Want A Car? Get Sterilized
July 6, 2011 No Comments
Health officials in Rajasthan are worried about the high population growth in their region so they’re bringing out one of the oldest weapons there are to try and control it: bribery.
All Indians can now go to Rajasthan and if they’re willing to get sterilized, they’ll get a prize. Among the options are motorcycles, televisions and food blenders but the jackpot is the Indian-made Tata Nano — the world’s cheapest car.
Sitaram Sharma, a doctor of Jhunjunu in western India, is hopeful that the chance to win a car is enough incentive to convince at least 20,000 men and women to undergo sterilization.
The problem is a similar campaign was started across India in the 1970s and was quickly abandoned after thousands of men and women complained they were forced to get the operation.
But most importantly, it just sounds like the government is exploiting the poverty in the region, which is often plagued by droughts. In dire situations, it’s easy to be made to believe that material goods will help you be happier and you could miss the absurdity of your ability to procreate being equated to a food blender or a mass-produced car.
This solution also doesn’t address directly how India can deal better with the population that is already there, which is equally as important as managing population growth.
Limiting the number of children people can have has been a disaster, but there’s got to be a better way. If people preferred cars to having children, they’d just have cars.
Contact the author here: sedera@morningquickie.com
