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Focus 1996 October - December English |
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Focus Volume X No.4
October-December, 1996
POPULATION ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT
ABU L LET I N 0 F POP U LA T I 0 'N F 0 UNO A T ION 0 FIN 0 I A
SECOND JRD TATA MEMORIAL LECTURE
SMALL FAMILY NORM
ONLY THROUGH WILLING
COOPERATION OF THE PEOPLE
were educated and working, while
economically backward families still
consider children as an asset that
provided security for old age. He felt
the need for institutional guarantees to
ensure change in their value system for
small family norm.
~tJ. SECOND JRD TATA MEMORIAL lECTURE
"POPULATION AND DEVEl!PMENT CRISISIN INDIAl>
#;._:.
SHRI CHANDRA SHEKHAR
Organised by POPULATION FOUNDATION OF INDIA
NEW DELHI
OCTOBER26, 1996
Shri Chandra Shekhar delivering the second JRD Tata Memorial LectUre. On the dias (left to right) ;: Mr. Hari Shankar Singhania,
Dr. Bharat Ram, Mr. SP. Godrej and Dr. K. Srinivasan.
The Former Prime Minister,
Shri Chandra Shekhar, while paying
glowing tributes to JRD Tata for his
contribution to population stabilisation
programmes said that excessive concern
about numbers was a simplistic view of
projecting population problems. The
issue of growing population should be
dealt in the context of socio-economic
and physical conditions in which the
majority live in the country, he
emphasised.
Delivering the second JRD Tata
Memorial Lecture on "Population and
Development Crisis in India", organised
by the Population Foundation of India,
October 26,1996, Shri Chandra Shekhar
said that the population policy should
be such, where health, nutrition and
education should be given priority. He
said that the desired goal of population
could be achieved only through the
willing cooperation of the population.
He cautioned against any type of
coercion in implementing family plann-
ing programmes. ''We should not forget
the experience of emergency", he said.
Appreciating the efforts being
made by national and international
agencies, governments,
non-
governmental organisations and
individuals in creating awareness about
small family norm, Shri Chandra
Shekhar said that only the relatively
better-off sections of society had
accepted it and that too where women
Shri Chandra Shekhar emphasised
the need for a population policy which
helps in mobilising adequate resources
to tackle the problem of disease and
sickness of the infants. "If health of the
children receives high priority, the
decline in the infant mortality rate
would itself create an environment for
a change in the attitude towards family
'size", he added.
Population Problems and
Policies have to be
addressed in a wider
perspective of National
Development, says
Shri Chandra Shekhar.
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JRD TATA MEMORIAL LECTURE
According to 5hri Chandra like U.K. and Japan with very high
Shekhar,for successful family planning, density of population did not have
health education is very important. He majorproblems.In developing countries
said special attention should be paid to with large number of unemployed
womens' education because educated youth, one preferred alternative could
women could understand the rational be the deployment for mass education
for small family norm better and could
take decisions too. If family had one or
two healthy children, then parents
would not want more children. He said
the issue of family welfare activities
was directly related to security and
"Population Problems
cannot be red uced to
population statistics alone.
The objective of population
therefore until poor families were not policies has to be the
given basic economic security they
would not be able to stop the desire for
having more children.
development of the people
and the identification of
ways and means to enhance
Relating population policy with
employment, 5hri Chandra Shekhar
asked for ensuring optimal utilisation
of the human resources because he
their potential to contribute
to national development"-
Shri Chandra Shekhar.
60nsidered employment intricately
related with the production system,
technology and product mix. He said
capital intensive processes might be
more profitable but in a society ridden
with massive unemployment, such an
overnight change might prove
programmes and large scale projects of
. nation-building. He said a policy for
youth mobilisation could make a
phenomenal contribution to nation
building besides giving the youth self-
confidence and a sense of self-respect.
disastrous for the vulnerable section of
Considering health and education
the population.
of children as State subjects; Shri
Shri Chandra Shekhar said that
without adequate employment
opportunities, even countries with low
density population, many African
countries suffer from excess population
syndrome whereas advanced countries
Chandra Shekhar said that it was the
obligation of the state to meet the
rightful demands of the new generation.
In such a framework, he said that the
subsidies for health and education had
to be treated as legal and moral
2
LEAD THE
LEADERS
Inhis welcome address, Dr Bharat Ram,
Chairman, Population Foundation of India,
paid befitting tributes to late JRD Tata and
expressedhis pleasureof having Shri Chandra
Shekharji agree to deliver the Second JRD
Tata Lecture. Excerpts:
"Chandra Shekha~i, the problem of
growth of population has not been given the
attention that was necessary, right from
independence. Unfortunately, even Gandhiji
considered self-restraint as the only method
of population control whiCh, I am sorry to say
was not practical. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
used to say that if we have one mouth, there
are two hands to feed ·it. So went the story of
320 million mouths reaching nearly a 1000
million in fifty years. One feels sad that no
political party even cared to emphasise the
need for some concrete steps to restrict
populationgrowth in their ElectionManifestos.
