Vimala Ramachandran – författare

India was a pioneer in legalizing induced abortion, or Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) in 1971. Yet, after three decades, morbidity and mortality due to unsafe abortion remain a serious problem. There is little public debate on the issue despite several national campaigns on safe motherhood. Instead, discussion on abortion has mainly centred around declining sex ratio, sex-selective abortion, and the proliferation of abortion clinics in urban areas. Adding to the problem is that abortion continues to be a sensitive, private matter, often with ethical/moral/religious connotations that sets it apart from other reproductive health-seeking behaviour.This book fills a gap in our understanding of the ground realities with respect to induced abortion in India to create an evidence-based body of knowledge. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, the case studies show why and under what circumstances women seek abortion and the quality of services available to them. They also explore inter-generational differences in attitudes and practices, the perceptions and selection of providers, female-selective abortion, and informal abortion practitioners. Among other issues, the contributors show that strong preference for sons, availability of modern techniques for diagnostic tests, widespread acceptance of the small family norm, and heavy reliance on female sterilisation as the primary method of contraception lead women to abort unwanted pregnancies.A book that goes beyond the smokescreen of data and regulations to unravel the human story behind elective abortion, it will be of interest to those studying health, public policy, and gender, apart from the general reader.

This book focuses on the failure of elementary education since Independence, which is usually seen as the result of simplified phrases like 'lack of political will', 'because of poverty', etc. This book looks at the system as a whole: infrastructure, quality of teaching, privatisation, nutritional incentives, curriculum. It contains samples from two states namely Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

After 70 years after independence, the tragic reality of Indian schools is that who we are, where we live, how much we earn and our gender influences the kind of education we will get. In this collection of essays the author explores the contours of a school system that is facing a crisis of legitimacy. While India aspires to march towards a knowledge driven society and economy, millions of young people are left behind. Those who can afford march out of government schools only to realize that the private schools are no better. The schools they attend leaves them with little knowledge or skill, a very low self-esteem and a bleak future. This book argues that the struggle for equality in education, is ultimately a struggle for quality – both being two sides of the same coin.Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Despite the legalisation of abortion in India in 1971 and new laws/regulations introduced in 2002 and 2021, and notwithstanding the positive impact of Medical Abortion, the sad reality is that morbidity and mortality continue to remain worrisome for many women undergoing abortions. In the early 2000s, a lack of reliable information, wide regional and rural–urban differences and a thin research base made it difficult for policymakers, administrators and women’s health advocates to develop strategic interventions. The earlier edition of this book used the in-depth qualitative research studies done in the early 2000s to highlight issues that emerged. These studies were part of the Abortion Assessment Project – India (AAP-I) jointly anchored by the Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT) and HealthWatch. The studies included sought to build a body of knowledge on all facets of induced abortion, such as the unmet needs for contraception and abortion, the son preference, the preference for private providers and the neglected needs of the single, widowed or separated women, to list policy-level and on-ground implementation issues. More crucially, they highlight the need to integrate diverse viewpoints that would further ease progression towards the common goal of making abortion an infrequently used but safe alternative for women faced with an unwanted pregnancy. The second edition revisits the studies in light of demographic shifts, changing social attitudes, technological advances and expanded access to medical abortion, reflecting evolving reproductive rights in India. The book will be of interest to health activists and researchers, policymakers and programme implementers, and those studying gender issues.

Despite the legalisation of abortion in India in 1971 and new laws/regulations introduced in 2002 and 2021, and notwithstanding the positive impact of Medical Abortion, the sad reality is that morbidity and mortality continue to remain worrisome for many women undergoing abortions. In the early 2000s, a lack of reliable information, wide regional and rural–urban differences and a thin research base made it difficult for policymakers, administrators and women’s health advocates to develop strategic interventions. The earlier edition of this book used the in-depth qualitative research studies done in the early 2000s to highlight issues that emerged. These studies were part of the Abortion Assessment Project – India (AAP-I) jointly anchored by the Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT) and HealthWatch. The studies included sought to build a body of knowledge on all facets of induced abortion, such as the unmet needs for contraception and abortion, the son preference, the preference for private providers and the neglected needs of the single, widowed or separated women, to list policy-level and on-ground implementation issues. More crucially, they highlight the need to integrate diverse viewpoints that would further ease progression towards the common goal of making abortion an infrequently used but safe alternative for women faced with an unwanted pregnancy. The second edition revisits the studies in light of demographic shifts, changing social attitudes, technological advances and expanded access to medical abortion, reflecting evolving reproductive rights in India. The book will be of interest to health activists and researchers, policymakers and programme implementers, and those studying gender issues.

Conflict resolution and promotion of regional cooperation in South Asia has assumed a new urgency in the aftermath of the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998, and underlined by the outbreak of fighting in Kargil in 1999, full mobilization on the border during most of 2002, and continued low-intensity warfare and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The stability of nuclear deterrence between the two countries is therefore a matter of great urgency and has found a place on the scholarly agenda of security studies in South Asia.Several books have been written on India’s nuclear programme, but these have been mostly analytical histories. This book is a new departure in that this is the first time that a group of scholars from the South Asian subcontinent have collectively tried to apply deterrence theory and international relations theory to South Asia.

This book surveys the elementary education system in India by exploring its institutional structures, processes and dynamics. It examines state education policy and institutions; public expenditure in education in educationally backward states; examples from the villages and schools; teaching and learning practices; systemic issues framing equity; and implications for the future. The book will be useful to scholars and researchers in education, sociology, development studies, and public policy.

After 70 years after independence, the tragic reality of Indian schools is that who we are, where we live, how much we earn and our gender influences the kind of education we will get. In this collection of essays the author explores the contours of a school system that is facing a crisis of legitimacy. While India aspires to march towards a knowledge driven society and economy, millions of young people are left behind. Those who can afford march out of government schools only to realize that the private schools are no better. The schools they attend leaves them with little knowledge or skill, a very low self-esteem and a bleak future. This book argues that the struggle for equality in education, is ultimately a struggle for quality – both being two sides of the same coin.Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.