'Religion-based population imbalance cannot be ignored': RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwant
In April this year, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, in a discussion on nominated Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha's Bill for such a law said family planning awareness and accessible healthcare have ensured stabilisation of population anyway.
FollowRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwant on Wednesday said India needs a government policy for population control, and cited "religion-based imbalance" and "forced conversions" to raise the specter of the country breaking apart "if such necessary steps are not taken".
The RSS chief cited East Timor, Kosovo and South Sudan as examples of "new countries that emerged because of imbalance among religions in a population".
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He was speaking at the annual Dussehra rally of the RSS, the mentor body of the ruling BJP.
In a speech, the RSS chief said, "Along with population control, population balance on religious basis is also a matter of importance which cannot be ignored."
"Population requires resources. If it grows without building resources, it becomes a burden," he added, "There is another view in which population is considered an asset. We need to work on a population policy for all keeping both aspects in mind."
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Pointing out at China's "One Family One Child policy", Bhagwat said, "While we are trying to control the population, we should see what happened in China. That country went for the one child policy and now it is getting older."
"With 57 crore youth population in India, we will remain a young nation for next 30 years,” Bhagwat said. However, what will happen to India after 50 years? Will we have enough food to feed the population," he added.
Reiterating a key agenda of the RSS and its affiliates, Mohan Bhagwad further said, "Birth rate is one reason; conversions by force, lure or greed, and infiltration are also big reasons."
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However, the BJP's central government does not seem to agree with the idea of a population control law, even though it's proposed repeatedly by party members and RSS leaders.
In April this year, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, in a discussion on nominated Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha's Bill for such a law said family planning awareness and accessible healthcare have ensured stabilisation of population anyway.
Opposition members have said family planning should not be a matter of coercion.
