What We Want: The Oral Histories of Low-caste Indian Widows and how they Navigate their Surrounding Ideological and Social Context

Authors

Suzanne Powell, Brigham Young University
Dr. Valerie Hudson, Brigham Young University

Keywords

oral histories, low-caste, India widows, ideological and social context

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Political Science

Abstract

I left on my field study with the goal of learning about the practice of widow abandonment by placing it within the larger social, political, and economic structure of Hindu India. I surmised that widow abandonment was creeping down into the traditionally less-orthodox South India because low caste groups were trying to prove just how Hindu they were – trying to legitimize a move into the upper, more pure high caste ranks. I sought to understand the practice by understanding how women fit into Hindu ideology, how they perceived themselves as a result of living in such a society under such a belief system – intentions and assumptions gained from the reading I did of the current research on the topic.

Recommended Citation

Powell, Suzanne and Hudson, Dr. Valerie (2013) "What We Want: The Oral Histories of Low-caste Indian Widows and how they Navigate their Surrounding Ideological and Social Context," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 421.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/421