Samyukta: A Journal of Gender and Culture

The Culture of the Pandemic: The Spectre of the Literary and the Afterlife of the Plague Narratives in Orhan Pamuk's Nights of Plague

Anu Lekshmi U G — 2025-12-31

The article analyses the discourses on the first, second, and third bubonic plague pandemics to reveal the contingencies associated with their interpretation, reinterpretation, and the revisionist literature on these events that have emerged across different time periods, framing a culture of the pandemic. The paper draws on the ideas of William Viney, Felicity Callard, and Angela Woods to argue that disciplinary boundaries, such as those between the arts, humanities, and social sciences, undermine the entangled web of knowledge systems that constitute biomedical culture. The critical scholarship in the modern era has been concerned with the encroachment of literary imagination in the narrativisations of plague in the pre-modern era. By the Enlightenment period, the narrative norm for describing an empirical and scientific phenomenon as a disease was perceived as a matter-of-fact descriptive account. The article analyses how the cultural imaginary of the plague pandemic is constructed between the interstices of disciplines. It examines how Orhan Pamuk’s Nights of Plague (2022), in a self-reflexive fashion, foregrounds the constructionality of plague narratives and exposes their modern cultural politics, which were intricately tied to the colonial agenda by initiating a resignification of the disease once described as the Oriental plague.

The Politics of Care: A Critical Analysis of Arogya Niketan

Jilu Jose Devasia — 2026-02-03

Literature plays a significant role in understanding the experience of illness and promotes an understanding of the lived reality. The lived reality is often miscommunicated and misinterpreted as the doctor is expected to possess all knowledge of illness that the patient undergoes. Moreover, the doctor hardly acknowledges the limitation to treat completely when illness is life threatening and carry the burden of saving, when extending and providing quality is the only possibility. The use of medical terminologies by doctors creates a gap between the doctor-patient relationship, as the affected feels a void between the people around. The void can be palpable when articulated effectively and the world of sickness is not misguided by assumptions and misconceptions like social stigmas and stereotypes on illness. Arogya Niketan by Tarasankar Banerjee explores human health, suffering and death in close quarters. The story revolves around the doctor, Jiban Moshay, who unravels an ailment and predict the longevity of the person by checking the pulse of the patient which is illogical. The conflict between Jiban Moshay and Pradyut alludes the treatment between ayurveda and allopathy and how ages before the southern perspective on holistic care of the patient, where medicine is not business but a means of vocation is installed. The gradual transition from holistic treatment to western concept of treating only the disease can be seen. The need for integrating human connection becomes a realization to Pradyut who witnesses the death of Moshay. The paper attempts to explore the entanglements in doctor-patient relationships by using the concept of Foucault's medical gaze. The concept of medical gaze seeks to establish how medical professionals objectify the 'patients’ body' from the 'patient's person The framework of critical medical humanities helps us to foster the need for empathy, ethics in medicine and the importance of social justice. Additionally, the non-medical aspects like infallibility, intuition, beliefs are interrogated.

My ‘experiences’ with Cinemeducation

Dr. P Ravi Shankar — 2026-02-03

In this article, the author explores his experiences with movie screening and activities at a medical school in the Caribbean. The process has been described in detail. The issues addressed during the movies and the activities are also mentioned. The author also highlights his experiences with facilitating workshops for faculty members during different medical education conferences. His experiences with webinars on cinemeducation are also mentioned.

Necropolitical Landscapes: Queer Death and Resistance in My Government Means to Kill Me

Ms. Malavika R — 2025-12-31

This article presents a queer necropolitical re-reading of Rasheed Newson’s My Government Means to Kill Me by placing the novel within the framework of state-sanctioned abandonment, racialized queer vulnerability, and resistance. Even though the novel is often looked at and read as a work of historical or LGBTQ fiction, this article tries to reread it through the lens of queer, drawing from the theoretical contributions of scholars like Michel Foucault, Achille Mbembe, and Jasbir Puar. It tries to analyse how institutions like the state, the prison-industrial complex, the medical system, and even certain segments of the queer community participate in regulating life and orchestrating slow death for marginalized queer subjects, especially poor and Black individuals. The analysis demonstrates how the novel exposes mechanisms of biopolitical neglect. This article argues that My Government Means to Kill Me does not simply document the AIDS crisis, or gay history in America. Rather, it offers a way to look at the necropolitical logic that continues to determine which lives are grievable and which are rendered disposable.

