Shai0778: adding first pg from scratch

2025-09-09T19:41:12Z

adding first pg from scratch

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{{Short description|Indian women's periodical }}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}

'''''The Indian Ladies' Magazine''''', established by [[Kamala Satthianadhan]] in 1901 in [[Madras]], was the first English-language Indian women's magazine created and edited by a woman.<ref name="Mobeen">{{cite journal |last1=Hussain |first1=Mobeen |title=The Indian Ladies' Magazine, 1901–1938: From Raj to Swaraj |journal=Women's History Review |date=2019 |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=178 |doi=10.1080/09612025.2018.1539633}}</ref> Satthianadhan was encouraged by her husband, Dr. [[Samuel Satthianadhan]], a prominent educationist and reformer, to start a journal for women at the dawn of the twentieth century.<ref name=":0" />

The magazine appeared in two publishing phases: monthly from 1901 to 1918, and bimonthly from 1927 to 1938.<ref name="Mobeen" /> A hiatus occurred between these two periods due to financial and personal circumstances that prevented Satthianadhan from continuing publication.<ref name="Puri">{{cite journal |last1=Puri |first1=T. K. |title=Kamala Satthianadhan and The Indian Ladies' Magazine: Women's Editorship and Transnational Print Networks in Late Colonial India |journal=Victorian Periodicals Review |date=2023 |volume=55 |issue=3–4 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.1353/vpr.2022.0028 |hdl=1983/7f92cf7a-0d6c-4edd-8b25-0385b5bde1e4 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> During the second phase, Satthianadhan's daughter, [[Padmini Satthianadhan Sengupta]], served as Assistant Editor and played a significant role in managing the publication.<ref name="Logan2024">{{cite book |last=Logan |first=Deborah |chapter=Indian Women's Pre-Independence Periodicals in English: ''The Indian Ladies' Magazine'', ''Stri-Dharma'' and the Indian New Woman |title=The Edinburgh Companion to British Colonial Periodicals |editor1-last=Finkelstein |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=Johnson |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Davis |editor3-first=Caroline |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |date=2024 |doi=10.1515/9781399500647 |isbn=978-1-3995-0064-7}}</ref>{{rp|231}}

The magazine promoted dialogue on religion, gender, society, and culture, emphasising cooperation rather than political divisiveness. It provided a platform to examine women's roles in both private and public spheres, as well as their progress in society, at a time when colonial norms and patriarchal ideas of gender were increasingly being questioned.<ref name="Puri" />{{rp|1}}

== Readership and reception ==
The magazine primarily catered to English-educated South Asian women.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mukhopadhyay |first1=Priyasha |title=Required Reading: The Life of Everyday Texts in the British Empire |date=2024 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-26154-6 |page=129}}</ref> Subscriptions in India, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and Burma (now Myanmar) were priced at ₹4, while it was available in the United States for $1.50 and in Britain for 6 shillings.<ref name="Logan2024"></ref>{{rp|231}} To reach a wider readership and to make the contents more accessible to women unfamiliar with English, the magazine included a section in [[Telugu language|Telugu]] and also facilitated translations into vernacular languages such as [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], and [[Malayalam]].

The magazine received a favourable response at its inception and was noted positively in press reviews by publications such as the ''Bombay Guardian'', ''[[The Daily Telegraph|Daily Telegraph]]'', ''The Indian Daily News'', and the ''[[The Madras Standard|Madras Standard]]''.<ref name="Deborah">{{cite book |last1=Logan |first1=Deborah |title=The Indian Ladies' Magazine, 1901–1938: From Raj to Swaraj |date=2017 |publisher=Lehigh University Press |isbn=9781611462227}}</ref>{{rp|247–251}} ''The London Times'' described it as "bright and interesting," while ''The Voice of India'' considered it a "valuable accession" to Indian journalism.<ref name="Deborah" />{{rp|247–251}} However, its finances were affected by the economic strains of the First World War and the approach of the Second World War. In 1915, Kamala Satthianadhan appealed to readers through the magazine to secure new subscriptions, presenting it as an important medium for advancing the cause of Indian women.<ref name="Deborah" />{{rp|242}} She also organised a concert at [[Victoria Public Hall|Victoria Hall]] to raise funds both for the war effort and to sustain the ''Indian Ladies' Magazine''.