There is no mention of family planning even
in the common minimum programme of the
United Front Government. In my view, the
need for population control cannot be
overstressed. Although we have progressed
and achievedcertainlandmarks inagricultural,
industrial and other fields, but because of the
evergrowing POPulationthere is no perceptible
effect on the standard of living of our people.
The number of poor and illiterate have in fact
grown bigger on account of incessant growth
of population.
Chandra Shekha~i, it is time now that a
person of your stature and charisma takes
the lead in involving all political parties and
social organisations at the National and State
levelsto accept "Population Control" as being
a social and economic ccmpulsion, Unless
we act soon, we would be blamed by our
future generations and rightly so, that we
knew the problem but did nothing to correct
the situation. It is a national issue and
deserves priority at the same level as our
national security.
Ladies and gentlemen, Shri Chandra
Shekha~i has chosen for his lecture an
appropriate topic of "Population and
Development Crisis in India". His talk, I am
sure; would be enlightening and his insights
about Indian society and politics will put the
issue of population and development in a
proper perspective which will help in evolving
a more meaningful philosophy and strategies
to limit population growth so that the objective
of more rapid and equitable development of
the country could be achieved."
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~JRD
TATAMEMORIALELCTURE
obligations of the state and fundamental
rights of the population.
LACK OF POLITICAL WILL
Deploring the reduction of
investment in health and education and
sidelining such responsibilities to
The highlight of an hour long oration
on "Population and Development
Crisis in India" by Shri Chandra
Shekharji was a lively question and
power in Tamil Nadu, by that time
every village of Tamil Nadu had a
primary education facility. It was
Kamrajji who created educational
private industry, Shri Chandra Shekhar answer session, in which eminent infrastructure in those days. Being a
said that health and education sectors
were not amenable to either free market
mechanism or to private development.
The State must play its role in evolving
population experts, scholars and media
persons participated. He candidly
replied questions on issues ranging
from the lack of political will in solving
population problem to the status of
Gandhian and true Congress worker
himself, without much education, but
having feelings for the poor, he did it.
Subsequently, many things happened
in Tamil Nadu. It is not only that
the meaningful policy to ensure health women in relation to family planning. population is controlled now in Tamil
and education to all and discharge its
national obligation which were ~pelt
out in the Indian Constitution.
Criticising
the
Central
Government's new economic policy,
Shri Chandra Shekhar said that it had
opened the gate for multinational
companies with no restrictions on
movement of foreign capital, along with
the removal of all forms of restrictions,
regulations on imports and exports
which would have adverse effect on the
process of economic development of
the country. "Will policy to promote
globalisation help India meet the
Excerpts:
Question: Corruption at political
level is rampant in the country today.
Why is this state of affairs present in
the political system ?
Chandra Shekhar : This state of
affairs is because of degeneration of
\\politicians. The other reason is that if
money can get anything; power, comfort,
luxury, honour and respect in the
society, people are bound to be
corrupted.
Q. : Chandra Shekharji, unlike the
achievements of Tamil Nadu where
within a decade infant mortality has
declined considerably, fertility now
below replacement level and literacy
Nadu but many other things also
happened there which are not very
salutary and I don't want to refer to
them. The main thing is that people
were made conscious of small family
norm. The other thing is that people of
Tamil Nadu were not taken by the
glamorous ways of the west but resort
to simple living that remained
traditional. And this imbibes in them
the sense of dignity which was taught to
them by 'rishis' and 'saints'.
Q. : Inspite
to many-fold
development and its fruit is not
percolating to the grassroots. How can
one solve this problem, when there is
a lack of political will and all-round
corruption in the country?
problems of poverty, regional
imbalances, widespread unemployment
and growing foreign debt"? he
very high, why your state of Uttar
Pradesh and particularly your district
of Balia is not doing well in this field?
