The Hindu : National : `Two-child norm discriminates against the poor'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004

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National

`Two-child norm discriminates against the poor'

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 13. Academicians and feminist groups today criticised the proposed two-child norm, and said that this, if legislated upon, could only be implemented by coercive measures. It discriminated against the poor, Dalits, tribals, minorities and women, several feminist organisations said at a press conference here today.

Describing the two-child norm as a convenient ploy to pass on the burden of non-performance in governance to these sections, the activists strongly opposed any attempt to force such coercive legislation on the people. "Let those who talk about such a norm first ensure health, food and education for all. Let them bring down the unacceptably high child and maternal mortality rates. If this takes place, there will be no need to bring legislation to control population," said Brinda Karat, general secretary of the All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA).

Adding to biases

The other organisations that joined AIDWA to discuss the "confusion" surrounding the census were SAMA Resource Group for Women and Health, the Delhi Science Forum, Saheli, CREA and TARSHI. "We strongly feel that the interpretation of population on communal or religious terms will further add to the existing communal biases in society, and vitiate public opinion on issues related to both population as well as communalism. This dangerous tendency to mislead the people, we believe, should be discouraged and condemned," they said.

They said the Government should not allow the resurrection of a National Population Policy (NPP), which is based on a "two-child norm" and coercive measures that target the poor and the disadvantaged.

`Damaging policies'

Ms. Karat expressed serious concern overthe revival of the ideologies of "population control" and the damaging policy framework of incentives and disincentives. She said last week's conference of Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Ministers had taken a policy decision along these lines for the States in which the party is in power. In 2000, when the BJP was in power at the Centre, Parliament unanimously adopted a National Population Policy, which was against quotas and disincentives. The policy pledged to improve social indicators of women's development such as literacy, access to health and medical services and addressing contraceptive needs. The activists said the BJP needed to account for what seemed to be a reversal of their stance on the population policy.

The recently released census data provides an opportunity to take a dispassionate view at the determining factors of demographic patterns, said the historian, Charu Gupta. However, a sectarian political platform is seeking to hijack this opportunity to manipulate disaggregated data based on religious and communities for its own purposes, she said.Ms. Karat said the declining sex ratio, which the census had focused on, indicated discrimination against women and girls and the prevalence of the heinous practice of sex-selective abortion and female infanticide. This was a cause for national shame. She said it was curious that the BJP had remained silent on this aspect of the census data.

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