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Shall the Twain Ever Meet? The Cultural Politics of Psychoanalysis in India

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Psychology in Modern India

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Abstract

Drawing upon the postcolonial science studies framework, this chapter explores some of the major facets of psychoanalysis’s academic and professional journey in India. It is observed that although the personal quality of Grindrasekhar Bose, its founder, was very crucial in the institutionalization of psychoanalysis in India, the role of psychological principles embedded in the Hindu religious–philosophical systems was very significant in this accomplishment. Though Freud appreciated Bose’s ideas of the opposite wish, a desire to become a woman in place of showing castration fear, and overcoming the authority of father instead of surrendering to him to resolve Oedipus conflict among Indian male patients, he did not include them as part of his theory. After Bose’s demise, psychoanalysis gradually lost its prominence in academic psychology and psychiatry but continues to exist as a pale shadow of its glorious past. Although the Indian Psychoanalytical Society and some other psychoanalytical societies in other cities still exist, their vibrancy and influence have declined substantially. However, of late psychoanalysis has become very popular among the researchers involved in literary criticism, cultural studies, film studies, feminist, and postcolonial studies. The contributions of two psychoanalysts, Ashis Nandy and Sudhir Kakar, are internationally recognized and well-received by scholars from other social sciences. To build a comprehensive science of mind, the scholars of mainstream psychology and psychoanalysis need to recognize the values of each other. They need to develop collaborative projects on human subjectivities with a vision to achieve decolonization of self by deploying culturally rooted critical scholarship.

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Acknowledgment

The author gratefully acknowledges the suggestions of Prof. Girishwar Misra in preparing this essay. Some of the ideas and arguments articulated in this essay were generated over several sessions of discussion with him. He also provided some important readings that critically shaped the overall structure of this essay. He carefully read and edited the first draft of this essay and provided the feedback for the inclusion of some important issues. Prof. Sonali De read the second draft meticulously and provided few insightful inputs and comments, which helped me to nuance the arguments further. I deeply appreciate her noble gesture.

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  1. Zakir Husain Center for Educational Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

    Arvind Kumar Mishra

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  1. Arvind Kumar Mishra
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Delhi, Delhi, Delhi, India

    Girishwar Misra

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Nilanjana Sanyal

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Sonali De

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Mishra, A.K. (2021). Shall the Twain Ever Meet? The Cultural Politics of Psychoanalysis in India. In: Misra, G., Sanyal, N., De, S. (eds) Psychology in Modern India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4705-5_6

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