Kumudini Welfare Trust traces the intimate history of one of the oldest welfare organizations in Bangladesh, founded in the aftermath of Partition and sustained through the labour of women. Drawing on ethnographic research at Mirzapur, Narayanganj and Dhaka, the chapters explore how care, work, memory and the market are woven into the daily rhythms of the Trust's hospitals, schools and workshops.

The chapter presented in this volume collectively explore the intricate and evolving relationship that the Trust has maintained with the socio-political landscape of Bangladesh. Kumudini has continuously adapted to the country's historical shifts-most notably the violence and transformation brought about by the Liberation War of 1971. This also marked the recalibration of Kumudini's identity in a nation irrevocably changed by trauma, displacement, and the challenge of constructing a national consciousness. Moving between archival fragments, life stories and the textures of Nakshikantha embroidery, the volume shows how a women-led institution negotiated displacement, capital and governance while holding together an ethic of care with an ethic of justice. It invites readers to rethink familiar binaries of public and private, charity and enterprise, tradition and modernity post-Partition.