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Focus 1992 October - December |
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Tata receives U T Population A'V3.1·rl
UN population
f)lvyard for
J~R.D. Tata
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THE CRUSADER IS HONOURED
JRD Tata Presented 1992 U.N. Population Award
Mr. ]changrr R D Tam,Chainnan,
Family Planning Foundation
and the doyen of bdian
population of Australia.
Mr. Tata, who is 88, said his
"journeybegan41 years ago when he
absolute necessity oE adopting the small
family norm in their children's interest
aswellasthatofthecountryasawhole.
Indus.try, W}1O was awarded the 1992 firstrealised that the relentless growth
Mr. Tata recalled the 1990 UN
Uriited Nations Population Award for of the country's population year after Resolution, which had stressed that
his "outstanding contributions to year held a serious threat to its economic developed and developing nations alike
increasing the awareness of population and socialprogress or even to its ultimate intensify their efforts to allocateadequate
problems and to their solutions", called survival. .
resources to population programmes.
- upon both .developing and
He hoped that the last decade
developed coun tries to
ofthiscentury will prove to be
intensify their efforts to
one of effective action inspired
allocate adequate resources
by commitment to human kind.
for population control
(FulltextofMr. Tata'sacceptance
programmes on which the
spe.gc;h-.isreproduced on page 3)
very survival of the planet
Presenting the award, the
depended.
UN Secretary General, Mr.
''Yesterday would not
Butros Butros-Ghali, described
have been too early, tomorrow
Mr. Tata as a "Crusader for
may be too late", he told a
private sector activi ties aimed
select global audience at the
.at stabilisation of population
. United Nations headquarters
growth for more than 40 years".
in New York on September Mr.Tatadisplaysthegoldmedalwhichhe receivedas a partofthe
In the 1950s, he estab-
17, 1992 in his acceptance U.N.PopUlatioAnwardO. nhisrightis Dr.NafisSadik,Executive Iished one of India's first fac-
speech after receiving the
D_ir_ec_to_r_o_f_th_e_U_n_it_ed_N.a_ll_·o_n_s_P_to_ryp-ub_a'sae_dt_fiaom_inl_yFp_laun_nnidn_g. and
award from the UN Secretary General
"1was motivated by nothing more
Mr. Butros Butros-GhaIi. He was given important than a kind of personal protest
a 'thunderous ovation by more than against the continuing poverty of most
three hundred representatives of of my country's people, which had
Governments, NGOs and eminent deprived them for so long of even
persons who had packed the hall aHhe minimum acceptable conditions of living
gIittering~~r~ll;lOny.
and, in the process, had undermined
....Mr. Tata, a pioneer in the family all efforts at raising the nation's socio-
planning programme, said Il1dia had economic development. The subject
succeeded in the agricultural field and became a personal obsession which still
in reducing ignorance and disease. But haunts me", he said.
it had "totally failed" to achieve its
Mr. Tata emphasised that the
prime objective of reducing the rate of priority in the continuing pursuit of
growth of its population to which are population stabilisation must now be
added every year about 17 million to find means of convincing the people
people,equivalenf
fo the en tireofIndia, particularly the parents, of the
fami! y welfare programmes in Jam-
shedpur and in 1970he set up the Fam-
ily Planning Foundation, "which has
remained thecountry'spre-cminentn.on-
governmentalorganisationforfieldre-
search on family planning". Mr. Ghali
said .
_.' The New York based Population
Council shared the award with Mr.
Tata for its "excellance as a scientific
re~earch organisation as well as for its
work in developing new and more
effective contributions." On behalf of
the Population Council, its trustee,Ms
Lucilee Mathurin Mair received the
award.
AttheAwardCeremony:Frontrow(Ietttoright)Ms.LucilleMathuriMn aira, co-recipienotnbehalfofthePopUlatioCnounciNl ewYorkM, r.J.R.D.Tata,
Mr.SoutrosBoutros-Ghaltih,eU.N.SecretaryGeneral,Mr.JorgeMontanoM, exico'Ps ermanenRt epresentativteotheu:N. andChairmanoftheAward
CommitteeD, r.NafisSadik,ExecutiveDirectorU, NFPA.lnthebackrow(centre)isIndia'sPermanentRepresentativteotheU.N.M, r.C.RG. harekhan.
