This article is written by Paridhi Goel, a student from Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA. This is an exhaustive article which deals with the Indian and Global perspectives of Population control, its causes, and the importance of creating strict laws for controlling population growth.

Introduction

We come across the term ‘population’ frequently while reading the newspapers, or political magazines, or even watching global headlines on televisions because it is becoming a global as well as national concern for the people. Population refers to the total number of beings living in a particular area. The animals have their own population through which we can estimate their numbers and keep a record of their birth rates as well as their mortality rates. Similarly, the human population helps in estimating the birth and death rates, the number of resources that will be required, and most importantly which countries are experiencing a population explosion. 

Due to the advancement in technology, people are living a quality life with better health facilities and are conveniently working. The survival rates of people are higher than before which is leading to an increase in the population. With the establishment of proper nursing homes and better nutrition services, the childbirth rate is also high. One might think that high birth and survival rates symbolize a healthy lifestyle for people and a better place for everyone to live in. However, an increase in population can cause a strain on the resources due to rising demands, and this strain will affect the environment negatively.

A population explosion is a rapid and dramatic rise in the world population for example- the increase of population from 2.5 billion to 6.1 billion people between the years 1959 and 2000. It is necessary that the birth and death rates balance each other to maintain sustainable population growth. Some countries today like China and India are considered to be ‘overpopulated’. This means that their current population exceeds their carrying capacity resulting in depletion of resources and threatening the vision of a sustainable environment. Organizations like the United Nations have formulated certain policies to keep a check on the increasing population. The sad reality is that policies and programs will not motivate the people to contribute to population control and strict laws need to be implemented to limit the rising population.

Population control

The impact of overpopulation is disastrous for the present as well as future generations as a rise in population is resulting in depletion of the resources, degradation of the environment, unemployment, and inequalities of income. To protect the environment and to prevent future generations from experiencing a scarcity of resources, immediate attention has to be given to control the population and aim for sustainable development. Population control is a policy of attempting to limit the growth of a population in numbers, focusing especially in the poor and densely populated parts of the world where people are not aware of the consequences of overpopulation.

There are a number of ways to control the population like sterilization, the use of contraceptive methods, spreading awareness on the need of controlling the population, implementing policies for limiting childbirth, making laws, providing incentives for contraception programs, and choosing adoption rather than childbirth. Although different countries have implemented strict policies for example- the one-child policy introduced by China, there is a need for a strict population control law both at the national and international levels to seriously improve the global population growth rate.

Indian perspective

India is the second most populated country in the world and said to overtake even China in terms of population by the year 2025. There are a number of reasons behind this overpopulation starting with illiteracy among the majority of the people and lack of awareness regarding the need for population control. The dense population of this country is not only visible on the statistics charts but, in reality as well when one explores the streets of India. Public transportations like metro, buses, railways are always seen carrying people beyond their capacities. The shopping malls, temples, markets, and other places are over-crowded clearly indicating the need for population control. The family planning and welfare programs undertaken by the government have only resulted in decreasing the fertility rates and have not stabilized the population situation.

Causes for population growth

To find solutions for limiting the population growth and focus on introducing a law that can control the population strictly and efficiently, the causes for population growth have to be understood first so that the law can majorly work on those aspects and make provisions for each accordingly. The causes for population growth are as follows-

1. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BIRTH AND DEATH RATES- there was a time when the birth rates were the same as the number of deaths taking place in the country thereby, stabilizing the population on its own. In recent years, it has been observed that the death rates are declining in comparison to the birth rates resulting in rapid population growth. The reasons for this instability are:

• Advancement in Technology- due to globalization and worldwide connectivity, there is a constant flow of ideas and equipment resulting in the introduction of advanced technologies that can cope up with the ongoing digitalization. Even the government of India supports the use of new and smart technology in every sphere to ensure a high standard and quality of life for its people. Technology has made many tasks easy and convenient for people like improving the agriculture sector of the country as many Indians are dependent on it. This, in turn, has promoted the sale and distribution of food ensuring that it is within the reach of every citizen. With proper food, the problems of malnourishment and lack of nutrition have been solved and there are no more people dying of hunger.
• Improvement in Public Health- there was a time when clean drinking water and sanitation were only seen in the cities. The villages lacked cleanliness and sanitary practices. They did not have either the technology or the money to improve their conditions. In recent years, the government of India has started focusing on the village sectors and their demands of clean water, the establishment of health facilities, and awareness on personal hygiene. They are provided with incentives and loans to ensure the good health of all the citizens. Ultimately, the death rate in these villages has declined. In fact, they are experiencing more childbirths as they are no more afraid that their children will die due to the unhygienic practices of the village.
• Improvement in Medical Facilities- before the advancement in technology, the medical sector of India lacked proper medication or vaccinations for specific diseases and viruses. It lacked the technology to carry out big surgeries and operations and it did not have the resources to expand to the rural areas. After getting financial aids to improve the medical conditions, hospitals were opened almost everywhere to cater to the needs of the people whenever required. They made new medical discoveries and invented new vaccines to help eradicate the long-prevailing diseases and infections among the Indian crowds. More nursing homes opened that looked after childbirth and the health of the mother. The mortality rates automatically declined for the children as well as the adults because more and more lives could be saved with the new medical facilities all over the country.
• Fertility Treatment- new discoveries in medical science have led to an improvement in infertility treatments with the introduction of new equipment and medicine. Before this advancement, the doctors in India could not help the couples who had a problem in giving birth or conception and recommended such couples to adopt which helped in maintaining a balance in the birth rates.

