Our prominent and renowned writer P.C. Biaksiama published his book ‘Insuatna Rapthlak ‘in 2005. As we know that there arose a lot of controversy whether to have more children or not. And if I am not mistaken, his main theme is to encourage the people to have as many children as they can, claiming that children are God’s gift. It seems that he draws much attention from the people and most of the people are impressed by his view. But there are some people who openly criticized this view in the newspapers. Since this topic is a very important issue, I am going to write a few lines regarding birth control in Mizoram while dealing with the global, particularly India as a whole. And here, all my standpoints will be from economic point of view.
The problem of population explosion is the most serious problem being faced nowadays. It does not only hamper the economic development of a country, but also leads a lower standard of living of the people. Gone were the days when we the Mizos considered large family as great and honorable and prestigious. This old belief may still prevail in the mind of some people. It is true, at this time, every family wanted to have large members merely because they need them in agricultural operations and families with large members are considered as great and powerful in all the Mizos history. Moreover, they considered each child as an additional means to increase their family income. So they have more wage earners but also more mouth to feed, and consequently large family and poverty go together. Such was the time of ignorance, a time in which we considered agriculture as the only occupation for subsistence. But now, the time is changed and really different. It is high time to check the increasing population.
Due to the advancement in science and technology, almost every thing is easier which makes human life comfortable. This advancement brought the world closer and the whole world is like a ‘global village‘. Despite this development, we may also say that our world is expanding, in the sense that we are living in a highly competitive world and there is a wide gap between the rich and the poor. And here lies the advantage of having a limited / small family. With a small family, one can send one’s children to good schools; give him better standard of living, proper health care and social security. So today it is much more preferable to have small family if we really care for our children’s future. An individual must know that the size of his family should be such as to feed his family by his income. Similarly, the size of population should be such as to feed all the people by utilizing the natural resources of the country.
We often hear about family planning, but it is very unfortunate that most people do not understand what it means. Family planning does not necessarily mean that one should have a limited family at any cost. It just means that one should have a child not by chance but by choice, and the choice must be carefully decided by him. So giving food is not alone is not enough and we have to consider their clothing, education and so on. Thus it means that an individual must maintain his family within his capacity to feed and upbringings.
Population explosion, perhaps, is the most formidable and crucial problem faced today. The population of the world in 2005 was approximately estimated at 6.396 million. The six billion mark was reach on October 12th, 1999. Population growing at 78 million a year has doubled since 1960. The noticeable thing is that over 95% of population growth is found in developing country. However, Population growth has slow in Europe, North America and Japan. According to the new projections, by 2050, world population is expected to reach 8.9 billion. The population of the world in 2005 is shown in the table below.
The problem of population explosion is the most serious problem being faced nowadays. It does not only hamper the economic development of a country, but also leads a lower standard of living of the people. Gone were the days when we the Mizos considered large family as great and honorable and prestigious. This old belief may still prevail in the mind of some people. It is true, at this time, every family wanted to have large members merely because they need them in agricultural operations and families with large members are considered as great and powerful in all the Mizos history. Moreover, they considered each child as an additional means to increase their family income. So they have more wage earners but also more mouth to feed, and consequently large family and poverty go together. Such was the time of ignorance, a time in which we considered agriculture as the only occupation for subsistence. But now, the time is changed and really different. It is high time to check the increasing population.
Due to the advancement in science and technology, almost every thing is easier which makes human life comfortable. This advancement brought the world closer and the whole world is like a ‘global village‘. Despite this development, we may also say that our world is expanding, in the sense that we are living in a highly competitive world and there is a wide gap between the rich and the poor. And here lies the advantage of having a limited / small family. With a small family, one can send one’s children to good schools; give him better standard of living, proper health care and social security. So today it is much more preferable to have small family if we really care for our children’s future. An individual must know that the size of his family should be such as to feed his family by his income. Similarly, the size of population should be such as to feed all the people by utilizing the natural resources of the country.
We often hear about family planning, but it is very unfortunate that most people do not understand what it means. Family planning does not necessarily mean that one should have a limited family at any cost. It just means that one should have a child not by chance but by choice, and the choice must be carefully decided by him. So giving food is not alone is not enough and we have to consider their clothing, education and so on. Thus it means that an individual must maintain his family within his capacity to feed and upbringings.
