Radical ideologies, revolutionary movements, political upheavals, legal frameworks and many such initiatives have been taken up to prove a Woman’s Equality, and uplift her status all over the world. Though the voices raised are loud and heard; but the moot question is whether the word ‘Feminism,’ in its true sense, has been understood and implemented in the ‘still very much’ patriarchal society of today. The undercurrent answer to this question is echoed and retorted in this book on Gender studies. Elaborating on the Indian woman, this book comments on the condition of women, from ancient India to the modern day India—her transforming status; the laws devised to protect her; social taboos surmounting her; and the changing social patterns that are being brought to nullify the gender differences—be it at home, within an office and within the society. The book begins with a feminist approach to politics, movements led by the feminists, their treatment in literature, autobiographies, their contribution towards economic sectors, their health, education, e-governance, and role towards environment. A dedicated chapter elaborates on women in Tagore’s work, with original text excerpts in Bengali and their literal translations. The final chapter deals with Indian women and their tryst with crime day in and out; the unchanged age-old laws which are in need of serious review; and the role of media and society in providing them the due accreditation of ‘being someone’. The book is intended for the students of Gender Studies, Political Science, English, Sociology, and Media Studies.

The volume brings together readings describing a range of less-traversed aspects and transferences of women’s rights and struggles in India and develops a comprehensive understanding of the interface between women’s activism and politics. The book documents and discusses diverse ways in which Indian women have struggled for empowerment, political voice and representation, and rallied against injustice and discrimination. Against the backdrop of women’s assertion of rights and negotiations for empowerment, the chapters in this volume explore diverse facets of collective agency, and emanations of women’s politico-legal struggles against stereotypes of gender and class in post-independence India. While the donor-driven international community has been eager to celebrate the successes of its global normative agenda-setting and ‘best practices’ approach, this book - based primarily on field research by the contributors - showcases authentic local ownership and women’s own agency, taking seriously the need to understand the cultural context and pay attention to intersectionality. It presents various examples of women’s activism for change, reflecting on the quotidian struggles and dynamic assertions of voice and political power, within and outside of formal political institutions. The book is a contribution to the debate about agency and ownership as key aspects of empowerment, highlighting women who defy dominant narratives. It will be an essential read for students and academics of political science, gender studies, sociology and social sciences, and cultural studies. It will also be of interest to readers interested in the history of women’s movements and their participation in national and local politics in India.

‘Rewriting Resistance: Caste and Gender in Indian Literature’ explores the claustrophobic shadow of discrimination hanging over Indian women and lower caste people from ancient times. It examines how different literary figures paint a vivid and descriptive picture of the physical and psychological oppression faced throughout India. The book traces feminist resistance, subaltern resistance, and resistance during the anti-colonial struggle, with the literary outputs discussed working as socio-political activity against dominant ideologies. The volume further talks about the responsibility, not only of those oppressed, but also of us as human beings, to speak out against the violation of human rights and for justice. So, the book focuses on the literary writers who always dream of a better India where all people, regardless of their caste, class and gender, can live and breathe freely. The book is divided into three parts. Part I describes the plight of women, their commodification and the politics around them, and how they fight hard to regain their faded identity. Part II depicts the interesting findings on gender-caste intersections and discrimination. Part III explores the struggle of the low caste, specifically male members of Dalit community, along with their history. It further portrays how orthodoxy in rituals creates the burden of traditional and existential crises. ‘Rewriting Resistance: Caste and Gender in Indian Literature’ re-visits Indian literary texts in terms of what they reveal about the resistance registered through the suffering of human beings (women and Dalits) at the hands of fellow human beings, and further links the discussion to our contemporary situation. The book has a unique quality in that it is not only a detailed study of select Indian English texts, but also delves into an in-depth analysis of texts from Bengali, Urdu, and Hindi literature. The work is likely to affect and appeal to students, scholars and academics, and can be adopted for classroom teaching and research purposes as well.

The book presents an updated analysis of the public administrative system existing in India, covering different administrative structures as well as functions at the Central, State, district and local levels of our country. NEW TO THE SECOND EDITION • A thorough discussion on the structure of the civil services • Functions and roles of the— President, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, Finance, Home and External Affairs Ministries, and Central Secretariat • Roles of the State administration with special emphasis on the—Governor, Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, State Secretariat, and District Collector • Thorough analysis of the local self governments at the rural and urban areas of India • Women's participation in the rural local self government. • Explain financial administration, welfare administration, citizens and administration, and major Indian committees and commissions • Discusses issues such as Personnel Administration, Administration of Law and Order, Information Technology, Human Rights, Globalisation and Civil Society, etc. • Detailed analyses of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Changing Nature of Planning—NITI Aayog, MGNREGA, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), NRHM, Gender and Administration • A new chapter on 'Some Recent Developments in the Concept of Administration' (Chapter 16). TARGET AUDIENCE Ø B.A. Political Science Ø M.A. Political Science Ø Civil Services Aspirants

The book explores gender disparities in South African organisations in terms of gender pay gap and the number of women occupying leadership positions. This is done against the background of prevailing patriarchal culture which is entrenched in many organisations, and which is hard to manage. Nevertheless, Covid-19 responses across different countries has provided the world with the evidence that women are good managers and leaders. This is because women led countries responded better to Covid-19 pandemic as compared to many countries that are led by men. Furthermore, due to lockdowns instituted in many countries, people were forced to work from home. This dispelled the myths that prevented organisations from affording women flexible times to work from home. Hence, the necessity for transformation in organisations.

This essay collection examines the cultural and personal world of girls and women at a time when their lives, their person, their realities, and their status are about to change forever. Together, the chapters cleverly create an in-depth study of the subject, and look at several cultural forms to offer a different approach to the popularly-held views of the bride. The critical essays in this edited collection are thematically driven and include global perspectives of the portrayals of the bride in the films, stage productions and pop-culture narratives from Nigeria; Kenya; Uganda; Tanzania; Spain; Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome; Tajikistan; India; Egypt; and the South-Eastern Indian Ocean Islands. This multinational approach provides insight into the intricacies, customs, practices, and life-styles surrounding the bride in various Eastern and Western cultures.