IT was once thought that fertility below a level could not be achieved without changes in the material conditions of the people.

DEVELOPMENT is about protection of human rights of the concerned populations. It pre-supposes active participation of the populace in the decisionmaking processes while social justice remains one of the most important and cherished goals of development.

This report examines the linkages between wife-beating and one health-related consequence for women, their experience of fetal and infant mortality.

THE United Nations Commission on the Status of Women defines violence against women to include "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women..." [Economic and Social Council 1992].

In this report, we propose new measures of wanted and unwanted fertility based on actual and wanted parity progression ratios, and we apply these procedures to NFHS data for eight states in India.

On the World Population Day this year, there were two new features which are welcome: the first is the concern for environment in the context of population growth; and the second is the candid admission by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare that we must get rid of the tyranny of fami

Dowry has been a widespread social evil among the Hindus. Now it has spread to other communities also such as Muslims and Christians as well. The Parliament passed the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 with a view of eradicate the rampant evil.

It is now common practice to infer the social status of women from their demographic characteristics. Yet it is not so easy to read through demographic progress, in terms of declines in mortality and fertility, to make unambiguous judgments about trends in women's social standing.

A number of recent studies [A] [D] have documented evidence to show that couples have a decided preference for a particular sex combination of children. For example, in many South Asian countries, including India, there is a strong preference for sons over daughters.

Modem means of fertility control have made inroads into Mogra in recent times. Since these means were introduced mainly under the national Family Planning Programme (FPP), this chapter focuses on people's response to it. How did FPP find its way into the village? What do people think about it?