If you ever doubted the power of compounding, just take “hum 2 humaare 2” and poof, magically you have 1.3 billion!! What a land of crazy contradictions we are.
Let’s face it, India’s enormous population is at that tipping point – a little north of China’s numbers, and we are in for a downward spiral. Slightly better reforms and workforce management, and we could be giving most progressive countries a run for their money! But how do we get there?
In the recent years, we have conveniently dodged the worrying fact that we are now the second most populated country in the world. But unlike China, who’s major national agenda has largely revolved around population control, India’s approach consistently walks the “chalo, baad mein dekhte hain” narrative.
My fellow countrymen, there is power in numbers, but when you’re moving at break neck population density speeds, and pretending to have your head in the sand while the world moves you by, disaster is imminent. It is time we talked about that imminent danger. It’s time we talked about our population. And I don’t mean juicy gossip around the chai tapri’s of this ‘jugaad’ crazed nation of ours. I mean serious, conscientious, result oriented, ‘Swacch Bharat’ campaign like intense talk!
For one, there is need for strong governance. I say strong because there will be some ‘stepping on tails’ in trying to get around this issue. But that is what we voted our present government to do. And if the recent “surgical strikes” both economically and militarily are anything to go by, the political will is undeniable.
Yes, our policy makers have their hands tied. So many moves are proving to be counter-productive. But it’s a long walk and a journey that will probably need a whole generation to fix. We all remember Sanjay Gandhi’s ‘nasbandhi’ fiasco that cut the nerves of the very democratic fabric and freedom this country stands on. But at least that campaign birthed the population narrative and merited its claim on a national scale. It’s important we walk in the right direction now by creating new and more relevant national narrative on population.
The government’s plans to better-align railways, roadways, connectivity or programs like Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan cannot work unless we take serious measures to manage our population growth. Because overpopulation over stresses resources. Things get used up and consumed faster. Their wear and tear is quicker. Social services like education and healthcare come under immense strain and there is shortage of houses and food. How does this not warrant national concern?
We have real-time examples of large population not working in our favor already, as we on a daily basis witness heavy traffic and long queues, exasperated faces and patience running dry on an all-time low. It’s not just depleting our resources but also affecting the cultural fabric of the nation. The battle to find our space in this population is making us less patient and intolerant.
Just to hit the ground reality a little harder, do you know that Delhi’s population from 2012 (18.98 million) was higher than the population of the Netherlands’ at 16.94 million in 2015! There is often a spin of demographic dividend introduced when speaking about India’s population. After all, we are set to beat China as the world’s largest nation by 2025, with a big chunk of working populace. Over the coming 20 years, India’s demographic dividend could add about two percentage points per annum to India’s per capita GDP growth.
However, if we don’t take any action towards population control, basic minimum living standards including food, water and energy will become a struggle for us. Because simply put, we will never be well-prepared to handle a population of over 1.6 billion people, as it is projected to reach by 2050.
The ramifications will seep right into our social, political and economic fiber and will adversely impact what I consider to be the most important 3Es – education, employability and employment.
We all know that to finally have that coveted “developed nation” tag, we have to work exceptionally hard on our education system, which will give us the human resources that will take us to the next level. However, because of our burgeoning population, education becomes difficult to disseminate and be provided to one and all. This has a direct effect on employability and hence, quality of living, while the number of job seekers continue to soar. These three issues put together have adverse effects on our economy – from reduced rate of capital formation and lowered standard of living to higher rate of investment, adverse effect on per capital income and so on. This is what we call the vicious circle of poverty!
Therefore, it is important for us to come up with effective ways to educate, create awareness and implement population stabilization. Digital India is a great punchline that unites the youth of our country and has even penetrated the rural areas! Why not use this platform to create more conversations around population? Our priority must be to align each state with their health and population policies to the national ones to be efficient on a national scale. With these measures, we must aim to grow a healthy and steady economy.
For years, we have been sweeping our biggest elephant in the room under a national carpet, locking the room and pretending to have thrown away the keys in a cesspool of people that write the fortunes of this country. It is time we change this narrative.
Only a slower rate of population growth can help promote both social and economic development. Population control has got to be pushed into our collective ethos. It is time to replace the priorities we are placing on who eats what food, and whether or not Romeo and Juliet are part of our culture and bring talks of population control, healthcare services, child mortality rate and per capita income into our homes, into our office aisles, schools, educational institutions, and into our parliament.
If there was ever a right time for intervention on our “population” explosion, it is now!
The article was originally published in The Hindu BusinessLine.