India’s population control
The history of population control:
- In 1951, India was one of the first countries to confront the issue of population growth.
- TFR was approximately 9% in 1950 (the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey, or NFHS) and is currently 2%.
- After the 1970s, there was a sharp fall, indicating that the fertility rate and economic prosperity were inversely correlated.
Uttar Pradesh Population (Stabilisation, Welfare, and Control) Bill, 2021:
- No government job: According the Bill, couples with more than two children would not be considered for government employment.
Problems:
- What would happen to someone who worked for the government and then had a third kid was unclear.
- Remarrying: When a parent of two kids gets remarried and has a third kid.
- Politics of majority appeasement and political polarisation were perceived to be strengthened by the Bill.
What does the data indicate?
- NFHS data: Despite Muslims having a larger fertility rate than Hindus, the difference has significantly narrowed.
- The fertility rate difference between Muslims and Hindus in 1992–1993 was 1 (one point one).
- This is currently only 35 (zero, three, five).
- Twenty percent of the population in Uttar Pradesh is Muslim. In 1981, TFR was eight percent; by 2011, it had down to two percent.
- TFR in Assam, where 33% of the population is Muslim, is 1.9 percent.
- The predominant population of Jammu and Kashmir is Muslim, and the TFR decreased from 5.4 percent in 1981 to 1.4 percent in 2011.
- Reproductive health: Research indicates that Muslims have embraced more effective family planning practices than Hindus.
Problems with population control using force:
- Minister of External Affairs: Gender imbalances can result from forced population control, which can have extremely harmful effects.
- In the nations where forced population control techniques have been used, such as China, the outcomes have not been encouraging.
Rate of fertility:
- The number of live births to women of a certain age throughout the year expressed as a percentage of the average yearly population of women of that age is known as the fertility rate at that age.
TFR, or total fertility rate:
- The total number of children born or anticipated to be born to a woman in her lifetime, if she were subject to the population’s average age-specific fertility rate, is what is meant to be understood.
Way Ahead:
- India has achieved a notable improvement in population management characteristics, as evidenced by its TFR of 2%, which is even below the replacement threshold.
- India must implement population control measures. Strengthening the public health system and increasing public awareness of the need for population control should be the main priorities.
- The rate of ageing will be impacted by any form of forced control.
- According to data from the UN, many countries are expected to see a rise in the number of elderly people and a fall in the number of young people.
