The Indian Explosion

India occupies around 2.3 % of world’s geographical area but carries 16.6% of total world’s population. India is expected to overtake China to become the world’s most populous country within the next 25 years. The both sentences prove that India is over populated. The United Nation has warned that if India’s demographic growth does not slow down, there are likely to be shortages of food and water in the nearest future. India is already experiencing it.

The spiraling population hampers every measure of progress India tries to achieve.

Now why this population explosion? Is it good or bad to the nation? To the world? Who has to explore the reasons? The people of India? Or the government? Or the world at large?

Main reasons for this explosion are:

1. ILLITERACY

   Lack of proper education is the chief cause of most of the problems in the country. The country vows to achieve 100% literacy every 20 years. But it has been just a dream. Only 59.5% of the population is literate so far (male 70.2% and female 48.3% according to the statistics given in 2003).Most of this literate have not completed even the high school education. Poverty, social and economical conditions ,etc. have been pulling back the country from its endeavors. Statistics show that educated people have limited families and uneducated have large. Cities have more facilities and people are more educated and have less children whereas villages which form 70% of the county are still illiterate and have larger families.

2. LACK OF AWARENESS

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   Lack education and awareness lead to ignorance which keeps these blind people in utter obscurity. They cannot have any plan in their life. They are unable to realize the reasons for their scarcity of water, food, etc. There is no proper sex education in schools. Hence they are unable to control themselves. Only instincts lead them in their life.

3. INCREASING POVERTY

   Ignorance and lack of awareness keep the people enslaved to poverty. They do not bother to get out of their wallowing. Most of the villagers live in single -room houses which serves all their purposes of cooking, dining, living, sleeping, etc. Most of them do not even think of having bathroom facilities. No wonder these unsanitary conditions invite all kinds of diseases. They do some odd jobs whatever they get and struggle to fill up their stomachs. This kind of nestled life stimulate the instincts only where they find some solace leading to overpopulation.

4. THE WIDE GAP

   Poor people are becoming poorer because of their inability, ignorance, and exploitation of the rich. Most of the villagers are agricultural workers, and they have to depend upon the landlords who possess the lands and oppress the villagers by giving them very mean wages. Even though the government tries its best to liberate them from these bondages, the caste system that controls everything and the political vote bank exploitation manipulate things from bad to worse. The rich are growing richer making the gap between the rich and poor wider.

5. CHILD LABOR

   To manage the situation children are compelled to do some work. These ignorant people think that the more children they have they can earn more through child labor. There are plenty of opportunities encouraging child labor. Only in 2006 the country has come forward to take stern steps to annihilate child labor. But how far it will succeed only time should answer. The wrong money that comes from the children is spent on alcohol and other evil ways. These children who have money in their hands are tempted to spend it lavishly. They are unable to attend schools or have proper growth. Child abuse is prevalent everywhere.

6. EARLY MARRIAGE

   It has been a social custom to marry the girl as soon as she attains puberty . She becomes the procreating machine as early as possible. Child marriage restraint act in 1976 , raising marriageable age of the girl from 14 to 18, is still finding hard to be execute.

7. TRADITIONAL PREJUDICES

   A family should have a male heir, ‘a girl child is a curse to the family,’ ‘the more male children stronger the family’ are some of the prejudices found among people. Every family aspires for a male child. Caste system plays much in treating girl children worse than the male. There are some castes which even kill the unwanted baby girls. Female infanticide is a heartrending issue. Statistics say that education to female children is neglected and when they grow up they become mere slaves of their male counterparts.

8. RELIGIOUS IMPACTS

   Religious beliefs have much to do with the family planning in India. People strongly believe that children are given by God and it is a sin to curtail pregnancy in any way. More children means more blessing from God. Religions do not encourage any artificial method of family planning.

9. HIGH FERTILITY AND LOW MORTALITY RATES

   The growth rate in the Indian population is estimated to be 1.44%(2004 statistics) It is higher than the death rate. In every 1000 people 22.8 births and 8.30 deaths are reported. The life expectancy in India is 63.99 years . Females are said to live longer. Every woman is equated with 2.85 children which is extremely high compared to other countries. Mortality rate is reduced by health programs.

10. INABILITY TO ACHIEVE PLANS

    India was the first country in the developing nations to initiate a state-sponsored family planning program in 1952 and official figure suggest a measure of success. Since Independence in 1947, the fertility rate has been cut from 6 births per woman of child bearing age to 3.5, by which the birth rate has declined from 40 per 1000 in 1960 to 28 in 1996. Needless to say the government has been taking all possible steps ; but the caste system, the voting system, etc. are crippling the enormous projects undertaken by it.

The Indian population explosion has become a global problem. At least in China due to some revolutions and strength of the political hand during the previous regimes the population could be controlled. But in India democracy is struggling with a slow process of curtailing the population.

Now the whole world has become one family with fast communication and vast media. The Indian population explosion has become a global issue. As a world family, let us pull together to save this earth from unworthy destruction.