Of Dais and Midwives: 'Middle-class' Interventions in the Management of Women's Reproductive Health—A Study from Colonial Punjab

Abstract

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.