum Streekalum' (OurEconomic Condition
and Women), Vanitakusummam Vol 1(9), 1927, pp.3 18-20.
Pornamma, P.G. 'Streekalodut(To Women), Sahodaran Vol 1(2), 1947, pp, 63-78.
Priyarnvadamma, K.'Streekalum Vyavasaya Parisheelanavum'(Women and Training bl
Industrial Activity), Shreemari, Special Number, 1935.
Rajaraja V m a Tampura~M.'A Prize Dis~butionSpeech', M M , November 3, 1906.
Raman Menon, Puthezhathu. 'Paumshamulla Streekal' (Manly Women), Lahht~iiBbyiVol
10(8), 1915, pp. 309-20.
Raman Menon, V.R. 'Streekalude Saundarya-bhramam' (Women's Craze for Beauty),
LakshmiBhayi Vol20(1 I), 1924, pp.290-96.
h a Varrna Tamban, M. 'Nammude Bandlukkal' (Our Relatives), Ilnfly N~n~britiri Vol
7(12), 1925, pp.3G1-62.
-'Narnbutiri Balikavidyabhyawun' (The Educati or1 of Narnbutlri Girls), Unny
M b r i i i r : t'ol 8(5), 1926, pp.8 15-16.
Ravi Van11a Tampman, L.A. ' Lokopakaramaya Oru Vidyabhyasakramam' (A Scheme of
Education Usefd in Society), Swadeshabhimani Vol3 (5), 1924-25, pp. 2 15-2 I.
Rugmini I yna, Dr.C.1. 'Paschatya-Pauxastya Vanitakal' (Women of the West and Eist),
Shreemali hpccial Number, 1935 .
Rugmini Amna, C. 'Women and Post- War Reconstruction', Trmancore Information and
Lisrener Vol5(4), 1944, pp. 43-44.
Sadaan Nair, Sir.C. Speech at the Fourtl~AnnuaI Meeting of the Keraleeya hrair
Samajarn, M.M, June 11, 1910.
Sankaran Nambutiripad, Kanippayur. 'Darnbatyabandham' (Conjugal Relations), Unny
Nambutiri Vo17 (7), 1925, pp. 423-32.
-' Streevidyabhyasam' (Women's Education), U m y Nambutiri Vol 9(12), 1928, pp.
720-30.
-'Stree Samajam', Uimy Narnbtrtiri Vol7(5), 1926,pp. 347-57.
Santhanamma, V.A. 'Streekulam Kdavidyayum' (Women and the Arts),Lalu.bmiBhyi Vol
9(10), 1914, pp.392-37.
Sharada, 'Streeswatanttyam'(Women's Freedom), Sharada Vol2(3), 1905, pp.33-37.
Sharada, Kayyalakkal. 'Vidhyabhyasathinu Sesham' (After Education), Mahila M a n d i m
V O l(1-12),
~ 1926-'27, pp. 17-21.
Shinnammalu Kovfiamma, P. 'Streekalude Purogati' (Progress of Women), Molayalu
Mmika Vol 1(9), 1(10), 193 1, pp.258-68; pp.294-99 respectively.
Shreekrishnadasan. 'Bharyabharanam' (Ruling One's Wife), Saarabodhzni Vol 2(4), 1 906,
pp. 150-157.
Sesha Aiyar, K.G. 'Dhama',MaIubur Quarterly Review Vol9 (3), 19 10, pp. 205- 15.
-'Some Pressing Problems of the Hourf,Malabar Quurierly Review Vol9 (4), 19 10,
pp. 295-307.
Setu Parvaty Bai, Princess. Address at AI-India Women's Conference at
Thiruvananthapq The Mahila Vol 26 (I), 1936, pp. 120-30.
-Speech at Women's Meeting at Thiruvananthapuram,MM, November 24, 1927.
-Speech at Women's Meeting at Ooty, M.M, May 3 1, 1928.
Shorn John. 'The Bayadare :Or Dancing girls of South India', The JourMI of ihe
Anrhrap~logicalSociey of London?Vo13, 1870, pp. 183-84.
Subrahanyam Pillai, M.' Vyabhicharam' (Adultq), Noyor Vol 1(2), 1903, pp.87-9 1.
Subrahmanyan Pom, C.S.'Streekalum Sarbmdyogavum' (Women and Employment in
Government), Sumgala Vol 1(2), 19 16, pp.40-43.
