Missing Daughters

Sharada Srinivasan is Assistant Professor in International Development Studies at York University, Toronto. Her research focuses on gender-based discrimination and violence including young people’s experiences of them. Her current work examines the relative value of daughters and sons among the Indian diaspora in Canada, as well as the social transformation underway in India in the context of daughter deficits.

Daughter Deficit: Sex Selection in Tamil Nadu is about girls who are denied the right to live or to be born in India, and it asks why and how such a situation has come about. Daughter elimination in the form of sex selection, female infanticide and neglect is not an aberration or an idiosyncrasy—it accounts for a large proportion of missing girls in India, measured by the sex ratio imbalance in the 0–6 age group. The author examines this disturbing fact from the context of women’s lives to unravel the causes of daughter elimination, and the mechanisms which create and sustain an environment in which this is imaginable.


Using quantitative and ethnographic material, she explains how this practice unfolds in a region which has demonstrated relatively high human development and status of women. From the economic and socio-cultural causes fuelling daughter aversion vis-à-vis son preference, we see the ways in which daughter elimination is institutionalised and reproduced. Reflecting on the way ahead, the book concludes that even as public policies can and should play a decisive role in reversing the immediate outcomes in favour of daughters, an environment favourable to daughters will need fundamental changes in social norms, attitudes and policies of governments and NGOs.

In our Gender Studies and Public Health sections, 302 pages, Rs 595,  ISBN: 9788188965687

Graphic Lib

Srividya Natarajan, who teaches English and Creative Writing at King’s University College and Aparajita Ninan, a design intern with Navayana have authored (or should it be sketched) Jotirao Govindrao Phule's 1873 book Gulamgiri (Slavery) a scathing and witty attack on brahmanism and the slavery of India’s ‘lower’ castes that it engendered. Unlike Indian nationalists, Phule (1827-1890) saw the British as people who could tame the local elite—the brahmans who wielded power simply on the basis of birth. Inspired by Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man and the ideals of Enlightenment philosophers, Phule mounted a critique of the vedas as idle fantasies of the brahman mind. With the objective of liberating the sudras and atisudras, he founded the Satyashodak Samaj (Society of Truthseekers).

Phule dedicated Slavery ‘to the good people of the United States as a token of admiration for their sublime, disinterested and self-sacrificing devotion in the cause of Negro Slavery.’ Written in the form of a dialogue between Dhondiba and Jotiba—reminiscent of Buddha’s suttas, of Socrates’ dialogues—Slavery traces the history of brahman domination in India, and examines the motives for and objectives of the cruel and inhuman laws framed by the brahmans.

This revolutionary text remains relevant today, and given Phule’s rather graphic imagination lends itself almost naturally to graphic art. Natarajan and Ninan also weave in the story of Savitribai, Jotiba’s wife and partner in his struggles, who started a school for girls in Pune in 1848, despite social opprobrium.

A Gardener in the Wasteland: Jotiba Phule's fight for Liberty is in our Dalit Studies section,  128 pages,  Rs 220, ISBN: 9788189059460

Five cheers for the Environment!

TERI Press, the publishing wing of TERI, The Energy Research Institute has a set of five books aimed to address issues relating to the environment. Published in cooperation with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (at least thats what the logos on the covers would seem to imply), this set of five books are specially devised for Indian realities. Edited by or written by T V Ramachandra of the Centre for Ecological Studies at IISc, these books are a valuable collection to the serious environmentalist.

1. Management of Municipal Solid Waste by T V Ramachandra Solid material thrown away as unused from various sectors such as agricultural, commercial, domestic, industrial and institutional constitutes solid wastes. This places an enormous strain on natural resources and seriously undermines efficient and sustainable development. Management of Municipal Solid Waste discusses the ways to salvage the situation through efficient management of solid wastes from waste generation to final disposal. The various processes such as waste generation, collection, storage, processing, recovery, transport, and disposal, are explained with the support of case studies. The book discusses reduction of waste at the source and to foster implementation of integrated solid waste management systems that are cost-effective and protect human health and the environment.

2. Environmental Management by T V Ramachandra and Vijay Kullkarni. Environmental Management has become one of the most used terms in recent times. But, what exactly does the term mean and entail? Environmental management helps to investigate and manage the environment within the context of human influences, incorporating an examination of economics, culture, political structure, and social equity, as well as natural processes and systems. This book discusses in detail the various issues relating to environmental management, including the fundamentals; the various environmental policies, legislations and international treaties; the concept of environmental impact assessment; environmental auditing; life cycle assessment; various environmental management system standards; issues and techniques, and environmental design and economics.has become one of the most used terms in recent times. But, what exactly does the term mean and entail? Environmental management helps to investigate and manage the environment within the context of human influences, incorporating an examination of economics, culture, political structure, and social equity, as well as natural processes and systems. This book discusses in detail the various issues relating to environmental management, including the fundamentals; the various environmental policies, legislations and international treaties; the concept of environmental impact assessment; environmental auditing; life cycle assessment; various environmental management system standards; issues and techniques, and environmental design and economics.

3. Air Pollution Control by S P Mahajan. The air we breathe is being polluted by activities such as vehicles; burning coal, oil, and other fossil fuels; and manufacturing chemicals. Air pollution can even come from smaller, everyday activities such as cooking, space heating, and degreasing and painting operations. These activities add gases and particles to the air we breathe. When these gases and particles accumulate in the air in high enough concentrations, they can harm us and our environment. The module on Air Pollution deals with the various sources of air pollution and the associated environmental and health impacts. It also discusses the appropriate measures to control/prevent the same.

4. Soil and Groundwater Pollution from Agricultural Activities by T V Ramachandra. This book introduces the major agricultural activities in India and their impact on soil and groundwater. It lists the basic aspects of agricultural activities and introduces soil properties, classification and processes, and groundwater characteristics, movement, and recharge aspects. It further discusses soil and groundwater pollution from various sources, impacts of irrigation, drainage, fertilizer, and pesticide. Finally, the book dwells upon conservation and management of groundwater and soil. 

5. Municipal Water and Waste Water Treatment by Rakesh Kumar and R N Singh. The book Municipal Water and Waste Water Treatment provides an overview of the engineering approaches towards protecting water quality, with an emphasis on fundamental principles. It presents water quality objectives and the chemical, physical, and biological processes necessary for designing and managing drinking water and wastewater treatment plants. Theory and conceptual design of systems for treating municipal wastewater and drinking water are discussed. The basic principles of common treatment processes have also been discussed.






Cheer on! These are very reasonably priced, as given below, Rs 2300 for the whole set. Individually:


1. Management of Municipal Solid Waste, Rs 450
2. Environmental Management, Rs 550
3. Air Pollution Control, Rs 350
4. Soil and Groundwater Pollution from Agricultural Activities, Rs 525
5. Municipal Water and Waste Water Treatment, Rs 425


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