aEvery year is ideal, RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat delivered his Vijayadashami speech in Nagpur on Wednesday, where he highlighted the need to build consensus on population control and Uniform Civil Code as a contributing aspect to achieving population balance. seriously considered.
Economic growth, GDP and equitable distribution of resources are directly related to population policy. High population growth does not necessarily imply a demographic dividend or economic benefit. China with 18.6 percent share of world population watches GDP of $12.24 trillion while the US with 4.3 percent of the population has a GDP of $19.39 trillion and the EU with 5.8 percent has a GDP of $17.28 trillion.
An in-depth study is needed to understand China’s one-child policy and its effects on economic development and social issues. Needless to say, India with its socio-political complexities needs an in-depth analysis and independent policy recommendations.
Bhagwat in his speech also indicated Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as one of the measures to tackle the issue of population growth imbalance. Listing out some of the challenges in today’s context, the RSS chief devoted a good part of his speech To draw the attention of policy makers to this issue by emphasizing the need for social participation in government initiatives.
Population Control Measures
Efforts to focus on population control are neither new nor confined to policy-level debate. The first bold initiative was launched in 1951 as a state-sponsored family control program, with the aim of taking preventive steps before a ‘population explosion’ occurred. This initiative led to several legislations, review committees and reports aimed at assessing the seriousness of the challenge and taking remedial measures.
According to the Registrar General of India, the country’s decadal growth rate in the 2011 census was 17.64 percent. ‘World Population Prospects, 2019’ report good India’s population is projected to be 1469 million by 2027, by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Keeping this in mind the Government is committed to implement the Family Planning Programme, which follows the principles laid down under it. National Population Policy 2000 and the National Health Policy 2017 to address the unmet need for family planning and population growth testing.
The National Population Policy 2000 envisaged a total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.1. Quoting the recently published NFHS report, which comes out every five years, the RSS leader pointed out that the TFR has actually come down to 2.0. This, inter alia, marks the end of large joint families and the emergence of “ultra nuclear families”, which according to the RSS are at the root of insecurity and loss of social values.
While population growth is “a reality” and needs attention, urbanisation, rural infrastructure development and lack of employment and uneconomic agriculture are issues that directly affect demographic changes and population imbalances. The RSS, with its mass appeal, cadre base and ability to influence the policies of the government, should also initiate a national debate on these issues.
Read also: Former CEC SY Qureshi busts myths about Islam and family planning in his new book
go beyond the numbers
Incidentally, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi, one of the few Muslim leaders who recently meeting with RSS chief welcomed Bhagwat and called for adoption of family planning by “all sections of Indian society”. While Qureshi, author of Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India And the RSS chief has not mentioned any one particular community, Hyderabad MP and AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has said Claimed The fertility rate of Muslims has declined drastically and hence there is no need for population control or balancing.
While the growth rate of the Muslim population has declined – from 30.9 per cent during 1961-71 to 24.6 per cent during 2001-11 – the community contribution There has been a steady increase in the overall growth in the country’s population – from 14.6 percent (1901-2011) to 16.1 percent (1951-2011) to 16.7 percent (1971-2011). Furthermore, the Muslim population living in clusters such as urban settlements results in issues such as segregation and marginalization, which can potentially be exploited for vote-bank politics.
In this context the views of the RSS and a section of Muslim intellectuals assume greater importance in emphasizing the need to go beyond statistics and understand the realities of the situation. The issue of population growth needs to be discussed at the national level in a positive and non-political environment.
The author is a former editor of ‘Organiser’. He tweeted @seshadrichari. Thoughts are personal.
(edited by Prashant)