Silence, Exclusion, and Recovery:
Feminist Philosophy in Modern India

Among the philosophical traditions engaging the human condition in Modern India, a significant strand is gendered and feminist thought. This tradition has co-existed within broader philosophical discussions. Yet, larger historical accounts often overlook this tradition. Such omission arises from not recognising women thinkers as philosophers or relegating their work to abstract ‘musings’ rather than sustained philosophical reasoning—a result of how ‘the Canon’ is established. Global feminist critique of a male-centric canon has highlighted and challenged these erasures. This lecture, from a postcolonial feminist lens, directly addresses these gaps by re-examining what is often seen as scattered writings or abstractions, reframing them as a continuous tradition of feminist philosophical engagement with the human condition.

The lecture focuses on late 19th- and early 20th-century Colonial India and also recovers the long tradition of Feminist Philosophy in ancient India by examining its nature, sites, and modes of dissemination. Specifically, the study explains orality through the Bhakti tradition of the 8th Century, showing how it shapes modern feminist philosophical thought in India. The lecture challenges the erasure of this tradition by tracing the politics of Canon and showing how the frames of conventional philosophy are used to marginalise alternative perspectives. Women philosophers are often labelled as social reformers, writers, or culturalists instead of as philosophers. This lecture argues for recognition of embodiment and experiential knowledge as core to Indian Women’s Philosophy, adding to the larger global feminist philosophical quest of an inclusive canon.