Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Mains level: Issues related to population control;
Why in the News?
For many years, International NGOs (INGOs) have promoted donor-driven agendas that have frequently caused harm to local communities.
Case Study: Africa and Bolivia
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What are the Historical roots of Gender Imbalance?
- Colonial Policies: British colonial land reforms in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially among land-owning castes, exacerbated female infanticide due to several socio-economic factors linked to inheritance, property rights, and the structure of agrarian society.
- Post-Independence Malthusian Fears: Following independence, fears of overpopulation dominated Western perceptions of India, and INGOs, influenced by these Malthusian concerns, promoted population control measures.
| Note: Malthusian concerns originate from the ideas of Thomas Malthus, an 18th-century British scholar. In his 1798 work, An Essay on the Principle of Population, Malthus argued that population growth would outpace food production, leading to widespread famine, disease, and societal collapse. |
Role of INGOs in Worsening Gender Imbalance in India
- Population Control Focus: INGOs such as the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Population Council were instrumental in introducing sex-determination technologies, particularly between the 1950s and 1980s, by directing significant funds towards these efforts while sidelining other public health needs.
- Influence in Institutions: INGOs embedded themselves in key Indian institutions such as AIIMS and the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), shaping the direction of research and policy towards population management.
- For example, Sheldon Segal of the Population Council worked closely with the Indian Health Ministry to prioritize family planning over other pressing health concerns like tuberculosis and malaria.
- Promotion of Sex Selection: Doctors, influenced by the donor-driven agendas of INGOs, began promoting sex-determination technologies like amniocentesis under the pretext of reducing “unnecessary fecundity.”
Impact of Sex Determination Technology
- Introduction and Spread: Sex determination technologies, such as amniocentesis and ultrasound, Initially intended for detecting fetal abnormalities, they were quickly co-opted for sex selection, leading to a significant increase in female foeticide.
- Census data reveals a steady decrease from 943 girls per 1,000 boys in 1951 to 927 girls per 1,000 boys by 1991. The sharpest fall occurred between 1971 and 1991, coinciding with the spread of these technologies.
- Regional Variations: States with easier access to sex-determination tests, such as Punjab and Haryana, experienced the steepest declines in their child sex ratios.
- By 2001, Punjab’s ratio had dropped to 876 girls per 1,000 boys, while Haryana’s fell to 861.
- Missing Girls: A 2006 study published in The Lancet estimated that sex-determination technologies contributed to the loss of 10 million female births in India between 1980 and 2010, with approximately 500,000 female foetuses aborted annually during this period.
Way forward:
- Strengthen Legal Enforcement and Awareness: Enforce stricter penalties for illegal sex determination practices and raise public awareness to shift societal norms that value male children over female children, promoting gender equality at all levels.
- Focus on Holistic Public Health and Gender Policies: Redirect INGO and government efforts toward comprehensive health programs, prioritizing women’s health, education, and economic empowerment, rather than solely focusing on population control.
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