Nivedita Menon

Nivedita Menon is a feminist writer and professor of political thought at Jawaharlal Nehru University.^[1][2][3][4]

She is the author of Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond the Law (2004); and the editor of Gender and Politics in India (1999) and Sexualities (Women Unlimited, 2008).^[5] Her book Seeing Like a Feminist, released in 2012 was well received. She writes on current issues in Economic and Political Weekly, kafila.org, and several newspapers.^[6][7]

Menon has been involved in a wide range of political and social movements.

Literary career

Major books published are:

• Power and Contestation: India since 1989 (Global History of the Present) (2007).
• Seeing Like a Feminist (2012).
• Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond The Law (2004).
• Gender And Politics In India ^[8]
• Sexualities (collected volume)^[9]

• Seeing Like a Feminist, released in 2012 received favourable reviews and phenomenal sales (partly due to uproar after the Delhi Gang Rape).^[10] The title of the book is a take-off from *Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott. The Hindu denoted in their review Nivedita "dissects social institutions, policy, and common ideas to explain the many ways the process of “gendering” occurs — here making a distinction between ‘sex’ as the biological characteristics and ‘gender’ as the set of cultural meanings that are arrived at over time."

^[4] Mary John in Econonomic and Political Weekly of India wrote "Written in a highly engrossing style, it takes on very serious issues while also frequently making the reader smile. Nivedita Menon has managed to condense some of the most complex challenges facing the women’s movement in contemporary India and elsewhere in the form of a series of short reflections that are organised within six chapters." ^{[11][12] [13]} The Guardian in their review noted "Menon succeeds in shattering some deeply-engrained myths, and her efficient gathering of the intersectional strands makes it a breezy but sharp read." ^[14]

Political activism

She is known for her staunch opposition to Nuclear Power ^[15]

Awards & Honours

AK Ramanujan Award for translation from Hindi and English Malayalam into English (Instituted by Katha) 1994. ^[16]

Controversy

In 2016 March, Nivedita Menon was criticized by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after a video surfaced of a speech she made to students at JNU. In her speech, she stated that "Everyone knows that India is illegally occupying Kashmir. It is said the world over. Everybody accepts". ^[17] The youth wing of the BJP filed a complaint against Menon and Kanhaiya Kumar, saying they made "anti-national" statements. Menon later stated that she had not said anything anti-national.^[18]

References

1. Menon, Nivedita (1970-01-01). "Nivedita Menon | Jawaharlal Nehru University - Academia.edu". Jnu.academia.edu. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
2. "Vaaranthappathippu - ലോകം ഒരു ഫെമിനിസ്റ്റിന്റെ കണ്ണിലൂടെ". Deshabhimani.com. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
3. "Nivedita Menon: We're witnessing new interventions by feminists of all genders - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2013-01-07. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
4. "Training the eye". The Hindu. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
5. ":::Welcome to the official website of Women Unlimited:::". Womenunlimited.net. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
6. "About". Kafila. 2011-08-28. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
7. "Search | Economic and Political Weekly". Epw.in. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
8. Gender And Politics In India - Google Books. Books.google.co.in. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
9. Singh, Jyoti. "Feminist writings". The Tribune. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
10. "A manual for new feminists | The Asian Age". Archive.asianage.com. 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
11. "The Little Red Book of Feminism? | Economic and Political Weekly". Epw.in. 2013-05-04. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
12. "'It Comes Slowly Slowly...' | Nivedita Menon". Outlookindia.com. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
13. Neha Thirani Bagri. "Where is India’s Feminist Movement Headed?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
14. Sharanya (2013-02-16). "Sifting through the myths and assumptions about feminism". Sunday-guardian.com. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
15. Tanushree Bhasin (2013-03-16). "Women at centre of anti-nuclear battle, from Bhopal to Fukushima". Sunday-guardian.com. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
16. "Show Profile". Jnu.ac.in. 2011-08-05. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
17. Share on FacebookShare on Twitter (2016-03-09). "Kashmir illegally occupied by India: JNU professor says in controversial speech - Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
18. Wed, 9 Mar 2016-10:12am , New Delhi , PTI (2016-03-09). "Fresh row? BJYM files complaint against Kanhaiya Kumar, JNU prof Nivedita Menon over 'anti-national' remarks | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". Dnaindia.com. Retrieved 2016-03-18.