Iravati Kaif lived a life different from those around her.
Born in British-ruled India, a time when women didn’t have many rights and freedoms, Kaif did the unthinkable: She furthered her studies abroad, becoming a university professor and India’s first female anthropologist.
She also married the man of her choice, swam in a bathing suit, drove a motorcycle, and even dared to challenge the racist assumptions of her doctoral advisor, the renowned German anthropologist Eugen Fischer.
Her writings on Indian culture and civilization and its caste system were groundbreaking and part of Indian university curricula. However, she remains an obscure figure in history and much about her life remains unknown.
Her granddaughter Urmilla Deshpande and scholar Thiago Pinto Barbosa wrote a book titled Iluka: Iravati Kaif “Irawati Karve’s Extraordinary Life,” a new book, reveals her fascinating life and the obstacles she faced as she bravely blazed an inspiring path for women and men alike.
Born in Myanmar (now Myanmar) in 1905, Irawati was named after the Irrawaddy River. The only girl among six siblings, she was doted on by her family and grew up in a comfortable environment.
But the young girl’s life takes an unexpected turn, and these experiences shape her character. In addition to strong women, Iravati also encountered compassionate, progressive men in her life who paved the way for her to break down barriers and cheered her on when she did so.
At the age of seven, Iravati was sent to boarding school in Pune – a rare opportunity provided by her father at a time when most girls were forced into marriage. In Pune, she met renowned educationist RP Paranjpye, whose family informally adopted Irawati and raised her as their own.
In the Paranjpye household, Iravati was exposed to a lifestyle that valued critical thinking and righteous living, even if it meant going against the norms of Indian society. “Appa” or her “second father” as she was affectionately called by Paranjipi Irawati, was a man far ahead of his time.
Irawati Karve and her husband Dinkar – She married the man of her choice [Urmilla Deshpande]
A university president and a staunch supporter of women’s education, he was also an atheist. Through him, Iravati discovered the fascinating world of social sciences and its impact on society.
When Iravati decided to study for a PhD in anthropology in Berlin, despite the objections of her biological father, she found support from Palanipi and her husband, Dinka Kaif, a science professor.
After a few days’ boat trip, she arrived in the German city in 1927 and began studying for a degree under Fisher, the famous professor of anthropology and eugenics.
At that time, Germany had not yet been affected by World War I and Hitler had not yet come to power. But the specter of anti-Semitism has begun to rear its head. Iravati witnessed this hatred when one day she discovered that a Jewish student in her building had been murdered.
In the book, the author describes the fear, shock and disgust Iravati felt when she saw the man’s body lying on the sidewalk outside her building, blood seeping from the concrete.
Iravati struggled with these emotions while researching the paper Fisher assigned: Proving that white Europeans were more logical and rational—and therefore racially superior to nonwhite Europeans. This required careful study and measurements of 149 human skulls.
Fisher hypothesized that white Europeans had asymmetrical skulls to accommodate a larger right frontal lobe, considered a sign of higher intelligence. However, Iravati’s study found no correlation between race and skull asymmetry.
“She contradicted Fisher’s hypothesis, of course, but also the institute’s theory and the prevailing theory of the time,” the authors write in the book.
Risking the wrath of her advisor and losing her degree, she boldly presented her findings. Fisher gave her the lowest score, but her research critically and scientifically rejects the use of human differences to justify discrimination. (Later, the Nazis used Fisher’s theories of racial superiority to advance their agenda, and Fisher joined the Nazi Party.)
Irawati Karve on an archaeological expedition in India [Urmilla Deshpande]
Iravati displayed this drive and endless empathy throughout her life, especially towards the women she met.
In an era when it was unthinkable for a woman to live too far away from home, Iravati went to remote villages in India to conduct fieldwork after returning home, sometimes with male colleagues, sometimes with students and even children, to study the lives of people from various tribes.
She joins an archaeological expedition to find bones from 15,000 years ago, connecting the past and present. These grueling journeys took her deep into forests and rugged terrain, lasting weeks or months, and the book describes her sleeping in barns or truck compartments, often with very little to eat for days.
Iravati also stood up to social and personal prejudices while interacting with people from all walks of life.
The author describes how Irawati, a Chitpavan Brahmin from an upper-caste Hindu community that was traditionally vegetarian, bravely ate part of the raw meat provided by the tribal leader she wished to study. She viewed this as a gesture of friendship and a test of loyalty, and responded with openness and curiosity.
Her research developed a deep empathy for humanity that led her to later criticize interfaith fundamentalism, including Hinduism. She believed that India belonged to all who called it home.
The book recounts a moment when, while reflecting on the horrors inflicted on the Jewish people by the Nazis, Iravati’s mind wandered to a shocking realization that would forever change her view of humanity.
“In these reflections, Iravati learned the hardest lesson of Hindu philosophy: everything is you,” the authors write.
Irawati died in 1970, but her legacy lives on through her work and the people she continues to inspire.
