Sripati Chandrasekhar
Sripati Chandrasekhar was a well-known Indian demographer, economist, sociologist, and scholar who as published extensively on demographics, especially related to India.
Chandrasekhar attended Vorhees High School in Vellore, India, and Madras Presidency College, from where he graduated with a B.A. and M.A. in economics. In 1944 he earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from New York University.
In April 1964, Chandrasekhar was elected to the upper house of the Indian parliament. He was appointed Minister of Health and Family Planning by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1967.
Chandresekhar was deeply concerned by the growing Indian population and advocated a variety of population control measures such as sterilization, abortion, and abstinence. He faced criticism from traditional sectors of society, for example when he advocated that Indians begin eating beef, in contravention of Hindu tradition.
