Product Description The twelve essays in this volume critically examine the relationship between the Indian nation and its women, analysing the material and ideological element along with the cultural and social factors constraining women's development as well as those of economics or demography. Review `contributors include some of the best known and most prolific writers/activists on Indian womens issues... the result of their combined effort is a panoramic analysis of both the presence and participation of women in national life in post-independence India and the key material and ideological factors sustaining and perpetuating gender inequality in contemporary India.' Stacey Burlet, Contemporary South Asia (2000) Vol.9 No.1`From Independence Towards Freedom will... be a useful addition to undergraduate and post-graduate reading lists due to its wide-ranging content and its summary of contemporary thinking about the future direction of Indian women's activism.' Stacey Burlet, Contemporary South Asia (2000) Vol.9 No.1