C.S. : I fully agree with you. If there
is no political will, nothing is possible,
Howsoever much we may decry politics,
asked .•
CoS. : First, I shall like to correct the it is going to determine the future of this
Thefull text ofShri Chandra Shekhar's
lectureis being published separately.
statistics; Balia is one of the most literate
districts of Uttar Pradesh. It is only
second to Meerut. About Tamil Nadu
what you have said is correct. Butyou
country; because state is an instrument
which makes people to work in a
particular manner. If there is no political
will, there is no hope. Another point
should remember one thing; it was in
1967 when Mr. Kamraj left the seat of
r-----~~nmma~3B~war
you raised is that it is not only
development in economic terms that is
essential, the development of human
being as a whole is also equally
important. There has been economic
development but there has not been
social development in the sense that we
have not produced men and women of
excellence or men of quality because we
have not been able to give them the
basic minimum needs, that is, education,
primary health services and the proper
environment where they could feel
confident to perform well in society.
Therefore, we should try to see that
people don't suffer indignity because of
inequality that has been created by the
present
course
of economic
development.
Shd Chandra Shekhar answering the question from the aucfence.
Q. : We created Bangladesh and
- for the last 25 years people from
Bangladesh have been coming in large
numbers to India. They are adding to
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JRD TATA MEMORIAL LECTURE
our population and that comes in the
way of development. What do you
think about it ?
-:
C.S. : First, we did not create
Bangladesh. It was created by Gen. Ayub
and his policies along with inadequacies
of Pakistan regime at that time. We only
helped the people who were suffering.
It is, however, true that people are
coming from Bangladesh and that poses
a serious problem for our country. I
don't know how to stop it. Because
many countries of the world, with more
vigorous efforts and resources have not
been able to stop migration. With all her
power, United States of America has not
been able to control illegal migrants
from Mexico. We should try to do
something and see that illegal migration
is reduced to the minimum.
Q. :"I want to raise two questions:
one is general, as you said, wher~ver
there had been economic development,
there has been a desire for small
family and therefore family planning
automatically takes place. Is it not a
vicious circle, Sir, that if there will be
no economic development there is
higher fertility and if there is higher
fertility, there will be no development?
Second, what is the relationship in
your view between status of women
and family planning?
C.S. :Inmy speech, about econornic
development, I have also mentioned
about human development. Economic
development may at times dehumanize
the society. If the economic development
is encouraging development of human
personality then that will not create the
crisis of development and population.
Together with the economic
development, we should try to develop
human beings also, so that they could
realize their potential and become aware
about the challenges of the SOciety.And
in that context I mentioned that our
people should be educated, more so our
mothers and sisters because they have
to take.care of their.children; they have
to develop a good personality for their
children who have to be the builders of
tomorrow's India. About women; the
fact is well established that the child
whatever he learns in the five years of
his initial life is a major influence - 80
per cent of his personality. Only 20 per
cent or a small portion is contributed by
the social interaction and education in
schools and colleges. Therefore, in first
five years, a child's personality is shaped
in the company of his mother and that
has tremendous impact on his
personality in adult life. If our mothers
are not taken care, children become the
neglected section of our society. I
strongly feel that women should be
given the desired role in society and
that role should be in making a real
human being of them and this is more
important than the contributions of
men in shaping the future. In India, this
has been accepted for thousands of
years. Unfortunately, we are decrying
everything that is in our past because
we think that imitating some other
people who have the civilization of
only a few hundred years are more
important than having some faith in the
glorious tradition of this country.
Q. : Can micro level planning be
linked with "Panchayati Raj" ? Is there
any hope for micro level planning to
succeed especially after the
amendments?
C.S.: The 'Panchayati Raj'
experiment is good. But it also depends
on what type of people are being elected
to the panchayats. For example, after
some women members have come to
the panchayat, there is some initial
sobering impact on the functioning of
panchayat, but whether this will
continue or not only time will tell.
However, Panchayati raj is a must for
holistic development of the society.
Much depends on; what type of powers
~r~. g.iven to them, what type of
irutiatives are taken at state level in
order to provide more impetus for their
development and more power and"
initiative to the panchayats to take care
of their own environment.
Q. : Since development will come
only in the long run and in view of a
major chunk of our population living
below the poverty line, what will you
suggest in the short run ?
C.S.: There is no short run. We
should go to the people. The societies
like Population Foundation of India
should go to people and tell them that
they should have few children and give
them the wherewithal to do so. This is
necessary but not sufficient. If the
Foundation can give them
contraceptives and pills, and also assure
them that there will be no adverse
reactions and if there are any, they will
get the needed medical care, such
endeavour will bring some good results.
In short term, such initiatives should
not be stopped. But we should think of
long term implications because short
term implications are obvious and
people are already taking initiatives.
Many social organizations, government
and non-government organizations,
have taken initiative but inspite of all
this, we are failing. And .that is why we
should take the long term view of
development in our population policies
and programmes.