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Acceptance Speech by Mr. J R D Tata
Mr. Secretary General, Mr. Chairman, Madam Executive Director .. Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
In am deeply touched by and grateful for this most prestigious award. I honestly feel,
however, that its importance far exceeds the value of the modest contribution I have actually
made to the cause of promoting population stj3.bilisationthrough voluntary family planning. It .
is all the more difficult for me to find adequate words to expre!?smy appreciation and gratitude
for the great honour conferred upon me tonight. All the more so because the goal of India's long
and arduous journey towards population stabilisation, which I tried to serve all these years, alas,
remains still unfulfilled.
For me personally the journey began 41 years ago when I first realised that the relentless
growth of my country's population held a serious threat to its economic and social progress or
even to its survival, its ultimate survival as a Nation.
Historically, when agriculture was first developed in the world or on earth, some 12000
years ago, the world population did not exceed about 10 million. No more than the population
of London today. Only after the beginning of the Christian era, 2000 years ago, until about the
industrial revolution in the 18th century, did it reach the 1st billion. The 2nd billion took another
100 years. But thereafter, alas, in an accelerating tempo the 3rd billion took only 30 years to be
achieved;.theAth.billion.l5. .y. ears.and the-5th, only 12years ..The 6th billion is already upon us.
Alarmed by the fact that this frightening rate of population growth had been and continued
to be largely ignored in India, even by those, whose concern, I felt, should have been aroused by
the potential threat to the economy, I took upon myself, woefully uneducated as I was on the
subject, to raise the alarm in thecourseofa speech thatl made in 1951.Iwasmotivatedbynothing
more important than a kind o(personal protest against the continuing poverty of most of my
country's people, which had deprived them for so long of even minimum acceptable conditions
of liVing and, in the process, had undermined all efforts at raising the nation's socio-econoI~:lic
development. The subject became for me, important as thatis, a personal obsession, which still
haunts me.
1951 happened to be a transition year for India from which its population began its
exponential growth, aided by a substantial fall in its mortality, itself due to the gradual
eradication of famine and epidemics, such as, plague and small pox. In the years that followed
it did not seem to me enough merely to express indignation and worry while trying to makesuch
use as I cpuld of the limit~d opportunities offered to me in the course of my normal activities to
spread knowledge of the threatening situation and wherever possible to support local programmes
of family planning. An opportunity to doa little more arose when the Ford Foundation,forwhose
advice and support I remain deeply grateful to this day, suggested that I help in establishing a
working foundation to promote and propagate the cause of family planning. They extended
,ge!!~.rQ.ll§J~!lcQtll'ClgelIlelltaSn\\dlpporttoitandlam happy at the presence here this evening of
Mr. HarishKhanna, the distinguished Executive Director of the Family Planning Foundation, we
~
so created.
The Award J i
i The Laureates of the Populaion Award are selected each year by the
Committee of the U.N. PopUlation Award fortheir 'outstanding contributions to
increasing the awareness of population problems and to their solutions'. The
i Committee is composed of representatives of ten member states of the UN
; II elected by the Economic and Social Council for a term of three years. The
" current members are: Belarus, Burundi, Cameroon, Equador, EI Salvador,
I India, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands and Rwanda. The U.N. Secretary General
When our fil;st Prime
I1 Minister Jawahar l.al Nehru
eloquently spoke in 1947 on
1~ India's tryst with destiny,
many of us hoped fOra rapid
~,: transformation of India from
, the feudal and backward
~" state it still wasat that time,
in to a modern and
progressive nation as was
I
Butros Butros-Ghali and the Executive Director of the UNFPA, Dr. Nafis Sadik
serve as ex-officio members. In addition, the committee has five eminent
,,·11/ individuals who serve in an advisory capacity. His Excellency Jorge Montano,
L. permanent representative of Mexico to the United Nations, was the Chairman
visibly 'happening in
European and other
countries within the middle
decades of this century. India
': of this years Award Committee. The Award includes a diploma, a gold medal
i . and the monetary prize. There were 16 nominations for the 1992 award
i including 8 individuals and 8 institutions.
