78 SOCIAL SCIENTIST the government had to accept the works of two women as government textbooks.56 Once women became fully aware of their real strength, there will be no alternative for men but to surrender their 'masculinity*. If women had a say in the affairs of the world, much of immorality and injustice would disappear. An article on Scientific Religion put forward the idea of a 'vital* force in nature or the abstract 'life*. It also, by not recognising any specific god or religion, suggested a new form of faith. Other articles suggested the need for united struggles, organising women, poor women in particular, and increasing women's participation in legislative bodies. They emphasised that social change required political power and women should be able to exercise various tasks related to the same.58 While varying trends argue for social change, there are no clearly articulated notions of a new, just society. This then is the major dilemma faced by those who wished to change gender relations. How far could they reject the ancient, religious norms, philosophy or dominant ideology or question the socio-economic basis of their oppression? Though the dominant trends are involved in a process of image building, they are not iconoclastic, rather they wish to give a new meaning to old images or seek out images of strong, capable knowledgeable women in the ancient myths and texts. They attempt to re-interpret Sati, Savitri, Sita, Draupadi images as that of strong women, not only as models of women subjugated by men. They constantly seek out illustrious women from the past, unravel the existence of wise, strong, talented courageous women from mythology and the epics. They find talented women in history, in different lands and under differing faiths. These narratives suggest women's attempts to create a different self-image. In that sense, they are participants in the construction of a gendered identity. NOTES AND REFERENCES Acknowledgement to Dr K.N. Panikkar and C.P. Geevan. 1. Sarada, Vol. 5. (1), 1919, p. 28-34. 2. Ibid. 3; Sarada, Vol. 5 (3), 1919, p. 84-92. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid., 1920, p. 163-171. 6. Ibid., 1920, p. 208. 7. Ibid., Vol. 4 (6), 1919, p. 186-95. 8. Ibid., Vol. 4 (7), 1919, p. 213-17. 9. Ibid. 10. Ibid. 11. Ibid. 12. Ibid.