This book is a pioneering study on child adoption in India. Challenging some of the prevaiting theories on adoptive parenting through empirical data, it examines the issues that impinge on the development of adopted children in India. Importantly, this is the first book to give space to the voices of children.

The book is divided into two sections. The first deals with the macro-level issues of child adoption and discusses

• historical and global perspectives concerning adoption;
• theoretical paradigms, problems of research design and evaluation of research outcomes in adoption studies; and
• the Indian socio-political and socio-cultural contexts and contemporary adoption practices.

• the issues that come up while researching adoption in the Indian context; and
• experiences of parents and children, which have been collated to facilitate an understanding of the phenomenon of adoption at various stages of the child's development.

About the Author:

Vinita Bhargava, Ph.D., is a Reader and presently Head of the Department of Child Development at Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi.