Friday, February 24, 2023

Fighting for suffrage in 1920s India By Harini Nagendra

LUCY BURDETTE: I loved our guest's first mystery, set in Bangalore, India--and I wasn't the only one. It made a huge splash. I'm delighted to welcome Harini to talk about the background for book two, coming this spring. Welcome Harini!


HARINI NAGENDRA: Mary Poppins was one of my favourite movies as a child. I love musicals (always have). It’s been years since I saw the movie, but I remember the song “Sister Suffragette” so well. For a young girl growing up in India in the 1970s, its message was heady and hilarious. Soldiers in petticoats, these women sang defiantly, “Our daughters’ daughters will adore us.” 

That’s why it was such a thrill for me when I dived into documents about 1920s Bangalore, for book 2 in my colonial Bangalore cosy mystery series, The Bangalore Detectives Club – and found a treasure trove of documents about women fighting for the right to vote in India. Why had I never heard these stories before? 



Reading more, I learnt that although Britain granted the rights for women to vote in 1918 (though only for women who held property), the same rights did not extend to other parts of the British Empire. Women across India organized to demand change, arguing for the right to vote, and to be voted to power. 

Their fight was dismissed by many prominent men, but supported by others. In a long debate in the 1922 Mysore Representative Assembly (colonial Bangalore belonged to the Mysore State), one member argued that “my sisters are as intelligent as my brothers” – a fact that should have been self-evident. Another man rejected his argument, saying that it would be an insult to women to ask them to take on outside responsibilities, exposing them to the indelicacies of the public eye. Women were goddesses of their homes. In short, the ‘right’ place for women was in the kitchen, taking care of their families. 

Undeterred by such specious arguments, women in India continued to fight for suffrage. Since they were not allowed into the assemblies where such matters were debated, it was not easy to make their voice heard where it mattered. The Women’s Indian Association held protest meetings across British India. Their leaders communicated with counterparts in Sri Lanka, Britain and the USA, exchanging news and encouragement.  

The suffrage movement in India and Sri Lanka was more restrained than in the UK and USA. Public protests were rare, and protestors refrained from public acts of dissent like chaining themselves to carriage wheels. Indian suffragists were aware of the need to respect the social mores of the times. Instead, they linked themselves with the Indian Nationalist Movement, thereby gaining wider support, and working strategically within each province. In 1919, the movement obtained its first victory, when the Madras City Council allowed women to vote (but not to stand for elections). From there on, they made steady inroads across the British Provinces and Princely States. 

In April 1922, after the series of debates in the Legislative Council that I described, women in Mysore State were given the right to participate in elections. 19 year old Kaveri Murthy, the heroine of my series, would have been thrilled. A strong feminist with a supportive husband, Kaveri struggles to deal with the strictures passed by her judgmental mother-in-law Bhargavi in the first book of the series, The Bangalore Detectives Club. Bhargavi disapproves of everything Kaveri does – studying mathematics, swimming in a public pool, sleuthing to solve crimes, everything. To simplify the plot and let Kaveri get on with her sleuthing, I sent Bhargavi to visit a sick relative part-way through book 1, keeping her off-stage.


But you can’t escape your mother-in-law forever. In Murder Under A Red Moon, the second in the series, Bhargavi is back – and Kaveri wants to figure out a way to make peace with her. She’s not willing to change her character and become meek, mild and compliant, though. Drawn into investigating another murder, Kaveri gets to meet a number of strong independent women, including a suffragist. Coffee Pudi Sakamma, a child widow who reinvented herself as a coffee entrepreneur, establishing a prominent coffee powder business in Bangalore in 1920, was the first woman nominated to the Mysore Representative Assembly. I was so inspired by Sakamma that I had to work her into my second book – she is the inspiration for one of the main characters in Murder Under A Red Moon. 

I had loads of fun following up on the research for this book, even though it took me down a number of fascinating rabbit holes and I wasted far too much time on it. Winifred Banks was spot-on when she sang in Mary Poppins that “Our daughters’ daughters will adore us”. We do, we do!  

Questions for Harini? She’ll be visiting us when the time difference allows!


Bio:

Harini Nagendra is a professor of ecology at Azim Premji University. She is internationally recognized for her scholarship on sustainability, with honors from the US National Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy, among others.

