Sunaina Arya, PhD

Jawaharlal Nehru University, Centre for Philosophy, School of Social Sciences, Delhi, India, Alumna

Brandeis University, CASTE: A Golbal Journal on Social Exclusion, Co-Editor, special issue ‘Gender and Religion’, j-CASTE

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Editor of Dalit Feminist Theory: A Reader (Routledge, 2020)
Co-Editor, Gender Special Issue @ CASTE: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion, Brandeis University, MA, USA
Honourable Mention @ Bluestone Rising Scholar Prize 2019, Heller School of Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, USA
PhD on 'A Philosophical Critique of Indian Feminism: A Dalit Perspective' @ Philosophy, JNU, New Delhi, India

Area of Research:
Dr Ambedkar's Social and Political Philosophy
Philosophy and Psychology
Philosophy of Social Sciences
Supervisors: MPhil+PhD: Prof Ajay Kumar Verma | PhD RAC: Prof Narender Kumar (CPS) and Prof Bhagat Oinam (CP)

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1 Book Reviews
12 Papers
1 Books

Book Reviews by Sunaina Arya, PhD

Body as Existence and Spirited Body as Exemplarity

Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, Apr 3, 2019

Unity of mind, body, soul, spirit is necessary for our thriving, for actualising our potentials, ... more Unity of mind, body, soul, spirit is necessary for our thriving, for actualising our potentials, for being an exemplar, for living a truly human life.
We all bear the potential 'megalopsychia', to be an exemplar. As part of our being humans we can equally flourish physically, mentally, and spiritually. In order to actualise our true selves, those of us engaged with the life of mind need to explore the life of body and vice versa. Because we cannot excel in one field if we ignore another dimension of our existence.

It is only a book review here, am yet to develop my full paper.

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Papers by Sunaina Arya, PhD

Introduction Theorising Dalit Feminism

by Sunaina Arya, PhD and aakash singh rathore

Routledge India, Sep 9, 2019

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Khader’s feminist ethic against imperialism: proposing a pluriversal philosophic resolve

Journal of Global Ethics, 2020

Khader’s Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic brings to our attention in a f... more Khader’s Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic brings to our attention in a forceful way that feminist modernity is complicit with imperialist ideals and attitudes. She offers an extensive set of examples, analyses and arguments to recommend a nonideal universalism while embracing maternal ‘feminized power’ from non-Western cultures. I comprehend her arguments to understand salient features of imperialist feminism and then contextualize her critique in the South Asian context of feminist discourse. Expanding on her main critique of Western imperialist hegemony, I propose pluriversal philosophies as a positive approach towards a more just world. I take inspiration from Mignolo, Phule, Ambedkar, Buddha, Anzaldúa and Freire as philosophers of praxis and engage with important anti-hegemonic scholars and organizations to offer a pragmatic translation of powerful ideas.

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Dalit or Brahmanical Patriarchy? Rethinking Indian Feminism

CASTE / A Global Journal on Social Exclusion, 2020

The present paper argues that the conceptualisation of notions like ‘dalit’ or ‘intracaste’ or ‘m... more The present paper argues that the conceptualisation of notions like ‘dalit’ or ‘intracaste’ or ‘multiple’ patriarchies results from a misunderstanding of the concept brahmanical patriarchy. The category ‘dalit patriarchy’ is gaining popularity in academic and political discourse of contemporary India. It is introduced by Gopal Guru in his seminal essay ‘Dalit Women Talk Differently’ only to challenge patriarchal practices within ‘lower’ caste groups. But mainstream feminists of India attempted to propagate and proliferate this vague concept. They argue that dalit men, as a part of their exploitation by ‘upper’ caste, also face taunts regarding their masculinity which results in their aggressive behaviour on dalit women; which has been called as ‘dalit patriarchy’. The paper argues that conceptualisation of such notions yields no advancement in our endeavours toward a gender-just society, rather it is misleading. Evaluating articulations in mainstream Indian feminism, we need to thin...

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Editorial Essay

CASTE / A Global Journal on Social Exclusion, Oct 31, 2020

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Indian feminism and ‘Dalit patriarchy’

by aakash singh rathore and Sunaina Arya, PhD

Dalit Feminist Theory, 2019

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Vilifying Dalit women

Dalit Feminist Theory, 2019

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Introduction : Theorising Dalit feminism

by aakash singh rathore and Sunaina Arya, PhD

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Responses to Indian feminists’ objections

by aakash singh rathore and Sunaina Arya, PhD

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Khader's feminist ethic against imperialism: proposing a Pluriversal philosophic resolve

JOURNAL OF GLOBAL ETHICS, 2021

Khader’s Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic brings to our attention in a f... more Khader’s Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic brings to our attention in a forceful way that feminist modernity is complicit with imperialist ideals and attitudes. She offers an extensive set of examples, analyses and arguments to recommend a nonideal universalism while embracing maternal ‘feminized power’ from non-Western cultures. I comprehend her arguments to understand salient features of imperialist feminism and then contextualize her critique in the South Asian context of feminist discourse. Expanding on her main critique of Western imperialist hegemony, I propose Pluriversal philosophies as a positive approach towards a more just world. I take inspiration from Mignolo, Phule, Ambedkar, Buddha, Anzaldúa and Freire as philosophers of praxis and engage with important anti-hegemonic scholars and organizations to offer a pragmatic translation of powerful ideas.

