Texts of War: The Religio-military Nexus and Construction of Gender Identity in Pakistan and India

Abstract

This paper will attempt to explore certain dynamics of the ideological field that enables the production, dissemination, and perception ofgendered images, and associated with these, gendered practices in the socio-political communities of Pakistan and India. These symbiotic relations highlight the heroism required of the male citizens of Pakistan and India in times of crises foregrounded against the sacrifices of the female citizens. Taking up a particular moment in the history of Pakistan and India, the author analyzes how a belligerent attitude towards the other is valorized and the symbol of the feminine is used to rob any opposition to dominant thought (as in excercizing a policy of restraint and pacifism). There is a need now to demilitarize the social text in the two countries and envision a soci ety in which gender identities are not created either for dominance or subordination.

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