[Government of India film certificate]
[Music, Indian cultural]
[National Education and Information Films Limited]
[Family Planning]
[Director, B. D. Garga]
[Script, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas]
[Produced by C. L. Aggarwal]
[Music, Indian sitar]
[Child crying]
[Narrator:] A child should be happy,
but this one is crying piteously.
Why?
Because he has come into a world where
his homeless mother must feed him on the roadside.
[Gentle music]
His father too must be content to make a home on the footpath.
who must sleep anyhow, anywhere.
[Music]
In India, wherever you go, you find
that there are too many of us.
Herded like sheep.
[Music continues]
There is not enough living space for all of us.
Not enough food to satisfy us.
Our population is increasing everyday.
Which means there are five million more mouths to feed every year.
[Government of India, Ministry of Labour]
[Sub-Regional Employment Exchange]
And of course, there are not enough jobs
and so they must remain unemployed.
[Music continues]
Come with Sita Devi, a social worker and see for yourself
the life in the overcrowded slums of one
of our most beautiful cities.
[Gentle music]
It is not a life of comfort or happiness,
but this is the only life that millions of our children know.
[Music]
[Children's boisterous playful laughter]
[Music]
Millions like little Rahmal. His parents love him,
but they do not have enough food to feed the family.
And so Rahmal must greedily watch when other children enjoy
a glass of milk.
But Rahmal needs milk too for his growing body.
And so Sita Devi invites him to accompany her to her center.
[Music]
Come Rahmal.
Here is good wholesome milk for you and others like you.
Drink, drink your fill my boy.
[Music]
But don't you get milk at home?
No, says Rahmal How many brothers and sisters are you?
We are five.
Will you take me to your home?
Rahmal, says yes.
And brings his new friend to where
he lives with his parents.
[Whimsical music]
[Gentle music]
The father has gone to work in a mill,
but Rahmal's mother is at home looking after the other four
children, all small enough to need constant attention.
Sita Devi asked if she may come in.
[Music]
And then inquires why the children are so sickly.
Rahmal's mother says it is due to this wretched home.
It's so dark and damp, but what can they do?
Rahmal's father earns only 50 rupees a month
and in that she must bring up their five children.
And who knows, if God wills, more may be on their way.
Sita Devi invite Rahmal's mother to come to her center
and meet the lady doctor.
And maybe she will not have to worry about her growing
family in the future.
[Music]
Look my friends, the doctor says.
A child is a gift of God.
That's why when you are bringing one into this world,
you must be sure you will be able to look after it well.
To give it enough food, a good place
to live in, to look after its health,
and give it proper education.
To appreciate this gift of God,
you must have only as many babies as you can afford to support.
But how can that be done?
Doctor says, yes.
It is possible with the help of science.
And then she takes Rahmal's mother
in for a woman-to- woman chat
to explain how families can be planned and unwanted births avoided.
While the husband is left to ponder over
the words of the lady doctor.
Here is the picture of a family which brought into the world
more children than it could support.
It may well be the picture of my own miserable family,
he bitterly muses.
If we go on having babies every year.
But...
there is another way to thank heaven, and a happier one.
[Music]
And so Rahmal's mother comes out with new knowledge
to help her in her future life.
The doctor reminds her and her husband
that not only does our health and happiness
and the health of our children depend
upon adopting a sensible attitude to planned parenthood.
But also the prosperity and happiness of the whole country
depends upon it.
If our population continues to grow unchecked at the present
alarming rate, we cannot solve our problems of food
and shelter.
We are constructing thousands of new buildings,
but they will not be sufficient and millions will continue
to live in slums and hovels.
We are working so hard to grow more food.
But famine will continue to stalk the land.
And starvation will continue to stare us in the face,
'til such time when a baby is born only when the parents
are sure of being able to give it the love and care,
the food and shelter, and clothes and education,
that every baby must have.
And so for the sake of our children,
let us give serious thought to the urgent need for
planned parenthood. Which alone will ensure the happiness
and prosperity of our children.
[Children laughter]
And so for the sake of our children,
let us give serious thought to the urgent need for planned parenthood.
Which alone will ensure the happiness
and prosperity of our children.
[Music]
[National Education & Information Films Limited Production, 1952]