Save

Developing the Nation: Re-Inscribing Women’s Thinking in Planned Economy for India (1930–1940s)

In: Journal of the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists
Authors:
Varsha Upadhyay Research Scholar (Political Science), Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Guwahati, Assam, 781039 India

Search for other papers by Varsha Upadhyay in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4658-4638
and
Mithilesh Kumar Jha Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Guwahati, Assam, 781039 India

Search for other papers by Mithilesh Kumar Jha in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1664-2959
Download Citation Get Permissions

Access options

Get access to the full article by using one of the access options below.

Institutional Login

Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials

Login via Institution

Purchase

Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

€36.93

Abstract

In the first half of the twentieth century, women leaders in the Indian subcontinent placed nation-building at the core of their intellectual and political pursuits. The report of the sub-committee on Women’s Role in Planned Economy (WRPE), a part of the National Planning Committee (NPC), formed in 1938, encapsulates their thought on women’s equal role and status in the emerging post-colonial Indian state. This paper foregrounds the report’s economic thought and socio-political discourse as an attempt to make the nation-building project more gender-just. As a heuristic device, the report enables us to locate the women architects of modern India and gauge the possibilities and limitations of their feminist thinking in the institution-building process. In doing so, the paper draws upon primary sources, including official reports, the personal writings of the women members of the sub-committee, their biographies, hagiographies, and the feminist historiography in general.

Content Metrics

All Time Past 365 days Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 243 243 149
Full Text Views 7 7 0
PDF Views & Downloads 17 17 0