DISMANTLING THE NATIONALIST CONSENSUS: RALLYING AROUND SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The women's question after Independence was reframed in a context of widespread discontent with the development policies of the government. Development planning in India in the years after Independence continued to show a disregard for women's productive functions, placing women in atavistic roles as symbols of cohesion and continuity amidst the turbulent flux of modernity. The sexual difference inherent in 'welfare' measures envisioned for women did not dismantle structural inequalities and sexual hierarchies within public institutions and society. Significantly, this period, which is often erroneously seen as one in which women's activism was at a decline, saw the emergence of the National Federation of Indian Women in India (NFIW). Among the largest women's organizations in India today, NFIW was founded in 1954 as the women's wing of the Communist Party of India (CPI), with Aruna Asaf Ali among its prominent leaders.