Fictionalised Portrayals of Organ Donation in Select Indian Movies: A Study Based on Medical Ethics

Ashish Manohar — 2026-02-03

Organ transplantation continues to be one of the most coveted achievements of the medical field. The field has evolved in leaps and bounds, significantly improving the quality of life. This has also meant that there is a case of heightened sensitivity around the discourse of organ donation. Despite the changing iterations around organ donation, it continues to be shrouded in ill-informed beliefs and unethical practices. The entertainment industry, over the years, has been a critical determiner in shaping public sentiments around the idea of organ donation with its varied portrayals. This paper attempts to parse the fictionalised portrayals of organ donation in select Indian movies, in a bid to engage with the representational schemas that signpost these depictions. To this end, the paper looks into five Indian films—Ship of Theseus (2012), Thank You (2015), Phir Zindagi (2015) and Traffic (2016). Critiquing the highly sensationalised and hyper-romanticised nature of organ donation in these storylines, the paper argues that there is a deliberate obliteration of the ethical quandaries that engender the very act of organ donation. The paper foregrounds the idea that the unidimensional rendering of organ donation as an act of benevolence, based on an inflated notion of moral obligation, tends to look past the overbearing factors involved in the positionalities of donor-receiver, including their class social affiliations and capital. Such uninformed portrayals, this paper argues, can only serve in occluding the cultural valence that the very idea of ‘body’ and its various imaginings occupy in the Indian social apparatus.

The Effectiveness of RPwD Act, 2016 in Providing Inclusive Education for Women with Disabilities in Mizoram

Dr. Lawmsangpuia Ralte — 2026-02-02

Women with disabilities have faced certain obstacles and barriers in their life. They have faced double burden and hardships of disabilities which is firstly exerted by their disabilities followed by their gender. Laws and legislations are crucial in providing inclusive development to all persons with disabilities, including the women with disabilities. Without proper implementation of legislations, women with disabilities are only confined to the four walls of their home and are further stigmatized and stereotyped by society. Hence, inclusive education is crucial to allow them to engage in educational activities which will enable them to progress further in life. This study uses mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the effectiveness of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 in providing inclusive education to persons with disabilities in Mizoram. This study focuses on selected 163 women with disabilities in Mizoram and studies their socio-economic conditions and the level of inclusive education’s success or failure in the state. The study ends with an analytical discussion of the issues and provide suggestive measures for the implementation of special inclusive education in the state.

Reframing Cancer Narratives as Narratives of Regeneration

Dr. Julie Dominic A — 2026-02-03

Stories are uniquely shaped by narrative techniques specific to their cultural context. Narratives reflect the traditions, ethnicities, and personal preferences of the cultures from which they originate. Arthur W. Frank states that recognising illness narratives “encourages closer attention to the stories ill persons tell; ultimately, to better listen to the ill” (76), and classifies these narratives into three types: Restitution, Chaos, and Quest. Narration is intricate because “Illness stories blend and intertwine various narrative elements” (Frank 76). Authentic storytelling integrates all these patterns, with each influencing the others. In Illness Narratives, it is believed that “all three narrative types are told, alternately and repeatedly” (Frank 76). Cancer narratives often begin in a chaotic state, later transcending to a healing stage, inspiring hope and ultimately urging a fresh perspective on life, with a desire to acquire new aspirations from traumatic experiences that transcend pathos. The study traces the trajectory of illness narratives. It demonstrates that although the initial stage may appear chaotic, it gradually reveals opportunities for recovery and overcoming hardships, culminating in the transformation and revitalisation of life by the conclusion. The primary texts driving this study include illness narratives such as Manisha Koirala’s (with Neelam Kumar) "Healed: How Cancer Gave Me a New Life" (2018), Dying to Be Me (2012) by Anita Moorjani, "Close to the Bone" (2019) written by Lisa Ray, and Neelam Kumar’s "To Cancer with Love: My Journey of Life" (2015). These are reviewed to support the study's arguments. Arthur W. Frank’s "The Wounded Storyteller" (1997) serves as the theoretical framework.

