Indigenous Roots of Feminism: Culture, Subjectivity and Agency

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Feminism in India can trace its origins to the cultural traditions of the country more than is generally accepted. This book explores several foundational texts such as the epics, the Manusmriti, the Natyashastra, etc., and weaves their retellings and interpretations into feminist acts of resistance, both individual and collective, as they indicate the difference from western feminism in context, strategy and concerns of the movement in India.

The author places the development of feminism in a historical perspective; she traces connections as well as disruptions, and works with a consciousness of personal, socio-political and economic realities but resists submergence in data. Through her examination of real life positions and real life resistance strategies alongside those portrayed in the epics and through reinterpretations of ancient cultural narratives, the author charts the development of women’s agency, and more than everything else places feminism in India in its cultural environment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jasbir Jain

Jasbir Jain, writer and critic, Emeritus Fellow, university of Rajasthan, has worked extensively on the Indian novel. Amongst her recent publications are Women in Patriarchy and gendered realities, Human Spaces: The present work is third in a series of writings on the Indian novel and covers the post-independence period. Currently, she is working on the indigenous roots of feminism.