Tuesday Brief

For the last few days, there have been widespread comments on the UP Population Control Bill, the draft of the bill was recently released. Now without going into the details of the bill some political leaders have started commenting against the bill.

Now what are the main provision  of this bill:

• The population policy announced today by the UP govt will focus on efforts to increase the accessibility of contraceptive measures issued under the Family Planning Programme and provide a proper system for safe abortion.
• Another focus area of the new population policy is to reduce the newborns and maternal mortality rate.
• Care of the elderly, and better management of education, health, and nutrition of adolescents between 11 to 19 years has also been ensured in the policy, according to the state government.
• The UP govt will give promotions, increments, concessions in housing schemes, and other perks to employees who adhere to population control norms and have two or fewer children.
• “Public servants who adopt the two-child norm will get two additional increments during the entire service, maternity or as the case may be, paternity leave of 12 months, with full salary and allowances and three percent increase in the employer’s contribution fund under the National Pension Scheme,” according to UP govt’s draft population control bill.
• For those who are not government employees and still contribute towards keeping the population in check, will get benefits in like rebates in taxes on water, housing, home loans, etc.
• If the parent of a child opts for vasectomy, he/she will be eligible for free medical facilities till the age of 20.
• The UP govt plans to set up a state population fund to implement the measures. The draft bill also asks the state government to introduce population control as a compulsory subject in all secondary schools.
• It cites strain on resources due to the growing population as the need to have a population control policy in place. “It is necessary and urgent that the provision of basic necessities of human life including affordable food, safe drinking water, decent housing, access to quality education, economic/livelihood opportunities, power/electricity for domestic consumption, and a secure living is accessible to all citizens,” the draft bill reads.

The provision of this legislation shall apply to a married couple where the boy is not less than 21 years of age and the girl is not less than 18.

I do not think there is any provision in this bill that is harmful to the citizens of the state citizen. Now hereunder of few comments which I have read in social media and press:

• One leader from a minority community commented that even in China now govt is telling the population to have more children. The leader is forgetting that for almost 4 decades China had a strict policy that their citizens to have only when Child. Now the Chinese govt has relaxed the norms that citizens can have more than one child. In Cina which adopted the one-child policy in 1980, it was called the 1-2-4 phenomena., which is 1 child, 2 parents, and 4 grandparents.
• Another leader from the same community commented that children come to this world by the grace of God and we should not interfere with the same. So people from this community believe that they can have as many children as they wish to have, but it is the responsibility of the State to take care of their education, health, etc. But whether it is State or Country, the resources are limited and if the population rises substantially then the administration is also helpless.
• One other leader commented that the bill is electoral propaganda. The ruling party looks at everything from a political angle. He further adds that “it would be better to stop marriages. No one should be allowed to get married for the next 20 years hence no children will be born. The said leader is forgetting that if no children are born then the country will not have any youth after 20 years. Secondly, he is forgetting to sire a child marriage is not necessary, in needs sex between male & female to sire a child.
• A leader from the majority community commented that the population in society stabilises when the average number of children born to women in her reproductive life is marginally above 2. This happens when the total fertility rate (TFR) is 2.1. There are two children born to replace two (parents) and an additional 0.1 provides for the possibility of some children dying before reaching the reproductive age.
• One leader from a minority community said ‘ where will the country get manpower in case of war if people are not allowed to procreate’. The leader is forgetting that India is having a surplus population, so where is the question of needing more people in case of war. From 1947 till date country has fought 5 wars and the situation never came that there was a manpower shortage.

There are many more irrelevant comments of a similar nature as cited above.

One thing is certain that unless the country brings strict population control methods, the situation will be uncontrollable after 4 to 5 decades, as any country can not have unlimited resources to take care of its population, at some time or other this step has to be taken. The population of the country after independence increased from 40 Cr to the present population of approx 135 Cr, so it is high time to take the step to control the same.

I know with such diversity in religion and the thinking of many leaders, it will not be an easy task for federal and state govt to implement the laws on this subject.

Waiting for your comments and views.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

13^th July 2021.