' Streekalum Vaidyavum' (Women and Medicine), Sharada Vol 1 (9),1904-'5.
'Streekdm Rashtt-iyaAbhivridhiyum' (Women and the Progress of the Nation), M.M, April
1, 1926.
' Streekalum Govexmenturn' (Women and Government), The Mohila Vol 11(I), 193 1, pp.3-
C
 Thankamma, G.R. 'Uhshtavidyabhyasavum Streekalum' (Women and Higher Education),
Mahila Madiram Vol 1 ( 1- 1 21, 1927, pp.452-57.
'Thiruvananthapurarn Stree-samajamt,Sharuda 'Vol4(I), 1 909, pp.9- 10.
'Thiruvananthapurathe Mahi la Y own' (Women's Meeting at Thiruvananthapwam),
Vanitakusumam Vol 1(10), 1927-'28, pp.366-7 1.
'Tirunalniraharavratam' (Vow of Fasting on the Maharaja's Birthday), M.M, January 25,
1930.
'Timvitamkoorile Tozhilillaima' (Unemployment in Timvitamkoor), M.M, June 9, 1928.
'Tiruvitamkoor Niyarnasabha Chodyotharangd' (Questions and Answers in Tiruvitamkoox
Legislature), M-M, August 28, 1926.
'Tozhilillatha B i r u d h a d h M t (Unemployed Wornen-Graduates), Vanitakustdmam Vol
l(1l), 1927, p.349.
'Tozhilillaima Committeeyude Report' (Report of the Committee Studying Unemployment),
M.M,July 6, 1928.
: 'Vanita Panghti' (Women's Column), MA4, January 1, 1930.
' Vivahathu Kwichu', VidyasangrahamVol 1(5), July 1865.

SECONDARY SOURCES

A, BOOKS AND THESES

Abstracis Vol 3, Papas presented at the lnrernationul Congress of Kerala Sfudies,

August 27-29, 1994, A.K.G. Centre for Research and Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
Absrracts, Papers presented at the Seminar on Women in Keralan~:Past and Preserri,
February 11-12, 1995, A.K.G. Centre for Research md Studies, Thvananthapuram.
Abslrach, Papers presented at Internaiional Conference: Europe and Soufh Asia 500 Yeais,
Calicut and Cochm, May 18-20, 1998.
Achyutan, Prof. M., Sbr~aian#rya Sarnarman~Malayala Sahi~arwnt(The Freedom Sfmggie
and Malayalam Literature), Thrissur: Current Books, 1994.
ArmsQong Nancy. Desire and Don~esricFicfion,Oxford: OUP, 1987.
Aryan Nambutiripad, P,K. Nalukeltii/ Ninnu Natrilekku (From the Homestead to the
Country), Thrissur: Mangalodayam, 1969.
Ayyappan, K . Social Iievoluiion in a Kerala Viilage: A Study in Cult?trc Changc, Bombay:
Popular Prakashan, 1965.
Bal akrj shnan, P,K. Jatil ycn~asthayumKerala C'haritra~wm(The Caste System and the
I-Iistory of Kerala), Kottayarn: SPSS, 1984.
Bhaskaranunny . Pathonpalam Nootundile Kerolam (The Kerala of the Nine teenth Century),
Thrissur: Kerda Sahitya Akademi, 1988.
I
Bourdieu, P.;Wacquant, Loic, J,D. An lnvitulion l o XeJ/c-uve S'ourolo~,London: Polity
Press, 1992.
Brown, P. The Body and S'ocie!~,London : Faber and Faber, 1989.
Butler, J. Bodies that Malfer: On ihe L)i.suttrsive Limiis of 'SPX',London : Routledge, 1993.
Carroll, Besenice, A.(ed), Liberating WomenS Hisloty: Tkorelical und CriiicaI fissays,
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1976.
Cheriyan, P,J. 'The Communist Movement in Travancore :From O r p s to the Uprisings of
1946, Unpublished Ph.d thesis submitted to the University of Cdicut, 1993.
Daniel, Rev., Mathew. Keralu Krnislu 1.a Samskaram (Christian Culture in Keralam),
Tiruvalla, 1985.
Dreyfus, W. and Rabinow, P. 12.11chei14i)~lccr~ilr: Be!);c.,ndSlnrcrirralism and Hermeureutics,
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, t 983.
