Teachers in Indian State told to look for people to be sterilized
In India’s northern State of Uttar Pradesh, public school teachers are now required
to promote sterilisation among students and their families. Such a policy has come
into being after a district judge issued an order, forcing teachers, public servants
and village leaders to fulfill a “sterilisation” quota by March 31, on pains of dismissal,
suspension or transfer. Mons. Stanislaus Fernandes, secretary general of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India - CBCI , told AsiaNews that the Catholic Church
“strongly condemns this sterilisation plan , which is contrary to God’s laws and morality,
and which must be stopped without delay for the good of the nation.” The order issued
by Judge Amrit Abhijat is “unacceptable and contrary to divine laws”, he said. Teachers
are equally shocked by the new “task” imposed on them. “We are treated like bonded
labourers,” said Ravi Prasad Chaurasia, a primary school teacher in the district.
“ Are we supposed to teach students or ask them to bring their parents to medical
camps for sterilisation? Under the court order, Class III employees in the Medical
and Health Department are required to bring ten people for sterilisation. Targets
for village leaders have not been announced but some of them have already started
to recruit victims. Speaking to the local press, Judge Abhijat said that it was necessary
to make family planning a success. Fr Babu Joseph, spokesman and director of
the CBCI’s Media and Communications Department, told AsiaNews that “Judge Abhijat’s
order cannot but shock every Indian . It is shocking first of all because it involves
people, who educate the young, and secondly because family planning falls within the
jurisdiction of the Health department and not the Courts. “The Church cannot accept
a barbarous practice like sterilization. It promotes instead natural methods of family
planning which is the only path for a responsible population policy, he said and added:
- “ Above all, the Church wants to protect human dignity and honour. Human being should
be allowed to make their own decisions in every field that pertains to them, including
the family.”