Most of the existing literature on Indian women tends to portray them either as victims or as heroes. However, a recent development has been the rise to prominence of conservative though independent women. This book explores this hitherto neglected dimension through an analysis of the lives and work of three contemporary women leaders in the Arya Samaj.Dr. Llewellyn traces the changing nature of the Arya Samaj’s programs for the uplift of women from the late nineteenth century, when it was considered a progressive organization, to the present when the Arya Samaj is largely considered communal andante-feminist. The author shows how the Arya Samaj has consistently projected a self-sacrificing maternalism as the highest ideal for Indian women and discusses the two contradictory effects of this attitude in today’s environment: this ideal has been denounced by feminists as being chauvinistic; yet women leaders in the Arya Samaj have been able to exploit this image to wield considerable power in Hindu nationalist politics. The author highlights this peculiar mix of sexism and communalism in rightist politics in India and the tensions inherent within the Arya Samaj in its programs for women.Based upon extensive fieldwork, the book brings to light a wealth of material originally written in Hindi and never before analyzed in English. The result is an important exploration of the live Hindu religious tradition. Dr. Llewellyn shows how this tradition is not about arcane rituals and ancient texts but about religious beliefs situated in specific contemporary social communities and their political consequences.A substantial contribution to women’s studies as well as to the study of Hindu nationalist politics, this book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of gender studies, history, religion, political science, and sociology.
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