Population expansion: The silent burden on India's women

With a population of 1.45 billion, India overtook China in 2023 to become the most populous country in the world.

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Yet, paradoxically, there is a growing clamour in the country to have more children. The chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh has asked couples to have at least three children. He is not the only one. The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Tamil Nadu (TN) are also urging the people of their states to increase their family size.

One of the reasons given for such demands is the declining fertility rate, especially in AP and TN. The total fertility rate (TFR) is below the replacement level of two births per woman in both of these southern states.

After decades of pushing for two children or less, mostly through coercive family planning policies targeting women, now that the goal to achieve the desirable TFR has been achieved in 17 of the 29 states, why is it no longer desirable?

For AP and TN, it is fear of losing out on parliamentary seats and political clout.

In 1976, the parliamentary seat share of every state was frozen for 25 years based on their 1971 population.