Contraception, Colonialism and Commerce: Birth Control in South India, 1920-1940

Sarah Hodges

ISBN 10: 075463809X / ISBN 13: 9780754638094

Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2008

About this Item

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Seller Inventory # B9780754638094

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Contraception, Colonialism and Commerce: Birth Control in South India, 1920-1940
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 075463809X
• ISBN 13: 9780754638094
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 522 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Birth control holds an unusual place in the history of medicine. Largely devoid of doctors or hospitals, only relatively recently have birth control histories included tales of laboratory-based therapeutic innovation. Instead, these histories elucidate the peculiar slippages between individual bodies and a body politic occasioned by the promotion of techniques to manipulate human reproduction. The history of birth control in India brings these as well as additional complications to the field. Contrary to popular belief, India has one of the most long-lasting, institutionalized, far-reaching, state sponsored family planning programs in the world. During the inter-war period the country witnessed the formation of groups dedicated to promoting the cause of birth control. This book outlines the early history of birth control in India, particularly the Tamil south. In so doing, it illuminates India's role in a global network of birth control advocacy. The book also argues how Indians' contraceptive advocacy and associationalism became an increasingly significant realm of action in which they staked claims not just about the utility of contraception but simultaneously over their ability and right to self-rule.

About the Author

Sarah Hodges is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Warwick, UK. She has also edited Reproductive Health in India: History, Politics, Controversies (2006).