[SmitaSrinivasan]

Dear Users of this forum,

A new book has been published, focusing on the topic of adoption in India.



I have copied some information I have found in my posting:



A pioneering study on child adoption in India, this book challenges the prevailing theories on adoptive parenting through empirical data. It examines the issues that impact the development of adopted children in India. Importantly, this is the first book to give space to the voices of children.


A distinguishing feature of this book is that it effectively combines both macro and micro issues with qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The life-cycle approach (which helps to map the continuities and transformations in the behaviour of adopted children), ethnographic studies of adoptive families and the author's personal story as an adoptive parent have been combined to provide the reader with an empathetic understanding of the adoptive parent and child.


This book will be widely welcomed by parents of adopted children, policy-makers, counsellors, adoption agencies and those working on the rights of children. It will be of equal interest to students and scholars of child development, psychology and social work.

About the author:

Vinita Bhargava is a Reader and presently Head of the Department of Child Development at Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi. Together with undertaking research projects, she teaches courses in child development, research methods, early childhood care and education, and child welfare.


Dr Bhargava has worked with various agencies in the field of adoption policy and practice in India. She has been the Chairperson of the Coordinating Voluntary Adoption Resource Agency (CVARA) since 1996. As a founder member of the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), an autonomous, nodal agency set up under the ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, and the 'NOC' committee member for screening applications for inter-country adoptions, she has contributed significantly to national policies on adoption.



Some appraisals for this book:



In this book, we hear the responses of mothers and those of adopted children. We are led into their homes and their lives. The chapters resound with the authentic voice. The book should interest a wide variety of readers, including adopted children as they grow up and introspect.
S Anandalakshmy (from the Foreword)



This book has grown out of a personal need we felt in parenting our own children—the first biological and the second adopted. During my early days of being an adoptive mother the most frequent question I was asked was why I had adopted a baby when I had my 'own' child. The second most popular question was whether there was a difference between my biological son and my adopted daughter. I knew that some day I would need to address these questions and a myriad other issues related to adoption within my own family and outside. Fortunately for me, my professional quest and personal need converged in the formulation of my research.
Vinita Bhargava


Contents: Foreword by S ANANDALAKSHMY / Prologue / ADOPTION POLICIES AND MACRO CONCERNS / Introduction / Theoretical Paradigms and Research Findings / Adoption and the Indian Socio-political Context / Socio-cultural Dimensions of Adoption in India / II. MICRO ISSUES: EXPERIENCES OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN / Researching Adoption: The Cultural Reality / Alternative Parenting / Construction of the Self in an Adopted Child / Family Interactions and Self-evaluations / Epilogue / Appendices / References



For more information visit http://indiasage.com/browse/book.asp...t_Name=&mode=1