Role of Narrative-Memory Synergy in Memoirs Discussing Mental Illness

KRISHNA PRIYA S — 2026-01-07

Life narratives have gained significant traction lately with the influx of different types of literary forms within them. Autobiographical memory plays a pivotal role in formulating life narratives, imparting insight into the way memory encapsulates life and embodies experiences. Narrative and medicine come at a crossroads in the medical humanities that aim to enhance the interdisciplinary network between medicine and the humanities. Narratives offer a salient space for articulating the sufferings and embodying the inextricable conditions of an individual’s life. By allowing a vent to the bottled-up emotions and memories of hallowing experiences, autobiographical narratives like memoirs aid in distancing oneself from those unsettling experiences and embodying and encapsulating them authentically and effectively. The interdisciplinarity of the emerging medical and health humanities disciplines primarily stems from the illness narratives that aim to counter and interrogate the dominant voices of the biomedical approach. The present study qualitatively approach first person narratives of mental illness in the framework of Mad Studies, which is an emerging, activism-oriented theoretical framework, that rethinks madness by challenging prevailing understandings around it by It is a This paper explores how pertinent it is to integrate narrative-memory synergy into the field of medicine and specifically the mental health discipline to reiterate the power of narratives to bolster the subjectivity of those individuals often deemed as marginal and passive recipients in the discourse of medicine.

Kaavu theendal and Bharanipattu: A Sacred Manifestation of Drama Therapy

HARITHA H. VENKITESH — 2025-12-31

Kodungalloor Sree Kurumba Bhagavathy Temple is world-renowned for its annual Meena Bharani festival. It traditionally involves multiple rituals like Kozhikallu moodal (sacrifice of roosters), Kaavu Theendal (frenzied dance of oracles), Revathi Vilakku, Bharanipattu (singing of libellous ballads) and Chandanapottu Charthal. Because of its aesthetic vibrancy, cultural significance, and symbolic prominence, this festival has always grabbed the attention of academia. There exist numerous legends and stories associated with the chief deity, Bhadrakali or Kannagi, and the rituals of Meenabharani. Placing a lesser-known myth of Nalachan as a pivot point of understanding, the paper attempts to read the ritual performance of Kaavu theendal and Bharanipattu through the lens of a modern theatre approach called Drama therapy. With the use of therapeutic empathy, role-playing, dramatic projection and embodiment of intangible emotion, the devotees achieve a catharsis very similar to the one achieved in Drama therapy. Drawing from existing literature and discourse analysis, the study examines how these traditional performative practices, essentially used to appease the deity, also function as a form of therapeutic release for the participants. The study aims to identify the ritual performance of Kaavu theendal and Bharanipattu as a sacred and traditional guise of modern drama therapy.

Human Trafficking in India: Policy Gaps and Grassroots Solutions for Change

Prerna Pawar — 2026-02-03

: According to social media, reports and news channels, widespread human trafficking is one of the major issues in today’s time. The target group are mainly young girls and women who disappear more than men. One of the reasons for the increase in human trafficking in India is poverty. In addition to trafficking or smuggling for prostitution, ladies and girls also are sold and offered into forced marriages, in girls' deficit areas. Many social activists and NGOs are actively involved in numerous activities in addition to government implementation, in particular for the training and higher education of people at the community level and for the protection of the endangered class of society. The recent legislative amendment to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to define the term 'human trafficking' also shows a lack of seriousness on the part of the government. It is argued that the recent amendment is not sufficient to combat trafficking and a comprehensive legal reform is required to synergize different legislations and institutional support mechanisms. The paper begins with the definition of human trafficking navigating through the causes of trafficking, legal system, case studies and preventive measures emphasizing particularly on Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA) and IPC 370

Redefining Mental Health Care: A Human-Centred, Ethical Approach to Reducing Stigma

C S Prabha — 2026-02-03

The article explores the importance of adopting a human-centred, bioethical approach to mental health care to combat the pervasive stigma surrounding mental illness. Despite increasing awareness, societal prejudices and systemic inequities continue to hinder access to care, often exacerbating isolation and impeding recovery. The paper advocates for a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and inclusive mental health framework, emphasizing autonomy, respect, and justice as bioethical principles essential for reducing stigma. It discusses various forms of stigma: self-stigma, public stigma, and institutional stigma—and their impact on individuals’ well-being and healthcare outcomes. By incorporating trauma informed care, cultural competency, and peer support programs, mental health systems can foster a more compassionate and inclusive environment.

