ABSTRACT

The Introduction highlights some of the most visible forms of gender-based violence discussed in this book in the Indian context. The section on Historical Encounters and Cultures of Violence challenges the binaries of tradition versus modernity or East versus West to understand gender-based violence during colonial encounters. The encounter as shown by historians in the first section was a multifaceted and multilayered phenomenon. The advent of British/Portuguese/Basel Mission or German missionaries in India triggered a bilateral process where patriarchal ideas and symbols were reorganised and restored on both sides. Indian women came across as seductive, exotic, and vulnerable. The British took measures to ensure their image as liberal/benevolent rulers while they relied heavily on Hindu scriptures and reformist support to enact criminal and civic laws. Another section on Minorities and Marginalised Women: Sexuality and Violence looks at the different categories/class of Dalit, Muslim, and disabled women who have been victims of either physical, social violence, or verbal abuse (tantamount to violence). The discussion ranges from the incrimination of juvenile victims of sexual violence in the colonial period to modern-day seclusion of Hijras. The section on Economies of Violence and Cultural Representations discusses different inherent forms of violence in literature/fiction and cinema. There is also a direct link of gender-based violence with global processes. Overall the Introduction suggests strongly that a universal humanitarian-legal framework for dealing with gender-based violence is necessary.