1. Usha Rengachary Smerdon, “Crossing Bodies, Crossing Borders: International Surrogacy between the United States and India,” Cumberland Law Review Vol. 39, No. 1 (2008): 44–45. Smerdon notes: “Clinics offering surrogacy arrangements to international clients have sprung up in major metropolitan areas throughout India, including: Kolkata, Pune, New Delhi, Bhopal, and Indore. The clientele appears mostly to be non-resident Indians, constituting as much as 70% of the total client base. Indian clinics report that surrogacy arrangements have more than doubled in recent years with demand being driven primarily from abroad.” It is important to note that the term “Non-Resident Indians” (often referred to as NRIs) refers to people born in India (maybe even spent a major portion of their life in India) but who now live and work abroad.
2. Santosh Desai, “Towards a Cultural War,” The Times of India, January 6, 2013, at
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
/Citycitybangbang/entry/towardsa-cultural-war (accessed on January 8, 2013). Commenting on the recent gang rape incident that took place in India’s capital city of Delhi, Desai’s article attempts to expose the deep seated patriarchy that seems to run among both the politicians, and law makers of India. He writes: “The truth is that, however inappropriate the statements from politicians, they represent a larger view, and that should hardly come as a surprise. India is a deeply patriarchal society, and no matter how desirable gender equality is, it is a long and arduous journey that has barely begun.”
3. Kishwar Desai, Origins of Love ( London: Simon liheng Schuster UK, 2012 ), 31.
4. Helen Pidd, “Why Is India So Bad for Women?” The Guardian July 23, 2012, at
http://www.guardian.co.uk
/world/2012/jul/23/why-india-bad-for-women (accessed on August 21, 2012).
5. George Palattiyil, Eric Blyth, Dina Sidhva and Geeta Balakrishnan, “Globalization and Cross-border Reproductive Services: Ethical Implications of Surrogacy in India for Social Work,” International Social Work, Vol. 53, No. 5 (September 2010): 687.