Articles
AP’s Population – Soviet Russia’s Example
Dt: 26/5/25
AP’s Population – Soviet Russia’s Example
Dr T H Chowdary*
The last time census was taken in India was in 2011. The pandemic, Covid prevented the census in 2021. It is likely to be taken in 2026. It will be followed of delimitation on constituencies for the Lok Sabha elections in 2029. The southern states, especially Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh fear that since they have been implementing family planning sincerely and seriously, the increase in the population in these states has been much less compared to the north Indian BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) states. They therefore apprehend that the proportion of MPs in the Lok Sabha from their respective states would go down after the delimitation following the next census. To avert further erosion in their proportion in the Lok Sabha, the Chief Ministers of AP and Tamilnadu are vigorously urging and exhorting their people to have more children ! This is so notwithstanding the fact that Sri Chandra Babu Naidu, AP’s CM has only one child, a son and that son too has only one child, a son . The one child and that too a “son only” norm goes ill with urging people to have more children. With only one son, there will be no problem of contended succession .
2. The question now is how to increase the population. Women have to be urged to bear more children. For this they must be incentived. Here is how in Joseph V Stalin-ruled former communist Russia, the women were incentived and rewarded for bearing more and more children. A national campaign was launched “The Soviet Woman is a mother”. The allowances paid in 1936 and 1944 to the mother for every additional child for the first five years of its life ( as worked out in the London Economist of July 15, 1944) were
|
No |
1936 |
1944 |
|
Third Child |
|
400 |
|
Fourth Child |
|
6,100 |
|
Fifth Child |
|
8,900 |
|
Sixth Child |
|
10,400 |
|
Seventh Child |
10,000 |
14,500 |
|
Eight Child |
10,000 |
18,500 |
|
Nineth Child |
10,000 |
18.500 |
|
Tenth Child |
10,000 |
18,500 |
|
Eleventh Child |
12,000 |
23,000 |
3. On the other hand bachelors, spinsters and married couples with only one or two children were subjected to a special tax. The cumulative effect was increase of over 60% per generation ( P.27 Socialism Reconsidered by Minoo Masani 1944) .
4. Andhra Pradesh ( and Tamilnadu) should adopt measures similar to what Stalin’s Russia did to increase its population - reward and glorify mothers who produce many children and tax heavily who have only one or two children.
5. Every mother who has a 11th child must be declared , “Andhra Matha” ; more than 11, be called, “Andhra Mata Ratna”.
6. AP may establish
(a) AP Marriages Corporation , fix up and promote marriages at no expense to the families
(b) AP State Fertility Corporation to freely help women to conceive
(c) AP State Surrogacy Corporation to relieve women form the inconvenience of rearing an embryo from conception to delivery.
7. The state may expand the Anna Canteen scheme to freely fee pregnant women till delivery and for five years thereafter .
8. Persons with less than five children should be ineligible for any elective post in local bodies.
9. A Standing Advisory Committee for Population Growth in Swarna Andhra Pradesh may immediately be constituted.
10. Popularise the slogan “We Feed: You Breed”.
Jai Swarnandhra !
Jayaho Andhra Maata !
(521 words)
END