ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the various ways in which Indian women have engaged with dominant institution from the fifth century bce till colonial times. It provides Amartya Sen's construct to identify the well- (or ill-) being of women as it is represented in their own writings, and go further to identify their exercises of agency in effecting welfare. The chapter looks at sample of the surviving and accessible literature produced by Indian women through recorded history. The vicious cycle of gender discrimination is illustrated through women's reports of their lived experiences. The Therigatha verses, and Bhakti poetry show women as being constrained to domestic responsibilities and as not having, or not being perceived as having, the skills required to survive outside the house. An important characteristic that all Bhakti poets share is that they composed in the vernacular with the explicit aim of reaching the most people, intending to demonstrate that the language of the Gods was not exclusive.
