POPULATION

India is a multi racial, multi religious and multi lingual society. Its population combines elements of six main racial groups. All the great religions of the world are found in India. The major religious communities are the Hindus, the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis.

India represents unity in spite of great diversity. The diversity of India is shown by three main facts.

Firstly, Indians belong to a number of religions which were brought into the country through political and cultural invasions.

Secondly, Indians speak as many as 1652 languages and dialects.

Lastly, before independence, India had about 500 princely states. Yet, in the interest of the nation, the states agreed to become a part of united India.

India continues to be a ‘living democracy’ even though there are so many political parties with internal differences.

India has the second highest population in the world with 35 mega cities – cities with a population of over 1 million. Mumbai is the largest city in India.

MAIN FEATURES OF INDIA’S POPULATION

Size and growth – India has the second highest population in the world. The situation is very grave and the country is under threat of population explosion. The rapid increase in the size of population is the result of an increasingly widening gap between birth rate and death rate.

Density of population – Within the country, density differs from state to state. High density in certain states and cities is due to the productivity of land, growth of industry, etc. Though high density creates many soci-economic problems, yet no direct link has been established between economic development and density of population.

Rural-Urban distribution – India is predominantly an agricultural country. Over concentration of population in the agricultural sector has created problems of disguised unemployment and landless laborers. The Indian economy has undergone a structural change in the last 40 years. Yet the urban population has increased due to growth of industries. The rapid increase in population combined with the slow growth of urbanization has resulted in a very slow decline in rural population.

State-wise distribution – Distribution of population is very uneven among the states. Uttar Pradesh has the highest population while Sikkim has the smallest population. Among the Union territories, Pondicherry has the largest population while Lakshadweep has the smallest population. Besides the unequal distribution of population, the state has also experienced different rates of population growth.

Age composition – of the population tells us the proportion of population forming the workforce and the dependency ratio – i.e. the proportion of people that require to be supported. Children in the age group of 0 to 14 and retired and old people above the age of 60 years depend on the working section of the population. People in the age group of 15 to 60 form the work force of the country though not all in this age group participate in work. Only about 40% of the population participate in productive work. A high dependency ratio means a large portion of resources is required to support the unproductive section of people. Out of the given national income a larger amount is spent on consumption, leaving behind a small proportion for investment. To reduce the proportion of unproductive consumer it is necessary to bring down the birth rate.

Sex composition – Sex ratio shows the number of females per thousand males. Sex composition influences the marriage rate and birth rate. An unfavorable female male ratio where the number of females is smaller gives rise to moral and social problems. In comparison to India, advanced countries have a favorable female male ratio. The unfavorable female male ratio in India is due to a number of reasons. Female mortality is high, girls are considered a liability, early marriages, poverty, etc., are the socio-economic factors that cause an unfavorable female-male ratio in India.

Literacy Rate – is one of the factors that determines the quality of population. A literate is one who can read and write with understanding in some languages. Even with this definition our literacy is low. Literacy is unevenly spread between sexes and regions. Statewise, Kerala has the highest literacy rate while Bihar has the lowest.

Life expectancy – The average life expectancy refers to the number of years the people of a country expect to live. It depends on the death rate and the age at the time of death. An improvement in life expectancy indicates a qualitative change in the population. A longer life expectancy provides a large labor force, increases the production of goods and services and in turn improves the standard of living.

GROWTH OF POPULATION

Growth of population can be explained with the help of the ‘theory of demographic transition’. The theory explains the relation between economic development and the changes in birth and death rates. According to this theory the growth rate of population grows through three stages.

In the first stage, both death rate and birth rate are high, keeping population growth at a low level. At this stage, the per capita income is very low.

In the second stage, the economy is in the process of development. The various socio economic changes that take place during this period affect the birth rate and death rate. 

Death rate starts falling rapidly but birth rate remains high. The gap between the two rates gets widened resulting in rapid increase in population. Due to the very fast rise in growth of population this stage is called the state of ‘population explosion’. E.g. India

In the final stage, the birth rate declines and comes down to the level of the already attained low death rate. Both birth rate and death rate become stable resulting in very slow rise of population.

India’s fast growing population is a result of a rapidly declining death rate and a high birth rate.

CAUSES OF HIGH BIRTH RATE

Poverty – It is observed that the poor have more children than the rich. For poor, children are assets. As they are not in a position to educate their children, the cost of bringing up a child is very low. The children start earning at a very young age and thus help the family economically.

Low survival rate – Mortality is high among the poor. This compels them to have more children so that some may survive. Children are a source of security to the poor in their old age as the poor do not have social security benefits

Religious beliefs – The belief that children are ‘god’s gifts’ discourage people from controlling birth. Among Hindus, it is believed that without at least one son it is not possible to get deliverance from the cycle of birth or rebirth. Religious beliefs coupled with political and social tensions discourage different communities from supporting birth control.

