Cases / Lobbying, PR and greenwashing · India · 1975–1977
India's 1975–77 Emergency sterilisation drive drew a $66 million World Bank loan
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Al Jazeera reported that more than 8 million men were sterilised in India during the 1975–77 Emergency, and that about 2,000 people died after failed operations. Sources report a $66 million World Bank loan for sterilisation initiatives; at stake is the record of development finance for coercive population control.
What?
India sterilised more than 8 million men during the 1975–77 Emergency, and the World Bank lent $66 million for sterilisation initiatives. Al Jazeera
Where?
India, including Uttawar village in Haryana Al Jazeera
When?
1975 to 1977, the Emergency period Al Jazeera
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Men sterilised — Forcibly sterilised, according to the sources Al Jazeera
Harmed
- Men subjected to failed operations — About 2,000 deaths reported Al Jazeera
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Forced sterilisation campaign during the Emergency; World Bank loan for sterilisation initiatives. Al Jazeera
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Al Jazeera reported that more than 8 million men were sterilised in India during the 1975–77 Emergency.
Al Jazeera reported that about 2,000 people died after failed operations, and cited the case of men from Uttawar village in Haryana.
Sources report that the World Bank lent $66 million for sterilisation initiatives in India.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: how the World Bank loan was used, or whether any official was prosecuted or any compensation paid.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Al Jazeera feature on India's forced sterilisation of men in one villageAl Jazeera · 2025-06-25
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