Vijayalakshmi Pandit: Gendering and Racing against the Postcolonial Predicament

Menon, Parvathi

Abstract

Subjected to both the male and Orientalist gaze at the United Nations, its ‘first female’ President, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, embodied the paradox of many colonial elites in India: a British-influenced upbringing combined with radical anti-colonial pursuits. Donning a saree and speaking English fluently, her disposition gave the British and Americans the impression of easy access, while the Soviets wished to channel her anti-imperialist vision to form an Eastern alliance. Straddling between the East and the West, Pandit championed Third-Worldism tactically, even as she drew the ire from her counterparts who found her unbecomingly moderate.

Citation

Menon, P. Vijayalakshmi Pandit: Gendering and Racing against the Postcolonial Predicament. In I. Tallgren (Ed.), Portraits of Women in International Law: New Names and Forgotten Faces? (244-252). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198868453.003.0019

• Online Publication Date: May 10, 2023
• Deposit Date: Feb 22, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: May 11, 2025
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 244-252
• Book Title: Portraits of Women in International Law: New Names and Forgotten Faces?
• ISBN: 9780198868453
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198868453.003.0019
• Keywords: Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Third Worldism, race, Cold War, internationalism, political equality