Jyothsna Latha Belliappa - Gender, Class and Reflexive Modernity in India

Gender, Class and Reflexive Modernity in India

Genders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences

Series Editors: Victoria Robinson, University of Sheffield, UK and Diane Richardson, University of Newcastle, UK

Editorial Board: Raewyn Connell, University of Sydney, Australia; Kathy Davis, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; Stevi Jackson, University of York, UK; Michael Kimmel, State University of New York, Stony Brook, USA; Kimiko Kimoto, Hitotsubashi University, Japan; Jasbir Puar, Rutgers University, USA; Steven Seidman, State University of New York, Albany, USA; Carol Smart, University of Manchester, UK; Liz Stanley, University of Edinburgh, UK; Gill Valentine, University of Leeds, UK; Jeffrey Weeks, South Bank University, UK; Kath Woodward, The Open University, UK

Titles include:

Jyothsna Latha Belliappa

GENDER, CLASS AND REFLEXIVE MODERNITY IN INDIA

Niall Hanlon

MASCULINITIES, CARE AND EQUALITY

Identity and Nurture in Mens Lives

Brian Heaphy, Carol Smart and Anna Einarsdottir (editors)

SAME SEX MARRIAGES

New Generations, New Relationships

Sally Hines and Yvette Taylor (editors)

SEXUALITIES

Past Reflections, Future Directions

Meredith Nash

MAKING POSTMODERN MOTHERS

Pregnant Embodiment, Baby Bumps and Body Image

Barbara Pini and Bob Pease (editors)

MEN, MASCULINITIES AND METHODOLOGIES

Victoria Robinson and Jenny Hockey

MASCULINITIES IN TRANSITION

Yvette Taylor, Sally Hines and Mark E. Casey (editors)

THEORIZING INTERSECTIONALITY AND SEXUALITY

Yvette Taylor and Michelle Addison (editors)

QUEER PRESENCES AND ABSENCES

Kath Woodward

SEX POWER AND THE GAMES

Genders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences

Series Standing Order ISBN 9780230272545 hardback

9780230272552 paperback

(outside North America only)

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Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd., Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England

Gender, Class and Reflexive Modernity in India

Jyothsna Latha Belliappa

Azim Premji University, India

Jyothsna Latha Belliappa 2013

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

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First published 2013 by

PALGRAVE MACMILLAN

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ISBN 9781137319227

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For Diana, Deepa and Krithika

List of Tables

Acknowledgements

The research for this book was completed with the help of financial assistance from the University of York, UK, the Lady Meherbai Tata Trust, the British Federation of Women Graduates and the Lotus Trust of India. I am deeply grateful for their generosity. In addition to financial support, a research project of this nature requires the support of many people across different continents. I am indebted to the anonymous women whose accounts form the basis of this book, who generously shared with me their most precious resource, their time. I hope I have done justice to their accounts and their enthusiasm for my project. I am also grateful to many others who, under conditions of anonymity, shared personal anecdotes that first alerted me to the questions that inform this project.

The research began at the Centre for Womens Studies (CWS) at the University of York. I am indebted to Professors Stevi Jackson and Haleh Afshar and to the staff at CWS, Dr Ann Kaloski-Naylor and Professor Gabrielle Griffin and Harriet Badger, for their unstinting personal and academic support. I also thank Professor Bhikhu Parekh for his valuable advice on my work.

Back in India, Dr Geetha Narayanan and my colleagues at Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology welcomed a social scientist and her project into a creative melting pot of artists, designers, activists and scholars. I thank my colleagues Sathish Jayarajan and Vandana Goswami for intellectual support, Ajai Narendra for patiently following up on all my requests for references and Swami and Geeta for being such cheerful and helpful librarians. Thanks are also due to Manini Menon for help with indexing and to Beena Ullal, Manjul Menon and Aruna Chidambi for proofreading the manuscript. That said, the responsibility for any mistakes in this book, typographical or otherwise, is solely mine!

My sincere gratitude to the editorial team at Palgrave Macmillan, especially Philippa Grand, Andrew James and Naomi Robinson, for their support and gracious responses to every request for an extension. Equally sincere thanks are due to Professor Rajeev Gowda and Professor M. N. Panini in India and to Dr Linda Perriton and Dr Anne Akeroyd in Britain who are never too busy to offer advice, support and humour. I also thank the anonymous reviewer whose thoughtful suggestions have strengthened my arguments and conclusions.

My heartfelt gratitude to friends in Bangalore, Anupama Mahajan, Monisha Srichand and Anita Rajnarayan, for their support, and to my transatlantic support system, Diana Peters, Deepa Parija and Krithika Jagannath and their wonderful families. Finally, I thank my grandparents, Late Sri Baliamada B. Kushalappa and Srimati Sita Kushalappa, who have had more influence on this book than they can imagine.