The Analytical Study of the Social Status of Indian Women in Post Colonial India

Abstract

Women are the backbone of society, the reason behind successful families; they need to be treated with respect and equality with men. The society as a whole has to understand women’s capabilities and their contribution to the developmental process. The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millenniums. In early Vedic period women enjoyed equal status with men. However later on the status of women began to deteriorate, the situation worsened with invasions of Mughals and later on European invaders. Some reform movements led by reformers such as Guru Nanak, Jainism, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandar Vidyasagar, Pandit Rama Bai etc did give some relief. Britishers also worked for improving condition of women by passing the laws, such as abolition of sati, passing widow remarriage act etc. The real change came after independence as Constitution of India granted equality to women (aritle14). This paper will present a historiographical overview of the literature dealing with the much discussed issue of women of India in post-colonial period. The objective of this paper is mainly to investigate the main scholarly trends and patterns which have characterized the study of this extremely significant issue.