LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:7 July 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Gender Politics & Discrimination in Post-Colonial
Nagaland with Special Reference to Easterine Kire’s
A Terrible Matriarchy

Ms. Subhra Roy, M.A., B.Ed, NET, SET


A Terrible Matriarchy

Abstract

Easterine Kire’s A Terrible Matriarchy, a girl’s coming of age story , revolves around three generations of Naga women : Grandmother, Mother and Dielieno the protagonist. Grandmother Vibano has gained a respectable status of a matriarch by serving the menfolk of her clan. She takes charge of her five-year old granddaughter Dielieno to prune her confident and inquisitive nature into a hardworking and docile one , so that she can be a dutiful wife in future. Grandmother continues to shower extra perks on her grandsons while Dielieno continues to remain the “little errand girl” who has to toil long hours doing household chores to impress the Granddame. In the course of the novel it gets revealed that the males-only inheritance system is the only reason behind Grandmother’s biased behaviour. However , economic insecurity is one of the factors and causes behind the suppression of the Naga women. There are other subtle socio-political factors as well.

In this article I would try to fathom the mechanism of patriarchy which gets an impetus during the colonial and postcolonial era . The Battle of Kohima and the Indo-Naga conflict left the women of Nagaland more vulnerable than before. Naga women live in double jeopardy - they belong to the male-dominated Naga society which is trying hard to fit in the garb of Indian nationhood; post-colonial identity crisis is gnawing away its entire being. This article would highlight the socio-political conditions that strengthen the matrix of patriarchy and increase the sufferings of Naga women who, as the patriarchal matriarchs of the society, unwittingly contribute to their own exploitation.

Keywords: Matriarch, Matrix of patriarchy, Battle of Kohima, Indo-Naga conflict, Double jeopardy.

Easterine Kire Iralu

Easterine Kire
Courtesy: http://indpaedia.com/ind/index.php/Easterine_Kire_Angami

Easterine Kire Iralu is a prolific writer from Nagaland who has tried her hands in poetry and novels, and in children’s books as well. Her works have been translated into various languages including German, Croatian , Uzbek, Norwegian and Nepali. She has to her credit four English novels in which the vibrant Naga culture with its fascinating folklores and traditions has been brought forth. Along with the rich culture of Nagaland there exist the unpleasant realities of Naga life and its complexities around the colonial atrocities and discrimination.


This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


 Subhra Roy

Ms. Subhra Roy. M.A., B.Ed., NET, SET
Research Scholar
Department of English
Tripura University (A Central University)
Suryamaninagar 799022
Tripura
India
suvizimu@gmail.com

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