Too Many Mouths To Feed CHECKING BIRTH RATE IN INDIA
(By 4
STEPHEN BARBER
in t 1« ‘Dml# T»l«#rnph”l
(Reprinted by arrangement)
New Delhi, April 1«Alarmed by census figures which put India's population on March 1 this year at 438 million—over 7 million more than the highest revised estimate had allowed for—- : New Delhi's Economic Planning Commission is feverishly amending the final draft of its third five-year development This was to be presented to Parliment this month; it is now likely to be delayed until after the summer recess. The shock was all the greater since the count showed that the country’s population had already exceeded the projection for 1968 on which the second plan, now just ended, was based. Moreover, official demographers had estimated a peak growth-rate of 21.4 per thousand a year between 1961 and 1966—a trend which was. in fact, surpassed in the past decade. It is clear, therefore, that if the factors which led ex. perts to agree that the coming five years would be the most explosive in population terms were correctly read, then there must be. barring some worse calamity, considerably more than 100 million extra mouths to feed 10 years from now.
It is hoped that by the 1970’s the curve will level off to a growth rate' of 15 per thousand a year—which would represent a yearly addition of population roughly equal to that of London. It is scarcely surprising in such a context that considerable rethinking is now going on about birth control.
Not Enough Money Since 1956 when, with the launching of the second plan, £3.8 million was allocated to the Health Ministry for its first official family planning project for the succeeding five years, spending has risen continuously. In 1960 alone £2.7 million was devoted to it.
For the coming five years to 1966 a budget of £2O million had been set—before the census returns were known. Officials now blandly forecast that this sum will be vastly exceeded without complaint from the Treasury. Money alone, however, is not enough. The first task was to overcome ignorance and prejudice—much of the latter religious in origin Four-fifths of India’s people live in 600.000 villages, as hard to reach physically as with ideas.
Traditionally here, as elsewhere in the world, peasants tend to regard the fathering of sons, if not daughters, as a form of old-age insurance. The average Indian family today is 6.5 persons, but the rural figure is far higher than 'the urban. The first step, the veteran Army Medical Corps colonel who is in overall supervision of the Health Ministry scheme told me, was to secure popular acceptance of birth control, Here, he admitted, he was greatly aided by the fact that Mr Nehru himself has been a fervent advocate of family planning since 1935. Initial community studies
undertaken in fanning aress showed, to the Ministry's surprise and relief, that 70 to 75 per cent, favoured the notion of birth control. Less than one-third, however, had any knowledge of physiological methods. Radio and press propaganda being largely inrffectlve because of the poverty and illiteracy of the villager, a system of "honorary education leaders” was Initiated. To date over 3000 family planning centres have been set up . and a like number of what in Britain would be termed “health visitors” trained. The latest extensions of the scheme has been the inauguration of mobile "orientation eamps.” These are set up at convenient sites in rural areas and peasants are invited—transport and even free mea's being provided—to attend birth control lectures. Contraceptive devices are today supplied free to the vast majority of Indians who wish to avail themselves of Government facilities. A •means test” was originally imposed but lately the salary limit has been so raised-to £9 a week—that in a country where the national average income is less than £27 a year only the upper classes are required to pay. Sterilisation Inducement*
Under. regulations which are to be extended to cover most employees. Government servants are now offered six days’ paid leave if they undergo vasectomy (male sterilisation) Delhi, Bombay, and Madras have recently offered their municipal worker* cash bonuses to the same end£l 4s 6d for men and under £2 for women. But since sterilisation was first officially sanctioned five years ago only 115,000 have availed themselves of it. Health Ministry experts have more recently done research into the use of oral contraception—based no data provided by the American Department of Health’s experiments with volunteers in Puerto Rico. At present the Indian medical panel’s view is that there is too great a danger from side effects—psychological and physiological—to permit the general use nt these pills. Legislative remedies have also been considered. A “birth-tax” was mooted at one time but discarded as unfair to the child. A "no-birth bonus” scheme was also seriously worked out, under which wives who, having borne {heir "quota” of babies, would receive savings bank credit tor every year they avoided pregnancy, redeemable at the age of 45. This was dropped largely because of the administrative difficulties It would have entailed. More and more, economists and health authorities are falling back on the conclusion that education is the only answer. This will take time, it is realised, but official publicity designed to secure acceptance of family planning “as a way of life” is to be stepped up in coming months.
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Press, Volume C, Issue 29503, 3 May 1961, Page 14
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893Too Many Mouths To Feed CHECKING BIRTH RATE IN INDIA Press, Volume C, Issue 29503, 3 May 1961, Page 14
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