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In sharp contrast to Annie Besant, who championed the cause of Hindu society and civilization, Ramabai`s critique of Brahminical patriarchy could not have been sharper. A high-caste Hindu widow herself, she `chose` to become Christian, in an act that was seen by contemporary Hindu society as not only a betrayal of her religion but of her very nation. In this classic study of Ramabai`s life, Uma Chakravarti brings to light one of the foremost thinkers of nineteenth-century India, arguing that this controversial figure has not simply been marginalized but actively suppressed in the writing of India`s pre- Independence history. In the process, Chakravarti writes one of the most acute and nuanced critiques of the power relations and hierarchies within a colonized society, with particular emphasis on issues of gender, class and caste.ISBN - 9789381017944
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