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October 27, 1964. THE EGO FACTOR IN PSYCHOANALYSIS IN INDIA. T. C. Sinha, D. Sc.
Dr. Sinha, taking as his point of departure Freud's statements in Analysis Terminable and Interminable, pointed to the difficulties which arise in the psychoanalytic treatment due to penis envy in women and the struggle against the passive feminine attitude in man. He noted that the concept of bisexuality is not a simple one to define from a psychological point of view; such terms as active and passive, for instance, can be applied to both masculine and feminine attitudes and 'the whole problem again boils down to the question of identification in a subject-object relationship.' The author suggests a re-examination of the question of the psychological preference for a penis. In the modified matriarchal tribal society of the Garos in Assam (India), the castration complex does not seem to be very prominent in women; the real difficulty lies not in the acceptance of the woman's role. In his view it is the inflated and false vanity which the ego attaches to the male role, that is the most difficult factor to overcome.
Two cases (a male and a female) were presented to illustrate the role of the castration complex and the ego's reaction to it. Difficulty in accepting femininity did not appear to be due to overvaluation of the penis, but to the social devaluation of the feminine role with the consequent low ego value assigned to it. In these patients the basic fear involved the feeling of void and aloneness. The desire to take a masculine role is seen as a defense against these fears by maintaining the primary narcissistic valuations.
Dr. Sinha noted the similarities between many aspects of psychoanalytic theory and the findings of Sankhya philosophy, the basis of Yoga.