27/12/2025
Real Empowerment and the Discursive Landscape of Pseudo-Feminism
A Civilizational and Textual Analysis
Contemporary debates on feminism—particularly within India’s rapidly evolving socio-political sphere—have become increasingly characterized by rhetorical excess, ideological polarization, and a tendency toward symbolic performativity. While many voices claim to champion women’s rights, the discourse frequently becomes detached from lived experience, resulting in what may be termed pseudo-feminism: an activism centered more on visibility than on substantive structural transformation.
Within this contested terrain, India’s civilizational heritage offers a markedly different interpretive paradigm—one in which the feminine principle (śakti) is not merely acknowledged but celebrated as foundational to cosmic and social order. Long preceding modern feminist frameworks, Indic thought articulated a profound metaphysics of feminine power that remains embedded in ritual, literature, and cultural memory.
A Civilizational Accounting of the Feminine: Textual Foundations
In Sanātana philosophy, the feminine is neither subordinate nor peripheral; it is ontologically indispensable. This worldview is encapsulated in the classical verse from the Devī Māhātmya:
“Śivaḥ śaktyā yukto yadi bhavati śaktaḥ prabhavitum;
Na cedevaṁ devo na khalu kuśalaḥ spanditum api.”
(Devī Māhātmya, 5.25 / 11.10)
Translation: Shiva is capable of creation only when united with Shakti; without her, he cannot even stir.
This metaphysical assertion underscores that energy and consciousness, the feminine and the masculine, exist in reciprocal interdependence. The dignity of women is thus embedded within the very grammar of creation.
The Vedic corpus reinforces this principle. In the Devī Sūkta of the Ṛgveda, the feminine speaks in the first person as the cosmic sovereign:
“Ahaṃ rāṣṭrī saṃgamani vasūnām…”
(Ṛgveda 10.125.1–8)
Translation (excerpt): I am the sovereign queen… I give birth to the Father on the summit of the world.
The feminine emerges here not only as generative force but as epistemic authority.
Similarly, the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa’s creation hymn illuminates the dynamic principle of manifestation, often interpreted as śakti:
“Sa eko’kāmayata bahu syām prajāyeya.”
(Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa 2.8.8.5)
Interpretation: The impulse toward creation—the desire to become many—is often understood as the awakening of feminine creative energy.
Ritual Embodiment of Feminine Power
The reverence of the feminine in India is not confined to philosophical abstraction. It is enacted through vibrant, continuous ritual practice—across the Śakti Pīṭhas, in local goddess worship, and in festivals such as Navarātri., which honor the multiple facets of the Goddess as strength (durgā), wisdom (sarasvatī), and prosperity (lakṣmī). These forms symbolize not merely divine presence but ethical ideals for human society.
The moral imperative to honor women is explicitly codified in classical texts. The Manusmṛti declares:
“Yatra nāryastu pūjyante ramante tatra devatāḥ;
Yatraitās tu na pūjyante sarvāstatrāphalāḥ kriyāḥ.”
(Manusmṛti 3.56)
Translation: Where women are revered, the gods rejoice; where they are not, all rituals become fruitless.
A related formulation appears in the Mahābhārata:
“Striyaḥ pūjyante hi yatra, ramante tatra devatāḥ.”
(Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva 70.12)
Together, these verses establish an ethical horizon within which women’s dignity is integral to social well-being.
Modern Feminism and the Question of Cultural Alignment
While India’s traditional ethos affirms the centrality of feminine power, contemporary gender challenges—economic inequality, limited political representation, social violence—necessitate modern interventions. However, friction arises when feminist models imported from Western intellectual traditions are applied uncritically to Indian society, producing frameworks that lack cultural resonance.
Such misalignment may reduce feminism to a performance of ideological anger or identity branding, thereby diluting its transformative potential. In this context, pseudo-feminism obscures deeper systems of empowerment that are both indigenous and historically grounded.
Toward a Synthesized Paradigm-
Rather than viewing traditional and modern frameworks as antagonistic, a more productive approach lies in synthesis. Indic civilizational thought provides a normative foundation—rooted in reverence, relationality, and metaphysical coherence—while contemporary feminist theory contributes necessary tools for rights-based reform and institutional justice.
Together, they form a composite vision of empowerment: one in which cultural memory and modern equality intersect.
The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa further illuminates the universality of feminine presence:
“Yā devī sarvabhūteṣu śakti-rūpeṇa saṃsthitā…”
(Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, liturgical tradition cited in Devī worship)
Translation: The Goddess who dwells in all beings as energy…
Such verses embody a framework where empowerment is neither transient nor ideological—it is an enduring ethical and cosmological principle.
Conclusion
In an age of discursive noise and fragmented identities, India’s civilizational message remains remarkably clear: feminine power is not a rhetorical device but the cornerstone of existence. The challenge ahead lies not merely in remembering this heritage but in institutionalizing it—translating metaphysical reverence into tangible rights, social security, and equitable opportunity.
A synthesis of tradition and modernity offers the most compelling pathway: one that honors the past, engages the present, and shapes a more just future.
By Rahul Kilam