1. NO MORE POVERTY- for many years the people experienced unequal distribution of incomes, problems in taking loans, and lack of governmental aid for the poor sections of the society. The majority population faced poverty and only a few had the money to live a comfortable life. There were high infant mortality rates and deaths of the people working in chemical industries, mines, and other harmful places. Labour was always preferred in India over machines and due to lack of technology, the men were given more money to do jobs that were a threat to their lives. This is no more the case today, as the technology used eases the work of the labourers and full protection is given to them. Financial aids are provided to the economically backward population. The opening of new industries and the flow of money is opening up opportunities for employment where more and more manpower is required. Childbirth is no more a burden on families as now they have the money for taking care of them as well as the children can later become a source of income for the family.
2. ILLITERACY- the majority of the population in India is illiterate and uneducated which means that they are not aware of the consequences of giving birth to more and more children or even the ways of controlling it. Surveys have found out that they do not use any kind of contraceptive methods as many of them are not even aware of such methods. Some in the rural areas view the process of reproduction as the only source of entertainment between the couples. It was also found out that people are afraid of sterilizations and see it as a taboo or even a dangerous process. Due to a lack of education, it is difficult to make them understand how overpopulation is a threat to them and their future generations.
3. LACK OF FAMILY PLANNING- factors like illiteracy and greed for wealth especially among the rural population prevent them from coming up with plans of organizing and thinking about their future with their children. They do not consider how they will gather money for raising their children as the government recently is becoming liberal in giving family loans and then they have the view that more the children in the house, more are the working hands to earn and bring money in the house. It is only through basic education and awareness policies that the population will understand the importance of Family Planning.
4. LACK OF AWARENESS- the people are not aware of issues like overpopulation, depletion of resources due to this growth in population, and how it is also affecting the environment. Moreover, they lack ideas of family planning or ways to control childbirths. They are afraid of the sterilization processes and ashamed of using contraception.

Impact of population growth

The impact of a rapid increase in the population is quite harmful to the people as well as the environment which is why population control needs our immediate attention today. The main effects of the rise in population are as follows-

1. DEPLETION OF NATURAL RESOURCES- it is well known that nature has provided us with both renewable and nonrenewable resources like water, air, food, oil, coal, petrol, etc. that have become a part of the daily routine of the human beings. While some of these resources are inexhaustible, others are limited and used extensively to meet the demand of the rising population. For example- cutting down Forests for gathering more land to use for construction purposes is resulting in the disappearance of the natural habitat whose survival was dependent on these forests. Levels of soil erosion have also increased ever since the forests are being cut down creating an imbalance in nature. The present generations can already experience the scarcity of resources and a further rise in population will only result in compromising the right of the future generations to use these natural resources.
2. DEGRADATION OF ENVIRONMENT- every individual in the modern world is fond of using new technology to make their lives simple and all this technology is easily available to most of them nowadays. So as the population increases, the number of people demanding new cars and houses for themselves also increases. The rise in the number of vehicles and industries has affected the air quality due to the emission of harmful gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. This leads to global warming that causes the melting of the polar ice caps, a rise in sea levels, and changing climate patterns. An increase in population also increases the waste generated from the industries and households that are dumped into landfills and water bodies thereby, causing land and water pollution. Some of this garbage contains toxic chemicals that can have adverse effects on the health of living organisms.
3. INCOME INEQUALITIES- in India, there already exists a factor of income inequality where the rich are too rich and the poor are very poor. With the rise in population, there is also an increase in the unemployment of the country as the number of people exceeds the number of jobs available in India. High rates of unemployment will create more inequalities of income among the people which will affect the economy of the nation.
4. HIGH COST OF LIVING- overpopulation creates differences in the demand and supply of various products. The rise in the number of people will increase the demand thereby raising the price of the commodities including food, shelter, and healthcare. This means that people will have to pay more even for the basic necessities to survive and feed their families. This will be a disaster as the majority population in India is suffering from poverty and if the prices increase, they will not be able to pay so much. However, the poor population might get involved in theft to get food and other basic commodities for their families. The crime rate will also increase when the cost of living rises.
5. POSSIBILITY OF CONFLICTS- population growth causes a strain on the natural resources that are limited and after a rapid increase in the population, these resources will not be available to all. This might create tensions between the States or even among a few countries for the demand of resources leading to conflicts and probably war. Since the people are so dependent on the use of these resources in their daily lives that when the time comes, each individual would be ready to fight and resort to crime and corruption for survival.

