Description
“Feminist informed gender analysis is not a luxury, it is a necessity” (Enloe 2010). Through this paper, I explore the possibility of feminist foreign policy for India by employing a historical framework. This study goes back into the annals of history to explore the international thought of early women envoys of India to investigate whether there always was a feminist blueprint of foreign policy available? A blueprint that got lost in time as international history was written about men, by men. This inquiry becomes even more crucial today as India continues to see the consolidation of right wing political leadership and a shrinking democracy. In these dim times, the ray of hope comes in the form of people's movements where several women are in the forefront. This makes one think that how is it that a post-colonial State, founded on the edifice of anti-imperialism, with several strong women political figures who were also prominent voices in the international political space, till now did not show any inclination for a feminist foreign policy? Thus, through this paper I locate that lost blueprint of feminist foreign policy for India to build a roadmap for the future.
