Visual Representations of Women in Independence-Era Posters

सार

This paper investigates the gendered visual culture of the Indian independence movement by analyzing representations of women in political posters from 1920 to 1947. It explores how these visual artifacts both challenged and reinforced traditional gender norms within the context of anti colonial nationalism. Women were frequently depicted as divine figures, such as Bharat Mata, symbolizing the sacredness of the homeland (Kumar, 1993), or as revolutionary heroines like Rani Lakshmibai, evoking martial valor (Roy, 2007). Simultaneously, domestic imagery portrayed women spinning the charkha or supporting male revolutionaries, aligning their roles with Gandhian ideals of nonviolence and domestic virtue (Sinha, 2006). Drawing on feminist visual theory and semiotic analysis, this study examines 15 posters archived in public and private collections to trace how nationalist imagery constructed a gendered imaginary of resistance. While the use of female iconography appeared to valorize women, it often contained patriarchal undertones by situating them in symbolic or supportive positions rather than granting them full political subjectivity (Thapar-Björkert, 2006). These representations served as ideological tools, shaping nationalist sentiment and public memory. The study concludes that visual portrayals of women were not neutral depictions but critical interventions in the construction of Indian identity. Through this lens, the paper reveals the enduring complexities of visual politics, gender, and nationalism in South Asian history.