Modernity, Tradition, and Indian Women
For women, the conundrum of modernity and tradition is an on-going puzzle of what aspects of modernity to appropriate and what aspects of tradition to retain in their everyday lives. Tracing the emergence of this conundrum in the nationalist debates on colonial modernity, Modernity, Tradition, and Indian Women argues that the everyday lives in contemporary times is animated by both the civilizational meta-narratives and the constitutional meta-narratives that keeps alive this conundrum of modernity and tradition. While societal gender scripts socialize women in families based on cultural ideologies, individuals struggle to expand their zones of freedom by rescripting their personal gender scripts in the direction of modernity. Rescripting a life of more freedom depends upon the changes in dispositions that cultural ideologies have for long instilled in men and women. Drawing evidence from marriage norms and partner choice in diverse contexts, religiosity, clothing and consumption, this book explores the ways in which women selectively appropriate aspects of modernity even while retaining traditions in their lives.
U. Kalpagam, PhD, is an independent scholar of economics and cultural anthropology.