Essays

India has made great progress in several spheres. She could have made even more progress had she been able to control effectively the galloping numbers of mouths to be fed.

In spite of all the money spent and the efforts made, the population explosion has been controlled in India only marginally.

At the time of Independence the population of India was about 35 crore. Now within a span of less than sixty years, it is poised to triple itself.

The main reason for this tremendous increase in population is illiteracy and poverty. The poor illiterate people consider the coming of child a gift from God.

The population explosion has created a number of problems such as, housing, food, clothing, medicine, sanitation, education and many other innumerable ones.

These people also think that if they have more members in the family, they would be able to earn more as each member would go out to find one or the other job of whatever type. They are not interested in raising their living standard. They want to just exist.

Many of these people are not even aware of the family planning programmes. This is particularly true about slum and shanty dwellers. Many illiterate ruralities and tribals living in remote areas also have no knowledge of such things.

Our family planning programmes have also been faulty, being mostly devoid of incentives. Those who have more than two children should not be given jobs or promotions. Those who abide by family planning rules should be given rewards.

The family planning schemes should be given a wide publicity through mass media. The youth should be involved in this campaign. The idea of usefulness of a small family should he instilled into minds of youngsters.