Her non-fiction books include Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present and Future, and Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities, which received the 2020 Publishing Next Awards for best English non-fiction book in India.

The Bangalore Detectives Club, her first crime fiction novel, is a New York Times Notable Book of 2022, nominated for an Agatha and a Left Coast Crime award.

Harini lives in Bangalore with her family, in a home filled with maps. She loves trees, mysteries, and traditional recipes. She can be reached via her website, www.harininagendra.com, on twitter @HariniNagendra, Instagram @harini.nagendra and Facebook


About Murder Under A Red Moon

The latest novel in the acclaimed Bangalore Detectives Club series finds amateur sleuth Kaveri Murthy uncovering a new murder during the blood moon eclipse.

When new bride Kaveri Murthy reluctantly agrees to investigate a minor crime to please her domineering mother-in-law—during the blood moon eclipse, no less—she doesn't expect, once again, to stumble upon a murder.

With anti-British sentiment on the rise, a charismatic religious leader growing in influence, and the fight for women's suffrage gaining steam, Bangalore is turning out to be a far more dangerous and treacherous place than Kaveri ever imagined—and everyone's motives are suspect.

Together with the Bangalore Detectives Club—a mixed bag of street urchins, nosy neighbours, an ex-prostitute, and a policeman's wife— Kaveri once again sleuths in her sari and hunts for clues in her beloved 1920s Ford.

But when her life is suddenly put in danger, Kaveri realizes that she might be getting uncomfortably close to the truth. So she must now draw on her wits and find the killer . . . before they find her.


53 comments:

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  2. Congratulations, Harini, on your new book . . . it sounds fascinating and now I'm wondering just how things will work out between Kaveri and her mother-in-law . . . .

    The story of India's early suffrage movement is quite interesting . . . sadly, it does seem as if women have always had to fight for the right to vote . . . .

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    1. Thank you Joan! Yes, women have always had to fight for the rights to vote - the differences between the approach taken by women in India and the US is very fascinating. The 1920s is a time of great change, and Kaveri and her mother-in-law have quite a large gap in the way they think... I had a lot of fun figuring out how they would approach each other's differences, whether with hostility, or an interest in bridging the gap.

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    2. Harini, I can't wait to read about Kaveri and her mother-in-law wrestling with the changes in their lives!

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    3. Thanks Lucy. I had so much fun writing this one. I loved my mother-in-law - a wonderful, strong woman who lived with us for many years before she passed away - but I know so others who have struggled to develop a good relationship with theirs. It's great when people in the same house get along, but doesn't always happen.

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  3. Congratulations on your upcoming release.

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  4. Hello, Harini, and thanks for the information on women's suffrage in India. I was ignorant about this fight and am glad to learn about it. In Switzerland, where I've lived for the past 35 years, women didn't get the federal vote until 1971 (it was turned down in 1958), and one canton only gave in and let women vote locally in 1990! Hard to believe, isn't it?

    I'm glad to be introduced to both your books and look forward to starting with #1!

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    1. Kim, I didn't know this about Switzerland! I hope the last canton that gave in also allows women to stand for elections - that took a few more years, in British India. The Mysore State Legislative Assembly had its first woman representative (two women in the same year, actually) in 1934, which was a delight to discover. Thanks for reading the post, and I hope you like the books!

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  5. Congratulations! This sounds like a wonderful new series. My husband is from Chennai, but worked in Bangalore years ago before he immigrated to the U.S. I love mysteries and I'm always interested in Indian authors but there aren't many mystery series set in Bangalore, so this doubly enticing for me. Two new books for the TBR stack!

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    1. Hi Elizabeth, how lovely to hear your husband is from Chennai and worked in Bangalore. Thanks to the books, I have now met so many people who lived and worked in the city, or visited some years back, and it's always great - despite the many changes over the years, it's still my favorite city. I really hope you like the books- and that he does too.

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  6. Wonderful research, Harini. Those women were so courageous and persistent. Much to admire.

    I'm looking forward to the second book!

