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Sense & insensibility

Runaway train, runaway population ... and more

Now, that happening in a conservative Muslim society like Iran should put a damper on those in Bangladesh who speak against family planning. These people need to get modern education, learn mathematics and English, read contemporary history of other countries, take lessons in demography before dishing out edicts in the name of religion.

Shahnoor Wahid
THERE is a Hollywood movie named "Runaway Drain" which starts accidentally. picks up speed and moves forward with no one to apply the brakes. Amidst all the drama that goes on inside and outside, the machine monster rumbles on and on through heavy snow towards an abyss and plunges to its doom. I recommend this movie to the valued readers.
Oh, why did I mention this movie? It's simply because Bangladesh's population growth reminds me of that runaway train, which is picking up speed and moving forward not knowing where and when it would reach the point of doom. There is no one behind the wheels and no one to apply the brakes. There are only curious onlookers who are pointing at the monster on wheels and uttering in a tone of disbelief, "Look how fast that train is going? Will it not meet with an accident soon if someone does not stop it?" How predictably prophetic indeed!
What are the reasons that we lament thus? Well, there are plenty of reasons. For example, let us have a look at the population chart of this country. While 8 crore should have been the ideal "all-time" population of a country that has
severe land limitation and shortage of other natural resources, today it is wobbling under the pressure of 15 crore manab shantan (human beings).
There was no one to switch on the red signal. There were only onlookers as the procreation process went on unrestricted. Women from 14 to 40 were made pregnant by irresponsible men across the country, without even bothering who would feed them. In a modern world, with all sorts of information materials available on population control methods, it is not only unthinkable, it is downright objectionable Those in power remained totally oblivious of the consequences of over-population. In fact, they were totally ignorant about it. Ignorance is bliss!
So, do we find anything to cheer about this burgeoning population? Do we notice those malnourished children, millions and millions of them, half-fed, half-naked, worm-infested, unclean, diseased and not going to school? You will notice them in the countryside, by the riverbanks, near the bazaars, in the canals, in the forests and in the suburban slums, staring at you. Most of us don't dare to take a deep look at them because of the fear that it might remind us of the sumptuous breakfast we jut had at home.
We don’t dare to ask those mil-
lions of adolescent boys crowding the mahallas whether they have any idea of what they would do when they would turn 20 Maybe some of them will go abroad to toil under the scorching Middleeastern sun or break their backs in the hot and humid forests in Malaysia. Maybe others will join the underworld to sell heroin or hand-guns. And as for the girls, they will have to get married as soon as they turn 18, and then give birth to minimum four children.
There are some hard facts about these girls that we hardly talk about Many, many of them will get thrown out of the house by their rogue husbands for no reason at all. These girls will cither find jobs in garment factories, if they are lucky, or else, hit the streets at night. The fathers who gave birth to diese girls will not take them back.
This so well speaks for die social situation and the durodorshita (farsightedness) of our political leaders and government officials. In the last thirty years, they could not agree on the population control methods that would be most effective for the country, and work together to implement them. They remained at loggerheads on one of the most important national issues. Today, we are paying a heavy price for the incompetence of these two forces, who frame policies. You
know something? Independent of one another each of these two forces can do wonders But when combined together you begin to wonder what went wrong?
Anyway, now let us see what has been happening in other Asian countries while we have been giving birth to millions of manab thantans, who are destined to be malnourished and powerless. (But who cares. The more the merrier. "We shall rule the world one day with our jhanda"...dream some of our "blessed" bothers in their secret hideouts.) Well, India is trying its best to check population boom through massive awareness campaigns. They are lucky that the so- called religious factor does not come to interfere in their work In some states, like West Bengal, it is working fine but in others it is not.
India is also lucky that they have a large segment of literate middleclass who are opting for one or two-child family. Increasing women's work opportunities and lifestyle change arc working as compelling factors to opt for a small family. To achieve better results family planning work is being intensified in the rural areas. In China, we know, they are short by 40 million people today because of the one- child policy of the mid-seventies.
Whatever the flaws of the policy are, the fact remains they are less by
40 million. In tire urban areas, if one takes more than one child, like three children, then he will have to forego many government facilities and incentives. Usually, people do not want to do that. Only people in the rural areas are allowed to take two children to help them in agriculture.
Family Planning in Iran?
Many would find it interesting to learn that family planning is encouraged and practised in Iran on a regular basis. Here are some facts taken from the Wikipedia:
"Between 1956 and 1986 Iran's population grew at a rate of more than 3 percent per year. The growth rate began to decline in the mid-1980s after the government initiated a major population control program. By 2007 the growth rate had declined to 0.7 percent per year, with a birth rate of 17 per 1,000 persons and a death rate of 6 per 1,000.
During the Iran-Iraq war between 1980 and 1988, a large population was viewed as a comparative advantage for Iran. Accordingly, Ayatollah Khomeini pushed procreation to bolster the ranksof 'soldiers for Islam,' aiming for 'an army of 20 million.*
Although Iran's population boom started before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, it is widely claimed that Ayatullah Khomeini's edict led to an annual population growth rate of well over 3%. United Nations data show that Iran’s population doubled in just 20 years - from 27 million in 1968 to 55 million in 1988.
But in the 21st century there have been significant changes made, Iran's population growth rate dropped from an all-time high
of3.2%in 1986tojust 1.2%in2001 This is one of the fastest drops ever recorded In reducing its popula-tion growth to this level -- a rate that Is only slightly higher than that of the United States - Iran emerged as a model for other countries that want to lessen the risk of overpopu lation. In 2007 Iran's Total Fertility Rate has dropped to 1.71 with a net out-rnigrationof4 29/1000.
At one point in the 1980s estimates showed that Iran's population would reach 108 million by the year 2006. But, in fact, through a variety of measures, Iran has managed to check its population growth with the population projected to only be 70 million in 2006.
This rapid decline in growth has been achieved through a combination of methods. In 1993, Iran dropped certain maternity benefits for couples who had more than three children According to the BBC, Iran is believed to be the only country where men and women are required to attend classes about contraception before they can obtain a marriage license. In addition, Iran has made both condoms and contraceptive pills widely available. Contraceptive pills are available at pharmacies across Iran, and the government gives away condoms at health clinics around the country.’
Now, that happening in a conservative Muslim society like Iran should put a damper on those in Bangladesh who speak against family planning. These people need to get modern education, learn mathematics and English, read contemporary history of other countries, take lessons in demography before dishing out edicts in the name of religion. Shahnoor AaM n a Sere/ Asssurt Editor d The Dary S»ar