Antinatalists gather in B'luru; pledge child-free life

Antinatalism is gradually gaining ground in the city. As many as 40 people came together on Sunday morning calling upon the public to opt for a child-free life.

Members of Child-Free India gathered in front of the Mantri Mall, Malleswaram and pledged a child-free life. Stating that procreation was wrong, the antinatalists said human misery could be avoided if people simply did not exist in the first place.

Pratima Naik, an engineering graduate from Bengaluru who helped to make the group's first national meet a reality, said those born into our miserable world are doomed to suffer. According to her, new people are also capable of inflicting pain on the rest.

"Being born means to suffer, as well as feeling pleasure. But the foregoing of pleasure is not as bad as the presence of suffering. Therefore, it is nothing but ideal for humanity to stop reproducing and go extinct," she said.

Prasanth, another member of the group, said the participants told everyone why they were opting for a child-free life and the reasons for the same.

"Humans are creating a lot of problems for themselves and other species. More humans will accelerate the degradation of society and the environment,” he said.

Pratima has created a Facebook page - Child-free India - with more than 380 followers. The page carries regular posts on antinatalism.

Sunday's meet is part of a series of preparatory events to make antinatalism popular. The meeting ended with the committee drafting a set of resolutions that will provide a basis for the movement to convince young people who are willing to think deeper about issues related to life and suffering.

In a release, the group said a core team has been formed to decide how to expand the network by spreading awareness in various metros.