- Falling fertility rates pose demographic risks.
- Bhagwat calls for population -controlled, yet sufficient ‘balance.
- RSS leader encourages Muslims to overcome fear, build mutual trust.
New Delhi: The leader of India’s powerful Hindu nationalist Rashtriya SWAYAMSEVAK SANDH (RSS) said Indian families should have three children each warning of the long -term risks of the current tendency to falling birth rates.
At 1.46 billion, India is the world’s most populous nation, but total fertility has fallen to less than two children per year.
Mohan Bhagwat, head of RSS, who is the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party, said the population must remain “controlled, yet sufficient”.
When he spoke in a lecture to mark the 100 years of the founding of RSS on Thursday, Bhagwat suggested that “in the national interest should have three children and limit themselves to it”.
His call for larger families reflects anxiety among nationalist leaders and some regional politicians about long -term demographic stability, national capacity and cultural identity.
For years, Hardline Hindu groups have pointed to higher birth rates among minority groups such as Muslims as cause for concern, although data shows that Indian Muslims also have fewer children than before.
Bhagwat also said that birth rates fell over religious groups.
While the RSS officially describes itself as a cultural organization that promotes Hindu values, the enormous influence is exerting through its huge network of affiliated companies and millions of grassroots -free -volunteer.
Many of Modi’s senior ministers, including the Prime Minister himself, are long -term members of RSS.
Analysts say that BJP’s political priorities – from cultural and educational reform to citizenship legislation – often repeat positions that are advanced by RSS, making the organization one of the most powerful civil society groups in the world.
Bhagwat rejected criticism that RSS was against Muslims – who make up about 14% of India’s population – and other minorities who said the organization considered them all as Indians.
“Our ancestors and culture are the same. Worship practices may vary, but our identity is a. Change of religion does not change one’s society,” he said.
“Mutual trust must be built on all sides. Muslims must overcome fear that joining the hands with others will erase their religion.”
