I refer to various letters on this topic. In particular the letters of May 26 and May 30 are most interesting in that these assert that "population problem is the root cause of all the problems of our country".

I am sure every sane person would agree with such diagnosis of the chronic ailment of our nation and would welcome the principle of homeopathy to deal with this first. Unless the root cause is treated and the ailment removed, tackling of other problems are only a waste of time. Eliminating the root cause would automatically improve the health and wealth of the nation on existing resources and activities.

Redoubling of national effort therefore seems necessary to send the population in a slow downward trend. To reduce the population by chance like natural disasters, famines or pestilence or by design like warfare are no longer commensurate with human intelligence or dignity and Bangladesh has the ability to be leader amongst the emerging nations in this matter through women's education and development and encouraging policies which reward a smaller family.

Engineer Shafi Ahmed

London, UK