Each couple should have at least three children, advocated Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat as he expressed concerns over the declining population growth in India.
Addressing the ‘Kathale Kul (clan) Sammelan’ in Nagpur, Bhagwat said that a society will perish if its total fertility rate (TFR) falls below 2.1.
Bhagwat said that a declining population is a serious concern. “Loksankhya Shastra (demographic science) suggests that when a society’s total fertility rate falls below 2.1, it risks facing extinction. This decline does not necessarily require external threats; a society can gradually fade away on its own,” he said.
“Many languages and cultures have already disappeared due to this issue. Thus, it is essential to maintain a fertility rate above 2.1,” he further said.
The RSS chief said, “We need more than two, that is three (as population growth rate), that’s what the population science says. This number is important because it (society) should survive.”
Bhagwat also pointed out the trend among young couples who are hesitant to have even one child.
“Our country’s population policy, formulated in 1998 or 2002, clearly says that the total fertility rate should not be below 2.1. Now when we say 2.1, it is not feasible to have children in fraction. So when we say 2.1, this means it should be more, at least three. The (population) science says so,” he said.
Bhagwat’s comments came after two chief ministers of south India states – Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu and Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin – flagged the same concerns of their region losing dividends in economy and national politics.
In October, Nadu called on people of southern states to have more children as he cited concerns among the ageing population. The Andhra CM also said that his government is “thinking of bringing a law that would make only those with more than two children eligible to contest local body elections.”
Andhra also repealed its earlier law which barred people with more than two children from contesting local polls. “We are now considering reversing it… The government may provide more benefits to families with more children.”
“Though we have a demographic advantage until 2047, signs of ageing problems are starting to appear in south India, including Andhra. Many countries like Japan, China, and some European nations are struggling with this problem, having a larger elderly population. In south India, the problem is compounded by young people migrating to other parts of the country or abroad,” Naidu said.
Couple of days later, Naidu’s Tamil Nadu counterpart, Stalin, made a remark on similar lines, and questioned the rationale behind restricting families to fewer children.
“People in olden days used to wish thus: ‘Pathinarum petru peru vazhvu vazhga [Beget sixteen gifts to live a full life].’ Today people wish to have fewer children and live happily,” he said in his address at a Tamil Nadu’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Department event in Chennai in October.
“In the scenario of a reduction in Lok Sabha constituencies, however, a question arises on the need to restrict ourselves to few children. A situation has risen where we have to say let us also have 16 children,” he further said.
1 – Total fertility rate is calculated on the average of the number of children born to women between 15 and 49 years of age.
2 – India’s total fertility rate has been declining in recent decades.
3 – Out of 36 states and Union Territories in India, 31 have achieved the replacement level of fertility rate of 2.1.
4 – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, and Manipur continue to have higher than desired fertility rates.
5 – Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Delhi having lowest TFR in the country at 1.4.
6 – Last year, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) informed that the total fertility rate declined from 2.2 in 2015-16 to 2.0 in 2019-21 which is “below replacement level.”
7 – It also said that the Modern Contraceptive usage has increased from 47.8 per cent in 2015-16 to 56.5 per cent in 2019-21.
8 – A recent study by Lancet on global fertility rates suggested that India’s TFR has been seeing a decline over the last century, with the fertility rate falling from 6.18 children per woman in 1950 to a projected 1.29 children per woman by 2050.
India is among the first nations to introduce a family planning programme in 1951. India’s current family size regulation measures are guided by the National Population Policy 2000 and National Health Policy 2017.
With inputs from agencies.
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Naidu, Stalin and now Bhagwat flag India’s falling TFR: 8 things to know
