"Women, Equality and the Republic: Landmarks in the Indian Story is a series dedicated to tracing the history of the women’s movement in India vis-à-vis Indian democracy and the building of a modern nation. This series recognizes the need to archive women’s voices, roles and contributions in a largely male dominated national history. The volumes in the series not only document but also analyse the evolution of ideas and strategies and the concrete measures that were taken to shape policies and programmes for women in India.

The ‘Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India’ was described as a ‘historic benchmark’ when it was first published in 1974. It forced a reconceptualization of the prevalent discourse on issues of gender and economic well-being, political participation, law, health and family welfare. Towards Equality: Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India presents this report and its impact on the nation building process of post-colonial India. It explores the dynamics and values of inherited social institutions like family and marriage within a diverse, plural and hierarchical society. The result is a comprehensive and holistic examination of all questions relating to the rights and status of women in India, providing useful guidelines for the formulation of social policies. The book discusses socio-cultural settings governed by religious traditions, descent system, family organizations and marriage-related practices, which will be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. Scholars are also introduced to original research engaging with issues like prostitution, conditions of female prisoners and suicides by women, bringing to the fore erstwhile marginalized factors in gender studies.

Analysing the impact of law as an instrument of social change, the discussions on marriage, divorce, adoption and guardianship, maintenance, inheritance, matrimonial property and family courts in the volume will give students and practitioners of law valuable perspectives on the uniform civil code and reforms in criminal law. "