This article deals with the politics behind the introduction of 'scientific' midwifery
practices by the colonial state in Punjab and the manner in which the emerging
Punjabi elite responded to this change. The colonial attack on native dais revolved
around their purportedly 'dirty' habits, lack of formal training and the unhygienic
conditions of childbirth. The issue of cleanliness became central to the way in which
the Punjabi high-caste elite reorganised and sanitised their relationship with the dais. even while utilising their labour. The stakes of the Punjabi elite in the repro
ductive health of their women were high, as this issue became one of the defining
moments of their modernity and middle-class status. How the growth of such a politics
created space for some upper-class women medical professionals to emerge, the 'lady'
doctors and the 'certified' dais, is also examined.
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