In this episode, historian Dr. Mrinalini Sinha talks to us about the emergence of the stereotype of the 'effeminate Bengali', why Katherine Mayo's 1927 book 'Mother India' became controversial, and how women got divided along caste lines in the fight for their right to vote in colonial India.

‘In Perspective’ is our podcast series where academics reveal little-known facts about Indian history, society and culture.

Notes:

1:27- The manly Englishman and the effeminate bengali 

7:40- Gendering of society and the ‘domestic manuals’ of 19th century Bengal 

12:50- Controversy surrounding Katherine Mayo’s 1920 book ‘Mother India’ and the reconfiguration of the relationship between the social and political spheres in India 

27:00- Discourse around child marriage shifting in early 20th century and how it became a political issue 

33:10- How Indian women got the right to vote 

41:52- Leela and Urmila’s marriage in 1987 and discussing the problems with how we understand queerness in India