Population Control in India
Context:
- Beginning in December, Nishikant Dubey and Ravi Kishan, two lawmakers from the Bharatiya Janata Party, introduced a private member’s bill in the Lok Sabha with the goal of depopulating India. According to the Bill, population increase is the primary cause of India’s poor rate of development and population management is urgently needed.
The population of India is changing:
- Since India gained its freedom, population growth has been a subject of concern and debate. In 1951, India was one of the first nations to confront its population problem and draw attention to the drawbacks of overcrowding.
- India’s population has grown tremendously, yet the nation’s general fertility rate has also significantly declined (TFR). Since 1950, the TFR has decreased from from 5.9% to 2%. (fifth round of the National Family Health Survey, or NFHS). An abrupt decline after the 1970s showed an inversely proportional relationship between fertility rates and economic success.
Politicized conversation:
- The topic of population control needs has become increasingly politicised in India. Ultimately, the frequent reduction of such a difficult subject to a little theological controversy harms the discussion of development.
- The State Law Commission of Uttar Pradesh and the UP government proposed the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021, roughly six months before the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. According to others, the Bill encouraged majority appeasement tactics and increased political polarisation.
- Population is a significant problem in the Hindi heartland, notably in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but the recommendations were more political than practical. It was blatantly attempted to justify the majoritarian policies that were in place. The Bill, for instance, prohibited couples with more than two children from applying for any government posts.
- What would transpire if a person had a third child after working for the government or if a parent of two children remarried for any reason and had a third child, however, was not made clear.
National Population Policy (NPP) for the year 2000:
- Free will, informed consent, and achieving a level of fertility that is equivalent to replacement were its cornerstones.
- It made an effort to address issues with child survival, maternal health, and contraception all at once.
- The National Population Policy 2000 is carried out under the direction and coordination of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare’s National Family Planning Programme.
Information shows the opposite:
- Data, however, imply the opposite. Despite Muslims having a higher fertility rate than Hindus, the gap between the two groups has drastically narrowed, according to NFHS data. Hindu and Muslim fertility rates are presently only 0.35 apart, down from a difference of 1.1 in 1992–1993. A detailed examination of Census statistics on average fertility rates is illuminating.
- For instance, in Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of around 20% Muslims, the TFR declined from 5.8% in 1981 to 2.7% in 2011. Assam has a TFR of 1.9% with a population of roughly 33% Muslims. Furthermore, studies show that Muslims have adopted better family planning methods than Hindus.
- With a TFR of just 2%, India has significantly improved population control efforts. This figure is even lower than the replacement level. Of course, India does not need a law imposing coercive population control.
- Forced population control methods have not worked well in the countries that have employed them; India’s close neighbour China is the best example. The one-child policy has failed, leading to a demographic imbalance. China’s population is ageing faster than the population of any other modern country as a result of enacted population control policies.
Moving ahead:
Bolster the healthcare delivery system:
- India needs to put population management plans into place. The focus should instead be on improving public health infrastructure and raising awareness of the importance of population control. Any coercive control method will have an impact on how quickly people age.
- Data from the United Nations predicts that the population of seniors will rise and the number of young people will decline in many nations. Although the trend started in industrialised countries like Japan, it is now more frequently observed in impoverished countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. Given these trends, forceful population control will surely be harmful.
Conclusion:
- India currently needs voluntary “population management” rather than a coercive population reduction approach in order to benefit from its demographic dividend. The basis for our next National Population Policy may be this (2023).
