Uttar Pradesh state law commission has come up with a new draft proposing a new law which is no exception to political backlash and controversy. No matter what the law is, if it is drafted in the state of Uttar Pradesh, it will be an alarm for political discourse in the entire nation. This time the most populous state is preparing to reduce its fertility rate to control its increasing population. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for a thumping population of two hundred thirty million, equivalent to the combined population of Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. The government has released the first draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population Control Bill, which is open to public suggestions. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while unveiling the new population policy, made it clear that the government aims to bring down the birth rate from the present 2.7% to 2.1% by 2026 and 1.9% by 2030.
The population control bill talks, in length, about the incentives for those who limit their family to two children or less and undergo voluntary sterilization. Disincentives on non-adherence to the two-child norm have also been laid down. A person with more than two children will be debarred from many state incentives. Such a person will be restricted to contest local body elections, apply for government jobs under the state government, debarred from government-sponsored welfare schemes, and many more. The government will focus on spreading awareness among people about the benefit of using contraceptives, rupturing myths about vasectomy and tubectomy, better family planning encouraging gapping between the first and the second child.
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Over-population is one of the major problems India is facing today. Our resources are limited, and the increasing population is a hurdle in development. The government has run programs throughout the country to educate people about the benefits of having a small family ever since the 1950s. These programs have been significant in reducing the fertility rate, but the efforts are not enough. India accounts for only 2.4 percent of the world surface area, yet it supports and sustains 16.9 percent of the world population. This has caused immense pressure on natural resources and degraded the natural environment.
The new policy on population, which should have been, seen as a silver lining of a better future has taken a controversial and political turn. The opposition has raised its apprehensions about the new policy, which is the essence of a good democracy but any attempt to spread myths just for political gain is lousy. The very first apprehension is about the time when the policy is brought to light. The opposition has alleged that this policy is brought just six months before Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha elections to create a Hindu-Muslim divide and ignite hate politics. The political parties have also tried to give it a complete religious turn stating it to be anti-Muslim. In my opinion, all such accusations are vague. The government is free to introduce any bill at any time of its tenure, and a population control bill is the need of the hour. Apart from that, this topic should not be politicized. Giving this a Hindu-Muslim color will only increase the social divide in society. This proposed law will be implemented to all people of Uttar Pradesh and does not target any religious community. Apart from that, the policy does not force anybody to undergo a sterilization operation. In a country like India, where a large group of the population still does not understand the need for population control, the government is trying to control it. The opposition should not create a hue and cry over every matter and support the government when it is necessary. Population explosion is a catastrophe to India’s development, and aggressive policy and proper planning is the only way to deal with it.