did fulfil some oOawahar
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Lal NerJU's expectations in mat, helped century demographic transition by the failure to control the rate of gTO'foith Of
by the green revolu tion of Dr. Nonnan adoption of a small fam ily norm. vVha t its population and the main reason
Borlaug, it succeeded in banishing prevented India from doing the same? therefore for its continuing poverty.
famine from the land, in reducing I believe, from repeated personal
If the above view is accepted, I
ignorance and disease and in raising an experience of life in Europe, that their CeIieve that the priority hl the continuing
unduly short life-span. But it totally success has stemmed mainly from the pursuit of population stabilisation must
failed, sad to say, to achieve the prime existence there of two fundamental sccio- now be to find ill our country the means
objective of reducing the ra te of growth economic elements. First, the finn of convincing the people, partiOllarly
of our population to which are added determination among the child-bearing the paren ts/of the absolu te necessi ty of
every year. about 17 million people, members of their generation that their adopting the smallfamil ynorm in their
eqUivalent to the entire population of children be notonlystrongand healthy own and their children's interest as
Australia. If the growth of the population but also well-educated or at least, well well as that of the country as a whole.
of India continues atthe present rate, it trained in me spedalised skills required
But time is of the essence. The
will, in the remaining eight years left of for a productive career. The second speed with which the situation has been
this century, reach one billion, rising to element was their awareness that today getting out of hand can be gauged from
about 1.7 biIli on a mere 25 years later at cost of modern education or· a the dramatic statistics recently released
a rate of armual increase which is already professional training had become in by the Worldwide Fund for Nature and
among the highest in the world including most countries so high as to make it Friends of the Earth, which brought out
China.
impossible for parents to afford to that during the mere 12 days of the Rio
Why has India, even though support large families. It is, I believe, Conference, 600 to 900 plant and animal
amongstthefirstcountries
of the world the awareness and acceptcnce of these species became extinct in the world
to establish a national family planning two beliefs, with the accompanying
and the world's population grew by 33
programme, failed so dismally in its constraints, that have transfonned the million. These striking examples of the
efforts to ac.h,i~YeJhaL.one,.essen.tiaL. ...sociaI.habits-of the people of those phenomenon of population outstripping
"obJective"in dramatic contrast to the countries and motivated them, resources clearly calls for immediate
countries of Europe, amongst others, willynilly, to control the size of their action. In India, yesterday would not
in which large families were once as families. In contrast regretfully, Isuggest, have been too early, tomorrow may be
common as in India, but which the very absence of these n\\TO elements too late.
succeeded in achieving within this very in India has been the main reason for its
Can we, therefore, ignore the
Resolution passed by the United Nations
, ;~~lnspirationr~iPJ'!!!!'JSijJl,:o.Qmfttitment . in 1990, which adopted an international
(EXcerpts from the Speech 0/ the WlS"ecretary'Ceneral, Mr. Boutros Boutros- ,.;"~"~;w-",-,,,,,.:;, ~-,,:"'~,'"'-~:">}"""'""':7'":";-,~!;"::":",,,,,,,:,"",,'<~. ',\\:,'.:''':' ""'- ." :':;.,:~;,
,;:', ;,;~::'\\:T,,/'';;';'<'
;:, "';'1'::. ';', ',' .'; ~,;: -;:i':";"
',',',
.';--
"",
,,',' •.•
G • n ,the oc.casion oj the Pop~lllfion A~Il", present~tion Ceremony)
','
e purpOse~f th~ai,~u~t iJnitecf Nati~ns Po~.tation Award is to
,-.,give duepUblic'ref;ogtlition·~t1le-~ost~on$~·
'veeffoxtsht this cntica~
.dimension of eCQnomic and social well-bein
e Ril'o, winner# of this
yecifs award~ ~tStanCl:Ujg'e~ampteso(what c:az{be,dooein the field of
pOpulc! tion ffi . ,',..
