Rewriting History: The Life and Times of Pandita Ramabai

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.