A study of the life styles of women both Christian and non-Christian in Goa, India.

Are Indian women powerful mother goddesses, or domestic handmaidens trailing behind men in literacy, wages, opportunities, and rights? Have they been agents of their own destinies, or voiceless victims of patriarchy? Behind these colorful over-simplifications lies the reality of many feminine personas belonging to various classes, ethnicities, religions, and castes. This two-volume set looks at Indian history from ancient to modern times, revealing precisely why ideas of gender rights were not static across eras or regions. Raman's work is a reflection on the various ways in which women in a non-Western culture have developed and expressed their own feminist agenda. Are Indian women powerful mother goddesses, or domestic handmaidens trailing behind men in literacy, wages, opportunities, and rights? Have they been agents of their own destinies, or voiceless victims of patriarchy? Behind these coloful over-simplifications lies the reality of many feminine personas belonging to various classes, ethnicities, religions, and castes. This two-volume set looks at Indian history from ancient to modern times, revealing precisely why ideas of gender rights were not static across eras or regions. Raman's work is a reflection on the various ways in which women in a non-western culture have developed and expressed their own feminist agenda. Individual chapters highlight the enduring legacies of many important male and female figures, illustrating how each played a key role in modifying the substance of women's lives. Political movements are examined as well, such as the nationalist reform movement of 1947 in which the ideal of Indian womanhood became central to the nation and the push for independence. Also included is a survey of women in contemporary India and the role they played in the resurgence of militant Hindu nationalism. Aside from being an engaging and readable narrative of Indian history, this set integrates women's issues, roles, and achievements into the general study of the times, providing a clear presentation of the social, cultural, religious, political, and economic realities that have helped shape the identity of Indian women.

Many people dream of escaping the stresses and strains of urban life and moving to Goa. Katharina Kakar and her husband, the psychoanalyst and writer Sudhir Kakar, followed their dream and boldly took that plunge-buying a charming old house in a tranquil south Goa village, where they hoped to find a whole new way of living and working. Ten years later, they are still there, living the idyll-and the reality-of life in Goa. So which is the real Goa? Is it all about sun and sand, beaches and bikinis, feni and vindaloo? This book captures the allure of all these, as well as the festivals and rituals that punctuate the rhythm of village life. It portrays fascinating local characters, ranging from ageing hippies, beach boys and elusive workmen to the aristocratic residents of Goa's grand old mansions. But it also reveals lesser-known aspects of Goa: the hidden-often shocking-histories of its colonial past; and the debates and fissures that engage and divide Goan society today. In part personal memoir and travelogue, in part an insightful look at Goan history and society, this book portrays Goa with all its paradoxes and problems, its seductive pleasures and, above all, its unique and enduring charm.

Study with reference to the state of Goa, India.

Contributed papers presented at a workshop.

The dynamics of Indian politics is reflected in the flexible and fluctuating relations between the centre and the states as well as in the equations within the multiparty political system. This book is one of the first to explore the participation of women in state politics in India and how women navigate the dynamic spaces and hierarchies of the Indian political system. With the help of in-depth studies of 16 states in India, it analyses the gender profile of political parties and legislative bodies in these states; the question of women’s representation which is miniscule in legislative assemblies and women voters and their voting choices. It also explores the roadblocks and barriers they face, along with a study of women’s participation in informal politics. The chapters in this book underline the need for women’s active participation both inside and outside the party system to make democracy more robust and meaningful. Topical, rich in empirical data, this book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of Indian politics, gender studies, political science, sociology, public administration, and South Asia studies.

This collection of essays brings together established scholars of Lusophone Goan literature from India, Brazil, Portugal and Great Britain. For the first time in English, this volume traces the key narrative works, authors and themes of this small but significant territory. Goa, a Portuguese colony between 1510 and 1961, was the site of a particular and particularly intense meeting of West and East. The problematic yet productive encounter between Europe and India that has characterised Goa’s history is a major theme in its literature, which affords important insights and material for post-colonial thought. Goan literature in Portuguese is the only significant Indian literature to have been written in a European language other than English and, as such, provides both a challenging point of comparison with anglophone Indian literature and a space to examine post-colonial theory often implicitly embedded in a British Indian colonial experience.