Visualizing Indian Women: A Documentary, 1875-1947

This rare collection of 300 archival photographs accompanied by explanatory captions depicts womens lives during the period 1875-1947. It also includes a comprehensive, well-researched, yet lucid introduction placing in context the photographs, which have been gleaned from private collections of families and friends, as well as from archive sections of various institutions, originally presented in an exhibition held by the Centre for Womens Development Studies. The book is divided into five sections of images: Visualizing the Family showcases family photographs that show the changing role of women due to the emergence of the urban nuclear family; The Learning Experience looks at pioneers in educational reform and the experiences of women in schools and colleges; Worlds Beyond studies the beginnings of womens emancipation by recording upper caste women as pioneers in the creative arts, middle-class women travelling and experiencing life outside the home, and women as agricultural laborers and factory workers; The Freedom Struggle documents the process of womens evolution as active political beings in a critical phase of the nations history; and Towards the Midnight Hour captures a sense of challenge and commitment by highlighting the emergence of women as professionals and their experiences through the Bengal famine, the Quit India movement, Partition, and the Second World War. This professionally designed, well-produced volume provides a more holistic understanding of what is learned through the written word, memory, and recall.