All process of General Elections to 17th Lok Sabha is complete. The NDA government at the Centre has begun working once again. Although the government has to take many important decisions in the interest of the country the government should come forward with a policy decision on how to control the population in the country. It will receive all-around support. Time has come to take a decision on population control without any further delay. Already we are running late in reducing our birth rate or bringing population explosion under control. Vote bank politics of the ruling party is responsible for not enforcing drastic measure to check population growth in the country. In order to get votes of a particular community previous governments never gave any thought to check population. This led to rising in backwardness and poverty in society. We were left behind in growth and prosperity.
In the meantime, Yoga Guru Ramdev has come out with suggestions that a third child in the family should be barred from contesting elections, no right to vote and other governmental facilities should be withdrawn. All citizens of the country who love the nation will stand with one voice in favour of Baba Ramdev’s policy on population control.
I have a caveat to this proposal of Ramdev. Why debar a third child of a family from exercising his or her right to franchise. Instead, parents of the third child should be debarred from casting vote and contesting polls.
Baba Ramdev has come out with a proposal on population control at a time when the country is struggling to bring down the rate of birth. In fact, the burgeoning population in India is eating into the vitals of economic growth like a termite. How any government can give the benefit of development to a fast-growing population? The population has always emerged as a stumbling block in the overall development and growth.
It is difficult to believe when the country is facing the problem of the overgrowing population which stands today at 130 crores a leader like Assaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM has reacted to Ramdev’s suggestion in a negative way. The newly elected MP from Hyderabad has said, “There is no law to stop people from saying something which is unconstitutional. Why we should give any attention to what Ramdev has said. He can practice Yoga but how come Narendra Modi would forfeit his right to vote just because he is the third child of his parents”.
You can judge the political motive of Owaisi. He can stoop to any low to politicize issues. He has said something which is pedestrian in nature.
Does Owaisi not see how the uncontrolled population growth in India is ruining our pace of development? Had he got any concern for the nation he would not have uttered these words. Does not Owaisi see crowds all over in the country?
At Railway Station, in bus stands, in bazar, in a shopping complex, in malls, and on roads, it is a sea of humanity everywhere. If Owaisi is not serious about population explosion it is a matter of grave concern. It is because of a leader like Owaisi that Muslims in India are compelled to live in the dark-age.
Baba Ramdev has said something about controlling our population growth that China has done many years ago.
Long back China had stopped giving governmental facilities and other benefits to its citizens who went to go for more than one child. The one-child norm in China helped the country not only to check the population but to revive its economy. Today China is one of the most economically powerful countries of the world.
Baba Ramdev is also saying that all government benefits to be withdrawn from a family who go for more than two children.
When the country is concerned about population growth there are some ‘vidvans’(Learned) class of people who see population as a blessing. They believe that more the people there would be more work with the corresponding rise in income. This argument is totally illogical. Those seeing opportunities in population explosion are not aware of the realities of ‘heaven’. Unemployment, illiteracy, and crime are directly related to fast-growing population in the country. If we look at the ground reality, it is increasingly getting impossible to manage and control our population. The problem of unemployment is so acute that highly educated people are ready to teach for a paltry amount of rupees three to four thousand a month. An engineer should consider himself lucky if he gets Rs 15,000 a month. Labourers and farmers are forced to live in ‘inhuman condition’. We invite foreign investment by telling them about ‘cheap labour’ in India. Child labour is rampant. The condition of illiteracy and lack of education is horrifying.
In the last census conducted in 2011, our population had crossed 120 crores. We were only next to China in the world’s most populated nations. If drastic steps are not taken immediately we will surpass China by 2025 in terms of population. Another problem we face is large scale illegal migration in West Bengal and Assam from Bangladesh which has a four thousand long kilometer border with India. According to one estimate over 3 to 4 crores Bangladeshis have already settled in India. These migrants can be seen in India doing odd jobs in towns. You may recall that criminal elements of Bangladesh origins who are settled in Delhi’s Vikaspuri had brutally murdered Dr. Pankaj Narang a few years ago. Dr. Narang’s mistake was that he had tried to stop some youths from driving motorcycles at breakneck speed.
This is time to prepare a broad policy to check the population growth in India. It can be done only when we rise above religion and community. One must remember that religion will survive only when India survives.
(The writer is a Member of Rajya Sabha)
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