Ehrenreich, B.; English, D. h r Her Own Goud: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to
5
kyomen, London; Pluto Press, 1979.
Elias, N. The Civilising Process Vol I: The Hismty of Manmrs, 0xford:BasiI Blackwell,
1978.
Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Plmish, Hamondsworth: Penguin, 1984.
- The Hi.sloty of Sexuaiziy Vol I, N.Y: Vintage, 1980.
Ganesh, K,N. Keralathinie InnaIekaI (Yesterdays of Keralam), Mvananthapuram: Dept.
of Cultural Publications, Govt. of Kerala, 1990.
-Kztnjun Nambiar: Vtlkkum Surnouhamm (Kunjan Nambiar: Word and Society),
Sukapuram: VaIIathoI Vidyapeetham, 1996.
Gilligan, Carol. In a D ~ ~ r e Voice,
n t Mass: Haward University Press, 1982.
Goody, J. Liferaqy in Traditional Societies, Cambridge: Cambridge Univeniw mess, 1975.
Gopal~shqP,K.KemIa1hi~1ie Samkariku Choriirarn(Culhlra1 History of Kerala),
Thiruvananthapurarn: State Institute of Languages, 1994,
Habemas, J.Knowldge and Htlman Interests, Boston: Bacon Press, 197 1.
Hemnstein-Smith, B. On the M a r e of Discourse, Chicago: University of Chicago Resq
1978.
Jeffrey, Robin. l he Decline ofl\ayar Domimce, London: Sussex University Press, 1976.
- I'oltiics, Women and Well-being, New Delhi: OUP, 1993.
Joseph, G; Lewis, J. Common Diflerences: Conflict in Black a d White Feminist
Perspeclives, N.Y: Anchor Press, 198 1.
Kunhm Pillai, Elarnkulam, P,N. Kernlam Anchum Aarum Noo!andukaIiil (Keralam in the
Fifth and Sixth Centuries), Kottayam: SPSS, 2 96 1.
Kurup, KJS,N.(ed), KavaIapparu Paprrs, Calicut: Dept. of History, University of Calicut,
1984.
a d ~ n t e (The Idea of Woman in
Leelavati, Dr., M. L S ~ r e e s ~ ~ ~ I ~ ( p a m - - C h e ~ i kNuvelukalil
Cherukad's Novels), Thiruvananthapuram: Prabhatham Publishing, 1990.
-hlaf4yaiu Kaviiu Suhirya Charitram (History of Malaydam Poew), Thrissur:
Kerala Sahitya Akademi, 1980.
Lewis, Jane. Wonten in Englad 1870- 1950 :Sexual Divisions and SociaI Change, Sussex :
Wheatsheaf Books, 1984.
M anavalan, Paul. Keuula Samskara~mn~ Kririslava MMio~latyn~arwrn (Christian
Missionaries and Kerda's Culture), Kottayarn :D.C Books, 1990.
Menon, P,KK. The History of The Freedom Moventenf in Kerala Vol.11,
Thiruvananthapuram: Govt of Kerala, 1972.
Nambutiripad, E,M,S . Kerulam-MaluyaIihIude Mathmbhumi (Kerdanl-Motherland of
Malayalees), Thiruvananthapuram : Deshabhimani Publications, 198 1.
Padmanabha Menon, &P. Hislory of Keraia 3 Vols.(1929), N.Delhi: AES, 1984.
Panikkar, R., Narayana, Ke~ala Bhushasal~itya Charifram (History of Malayalam
Literature, Thiruvananthapuram, 1947.
Parameswam Iyer, Ulloor, S. Ulloorinie Prabadhungal (Essays by Ulloor),
Tniruvananthapuram: UUoor Memorial Publications, 1980.
Prosf A; Vincent, G.(eds.), A Hislory (lfPrivale Lfe, Vol. 5 ; Riddles of Idenlily in Modern
Times, Cambridge, Mass :Harvard University Press, 1 99 1 .
Radha, Dr, S , Women,Men and Developenl in Kerala, Thuuvananthapuram, 1994.
bnahishnan, E,V. M a h g il New: Modernism in Malayalam, Marathi and Hindi l'oeiry,
Shimla: Indian institute of Advanced Study, 1995.
