[INDOLOGY] Gender, Power, and Rape when Conducting Research

Sun Apr 29 03:10:19 UTC 2018

I think Prof. Slaje's

It is well known that “secret intercourse with a woman who is asleep,
drunk, or mentally deranged” is categorized as a form of “marriage” in
ancient Indian law books.

Manu (3.34) uses “*upa-gam*” – *inire feminam* (pw) / to approach a woman
sexually (MW) – for the consummation of “marriage”. *upa-gam* is a common
verb for “having sex” in a general sense.

is a reference to paiśācha as a vivāha.

Attention may be paid to the name of the  vivāha . piśācha --> paiśācha

Each of the  vivāhas is described as found among a certain community.

Does anyone have info on which community is described as following  paiśācha
as a vivāha?

On Fri, Apr 27, 2018 at 1:02 PM, Walter Slaje via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> There is also this:
>
> https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/mahmood-farooqui-and-his-
> acquittal-in-rape-case-1803070
>
> And this:
>
> https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/mahmood-farooqui-rape-acquittal-
> extremely-well-decided-says-supreme-court-dismissing-
> appeal-against-earlier-verdict/articleshow/62566322.cms
>
> The Mahātmā moreover stated:
>
> „I have always held that it is physically impossible to violate a woman
> against her will. [ . . . ] If she cannot meet the assailant's physical
> might, her purity will give her the strength to die before he succeeds in
> violating her. [ . . . ] I know that women are capable of throwing away
> their lives for a much lesser purpose. Only a few days ago a young girl
> of twenty burnt herself to death as she felt she was being persecuted for
> refusing to go in for ordinary studies. And she perished with such cool
> courage and determination. She ignited her sari with an ordinary oil-light
> and did not so much as raise a cry, so that the people in the neighbouring
> room were unaware of the happening until all was over.” *Harijan*, 25-8-1940
> and 1-9-1940.
>
> (Quoted from M. K. GANDHI, The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
> (Electronic Book). 98 volumes. New Delhi: Publications Division Government
> of India 1999. [http://www.gandhiserve.org/ cwmg/
> <http://gandhiserve.org/cwmg/> cwmg.html] 79, Nr. 130: 126 f).
>
>
>
> Modern American and traditional Indian notions of rape, honour, consent
> and “sexual interaction” (e.g., the exchange of kisses can count as such)
> seem to differ widely.
>
>
>
> It is well known that “secret intercourse with a woman who is asleep,
> drunk, or mentally deranged” is categorized as a form of “marriage” in
> ancient Indian law books.
>
> Manu (3.34) uses “*upa-gam*” – *inire feminam* (pw) / to approach a woman
> sexually (MW) – for the consummation of “marriage”. *upa-gam* is a common
> verb for “having sex” in a general sense.
>
>
>
> In the given context, recent English translations use however “to rape” as
> an equivalent (see Olivelle 2005, p. 110). Interpretations follow suit:
> “Tantamount to rape” (Jamison in Olivelle & Davis (ed.), Hindu Law 2017, p.
> 130).
>
>
>
> Unless supported by unambiguous evidence, such readings should be treated
> as notionally anachronistic interpretations reflexively projected onto
> ancient India. What appears to be “rape”, or to be “tantamount to rape”, in
> the eyes of 21st century Western Indologists, does not necessarily
> represent the viewpoint of a (pre)modern Indian society.
>
>
>
> With regard to its connotation, Doniger (1991: 46) and Michaels (2010: 49)
> offer neutral and therefore more faithful translations of *upa-gam*: “to
> have sex with” and “Beischlaf”.
>
>
>
> Actually, we are in dire need of a substantial investigation into the
> history of the notions of “rape” as they prevailed in premodern India. This
> will help to understand and assess their (dis)continuation also in the
> thinking of today.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> WS
>
> -----------------------------
> Prof. Dr. Walter Slaje
> Hermann-Löns-Str. 1
> D-99425 Weimar
> Deutschland
>
>
>
> 2018-04-26 15:27 GMT+02:00 Audrey Truschke via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info>:
>
>> Dear Colleagues,
>>
>> I would like to share this insightful, brave piece written by a PhD
>> student at Columbia University about her experience pursuing a rape charge
>> against Mahmood Farooqui in the Indian judicial system. I think it is
>> relevant for Indologists, especially for sending students to conduct
>> research abroad, dealing with our own instances of sexual misconduct in the
>> field, and thinking about gender and power dynamics.
>>
>> https://scroll.in/article/876788/healing-myself-a-woman-reco
>> unts-her-struggles-after-a-court-acquitted-the-man-she-accused-of-rape
>>
>> Audrey
>>
>> Audrey Truschke
>> Assistant Professor
>> Department of History
>> Rutgers University-Newark
>>
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>
>
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-- 
Nagaraj Paturi

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.

BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra

BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala

Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies

FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,

(Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )

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