Women, Politics & The State in India

Paper Code: 
WMS 401
Credits: 
3
Contact Hours: 
45.00
Max. Marks: 
100.00
Objective: 

This paper attempts to acquaint students with the position of Indian women in political sphere both as voters and as contestants, along with how the State Policies perceive women. This makes them aware of the rights and duties as stakeholders in the political sphere and equips them to become equal partners in the public domain.

9.00
Unit I: 
Fundamental Rights for women

Fundamental Rights for women as per the Constitution of India

 

9.00
Unit II: 
Women in Elections

Women in Elections as voters, as contestants

 

9.00
Unit III: 
Women in political decision making

Women in political decision making – dilemmas and contributions

 

 

9.00
Unit IV: 
Transition from tribe to state

Transition from tribe to state, impact on women’s status with reference to migration and rehabilitation

 

 

9.00
Unit V: 
Perception of women by the Indian State

Perception of women by the Indian State

Essential Readings: 

Unit II

Poonacha, Veena, ed. Women, Empowerment and Political Participation, RCWS, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai 1997

Unit IV

  1. ‘Indian Women Since Independence’ and ‘Consolidation of India as a Nation: Integration of Tribals’ in Chandra, Bipin; Mukherjee, Mridula; and Mukherjee, Aditya; India After Independence 1947-2000, Penguin Books, New Delhi 2002, pp 106-118, 451-461
  2. Virginius Xara, ‘Women and Gender in the Study of Tribes in India’, and Tiplut Nongbri, ‘Ethnicity and Gender: Identity Among the Khasis’ in Mary E John ed. Women’s Studies in India, A Reader, Penguin Books, 2008, pp 475-491

Unit V

  1. ‘Belonging: Women and Their Nations’ in Borders and Boundaries, Kali for Women, New Delhi 2007; pp 227-260
  2. ‘Whatever Happened to the Vedic Dasi? Orientalism, Nationalism and a Script for the Past’ in Sangari & Vaid (ed), Recasting Women, Kali for Women, pp 27-87
References: 
  1. Sinha, Niroj, Empowerment of Women Through Political Participation, Kalpaz Publications, Delhi, 2007
  2. Das, Veena, ed. Handbook of Indian Sociology, OUP, New Delhi 2004
  3. S. P. Sathe, Towards Gender Justice, RCWS, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, 1996
  4. Banerjee, Somya, National Policy for Women, Arise Publishers & Distributers, New Delhi, 2009
  5. Kabeer, N., Reversed Realities, London: Verso, 1995.
  6. Hasan, Zoya (ed.) Forging Identities: Gender Communities and State, Kali for Women, New Delhi, 1994
  7. Kumar, Radha. The History of Doing: An Illustrated Account of Movements for Women’s Rights and Feminism in India, 1800-1990, Kali for Women, New Delhi, 1993
  8. Rao N, Rump L & Sudershan R (ed.), Site of Change, UNDP, New Delhi, 1996
  9. Janaki Nair, Law in Colonial India, Delhi, Kali for Women, 1996
  10. Lucy Caroll, The Law, Custom and Statutory Social Reform: The Hindu ‘Widow’s Remarriage Act of 1856’ in J Krishnamurti ed. Women in Colonial India, Delhi OUP, 1989.
  11. Agarwal, Bina, Field of her Own, Kali for Women, New Delhi
  12. JC Johri, Principals of Modern Political Science, Sterling Publisher, 1995
  13. Kapur, Ratna (ed.), Feminist Terrains in Legal Terrains, Kali for Women, Delhi 1996
  14. Butalia U, Sarkar, T (ed.), Women and the Hindu Right, Kali for Women, New Delhi 1996.
Academic Session: 
2016-17
  • Printer-friendly version
  • PDF version