Gender and colonialism: Women's organisation under the Raj

Abstract The popular media have recently born witness to a renewed interest in India under British rule. This article examines the portrayal of Indian liberation struggles in two of the more serious expositions, The Jewel in the Crown and Gandhi , questioning the political implications of this portrayal. It shows that they both neglect the crucial role played by women in the maintenance and demise of the Raj. We argue that women's contribution was so significant that its omission constitutes a misrepresentation of history that can fairly be termed revisionist. We suggest that the reason for this process of mystification lies in the relevance of India's fight for national liberation and sexual equality in the early twentieth century, to present day struggles against imperialism and male domination, which are two of the most explosive issues affecting the modern Western world.