Another popular myth that exists in the population discourse is that the Muslims bear way too many children than Hindus and thus impede national development. However, the data suggests that the fertility rate among Muslims have gone down faster (from 4.4 in 1992-93 to 2.3 during 2019, a 2.1 point decrease) than Hindus (from 3.3 in 1992-93 to 1.94 during 2019, a 1.36 point decline) in the last two decades. Further, fertility rates of Hindus in many states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkahand is higher than Muslims in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, suggesting that fertility rates are a regional phenomena than a religious one, linked to various socio-economic developmental factors of the region in which people live.
https://thewire.in/society/the-mythical-population-problem-and-the-actual-worries
The rhetoric of population explosion, population bomb or population emergency mobilises a disproportionate response from the state apparatuses and has been on a rise since Assam Population Bill, 2021 and draft UP Population Bill, 2021 brought two-child policies into popular discourse once again. A number of BJP-ruled states since are discussing bringing in a population control law, despite India reaching fertility rate of 2.0 nationally.
This discourse also puts the blame on people for reproducing too much and taking away from the resources of the country, as if people reproduce in a vacuum. This individualisation of blame for the problem overlooks structural problems and policy failures that has led to lower female participation in workforce, education levels and political representation, lack of access to sufficient and diverse contraceptive methods and an overall inequitable developmental process, all of which influences fertility levels of population. It must be kept in mind that resources of the country are not a static entity entirely, and it increases as demographic dividend is reaped.
21/01/2023