Whose Body Is Legitimatized for Sterilization After All?

Abstract

In the recent sterilization camp, the debate has centred on the violation of Supreme Court guidelines and the issue of consent. However, what gets obliterated in this debate is ‘whose body gets legitimized to conduct mass sterilization practices’ and ‘how do we understand the nature of Indian state, which in plural and dialectical ways colonize poor, rural, dalit and adivasi women's body and sexuality’. Thus, we need to think critically about the violence embodied in regulatory procedures that provides powers not only to the health functionaries but also to the diverse and intersecting state machineries to colonize subaltern women in terms of gaining knowledge on their bodies where bodies are being counted, categorized, disciplined and discoursed upon through various development interventions.