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    1. Thanks Edith - the women were incredibly courageous, and so inspiring. I could not believe what some of them managed to achieve - despite being married even as young as 13, and left widowed, with multiple children in a few short years. As part of my ecology research on Bangalore, I interviewed my friend's grandmother. Then in her 90s, she was a single mom, who raised 10 children, and yet found the time to single handedly save a local park from land sharks. When I asked her how she did it, she told me that if we really want to do something, we'll always find the time. When book writing seems impossible to squeeze into a very full day of work plus home stuff, I think of her.

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    2. What an amazing woman! She’s a role model for all of us!

      DebRo

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    3. "if we really want to do something, we'll always find the time" - I love this. Similar to what I say to people who come up to me after a book talk and say they want to write a book but they don't have time!

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    4. Your friend had a wise grandmother indeed!

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  7. Harini, your series is going straight onto my "must read" list. I am very interested in learning about the suffrage movement and intrigued by stories about India. What I know about India would fill a teaspoon, but little by little it will be a tablespoon. The new book sounds wonderful!

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    1. Judy, I love the teaspoon vs tablespoon analogy! I spent a few great years in Bloomington Indiana (at Indiana University), and learnt so much about the midwest from reading books set in those parts of the world. I hope you enjoy the book!

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  8. India has outdone us in one major respect: having had a woman Prime Minister. How fascinating to read about the struggles for suffrage, and with a perspective I had known, but not understood until now. Not having representation in the ruling bodies means persuading some to advocate for a faction that may go against their own best interests. With that in mind, it's practically a miracle that it happened at all.

    I love reading about cultures I know little about, and am excited to read about Kaveri and Bangalore. Congratulations, Harini.

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    1. I meant to add that one of my daughters works in the renewable energy field, and is very involved with sustainability. It's wonderful to think of women around the world, joined by this common cause that is so vital to humanity.

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    2. Three cheers for women in sustainability! We need more than a village this time round, to get the world back on track. It's great to hear about your daughter's important work, Karen. Indira Gandhi was one of the world's first women Prime Ministers, and sadly there continue to be such few of them - I hope my daughter's generation, and yours, will get to see a different world!

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    3. Yes, I so hope so, too--a better, more stable one.

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    4. Have you read James Ziskin’s latest book about India in 1975? You might find it interesting to see the political actions of Indira Ghandi were similar but more extreme than our former gangster President. She is not someone to hold up as an example of a women political leader.

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  9. Harini, I also wonder how you got from ecology professor to mystery writer--two wonderful accomplishments!

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    1. Lucy, I'm smiling as I type this because I started with writing fiction! I wrote 'books' for my father starting when I was about eight, and he was my best and most encouraging captive audience. I kept writing - mostly short stories and limericks - but once I started to write about my scientific work, I found it hard to return to fiction. I had to learn how to switch off my linear, write-to-tight-word-count non-fiction writing brain. It took me 11 years to get from the start of my mystery to the end, rewriting the plot 3 times - and then doing it over once more after I sold the book! I'm better at balancing the two now... I get my fiction writing in before or after my work day, so I can switch gears more easily...

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  10. Harini, I loved your first book and I’m looking forward to reading Murder Under a Red Moon, keeping your post in mind.
    Danielle

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    1. I'm so thrilled to hear that, Danielle! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the further adventures of Kaveri (and her mother-in-law).

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  11. Lucy, about yesterday’s post, je suis certaine que tu vas retrouver ton vocabulaire français très rapidement :)
    Danielle

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    1. Danielle, maybe you could give all of us help refreshing our conversational French.

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  12. HARINI: Congratulations on the Agatha and Lefty award nominations for your first book, and the release of book #2!

    India was ahead of Canada in giving women the right to vote. All Canadian provinces (except Quebec) gave white/black women the right to vote in 1922 but ASIAN & INDIGENOUS women were not allowed to vote until 1948, and 1960, respectively.

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    1. Grace, my jaw just dropped. Unreal!

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    2. Oh yikes, Grace. How difficult their journey must have been.

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    3. And thank you for the kind words! I'm so thrilled about the nominations, and feel extraordinarily fortunate. Mystery writers are such a supportive community, and especially welcoming of new members. I'm going to Malice in April, and very excited about attending my very first mystery convention.