~.2.l!..'!.z!g~llit!.li!.:W:QF~""c_'-,_,.~__ ";'---"---" ."_.,-",,,.
·;:·'Mr.]RfS,011e:~(India's
leading industrialists and a leading
d evelopm en t strategy and declared the
last decade of the century as a decade
for accelerated development. It
specifically recommended, as part of
that strategy for the 1~, which includes
today, that,special attention be paid to
,population growth and that developed
and developing countries alike should
intensify their efforts to allocate adequate
·, expert in Ind' s p<?pillatiqn 1I1Qyement:M:r. Tatawasdlosen by the United
on ":NatlcinsP . ,.... A,ward Committee becaus(f<jfhis moie than 40 years" ".
seetrir . 'as·a;:crnSa·. orpIivate'
actiVitiesaun~p_~~ s~~!J:i:~~g p<>p!Il~Jiqn..;.
resources to population programme.
Itisindeed good to know that the
priority of the United Nations in this
~
.. ~:-Hid~i;fer~p:w~~~~~tnifilen"fal,iIll:teJpingGov~entof';'
decade will be not only to prevent or
one of Inmato fonilriIate it's population programmes~ In the 1950's, Mr. Tata's . stop wars, but also to ensure peace and
Steelfum iR:Bihar~.-estabfishe(f
· planningand:rarililiwelf~!?F~es:
India's first factory-based family .
TIie-programmeMlsextreme'iy"
prosperity fot all
the socio-economic
by the fulfilment of
objectives they have
o
" ~~ClIlfi~~~a~od~for~'yplanningprogrammes
throughOUf"
- thecol:ultry.In 1970,~.:r~ta establisb,eo the Family Planning Foundation .,
ofIndia, whidt has:remainedthe country's pre-eminentnon-govei'nmental
themselves recommended.
In conclusion, Mr. Secretary
General and Madam Executive Director,
organisation for fi~d :research o~ family planning. Through his speeches,
writings and personal appearances, Mr. Tata has greatly increased public
awareness of population problems; through the organisation he founded,
he has helped to find solutions fo those problems .....
, It is th:rmJgh-,the iJ;!sp,it9.tion•.dynamism and commitment of individuals
· sUch.asJRDTata ~.gan~tiot;ls:such-as·th'e'P6ptiIati6n-eountil·
that
posi~ve changes are made •. They have been chosen because of their
outstanding achievements on POP1,llation issues which are so critical for
may I once again express deep gratitude
for the great honour which this year's
Population Award has bestowed upon
me, and also express the hope that the
last decade of this century will prove to
be one of effective action, inspired by
commItment to humankind.
.. th.eJutu:re of ht;tmanity.. .• ''':: ..,.-::.._, __ "'_ __..__ ,._
_
_
Thank you .
" "'""_'"_'.';".C"'~''''''~~""';';......._"",~,.~;'-''''' ''--'::~~~,",:_'O>~,"' ~.-
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GLOBAL N!EETOF FAlvIILY PLANNING EXPERTS
""ami!y planners from all over the
world representing more than
F100FamilyPlanningAsscdations
"For us the small family norm is
not a distant theoretical id~a, the very
basis of our economic and social
Calling for greater funding for
contraceptive research, Ms Vohra
revealed that the entire package of
of various countries gathered in New upliftrnentendeavouris dependent on incentives and awards was being
Delhiin the fourth week ofOctoberthis the speedy translation of the concept reconstructed to make it more
year, to discuss the various dimensions into actualreality,"he reiterated,adding purposeful.
of family planning as well as to chalk that in order to harness and coordinate
"As the second most populous
out the future course of action.
the efforts of the organised sector and country in the world with a rapidly
These discussionswere organised the Non-governmental organisations, rising population, a solution to India's
as part of the 40th anniversary a National Tripartite Committee had population problem will, in ample
celebrations of the world's largest been set up to br~g about a radical measure, be a solution to the world's
voluntary familyplanning organisation
'transformation on. population problem," Ms Vohra stated.
-the International Planned Parenthood
Federation (IPPF)-founded in Bombay
in 1952.
tqe population front.
