Sterilisation is no solution
Population control, as suggested by the Supreme Court, must focus on the education of rural women
Union minister Giriraj Singh obviously does not remember history. If Mr Singh did, then he would not have called for mass sterilisation in the country. At a function in Bihar last week, the minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises advocated sterilisation to control population growth. Mr Singh said India needed a strong population control law, incorporating sterilisation, as the country was facing a population boom, impeding development and social stability. “India has 17 % of the world population and adds population equal to Australia each year. The country only has 2.5% of land mass of the globe with only 4.2% of water resources. In this scenario, the population explosion in the country is proving to be a big roadblock for development. We need population control act to tide over the problem,” he said. Before proposing such a law, Mr Singh should have taken into account the fate of such programmes in a democratic country: In the mid 1970s, the Congress tried to implement a similar plan but the political and social backlash singed the party badly.
Mr Singh is the second senior BJP leader in Bihar who has advocated sterilisation after demonetisation. Last week, former union minister and senior BJP leader Sanjay Paswan said sterilisation would help control the population of the country. While it is true India’s population is an enormous challenge, it can also be a huge demographic dividend if tackled properly. Moreover, India’s sterilisation campaign has been badly managed, and in September, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to end sterilisation camps within three years and strengthen the primary healthcare system, saying “it is time that women and men are treated with respect and dignity and not as mere statistics in the sterilisation programme”.
If India is to curb its population, it cannot happen by incentive-based or forced sterilisation programmes. Instead, as the Supreme Court suggested earlier this year, the focus must be on the education and empowerment of poor women in rural areas and they must be encouraged to make an informed choice on family planning.