The Transformation of Women in Early North India: A Study in Historical Perspective

The Transformation of Women in Early North India: A Study in Historical Perspective

-Dr. Sheena Krishnan Ulamparambath

In recent decades, women’s studies in India have raised important questions and issues about the invisibility, distortion and marginalization of gender as a category of analysis in the mainstream disciplines and their practices of canonization. Hence, an attempt is made in this paper to trace the transformation of women from Vedic period to the medieval period. There are certain hymns in Atharva Veda, which celebrate and glorify the power of Mother Earth like a woman. The hymns describing the goddess Ushas were apparently inspired and motivated by the glorious dawn of north India. Hence another attempt is made here to evaluate their transformation from an enviable and exalted position of the Vedic times, which is clearly indicated in their participatory scholarly and ritual status, to the medieval period of the decline of their status.

This article come to our forthcoming book entitled: Reconsidering Classical Indian Thoughts.

Indian Value System with Special Reference to the Holy Quran

Indian Value System with Special Reference to the Holy Quran[1]

-Mohammed Abdullah

FARISHTUN SE BEHTAR HAI INSAN BANNA

MAGAR IS ME LAGTI HAI MEHNAT ZIYADA

Its is better to become human rather than Angle

But the efforts are much more in this

BASKAY DISHWAR HAI HAR KAM KA INSAN HONA

ADMI KO BI MAYSAR NAHI INSAN HONA

Just as it is difficult for things to be easy

It is not easy for man to become human.

Philosophy starts with the question ‘Who am I’, and since the beginning thinkers have been trying to answer this question. If we limit this question to a person then the question would be ‘Who is a person’. If we try to answer in precise words then we would say that our values make us human and which is very difficult.

We know that need good road to travel, clean water to drink and clean environment to live in, but we don’t know what is needed to become a good human being? In Today’s time, if you ask this question the answer would be in terms of money. It is interesting that our classical thinkers never negate money; in fact they have included it as one of the values of Purusharthas namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Now, we can say that for a person all these are equally important, only then we can say that today we are developed. The progress should be in the all fields of life. It should advance both the culture of man and the civilization. Hence, progress is not one sided it includes both internal and outer progress of man.

[1] This paper is revised version of paper presented “Indian Value System with Special Reference to the Holy Quran” in ICPR Sponsored One-Day Regional Seminar at P.G.Govt College for Girls, Sector-11, Chandigarh on 27^th November,2011।

This article come to our forthcoming book entitled: Reconsidering Classical Indian Thoughts.