Description
Book SynopsisOffers an innovative interpretation of the role that gender played in defining the Indian state during both the colonial and postcolonial eras. This book examines representations of "native" Indian women and shows how these representations were deployed to advance notions of Indian self-rule as well as to defend British imperialism.
Trade Review“
En-Gendering India is a lucid and intelligent study of the play of gender and sexuality in Indian nationalism. Sangeeta Ray cautions against the perception that Hindu nationalism is no longer relevant in an era of globalization and migration, arguing that it has simply entered a more expansive phase. This is an important and timely book.”—Jennifer Sharpe, University of California, Los Angeles
"A significant contribution to postcolonial and feminist studies. Ray’s scholarship is rigorous and persuasive, combining theoretical depth and erudition with original and nuanced textual analysis and interpretation."—Rajagopolan Radhakrishnan, University of Massachusetts
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Gender and Nation: Woman Warriors in Chatterjee’s
Devi Chaudhurani and
Anandamath 2. Woman as “Suttee”: The Construction of India in Three Victorian Narratives
3. Woman as Nation and a Nation of Women: Tagore’s
The Home and the World and Hosain’s
Sultana’s Dream 4. New Woman, New Nations: Writing the Partition in Desai’s
Clear Light of Day and Sidhwa’s
Cracking India Epilogue
Notes
Works Cited
Index
