Population Growth Rate inIndia
For many years concern has been voiced over the seemingly unchecked rateof population growth in India, but the most recent indications are that somesuccess is being achieved in slowing the rate of population growth. Theprogress which has been achieved to date is still only of a modest nature andshould not serve as premature cause for complacency. Moreover, a slowing of therate of population growth is not incompatible with a dangerous populationincrease in a country like India which has so huge a population base to beginwith. Nevertheless, the most recent signs do offer some occasion for adopting acertain degree of cautious optimism in regard to the problem. One important factor which is responsible for viewing the future withmore optimism than may previously have been the case has been the increase inthe size of the middle class, a tendency which has been promoted by the currenttendency to ease restrictions on entrepreneurship and private investment. It isa well-known fact that as persons become more prosperous and better educatedthey begin to undertake measures designed to eliminate the size of theirfamilies. (The obvious exception would be families lik
Thus,indications are that Muslims throughout the subcontinent have accepted theIndian cultural presumption that girl babies are undesirable even though underIslam the bride's parents theoretically stand to benefit financially. The success of suchprograms has indicated that even the poorer classes can be induced to think interms of population control and family planning through education, but increasedaffluence correspondingly increases the pressure for the limitation of familysize, for parents who enjoy good life want to pass it on to their children undercircumstances where there will be enough to go around. e the Kennedys whoadhere to religious strictures against artificial birth control, but the majorIndian religions have traditionally lacked such strictures. While the Hinduemphases upon dowery, which can have the effect of impoverishing a family withmany daughters, is no doubt a significant contributing factor, it should bepointed out that population figures for Pakistan and Bangla Desh would suggest aprevalence of infanticide of girl babies in these nation as well, despite thefact that under Islam there has traditionally been no dowery at marriage but,instead, a so-called "bridal price" paid by the family of the groom. In contrast, underconditions of severe impoverishment there is not only likely to be lack ofknowledge of family planning or access to modes of birth control, but childrenthemselves are likely to be viewed as an asset. Where government effortsare concerned, "for mass consumption only three methods are. The Indian Population Problem: A Household economics Approach (NewDelhi: Sage Publications, 1990)Mandelbaum, David G. The anonymousabandonment of children to charitable agencies is the another practice that isillegal but impossible for the government to prevent, for the agenciesunderstandably hesitate to refuse to accept a child from a parent apparentlyintent on abandonment for fear that infanticide will then be resorted to by sucha parent. We will havemore to say later about the relationship between gender and population growth,but here we may make the obvious point that if a family seeks sons it may alsohave to bring into the world some "unwanted" daughters, thereby furthering thetrend towards large families. To insure that comprehensive family planning programs find widespread acceptanceconsiderably more progress needs to be made in raising the standard of living ofthe Indian masses for "although the wealthier, better-educated urban families docurtail their fertility, the poor have not had the means or motivation to doso. Modernization is slowly changing this situation, but to insuresuccess considerably more progress needs to be made. " In regard to IUD, which has been promoted since its introduction inIndia in 1963, the method has not proven popular because of the relativefrequency of excessive bleeding and, though more infrequent, involuntaryexpulsion.
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Acceptance Essays
