Hodges, Sarah. (2005) Revolutionary family life and the self respect movement in Tamil south India, 1926-49. Contributions to Indian Sociology, Vol.39 (No.2). pp. 251-277. ISSN 0069-9667

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Abstract

During the second quarter of the 20th century, the Self Respect movement (cuyamariyatai iyakkam) introduced a programme of non-Brahmin uplift in Tarnil south India that consisted of a radical critique of social, political and economic relations. By following the coverage of family and marriage in the Self Respect popular press (the weekly newspaper Kudi Arasu in particular), and through interviews with Self Respecters who lived through the period 1926-49, this article attempts to sketch out how and why the family was interpolated both as an object of criticism and as a site of struggle. That is to say, Self Respect was not only a set of arguments, but also a set of practical strategies for transforming everyday and ritual life into revolutionary propaganda through choice of dress, names, home decor and domestic ritual, as well as through attending public meetings and reading newspapers. In particular, 'modern, Self Respecting Tamil couples' were projected as a resolution to what the Self Respect movement high-lighted as the social, political and economic problems perpetuated by the traditional joint family. Yet, over the course of the 20th century in the Tamil south, marriage and family proved to be unstable vehicles for the revolutionary transformation of socio-political domains.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DS Asia H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts > History
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Families -- India -- Tamil Nadu -- History -- 20th century, Identity politics -- India -- Tamil Nadu, Cuyamariyātai Iyakkam
Journal or Publication Title:	Contributions to Indian Sociology
Publisher:	Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd.
ISSN:	0069-9667
Date:	May 2005
Volume:	Vol.39
Number:	No.2
Number of Pages:	27
Page Range:	pp. 251-277
Identification Number:	10.1177/006996670503900203
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Version or Related Resource:	Hodges, S. (2003). Revolutionary family life and the self-respect movement in Tamil South India, 1926-44. Alternate Histories of the Family, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Sep 2003.
Conference Paper Type:	Paper
Title of Event:	Conference on Alternate Histories of the Family in South Asia
Type of Event:	Conference
Location of Event:	Univ Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Date(s) of Event:	SEP 19-20, 2003
Related URLs:	Related item in WRAP
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/34052

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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