Rashtriya Swayamsevak #Sangh_exaggerated fear of demographic imbalance: Experts. Kanchan Srivastava Trashing the suggestion of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that higher fertility rate in Muslims is creating demographic imbalance in the country, population experts have said that although the growth rate of Muslims has been higher as compared with other communities, it has actually been declining for the past few years. RSS has exaggerated the fear of demographic imbalance, they said. Speaking at the national executive meet of RSS in Kochi, its joint secretary Dattatrey Hosbale had said that Hindus should revisit their practice of blindly accepting family planning methods and start embracing big family norms to address the reported demographic shift happening in favour of the minorities. P Arokiasamy, professor at International Institute of Population Sciences, said the higher fertility rate in Muslims can’t be attributed solely to their religious beliefs. “Poor socio-economic conditions also play a major role. A majority of Muslim women don’t have access to contraceptives, just like underprivileged women from other communities,” he added. Arokiasamy said growth rate of Muslims in Kerala and J&K is lower than the average Hindu community growth. “It is attributed to their better education and socio-economic status in these states. For similar reasons, the fertility rate among Hindus in the less developed states of UP and Bihar, among others, is higher.” Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Abdul Shaban said, “The 2001 census affirms that decline in the growth rate of Muslims is faster than the majority community’s. Researches and statistics have proved demography is religion-neutral, but RSS wants to create fear among the majority by hyping up the issue. Instead, it should ensure that the fruits of development reach the Muslims and other backward communities if it’s really concerned about the imbalance.” A senior official from the United Nations Population Fund also junked the RSS idea. “Population growth rate has been higher in rural, tribal and poor families irrespective of their religion. Besides, rich from all communities have lesser children,” the official said. Blaming the RSS for making such statements for political gain, Munaf Haqim, chairman of the minority commission, Maharashtra, said, “The surveys have proved that the percentage of Muslims in the country has not increased in these years. This is just RSS’ election propaganda.” There is an international consensus on the fertility issue, which says it should be a woman’s choice if she wants to have a child. The decision on the number of children and the gap between two children is also the woman’s. “No one else can decide on such personal matters,” said a housewife, Manasi Shinde. National Commission for Women member Nirmala Samant Prabhavalkar called the RSS stand “unconstitutional and regressive”.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 10:45:54 +0000
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