Which of the following statements are correct in respect to women in India in the context of the accounts given by foreign travellers of India society?

All of the above.

The correct answer is Option 4 - All of the above

Option 1- Women's labour was crucial in both agricultural and non-agricultural production.
Option 2- Women from merchant families participated in commercial activities, sometimes even taking mercantile disputes to the court of law.
Option 3- Sati System was practiced in India.
Option 4- All of the above.

Contemporary European travellers and writers often highlighted the treatment of women as a crucial marker of difference between Western and Eastern societies. Not surprisingly, Bernier chose the practice of sati for detailed description. He noted that while some women seemed to embrace death cheerfully, others were forced to die. However, women’s lives revolved around much else besides the practice of sati. Their labour was crucial in both agricultural and non-agricultural production. Women from merchant families participated in commercial activities, sometimes even taking mercantile disputes to the court of law. It therefore seems unlikely that women were confined to the private spaces of their homes.