"
Q. : Can we take up Chinese mode
of population control ?
"
C.S.: We cannot take up Chinese
mode of population control because
inspite of all praises being hurled upon
Chinese experiment today, China for a
long time, was a regimented society and
it is entirely different from our society.
I shall not like to condemn them or in
any way try to minimize their efforts,
but unfortunatel y, Indian society cannot
be compared with the Chinese society of
today. Therefore, it is not possiblenow
to take up Chinese mode of population
control. Let us see what happens in
China after few years with the new
wave of liberalization occurring there.
Dr. Bharat Ram : Chandra
Shekharji, are you going to become a
'Young Turk' again or not? Are your
prepared to go from Kanya Kumari to
Delhi, as you did in your 'padyatra'
earlier ? Are you going to help us in
propagating to political bosses whether
they are going to take the matter of
education and particularly of female
education seriously or not ?
. C.S.: Mr. Chairman, I fully agree
WIth you. And I am going to take those
suggestions very seriously, but you
should ~nderstand my difficulty. IfI say
something and take some initiative, it is
being taken with certain amount of
apprehension at least among the political
circles. I don't want to create more
controversies in this country. We have
enough
confrontations
and
controversies,butlassureyou,ifaperson
of your stature, takes up this cause and
comes from Delhi to Kanyakumari, I
shall spend all the time with you, without
having any considerations whatever the
political implication might be. Because
then it will not be taken as a political
move. Ifpersons in the field of education
and industry who think about the future
of the country, create a group and they
are ready to go from place to place, to
press upon the governments and other
people, that education is important, Iam
going to be one humble member of that"
group. That much assurance I can
give you .•
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INSIGHT
••
Population,
Reproductive Health
& Human Development
... THE population of India that was 439 million in 1961,increased to
846 million by 1991- and is projected to increase to 1.26 billion by 2016.
Between 1996 and 2016 it is expected to increase by 329 million, more
than the addition of 322 million experienced during the previous two
decades, 1976 to 1996. This large increase seems to occur inspite of
substantial increases in the contraceptive protection rate and reductions
in TFRassumed between 1996and 2016. Such a large, almost inevitable
increase in India's population is due to the factor of population
momentum, in which the potential mothers who will give birth to
children in the next 20 years are already born in a high fertility regime
and will be swelling in numbers and as proportion to the total
population. Of the anticipated increase of about 329 million in the
country in the next 20 years, about 50 percent will take place only in
the four states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
There exists a wide demographic diversity in India.
,
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INSIGHT
TltllFertlllty Rites II Selected Stites, Indll
Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan
Madhya Pradesh
India
Andhra Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Kerala
• 1993
• 2011-16
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
TFR
4.00
5.00
6.00
...In 1993, the level of TFR, the aV'flg. number of children born to a woman, ia 3.5, ranging from a low of 1.7 in Kerala to 5.2 in U.P.
While the atates of Kera/a, Goa and Tamil Nadhu have already by 1994 reached the replacem.nt levela of fertility, the atatea of Bihar,
U.P., Rajasthan and Madhya Pradeah are not .xpected to reach theae l.v.Ia even by the year 2016, if the preaent trends continue.
Inllnt Mlrtility Rite 01 Selected Stites, Indll, 1888
Orissa
Madhya Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan
Assam
India
Bihar
CI>
e1n9
Iil
Karnataka
Haryana
'6
E
Andhra Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
West Bengal
Gujarat
Tamil Nadu
Punjab
Maharashtra
Kerala
o
20
40
60
80
100
120
IMR
...In 1993, the level of IMR in the country was 74 infant deaths per 1000 live births, ranging from a low of 13 in Kerala to 110 in Orissa ...
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L.-
Gender Related Health Index, 1893
t---------------- UWttaerstPrBaednegsahl jllllI!II
t----------------- TaRmaijlasNthaadnu JIII
_
_
t1----------------------------- Punjab jIII
Orissa
MadhMyaahaPrraasdhetrsah
_
_
INSIGHT
_1
Kamataka jIII
Kerala ~-----------------------.
Himachal Pradesh jIII
_
_
Gujarat JIII
Haryana ~--
Bihar JIII
Assam JIII
Andhra Pradesh •
•• ----------
_
_
_
_
India
o
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
GHI
...Gender related health Index (GHI) ia a aimple average of the indicN which meuure the ma/ •. fema/e gap in education, infant mortality
and expectation of life at birth. On a 0 to 100 aca/e, it variN from 89 in Kerala to 34 in M.P., with the India index for being 49. Thia
ia aimilar to gender related development index (GDI) of UN, but giVN more weight to health than UN's index since IMR differential
I 1 ia reRected in life expectancy also.
