From Population Control to Reproductive Health

Last updated

From Population Control to Reproductive Health: Malthusian Arithmetic is a book by Mohan Rao. It is a critique of the post-1990s Indian family planning system. [1]

In it, Rao endeavors to critique the family-planning programme in India, its assumptions, unstated bias, and implications. It describes the approach for health in India which is more about doctors, hospitals, and technical interventions rather than living conditions, work environment, and access to food etc., criticizing the over-dependence on technology in family planning program, and traces the evolution and growth of family-planning program in India. It also talks about the death and resurfacing of eugenic ideas, Malthusianism and Neo-Malthusian approach to population and the impact of the International Conference on Population and Development etc. [ citation needed ]

It has been described as being outstanding for the depth of scholarship and insights of the author, and as having important policy implications. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human population planning</span> Practice of controlling rate of growth

Human population planning is the practice of managing the growth rate of a human population. The practice, traditionally referred to as population control, had historically been implemented mainly with the goal of increasing population growth, though from the 1950s to the 1980s, concerns about overpopulation and its effects on poverty, the environment and political stability led to efforts to reduce population growth rates in many countries. More recently, however, several countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Iran, Italy, Spain, Finland, Hungary and Estonia have begun efforts to boost birth rates once again, generally as a response to looming demographic crises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malthusianism</span> Idea about population growth and food supply

Malthusianism is a theory that population growth is potentially exponential, according to the Malthusian growth model, while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population decline. This event, called a Malthusian catastrophe has been predicted to occur if population growth outpaces agricultural production, thereby causing famine or war. According to this theory, poverty and inequality will increase as the price of assets and scarce commodities goes up due to fierce competition for these dwindling resources. This increased level of poverty eventually causes depopulation by decreasing birth rates. If asset prices keep increasing, social unrest would occur, which would likely cause a major war, revolution, or a famine. Societal collapse is an extreme but possible outcome from this process. The theory posits that such a catastrophe would force the population to "correct" back to a lower, more easily sustainable level. Malthusianism has been linked to a variety of political and social movements, but almost always refers to advocates of population control.

Social marketing is a marketing approach which focuses on influencing behavior with the primary goal of achieving the "common good". It utilizes the elements of commercial marketing and applies them to social concepts. However, to see social marketing as only the use of standard commercial marketing practices to achieve non-commercial goals is an oversimplified view. Social marketing has existed for some time but has only started becoming a common term in recent decades. It was originally done using newspapers and billboards and has adapted to the modern world in many of the same ways commercial marketing has. The most common use of social marketing in today's society is through social media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulandshahr</span> City in Uttar Pradesh, India

Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.

<i>Dainik Jagran</i> Indian Hindi language daily newspaper

Dainik Jagran is an Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. K. R. V. Rao</span> Indian Economist

Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao was an Indian economist, politician and educator.

Amiya Kumar Bagchi is an Indian political economist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. D. Deshmukh</span> Indian politician

Sir Chintaman Dwarakanath DeshmukhICS was an Indian civil servant and the first Indian to be appointed the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India in 1943 by the British Raj authorities. He subsequently served as the Finance Minister in the Union Cabinet (1950–1956). It was during this time that he also became a founding member of the Governing Body of NCAER, the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi, India's first independent economic policy institute established in 1956 at the behest of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. After resignation from Union Cabinet he worked as Chairman of UGC (1956–1961). He served as Vice-Chancellor of University of Delhi (1962–67). He was also President of Indian Statistical Institute from 1945 to 1964, Honorary Chairman of National Book Trust (1957–60).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</span> Cabinet ministry of Government of India

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, also known by its abbreviation MoHFW, is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India. It is also responsible for all government programs relating to family planning in India.

Likhaan is a non-government organization (NGO) engaged in providing direct health care services to women in marginalized communities. Dr. Junice Melgar is its director and one of its co-founders. These services also allow Likhaan an entry point to organizing grassroots women in health care advocacy. Likhaan is an acronym for Linangan ng Kababaihan. Likhaan, a Filipino phrase which means "A Place for the Honing or Development of Women". Reproductive Health and Rights is a major focus of Likhaan's programs, reflected in its clinical services, education work and advocacy. The organisation works for a humane and non-hierarchical health care system. They are also identified by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines that is pushing for the legalization of Abortion in the Philippines. The group is also one of the supporters of the Reproductive Health Law and has stated that they will make the electoral campaign of politicians that voted against the bill difficult.

