‘Only We Have The Courage To Speak On This’

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan is a man with a mission. In a conversation with Anuradha Raman, Chauhan insists that unless population is checked, economic growth will amount to nothing. Excerpts:

Your family planning campaign has attracted criticism for setting targets for the administration to achieve. Shouldn't family planning be about informed choice?

Our campaign is not targeted at anyone. I feel we are the only state in the country to display courage in discussing the issue of population explosion. Nobody has had the courage to speak on the issue so far. I think it is an important issue for the nation and we have to control the pace at which our population is growing. Soon it will overtake China. We have 10 per cent growth rate but our per capital income has not grown apace. Why? I realized then, that it was important to convince people to adopt family planning measures. I travelled to villages to talk to people about the need to control the numbers. Imagine people having eight children. What will the future of the mothers and their children be?

The district administration officials have targeted minors, aged women and tribals to achieve the targets set by you. What do you have to say about the unfair practices adopted by your officials?

I do agree that some aberrations have taken place and some doctors and officials unfortunately have targeted people. I donþ t think it is fair to defame the campaign. We are only telling people of the benefits of having two children.

But your approach appears to have been interpreted as targeting people by your officials? Did you send instructions to officials to dissuade them from coercing people?

I clarified to the district officials not to force people. The people should adopt family planning as a matter of choice. I am not offering any incentives to officials to achieve population stability. No promotions are being offered in their careers. I have also clarified that sterilization camps should not be held in remote villages. We are committed to family planning as self choice.

Your approach has invited comparison with Sanjay Gandhi who targeted minorities. Is it true that you even praised him in public?

Yes I did praise his vision of achieving population stability back in the 70s. We can't keep saying numbers are good aur hum bachcha paida karte jayenge (and we will keep producing kids). unke tarike galat the. His approach wasn't right. The manner in which he targeted minorities was wrong. I don't think it is in the interests of the nation to have a huge population.

Madhya Pradesh also has one of the worst rates of infant mortality ratio (IMR), maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and skewed sex ratios. Don't you think a holistic welfare programme would be more beneficial than a targeted family planning campaign?

We do have high IMR and MMR. But it is getting less gradually. There has also been a huge migration to Madhya Pradesh from other places and there is no sense of a state identity unlike Rajasthan. But we are trying to gradually draw the roadmap for health, malnutrition and a host of other issues. The times are changing slowly. I have announced a series of measures to help the girl child because of the acute discrimination she faces, sometimes from her own mother. My attempt has been to make the women capable and independent. The Ladli Lakshmi scheme is one of the many such schemes. I have even set aside Rs 650 crores in this year's budget for the scheme. It's important that the status of the woman improves in my state. I am also trying to find out if I can bring a legislation that will enable parents to stay in the homes of their daughter after they are married off if they have no support in their old age.

But, why do you have such "religious" names for welfare schemes launched by you?

You are being unfair if you attribute communal overtones to the names. Lakshmi implies prosperity and prosperity is welcome in every religion in my state. I have asked the women of my state to emulate Indira Gandhi, Jayalalithaa and Mayawati. I give examples from mythology and history so that the sisters of my state can emulate them.

How many women ministers do you have in your cabinet?

Two, but that is because I didn' t want first time MLAs with no experience to head portfolios. It is important to have experienced people at the helm of affairs of the state. Hence the emphasis on two-time MLAs. But we have taken care to see that there is 50 per cent reservation in Panchayats, self-help groups, teachers, police and other industries.

Sir, you state has one of highest rapes in the country. Three thousand rapes last year and 10 per day. Isn't that worrying in a state that is trying to improve the status of women?

I think it is reprehensible and condemnable. But we are not like the capital Delhi. Having said that we have taken steps like the immediate registration of FIR on a complaint and I have given instruction that women should not be subject to intrusive examination.

We have to change the mindset of the people and I am trying. We have set up fast track courts to address this issue. But I also believe that some sections of the media are corrupting the mindset of people. Surveys are undertaken by reputed magazines and television channels have songs like Munni Badnam and Sheela Ki Jawani. I think all this is against our sanskar (culture). We need to be sensitive to the needs of our culture. There are strange advertisements on channels that impact people. I wish we could be more responsible in what we project.

Are you referring to sex surveys?

Yes. Sometimes I even tear up the covers of the magazines wondering what my two children will make of the contents. We need to respect our women and have to be responsible in how we project them.