Women in State Politics in India

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.

Pam Rajput is Professor Emeritus at Panjab University, Chandigarh; Former Dean, Faculty of Arts, Chair and Professor of Political Science, and Founder Director of the Centre for Women’s Studies and Development, Chandigarh. She has been a Visiting Professor at Hiroshima University, Japan; Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) South Africa; and a number of Canadian universities under the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute’s visiting professor programme. Her publications (co-authored/co-edited) include Women and Globalisation, Narratives of Women’s Studies. In addition to her academic profile, Rajput chaired the Government of India High-Level Committee on the Status of Women.

Usha Thakkar is President of the Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. She retired as Professor and Head at the Department of Political Science, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai. She has done her post-doctoral research at the University of Chicago and Canada, on a WID fellowship from the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. The Asiatic Society of Mumbai has conferred her with an Honorary Fellowship. Her publications (authored/co-authored/co-edited) include Congress Radio: Usha Mehta and the Underground Radio Station of 1942, Gandhi in Bombay: Towards Swaraj, Women in Indian Society, and Culture and the Making of Identity in Contemporary India.