BE IT a political meeting, a hot TV debate or just a healthy tea-time chat, the topic would most often veer around the population. That was about four decades back. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought the debate back to the discussion table after he used the term “population explosion” in his Independence Day speech last year. The term had not been used by any of his predecessors since the country’s disastrous experience of forced family planning during the Emergency period in the 1970s. Since then, population control remains a political pariah. But Modi set the debate on a new trajectory. He equated population control to patriotism. “A small section of society, which keeps its families small, deserves respect. What it is doing is an act of patriotism,” he said.
Of late, politicians have been vocal in pushing the population control debate. It has erupted in a paroxysm of a deep fear of demographic disaster and complete exhaustion of natural resources due to overconsumption. At this age of the sixth mass extinction and the Anthropocene, India is talking about its population, policy and environmental fallout in the same breath.
In July 2019, Rakesh Sinha, Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha and subscriber to the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, tabled the Population Regulation Bill as a private member bill. The proposed legislation intends to penalize people for having more than two children. Sinha says “population explosion” would irreversibly impact India’s environment and natural resource base, and limit the next generation’s entitlement and progress. The bill proposes that government employees must not produce more than two children, and suggests withdrawal of welfare measures from the poor who have more than two children.
Denne historien er fra February 01, 2020-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra February 01, 2020-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara