Gender and Caste Hierarchy in Colonial Bengal : Inter-Caste Interventions of Ideal Womanhood

This book breaks new ground in perceiving the interrelations among class, caste, religious and gender identities to grasp the complex notion of ideal womanhood in the nineteenth century. High-caste hegemony contributed to its formulation, adoption and alteration amongst low-caste Hindus such as gandhabaniks, subarnabaniks, telis, sadgopes and mahishyas. British rule had introduced significant socio-political and economic changes leading to upward mobility among the lower and middle castes, which modified their status with reference to caste principles and the high-caste ideal of womanhood.