1st Edition

Routledge Handbook of Gender, Culture, and Development in India

Edited By N. B. Lekha, Pradeep Kumar M. Copyright 2025
470 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

470 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

470 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Lekha, Kumar M., and their team of contributors embark on a transformative exploration of 'Intersectionality' in the Indian context, where gender, culture, and development intersect to shape the destinies of diverse groups. Drawing from extensive research and nuanced analyses by scholars across the country and a few scholars on India from outside the country, the handbook uncovers the intricate... Read more

Foreword

Wesley Shrum

Preface

Editors

1. Prologue :  A Sociological Tapestry: Intersectionality of Identities, Gender, Culture, and Development in the works of Prof. Antony Palackal

Saji J

2. Introduction: Beyond Boundaries: Intersections of Gender, Culture and Development

Lekha N.B.

I. GENDER, IDENTITY AND POWER

Section Introduction: Antony Palackal

3. Gender as a Category and as Practice: Trivial, Dangerous or just Routine 
Maitrayee Chaudhuri

4. Beyond the Screen: Indigenous Women in Kerala and the Impact of Television

Muhammed Sihas K.M. & Lekshmi V. Nair

5. Urban Women Working in Modern India: Dynamics of Roles, Responsibilities and Decision making for Women in Informal sector
Yashika Malhotra , Shraddha Kapoor, Nandita Chaudhary

6. Skilful migration for Unskilled labour: The Sojourn of Malayali Women in Gulf Countries 
Santhini Paul

7. Living Room Chronicles:Feminine Spaces in West Bengal Television Serials
Soma Dutta

8. Empowering Women in Kerala: The Transformative Impact of the Kudumbashree Program in Kerala 
Chandralekha C S

 

II. CULTURE, FEMINITY AND SUBJECTIVITY

Section Introduction: Antony Palackal

9. A Puzzle within a Paradox: The impact of gender and family structure on productivity, time allocation, and career attitudes in Kerala
Paige Miller and Wesley Shrum

10. Beyond the Life and the World of Widowhood: Precarity of Oppression and Discrimination 
Suresh Babu G.S.

11. Celebrating the Feminine: Intersectionality of Nature, Culture and Woman
Lekha N. B.

12. Gendering Labour: A Story of Stalled Revolution
Keerthana Mannayam and Rajesh Komath

13. Gender Identities Redefined - Decolonising Cultures in the Global South
Cristiana Kaipper, Larissa Porto, Murilo Anjos, Fillipe de Queiroz, Vívian Volkmer Pontes and Pina Marsico

14. Freedom in Flux: Transgender Community Shaping New Paradigms in Kerala

Nisha Jolly Nelson

15.Gendered Digital Bodies: Social Norms through Digital Narcissism and Social Activism 

Jan Elizabeth Joseph

III. EDUCATION, IDEOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY

Section Introduction: Antony Palackal

16. Doing a Sociology without Hegemony: Region, Language and Comparison
Rajni Palriwala

17. National Education Policy 2020 and the Quest for Justice
Charles Varghese

18. Women and the Institutional Cultures of Sociology in Kerala
Linda Therese Luiz

19. Unmasking Patriarchal Narratives: Gender Dimensions in School Textbooks in Kerala

Ruksana K.

20. Cultural Resilience: Community Initiatives to Preserve Linguistic Heritage of Diasporas in Singapore  

Anu R. and Anitha Devi Pillai

21. Identity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence – Sociological Explorations
R. Rajesh

22. Caste, Occupation and Educational Mobility: A study of the Weavers in Telangana Town
Sreeramulu Gosikonda and Nagaraju Gundemeda                                               

IV. DEVELOPMENT INCLUSION AND SUSTAINIBILITY

Section Introduction: Antony Palackal

23. Gender and Mobility: Examining their Interconnection in the Context of SHAKTI Scheme in Karnataka
R. Indira

24. Rites of Cultivation: Women, Development and Cultural Practices 
C. Raghava Reddy

25. Diabolic Intersectionality: Tribulations among City Sweepers in Mumbai 
P. S. Vivek

26. Gender and Sustainability Symbiosis in SEWA Cooperative: A Case of Holistic Development
Lakshmi A. J.

27. Communism, Parliamentary Democracy and Development: An Analysis of the Political-Theoretical Line of E.M.S. Namboodiripad
K. S. Hakim

28. Inclusive Policies and Exclusive Participation: A Study of Rural Women in the MGNREGS Scheme
Andrew Michael

29. The Quest for Urban Governance Reform in Kerala - An Unfinished Agenda
Pradeep Kumar M.

30.The Never-Ending Tale of Toxic Colonialism: The Case of Vilappilsala Struggle 

Vishnu J. Menon

Biography

N. B. Lekha is Assistant Professor of Sociology in Sree Narayana College in Kerala, India.

Pradeep Kumar M. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at Christ Nagar College, Maranalloor, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India