Social attitudes – Social customs in India make marriage compulsory. Marriage is universal and takes place at an early age. The longer reproductive age, due to early marriage, results in a larger number of births.

Illiteracy and ignorance – Literacy in India is very low. Illiterate people find it difficult to understand the various manifestations of over population. Illiteracy also leads to ignorance about birth control devices. People are deeply superstitious and it is very difficult to motivate them to have fewer children.

Ignorance of birth control devices – Not only many are ignorant about the different birth control methods, but they are beyond their reach.

CAUSES OF LOW DEATH RATE

Standard of living – Better nutrition and hygiene have reduced the number of deaths.

Medical facilities – Improvement in medical science and easy access to medical facilities have helped control death rate among infants and women. Many diseases are under control and cease to be fatal. E.g. smallpox has been eradicated.

Transport and communication – Improved transport and communicaiotn systems have brought down deaths occurring due to famine, drought and other natural calamities.  Immediate help and rescue operations save many lives.

Economic development – Economic progress brings changes in all spheres which in turn bring a qualitative change in life. Since people are eager to control death, they are quick in taking advantage of any positive change that helps them avoid death.

PROBLEMS OF OVER POPULATION

Land-Man Ratio – A large and increasing population deteriorates the land man ratio. The increasing density of population reduces the land available per person.

Capital formation – Capital scarcity is one of the obstacles to economic development. Capital accumulation depends on savings and investments. Higher rate of savings is important for promoting economic growth. In a poor country a large portion of national income is consumed leaving behind a small fraction as savings.

Unemployment and poverty – Indian economy finds it difficult to absorb the increasing number of job seekers. Disguised, seasonal and open unemployment prevail I the economy. The number of educated unemployed is increasing very fast. Lack of unemployment opportunities have increased the incidence of poverty.

Balance of payment – Low capital formation combined with the need to increase the investment to support the large population compels the country to borrow foreign capital. We need to import for investment as well as for consumption. All these factors have led to a continuously increasing external debt and also a balance of payments problem.

Increase in dependency ratio – High birth rate and declining death rate lead to an increasing number of young and more retired and old people. These depend on the working population which is not more than 40%

Socio economic Problems – Overpopulation gives rise to many socio economic problems. E.g. inter group conflicts, shortage of food, housing, unemployment, poverty, etc. Negligence of the girl child, female foeticide, etc. lead to declining sex ratio.

REMEDIAL MEASURES (Preventive and Curative)

Government measures – India is the first country in the world to have adopted an official population policy for controlling further growth in population.

Family planning as a means to population planning – The term ‘family planning’ implies deliberate planning, intended to limit the size of a family, with proper spacing of children, in such a manner that, within the available economic resources, a reasonably high standard of living can be maintained and at the same time the general economic development of the country is ensured.

The main elements in the family planning program:

Widespread education to create the necessary social background for a large family planning program

Development of training programs in medical collages and other teaching institutions

Provision of family planning services through medical and health centers

Research in birth control to discover suitable, effective and safe contraceptives.

The family planning program has been successful in Kerala, Tamilnadu and Goa

Clinical approach and Cafeteria approach to family planning

Clinical approach to family planning – in the early years, the Government of India adopted the Cliinical approach to family planning. Accordingly a number of rural family welfare planning centers were set up throughout the country. A Department of Family Planning Program was set up at the center to coordinate activities. These centers provided supplies, services and advice on family planning. The government hoped that people would take advantage of the facilities

Cafeteria approach to family planning – The fifth plan advocated Cafeteria approach consisting of group acceptance of small family ideal, personal knowledge about family planning methods and ready availability of supplies of contraceptives and other services.

To terminate unwanted pregnancies the government liberalized the law regarding abortion.

Motivation – as the clinical and cafeteria approaches did not meet with much success, the government started placing more emphasis on motivation and on changing the attitudes, norms and values of the people. Mass media such as lectures, informal talks, films, television, newspapers, journals, etc. have been used widely to spread the message of family planning. Sterilization camps were organized in rural areas. Abortion was legalized in April 1972.

Educating the young – Since about 42% of our population is under the age of 15, this group will strongly influence the demographic situation ad therefore it is important that a desire to adopt family planning as a way of life be cultivated amongst the younger generation. This can be achieved through proper education and development of right attitudes among the vast population which is yet to enter the fertility group.

Educating women – Women’s education is important for promoting family planning in India. The more educated the women, the more likely that she will have fewer children.

Difficulties in India – Despite these measures, the results have not been very satisfactory as the program has not spread evenly among the different states and districts. Some serious deficiencies are Inadequacy of the training program, Under utilization of services, Ineffective supervision, etc. Illiteracy of the masses and lack of proper communication media have proved a great hinderance to the effective implementation of family planning in India. Raising the level of education and the age of marriage is bound to have a healthy influence in restricting the size of the family.