The Indian state of Assam is looking to introduce a two-child limit to control its population, denying government jobs to anyone with more than two children. But critics accuse the government of targeting Muslims, a community perceived to have large families, and the poor, where education levels are low with poor family planning.
Assam, the 15th most populated state out of 36 states and union territories in India with a population of 30.94 million. It is run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won elections in April this year.
As a poll promise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP said it would curb the population growth of people it called “Bangladeshi settlers” or Muslims who migrated from that country. People in Assam are fearful that illegal immigration from Bangladesh is rising and changing the cultural profile of the state.
The draft policy aims to curb the state’s 17 per cent annual population growth by denying government jobs to anyone with more than two children. Those already in government jobs, which in India are sought after, will lose their jobs if they have a third child. The draft also suggests that anyone with more than 2 children would not be able to stand for elections for village and municipal bodies.
The BJP has denied it is targeting a certain group and has said the proposal is simply aimed at curbing population. BJP spokesman Siddhartha Bhattacharya said that “there is no distinction aimed at one particular community of group,” and that “once the number of children are more, the father doesn’t think of sending them to school. So they remain poor and uneducated and unskilled.”
Social activists say there is no evidence that the two-child norm really worked. Ms Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the Population Foundation of India wrote to the Assam government to drop the two-child plans with her claim that investment in family planning and education for women, fertility will drop and this has worked in Kerala, a state.
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Source: The Straits Times, 19 June 2017