Human Development Index, 1993
West Bengal
Uttar Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Rajasthan
Punjab
Orissa
Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh
Kerala
Karnataka
Himachal Pradesh
Haryana
Gujarat
Bihar
Assam
Andhra Pradesh
India
o
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
HOt
...The HDI computed for the states in India is based on most recent data available which combinN expectation of life at birth, educational
attainment and state domestic product per capita in a single index. This index is similar to that of UNDP. However, keeping in view the quality
of data available in India, educational attainment has been measured by a combination of adult literacy rate and middle school enrolment
ratio, weighted in 2:1. On a 0 to 100scale the index varies from 62 in Kerala to 34 in Bihar, the value for India being 42 which is quite close
t'~" to the HDI scores of UN (44) for 1993.·According to U.N. on the Human Development Index in 1993,India ranks 135 among 174 countries.
KOfll. hI! lubtllnfi,lly higho, HDI fink ,bcwo Chin. (61). Bihar jntl U.P. whith are at the 6tho, OxflOMO would fink
to Nop.' (151)...
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INSIGHT
--------------- Reproductive Itealtb Index, 1888
I
West Bengal
Uttar Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Rajasthan
Punjab
Orissa
Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh
Kerala
Kamataka
Himachal Pradesh
Haryana
Gujarat
Bihar
Assam
Andhra Pradesh
India
o
10
20
30
40
'50
60
70
80
90
RHj ,-
...The Reproductive Health Index (RHI) developed by the Population Foundation of India, takes into account the factors of:
Total fertility rate; Infant mortality rate; Life expectancy at birth; Educational level; Type of medical attention at birth; Birth
order and Birth interval. On a 0 to 100 scale, it varies from 87 in Kersla to 27 in U.P., the value for India being 46...
...The high correlationofTFR with GHI and HDI indicates that higher the human development
and gender related health development lower will be the fertility. In other words, efforts to
promote human development and gender development will contribute to reduction in fertility ...
States
India
Andhra Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Kamataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
Gender
Health Index
60
60
46
44
68
64
60
66
88
36
66
34
61
41
62
37
67
Reproduotive
Health Index
42
63
40
30
49
42
61
49
86
30
64
36
60
27
64
23
48
Human
Development
Index
43
41
39
34
48
61
61
47
63
37
66
37
66
37
61
36
46
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STATE FILE
GREENING OF WEST BENGAL
AN EXPERIMENT IN SOCIAL FORESTRY
The recent achievements in social
forestry in West Bengal through
an effective involvement of panchayats
has ushered a new hope that such
participatory scheme could be extended
to tackle the health and family welfare
issues as well. The people living in the
region will be beneficiaries of social
forestry, if their reproductive health
care needs including family planning
services are met and the ecological
balance is sustained.
Rural West Bengalis being greened.
An ambitious programme of social
forestry that has run over the last two
decades has come to fruition. The
transformation has been made possible
thanks to the unique and sustained
programme launched by the Left Front
Government.
The social forestry programme
under the Forest Department has been
a remarkable success, particularly in
the south-western districts of
Midnapore, Bankura, Birbhum and
Purulia where degraded forests have
been. rejuvenated and turned into
meaningful resources mainly for the
tribal people and the poor living in the
fringesof tribal villages. In the backward
district of Purulia, for example,
eucalyptus, akasmani, sal and bamboo
groves now flank many roads.
The forestry programme now
covers,for the first time, villages around
jungles. To start with, people were
motivated by Forest Department
officials to understand the value of
forest wealth, the need to save forests
from further degradation and the
importance of expanding jungle cover
if necessary, particularly in areas where
cultivationis hardly possible.The people
of the villages, both men and women,
were then inducted into forest
management committees.
The Indian Forest Billof 1980states
that the rebuilding of Indian forest
wealth through social forestry has
become one of the major issues in land-
use policy in recent years.
The social forestry means the
production of fuel wood fodder and
smaller timber for the use of rural
communities. It covers land that is not
under the direct control of the Forest
Department, but are public and
communal lands.
Social forestry programmes have
mainly three components. The first is
farm forestry under which farmers are
encouraged to plant trees on their own
farms using free or subsidised seedlings.
The second component is wood lots
planted by the Forest Department for
the need of the community, especially
along road sides, canal banks and on
public lands. The third component is the
community wood lots planted by the
communities themselves on community
lands, to be shared equitably by them.
A major change in the landscape of
West Bengalhas been brought about by
various social forestry schemes. While
priority has been given to such schemes
in dry and arid land in Sdvthern Bengal
(and' the achievement there is
remarkable), the stress now is on
rejuvenating degraded forests and
raising fresh forests in north Bengal.
