Women in Print Culture of 19 th Century Punjab – Sushila Tahl Ram’s Cosmopolitan Hinduani

The printing press and rising levels of education brought major changes to society all over the world. A good amount of writing and publishing happened in 19 th century colonial India too. As the debate about women’s role in society grew a number of women authors emerged especially in the western and southern parts of the country. However, very little is known about the participation of women in the vibrant print culture of Punjab. In this book we present a recently discovered full length novel in English, published in 1902, written by an unusual Punjabi woman who was educated in England. She had strong views about how women could work together to challenge and yet live within the society which had kept them within physical and mental borders.

Arti Minocha is Associate Professor at the Department of English, Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She has taught various courses in Indian Literature, Modern British Literature, World Literatures and Women’s writing. She has published in the areas of India Theatre, Print Culture Studies and Gendered Histories of Colonial Punjab. Her doctoral project on gender and print cultures of colonial Punjab, sought to re-inscribe women into histories of print and literary cultures and language debates in 19 th century Punjab. She has worked extensively on archival collections housed in India and the United Kingdom that provide rich evidence of women writing, participating, and influencing print cultures in various ways.

ISBN : 978-81-950204-0-9