Indian men do not seem to feel embarrassed or resentful falling at the feet of powerful women but they can be both clumsy and aggressive with most women who clamour for equality or appear vulnerable and dependent, says a new book.

When it comes to the powerful women in Indian politics, they have made their place under the sun after coming out of male domination, says the book "Zealous Reformers, Deadly laws" by Madhu Purnima Kishwar, a women's right activist.

The book, a collection of Kishwar's writings tries to explore the reason women's rights laws in India end up producing such dismal results. It tries to provide practical solutions to some anti-women practices.

The most powerful women politicians of India share the common characteristics of cunning and extraordinary resilience says the recently launched book.

Madhu Kishwar in her book takes a long and hard look at the four dominant women politicians- Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati, Jayalalitha and Mamta Banerjee.

"The mesmeric power these women exercise over our political life provides us with interesting insights into the Indian male psyche", Kishwar, senior Fellow at Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDC) says.

While Indian men have made it fairly difficult for ordinary women to feel comfortable as equal participants in the political domain, they tend to succumb easily to the demands of women who are are courageous, fearless and hard to browbeat, she adds.

(About the book -- Name: "Zealous Reformers Deadly Laws"; Author: Madhu Purnima Kishwar; Publishers: Sage; Price: Rs 495; Pages: 419)