Indian region offers men gun licences if they get sterilised

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

NEW DELHI (AFP) — A bandit-infested region of India is trying to persuade men to undergo sterilisation by offering to fast-track their gun licence applications, an official said on Tuesday.

Officials in central Madhya Pradesh state's Shivpuri district decided to adopt the policy -- already tried out by some neighbouring states -- to increase the low vascectomy rate.

"I came to know that it had to do with their perceived notion of manliness," said Manish Shrivastav, administrative chief of Shivpuri district, part of the Indian Chambal region, which is famed for its lawlessness and bandits.

"I then decided to match it with a bigger symbol of manliness -- a gun licence," he said. "And the ploy worked."

The plan comes as India, which has a population of...