Ram Mohan, KT. 'Material Processes and Developmentalism:' Interpreting Economic
,Change In Tiruvitamkoor 1800-1945, Unpublished Ph.d Thesis, Centre for Development
Studies, Thiruvanmthapuram, 1996. I

Rama Varma,I31; K,T. Kamapoaja Keralathil (The Worship of Kama in Keralam),

Kozhikode: Classic Book Trust, 1985.
Raveendran, N,K. 'Problems of Womw's Liberation in Malayalam Literature: A Study
Based on the Conhibutions of Women Writers', Unpublished Ph.d. Thesis, University of
Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 1992.
Rao, M,S,A. Social Change in Mulabar, Bombay: Popular Prakasan, 1957.
-Social Muvemenls and Soc1u1 Tramfor1?7alion: A St zrdy in T\vo Buckward CIWS-
Moljeinenls 1i1 India, N.Delhi, 1979.
Rose, N. Gosernhg h e Soul : The Shoping oj'fhe Priwte SeK London : Routledge, 1988..
hchardson, Diane. Women,Morherhood and Child-lieari~~g, M a c d a n :London, 1993.
Riley, Denise. 'Am i that Nanw?LFemi!~ismand the Calegouy of 'Women' in H i s t ~ r y ,
Minnesota: Unversity of Minnesota, 1995.
Sam, Dr, N.Keralalhile S~muhikaNuvodhnnamim Sa/zitya~rmr(Social Renaissance and
Literature in Keralam), h v a n a n t h a p u r a m , 1988.
Shreedhara Menon, A. Kerula Charitrant (History of Keralam), Kottayam : SPSS, 1967.
- I;cralu Samckaram ( C u l ~ r eof Keralan), Kottayan : SPSS, 1992.
S ivasankaran N air, K. Venudinre I'annu~rlanr (The Transformatioll of Venad),
Thiruvananthapuram: Dept of Cultural Publications, 1993.
 Shungoony Menon, P. Hisio~yrfl'7i.avarttur.e (1878), Thlinrvananthapuam: Govt. of Kerala,
1983.

Taylor, C. Sources of the Tile Muking nj'MoJern Identi& Cambridge : Cambridge

University Press, 1993.
Uberoi, Patricia. (ed), Sociul rLifi)rnt, ,See~~~u/iiy
and ~ h Sc l ~ ~ lN.Delhi
e, :Sage Publications,
1996.
Venu G; Panikkar, Nirmala. ,Lfvhii~~v~rrtom, Thrissur, 1983.
Y esudas, R,X. 'lhc i'ecjp/c!c Re~:oirin l ku~~at~core:
A Ha~~krvard Casre Mur~cllneniforSur:ial
l;i.et.dum, Thiruvanarltl~apuram:Keraia Historical Society, 1975.

. ARTICLES

, Anandi, T,K. 'Theatre as a Form of Social Protest: Enactment of Play's and Rise of
Consciousness among Namputiri Women of Kerala', Paper presented at the Inlert~urionul
Congr~',s.s August 27-29, 1994, Thiruvananthapurarn.
of Kerala Srt~~ije,~,
Alexander, Meena. 'Outcaste Power: Ritual Displacement and Virile Maternity in Indian
Women Writerst, Economic and Poiiiical Weekly, February 19, 1989, pp.367-72.
-
Anhas, FIoya; Yuval-Davis, Nira. 'Contextualrsing Feminism Gender, Ethnic and Class
Divisions', Feminisr Review 15, Novernber 1983, pp.62-75.
Awaya, Toshe. 'Women in the Nambuari 'Castet Movementt in Mizushima, T. and
Yanagisawa, H.(ed.s), Hisioly and S o c r e ~in Sovh India, Tokyo: Tokyo University of
Foreign Studies, 1996, pp.47-57.
B&tin, Mikhail. 'Discourse in the Novehin T h Dialugjc Intagnaiion, Aush: University
of Texas Press, 198 1, p.360.
Baneji, Himani. 'Attired in Virtue: Tile Discouse on Shame (Iaja) and Clothing of the
Bi~i~dromahila in Colonial Bengal in Ray, Bharati.(ed.), From the Seams of Hi,rtury,
N.Delhi:OUP, 1995, pp.69-83.
Bask Apama. 'Women's History in India: A Historiographic Survey' in Offen, K. ; Pierson,
R.(ed.s), Wiling Wonten's Hisiouy: Inlemafional Perspecit vex, London: Macmil lan, 1992,
pp. 18 1-209.
