Mamta G. Sagar (Bangalore, India) Surely the Holy One is (not) Deaf – Women Subjects and Kabir’s Poetry

Nandlal Bose: Sati (1907/1943), Aquatint on paper heightened with gold, 26,5x17,5cm (fragment)

   This paper revolves around poems by the 15th century saint poet Kabir Das who argues for a non-hierarchical society sans religion, caste and class discriminations. Kabir is understood as a social reformer of his times. The paper tries to understand prevailing gendered cultural histories along the lines of History of Literature in India from a feminist perspective. It unravels the social frame constructed to analyze, view and understand women as subordinate to men in the social hierarchy. The paper demonstrates Kabir’s philosophical positions that lead to his male chauvinistic and patriarchal perspectives of doubting women and looking down upon them. It reveals the physical and philosophical boundaries set for women in a given society.