Dec 14, 1998
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HYDERABAD Lone Crusader A dogged campaigner works frenetically for a zero birth rate in Andhra Pradesh. By Amarnath K Menon No need of a hoarding here. The forehead will do. So there it is in Telugu script: "Puttinchuta Himschutae (To conceive is to torture a newborn)". The people look at him askance. And when he tells them his name, they are either amused or annoyed. But Garbha Nirodh is more just than the name of this short, bespectacled 52-year-old bachelor from Hyderabad. It is his mission statement. Garbhani (pregnancy) and nirodham (prevention). Together the perfect name for a man who for 25 years has campaigned for planned parenthood and a small family. Wherever he goes, he carries a board listing reasons for not having many children. He also takes pains to explain things to all those who stop and care to listen to him, whether it be at a bus stop, outside a hospital gate or in a housing colony at Hyderabad. And his advice is unequivocal: Don't have children. If you must, adopt them.
Garbha Nirodh is no New Age philosopher. But the draughtsman-turned-software programmer of the Andhra Pradesh Directorate of Mines and Geology has his own simple ideas about life and society. "Real love is about protecting an individual from misery," preaches Garbhanirodh, "and the bitter truth is that a newborn has to face suffering all through life. So do not bring children into a world of misery." The crusader woke up to the issue way back in 1972 when learning about sex and reproduction as an Intermediate student at Georgepeta, a village near Kakinada. "Creation is an act of two individuals, often without concern about the future of the third and that set me thinking about the plight of children," recalls Gani. It changed his plans of joining a medical college and inspired him to launch the novel campaign. Few took him seriously initially. "Many thought that I was a frustrated, jobless young man trying to win their sympathy or make a fast buck," reveals Gani. He recalls how a lady district medical officer in Kakinada advised him to "try and make a living by polishing shoes". An official in nearby Yanam threatened to arrest him if he was seen there again with his board. Even in native Georgepeta, residents in some localities banned his entry. Even today, none at home -- he has five brothers and three sisters -- holds his view and does not accept his suggestion that they should adopt a child if they can take care of it to stall more births. But there's no denying he has a strong case. The birth rate in the state is 22.7 per cent while it is lower in two other southern states -- Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Also, 51 per cent of the girls and 47 per cent of the boys do not get enough nutrition. Worse, the infant mortality rate is a shocking 66 per cent. Gani believes this is a no-win situation and is best tackled by preventing further conception. However, he is against the use of coercive methods and believes in creating awareness among people through conversation. To make his message clearer, he organises slide shows and films in theatres. Surprisingly, he meets most of these expenses from his salary, spending a meagre amount on himself. And such is his obsession that he is now eagerly awaiting the day -- due in three years -- when he can put in his papers under the voluntary retirement scheme. This would give him the time to travel through out the state without a break. "My job is a big constraint," he laments, hoping that his waiting period will pass quickly. And then -- there would be no stopping this man on his mission. |
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He may sound cynical but his concern
is wider and hinges on the need to care for children and protect their rights. So taken up
by his belief was he that he changed his name from Ajjarapu Surya Shankar Rao to Garbha
Nirodh in November 1982. "My name makes people wonder if I am out on the street to
market a new brand of contraceptives," he says, admitting that some find it
embarrassing to talk to a man with such a name. His colleagues make do by calling him G.N.
or Gani. "He is humble and simply amazing," says T.V. Chowdary, director of
mines and geology. "Seldom do we find a person who is meticulous about his work and
committed to a larger cause." 
