Tradition and Liberation

Book excerpt: The text examines the role of the Hindu tradition in the ideology and methodology of the Indian women's movement. By showing how leaders of the movement have restated aspects of the tradition, it provides insight into the ways in which a women's movement can restate a religious tradition. Throughout Indian society religion has been central to debate about the position of women and opposition to the women’s movement has often been rationalised in terms of religion. Through a review of the speeches and writings of leading figures of the movement from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it identifies positive as well as negative representations of the tradition and its implications for women. It shows when and why the movement has chosen either to offer a traditional justification for its aims and activities or to eschew such a justification in favour of an alternative rationale.