Title: Deconstructing women's agency in new social movements of post-colonial India: a relentless struggle to secure fundamental rights and human dignity

Authors: Jayita Mukhopadhyay

Addresses: Women's Christian College, Affiliated to University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

Abstract: In the post-Second World War period, like other developing nations, newly independent India also witnessed exponential rise in popular consciousness about basic human rights and a newfound zeal in fighting for those rights, giving rise to many movements, mostly within the contours of democratically approved space of political activism. These movements naturally invited attention as instances of new social movements from analysts and social science researchers. In the backdrop of a theoretical understanding of the nuances of new social movements, this paper attempts to probe particularly noticeable involvement of women of India in many such movements, worth examining in view of the deeply patriarchal moorings of Indian social setup prone to discourage women's agency. At a historic juncture when India celebrates the diamond jubilee of its Independence, the study acquires a special significance.

Keywords: new social movements; women's agency; Chipko movement; Narmada Banchao Andolan; Anti-Arrack movement; Me Too movement; Armed Forces Special Power Act; AFSPA; nude protest in Manipur; citizenship; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2024.139803

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2024 Vol.11 No.3, pp.278 - 291

Received: 30 Sep 2022
Accepted: 02 Nov 2022
Published online: 05 Jul 2024 *

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