Insights into evolving patient-caregiver-provider dynamics within Indian healthcare: A critical perspective

Shraddha Namjoshi — 2025-12-31

In the Indian healthcare context, the triadic relationship between patient, caregiver, and physician is evolving amid diverse and ever-changing socio-cultural dynamics. Patients rely heavily on their caregivers to navigate complex healthcare systems. However, illnesses can profoundly impact these relationships, frequently shifting away from an egalitarian bond to one where caregiving responsibilities can strain emotional and physical resources. Additionally, the changing structure of families is altering how patients receive support and how the patient-caregiver dyad interacts with physicians and other healthcare professionals. In the past decade, there has been growing recognition of the need to incorporate supportive care that addresses the emotional, social, and practical aspects of healthcare management. As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, fostering trust, effective communication, and mutual respect among all parties remains essential for improving patient outcomes and overall healthcare delivery in India, especially in formulating culturally sensitive policies. This progress, however, requires evidence-based assessments of needs and the participation of allied healthcare professionals.

This critical perspective study explores the present dynamics of the patient-caregiver-healthcare provider relationship through existing literature and attempts to outline potential gaps in supportive care provision, examining Indian healthcare research through a socio-cultural lens. It also aims to highlight the possible interventions that can bridge these gaps, integrating tools and professionals to elevate the standards of care.

Strategic Health Communication in Kerala: Evaluating Governmental Approaches and Structural Challenges

Amrutha G. Pradeep — 2026-02-03

In the contemporary world, health communication has assumed greater significance than ever before. It integrated both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary efforts to widen its scope, applicability and dynamic nature (Rashid, 2012). Kerala, a state in India, has a unique paradox in the health communication landscape. Due to its strong public infrastructure and high literacy rates, the state employs various communication strategies, including trans-media storytelling and multilingual outreach, to disseminate health information effectively. Kerala also faces significant challenges in providing accurate and timely health information to the needy. This study analyses the prospects and challenges of health communication in Kerala, employing qualitative content analysis to examine the role, limitations, and efficacy of government strategies aimed at improving health communication for its populace.

The Invisible Threat: Unveiling the Impact of Anaemia on Women’s Life in Punjab

Dr. Richa Walia — 2026-02-03

“Anaemia is a condition in which the number and size of red blood cells, or the haemoglobin concentration, falls below an established cut-off value, consequently impairing the capacity of the blood to transport oxygen around the body" (WHO, 2011). Anaemia is one of the main health concerns in India; however it is often overlooked by people. There are numerous factors accountable for anaemia however; dietary inadequacy is regarded as one of the main determinants of anaemia. However, in the socio-cultural milieu like India there is a strong association between anaemia and socio-cultural and socio-economic factors. The paper examines the prevalence of anaemia among girls and women in the state of Punjab as anaemia burden in Punjab is alarmingly high. The paper also analyses the impact of anaemia on well being of the respondents. Lastly, it provides recommendations to the state government for anaemia management.

What Will They Think: A Choreography of Feminine Surveillance

Preethi Kethavath — 2026-01-09

This article theorizes feminine surveillance as a choreography of internalized ideology, where Indian womanhood is regulated not through overt discipline but through emotional scripts, sartorial cues, and social whispers. Drawing on Louis Althusser’s Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), Judith Butler’s gender performativity, and Sara Ahmed’s feminist killjoy, the essay maps how everyday acts—dressing, thanking, menstruating, walking at night—become ideological performances. Through cinematic critique (Mrs., 2024), personal anecdotes, and cultural rituals, the article explores how the “bad girl” archetype resists normative femininity by refusing apology, embracing visibility, and disrupting ideological rhythms. It proposes a feminist methodology rooted in emotional resonance, aesthetic resistance, and lived witnessing

