Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was a remarkable woman—a gifted writer and an activist central to the making of the modern Indian nation. India’s representative to the Global South for many years
after independence, Kamaladevi figured prominently in discussions and studies on Indian women and independence. But in more mainstream histories, she remains relatively unknown.
A Passionate Life brings together for the first time a collection of Kamaladevi’s writings on the subjects closest to
her heart. These essays include a close look at the lives of tribal peoples in India, the sustaining of handicrafts and handicraft workers, and issues of history. In doing so, the volume
questions not only our methods of writing and recovering history—which leave out lives as important as hers—but also show how the surfacing of histories like Kamaladevi’s can enrich, expand
and nuance our understanding of the making of modern India. Crucial new essays and commentary by the editors accompany Kamaladevi’s writings.
