Women as Indirect Beneficiaries in Elite Conflict in Princely Mysore,1860-1920 *

Women's education in Mysore was not a product of social reform movement as was the case in the Presidencies. Here it began as a conscious effort first by the British bureaucracy during the direct colonial rule and then by the Indian bureaucracy after the rendition. The elite conflict among the Madras Party consisting of officials from the Madras Presidency, the Mysore Party consisting of Tamil speaking Iyangars and the third group consisting of local Kannada speaking Mysorians for controlling the administration dominated the public space during this period. The debates regarding the regional and linguistic identity often centred on the issues related to women. This article deals with the identity conflict and their positive effect on the growth of women's education in princely Mysore during 1860–1920.