A feminist renunciation

Book review of Why I am Not a Hindu Woman

Since the second wave of feminism, the motto “personal is political” has been a rallying cry for feminists around the world. They assert that the political and personal lives of women are inextricably linked; the former shaping the latter and vice versa. This quintessential feminist motto runs throughout Wandana Sonalkar’s courageous memoir Why I am Not a Hindu Woman.  

Ms Sonalkar, a retired professor of women’s and gender studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, offers a scintillating account of her decision to reject Hinduism — a personal decision with far-reaching political implications in an increasingly Hindu India.

She clearly articulates