Publisher's Synopsis
A critical analysis of women's participation in sports has not received the proper attention which it deserves from most of the Indian scholars. Men have played their dominant role in society as well as in sports which smacks of masculine superiority whereas women have been sidelined to lay a minor role. They were considered delicate, submissive and emotional. For these "clinging vine" creatures to compete in sports was unthinkable because they occupy a secondary status in Indian society. Moreover, society does not attach value to bring women into the sports field. The evidence of what the status of women was in the earliest history is found in the sacred Hindu texts, the Vedas namely Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda and Saam Veda. Each one of these texts is quite voluminous, the Rig Veda being the largest and the oldest. It is important to note that the hymns contained in these texts were composed by various eminent sages and during different time periods.
