|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Thursday, 14 August 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Features | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
New perspectives on population stabilisation "We the Billion", a social psychological perspective on India's population. Author: Ragini Sen Publication: SAGE Publications / Thousand Oaks / London Reviewed by Kushani Ratnayake Population stabilisation in India should be considered a high-priority area requiring immediate attention, the more so since India's population has tripled in the 50 odd years since independence. In "We the Billion" Ragini Sen has taken the problem of population stabilisation from a new and different perspective. She contends that the issue of fertility cannot be treated as a problem of statistics alone as it involves people who are affected by social and cultural influences. The author emphasises the importance of a model which accords primacy to soft cultural variables and provides insights into collective beliefs. The author reasons that fertility is a supra-individual issue and cannot be treated on an isolationist basis. It needs to be addressed with a holistic approach for which a comprehensive government policy and communication strategy is essential. In the book the use of a social representational approach which focuses on social change and transformative processes is discussed. One of the major causes of the population problem in India is the low level of female literacy and the low status accorded to women in society. The author argues that an emphasis on the elimination of the dowry and prioritising female literacy have been made the focal points of a population policy. This will help in changing the negative representation of women by increasing their overall autonomy which, in turn, will bring down their fertility rates. Simultaneously it will help to introduce a more "human" representation of the campaign itself. In addition, the author also calls for an examination of the role played by the mass-media. Education, irrespective of religion, and elimination of socio-cultural differences will lower fertility rates further. In this context, she highlights the need to dispel the myth that over population is the creation of "minorities". Finally, the book argues for the need to decentralise the population issue. Instead of a population policy that encompasses the entire subcontinent, the need of the hour is to have district-specific guidelines. Dr. Sen also suggests that the "Success stories" of districts within each state be benchmarked, and models based on these effective districts be made available to each state. An important work that goes beyond conventional theories in studying India's population problem, this book will be of interest to policy makers, demographers, social scientists and activists, as well as to an informed general audience. Ragini Sen is an independent consultant in socio-political research, operationalism of the social and cultural anthropological concepts and management strategy, Mumbai. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
