National Security
Uncontrolled Population Growth
Dt: 17/7/15
Uncontrolled Population Growth
Disquieting Relative Growths
Unbearable Welfare Burden
Welfare as Instrument to contain growth
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
Long long ago, the late JRD Tata counselled Jawaharlal Nehru on the occasion of the launch of the first Five Year Plan that unless the population growth is contained , India would come to grief despite impressive growth in the GDP as the Per capita Income (PCI) would be depressed because of the growth of population. The latest social, economic and caste census eloquently bears out the validity of JRD’s sound advice. It may be worth recalling that JRD was given an United Nation’s award for his consistent work warning the nations about the growth in population, especially in low income countries.
2. In India, we have been adding about 18 mln people every year to our population since the later 1970s. Although the growth rate has come down from about 2.8% then, to about 1.5% now yet since the base has been increasing and now its stands at 127 cr , year on year we are adding 18 mln people. Never did we create more than 8 mln jobs in a year. It is obvious that we are going to add millions to the tens of millions of people who already don’t have jobs. The jobless young in the next few years will become an explosive element of our society, disturbing the harmony and destroying every growth we may contemplate.
3. Communist China, after the demise of Mao Tse Tung has been implemented the one- child norm and its population is more or less stabilised at 130cr for the last several years. Because of this non-increase in the population, the GDP as well as PCI have been phenomenally increasing and China has now become the second largest economy in the world. It is becoming a super power. There is hardly any unemployment. It has dramatically reduced poverty from over 30% to about 6%. Our poor are over 25%; but are 67% requiring a food security cover.
4. In our country the growth of population has not only depressed the PCI but is going to destroy the stability and integrity of this country. The growth is among those sections who constitute the fault lines for the integrity, stability, security and social harmony in the country. The historically divisive and easy to take to violence Muslim population has
increased from a little under 10% in 1951 to 14.5% officially. Muslim leaders and organisations claim that their population actually is over 25cr or more. That is about 20%. and Muslims are claiming reservations and very soon they would even claim a separate electorate a reversion to pre-1947 two-nation theory with calamitous consequences.
5. The Shedule Caste population has gone up from 15% to between 18% & 22% and that of the ST has gone up from 7.5% to about 12%. Their organisation n d leaders are demanding hike in reservation percentage to reflect increased population. Many of the SC people are converted to Christianity but the fact is not being disclosed inorder to avail of the SC Hindu reservations .
6. All these sections of our population are easy prey to internationally funded and promoted divisiveness in the Indian society. It may be relevant to remember that where the Hindus have been reduced to minority, there are movements for secession from the country. The north eastern states and maybe quite soon Kerala in addition to Kashmir will witness intensified divisiveness.
7. These very sections whose population growth is 50% more than the national average and much more than the other section of Hindus are the ones clamouring and getting more and more of the welfare spending in the country. The corrupt among our politicians cutting across all parties are agreed that there must be more and more welfare spending because more than 80% is cornered by politicians in power, government officials and business persons. For eg: in A.P about 50% to 60% of the Indira Avas Yojana Houses are found to be non-existent and amount spent upon them has been eaten by the corrupt and that constitutes black money. So is the case with old age pensions, public distribution subsidised commodities ( rice/wheat, sugar, kerosene...)
8. It is essential that if India is to to become prosperous and powerful and intellectual, the population growth especially among the welfare -eaters should be contained. It is politically difficult to stop this welfare or the reservations including their extension to Muslims and others. Myanmar has legislated that Muslims who are furiously proliferating shall not have more than two children in the family. Such legislation may be difficult to pass in our country. However the population growth among the welfare -eating sections can be disincentived by the following:
· Welfare to the families should be restricted to those who have only two children. The moment a third child comes, every measure welfare to this family must be withdrawn
· Reservations for government jobs and admissions to educational institutions shall be confined to one or at best two generations and that too for one or two people in one family
· As the Prime Minister has introduced a number of inexpensive insurance and security measures , as more and more families avail of these security schemes, the policy mentioned above must be implemented. Intense preparation is required. Therefore responsible and wise leaders must go on talking about this new policy for one to two years before it is introduced. Every party may include this policy with explanation in it s election manifesto. A national convention of all parties to discuss and adopt his policy may be convened soon. (921 words)
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