Population explosion, perhaps, is the most formidable and crucial problem faced today. The population of the world in 2005 was approximately estimated at 6.396 million. The six billion mark was reach on October 12th, 1999. Population growing at 78 million a year has doubled since 1960. The noticeable thing is that over 95% of population growth is found in developing country. However, Population growth has slow in Europe, North America and Japan. According to the new projections, by 2050, world population is expected to reach 8.9 billion. The population of the world in 2005 is shown in the table below.
SIZE OF WORLD POPULATION – 2005
o Countries Population
o Asia 3879,000,000
o Africa 877,500,000
o Europe 727,000,000
o North America 501,500,000
o South America 379,500,000
o Australia / Oceana 32,000,000
o Antarctica 0
o Total 6,396,500,00
The above table shows that population is growing fastest in the poorest countries. Asia, being the largest continent has more population than any other continent. It accounts for more than 1/6 of the total population of the world. The fastest growing regions are sub-Saharan Africa, parts of south Asia and Western Asia. Their share of the global population has been increasing steadily for 40 years. Within six years, it is expected that more than half of human beings will live in cities for the first time in history, according to new projections. The world’s population will be dominated by Asia and Africa.
In term of population, the largest cities in 1990 were London, New York , Paris, Berlin and Chicago. But as per the new projections, by 2015 Tokyo, Mumbai, Lagos, Dhaka, Sao Paulo will be the biggest. And by that time, 53 per cent of the world’s population will be city-dwellers. But the gap between rich and poor will be much wider.
POPULATION OF INDIA:
The population of India is increasing at a very fast rate. The growth rate is 1.93 per cent during 1991-2001. It is estimate that at this present rate of growth, by 2050, India will overtake china. Population wise, India is the second largest in the world after another Asian giant China. The population of India crossed one billion marks on May 4th 2000. India account for a meager 2.4 per cent of the world’s surface area of 135.79 million sq. km. but it supports and sustains a whopping 16.7 per cent of the world’s population. In India, a population census is conducted for better understanding of our position because this throws a flood of light on basic facts relating to India’s population.
The rapid growth of population is the greatest stumbling block for the economic development of a country. Every nation, whether rich or poor, are affected by it, but its effect is much worse in developing countries than in develop countries. This worse effect of population explosion can be easily seen in India, Ethiopia, China, Bangladesh etc. where the growth rate is exclusively high.
Population and its Growth Rate 1901 2001 | ||
Census Year | Population [ in million] | Average Growth Rate |
1901 | 238.3 | - |
1911 | 252.0 | 0.55 |
1921 | Year of Great Divide 251.2 | - 0.03 |
1931 | 278.8 | 1.04 |
1941 | 318.7 | 1.33 |
1951 | 360.9 | 1.25 |
1961 | 439.0 | 1.96 |
1971 | 547.9 | 2.20 |
1981 | 685.2 | 2.22 |
1991 | 844.0 | 2.14 |
2001 | 1,027.0 | 1.93 |
Source: Census of India 2001
It is often heart that India is an over populated country. This is the most crucial problem which India has faced since 1950. The question whether India is over- populated or not has risen a bit of controversy in the country. There are two school of thought-holding different views, one is Malthusian Theory and another is Optimum or Modern Theory on over-populated country. The former opines that India is over populated and the later said that India has not yet exceeded its optimum point. If we just said that both the theories provide India an over-populated country, it will be incomplete. So, we shall try to analyze both theories in connection with Indian population as short as possible.
The first professional economist, T.R.Malthus (1776-1834) discovered the theory that growth of population could not but reduce the subsistence level. As he put it: Population, when unchecked, increase in geometrical ratio (2,4,8,16 and so on) but subsistence/ food grains production increases in arithmetical ratio (1,2,3,4, and so on). He studied the problem of population in relation to food production in a particular country. According to him, over-population exists in the country, if populations increase faster than food production. Over population will cause starvation, outbreak of (epidemic) disease in the country. The existence of high birth rate and high death rate and absence of preventive measure to checked the growing population; have been suggested by Malthus as symptoms of over-population.
