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^^^^'^H E CURRENT' SUBORDINATE POSITION of Indian women in social, m legal and cultural realms is claimed by fundamentalists to be based on Jim Hindu tradition and supported by religious scriptures.Centuries-old gender roles' for women are depicted as Hindu traditions which need to be protected.Those contesting these views are condemned as attacking Hinduism itself.This article will examine the historical and scriptural basis, if any, of these submissive female gender roles and vvall provide arguments against their current traditional interpretation.While these roles do have historical roots in the Hindu culture, the scriptural "validation" is a political and social tool used by funda- mentalist forces through the ages to justify and perpetuate the oppression of Hindu women.I wall further argue that the religious scriptures themselves are open to several interpretations, but only those that perpetuate the patriarchal^ concept of the "ideal" Hindu woman have been espoused by the majority of the Brahamanical class.This article will deconstruct female gender roles through a careful examination of specific characters in the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha, to illustrate an alternate and perhaps more complete picture of the position of women.The Laws of Manu,^which are frequently quoted by fundamentalists, brahmin priests and others to justify the submissive role ofwomen as "natural," will also be examined to present a more comprehen- sive picture.Religious and cultural norms in India are interwoven and, as such, have a tremendous impact on the daily lives' of both women and men.In evaluating the gender roles in the Hindu epics, it becomes necessary to examine the fol- lovvdng: the orientation of the primary authors, the individuals who later inter- pret and transmit them, and whether a selective reading has been utilized to
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