Title: Political economy of population control in India.

POPLINE Document Number: 801940

Author(s):

Banerji D

Source citation:

In: Bondestam L, Bergstrom S, eds. Poverty and population control. New York, Academic Press, 1980. :83-101.

Abstract:

The enforced policy of population control in India reached a peak of coerced, involuntary sterilization from June 1975-March 1977 when the government performed 7,635,396 operations. In March, 1977, elections of a new government categorically ruled out the use of force or coercion in family planning programs. The UN and the World Bank have encouraged the growth of family planning programs and dissemination of birth control to the detrinent of health facilities and services. The backlash against the forced sterilizations resulted in a dramatic decrease in acceptance of sterilization in subsequent years. The urban population is served by 1820 family planning clinics and 2333 other institutions which also offer services. There are 5168 family planning centers and 37,690 sub-centers providing services to rural populations. 2072 institutions offer abortions. The legal minimum age of marriage has been raised from 15 to 18 for girls and from 18 to 21 for boys. Abortion laws have been liberalized. Despite its egalitarian pronouncements, the political leadership has actively reinforced the class structure of the preindependence days. They have failed to improve the levels of living of the poor. The rich have become richer and the poor poorer, politically, socially, and economically. The bogey of population explosion has been used to explain away the leaders' failure to keep their promises to the masses.

Keywords:

India
Political Factors
Family Planning Programs
Population Control
Population Policy
Involuntary Fertility Control
Development Policy
Economic Development
Social Development
Sterilization, Sexual
Asia, Southern
Asia
Developing Countries
Family Planning
Programs
Organization and Administration
Social Policy
Policy
Family Planning Policy
Economic Factors