Shifts in readership preferences and a changing socio-political climate also affected the magazine’s relevance. When it first ceased publication, new and more politically conscious journals such as ''[[Stri-Dharma]]'' emerged, moving away from the image of the genteel woman and fostering that of the socially responsible modern woman.<ref name="Deborah" />{{rp|18}} The declining influence of the ''Indian Ladies' Magazine'' was reflected in its subscriber base during its second run. While the magazine ''Camd'' recorded an average of 15,000 subscribers in [[1930]], the ''Indian Ladies' Magazine'' had only about 300.<ref name="Deborah" />{{rp|33}}

== Contents ==
The magazine addressed Indian concerns on subjects such as women's work, education, and the upbringing of children. It published original creative writing in the form of poetry, short plays, and serial fiction, along with instructive articles on needlework, cooking, and health remedies.{{r|Logan2024|p=232}} Regular columns included fashion advice, reviews, news, and discussions on moral and ethical issues.{{r|Logan2024|p=232}} The column "Ourselves" outlined the magazine's self-representation and editorial policy.<ref name="Deborah" />{{rp|xvii}}

Articles also profiled pioneering women such as [[Pandita Ramabai]], [[Cornelia Sorabji]], [[Josephine Butler]], and [[Helen Keller]], presenting them as role models for readers. Proceedings of women's conferences, lectures, and congress speeches were published to promote public speaking skills, which were considered an important aspect of women's development.{{r|Logan2024|p=232}}
[[File:Indian Ladies Magazine.jpg|center|thumb|519x519px|Contents page of the ''Indian Ladies' Magazine'', August 1901]]
To generate financial support, the magazine carried advertisements for Indian-made products and businesses in its front and back sections, aligning with the [[Swadeshi movement]]'s promotion of local goods. Frequent advertisements included Robina Hair Oil, [[Amrutanjan (balm)|Amrutanjan]] balm, Silk Pitamber Co. Benarasi saris, Batliwala's tonic pills, and Ayurvedic medicines marketed as solutions to women's health concerns.<ref>{{cite journal |date=1917 |editor-last=Satthianadhan |editor-first=Kamala |title=The Indian Ladies' Magazine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.24284990 |journal=The Indian Ladies' Magazine |language=English |volume=16 |issue=6 |jstor=saoa.crl.24284990 |last1=Satthianadhan |first1=Kamala}}</ref>

== Contributors ==
The contributors to the magazine were largely women, with both Indian and Anglo writers represented in significant numbers. The publication sought to provide a platform for both established authors and "young inexperienced writers".<ref name="Deborah" />{{rp|63}} It also offered women the opportunity to write and publish anonymously, meeting a widespread aspiration of the time.

=== Notable writers ===
Among the prominent women who contributed to the magazine were political activist and poet [[Sarojini Naidu]], whose early poems were first published in the ''Indian Ladies' Magazine''; social reformer [[Begum Rokeya|Begum Rokeya Hossain]], whose story ''[[Sultana's Dream]]'', published in [[1905]], remains one of the most recognised works of [[utopian and dystopian fiction]]; and author [[Atiya Fyzee|Atiya Fyzee-Rahmin]], who wrote under the pseudonym "Shahinda" and represented the Muslim socialite voice of the magazine.<ref name="Deborah" />

== Critique ==
During its second run, the magazine was criticised for not sufficiently engaging with women's political activities, for giving limited attention to the events of the national movement, and for attempting to balance the interests of the [[British Raj|Raj]] and ''[[Swaraj]]''. In response, Satthianadhan defended her position in the "Ourselves" column in 1930, arguing that other journals already focused on women's political participation, while her magazine concentrated on the broader aspects of women's development and their inward progress, which she considered equally significant.<ref name="Deborah" />{{rp|xxiii}}

Satthianadhan also expressed certain conservative views, such as her belief that a woman's proper sphere was the home, a perspective reflected in several of her writings for the magazine.<ref name="Deborah" />{{rp|xvii}} [[Sarojini Naidu]], once a close associate of Satthianadhan, distanced herself from the magazine during its second run, partly due to its limited political engagement.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Padmini |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.96595/page/n62/mode/1up?q=naidu |title=The Portrait of an Indian Woman |date=1956}}</ref>{{rp|42}}

== References ==
<references />
__FORCETOC__

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Ladies' Magazine}}
[[Category:Women's magazines published in India]]
[[Category:Indian popular culture]]
[[Category:1901 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1901]]
[[Category:English-language magazines published in India]]
[[Category:Defunct women's magazines]]
[[Category:Mass media in Chennai]]
[[Category:1938 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1938]]
[[Category:Defunct magazines published in India]]

The Indian Ladies' Magazine - Revision history

Shai0778: adding first pg from scratch