ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to zoom in on the Hindi public sphere in order to scrutinize a further aspect in which santati-sastra distinguished itself from “Indian eugenics,” namely contraception or birth control. While neo-Malthusians entirely supported contraception, early eugenicists were often hesitant towards the issue. Brahmacarya has played a chief role in the definition of Hindu masculinity in the colonial and partly also the post-colonial period. While neo-Malthusianists suggested reducing population through the spread of contraceptives, Gandhi advocated birth control through brahmacarya as a form of self-discipline, which he saw as necessary to the realization of his utopian national project. Gandhi discussed brahmacarya also in his journal, Young India, as well as in his autobiography. The Mahatma’s collected views on the topic appeared in several Hindi editions. Gandhi’s dichotomy between “artificial contraception” and brahmacarya fitted well with this conservative cultural ideal because it reflected the idea that keeping one’s “moral sphere” “clean” from “foreign” influences was fundamental to national self-assertion.
