The Construction of Motherhood in 19th-Century Bengal

Abstract

This article discusses Bengali Motherhood. Bengal was the hub of the National Renaissance and played an important role in the social reform and struggle for Independence. Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chattopadhyay, Swami Vivekananda, Dwarkanath Tagore, Akshay Kumar Dutta, and Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain were the leaders of the Bengal Renaissance. Bengali Hindus predominantly led the Bengal Renaissance. The socio-political awakening in arts, literature, science, and philosophy characterized the Bengal Renaissance. The movement questioned the existing customs and rituals in Indian society. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a prominent Indian educator and social reformer of the 19^th century. In this paper, the researcher focused on the image of India as a mother and how she should be freed from the shackles of the British. I have traced the origins of the Vande Mataram song and how the image was used to represent an imagined Mother India. In contrast, in reality, women still suffered in the spaces that were allotted and restricted to them.   The present study discussed the autobiography of a Bengali woman, Rassundari Devi. The autobiography allows scope to study the concept of motherhood.

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