A thought-provoking article here by Dr Kaustav Bhattacharyya, published by Swarajya Blogs in January 2015.
“contemporary disguised eugenics policies manifest through CWS/CPS deploy symbolic violence based on the notions of Bourdieu, which defines it as, “the violence which is exercised upon a social agent with his or her complicity” (Pierre Bourdieu & JD Wacquant, 2000).
With persuasion by a stick in hand, the threat of the strong arm of the state coming down heavily on the errant families and parents is hardly consensual. The literature goes on to cite instances of symbolic violence involving weaker and marginalised sections of society like gender relations where women silently accept the higher wages for men since they ‘deserve’ more.
Extending the logic to child welfare practices, there is a tacit acceptance of the definition of ‘competent’ mother like someone who does not indulge eating habits of children or the adequate number of toys available to toddlers in their measured living room.
Symbolic violence erupts into outright coercive physical violence, for instance, forcible removal of children from homes deploying police forces, when this tacit complicity ruptures and the parents refuse to acknowledge the standardised definitions of state agencies like the CWS.
In some way the eugenics movement reinvented itself in a 21st century context with a more networked state where there were willing actors like civil society NGOs to strengthen the juggernaut of the state.”