When welfare met demographic concerns

A study examines 1960s India, revealing how maternity benefits were linked to population control in legislative debates.

A scholarly dissection of a contentious chapter in India’s legislative history has revealed how maternity benefit policies were deeply intertwined with population control concerns in the 1960s.

The study, by Prarthana Dutta and Mithilesh Kumar Jha of the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, is significant given the discussions over the proposed Population Regulation Bill of 2019, seeking incentives for two-child families and disincentives for those with more children.

The duo’s research paper was published in the latest issue of Modern Asian Studies, a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Cambridge University Press.

The study revisits debates surrounding the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 and discussions on the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill of 1956. The researchers note that promoting maternal and infant health was the major rationale for the 65-year-old Act. “However, maternity benefits also came to be increasingly questioned in the mid-1960s for allegedly leading to more births and ‘derailing’ the national family planning programme. Limiting maternity benefits as a disincentive strategy for population control was proposed through various platforms,” the study says.

Examining the discussions on the 1965 Bill in Parliament, the researchers underline the arguments of Shakuntala Paranjpye, an advocate of birth control, who sought to add a restrictive clause limiting maternity benefits to the first two deliveries.

“Based on neo-Malthusian and eugenic logic, Paranjpye’s amendment sought to regulate the reproductive behaviour of the working class. It was argued that the amendment would help curb population growth and ensure economic needs are met, as well as that public services are available,” the study notes.