Kudi-Maar: the vexed question of infanticide in Punjab: a colonial and post colonial perspective

Manchanda, Mahima (2014). Kudi-Maar: the vexed question of infanticide in Punjab: a colonial and post colonial perspective. University of Birmingham. M.Phil.

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Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to focus on the historical and cultural factors responsible for female infanticide in Punjab. It is a state with one of the worst sex ratios in the country, with the national average being 940 females for 1000 males (Census of India 2011). The systematic killing of the girl child has produced several reactions. Academic journals and books, governmental reports, film, cinema, theatre and television have all devoted attention to this discrimination against the girl child that begins in the womb itself. However, what many of these works miss is the question of ‘continuity’. Why does female infanticide, first documented in a systematic manner by the British colonial state continue to exist today? The purpose of this thesis, hence, is to highlight the continuity of the practice of killing of the girl child. It aims to trace historically the prevalence of female infanticide in Punjab and the colonial efforts in this direction. Also, how did women themselves perceive this practice? What accounts for its continuity in the region with infanticide being replaced by feticide? This dissertation, hence, wishes to trace the historical and legal precedents of this practice in colonial India. This will demonstrate not just the historical roots of this practice but also provide a more nuanced understanding of its continuation in contemporary India as well.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.Phil.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.Phil.

Supervisor(s):