History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s2.69.4

v7.c96.s2.69.4

The Planning Commission is going to try various measures such as intensive education, provision of facilities and advice on the largest scale possible, providing family planning services at 1864 rural and 330 urban medical and health centres, numbers of sterilization centres, opening 6100 clinics in rural areas and 2100 in urban areas (in 2nd Plan only 549 urban and 1100 rural clinics), distribution of simple contraceptives, research programme for more effective contraceptives etc. The 3rd Plan reports that in the 2nd Plan period 125000 sterilization operations were carried out (p. 678 of Third Plan). The present author is not an expert in these matters and so will content himself by pointing out that sterilization and, particularly contraceptives, are double-edged weapons. Sterilization for males is easy and may become popular among well-to-do men for selfish reasons (such as not wanting children and not undertaking the task of bringing them up). Therefore, a rule would have to be made and rigorously enforced that no sterilization will be done unless the man has three children or more. Vide a very thoughtful work ‘Fertility and Survival’ by Alfred Sauvy tr. from French by Christine Brooke-Rose (1961). Birth control is practised in West Europe, North America, Japan exclusively by the well-to-do type of people. The same might happen in India. The most serious objection against contraceptives is that they will lead to immorality and encourage promiscuity in both sexes.