The Malthusian test of over- population proves that India is an over-populated country. The production of food grains is low in India, because there is no appreciable change in the technique of cultivation for stepping up the productivity of land. It has to imports food grains from other countries. Between 1991 and 2001, the population increases by 183 millions whereas the area under cultivation hardly increases by 8.1 per cent. The total production of food grains between 2001-2002 is 212 million tones. So, there is an acute storage of food which resulted in famine or near famine in many part of the country.
The recently released UNICEF Reports has pointed a grim picture of malnutrition among children in India. It is a matter of great disappointment and serious concern that one in four children under five in developing countries is underweight (27% of 140 million). And India accounts for 57 million of them and every year about 6, 00,000 under five (5) child death can be averted, if proper health care and feeding are given. Moreover, the birth rate and death rate are also exclusively high in India. In short all the symptoms of over-population according to Malthusian Theory are founded in India.
However, the modern economists argued that the concept of over-population by Malthus on the ground that Malthus could not foresee the development of advance agriculture method, that were to increase the yield per acre manifold and thus ensure a more rapid increase in food supply. But some economists held the view that the Malthusian prediction may still come true because there is no assurance that the world can continue to feed its growing population. The Malthusian theory is still valid on seeing the population pressure of India, Ethiopia, China, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and other parts of the globe where there is a constant race between the size of population and food production.
According to optimum theory, the growth of population in a country has to be equated not with food production alone but in the production of total quantity of wealth and per-capita income. The theory assumed that in spite of the increase in population, if the per-capita income increases, the country will not be regarded as an over-populated country. Only when the actual population exceeds the optimum point (desirable point of population), the per-capita income will fall as there is no scope for increasing the total wealth of the country through increase in population. In this case, over population will occur.
India may have vast resource, if it is not fully exploited, its total wealth will hardly increase and consequently it will not be possible to maintain the existing the population in reasonable health and efficiency. The per capita income of India is still very low comparing with other countries of the world. The present rate of India’s economic growth, existing the population has been much in excess of what can be maintain by its resource. The per capita income may increase, but the real income per head diminished in India. So, we have to consider the issue not in the relation to per-capita money income, but in relation to per capita real income. Thus, from the said two sets of tests, India is an over- populated country in relative sense but not in the absolute sense.
There are various factors responsible for the rapid increase in population. The major factors are poverty, ignorance and illiteracy. In most cases, poverty and large families are found together. Because the poor ignorance masses considered it child as an additional means to their family income. This is also the main reason why our country (India) has the largest number of child labour in the world. According to International Labor Organization (ILOs) Reports, at present, there are 245 million child labour in the world and in India there are 12-44 millions labour. Moreover, the old aged custom of child marriage, and the belief that children are God gifted has led to the formation of large families.
It is often heart that India is an over populated country. This is the most crucial problem which India has faced since 1950. The question whether India is over- populated or not has risen a bit of controversy in the country. There are two school of thought-holding different views, one is Malthusian Theory and another is Optimum or Modern Theory on over-populated country. The former opines that India is over populated and the later said that India has not yet exceeded its optimum point. If we just said that both the theories provide India an over-populated country, it will be incomplete. So, we shall try to analyze both theories in connection with Indian population as short as possible.
The first professional economist, T.R.Malthus (1776-1834) discovered the theory that growth of population could not but reduce the subsistence level. As he put it: Population, when unchecked, increase in geometrical ratio (2,4,8,16 and so on) but subsistence/ food grains production increases in arithmetical ratio (1,2,3,4, and so on). He studied the problem of population in relation to food production in a particular country. According to him, over-population exists in the country, if populations increase faster than food production. Over population will cause starvation, outbreak of (epidemic) disease in the country. The existence of high birth rate and high death rate and absence of preventive measure to checked the growing population; have been suggested by Malthus as symptoms of over-population.
The Malthusian test of over- population proves that India is an over-populated country. The production of food grains is low in India, because there is no appreciable change in the technique of cultivation for stepping up the productivity of land. It has to imports food grains from other countries. Between 1991 and 2001, the population increases by 183 millions whereas the area under cultivation hardly increases by 8.1 per cent. The total production of food grains between 2001-2002 is 212 million tones. So, there is an acute storage of food which resulted in famine or near famine in many part of the country.