The social forestry movement gained
momentum in 1984and by early 1990,
nearly 2,000 Forest Protection
Committees were formed in 13out of 17
districts to regenerate 245degraded big
forests and raise 4,460 fresh forests.
Two important reasons for West
Bengal's outstanding performance are
the effectiveinvolvement of panchayats
with a pro-poor bias and the successful
implementation of land reforms.
Panchayat's involvement has facilitated
people's participation by reducing the
role of the bureaucracy and motivating
the people. Land reforms have given the
people a sense of ownership of land, no
matter how small it is. Added to it is the
overall impact of change in the rural
power structure on society as a whole.
The promotion of many support
activities suchas mushroom production,
tasser cultivation, bee-keeping and
horticulture has ·led to a reduction of
dependence of the poor on the forests,
helping forest regeneration. The West
Bengal experience has shown that if
enlisting the co-operation and
participation of the people could be so
effectively used in the management of
the forests, why such programmes
cannot be integrated with another vital
area, reproductive health and family
planning in the region, •
MALE ATTITUDES
HAMPER BIRTH
CONTROL
Indianmales want their wives to undergo
tubectomy operation, take pills, use
IUD (intrauterine device) or other
contraceptives, but they themselves do
not opt for vasectomy or condom,
according to a study, 'Mens' Attitude to
Reproduction.'
The study makes it evident that
India's population control programme is
perhaps not making much dent because
of the "negative attitude" of men who
consider family planning as their wives'
business.
Unlike women who generally prefer
small family, most men want as many as
three children, according to the study
which also found that a significant number
of males (10 to 20 percent) do not want
their wives to use any contraceptive.
These findings which may have
implications on family welfare programme
have come out of a recent survey of 530
men in central Mumbai. They were mostly
mill workers, labourers and clerks in the
35-50 age group.
The survey was carried out by
Don~ Balaiah and his colleagues at
Mumbai-based Institute for Research in
Reproduction (IRR), under the Indian
Council of Medical Research.
Balaiah said 90 per cent of the mep
surveyed favoured their wives using
contraceptives, but 80 per cent of them
"did not think of getting themselves
sterilised". In fact, out of the 530 men
surveyed, only seven had undergone
vasectomy and just 67 were using
condom. The remaining 456 had left the
burden of family planning to their wives.
Balaiah found that wives of 300 men had
undergone tubectomy.
The study came to the conclusion
that "overall involvement and responsibility
of men in reproductive health seems to be
poor." For the family planning programme
to succeed, it has caRed for strong
motivation for men and inIroduction of
sterilisation camps separately for males
with involvement ofYOluntary organisation.
(PTI)
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STATE FILE
AIDS DAY: NO ONE SHALL DIE OF IGNORANCE
World AIDS day was observed on
December 7. Various functions
were held in different parts of the
capital to promote awareness of the
deadly disease that till date has no cure.
AIDS is an acronym for Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is a
viral infection that steadily destroyed
the immune system of the body.
In his statement to the international
community on World AIDS day, the
UN Secretary General, Mr. Boutros
Boutros-Ghali said : "we must
rededicate ourselves to the cause of
eradicating the scourge of AIDS from
the face of the earth". He pointed out
that AIDS patients all over needed
sympathetic treatment from others.
On the occasion of World AIDS
day the [an Shakti Vahini organised a
march for rural youth from the Feroze programmes and contraceptive social
Shah Kotla grounds to the Mandi marketing I?roject," it stated.
House lawns with a view to generate
awareness among people regarding the
dreaded HIV virus. The message they
gave through the march is "No one
shall die of ignorance". The march was
part of the [an Shakti's crusade against
AIDS - an ambitious seven month
programme on AIDS awareness
covering five districts of the National
At the UN fllnclion, a film titled
"Zindagi Umeed Ke Saye Mein" -Living
in the Shadows of Hope - produced by
, film maker Ramesh Venkataraman was
premiered. It was watched by Mrs. Sonia
Gandhi, Dr. John E. Rohde.r.the UN
Resident representative in India and Dr.
Shah, WHO Representative in India.
Capital Region.
The film of 28 minutes duration
The Parivar SevaSanstha stated
that education and awareness about
HIV/ AIDS has to be accompanied by
increased access and availability of high
quality condoms even in the remotest
part of the world, "The PSS provides a
range of reproductive health services in
various family planning clinics, outreach
sought to portray the fight against the
HIV virus as well as the stigma associated
with it of a patient who keeps his hope
alive. Ostracised from society, he realises
that living with HIV was a continuous
challenge and finally finds solace in a
community -support group,"BeingHIV
positive is certainl y not as good as being
dead", he realises in the end.
