Physician chanting small family mantra among Muslims
By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Jan 17: A physician bringing about awareness on the maxim – a small family is a happy family – among the Muslims has been travelling in the length and breadth of the State, especially in Muslim-domited areas, with a missiory zeal.
With a view to getting his message across, tiol Health Mission’s (NHM) Assam Family Planning adviser Dr. Ilias Ali says, time and again: “Unplanned birth of children is against Islamic faith that has always been favouring small families.”
Only to bring the message of family planning among the grassroots-level Muslim population in the State, Dr. Ali has been all along been travelling various remote sar areas in the State, many of which were hitherto uncharted places for him. He is determined to erase the misconception on family planning from the minds of a section of Muslim population in the State, especially of East Bengal origin. “Unplanned birth of children is against Islamic faith which, since its inception, has always been favouring small families,” Dr. Ali said, and added: “Big or unplanned families can’t be happy and wealthy.”
Terming sar areas in the State as breeding grounds for atrocities on women, Dr. Ali said: “Lack of education, social evils like child marriage, polygamy, superstitions, poverty etc., are responsible for big families among Muslims, specially of East Bengal origin, in the State. The population boom among the Muslims in the State is, in no way, benefit the community. Rather the steep rise of Muslim population in the State is creating apprehension among some ethnic groups in the State. Time and again, the State witnesses clashes arising out of the alarming growth of Muslim population in the State.”
Addressing a gathering at Alupati Sar at Barpeta yesterday, Dr. Ali said: “Child marriage, atrocities on women, polygamy and other social evils are very common in this and other sars in the State. The Hadish of the Holy Koran nowhere terms family planning as illegal. In order to check such social evils, the State Government is going to adopt a new population policy that will make Kazis, Moulabis, priests and others favouring child marriage confront problems.”
Dr. Ali appealed to the Muslims of the State to check their population for the development of the religious sect as a whole.
The crowded meeting at Alupati Sar was attended, among others, both by males and females, besides officials of the State Health and Family Welfare Department. Office-bearers of the Alupati Anchalik Sar Chatra Santha also took part at the meeting.
