Views
EDITORIALThe Dilemma of Family Planning Programmes in India.
Author: Sarita Barpanda
One of the common question's asked by the women who had come to deliver and were accompanied by the ASHAs during my visit on 24 June 2013 to the Khurda District Headquarter Hospital was, 'are you sterilised'? And when my response was ‘no’ they looked at one another and very understandingly responded, ‘you are trying for a son’. When I shook my head, they were bewildered and confused and asked me a number of questions on how I have managed not to have any more children after giving birth to two daughters, who are now in their teen and preteen; and what was the response of my in-laws after the birth of two daughters. When I responded that the onus of having two daughters and not to have children was also on my husband and jointly decisions have been taken, my words were met with absolute silence. Read more............... |
OPINIONDuo in demographic race
Author: Abhijit Das
Published in Indian Express 11th July The cat is out of the bag! India’s population will overtake that of China around 2028. This was part of the first sentence of the UN press release on its report, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision, a month ago. As nearly headline material, it is obviously important, but as an Indian citizen I don’t know whether to be happy or worried. Let us see it another way — for a second let us assume that the report was one from World Bank on World Economic Prospects and the sentence read India’s economy will overtake that of China by 2028. Some of the readers will immediately respond “wishful thinking”, others will say “impossible”, still others may say “I wish”. There is a tinge of wistfulness to this reaction on comparison of economies, while a sense of regret, frustration, and probably anger may be associated with the population-level comparisons with China. Read more...... |