Femininity, Power, Resistance and Politics of Outrage: The Legend of Padmavati

Abstract

This paper refers to the Padmavat poem as a source of social and cultural history along five major themes. The first is the historicity of Padmavat, the second is the construction of Padmavat as the esoteric ‘other’ in Jayasi’s account. The third is the role of image and power in women’s histories. The fourth is patriarchal honor in historical memory, and the last engages with the politics of recent protests in relation to Rajput historical consciousness about Padmavati.