Description
The Asian Relations Conference of 1947 is described as precursor to the Bandung conference. However, much is yet to be written about what transpired at the conference and how that affected the ideas of ‘third world’ internationalism. Drawing from this tangent of inquiry, this paper spotlights the role of Indian women in the history of the Asian Relations Conference. As is well documented, many women delegates from across Asia attended the event (almost 38 women’s organisations and eminent women leaders in Asia were invited) which was presided over by Sarojini Naidu herself, an Indian woman nationalist leader. The writings that do throw light on the proceedings of ARC fall short in fleshing out the role of women delegates at the conference. Beyond occasional mentions much needs to be understood from the interactions of these women at this ‘opening act of decolonial solidarity’ (Thakur 2018), thus asking, where were the women in the international imagination of this landmark event of postcolonial world making? Employing feminist historiography, this archival study works towards filling this lacuna by exploring the assertions of non-western feminist internationalism at the ARC and evaluates how such an inquiry furthers our understanding of South Asian historical IR thus far.
