With 950 million people, India ranks second to China among the most populous countries. But since China  51  a family planning program in 1971, India has been  52  the gap. Indians have reduced their birth rate but not nearly as much as the Chinese have. If current growth rates continue, India's population will  53  China's around the year 2028 at about 1.7 billion. Should that happen, it won't be the  54  of the enlightened women of Kerala, a state in southern India.  55  India as a whole adds almost 20 million people a year, Kerala's population is virtually stable. The reason is no mystery: nearly two-thirds of Kerala women practice birth control, compared with about 40% in the entire nation.

The difference  56  the emphasis put on health programs, including birth control, by the state authorities, which in 1957 became India's first elected Communist government. And an educational tradition and matrilineal customs in parts of Kerala help girls and boys get equally good schooling. While one in three Indian women is  57 , 90% of those in Kerala can read and write.

Higher literacy rates  58  Family planning. "Unlike our Parents, we know that we can do more for our children if we have fewer of them," says Laila Cherian, 33, who lives in the Village of Kudamaloor. She has limited herself to three children—one below the national  59  of four. That kind of restraint will keep Kerala from putting added  60  on world food supplies.