Nobody is surprised when I say that India has been dealing with the problem of overpopulation for a long time. Overpopulation causes resource depletion, a lack of employment opportunities, and environmental destruction.
To address this situation, state governments such as Assam implemented the two-child policy in 2017, stating that if a family has more than two children after 2021, the family will lose the opportunity to be employed in any government job and will be barred from contesting local body and panchayat elections. Even at the Central Government level, efforts were made to pass a population control bill.
A population control bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha, and the two-child policy was implemented throughout the country. It was believed that if a person had more than two children, they would not be hired by the government, would not be eligible for any government programmes, and would face other difficulties.
Child Policy in India
To begin with, it should be noted that Assam is not the only state to enact such legislation. So far, 12 Indian states have implemented the two-child policy. These are some examples:
- Rajasthan (1992)
- Odisha (1993)
- Haryana (1994)
- State of Andhra Pradesh (1994)
- Himachal Pradesh (2000)
- Madhya Pradesh (2000)
- Chhattisgarh (2000)
- Uttarakhand (2000)
- Maharashtra (2003)
- Gujarat (2005)
- Bihar (2007), as well as
- Assam (2017)
A five-state study conducted by former Indian Administrative Service officer Nirmala Buch found a rise in sex-selective and unsafe abortions in states where the two-child policy was prevalent, with men forcing their wives to run for local body elections and families giving up their children for adoption to avoid being eliminated from the polls.
Background
Controlling population growth is a policy that dates back to 1951. Mahatma Gandhi opposed contraception and advocated for abstinence to control population growth. Another historical example of the policy was during Indira Gandhi's state of emergency in 1975, when the concept of the two-child policy received a significant boost. At the same time, China implemented the one-child policy. During the Indira Gandhi administration, there was forced sterilisation. This means that people, particularly the poor, were forced to be sterilised, and nearly 11 million people were sterilised in less than two years. This was done in the hope that forced sterilisation would reduce population.
However, looking at population growth charts, we can see that it made no difference. In fact, despite the forced sterilisation of a segment of the population, the population grew at the same rate as before.
Two-Child Policy in State
Attempts to implement the policy have been made at the state level. The 1994 Panchayati Raj Act in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana barred people with more than two children from running for office. Families with three children prior to the Act's implementation, on the other hand, were permitted to vote. Families with more than two children were barred from running for gramme panchayat and municipal elections in Maharashtra.
The Maharashtra Civil Services Rules of 2005 barred anyone with more than two children from holding any state government position. Women were not eligible for Public Distribution System benefits. Rajasthan, like Assam, implemented similar rules, stating that candidates with more than two children were ineligible for government jobs. In Gujarat, the Local Authorities Act was amended in 2005 to bar people from running for panchayats and municipal corporations. Despite the fact that Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh implemented the two-child policy for government jobs and local body elections in 2001, the policy was discontinued for elections in 2005 due to several complaints.
Local Regulations
Mohan Bhagwat, the leader of the National Volunteer Organization, stated in 2020 that the two-child policy would be one of the organization's primary goals. The policy became controversial as a result of Bhagwat's support, with some claiming that the entire policy was an attempt to limit the growth of the world Muslim population in India. While there are no national policies in India as of yet, there are local laws. People running for panchayat elections will be disqualified if they do not follow the two-child policy, according to the policy.
Some local governments have gone a step further, imposing fines on citizens who have more than two children. They would also be denied state-provided healthcare for the mother and children, as well as nutritional supplements for pregnant women. As for the fathers, punishments include fines and jail time and restrictions on government employment and promotions.
Is the two-child policy necessary in the country?
The laws were questioned from the start. People were quick to point out that India, with its thriving technology industry, is a country that relies on its youth. There is an underlying concern that restrictions on having children will result in a lack of literate young people, which the country requires to continue the technological revolution. Furthermore, because boys are preferred over girls, this will result in a gender imbalance. Most importantly, India's birthrate is declining.
While the fertility rate was as high as 3.3 children per woman in 2000, it has since dropped to 2.1 children per woman. India's economy has also grown at a rate of 6% per year, more than enough to support population growth. The two-child policy also violates women's rights by encouraging abortion and female infanticide. It also encourages men to divorce their wives in order to run for political office.
Conclusion
Many local governments, inspired by China's one-child policy, have enacted laws that penalise having more than two children. These laws have been criticised both domestically and internationally. Even though it is less severe than China's policy, the two-child policy laws are considered problematic and discriminatory in India.
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