Family planning communication : a critique of the Indian programme

India, one of the first countries to adopt a family planning programme on a national scale, did so with the expectation that the lower the rate of population increase, the faster would be the economic and social advancement. The rural poor, comprising about eighty per cent of the country's total population, were identified as the most important target for the family planning message.
The communication media has played an important role throughout the various phases of this programme, but in spite of consistent propaganda through radio, film and other media, free clinical service, and high financial incentives, achievement has fallen short of the target.
This book is an effort to analyse the problem. An overall survey of the evolution and growth of the programme is followed by a supportive study of the surveys carried out so far and their findings. The analysis raises certain important questions. How well have the mass media carried out the task of disseminating knowledge and motivating changes in attitude? Have they been able to convince the rural audience of the need for change? Can the audience relate the message to their daily needs, and by doing so, feel motivated to practise what the message advocates?
These were some of the questions that led a team of social scientists and communication experts to conduct a survey during 1973-74, in a few villages in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, of the impact of family planning films on the villagers. A major portion of this book is devoted to the methodology and findings of the survey and the conclusions that inevitably emerge from these findings. The survey was a part of a project on family planning communication undertaken by the Centre for Development of Instructional Technology, and sponsored by the Family Planning Foundation.