the introduction of mass vasectomy camps and liberalization of abor- tion laws. Major incentives for sterilization (e.g., payment of as much as 60 rupees in some areas) brought dramatic results: vasectomies jumped from 1.6 million in 1968 to 3.1 million in 1973. But red tape hampered the effort to provide inexpensive, legal abortions.
In April 1975, Indira Gandhi decided on a coercive approach, raising the legal age of marriage and pressuring men to submit to sterilization. The number of forced...