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  13. How did I miss your first book? I love historical fiction! How clever of the suffragists to link themselves to a powerful new party. I hope they were able to avoid the violence and mistreatment women in the U.S. and Great Britain had to endure while seeking the vote. Congratulations Harini! I can't wait to read your series!

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    1. Thanks Pat! The women were incredibly smart and strategic about navigating through society to get what they wanted. There was a lot of violence and mistreatment of course, but not so much in public, or related to the fight for suffrage. It seems like a very different pathway, both for India and Sri Lanka.

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  14. Harini, congratulations on the second book in your series. That cover is absolutely gorgeous! I like starting at the beginning of a series whenever possible, so I'll have two books to read. Yay!

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    1. Thanks Flora - I look forward to your reading them! I love the covers too. And I'm a big fan of starting at the beginning :-)

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  15. Congratulations on Murder under a Red Moon.

    How brave those early suffragettes were. They had so much to lose!

    Looking forward to reading your latest.

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    1. Yes, they did, Kait. What gets me is that when they were finally granted the right to vote, most of the time, it was only for women who owned property. Which was - not most women. The same as it was in the UK. We've come a long way since then, thankfully, even though there's much to be done yet...

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  16. Congratulations, Harini on your new mystery series! Reading this post reminded me of a Maisie Dobbs mystery about women from India. Maisie's client hires Maisie to investigate what happened to his sister. She wanted to start a school for girls in India before she died.

    There is also the Henna Artist series by Alka Joshi. It is historical fiction. Loved the books.

    Questions:

    Where did your Kaveri go to school or was she educated at home?

    Which caste is Kaveri from?

    Diana

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    1. I love the Maisie Dobbs series but I've missed this one, Diana - I must go look it up. And the Henna Artist. Both sound fascinating, thanks for sharing. Kaveri went to the Maharani Girls School in Mysore - run by the queen of Mysore, who was a keen proponent of education for women. She is born into an upper caste, Brahmin family, but hates the injustice that the caste system imposes on so many others.

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  17. I can hardly wait to read this . . . strong women! Students have echoed that Mary Poppins song to thank me and other sisters of the second wave of feminism for the gains we made, and which it seems we now need to defend . . . again. Persist!

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    1. Well done Suffragettes! I love the Mary Poppins song too. I was just listening to it for inspiration this morning, while writing Book 3 (I'm struggling through the saggy middle now, aargh.)

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  18. Welcome welcome! This is such a wonderful story, and now I am singing, too. And all of you reds and readers, you should know that the fabulous Harini will be in The Back Room very soon! Check the-Back-room.org to register before the session fills up! Cannot wait!

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    1. Hank, I can't wait to be in The Back Room - so excited about doing this. Thank you for inviting me to it. I had a great time on my previous visit to Jungle Red Writers, and this time has been such fun too.

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  19. Wow, who knew this? Not me until now. Adding these two books to my huge TBR list. Thank you for your post!

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  20. Harini, I loved your first book, so I'm excited to read MURDER UNDER A RED MOON!

    What strikes me are how the same tired excuses for denying women their right to vote were repeated in Great Britan, the US, India, and undoubtedly in Switzerland, the last European country to enact female suffrage (in 1971!!) When of course, the real reason is, and always will be, "We have power and we don't want to share."

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    1. I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed book 1, Julia! Yes you're absolutely right, it's the same old excuses that keep getting trotted our - whether to exclude women, or any minorities - 'culture and tradition ' or the supposed need to maintain quality

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  21. Congratulations on book 2, Harini. What a great research hole to fall down.

    Julia is right - it's always the same excuses, just different words, isn't it?

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    1. Thanks Liz. It's been such a fun topic to research - I wish we had some non-fiction books that told us this history, as it's not as well known as it should be. Perhaps a good topic for a new non-fiction book some day!
      Julia is so right! Some things never seem to change - even though its obvious these 'reasons' are self-serving and meaningless

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  22. Harini, I loved your first book, too, and can't wait to read the new one. And what a gorgeous cover! It's such a fascinating time and I've loved learning more about India.

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    1. Deborah, I'm so glad to hear that! I love the cover of book 2 so much too... (am I allowed to say that? :-)) and I hope you like reading what's inside.

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