Feminism and inclusive leadership: Bridging tradition and modernity from an indicperspective

This chapter examines ideas of Rajarshi leadership, derived from Indic traditions, through a feminist critical sociological lens. Traditional Western norms about leadership are associated with masculine values such as power, dominance, violence, and authority that reinforce hierarchies and patriarchal structures. Feminist perspectives provide substantive alternatives to how we theorise and practice leadership in the new millennium. Beyond redefining the Rajarshi leadership ideal through a feminist lens, this chapter draws on other related Indo-Dharmic concepts such as the feminine divine principle of Shakti and the Bhakti movement that sought to break caste and gender hierarchies by emphasising on the vernacular and the unconventional. Thus, this chapter de-centres leadership discourses from patriarchal notions of entrepreneurial charismatic masculine leadership. It also simultaneously disrupts the idea that feminist leadership is a Western, modern, and colonial concept.