India needs a ‘Population Policy for National Development’ to ensure that population growth does not impede the attainment of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ which is the current government’s roadmap to making India a completely developed nation by 2047, almost 100 years after independence. Prime Minister Modi has stated that the core objective of the Viksit Bharat vision is to foster inclusive economic participation among all citizens. Viksit Bharat, or Developed India, is the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and represents a complete blueprint for the country’s prosperity. This vision will be a combination of social changes, technical innovations, and economic reforms, aimed to raise India’s position at the global level. This vision has many components, from economic growth to all-inclusive development and imbibing technological innovation. But, India’s galloping population can be a spanner in the works, if appropriate population control measures are not put in place.
In her Budget speech, while presenting the Union Budget (Interim)2024-2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised a committee to study India’s population growth to ensure that the nation is on target to meet the Viksit Bharat goal by 2047. Unbridled and aggressive population growth by one community and well planned demographic changes are being observed in many Districts across the country, affecting the political equilibrium in many States.
Population expansion has become a weaponization tool for a particular community, which is focussed on capturing political power by bringing about a major demographic shift. This strategy is being employed in many countries, especially in the West, where migrant population, entering in hordes, are being instigated to maximize, the number of children in each family. Indigenous population in many countries is being outnumbered, threatening to dislodge democracies, religions and social structures, to be replaced by an alien language, culture, religion and values.
Population-weaponization forces, exploit the liberal democracies, their secular and humane values, and broadminded judiciary, to pursue the diabolical agenda of annexing nations, simply, by deliberately accelerating their population growth. The changing demographics will ensure implanting noxious and antediluvian customs, beliefs, dress-codes and punishment codes. The changes are evident, as liberal democracies like India, UK, and Europe, are witnessing how democracies have become dysfunctional and unable to handle, exclusive single-religion population enclaves, their religious bigotry, suppressed females, and bulk voting strategies. It is no exaggeration that many democracies have started wilting as the aggressor-population keeps swelling, and every fresh election, keeps throwing up additional fundamentalists, who will ensure mass euthanasia for existing indigenous religions, cultures, languages and even for races and communities.
Meanwhile, the mounting numbers of the aggressor-population, is impacting food security, energy security, property security, livestock security, language security, belief security, and even security of the feminine population as they are being targeted for fake love marriages, religious conversions, and ultimately to become sex slaves.
While countries governed by dictators and monarchies can insulate their people from such predators, it is the democracies that are going to be in turmoil, chaos, and even total disintegration, within the next decade. How can a country like India, fortify itself and take defensive measures, against aggressor-populations?
The Government of India is the largest employer. Data given under the heading “Estimated Strength of Establishment and Provisions” shows actual strength in 56 central ministries and departments was a little over 31.69 lakh as of March 1, 2022, which is estimated to rise to over 34.45 lakh as of March 1, 2023, and then to 35.55 lakhs as of March 1, 2024. Similarly, State Governments employ substantial numbers. Whether Central or State employees, both enjoy, innumerable perks and privileges, for all their family members, irrespective of size, like:
1) Leave travel concession (LTC)
2) Home travel concession (HTC)
3) Medical reimbursement and CGHS facility
4) Tuition fee reimbursement
5) Housing allowance or rent free accommodation
6) Elite civil services get allowances for maintaining maids, cooks, gardeners, security guards, paid study leave, undergo courses at foreign universities at government expense.
Why not target all the above perks and restrict it only to a family comprising of husband, wife and maximum two children? This writer, while in government service, has seen, LTC claims, filed for husband, wife, their 08 children, and dependent parents. Is it not a criminal waste of taxpayers’ money, and national resources? Why not restrict all these kinds of perks to a couple and maximum two children? Production of sterilization certificates by both, husband and wife should be made mandatory. In the event of non-compliance, these perks should be withdrawn permanently.
In State governments, free rations, free travel, free medical treatment and monetary grants, are quite common. Why not restrict it to only those who accept two child norm?
Maternity benefits, for first and second-time mothers, the Indian Maternity Benefit Act 1961 states that she can take 6 months, or 26 weeks, off. With every subsequent child, the mother can avail 3 months, or 12 weeks, off for her maternity leave, which is a paid leave wherein her employer needs to pay her in full. State governments lavishly give monetary benefits, medical care, nutrition and in some States even free pick-up and drop from residence to hospital and back. Why not restrict all the above perks for only the first two children? Anybody having more than two children should not be entitled for any kind of perks. Those communities aggressively promoting large families are misusing the taxpayers’ money.
A further more aggressive policy, targeted at hard-core violators could deny Income tax benefits, promotions in jobs, denial of all insurance benefits, ineligibility for housing loans, motor vehicle loans, losing voting rights, no educational concessions for the third child and beyond, denial of passport, and debarring the third child and beyond from applying for government jobs.
Population has a huge impact on most government policies covering social, economic and political aspects. When aggressive population expansion is getting weaponized by one community, it is a wake-up call to forge strict population control measures. Any dithering can even affect the sovereignty and geographical integrity of the nation.
Discussion about this post