Boundaries and Motherhood Ritual and Reproduction in Rural Maharashtra

Outside of debates surrounding public health statistics, little has been written about the experience of motherhood in India. In Boundaries and Motherhood, Deepra Dandekar argues that contradictory to the assumption that motherhood is primarily female-centered and positive, maternity is characterized by many as dangerous, malevolent, and marginal. By highlighting the manner in which the experience and expression of motherhood is constructed in India, Dandekar emphasizes its relationship to caste identity. Dandekar deconstructs existing notions of maternity by interrogating the very systemic and patriarchal nature of its language. The author also examines the caste-system and how it complicates Indian understandings of motherhood. Boundaries and Motherhood is deeply researched and will engage scholars in both sociology and gender studies.