At the conclusion of the Congress
The IPPF on October 27,1992,the IPPFissued the
Secretary General, Delhi Declaration renewing its
In addition to the organisation's
Dr. Halfdan Mahler, commitment to fight for the rights of
sixth triennial Members' Assembly, an
asserted"ifwedonot individuals worldwide to plan their
international family plannh'g congress
invest in family families and adopted a Vision 2000
was alsoorganisedin collaborationwith ,
. planning now we Strategic Plan to guide its work in the
····(o·-Wor.r,fHeaIffi orgamsaff(jn-;me'Unnea·-·'will-no~onlY'~ankrupt··the·futureof next decade.
NatlOns Population Fund, the
PopulationCounciland the U.S.Agency
for In temational
Development.
Speakingat.the
inaugural function
on OCtober21,1992,
Union Health &
Family Welfare
developmg nations but of the whole
global socio-econo1l1ic fabric."
"Demographics cannot be dictated to.
The government's role in family
pl~nning should ~niy be t~ enable and
1t1Sthen the family's chOlceto act on
realising that family planning is the
ultimate exercise in responsible
democracy, he
The declaration called upon the
IPPF's member Family Planning'
Associations (FPAs) to work with
governments to try to meet the huge
need for information and services,
particularly among the poor urban
communitiesand thoselivingin remote
rural areas.
Minister Mr. M.L.
observed.
Fotedar'announced
Addressingthe
that a national population policy was
gatheringon October
in the process of formulation and the
23, Ms Usha Vohra,
objectiveof arresting the rapid growth
Secretary, Family
in population was being accorded a
WelfareOepilrtii'lent;
high priority in the 8th Five Year Plan.
in the Union
"Population stabilisationis a goal M~istry of .Health & Fam~y Welf~e,
{ ... which the developing world has to saidthatthe lmageofthefamilyplanning
~l~';~ -'pursue as an ovemarngpnonW'~ Mr. . programme had to change not only for
(j) Fotedar stressed cautioning that better coverage but also for greater
population explosioncould only nullify demographic impact.
all efforts and investment on
Sheobservedthat thefournorthem
development, growth and equitable states of Bihar,Madh ya Pradesh, Uttar
distribu tion of wealth and lead to Pradesh and Rajasthanrepresent areas
deterioration in the quality oflifeofthe of "explosive growth of population"
people,depredationofenvironmentand and may determine the growth rate at
sodal tension.
the national level. The population of
He informed the distinguished these four states, accounting for 40%of
gathering that a result-oriented plan of India's' population, may continue to
action to impart the requisite thrust grow at a rate higher than two per c~nt
and dynamism to the national family for an?ther decadeor two,unlessfan:ny
planning programme was currently plannmgprogran:mesandsupporting
under implementationin differentparts health and education programmes are
of the country.
accepted by the people, she said.
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Family Planning Today and Tomorro'lv
A Lively Discussion on Doordarshan
Taking advantage of the presence
in New Delhi of internationally
reputed experts on population
issues in connection with the 40th
anniversary celebrations of the IPPF
and the International Family Planning
Congress, Doordarshan arranged a panel
discussion which was telecast pn its
national network on November 4, 1992.
Prof. Fred Sai and Dr. Halfdan
Mahler, President and Secretary~eneral
respectively of the IPPF,and Dr. 6anoo
J. Coyaji, an eminent medico and social
worker dedicated to Family Planning
movement, participated in the
discussion which was moderated by
Mr. Harish Khanna, Executive Director,
Family Planning Foundation.
Apart from a critical appraisal of
the work of IPPF during the last 40
... -.yearsofitsexistenceandanassessmenJ
of the strengths and weaknesses of family
planning programme in India, this lively
and stimulating discussion brought into
sharp focus a whole range of problems
facing the world-wide family planning
programme, viz. resources and skills;
access to information and availability
of quality services;contraceptive choices
and the search for a near perfect
contraceptive; interaction of population,
development and enviroIU-nenta;nd last
bu t not least a more humane face of the
programme.
Prof. Fred Sai
was optimistic about
the programmes of
today and tomorrow.