Kiri in Avatar: The Way of Water: Disability, Difference, and Posthuman Embodiment in a Cinematic Ecosystem

Naila Anjum — 2026-01-02

This paper explores the character of Kiri in Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) through a disability studies lens, engaging with concepts of posthuman embodiment, crip ecologies, and the medical vs. social models of disability. Though not explicitly categorized as disabled, Kiri’s portrayal as neurologically and physically “othered” resonates with disability narratives of misunderstood difference, embodied nonconformity, and a spiritual reimagining of the body. Her seizure-like episodes and profound connection with Eywa position her outside normative frameworks of ability, evoking both medicalization and reverence. Using theoretical insights from Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Donna Haraway, and Alison Kafer, this paper argues that Kiri’s hybrid identity challenges ableist narratives and offers a posthuman, eco-spiritual vision of interdependence. The study concludes that Avatar: The Way of Water subtly celebrates embodied difference, offering a radical rethinking of ability through cinematic storytelling.

Reviewing Trauma Theory through Health Humanities: A Reading of Select Narratives on Miscarriage

Dr. Raj Sree M. S — 2026-02-03

Miscarriage as a form of reproductive loss and trauma constitutes a pervasive yet culturally marginalized phenomenon. Traditional trauma theory has been instrumental in elucidating the psychic impact of catastrophic events, yet its primary focus on extraordinary events such as war and assault excludes reproductive trauma, including miscarriage. This exclusion results in miscarriage trauma being largely unacknowledged in public and clinical domains, thereby exacerbating psychological suffering and complicating recovery. The health humanities paradigm introduces a novel framework that repositions trauma as a lived, embodied, and socially mediated phenomenon. This shift expands trauma discourse beyond the realm of psychic fragmentation and foregrounds embodied experience, meaning-making, and ethical care.

This study integrates trauma theory and health humanities to investigate miscarriage trauma through literary representations in selected narratives on miscarriage. The texts examined provide rich narrative spaces that convey miscarriage as embodied suffering embedded in socially fraught and culturally silenced contexts. This integrated framework elucidates the limits of trauma theory when used in isolation and highlights the scope of health humanities in expanding understandings of reproductive trauma by incorporating questions of embodiment and relationality.

This study examines how these novels portray miscarriage as trauma, assessing the explanatory power and limitations of trauma theory regarding narrative disruption and delayed grief, and demonstrating how health humanities expand trauma discourse by validating embodied grief. This study explores the role of literary narratives as testimonial forums that resist disenfranchisement and offer a platform for social recognition and healing. This approach has significant implications for reconfiguring clinical practices and literary criticism, fostering more holistic representations and responses to miscarriage trauma.

Status of women in higher education in nagaland

Menuokhrieno Chale — 2026-02-03

Women constitute almost half of the total population and play a substantial part not only in upbringing a child but also in the overall development of a country. For the progress of any nation, the higher education of women is important as it is through higher education that women can be empowered and significantly contribute to the alleviation of poverty, reducing inequality thereby, bridging the gender gaps, leading to a more balanced socio-economic disparity between genders and various social groups. The participation of women in higher education is indispensable for the growth of any country or nation. Depriving them of education would mean depriving half of the population of the right to education, adversely affecting the nation’s economy and hindering its progress and development. Today, women are excelling in every field, and even in higher education, women have made a progressive development both in terms of enrollment and participation. The present study aims to find out the status of women in higher education in Nagaland with regard to the number of teachers, students enrollment, Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR), academic performance, Gender Parity Index (GPI), and Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER).

"Earth and Equality: Ecofeminist Perspectives from the Central Himalayas of Uttarakhand"

Dr. Sandeep Kumar — 2026-02-03

Feminism is an ideological movement that aims to respect women's experiences, identities, knowledge, and powers and to make all women realise their full rights, which are gradually being assimilated even among the women of the third world. The new ideolical term eco-feminism is an insight that emerged in the 1970-1980 s in European countries, and is emerging all over the world as an ideological movement, as a powerful movement taking nature and the exploitation of women in parallel. Ecofeminism is an ecological critique of feminism. It opposes the patriarchal system that is based on the exploitation of women and the environment. It is a response to all the ideological dualities of nature being subservient to culture and woman being subservient to men. This paper is an attempt to explore the co-relationships, oppression and ideological responses of women's ecology in the central Himalayas, especially in Uttarakhand, and also to explore new dimensions of Eco feminine.

