Articles
National Population Policy (Control, a Survival Imperative) ( Synopsis for a full paper)
Dt:24/11/21
National Population Policy
(Control, a Survival Imperative)
( Synopsis for a full paper)
Dr T. H.Chowdary*
The growth of India’s population from about 39 cr in 1951 to over 135 cr in 2020, adding about 15 mln people per year since the 1980s, has been militating against reduction in the number of poor people provision of employment education and health services and housing for all. The evil consequence of competitive populist political manifestos and increasing pay -outs in the name of welfare and social justice is the result. People are led into dependency ( on government) mind set welfare and dependency ethic is trumping work and individual endeavour ethic . What could be spent upon true sreya , long lasting good, is being spent upon preya that is, temporarily pleasing . Unlike newly independent countries like China, Korea, even Malaysia, India is not able to rise into the front ranks of the world’s with prosperity, power, intellectual and ethical status that is befitting this civilization state of Bharat.
2. The country’s population and its growth profoundly affects levels of poverty, education , health and ability to defend the country against internal subversion and external aggression.
3. The population policy should be revised periodically so that the size growth composition (age- wise) and citizen capability are in accordance with our resources national vision for economic and security and defence goals we set from time to time.
4. The family size that is, the number of children a couple can have must be regulated and this regulation should apply to sections of people, regardless of religion, region, caste, and economic status. Uneven growth of population as between sections of people and regions leads to social strife and demographic disequilibrium ; leading to rise of an altogether different culture of the nation state.
5. The rise of China from a poor and powerless nation to prosperous and superpower status is largely the result of its state- enforced population policies : one child from mid 1970s to 2010; two children upto 2020; three children from 2020 . The family size is related to economy and its growth and the nation’s goals.
6. India being a multi-party, periodically election- conducting nation- state with people with acutely deferring religions, castes and economic and educational levels, constantly incited by power seeking politicians and their parties for government charity in the name of social justice and rights, cannot now enforce limits on family size by law as in China.
7. But the welfare pay-outs and reservations (for admission to educational institutions, government and public sector jobs) could be instruments of regulating family size to one our two children; and these for one generation only. The welfare could be withdrawn with the birth of a third child and withdrawing the voting right for all elections and eligibility for all elective posts. Extensive educative campaigns must be undertaken to explain the consequences of run-away growth in population and that too unevenly among different sections and the consequent evils before promulgation and periodic revisions in national population policies. The Constitution may be amended to make limiting family size as a fundamental duty and make suitable laws to enforce compliance with this duty.
8. Control on population growth and that too deliberate in some sections and regions, is imperative to discontinue, “We Feed: You Breed” populist programs and to keep the multitudes in perpetual painless poverty
9. The final paper will give statistical data to back up the propositions made in this synopsis.
END
P.S: That if Chinese attain the levels of American’s consumption , the natural resources of five earths will be required ; that if different fertility rates are espoused by sections of people in a country, the social equilibrium will be imperiled as in Lebanon, Belgium and Bangladesh point to the need for a time -variant proper national population policies.