Need for a population control law

• After looking at the causes of population growth, it is evident that the formulation of policies and welfare programs by the government on family planning and using contraceptive methods to control population will not change the mindset of the people as expected from them, especially in the rural areas. Most of the people are not even aware of these policies. Since the majority of the population is showing no interest in limiting the population growth, they will not care for the welfare plans introduced by the government for them. This is why a strict law on population control has to be framed and implemented to achieve the goal of stability in the birth and death rates and ensure sustainable development.
• As we discussed in the causes, the differences in birth and mortality rates have contributed to the rise in population as the death rates have declined and the birth rate is increasing. It is logical that the government cannot control the death of a person. The medical practitioners swear to save lives as a part of their jobs. The doctors or the family of the patient who comes to the hospital with some serious problem cannot be told to not undergo an operation or to not try to save himself only for the sake of population control. However, if a law is made, it can control the birth rate by laying down a provision making it mandatory for the people to not have more than two children. The law can also offer punishments for people who do not follow this rule strictly.
• Today the age of marriage for the girls is 18 years and for the boys, it is 21 years. It has been observed that couples who marry at an early age are more likely to give birth to more children as the woman remains healthy to give birth for a longer period of time. The government cannot raise the age bar for marriage however, the law can prohibit those couples from engaging in childbirth, who have married before the age set by the government. In India, there still exist many cases of underage marriage in some rural and backward areas who have been told to limit the number of birth of the children in their family.
• Today is a modern era that supports gender equality and women empowerment yet, there are sections of the society that are clinging to the old age norm of having at least one son in the family who could handle their property and carry out their lineage. Many people consider the son as the person who will bear the family name and hand it to the coming generations. It is due to this orthodox thinking that in many families the couples keep having babies until a son is born. This is just an unnecessary increase in the population. The law will limit the number of children one family can have thereby, putting an end to the conservative thinking of people.
• The majority of the Indian population suffers from poverty and is also illiterate. This means that they do not feel like wasting money on contraception and the sterilization process. Moreover, due to their illiteracy, they are not even aware of what these processes are and how they are conducted. Mostly these people are afraid of the sterilization process popularly known as ‘Nasbandi’, and then there are some people who think that population control methods raise a question on their pride and dignity which is why they do not practice such methods.
• No policies and plans can solve the problem of illegal migration where people from Nepal, Bangladesh, and other countries have crossed the border and are staying in the territory of India as immigrants or squatters. The only solution to this problem is to devise a law that points out these illegal migrants and places them in the country they belong to.

Policies for population control

The importance of population control had been realized soon after India got its Independence. A sub-committee on population was formed in the year 1940 under the chairmanship of the scientist Radha Kamal Mukherjee to suggest ways for controlling the increasing population by teaching them self-control and spreading knowledge on the methods of birth control. After this, a Central Family Planning Board was created in the year 1956 which laid emphasis on the process of sterilization. The plan of family limitation was also enumerated in the First Five Year Plan with goals like finding out the accurate factors contributing to population growth, discovering suitable techniques of family planning, and giving advice on population control.

• The First National Population Policy was framed in April 1976 which suggested a number of programs for population control like- raising the statutory age of marriage, paying attention to female illiteracy, providing incentives for family planning and birth control. This policy could not prove to be much successful as after its implementation Sanjay Gandhi, the then President of Indian Youth Congress, took the issue of population control too zealously and forced the people to get sterilization done. This defeated the purpose of family planning. The government had to become cautious as the people lost faith in the government techniques of birth control.
• Then came the National Population Policy, 2000 that aims at achieving stabilization in the population of India by 2045. This policy was committed to providing reproductive health care services to the people who voluntarily ask for it and with their consent. The policy advocated a target-free approach in administering family planning services. It also popularized its slogan of “Hum Do Hamare Do” which focused on a two-child policy for the Indian couples.
• A Population Regulation Bill, 2019 was introduced by Rakesh Sinha in the Upper House that suggested those people be disqualified from being chosen as a Member of Parliament, MLA or a member of anybody of the local self- government, who give birth to more than two living children after the commencement of the Act. The bill suggested that the government employees should give an undertaking that they will not procreate more than two children.