Rising above the Common: Remarkable Women of Murshidabad’s Royal Court

Dr. Firoj High Sarwar — 2026-02-03

A historical analysis highlighting the journey of Indian women's emancipation to their empowerment would definitely shed light on their rights and their status as well. In this perspective, it would be justifiable to gain knowledge on the rights and privileges of the royal ladies of Murshidabad, as it was one of the most vibrant political centers of India during the eighteenth century. Generally, women of Muslim royal families did not have the right to move or act freely. However, in the Royal Court of Murshidabad, some women enjoyed greater social mobility and even actively participated in public life, which is truly exceptional. Many a times, they exercised profound diplomatic influences on Nawabi politics and administration. Hence, this study reflects upon the extraordinary activities of royal women, within the traditional ambit of the late medieval patriarchal society. The article features the dynamic role of distinguished royal ladies of the Court of Murshidabad and analyzes their status quo, thus providing insight into the extent of women empowerment among the elite Muslims in early modern Bengal.

Reverberations of Caste & Gender in Select Novels of Contemporary Literature

Prathipa N — 2026-02-03

This paper attempts a comparative study of the novels Pyre by Perumal Murugan and Sangati by Bama in terms of Caste and Gender Oppression found in rural India. It aims at bringing out the nature of the two extreme ends of an Oppressive society. Pyre is an insightful narrative to be analysed on the basis of inter- caste marriage and its brutalities in a casteist society. The reverberations of honour killings are echoed in a reverse perspective. Tragic realism is a tool used in analysing this novel. Sangati is a plural narrative focusing on the lives of women in the society and the harsh realities they endure both within their caste, and overarching hierarchical structure of the society.

The concept of Double Oppression is highly vital in analysing this text.This study helps to identify the power structure of a casteist society and the dynamics of realities that are mirrored in fictional narratives, thereby bringing out the similarities and differences found between them in detail. Both the texts can be identified as a form of Protest Literature, that addresses social issues and advocates for a change in the society

Women Higher Education in Telangana

Dr.Gedam. Kamalakar — 2026-02-03

Women’s higher education in Telangana has undergone notable development in recent years, driven by government initiatives, socio-economic reforms, and evolving societal norms. Various state-sponsored schemes like the Fee Reimbursement Program and residential degree colleges for women have played a crucial role in increasing access to higher education, particularly for marginalized and rural communities. Women’s participation has grown significantly in fields such as the arts, sciences, and management, though challenges remain in areas like STEM education, safety, and infrastructure. Socio-cultural barriers, including early marriage and economic constraints, continue to restrict educational access for many women, especially in rural areas. However, rising trends such as skill-based education, research involvement, and the increasing promotion of female leadership in academia and entrepreneurship provide optimism for future advancements. This abstract reviews the current landscape of women’s higher education in Telangana, highlighting key policies, challenges, and the potential for further growth, particularly in the fields of STEM and leadership. Keywords: Access to Education, Government Initiatives, Socio-cultural Barriers, STEM Education, Skill Development, Educational Reforms, Gender Equity, Rural Education

‘A Revisit to The Journey of Contemporary Indian Women’s Movement Through the Lens of Local Governance’

Tanya Goyal — 2026-02-03

The contemporary Indian women's movement has undergone significant developments over the past several decades. This study aims to examine the journey of the contemporary Indian feminist ideas and movements from the time frame 1970-1990, specifically focusing on the trajectory of intersectional feminist campaigns, in the context of local governance. It will critically examine the maturity and challenges faced by the movements, particularly the issues of gender inequality and the need for substantive representation of women in governance, which is often linked with caste, class, urban, rural and community factors. Furthermore, the study will provide a brief and critical overview of the current status of local governance in India and look into a future perspective on the way forward. Overall, the study aims to contribute to the literature on contemporary Indian women's movements and explore the ways in which local governance can serve as a platform for advancing gender equality and women's empowerment in India.