Bourdiey P.'Social Space and Symbolic Power' in Bourdieu, P.In Oiher GYodds, Oxford.
Polity Press, 1990.
Ch&avarthy, Uma. 'Conceptualising Brahmanical Patriarchy in Early India: Gender,
Caste, Class and State', Economk and Po'al~ticalWeekly Vol28 (14), April 3, 1993, pp.579-
85.
Chandramohan, P. 'Popular Culture and Socio-Economic Reform: Narayana Guru and t l ~ e
Ezhavas of Travancore', Sttdes in Ejhtoty Vol3 (1). n.s, 1987, pp.53-78.
Cixous, Helene. 'The Laugh of the Medusa', in Marks, E.; de C o h v r o n ? I. (eds), New
Feminisms, London: The Harvester ' Press, 1 98 1.
fi-rer~ch
de CerteaqMichel. 'hstory and Fiction' in Helerologies, Manchester: Manchester
University Press, 1986.
Foucault, Michel. 'Two Lectures' in Gordon, Colin. (ed), . l%wer/Knolvledge, N.Y :
Pantheon, 1980, pp. 78-108.
- 'The Confessions of the Flesh' in ibid., pp. 194-228.
- 'Introduction', Herculine Barbin, N.Y. :Panthean, 1980.
- 'The Discourse of Language' in The Archueology of Knowledge, NewYork:
Pantheon Books, 1972.
- Introduction', ibid.
-'Politics and Reason' in Politics, Philosophy,Culture: Interviews and Other
Writings,London : Routledge, 1988, pp. 57-85.
-'The Subject and Power, in Dreyfus, H,L,and Rabinow, P. Michel Foucauli :
Beyond S~mcruralismand Hermeneufics, Chicago : University of Chicago Press,
1983, pp. 208-26.
-'The PoliticaI Technology of Individuals', in Martin, H., Luther.et .d (ed.s),
Technologies of fhe SeK London: Tavistock Publications, 1988.
-'Governmentalityl in BurchelI, G, eta1 (ed.s), The Foucaull E$ecl:Siudies in
Govemmenfcrlity,Hmpstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf Books, 1975 .
Franke, Richard, W.; Chasin, Barbara, H. 'Kerala State, India: Radical Reform as
Development', Monthly Iieview Vol42(8), January 1991, pp.8-20.
Gopalmshan, P,K.'Sarnudaya P a r i s k a n a Prasthan8ngalt (Social Reform Movements)
in Kerala Charitram Vol I (History of Kerala), Kochi: Kerda History Association, 1973.
Gopalankutty, YI. 'The Civil Disobedience Movement in Malabar', Indian Economic und
Social Hislory Reviav Vol 26(4), October-December 1 989.
Habemas, J.'The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Aricle' in New German Critique 1 (31,
1974, PP.49-55.
Hartsock, Nancy. 'The Feminist Standpoint: Developing a Ground for a SpecIficaUy
Feminist Historical Materialism', in Harding, Sandra; Hintdda, M.(ed.s), Discovering
Reality, Dordrecht;'D.Reidel, 1983, pp.283-3 10.
Heimsath, C,H. 'The Function of Hindu Social. Reformers - With Special Reference to
Kerala', Indian Ecop?omicand Social History Ke~rie~v Vol 15 (I), January - March, 1975,pp.
27-35.
Hunter,I.'ThePastoral Bureaucracy:Towards a Less Principled Understandmg of State
Schooling' in Meredyth, D .; Tylor, D.(ed.s), Child and Cilizen:Geneologies of SchooIing
Queens1and:Griffith University, 1993, pp.237-57.
~rld~litrbjecfivi~,
James, Jancy . 'Feminism as Social Committment: The Case of Lalithambika Antharjanam',
India0 Lilerafure May-June 1996, pp.26-37.
JeBey, R. 'The Social Origins of a Caste Association 1875- 1905 : The Founding of the
SNDP Yogam', South Asia (4), October 1974, pp.37-44.
Lykes, M.B.'Gender and Lndividualistic vs. Collectivist Bases for Notions about Self,
 Jozdrrlal r?/'I'ep.svnulil)l,53, 1985, pp.356-83.
Kmhm PilIai, Shooranad. 'Vallathol Kavitayile Street (Woman in Vallatliol's Poetry), in
Kuirulec! Sumukslrum, Thiluvm~anthapuranl,1979, pp.3 19-34.
