ABSTRACT
Pandita Ramabai stresses the eugenic dimension of the problem on 'How the Condition of Women Tells upon Society' by discussing 'the doctrine of prenatal influence'. As Ramabai found her niche in the feminist and other reform circles, especially in Philadelphia and Boston, her American sojourn stretched from the intended three months to almost three years. It has to be remembered that the baffling American use of the term 'Hindu' to denote an Indian national and not an adherent of Hinduism resulted from their use of 'Indian' to denote an American Indian. American women especially were deeply invested in the trope of the 'tragic Hindu widow' and wanted to realign the structure of foreign aid to Indian women by gaining entry through Ramabai. The campaign soon gathered momentum as an American social movement which trickled down even into the remotest corners of the country.
