Description
Extant literature has established the significance of gender in nationalisms. Queer Theory has called upon scholars of International Relations (IR) to reapproach core IR concepts centring a queer lens. This paper builds upon these two axes to discern what gender relations and ideals have historically underlain the multiple imaginations of the Indian nation. The paper traces ideals of masculinities and femininities revered through different visions and eras of Indian history. In so doing, it argues that not only have these ideals continued to change over time, but multiple meanings of masculinities and femininities have co-existed, competed, and intersected, creating a complex gendered history of Indian nationalisms. Equally, however, some continuities remain in how gender is defined across eras. Significantly, the paper goes beyond the binary of masculinities versus femininities to demonstrate that in India, historically, the two have been co-constitutive: it locates the existence of the feminine in the masculine, and the masculine in the feminine. The paper then considers what ideals have remained common across periods, what have been forgotten, and what this means for contemporary national imaginations. It draws on Feminist IR theory, Postcolonial theory, and Queer Theory, illustrating a non-Western understanding of gender informing nationalisms.
