Weaving economic and socio-political processes with the living narrative of customs, rituals and practices in differently-placed groups to decode the legitimising mechanisms of male child preference in India, this book explores male infanticide as redemption of blood debt, girl child deselection through cultural neglect, female infanticide, and foeticide in the context of identity assertion and traditional social reservoirs. It empirically captures the range of gender-based violence, arguing that form-specific strategies neither address the inequalities nor its causes.