Content area
Full Text
The Legacy of Women's Uplift in India: Contemporary Women Leaders in the Arya
Samaj
J. E. Llewellyn
New Delhi, Thousand Oaks and London: Sage, 1998
ISBN: 0-7619-9252-9 (hb) 81-7036-705-0 (hb)
In the 1980s, the agenda of the Hindu nationalist movement assumed dominance in India's national political arena. Several of its key activists were women who appealed to 'patriotic' Hindu men to secure their safety and to facilitate their empowerment through controlling the activities of minorities. Combined with the experience of Indira Gandhi's rule, these activists have contributed to shattering the myth that women are peace-brokers and non-participants in communal organisations.
The realisation that some women choose to support and work within a framework that affirms the gender status quo has led some analysts to question why this should be the case, and to speculate as to whether this might threaten women's rights in the future. It is in this context that J.E. Llewellyn's book, the legacy of women's uplift in India, is...