Where Is The Data To Support The Allegation?
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-06-13 04:46:36
About the Author
Newly appointed Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma chose to ignore facts and joined those who spread misinformation about the Muslim community when he alleged that they have too many children. Sarma asked the Muslims in Assam to adopt proper family planning methods to stop population explosion in their community. But though it sounded good to the constituency he caters to, this charge is not backed by data.
Yes at one time the Muslim population in Assam was expanding at the rate of 3.64 percent every year. But that was way back in 2005-06, as verified by the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) that year. Since then, it has dropped to 2.4 percent in the NFHS conducted in 2019-20, which is very close to the overall fertility rate of 1.9 percent in Assam. The fertility rates between 2005-06 and 2019-20 show that while the Hindu rate dropped from 1.95% to 1.6% while that of the Muslims dropped from 3.64% to 2.4%.
Muslim males are regularly charged with marrying four times and giving birth to numerous children. The first charge is not supported by the fact that India has only 940 females per 1000 males as per the 2011 Census. If one Muslim man was to marry four times, is it not true that more than three others will not find women to marry? So how will they marry even once, let alone four times? As for having too any children, Census data or NFHS data does not support the theory of an unnatural or exponential growth of Muslim population. These are age-old myths that are being perpetuated by vested interests to indulge in Muslim-bashing.
Education and economic compulsions, along with the fact that the joint family system has given way to nuclear families, have ensured that couples, including Muslim couples, plan their family to provide good upbringing to their children. It is wrong to keep on alleging that Muslims are contributing to population explosion when facts do not prove so.