Underlining the
reasons for his
optimism,
he
observed : "Today,
we have technologies which have been
tried, and which, we know, will work.
The level of motivation is much stronger.
·Understanding of human nature is there.
Education, health programmes ....
everything is coming together." All this
was ix>undto limit the size ofthe falllHy
despite man y difficulties and problems,
he opined.
In contrast Dr. Halfdan Mahler
said he was "pessimistically optimistic",
when Mr. Khanna sought his views on
the issue of "consciousness and
conscience" with regard to the funding
of the family planning programme by
the developed nations. "We know the
problem, we know the solution and we
know the course. There is a clear-cut
commitment on the part of the developed
nations as also of the World Bank that
they would make funds available to the
countries haVing a political commitment
to pursue and acti vatefamil y planning
programmes," he observed, adding
"Five billion dollars by the developed
countries together. with four billion
dollars by the developing countries
themselves -- in all nine billion dollars
- should make it possible for services
to be provided in every nook and comer
of the globe."
Dr. Banoo J. Coyaji touching upon
India's performance in the sphere of
population stabilisation observed:
"Though India's family planning
programme has not been a resounding
success, it has not been a failure either,"
as the birth rate, death rate, infant
mortality and fertility have all registered
a decline. She preferred a much wider
contraceptive choice and stressed the
need for removing misgivings about
Norplant which had .been introduced
in India after due testing and reasonable
caution.
•
We Require a mix of Strategies for Population Control
-- Dr. Nafis Sadik
Dr. Nafis
Sadik,
..
Executive
planning programmes should have more to information were aucial to successful
people's participation and more family planning efforts.
participation from the NGOs.
Giving world-wide statistics on
Director of the
She said besides political birth control, Dr. Sadik said that average
United Nations commitment, the other important number of children per woman is3.9.If
Population Fund, ingredients. in the mix of strategies to it could be reduced to 32, the population ~
-whowaslifIhaIifwr ~-contf()lpopulation were improvement can be stabilised at about 8.5 billion by
about a week in in the status of women, avaUability of 2050.
October this year to attend the 40th contraceptive services,adequate funding
Asked about the prevalence of
anniversary meeting of the IPPE and of social sectors like health and religious barriers to family planning,
also to inaugurate a UN expert group education.
Dr. Sadik said -religion was not a
meeting on Family Planning, Health
Countries which have been particular block. Even Islam's stand is
and Family well-being hosted by the successful in controlling the population positive throughout history, she added
Government, made some significant boom have given primacy to education saying it depended on the cultural
observations about the family planning for girls and integrating women more situation.
programme during formal and informal fully into the economicand development
In her _overall assessment, the
talks with media persons.
proceses, she said.
Indian family planning programme has
According to Dr. Sadik there was
Most women in developing definitely started tomake some strides.
improvement in political commitment countries do not have direct access to Knowledge was high and theresources
to the issue of family planning by the contraceptives and many feminist are being expanded. More methods,
Government of India. After her talks groups are concerned about the quality more user perspectives and quality care
with the Prime Minister she said Mr. of care and contr<iceptiyesthemselves._haveled to an optimistic view offamily
family Nara.simha Rao wa.s keerifhii"f
Health care delivery and better access planning in the country, she observed.
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JlConceptually Unsound, Operationally Flazved"
Prof Ash ish Bose on India's Family Planning Programme
D elivering a lecture on
"Population Planning from
Nehru to Narasimha Rao:
contraceptives, the noted demographer
said India'sfamilyplanningprogramme,
as it had evolved over the last four
the behest of foreign experts and
international donor agencies", he
alleged.
Lessons for the Future", organised by decades, was "conceptually unsound
Describing the family planning
the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund and operationally even more flawed". programme as being insensitive to the
in New Delhi on October 31,1992,Prof
"Unless we change our people, he said, "The way women are
Ashish Bose,an eminent demographer, preoccupation with sterilizing women sterilized in the camps in rural areas
lamented that
at the fag end of makes one's blood boil."