Kristeva, Julia. 'Woman's Time', Si,qni Vol 7(1), Auturnn 198 1, pp. 13-35.
Mencher, P., Joan and Unny, Rarnan, K.'Anthropological and Sociological. Research in
Kerala: Past, Prescrlt and Future Dircclions' in Stein, Button (ed.), L~,say.son Sorlih Inclia,
N.Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1976,pp.). 2 1-48.
Nair.,J,Meenakshi.'~dhunikaS~eewatinteNirmanm: Indulekhayum Purangodrparinqmm'
(The Making of Modem Femininity: Inchtlekhu #and Parangodiparinayam), Kerala
P~dhana~lgaE(7) (forth coming).
Nandakurnar, R. 'The Missing Male: The Female Figures of Rahi V m a and the Concepts
of Family, Marriage and Fatherhood in 19" Cennuy Kerala', South Indian Sltrdies 1,
January-June 1996, pp.54-82.
Narayanan, KC. 'Venmangatha Vakku', Mafhwtbhtrmi Weekly Vol74(45), January.5, 1997,
pp. 6-10.
Nizar, T,K., Ahmed. Towards the Transmodern: A Note 0x1 Gandhian Individualism', Vision
Vol (I), January 1998, pp. 18-28.
*
Raju,S. 'Excurses into Anticipated Future in the Wor(1)ds of Nation and Wealth', W o r h g
* Paper No, 13, Lateral Study Series',Schoal of Socid Sciences, MGU, Kottayam, 1995.
Ramadas, Cherayi. ' Pabyam:Samaravufn Vivaranangalum'(Paliyam : The Stru* and
Descriptions of it), Kerulu Padhanangal(6),January 1997.
Raveendran, N,K. 'Ammamarude Sankadangd (The Sorrows of Mothers), Kerufa
Padhanungal (3), October -December 1993, pp. 324-37.
Rose, Hilary. 'Hand, Brain and Heart: A Feminist Epistemoloby for the Natural Sciences',
Sigm Vol9(1), Autumn 1983, pp. 73-90.
Satla1 Mohan, P.'Religion, Social Space and Identity : Co~istructionof Boundaries in
Colonial Keralam', Paper presented at The Conjerence of Subaltern Historrutu, Jan- 3-8
, 1998, Luchow .
Sankamn, Tayam ' B harateeyatal(hdianness) in Balumani Ammo : Shab/ypoorthY
Smranika, Kozhikode :BaIamani Arnrna Shashtypoorthy Celebrations Cornmittee, I 969.
Savih-i Devi, K,M. 'Kuladayaya Devata : Kuriyedathu Tatriyude Avatarangal' (Goddess who
is a Whore : The Lncmations of Kuriyedathu Tatri) in Kerafa PadhoMngal (7)
(fortl~coming) .
Sreedevi, S. 'Swayarnkritardhata Chinta-vishtayaya Seetayd' (Self-Fulfilment in
Chintavishtyaya Seeta), Kerala Kuvrra 1996, pp. 133-3 6.
Sreekumar, Sharmila.'Keraleeyatayum Streetvavum :Om Kerala Piravidina SamvaIlathe
s a Debate Conducted on Kerala Day. ), Ke&
Patti' ('Keralyeeyata' and W o m ~ e s :On
~adhanang~l (7), (forthcoming).
Tnarakm, Michael, P,K.'Socio-EconomicFactors in Educational Developement : The Case
of 19' Cenimy Travancore' , Working Paper No. 190, Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvanathapuram, 1984.
Turner, V. 'Social Dramas and Stories about Them', Crilical Inquily, 7, pp. 141-68.
Velayudhan, Meera. 'Contending Traditions : The Social Construction of Gender i1
Travancore', Paper presented at Inrercliional Congress of Keralu Siudies, August 27-29,
1994, Thiruvananthapuram.
Vi sveswaran, Karnala. 'Small Speeches, Subaltern Gender : Nationalist Ideoloa and its
~istoriography',fiomhmin, Shahid; Chakravarthy, Dipesh (ed.s),Subaltern Studies IX,
N.Delhi : OUP, 1996.
Yesudasan, T.M.ICast$ Gender and Knowledge : Towards a Dailt Feminist Perspective,
Paper presented at G ~ ~ s ~Politics
o o ~ Colloqiuum,
s Dept. of Political Science, University of
Delhi, March 10-11,195.