The voices of Andarmahal

-ADRIJA SANYAL-

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The emergence of autobiographies by Bengali women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries marks a turning point in both Indian literature and women's self-expression.

Rooted in the ferment of the Bengal Renaissance, the growth of women's education, and the rise of print culture, these writings became a powerful medium for women to articulate their inner lives and social struggles. They not only narrated personal battles with child marriage, enforced widowhood, or the pursuit of literacy but also reflected larger currents of social reform and nationalist awakening. In claiming the authority to tell their own stories, Bengali women writers carved out a literary and historical space that challenged patriarchy and enriched modern Indian literature.

Amar Jiban (1876)