Women’s exploitation is a global phenomenon but in India women have been exploited in both public and private domains since time immemorial. This paper begins with an assessment of the social position of women in ancient India. It will trace the emergence of Feminism in India by dividing feminist struggle into different phases of history-first phase or social reform phase, second phase or freedom struggle phase and finally, third phase or post-independent phase. The different phases of feminist struggle are marked by different characteristics and backdrop of struggle. Social reform phase was marked by social reform movements of social reformers which sought to liberate women from their private domain by doing away with some atrocious practices such as sati and child marriage. Freedom struggle phase was marked by the struggle of women against patriarchal structures and colonial rulers. During post-independent phase, freedom from colonial rule gave an impetus to women to fight against single discriminatory force of patriarchy. This phase was marked by the emergence of new social movements which emphasized on diverse issues and sought to liberate women not only in the private domain but also in the public domain. The two primary objectives of this paper is to prove that the nature and development of Indian feminism is different from that of Western feminism. Another objective of this paper is to highlight the changing discourse of feminist struggle in India.
