The issue is enough to amaze many people since the name of Sanjay Gandhi and his infamous sterilization campaign that was carried out in the 70s under the auspices of draconian powers of the then administration is still remembered with lots of hesitations. But it’s not possible to slip out of the issue any longer as the highly controversial sterilization campaign has found a new admirer in Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Mr. Chouhan has a greater identity, he is a senior leader of BJP, conventional foe and major ideological contestant of Indian National Congress of the Gandhi family. On the word of Mr. Chouhan, controversial enforced sterilization program that was launched in the 70s as an effort to control high population growth in the country deserves a lot of credit till date. What has made a foe of the yesteryear turn into a staunch admirer of the Gandhi scion is not the subject of this article. On the contrary, it’s interested to find out whether the program was beneficial at all or harmful as it is being projected on the whole. In accordance with records, Sanjay Gandhi had instituted the enforced sterilization program in the 1970s and the police and administration were asked to perform vasectomies on men and also sterilize some women by force. It is worthwhile to mention that the program was made part of the thee Indian government's family planning project and was believed to target only men having two children and in addition. What did happen in reality was contrary to expectations. A great number of unmarried men were also purportedly sterilized so as to meet targets and this did create a strong repugnance among people to family panning for decades. Now the question is whether the endeavor was good or bad. It ought to be noted that identical sterilization programs were also conducted during Nazi Germany or the reign of Herr Hitler to restrain growth in population and there is no doubt in it that iron grip is necessary to attain the unattainable target. But the more the cold measures can be evaded, the better it is. There is no doubt, Sanjay Gandhi was ahead of his time.
Cong blames Sanjay Gandhi for Emergency ‘excesses’ Indian National Congress has all but disowned Indira Gandhi's son Sanjay Gandhi, blaming the excesses committed during the 1975 Emergency on his promotion of family planning and slum clearance programme. The rare assessment of the Emergency and the person responsible for the popular anger has come in the party' s official history where it has attempted to walk the tightrope between defending stalwart Indira Gandhi and the stigma that her decision to suspend the Constitution in 1970s carries. "Sanjay Gandhi had, by then, emerged as a leader of great significance. It was due to his support to family planning that the government decided to pursue it more vigorously. He also promoted slum clearance, anti-dowry measures and promotion of literacy but in an arbitrary and authoritarian manner much to annoyance of the popular opinion," says the party's official history released at the just-concluded plenary session here. On the Emergency, Indian National Congress says that while vast sections of the population had welcomed the move, it was Sanjay Gandhi's rash promotion of sterilization and forcible clearance of slums that sparked popular anger. Congress has generally been defensive on the Emergency, but this is the first time that the party has pinned the blame for it on Sanjay Gandhi - the all-powerful son of Indira Gandhi who is believed to have influenced the former prime minister to take the controversial decision in June 1975 after the Allahabad High Court set aside her Lok Sabha election. The references are clearly to sterilization camps and demolition drives such those carried out in Delhi's Turkman Gate locality. The demolitions at Turkman Gate in the heart of Delhi acquired a sensitive edge as it was largely inhabited by Muslims. Sanjay's personal involvement in the demolitions made it difficult for partisans to blame the actions on the bureaucracy as was done later for family planning excesses. source : Cong blames Sanjay Gandhi for Emergency excessesCong blames Sanjay Gandhi for Emergency ?excesses? - BJP stands up for Youth Leader Sanjay Gandhi Indian National Congress blamed Youth leader Sanjay Gandhi for the 1975 Emergency mess , the Indian Political Party Bharatiya Janta Party came to the rescue of the late Indian youth leader. Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, maintained that the Congress has tried to shift the blame onto one person (Sanjay Gandhi) as responsible for the 1975 Emergency, while leaving out former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in its 125-year history document. " Indira Gandhi was responsible for the emergency. The Congress should know that the Prime Minister is the first among equals in the cabinet. So, putting the entire blame on one individual is not correct," he told reporters here on Thursday. Source : - BJP stands up for Sanjay Gandhi
thinking scientifically it would not be a ridicule to anyone to take up sterilization campaign as it helps in reducing the population outburst. but culturally it may not be acceptable to some of the people as we are not into this kind of activity in the past. we can adopt many other programs such as modifying mindset of people for one child.
i think sterilization campaign is not actually the right method to curb the population outburst india is witnessing these days, sanjay gandhi from his side did a laudable job to implement it as a family planning programme but there are other methods including educating people of having small family which could be even more effective.
