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This article takes a look at the birth control movement as a part of women's rights movement in the early 20th century India. It charts the trajectory of the rise of the idea of birth control first in England and thence its spread in India where concern for a rising population and high rates of maternal and infant mortality triggered such discussions from the 1920s onwards. The issue was taken up diffidently by Indian women's organizations such as the AIWC, the National Council of Women and others. Consequently, the country saw the visit of international advocates on birth control and contraception such as Margaret Sanger and Edith Howe. However, the question received a mixed response among the Indian intelligentsia, socio political reformers and women themselves. Most discussions, on this highly private yet inflammatory matter, focused only on population control from the eugenics point of view and mooted late marriages, via a stricter implementation of the Sarda Act, or the Gandhian panacea in the form of continence. Gender, caste, class and religious divide made the issue even more contentious. The general consensus, on birth control via contraception, if recommended at all, nonetheless veered more towards the idea that it was for the poorer masses who reproduced irresponsibly. The article therefore argues that the birth control advocacy in India was inspired by fears of the 'yellow peril' and the debates on this issue completely overlooked women's sexuality while their right over their bodies was put on a backburner as they were merely looked upon as agencies of reproduction.