Ideals of Hindu girlhood: Reading Vidya Bharati’s <i>Balika Shikshan</i>

Abstract

Like conceptions of childhood, notions of ideal girlhood are mediated by ideological frameworks, institutions and practices related to gender, community and nation. This article examines these discourses in the context of Hindu girlhood as represented in Balika Shikshan (Education for Girls), a publication of Vidya Bharati, the educational wing of the Hindu nationalist organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Published in 2003, Balika Shikshan is designed as a guidebook for teachers, delineating the essentials of relevant knowledge for Hindu girls. The article discusses the historical and ideological contours of the knowledge proposed in this text and the pedagogical demands of its transaction. It also attempts to deconstruct, through the knowledge and implied pedagogy of the text, the image of the Hindu girl for whom it is intended.