Forum on Public Policy 1 The “Education ” of the Indian Woman against the Backdrop of the Education of the European Woman in the Nineteenth-Century

The essay discusses the role and education of the women of India, with special reference to the women of Bengal during the nineteenth-century and a comparison is made between the education of the Indian woman and the education of the European woman during this era. The education of the Indian woman is also referenced against the backdrop of the nationalist movement in India against imperialist rule and its effects on the women of the country. The “education ” of the Indian woman against the backdrop of the education of the European woman in the Nineteenth-Century The first rumblings of the nationalist movement in India during the latter part of the nineteenth century against the imperial rule began in the state of Bengal and with it came the "education" and identification of the Indian woman as purported by the Indian male/colonial master. Although the bulk of this essay examines the education of women in Bengal and the theory of the “Bhadramahila, ” this is not to say that there was no education of women in the rest of India. I will also give examples of women in other states in India to complete the picture. At any rate, the theory of Bhadramahila is noted in Partha Chatterjee‟s essay