Towards a limited and ‘quality’ population: Debates on maternity benefits in mid-twentieth century India

Abstract Maternity benefits are historically envisioned as a means to promote maternal and infant health in India. It was a major rationale for the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. 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. This article examines one such attempt in the Indian Parliament. During the discussion on the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill of 1965, Shakuntala Paranjpye, a renowned advocate for birth control, sought to add a restrictive clause limiting maternity benefits to the first two deliveries. Despite leading to an intense debate among the legislators, the amendment was voted down. Nevertheless, the debates are worth exploring to understand the prevailing notions about reproductive behaviour, differential fertility, and alleged ignorance of the working-class women. Primarily drawing on the legislative debates on the Maternity Benefit Act, this article shows how maternity benefits became a distinctive site for negotiating population control. By limiting maternity benefits, this article argues, the amendment sought to regulate the reproductive behaviour of the working class and promote a limited and ‘quality’ population.