Gender-human security interface: critical perspectives with special reference to India

Abstract The theme of ‘Human Security’ was first articulated by Mahbub-ul-Haq in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report in 1994. Freedom from fear and freedom from want are the two cardinal principles of human security. Human Security puts individual as the prime referral point in its exposition and analysis. Since, there is a lot of emphasis upon gender-specific discourses in the last three decades this article seeks to bring into limelight the critical perspectives of the interfaces between gender and human security, with special reference to India. This article raises some fundamental and pertinent questions. What impact does gender have on human security? What are the different dimensions of Human Security? To what extent we have been able to establish a gender-specific human security discourse in India? This article tries to answer all these substantive questions and establish a gendered-human security discourse in contemporary India.