By Dr AK Srivastava
“In the last 200 years the population of our planet has grown exponentially, at a rate of 1.9% per year. If it continues at this rate, with the population doubling every 40 years, by 2600 we would all be standing literally shoulder to shoulder.” — Stephen Hawking
“A finite world can support only a finite population; therefore, population growth must eventually equal zero.” — Garrett Hardinowth
World Population Day is observed on 11 July every year. It is a very crucial reminder to humanity to take up the issue of rising population with utmost sincerity and genuineness. It is estimated that the human population increases 200,000 to 220,000 every day. In 1987, the world population reached “Five Billion”. This was a glaring and blatant reminder to the world that we are heading towards a point of no return. Hence, the United Nation Development Plan (UNDP) decided to observe 11 July as World Population Day throughout the world. It signals that disaster is looming fast as both natural and human resources are vanishing and posterity is going to face severe challenges in every walk of life.
It is true that in some countries the situation is not so grim and population control is a distant problem. But in most of the countries it is a real and ugly peril spoiling our future. In 2022, the world population reached 8 billion. It took several thousand years to reach the mark of one billion and in only 218 years, it reached 8 billion. The enormous and rapid growth of the human population has already endangered hundreds of species of fellow creatures (animals and birds) as their food and natural shelter have been ruthlessly snatched by the so-called wisest beings.
It is unfortunate that world leaders and organisations are not doing enough to handle this menace. We cannot sustain whatever development and progress human beings have done so far if serious policies and meticulous population control are not exercised. Natural resources like water, oxygen, land, forest, and the serenity of nature are endangered by human beings. Similarly, both the animal kingdom and marine life are also in trouble. We have to maintain a balance if we wish to enjoy the blessings of our natural resources in the future.
The crises of limited medical care, food, water supply, fresh air, and other significant factors essential for sustainable development is endangering the very existence of human life on this planet. It is very clear that we have no other planet where human life is possible or where we can shift in the future.
UNDP decides on a theme every year to focus on the challenges posed by population growth. This year, in 2026, the theme is “Empowering young people to create the families they want while ensuring sustainability and equality”. Now the point is how to face this intricate and cumbersome problem before it is too late. The first and most significant point is the political will of a nation. The leaders have to come out of their pet peeves and work in the larger interest of the nation. Long-term policies and motivational rewards can do a lot of good.
Education, awareness and empowerment of women can play the best role in this exercise of population control. In the modern world and democratic setup, such a target cannot be accomplished by force and aggression. People should be educated right from school days and a motivational force guided by well-tailored scheme can be introduced to yield a long-term result. Both boys and girls should attend seminars, workshops, and motivational discourses on a regular basis. All this should be delivered to them in a natural and well-planned basis as a part of their curriculum. Such programmes should be supported and guided by both government and non-government institutions and NGOs. Both boys and girls should be informed about different ways of family planning and healthy lifestyles. Mass media campaigns, Power Point Presentations and distribution of free contraceptives with the support of community service programs can be pretty helpful.
Government incentives and disincentives should be introduced, like additional increments, tax rebates, and grace points in promotional schemes. Subsidy in travel, health services and education fees are some of the possible ways in this direction.
Population control is essential to maintain peace and tranquility in the world. We cannot have peace in the world if two-thirds are hungry and one-third are affluent. This is also true for any nation or community. The world can enjoy amenity and harmony if the distribution of natural resources and wealth is within justifiable limits. Population explosion has resulted in numerous environmental issues jeopardising the very existence of this universe and humanity.
Now we come to the problem of population control in India. We all know that India is the most populous nation in the world, and our present population is approximately 1.46 billion. It is one-sixth of the entire human population, whereas we have only 2.4 percent land. Today the population of India is the biggest challenge, as it is the root cause of most of the problems of the nation. But it is a big challenge to solve this problem in our nation because our society is custom-ridden, fatalist, and multi-religious, and a good percentage of people are illiterate.
Since Independence different political parties that came to power introduced many policies and rules to counter this menace. The government decided girls’ marriage age is 18 years and boys’ 21 years. Sincere efforts were made to stop child marriages, and the family planning programme was renamed as Family Welfare Programme. Voluntary sterilisation has been encouraged; various benefits have been offered to the government employees who voluntarily practice family planning. The mortality rate has gone down drastically as the medical sciences have progressed. This has reduced infant mortality and enhanced average male age to 70.03 and female, 73.60 years.
All the above-mentioned efforts have yielded good results, but it is still a long way to achieve. With an ever-rising population, unemployment, poverty, unequal distribution of resources, price rice of every day commodities, limited medical services, lack of sanitation and beggary are developing frustration and unrest in the society. It is a well-known fact that in a democracy the government finds it really difficult to take strong and drastic action to curb such a problem. Nothing much can be done overnight. People have different notions and they don’t want to change. Education, persuasion and encouragement work slowly.
The growth rate has come down to a considerable limit. We hope to achieve the target of a zero-growth rate by 2045. India is striving to become a developed nation by 2047. The role of population control policies is vital in making this dream a reality. It is also true that no government can achieve this mammoth task without the cooperation of common people in the nation.
“Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, but it disappears. It doesn’t matter if someone dies.” – Isaac Asimov
“Isn’t it sad that you can tell people that the ozone layer is being depleted, the forests are being cut down, the deserts are advancing steadily, that the greenhouse effect will raise the sea level 200 feet, that overpopulation is choking us, that pollution is killing us, that nuclear war may destroy us – and they yawn and settle back for a comfortable nap. But tell them that the Martians are landing, and they scream and run”. – Isaac Asimov
(Dr AK Srivastava is retired Principal of DAV Inter College, Dehradun.)