India's Family
their reproduc-
Toreduce the birth rate, Prof Bose
Planning Prog-
tive life, to a suggested that the first intervention
ramme had
concern for the shouldbe in regard to theageat marriage.
reached a dead
new generation, "A bold and imaginative programme
end and become
and in particular for adolescen t girls in the age-group 14
"a prisoner of
for the adolescent to 18 years which emphasizes skill
targets" . The
girls,therewillbe formation and income generation will
programme had
no marked imp- go a long way in raising the age at
got stuck withtoVertlent
in the marriage," he said.
sterilization, he said.
population scenario," he warned.
Pointing out that population
Prof. Bose has suggested the
Prof Bose claimed that the stabilizationwas a long drawn-out affair
abolition of the Department of Family "execessive concern" for contraceptive that called for sustained efforts, he said
j-;-Wel£areand the creation ofaMinistry .' technology had derail~dlndia'sfamily India must draw up a long term
;cO of Populationand Environmentto tackle planning programme. The contraceptive perSpectivepopulation plan for the next
the population problem in the wider technology was being popularized "at 25 years.
context of the fast deteriorating eco-
system.
Givingresults of his extensivefield
study on the population programme,
he said, the Department of Family
Welfare gives "exaggerated figures"
on family planning performance.
"The clinically - oriented depart-
~Gender
, ,/G~nde~
""'w,stoatmuse~ne'terdoem<f"
'Ja'
'"
""'t;~:0;'
f{r!!~,!lfpe J!tiQfJr grQwth'
, '. '. "". s~ '.events hundreds of millions of
serVices, Child' care and legal
ccordin "a study by Jodi
menL can,. do "precious little. about
improving female literacy or raising
the average age at marriage of girls. For
that matter, it can do precious little
about motivating millions of couples
in the reproductive age group," he
regretted.
Prof Bosesaid it was futile to talk
cew,.~~. ..".-of.-poptllatioJl.-projections~in,-the---year .-
r 2025 and scare the masses about the
impact of population on the economy.
TheGovernment should instead talk of
drinking water, sanitation, health,
education, housing and employment :
life and death issues for millions of
people, he said.
"Don't talk of contraceptive
technology. Don't talk of monetary
incentives. Don't talk of sterilization
cases. Forget family planning targets.
Bringout the human dimensions of the
problemin the contextofour eco-system,
, Wovherefraernwlloym'inencf
, sCcurity, theShid , ,
. , , " ..' , ....
~g~:.,':', ,.: ..:Genderbiasranfrom
piOgraIiUnes to
and sYs,
development
'''lence:i!gamst femelIes. .
Itresultsin grosslytihe .
jobs, information or
In most subsistence
~rs., ", .. ,':: ",.,' , ', ofresources~foOd.credit, education, "
,'
\\\\'Om~ have few legalrigJ;ttsregarding .
land, tenure" marital '
'" .'. ~ClI . :rity,an~ so ~eir' .
contribution in subsis
odfsc ted.
",
'~~:~~;~:iC;:~~?-~:, "~ . ,ignoring thefl¥l-¥~u
Is~onomiccont:ribution and not,
:::~~:,~~Y,CriPf!~~:~ff~stoa~eve
",
land, water, energy and other resources.
People will understand, "he said.
."Opposing the popularizing, of
Women fu subsistence'ecciiioInies'are' aCtive m
of's forest
: .!",«:~~E~~~.~~._f!'ll,<:!~tio~.iii~a ieaEl!!~'ro!~~;tl!~irCox.ls~rvatiort. '..
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A Salute and a Pledge
~%~jr~:J.":~TI::;~f::'t·'~,·:J7r~.~i,
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It was a moment of great pride for all those serving the cause of population stabilisation when on September 17, this year, the
U.N. Secretary General Mr. Butros Butros-Ghali, presented the prestigious UN Population Award for 1992 to Sharat Ratna Mr. JRD
Tata, Chairman of the Family Planning Foundation. Mr. Tata is the second Indian after the late Prlme Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi,
and the first industrialist in the world to have received this highest distinction the world community confers every year en an individual
as also on an institution.
Though in his characteristic humility Mr. Tata found his "modest contribution" not matching the "importance" of this singuiar
honour, yet, to say the least, he richly deserved it The glory of the moment, no doubt, would have been heightened manifold if Mr.
