The Hindutva Right sermonises to the minorities. It also propagates myths. The alleged link between religion and population growth is one such myth that has gained credence of late. The latest revelation that the population growth rate in Nepal, the world’s only Hindu rashtra, at 2.1, is more than that of Islamic Bangladesh (2 per cent) should put such myth-makers on the defensive. It may also shock them to know that the growth rate of Hindus in J&K is twice that of the Muslims there. But, sadly, the Sangh Parivar continues to flog its stereotypes. BJP General Secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, addressing a recent meeting of the party’s minority cell, gave Muslims the unsolicited advice that they should adopt birth control measures urgently if they do not want to be left behind. But what does the data reveal? It shows that the growth rate for different minorities remains almost the same. According to 1961 figures, Muslims were 10.7 per cent of the then population, Christians were 2.4 per cent, Sikhs were 1.8 per cent and Jain and Buddhists were 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. The 1991 figures corresponding to these different communities were 11.67 per cent, 2.32 per cent, 1.99 per cent, 0.41 per cent and 0.77 per cent respectively. If one compares the growth rate of Hindus and Muslims then, one would find that in the year 1971 Hindus comprised 82.7 per cent of the population whereas Muslims were 11.2 per cent and the figures reached 82.6 per cent and 11.4 per cent, respectively, in the year 1991. A comparison of growth rates reveals that while the population of Hindus increased from 23.71 to 24.42 during the year 1961-71 and 1971-1981 the respective figures for Muslims were 30.85 and 30.20 respectively. This means that the population of Muslims actually decreased as compared to Hindus. It is also incorrect to say that Muslims abstain from family planning. A report published by the Baroda-based Operations Research Group in 1981 found that the rates of contraceptive use between Hindus and Muslims were comparable. The “Hum paanch, unke pachees” mythology also talks of polygamy among Muslims. First, think of the practicality of such a situation. Suppose every person in a particular community marries four wives, will there be an enough number of women for everyone? Clearly not. Coming to specifics, data shows that polygamous relations are more prevalent in communities other than Muslims. A recent survey in eight blocks of a Muslim majority area in Ahmedabad revealed that only two people had four wives, two other people had three wives and 279 people had two wives. As opposed to this there were 20,950 cases of “Maitri Karar” (friendship agreement) registered by Hindus with the collector in this single district. This is a term specific to Gujarat and is essentially a method to bypass the stringent provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act and enter into an “undeclared second marriage”. It needs to be understood, then, that there is no correlation between the rate of growth of population and religion. Population growth rates are influenced by socio-economic and cultural factors.
