Description
The history of the women of the non-West in the larger historical accounts of the post-World War II diplomatic writings stays largely amiss. At the precipice of decolonisation as newly independent countries sent their delegations to platforms like the United Nations, several women participated in the making of what became politics of the day. A narrative that remains mostly unexplored. This paper takes on this inquiry and asks the question, “Where are the women?” (Enloe 1989). Drawing from the life and experiences of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Begum Shareefah Hamid Ali, Renuka Ray, Amrit Kaur, amongst many, this paper goes back to the archives to probe the tales of the making of international politics that lay in the pioneering female narratives of the time. These include discussions on the questions of race and colonialism in the international forum. The paper employs a qualitative, exploratory research framework to investigate the early transnational female networks and the Indian foreign policy establishment in newly independent India and their influence of the making of India’s place in the world.