TALL
Ifyou go shopping for vegetables in
Raipur's main market in Madhya
Pradesh you probably wouldn't pay
the lady much attention. Buy some
onions from her, tomatoes, cauliflower
may be. But Binni Bai Sonkar has more
beans than anyone bargained for-arid
nobody is complaining about the price.
The 72 year old widow has offered to
the newly formed Patient Welfare
Committee of the industrial hub's 700-
bed medical college hospital a sum of
Rs, 10 lakh. More than what the entire
city had put together.
+
TALE
people stunned. But not speechless.
The Government recently organised a
Faced with a funds crunch, welfare function in Raipur to felicitate Binni
committees were set up in all major Bai, where Chief Minister Digvijay
state run hospitals last year, private.and
. . df
cprporate donations were invite or
basic maintenance and sheltering
visitors. Binni Bai heard about the plea,
Singh tried, a little lamely, to
reciprocate the gesture. "We will
include her in the VIP list of Raipur
and give her a monthly pension of
and sympathised. "My heart goes out to Rs. 1,000."
the relatives of patients whom I see
Binni Bai refused both offers. "I
cooking in the open and sleeping in the can spend the rest of my life on salt and
corridors of the hospital," she explains. chutney", demurred the soft-spoken
So when a few months ago, sale of >+lady. She has a married daughter who
ancestral property brought some money has no eyes, she says, for her mother's
in, she combined that sum with her life money. And till she can, she will sell
savings to help out in a way that left vegetables. (IT)
More and more Indian men appear
to be discarding condoms as women
take to hormonal contraceptives, including
oral pills. Over the last eight years, the sale
of oral pills has registered a sharp rise over
the last eight years while that of condoms
has remained steady.
According to health ministry sources,
the sale of oral contraceptive pills (OCP) has
registered a steady growth from 9.64 million
cycles (packets) in 1987-88 to a whopping 24
million cycles in 1995-96. While the condom
market registered a poor growth from 227.93
million pieces being sold in 1987-88 to 362.68
million pieces in 1995-96.
The progestin-only injectable, another
kind of hormonal contraceptive which was
introduced in the market despite protests by
several women's organisations claiming that
SALES OF ORAL PILLS ON RISE
the drug was being "off-loaded" into India, is
also gaining acceptance among couples who
are not willing to use either condoms or oral
pills.
Available in two brands, Oepo Provera
and Noristerat, one shot of this injectable
provides protection from pregnancy for about
three months. "People should not be denied
of an option. The injectables are a sate
and effective method of contraception and
are popular in many countries." Says
Mr. S. S. Modkar of the Futures Group, which
has set up the Social Marketing for Change
(Somarc) project in India.
He quoted a survey which saidthatin Uttar
Pradesh alone, about 150vials ofthe injectables
were sold a month, on an average during this
year. Each shot of the drug costs about Rs.
125.
But by and large women seem to prefer
OCPs, which were aggressively marketed
and advertised by the government in the mid-
eighties. "They can be used discreetly and
they are reasonably priced. Moreover, they
also help to regula rise the menstrual cycle,"
said Mr Modkar.
The number of couples going in for
sterilisation is also rising steadily but it has
not been able to check the fertility rate of
women in India. "Most people go for
vasectomy or tubectomy only after they
reach the age of 30 and have produced three
to four children," said a health ministry
official. (AA)
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PFI NEWS IN BRIEF
CORPORATE LEADERSHIP NEEDED IN
FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMME
DR. NAFIS SADIK
Executive Director of the
United Nations Population Fund
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Head of the
United Nations Population Fund,
suggested that Corporate Sector must
take leadership role in order to have
dialogue with political set-up to deal
with population issues.
In her special address to a panelist
and representatives of non-
governmental organisations on 'Role
of Corporate Sector in the
Reproductive Health and Family
Planning Programmes', organised by
FICCI and PFI on December 20,1996,
Dr. Sadik pointed out the lack of
commitment on the part of ind ustrial
sector to deal with the challenges of
India's exploding population and
suggested that corporate sector should
playa leading role not only in family
planning programmes but also give
high priority to improving the status
of women.
Stressing on status of girls and
women, Dr. Sadik said that they had
very low status in our society and
only a broader approach to womens'
issues could bring about necessary
changes in their lives. She appealed to
the corporate leaders to speak more
openly on womens' issues and the
need for corporate sector to play an
important role in bringing about
political leaders to discuss the same.