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Ambedkar as a Feminist Philosopher

Chapter 4 in Gender and Racial Justice, Vol. IV of B. R. Ambedkar: A Quest for Justice (five volumes box set), Oxford University Press, pp. 89-113 , 2021

The present paper has critically analysed Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s contribution to emancipation of wo... more The present paper has critically analysed Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s contribution to emancipation of women in the context of Indian society. Ambedkar’s feminist insight has been observed from two perspectives—theory and practice. His engagement with the texts in order to understand the origin of the patriarchy, and then producing various literatures on the issue, is formulated as theoretical contributions. His drafting of the Hindu Code Bill, after a careful study of the issue, and its active defence in courtroom, has been seen as his material contributions to women empowerment in India. The theoretical aspect of his feminist works has been the major focus of this paper. The paper has dealt with questions like— In what manner Dr. Ambedkar’s perspective and ideas on gender issues can be systematised as feminist philosophy? What kind of criticism does Ambedkar offer against existing patriarchal norms? Does Dr. Ambedkar provide mere a critique of the prevailing social-order or does he also offer alternatives? How does Ambedkar’s philosophy address the issues of feminism? Does he borrow feminist insights from Buddhism? What is the contemporary relevance of Dr. Ambedkar’s feminist philosophy? How would Ambedkar’s feminist philosophy deal with contemporary debates in feminism in India? How do we locate Ambedkar’s feminist philosophy in the line of Indian feminist thinkers? Thus, the paper includes an analytical review of Ambedkar’s feminist ideas, its contemporary relevance, and a critical evaluation of its validity from a philosophical approach.

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Theorising Gender in South Asia: Dalit Feminist Perspective

Editorial, 2020

The present picture of South Asia does not depict an advancement on human rights of dalits, speci... more The present picture of South Asia does not depict an advancement on human rights of dalits, specifically of dalit women. What is more disturbing is that the caste norms and practices against Dalit women, have not disappeared in spite of laws against them. They are the raison d’être for the persistence of sexual exploitation of Dalit women even today. Caste and gender go hand-in-hand in the South Asian context which mainstream feminists fail to understand. The growing number of horrendous crimes like Hathras, Khairlanji, Bajhang, Bhanwari Devi, can only be addressed from a Dalit feminist standpoint position. In all such cases, a woman lives at the most vulnerable juncture with intersections of her multiple identities. The unique kind of discriminatory aspect subjects her to violence which she may not face if she would belong singularly to any of social, cultural, economic, political, regional, categories. This article reflects on this ugly statute of past against dalit women through theoretical efforts to understand its genesis, using Phule-Ambedkarite scholarship. It is organized into three sections—beginning with the brahmanical theory of patriarchy, unveiling denial of agency to dalit women, and probing Marxist/ Liberal approaches—to argue for dalit feminist theory as the positive answer to this graded inequality.

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Dalit or Brahmanical Patriarchy? Rethinking Indian Feminism

Bluestone Rising Scholar Honourable Mention, Feb 14, 2020

I argue that the conceptualisation of notions like ‘dalit’ or ‘intracaste’ or ‘multiple’ patriarc... more I argue that the conceptualisation of notions like ‘dalit’ or ‘intracaste’ or ‘multiple’ patriarchies results from a misunderstanding of the concept brahmanical patriarchy. The category ‘dalit patriarchy’ is gaining popularity in academic and political discourse of contemporary India. It is introduced by Gopal Guru in his seminal essay ‘Dalit Women Talk Differently’ only to challenge patriarchal practices within ‘lower’ caste groups. But mainstream feminists of India attempted to propagate and proliferate this vague concept. They argue that dalit men, as a part of their exploitation by ‘upper’ caste, also face taunts regarding their masculinity which results in their aggressive behaviour on dalit women; which has been called as ‘dalit patriarchy’. This paper explicates that conceptualisation of such notions yields no advancement in our endeavours toward a gender-just society, rather it is misleading. Evaluating articulations in mainstream Indian feminism, we need to think through: what effect does this have on our feminist struggle? what is at stake? what possibly can be a resolution? Thus, by exposing flaws about ‘dalit patriarchy’—including a detailed discussion on the empirical, theoretical, and logical shortcomings—this paper seeks to initiate a theoretical rethinking of feminist as well as dalit scholarship, with employment of analytical, hermeneutical and critical methods.

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Books by Sunaina Arya, PhD

INTRODUCTION to Dalit Feminist Theory

by aakash singh rathore and Sunaina Arya, PhD

Editor's Introduction to Dalit Feminist Theory: A Reader, 2019

Indian feminists have a widespread inclination towards taking the feminist thesis as their premis... more Indian feminists have a widespread inclination towards taking the feminist thesis as their premise and abandoning women’s relation to caste. The neglect of 'Dalit' in the Indian discourse on gender is deeply problematic because Dalit women occupy subordinate positions in most organised production of feminist knowledge. In the beginning of the twenty-ﬁrst century, feminists have increasingly begun to recog-nise this oversight, and several books have emerged highlighting Dalit women’s contribution to Indian feminism. But mainstream Indian feminists have by-passed this rectifying body of knowledge, despite its importance and relevance. Indian feminist discourse, which ought to bring gender-justice to 'all' Indian women, at least in theory, has suppressed the caste question to such an extent that ‘feminism’ itself has been seen as a modality of subjugating women from Dalit communities. Thus there are not just theoretical ﬂaws within mainstream Indian feminism but ideological ﬂaws as well.

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Sunaina Arya, PhD

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Book Reviews by Sunaina Arya, PhD

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