Tata had not while accepting the award, felt the tinge of sadness because of the "goal of India's long and arduous journey towards
population stabilisation" remaining unfulfilled. But that in no way diminished the significance and impact of his long unrelenting
crusade for a cause with which the destiny of India asa na~on and th~ happiness and well-being of its millions is so inextricably linked.
Mr.TataJlasreceived
innumerable congratulatory messages from all over the world - from or:dinary citizens to high dignitaries
and from humble field workers to top-ranking experts and policy makers. The International Planned Parenthood Federation alongwith
its 134 Family Planning Associations around the globe have paid rich tributes to this "man of vision and action" in a citation on the
occasion of its triennial Members' Assembly and International Family Planning Congress held at New Delhi in the second fortnight
of October.,
Though in the reflected glory of Mr. Tata, we, in the Family Planning Foundation, rejoice aUhe mention by the U.N. Secretary
General of Family Planning Foundation established by Mr. Tata int970, as the "country's pre-eminent non-governmental organisation
for field research on family planning", through which he has helped to find solutions to popUlation problems. It is all due to his able
visionary helmsmanship.
While saluting this great son of India we pledge ourselves to serve the cause of popUlation stabilisation with renewed vigour
and dedication.
..
·T 12th Workshop on Family Welfare in Organised Sector
he twelfthworkshop in the chain family welfare programme in the Secretary General, Rajasthan Chamber
ofworkshopson "FamilyWelfare industrial sector.
of Commerce and Industry revealed
in the Organised Sector" was
In his presidential address, Dr. that in a recent meeting chaired by the
held at Jaipur on Sept. 19, 1992 as a Rameshwar Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, Union Labour Minister for the
collaborative venture of the Family University of Rajasthan, stated that if formulationof a new industrial relations
Planning Foundation and the Rajasthan the family welfare programme could act,RCCIhad suggestedtheintroduction
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(RCCI)
The programme was attended by
be integrated with labour welfare
programme it will not only achieve
enlightened results in the sphere of
of a provision for the total welfare of
the industrial workers including family
welfarewhich would bring a sea-Change
more than 100 representatives from population control but also increase in the commitment of the industrial
industries, trade unions, non- the productiVity of the workers.
organisations and trade unions in so
government~ organisations, medical
Welcoming the guests and
and health departments of the Rajasthan participants, Shri. KL.Jain, Honorary
far as the promotion of family welfare
among the workers was concerned.
government.
Lalit ~~~:~~:~e:r~~~;;h~fJ1'·Jlipak
Health, Government of Rajasthan,
regretted that Rajasthan was a "sick"
state from the population point of view
and there were many social problems
in the state,viz.,poverty, child marriage,
low literacy rate, low status of women
which required to be tackled on priority
basis by all - government as well as
non-governmental organisations.
Stressing the need to involve
industrial workers,managers and union
leaders in family welfare programme,
he expressedthe hope that the workshop
. will come up with practical guidelines
for successful im lementation of the
Bhatia Passes Away
Colonel (Dr.) Dipak Bhatia, PRCS,
. founder-member of the Governing Board
of the FamilyPlanning Foundation, passed
away on December1, 1992,aftera protracted
illness.
. Dr. Bhatia, 83, had a distinguished career
. as a surgeon in military and civil services.
He served as Director of I:IealthServices,
Punjab and in 1966 became the first Family
Planning Commissioner in the Union
Health and Family Planning Ministry.
Later, together with Mr.JRD Tata and the
late Dr. Douglas Ensminger of the Ford
Foundation, Dr. Bhatia developed the blue-print of the Family Planning
Foundation set up in 1970, and helped shape its course till his last day.
Published by the FAMILY PLANNING FOUNDATION, 8-28, Outub Institutional Area, New Delhi-110016. Tel.: 6867080, 6867081.
Designed and Printed by Reproductions India, 8-9, Manjusha, 57 Nehru Place, New Delhi-11 0019. Tel.: 6466624, 6429091.
Editorial Direction :.Harish Khanna
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Editorial Consultant: J.L. Saaz