Doing ‘Politics’, Becoming Political: Women and Contemporary Indian Politics

This panel proposes to study women's role in India's contemporary politics. Realising the value of ‘women’s votes’ political parties now actively try to catch their attention. Contrary to the perception of political parties, women refuse to accept the label of passive beneficiaries, and they are conspicuously aware of their role as active political agents- evident in the increasing number of the country's women-led protest movements. Be it to protest unjust laws or violence perpetuated by state and non-state actors, workers’ rights, or the obligation to ‘save the constitution,’ it is no longer possible to suppress women’s voices and their presence. As a paradox, sometimes women strengthen the politics of the patriarchal status quo. This brings forth the plurality of women as a category and the diversity of issues affecting them.
The primary objective of this panel is to examine how these developments have impacted the lives of ‘different’ women, the values embedded in the Indian constitution and democracy per se. This panel looks forward to engaging with related questions such as when we look at women’s role in ‘politics,’ how should we attempt to define politics? How does a party worker in the formal structure of party politics engage in activism vis-à-vis someone engaged in grassroots activism? Are they equal agents of change? How is the situated reality of the female party worker or protester different from that of her male counterpart? How do women in politics negotiate with multiple patriarchies? When women participate in sporadic protest movements, is there an obvious attempt at subversion or is it just a momentary aberration of their routine? This panel aims to explore these recent developments in Indian politics.
Keeping these issues in mind, we invite abstracts on the following themes, but not limited to:
a) Women-led protest movements in India in the last decade.
b) Party politics in India and women
c) Women as citizens, voters, and change-makers
d) The protesting woman and her politics
e) Women as subversive agents: Tradition, religion, and democracy.