Pushpamala N's Photo-Performances Critique India's Nationalist Maternal Metaphors

Since 2005, Pushpamala N's ongoing Mother India Project has been a critical examination of how the female body is utilized to propagate a limited Hindu nationalist identity. The artist from Bengaluru adopts various archetypes to reveal the patriarchal constraints on women's roles. Her work interrogates the 19th-century representation of Bharat Mata, originally depicted in Abanindranath Tagore's 1905 artwork. Notable pieces such as Good Habits/Birth Control (2016) and Hygiene/Swachh (2015) address themes of reproductive responsibilities and governmental messaging. The maternal symbolism encompasses regional deities, while the historical divisions in language have exacerbated sectarian tensions, as discussed in Christopher King's 1994 publication. Recent actions by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad demonstrate a push for Hindu dominance, evident in Karnataka's 2022 hijab ban and the advocacy for Hindi as the national language.