According to her the
Reproductive Health and Gender
Programmes were unduly focussed
on women and there should also be
equal emphasis on informing and
educating men.
During her three-day visit to
New Delhi, Dr. Sadik lauded the
Government's efforts in the last two
years towards shifting its population
policy from numbers and targets to
development as a whole with womens'
health, education and empowerment
as central to the new policy. The
UNFPA has earmarked the largest
fund of $ 100 million for India for the
coming five years, she informed.
A SMOOTH TRANSITION
DEPARTURE: Mr. K. Balakrishnan, Secretary & Treasurer and Director Administration.
Having joined the Foundation in Mid'84 he had the unique opportunity alongwith late
Mr. Harish Khanna, Executive Director to provide a home of its own to the Foundation by
ensuring completion of the building, which incidentally raised the income of the Foundation
substantially resulting in increased funding activities. He had also helped in providing a strong
administrative and firiancial base by streamlining the office procedures and securing tax
exemption both on donations and income of the Foundation. His r----------,
departure will be deeply felt by all and the Foundation wishes him
for success in all his post retirement endeavours.
SUCCESSION: Mr. H.P. Nagpal succeeded Mr. K. Balakrishnan
in November, 1996. A Company Secretary and Financial Controller
by profession, he had held many senior management positions in
reputed organisations, the notable among them were; Haryana State Coop. Supply and
Marketing Federation Limited, Chandigarh and Indian Potash Limited, New Delhi, before
joining the Foundation. His rich and varied experience in Financial Management including
Project Financing, General Administration, Legal, Secretarial and Taxation work will prove
beneficial for efficient and smooth functioning of the Foundation.
H.P. Nagpal
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PFI NEWS IN BRIEF
98TH G·OVERNING BOARD MEETING
The Governing Board of the Population Foundation of India held its 98th meeting at PFI, New Delhi, on October 25, 1996 under the chairmanship
of Dr. Bharat Ram. In the picture (left to right) : Dr. Bharat Ram, Dr. K. Srinivasan, Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Dr. (Mrs.) Banoo J. Coyaji, Prof. Ranjit
Roy ChaudhUlY and Dr. V.A. Pai Panandiker.
A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP
The Population Foundation of India in
collaboration with Indian Institute of Health
Management and Research (IIHMR), Jaipur, is
organising a workshop on "Experience Sharing
Innovations for Achieving Population Stabilisation"
on February 28-March 1, 1997 in the campus of
IIHMR at Jaipur. The main objective of the
workshop is to discuss and exchange experiences
pertaining to innovative programmes and
strategies on reproductive health and family
planning undertaken in each of these four states.
Spread over five sessions, experts like Dr.
K. Srinivasan, Executive Director, PFI, Prof Sunil
Misra, PFI, Mr. K.S. Natarajan, PFI, Dr. Rishikesh
Maru, Director, IIHMR, Prof. Devendra Kothari,
IIHMR and Mrs. Anuja Gulati will present their
views and share their experiences with others
participating in the Workshop.
Editorial Direction &
Guidance:
DR. K. SRINIVASAN
Editor:
UMA YADAV
POPULATION AWARD IN
MEMORY OF JRD TATA
The population Foundation of India
is instituting an award in memory
of late JRD Tata, to be given to the best
state and best district in the field of
reproductive health, female education
and fertility regulation. A committee
headed by Mrs. Justice Leila Seth will
decide on the details of award.
Announcing this at the annual
general body meeting of the
Foundation, the Chairman, Dr. Bharat
Ram said that modalities for the award
were being worked out.
Speaking about the thrust areas
the Population -Foundation was
concentrating, Dr. Bharat Ram said it
had already launched "Integrated
Population Development" projects in
two districts in Uttar Pradesh and
Rajasthan
industries
Federation
Commerce
with collaboration of
in the area and the
of India Chambers of
and Industry (FICCI).
Dr. Bharat Ram said the other
thrust area will be in developing and
implementing
action research
projects through non-governmental
organisation
for promoting
reproductive
health including
maternal and child health care, control
of Sexually Transmitted Disease, Child
Nutrition Spacing, methods for men,
women and developing specific
population policy goals for each state.
Dr. Bharat Ram in his report, thanked
the media and government for
extending its support in making PFI's
issues more relevant at the emerging
scenario of population explosion.
Published by the POPULATION FOUNDATION OF INDIA, 8-28, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi-110016. Tel. : 6867080, 6867081
Designed and Printed by Reproductions India, 198/19, Sapna Apartments, Ramesh Market, East of Kailash, New Delhi-110065. Phone: 6233269
12