MP village a familyplanning model

While the nation’s population continues to rise, there is a village in Madhya Pradesh where the population has remained static for the past 97 years. This may seem unbelievable, but that is how it has been in Dhanora, a village located in MP’s Betul district. Dhanora is a small village in the landscape of India, but it is a model of family planning not just for the country but for the whole world.

In 1922, the population here was 1,700 and, 97 years later, the population in 2019 continues to be exactly the same.

There is a story behind how this has happened.

A local resident, S. K. Mahobiya, said in 1892, the Congress held a conference here, attended by many dignitaries, including Kasturba Gandhi, the wife of Mahatma Gandhi. She raised the slogan of ‘small family-happy family’ here. The villagers were so impressed by her arguments that they decided to adopt and enforce the concept.

The elders of the village say that her message was so well taken by everyone in the village that each family adopted the family planning concept.

And, one of the good things that happened was that the villagers understood that there was no difference between boys and girls. The families do not have more than two children and it did not matter whether the children were boys or girls.

Local journalist Mayank Bhargava said: “This village is a model in family planning. There is no gender bias in this village and families stick to the norm of having one or two children, even if the children are boys or girls only. The people here don’t make a distinction in boys and girls.”

Dhanora has maintained its population, but several villages around it have seen almost a fourfold population growth in these 97 years.

Health worker Jagdish Singh Parihar said: “There was no need to force anything on the villagers. They are so very aware about the concept and gains of family planning.”