Necessity for adoption of small family norm
Adoption of small family norms is today not only desirable but almost a necessity. It has become difficult to survive with a large family particularly because of rising prices, growing needs and necessities.
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One has to spend a lot on food clothing and even on education. With scare employment opportunities it is difficult to manage a large family.
By keeping the family small one can not only make both ends meets even on a small income but also helps the nation in checking population.
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This would in turn ease the problems of unemployment, illiteracy, malnutrition, housing, poverty and low standard of living and also accelerate the process of economic development.
Results of the 1981 Census revealed that in just 34 years after Independence, our population doubled from 340 million in 1947 to 684 millions in 1981.
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At this rate of growth the present population is likely to be double again in about 31 years. Implications of this population explosion are shocking.
While the Government has taken a number of steps to control the population growth, the success largely depends on people’s participation in the programme.
In fact, Family Planning is essentially a people’s movement. Poverty is one of the main reasons behind growing population.
It is therefore felt necessary that the message and need for adopting small family norms should reach even the poorest of the poor. The message can be best conveyed through mouth-to-mouth campaign.
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Craftsmen can play significant role in checking population. They can do so first adopting small family norms and limiting their families and then pursuade their friends and colleagues to adopt family planning measures.
One of the major reasons for limited success of the family planning programme in India is that so far it has remained only a programme of the government.
People’s response and co-operation is very limited. Once the masses are educated about the family planning and they feel convinced about it, the programme is sure to show spectacular success.
The problem of convincing illiterate people is very serious in India. People living in rural areas or those engaged in labour in the cities or small jobs are superstitious.
They consider that child birth is not in their hands. It is God’s work and they do not want to interfere in this, they say.
Many people are against adopting scientific methods of controlling births.
They believe rum ours prevalent in the society that certain kind of birth-control measures are harmful and even dangerous for the life of one who undergoes an operation for this purpose.
These doubts can be best removed by government officials but by friends and colleagues. Craftsmen can do this job at least within their own circle and help in checking population growth.
They can act as motivators in the community. The illiterate, orthodox and superstitious people need motivation to a considerable extent for adopting family planning measures.
Motivators can educate their subjects, convince them about the safety and usefulness of the birth-control measures and persuade them to adopt it.
In order to encourage motivators government gives some incentives to them. Eve; otherwise, it is a kind of service to the humanity.