RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Credit: PTI photo
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s concern over falling population is not new. What is new in his recent remarks about population is his specific suggestion to families to have at least three children. He has warned that a society with a total fertility rate (TFR) below 2.1 could disappear from the face of the earth. India is considered to have fallen below the precarious line, though there are many states that have a higher rate. Bhagwat has in the past also talked about “population imbalance” and the possibility of the country losing the population dividend. Population has been an enduring theme for the Sangh Parivar. Fears have been expressed about the Muslim population exceeding the Hindu population, though, at current rates of growth, there is no possibility of that happening. Surveys have shown that the Muslim population in the country is also declining and at a low TFR in many areas.
Bhagwat has not made it clear whether he wants members of every community to have more children. He has presented the declining birth rate as a problem faced by the entire nation, though there is no evidence that the RSS and other Sangh Parivar organisations have abandoned their sectarian view of population. The BJP and the government have not commented on his remarks. The small-family norm remains the official government policy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that commitment to the norm is an expression of patriotism. The government has also announced a plan to set up a committee to consider the challenges arising from high population growth. At present, population growth is a problem for the country. India is the world’s most populous country and is projected to have a population of 150 crore by 2030, and 166 crore by 2050. At the present rate of growth, it cannot provide better standards of living or even basic facilities to its entire population in the foreseeable future.
There are social and political issues arising from a falling population in some parts of the country, mainly South India. The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu recently expressed their concern over it. While these concerns are legitimate and need to be addressed, reversing the population policy at the national level will do only harm. The fall in population growth is a result of social and economic development. Decisions on family size are the prerogative of parents and individuals. The number of children in a family is, particularly, an issue involving a woman’s right to her body and her agency. State intervention in the matter has not been effective in any country. Bhagwat’s idea, with or without a communal underpinning, is not in the interest of the country.