India's Population Debate: Let Families Decide Their Own Fate
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India's population debate has been reignited by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's suggestion that Hindu families consider having three children in the nation's interest.
However, the idea is met with skepticism as opinion is sharply divided, and demographic data does not support the claim that Muslims will outnumber Hindus.
India's population has grown by 17.7% from 2001 to 2011, with the percentage of Hindus dropping from 80.46% to 79.8% and the Muslim population increasing from 13.43% to 14.23%.
Despite this trend, the fear that Muslims will outnumber Hindus is unfounded, and the country's actual population and demographic changes will only be known after the 2027 census.
Government policy has shifted from aggressive sterilization in the 1970s to a two-child campaign, and people are voluntarily preferring smaller families.
Bhagwat's concern is perhaps more about the declining Hindu population, but his statement also goes against the personal choice of families in a very personal matter.
Young couples are becoming "pet parents" rather than having kids due to the high cost of living, health, and education, and personal conditions and ambitions drive families to have one or two children rather than the "national interest" and Hindu Rashtra.
