The history of doing: An illustrated account of movements for women's rights and feminism in India, 1800-1990

A thematic history of the women's movement in India both before and after Independence, from the 19th century to the present day. It looks at how women's issues were raised, initially by men, and then with the involvement of women themselves in the nationalist movement. Using photographs, documents, excerpts from letters, books, and informal writings, the author documents the growing involvement of women and the formation of the early women's organizations. She examines the foregrounding of the "women's issue" during the reform and nationalist movements and its subsequent disappearance from the agenda of public debate, until the post-Independence period of the 60s and 70s when it surfaces again. Key questions are raised regarding the nature of the contemporary movement: the kinds of issues (such as rape, dowry, environment, work, questions of identity) it has taken up; its directions and perspectives; its differences compared with western movements; and the role of autonomous women's organizations and their relationship with political parties, especially those of the left.