International convention on population and development

It was observed that the government used the International Convention on Population and Development as a bar in bringing legislation for population control. The government stated that India was bound by the rules of this convention and thus could not execute any law regarding population control. The Convention took place in Cairo in the year 1994 where the participating countries agreed to protect the reproductive rights of the women, promote the concept of responsible parenthood and family planning on a voluntary basis. The convention was against forced sterilizations and involuntary methods of birth control. However, the statement on this issue was closed by saying that the countries are free to formulate their own population policy. This means that the Parliament was just misguided in the Cairo Convention thinking that they were not allowed to frame any law for population control. The convention only prohibited practising population control through forceful means.

Other measures 

Apart from framing any law or legislation on population control, there are other measures that can be and are being taken by the Government to limit the population of the country. These measures are as follows-

• Raising the status of women is an important social measure for population control as it will end the gender discrimination and the orthodox will of the people to give birth to a son. Also, it will give an opportunity to the women to have a choice and a say in whether they want to give birth to a child or not. The choices of women would be respected.
• Educating the masses especially the people living in rural areas is another important aspect of controlling population as the people have to be made aware of the harmful consequences of overpopulation as well as the benefits of using contraceptive methods.
• The option of adoption should be popularized as there are many children who do not have families to take care of them. They have to live in orphanages or organizations that only help these children to stay alive and survive. Such children can have a family and proper upbringing while stabilizing the population too.
• The standard of living among people has to be improved. They need to understand the value of family planning and the advantages of having a small family where everyone lives in peace and harmony.
• The government should provide families with incentives and financial aid for the adoption of birth control measures.

Global perspective

Indeed, India’s rapid increase in population is becoming a threat to the resources and its people, affecting the social, economic, and cultural spheres of the country. However, overpopulation is a global concern and every country needs to keep a check on its population to safeguard its resources and maintain a sustainable environment. Population control is necessary for a happy, quality life where all the families are living together with love and peace. In a 2011 survey, the global population reached 7 billion. The world’s population is expected to increase by 2 billion persons in the next 30 years which would make the global population of 9.7 billion in the year 2050 and nearly 11 billion around 2100.

This increase is taking place due to the improvements in the fertility rates of the couples all over the world, significant gains in life expectancy in recent years, and also the International migration that takes place causes some countries to be more populated than others. Other than this, the differences in birth and death rates are alarming everywhere which needs to be stabilized soon. Many conferences have taken place to ensure family planning programs and awareness on birth control methods. The governments of various countries have come up with their own policies to meet the issue of population control. Since the application of these policies is not showing any major changes in the growth rate, there is a need for a proper and strict law to administer the ways in which the population is being controlled all over the world.

Global policies

On the International level, the United Nations takes the responsibility of spreading awareness among the various countries on population control. It has been addressing these complex issues through the work of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nation Population Division.

The United Nations Population Fund started in 1969 to assume a leading role in promoting population programs, keeping in mind the human rights of the individuals as well as the couples with the aim of not pressurizing the families to limit their childbirths. The key areas that this unit works on are reproductive health, gender equality, and controlling the population to maintain sustainability. The countries can reach out to the United Nations for financial aid concerning reproductive health facilities and contraception methods.

The United Nations Population Division pulls together information on factors affecting the growth like migration, urbanization, marriage, fertility statistics, birth rates, and mortality rates, etc. It prepares official demographic statistics and estimates for all countries to help them to formulate population policies that emphasize the main problem that is causing an increase in population in that country.

Few examples

There are countries where the government has taken some serious steps towards population control to ensure stability as they are at risk of population explosion. Some of these countries are as follows-

• China, which is the most populated country in the world, has taken the initiative of a strict one-child policy for families. Even though its end result was not very helpful to the demographic statistics of China, it still sticks to a one-child policy for the couples.
• Kenya was one of the first countries that realized the need for population control and in the late 1960s, it arranged for family planning campaigns with the aim of matching the population size with the available resources.
• Europe offers incentives to the larger families however the birth and death rates in the European countries are quite stable.
• Russia, on the other hand, is facing a decrease in the population because of the high mortality rates probably due to factors like drugs and alcohol.

Conclusion

Global Population is increasing by about 1.5 per cent per year and if this continues, in less than half a century, the number of people living on this planet will double. People are already dependent on using resources like water and energy in their day to day lifestyle which is why causing a strain on these resources due to a rise in population will only lead to wars and conflicts in the future for those who get to use the last of the resources left.

In recent years, we can experience the adverse effects of overpopulation like economic instability, degradation of the environment, rising prices of coal and petroleum, global warming, and unemployment in some countries like India. Even the government policies dealing with these issues will only be able to solve these problems for a short period of time. In the long run, we have to control the rising population and bring stability in the birth and death rates so that the demands of the people match the available resources of that country. The world needs a strict population control law to limit the population growth as well as safeguard the rights of the individuals during this process.

References 

• https://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/health-information/3a-populations/population-growth

• https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/population/index.html

• https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/centre-gets-moving-population-control-law
• https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/india/overpopulation-in-india-causes-effects-and-how-to-control-it

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