Mohan Bhagwat wants women to have at least 3 children: what has been the view of the RSS and its chiefs on population?

Bhagwat was referring to the Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which is considered the replacement level of a population – that is, if every woman has 2 children, one will be a girl across the population as a whole, who will replace her mother and have children of her own, which will sustain the population at the same level.

“Therefore”, Bhagwat said, “it (TFR) should not fall below 2.1 at any cost… Now, a human is not born in fractions, so there cannot be a 0.1 person… So, women should have a minimum of three children.”

Is this a new position taken by Bhagwat?

No. Bhagwat has been saying this – and his predecessor Sarsanghchalaks of the RSS have said it, too.

What is new is the reference to the scientific measure of TFR, and the mention of a specific number of children that women should have.

Also, from its inception, the Sangh has worked for “Hindu unity”, and earlier references to India’s population by leaders of the RSS and the Parivar have often come in the context of their concern over the allegedly increasing “imbalance” between rising numbers of Muslims and falling numbers of Hindus in the country.

What has Bhagwat said on population policy earlier?

The Sarsanghchalak dwelt on this issue at some length in his Vijayadashami address in 2022. He spoke about “imbalance” in the population, but also stressed on the need to not lose out on India’s demographic dividend of having a large working-age population.

“Our country has a huge population, this is the reality… A large population requires resources, if it keeps growing, it becomes a big burden, perhaps an unbearable burden… The number of children is linked with material health, education, financial status, and individual wish. It also depends on what each family needs… [The population policy] should be applicable for all…

“Another question of great importance is that of population imbalance… which leads to changes in geographical boundaries… Population control and religion-based population balance is an important subject that can no longer be ignored,” he said.

In September 2018, at an interaction with people from various walks of life at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Bhagwat said in response to a question on population: “A comprehensive and balanced policy should be framed… Policymakers must envision the next 50 years and plan accordingly. The policy, once it is made, should be applicable to all communities. And wherever the situation is more complicated, it should be implemented on priority.”

In February 2015, when then BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj said each Hindu mother should produce at least four children, Mohan Bhagwat distanced himself from the statement.

Asked for a reaction, he had said in Kanpur, “Hamaari maatayen factory nahin hain, bachcha paida karna vyaktigat nirnay hai (Our mothers are not factories, giving birth to a child is an individual decision).”

What position did other RSS chiefs take on this matter?

Among the more vocal of Bhagwat’s predecessors was K S Sudarshan, who was Sarsanghchalak from March 2000 to March 2009. In November 2005, while releasing a publication titled ‘Religious Demography of India 2001’ in Delhi, brought out by the Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai, Sudarshan said: “Don’t fall into the trap of the two-child or one-child norm. If you go by the one-child norm, in the next 120 years, there won’t be any successors in your family. You should not have less than three children, and if you have more, the merrier it is.”

Earlier that year, the Manmohan Singh government had appointed the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee to study the social, economic, and educational condition of Indian Muslims.

What about the RSS as an organisation, and its front organisations?

Back in the 1980s, when separatist forces were active in several parts of the country, the RSS gave the slogan, “Hindu ghataa to desh bantaa”, suggesting that separatism arose at places where the population of Hindus went down.

However, in its official resolutions passed over the years, the RSS has not passed any resolution directly on these issues.

Individual RSS members, front organisations of the Sangh, and bodies associated with the RSS have, however, repeatedly flagged concerns over the allegedly declining numbers of Hindus in the country.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and some sadhus associated with the organisation have been especially vocal. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, then VHP chief Ashok Singhal claimed that the population of Hindus was growing at a much slower rate than the populations of Christians and Muslims. “Hindus should not restrict themselves to two children per family. Only when they produce five children will the population of Hindus remain stable,” Singhal said.