| With 950 million people, India ranks
second to China among the most populous countries. But since China {{U}}(71)
{{/U}} a family planning program in 1971, India has been closing the
{{U}}(72) {{/U}}. Indians have reduced their birth rate but not
nearly {{U}}(73) {{/U}} the Chinese have. If current growth rates
continue, India's population will {{U}}(74) {{/U}} China's around the
year 2028 {{U}}(75) {{/U}} about 1.7 billion. Should that happen, it
won't be the {{U}}(76) {{/U}} of the enlightened women of Kerala, a
state in southern India. {{U}}(77) {{/U}} India as a whole adds almost
20 million people a year, Kerala's population is virtually {{U}}(78)
{{/U}}. The reason is no mystery: nearly two-thirds of Kerala women practice
birth control, {{U}}(79) {{/U}} about 40% in the entire
nation. The difference {{U}}(80) {{/U}} the emphasis put on health programs, {{U}}(81) {{/U}} birth control, by the state authorities, {{U}}(82) {{/U}} in 1957 became India's first elected Communist {{U}}(83) {{/U}}. And an educational tradition and matrilineal (母系的) customs in parts of Kerala help girls and boys get {{U}}(84) {{/U}} good schooling. While one in three Indian women is {{U}}(85) {{/U}}, 90%of those in Kerala can read and write. Higher literacy rates {{U}}(86) {{/U}} Family planning. "Unlike our Parents, we know that we can do more for our children if we have {{U}}(87) {{/U}} of them," says Laila Cherian, 33, who lives in the Village of Kudamaloor. She has limited herself {{U}}(88) {{/U}} three children--one below the national {{U}}(89) {{/U}} of four. That kind of restraint (抑制, 克制) will keep Kerala from putting added {{U}}(90) {{/U}} on world food supplies. |