<i>Six Acres and a Third</i> 19th-century Oriya-language novel

Chha Maana Atha Guntha is a 19th-century Indian novel in the Odia language by Fakir Mohan Senapati (1843–1918), published in an English language translation by the University of California Press. Written long before Russia's October Revolution, it is the first Indian novel to deal with the exploitation of landless peasants by a feudal Lord in British India. Its author is known as the "Father of Modern Odia Literature".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family planning in India</span>

Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. From 1965 to 2009, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved, but the national fertility rate in absolute numbers remains high, causing concern for long-term population growth. India adds up to 1,000,000 people to its population every 20 days. Extensive family planning has become a priority in an effort to curb the projected population of two billion by the end of the twenty-first century.

The history of birth control, also known as contraception and fertility control, refers to the methods or devices that have been historically used to prevent pregnancy. Planning and provision of birth control is called family planning. In some times and cultures, abortion had none of the stigma which it has today, making birth control less important.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. S. Khare</span> Indian professor of anthropology

R. S. Khare is a socio-cultural anthropologist and a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Virginia, U.S. He is known for studying “from within/without” India's changing society, religions, food systems, and political cultures, and for following the trajectories of contemporary Indian traditional and modern cultural discourses. His anthropology has endeavored to widen reasoned bridges across the India-West cultural, religious-philosophical, and literary distinctions and differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malur R. Narasimha Prasad</span>

Malur R. Narasimha Prasad or M.R.N. Prasad was an Indian Endocrinologist and Professor, known for his research in the field of reproductive physiology and the regulation of fertility. His major contributions were in the areas of comparative endocrinology, the regulation of male fertility, and the use of non-human primates in biomedical research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Economic Growth</span> Indian economic research institute

The Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) is an autonomous, multidisciplinary Centre for advanced research and training. Established in 1958, its faculty of about 23 social scientists and a large body of supporting research staff focus on areas of social and policy concern.

Narasinh Narayan Godbole was an Indian food chemist and the first Director of Industries & Supplies of Government of Rajasthan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Council of Applied Economic Research</span>

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) is India’s oldest and largest independent, non-profit, economic policy research think tank. Established in New Delhi in 1956, it acquired considerable national and international standing within only a few decades of its founding. It is one of a handful of think tanks globally that combine rigorous analysis and policy outreach with deep data collection capabilities, especially for household surveys.

Radhika Chandiramani is the founder of TARSHI, a New Delhi–based NGO that works on issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights. She is a clinical psychologist, writer and editor. Her published works on sexuality and human rights have been covered in media and scholarly reviews. Chandiramani received the MacArthur Fellowship in the year 1995 for leadership development. She is also the recipient of the 2003 Soros Reproductive Health and Rights Fellowship from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mental health in India</span> Overview of mental health care system in India

Mental healthcare in India is a right secured to every person in the country by law. Indian mental health legislation, as per a 2017 study, meets 68% (119/175) of the World Health Organization (WHO) standards laid down in the WHO Checklist of Mental Health Legislation. However, human resources and expertise in the field of mental health in India is significantly low when compared to the population of the country. The allocation of the national healthcare budget to mental health is also low, standing at 0.16%. India's mental health policy was released in 2014.

References

  1. Simon-Kumar, Rachel (2005). "Reviewed Work: From Population Control to Reproductive Health: Malthusian Arithmetic by Mohan Rao". Social Scientist. 33 (3/4): 76–80. JSTOR   3518115.
  2. Bose, Ashish (2006). "Book Reviews: From Population Control to Reproductive Health: Malthusian Arithmetic, Mohan Rao (SAGE Publications, New Delhi) 2004" (PDF). Indian Journal of Medical Research. 124: 213–214. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2015.

Citation