Founding Mothers of the Indian Republic: Gender Politics of the Framing of the Constitution (South Asia in the Social Sciences, Series Number 17)

The book begins with the momentous task of demolishing the prejudices attached with the phrase 'founding fathers' that has held an immense sway over constitutional interpretation. It shows that women members of the Indian Constituent Assembly had painstakingly co-authored a Constitution that embodied a moral imagination developed by years of feminist politics. It traces the genealogies of several constitutional provisions to argue that, without the interventions of these women framers, the Constitution would hardly have a much poorer document of rights and statecraft that it is. Situating these interventions in the larger trajectory of Indian feminism in which they are rooted, in the nationalist discourse with which they perpetually negotiated, and in the larger human rights discourse of the 1940s, the book shows that the women members of the Indian Constituent Assembly were much more than the 'founding mothers' of a republic. "Founding Mothers of the Indian Republic begins with the momentous task of demolishing the prejudices attached with the phrase 'founding fathers' that has held an immense sway over constitutional interpretation. It shows that women members of the Indian Constituent Assembly had painstakingly co-authored a Constitution that embodied a moral imagination developed by years of feminist politics. This book traces the genealogies of several constitutional provisions to argue that, without the interventions of these women framers, the Constitution would have been much lesser than the celebrated document of rights and statecraft that it is. Situating these interventions in the larger trajectory of Indian feminism in which they are rooted, in the nationalist discourse with which they perpetually negotiated, and in the larger human rights discourse of the 1940s, it shows that the women members of the Indian Constituent Assembly were much more than the 'founding mothers' of a republic"-- Provided by publisher 01.0_pp_i_vi_Frontmatter.pdf 02.0_pp_vii_viii_Dedication.pdf 03.0_pp_ix_x_Contents.pdf 04.0_pp_xi_xiv_List_of_Images.pdf 05.0_pp_xv_xx_Preface.pdf 06.0_pp_xxi_xxvi_Acknowledgements.pdf 07.0_pp_xxvii_xxviii_List_of_Abbreviations.pdf 08.0_pp_1_13_Introduction_Towards_a_Feminist_Reading_of_the_Making_of_the_Constitution.pdf 09.0_pp_14_41_In_the_Shadow_of_the_Founding_Fathers.pdf 10.0_pp_42_76_In_Search_of_the_Missing_Mothers.pdf 11.0_pp_77_120_Womens_Moral_Imaginary_and_Constitutional_Politics_19271946.pdf 12.0_pp_121_166_Patterns_of_Participation_Women_Members_in_the_Constituent_Assembly.pdf 13.0_pp_167_212_Writing_the_Rights_Inscribing_Constitutional_Morality.pdf 14.0_pp_213_248_Reformulating_the_Woman_Question_Challenging_Customs_and_Traditions.pdf 15.0_pp_249_274_After_the_Framing.pdf 16.0_pp_275_286_Conclusion_Remembering_the_Founding_Mothers.pdf 17.0_pp_287_291_Appendix_Texts_and_Contexts_of_the_Framing_A_Timeline.pdf 18.0_pp_292_307_Bibliography.pdf 19.0_pp_308_335_Index.pdf It shows that women members of the Constituent Assembly contributed significantly to shaping the moral imagination enshrined in the Constitution of India. By showcasing the immense debt owed by several of its articles to these women it breaks new ground in the fields of modern Indian history, women's history, and constitutional studies.