On The Verge Of Replacement Level, Coercion Is Not Needed For Family Planning
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-12-15 14:04:02
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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Should India follow the two-child family norm and should the government force people to adopt family planning for that? The Central government has declined to use force in this matter. In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court in response to a petition filed by BJP leader and lawyers Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay challenging the dismissal of his petition in the Delhi High Court seeking to direct the Centre to take steps to control the growing population, the Centre said that forcing people to have just a certain number of children is counter-productive and leads to demographic distortions.
The government also informed the court that India's family planning and welfare programmes were voluntary in nature and people were informed of the benefits of a small family. It was upon them to decide on the size of their family and the family planning methods that they like, without any force and compulsion on part of the government. It also said that health was a state subject and the Union ministry of health just played a supportive and facilitative role.
The Supreme Court was also informed that at 2.2, India's fertility rate is almost at replacement level (which is 2.1) and this shows that its non-coercive family planning and welfare schemes have worked. The government said that since the replacement level will be reached in the next few years there is no need to take coercive steps.
The government is right. India's voluntary family planning schemes have largely succeeded (although financial compulsions and rising aspirations have also played a huge part) in reducing the fertility rate from 3.2 in the 1950s to 2.2 now. The country knows what happened when forced sterilization was introduced during the Emergency. In any case, if the fertility rate falls below 2.1, there will be negative growth and the population will start falling. The government must be focused on how to keep the population nourished and healthy and provide them education and jobs. There is no need for coercion as long as the fertility rate is in control.
