This book presents an overview of the varied experiences and representations of motherhood in India from ancient to modern times. The thrust of the arguments made by the various contributors is that the centrality of motherhood as an ideology in a woman’s life is manufactured. This is demonstrated by analysing various institutional structures of society – language, religion, media, law and technology. The articles in this book are chronologically arranged, tracing the different stages that motherhood as a concept has traversed in India – from goddess worship to nationalism, to being a vehicle of reproduction of the sexual division of labour and the inheritance of property via the male-line. Underlying these stages are the dialectics between them that have been facilitated by agents such as the state – the ultimate controller of a woman’s reproductive powers. The feminist critique of ‘essentialising’ the role of a woman has been employed to deconstruct and humanise the experiences and lives of mothers. This anthology therefore attempts to initiate a meaningful and ‘sensitive’ engagement with issues pertaining to a woman’s autonomy over her body and her role also as a mother.

A comprehensive historical account of the Madras Presidency and the neighboring regions of Mysore, Coorg, and associated states, covering their political history, cultural heritage, and economic development. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The classic reference work that provides annually updated information on the countries of the world.

The classic reference work that provides annually updated information on the countries of the world.

This study endeavours to understand the construction and perception of minority languages in India from the colonial era to the contemporary period. Through illustrative examples, it seeks to delineate the evolution of orality and writing, the concept of vernacular, and the dynamics of translation, which is essential for a nuanced understanding of a linguistic phenomena. Emphasizing the pivotal role of English, the work challenges conventional perspectives on multilingualism, urging a re-evaluation of the desire for English among minoritized populations. It also addresses diverse axes of power that shape or dismantle linguistic communities. Furthermore, it redefines the relationship between orality, writing, vernacular, and historical contexts in the Indian milieu. By scrutinizing prevalent notions surrounding multilingualism, the book argues that communities that are invested with the power of writing actively construct notions around language and these have certain implications on the languages of the minority, including the ways in which negotiations and resistances emerge.