The first half of the twentieth century saw the evolution of the global public sphere as a site for political expression and social activism. In the past, this history has been marginalised by a discipline-wide preference for national and other container- based frames of analysis. However, in the wake of 'the global turn', historians have increasingly turned their attention to the ways historical actors thought, acted, and organised globally. Transnational histories of South Asia feed into our understanding of these processes, yet, so far, little attention has been paid to the role of Indian nationalist women, despite there being significant 'global' aspects to their lives and careers. Citizens of Everywhere addresses this lacuna through an examination of the transnational activities of a handful of prominent nationalist women between 1900 and 1950. These include alliances and interactions with women's organisations, anti-imperial supporters and the League of Nations, as well as official contributions to the business of the fledgling United Nations Organisation after 1946. This predominantly below-state-level activity built on and contributed to public and private networks that traversed the early twentieth century world, cutting across national, state and imperial boundaries to create transnational solidarities to transformative effect. Set against a backdrop of rising imperialist-nationalist tension and global geopolitical conflict, these relationships enable a counter-narrative of global citizenship - a concept that at once connotes a sense of belonging, a modus operandi, and an assertive political claim. However, they were also highly gendered, sometimes tenuous, and frequently complex interactions that constantly evolved according to local and global conditions. In advancing our understanding of nationalist women's careers, Citizens of Everywhere contributes to the recovery of Indian women's historical subjectivity, which, in turn, sheds light on gender and nationalism in South Asia. Further, Indian women's transnational activities draw attention to a range of interventions and processes that illuminate the global history of liberal ideas and political practices, the legacies of which appear embattled in the present era.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:757026 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Parr, Rosalind Elizabeth |
| Contributors | Bates, Crispin ; Harding, Christopher |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/33063 |
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