The recently released UNICEF Reports has pointed a grim picture of malnutrition among children in India. It is a matter of great disappointment and serious concern that one in four children under five in developing countries is underweight (27% of 140 million). And India accounts for 57 million of them and every year about 6, 00,000 under five (5) child death can be averted, if proper health care and feeding are given. Moreover, the birth rate and death rate are also exclusively high in India. In short all the symptoms of over-population according to Malthusian Theory are founded in India.
However, the modern economists argued that the concept of over-population by Malthus on the ground that Malthus could not foresee the development of advance agriculture method, that were to increase the yield per acre manifold and thus ensure a more rapid increase in food supply. But some economists held the view that the Malthusian prediction may still come true because there is no assurance that the world can continue to feed its growing population. The Malthusian theory is still valid on seeing the population pressure of India, Ethiopia, China, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and other parts of the globe where there is a constant race between the size of population and food production.
According to optimum theory, the growth of population in a country has to be equated not with food production alone but in the production of total quantity of wealth and per-capita income. The theory assumed that in spite of the increase in population, if the per-capita income increases, the country will not be regarded as an over-populated country. Only when the actual population exceeds the optimum point (desirable point of population), the per-capita income will fall as there is no scope for increasing the total wealth of the country through increase in population. In this case, over population will occur.
India may have vast resource, if it is not fully exploited, its total wealth will hardly increase and consequently it will not be possible to maintain the existing the population in reasonable health and efficiency. The per capita income of India is still very low comparing with other countries of the world. The present rate of India’s economic growth, existing the population has been much in excess of what can be maintain by its resource. The per capita income may increase, but the real income per head diminished in India. So, we have to consider the issue not in the relation to per-capita money income, but in relation to per capita real income. Thus, from the said two sets of tests, India is an over- populated country in relative sense but not in the absolute sense.
There are various factors responsible for the rapid increase in population. The major factors are poverty, ignorance and illiteracy. In most cases, poverty and large families are found together. Because the poor ignorance masses considered it child as an additional means to their family income. This is also the main reason why our country (India) has the largest number of child labour in the world. According to International Labor Organization (ILOs) Reports, at present, there are 245 million child labour in the world and in India there are 12-44 millions labour. Moreover, the old aged custom of child marriage, and the belief that children are God gifted has led to the formation of large families.
With the advancement in medical sciences, death rate has declined but birth rate has remained more or less the same. The high birth rate is responsible for the great spurt of our population problems. This rapid Birth rate brings about arises in the non- working age group (dependent population) of the entire population. The economic resource are being drained away to feed this social parasites, and consequently, the over all economic development of a country is slowed.
The government has now realized the threats of the growing population and is taking various steps to solve the problem yet, it is not fully successful. Many times government are also hampered by social custom and religion. For example, Britain’s Marie Slopes’ attempt to bring birth control to the Meos of Muslim tribe residing in the Gurgaon district of northern poor India ( where literacy percentage of women is only 2%) has virtually failed because they are uneducated and do not feel the need for reducing family members. They need more children for agricultural operation. Besides, Muslim fundamentalists also strongly opposed birth control.
The rapid growth of population can be checked by the application of the contraceptive, late marriage, moral restrain, family planning programmes etc. People should be educated and marriageable age of girl must be raised, so that their productive period will be short and population growth will go down. Besides, agriculture product should be increase by introducing scientific method of cultivation. Although family planning programmes is very essential in combating population growth, due to certain difficulties like illiteracy and conservatism of the people, the high cost of contraceptive and absence of clinics where one can go and take the advice of physicians. These difficulties must be removed first in order to succeed in family planning. So, the government should provide cheap and effective contraceptive at the door step of the people.
It is high time to check the growing population for the people of India. Unless our growth rate is reduced, our economic development will have wobbly legs and the pace of development will be decelerated. The people of India, especially those who are educated and illiterate must consider it their responsibility to have a limited family. Although the government tries its level best and takes various steps, there is lot to be done. The government can not bring fruitful results; it needs the help of the people also. So, let us all march together to remove poverty by having limited/ small family. It is here that our development lies and nothing could be more challenging than this population explosion at this present state of our motherland.
