Hindutva and Violence Against Women

by Brinda Karat

In this monograph, one of India’s leading, most committed political and
human rights activists examines how women’s safety, dignity and security have
been undermined in the decade since the Hindu right rose to near-absolute
power. Hindutva—the guiding philosophy of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak
Sangh (RSS), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the rest of the Sangh
Parivar—is at its core a majoritarian, militant and regressive thought system
that draws inspiration from casteist, communal and misogynistic texts and
ideologues. While injustice in cases of violence against women is not new in
India, writes Brinda Karat, the political supremacy of Hindutva since 2014
has changed the nature and extent of this injustice. The religious identities of
the victims and the perpetrators determine the approach of powerful leaders
and their governments, the police, and, increasingly, the courts. This creates
new rape cultures that ultimately affect the processes of justice for all women.
Examining some of the most horrific instances of majoritarian violence against
women and the official response (or lack of it) to them—the release of Bilkis
Bano’s rapists; campaigns in favour of the men who brutalized little Asifa
Bano; the covert cremation of the body of the Hathras victim; the rape and
murder of Kuki women in Manipur—Karat shows how, when sexual crimes
are communalized, women of oppressed castes are denied justice just as
women of religious and ethnic minorities are.
Impassioned, rigorous and forthright, this is a necessary book for our times.

Genres: India, Nonfiction

107 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2024

About the author

Brinda Karat (born 17 October 1947) is an Indian politician, elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Communist Party of India (Marxist) member on 11 April 2005 for West Bengal.

In 2005, she became the first woman member of the CPI(M) Politburo. She has also been the general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) from 1993 to 2004, and thereafter its vice-president.

Reviews

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has worked with women on gender related issues for decades, the author knows that there has always been violence against women. In this book, she explains how the nature of violence has intensified and how violence, especially against women of certain communities, castes and socio-economic status has been almost normalised.

In the book, she describes many of the cases of violent crime that shook the conscience of the nation in the past decade (Kathua, Hathras, Manipur) and explains how in each of the cases, the political, police, judicial and social system has colluded with the perpetrators and enabled them to get away. They were all clear cases of a majoritarian ideology doing all it could to ensure that the crime went unpunished, because in their view crimes against women of a lower caste or a minority community didn’t’ count as a crime.
This book is essential reading to understand the nature of the threat to women from Hindutva, and consequently to guard ourselves against it.

I received a review copy of the book, and a more detailed review is here: https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2024/05/...

[Shirin Salah Eddine · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book that was published just a few months back, Brinda Karat shows how sexual perpetrators are granted impunity under the lead of Narendra Modi and the BJP. I am deeply impressed with Karat’s work and her affiemative actions. I learned alot more about Hindutva and Hindu majoritarianism and it’s implements on the life of especially lower caste and muslim women. Karat embedded contemporary examples of unspeakable violence in the history of caste, Hindutva and the current political regime. Her holistic approach enriched my understanding deeply.

„When present day rulers refer to India as the ‚mother of democracy‘, they paper over the reality of the caste system, insult the lived experience for centuries of shudra and untouchable women in this our ancient land, violently coerced, from birth, into a system where their own bodies were not their own but the property of those higher up in the social ladder to use and discard at their will, never allowed to enjoy concepts like security, safety, choice.“ (p.70)

sidenote: I bought this book by chance a few days ago in Delhi‘s oldest bookshop, which is filled with thousands of different books. Later that day I found out that the author, Brinda Karat, is actually the aunt of a friend of mine who is participating in the same research project as I am, and that Brinda Karat’s husband is one of the leaders of Delhis Communist Party who we just interviewed the day before. Small world:)

[Bhoomika · Rating 5 out of 5]

The topics of this essay need more light in our society. We do not know the full extent of the violence that south Asian women suffer under the suppression of a government that is highly traditionalist.

[Kishan Ram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explain about the crule rule of BJP and their activity against woman and society, great book , very brave