Easy essay on population problem in english from
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—–Jawahar Lal Nehru
Over-Population is one of the numerous problems facing India. It is a burning question of the day. It has been engaging the attention of the public and the press for a pretty long time. Much has been said and written about this problem of ever increasing numbers. During the last century, Malthus, a well-known economist; had stated in his famous essay on population that population increased at a much faster rate than food supply. Malthus seems to be quite true if we look at the conditions prevailing in our country to- day.
India occupies only 2.4 percent of the total land area of the world but the population of the country is 16 percent of the total global population. According to the 1991 census, the population of India had crossed the 882 million mark. What is more, it is still increasing at an alarming rate. It is rising at the rate of about one million heads every month. According to 2001 Census, the population of India crossed the 1000 million mark. This crossing of the billion mark has shaken the government and the people of India to the bones. Since 1947, the population of India has increased by 360 millions. This means we have added an entire population of the erstwhile USSR. Every year, the increase in India’s Population equals the population of Australia. The situation is just staggering. The production of food cannot keep pace with the alarming increase in numbers.
The causes of this problem are not very far to seek. Ours is a hot country. So we have a high birth rate. The boys and girls of our country grow and mature sexually at an early age. Early marriages are common even today, especially in the rural areas. Moreover, the birth of a baby is supposed to be the work of God. Illiteracy and ignorance are still rampant Bog families still carry prestige with them. So the birth rate is quite high. On the other hand, medical facilities have increased a lot since independence. It has led to decrease in the death-rate. The population is, therefore, increasing at a terrific speed. Last but not the least, there is a lack of the means of recreation for the masses. This and many other social factors are at work. They account for this serious problem facing the country.
The problem of ever increasing numbers must be solved on a top priority basis. Unless it is solved our Five Year Plans cannot raise our standard of living. No plan for employment can succeed in its absence. The food problem will remain as it is. So, for the future prosperity of the nation, every effort must be made to solve it.
A planned population control programme should be launched to check this phenomenal growth in population in our country. The first step, of course is the education of the people. Their whole mental outlook must be changed. They have to realize that it is a sin to have a large family. Besides this, an improvement in the economic condition of the people will also bring down the birth rate. Family planning schemes should be made popular. Attractive incentives should be given to those couples who come forward to plan their families. Those who refuse to all in line should be suitably penalized and discouraged. Medicines, operations and other devices, that help in checking the birth-rate should be made available to all. They should not be limited to cities only. They must reach the rural India.
With the crossing of the billion mark, the planners in the Government of India have once again started thinking of steps that can be taken of control population in the country. A suggestion has been made that the country should declare a two-year baby holiday. It has also been suggested that the one-child family norm should be adopted for with. Punitive measures are also being thought of to curb this population explosion. No hard decisions have so far been taken.
To sum up, population control is a crying need of the hour. It is a problem that concerns each citizen of our country. If we do not plan our families, we might perish one day.
Over-population has been major problem in India. The efforts to remove the curse of population problem have only been partially effective. In consequence the rate of population increase has gone down, but the balance between the optimum population growth and a healthy nation is far to be achieved.
Ignorance, illiteracy, unhygienic living and lack of proper recreation have remained the caused of population problem in India.
Both men and women should realize the dangers of over-population. If we make a random survey we shall find that still there are women as well as men who are not able to grasp why they should have less children. The television instructs through advertisements and tableaus about the merit of a small, manageable family. But still there are families that suffer from die-hard superstition. They consider adoption as an unholy activity. Again the backward tradition of professional ancestry is also firmly rooted in a large cross-section of our Indian society. A blacksmith, a carpenter, a mason or a tailor promptly trains his children to pick up the trade of their father. Naturally, they have a psychological make-up that the more sons they have the more they can employ. Thus a laborer produces more as that mean more income.
People, themselves must realize the merits of a small family. They should be encouraged to adopt preventive checks – checks that control the birth rate.
Another factor that encourages the growth-rate is religion. Some communities consider any mandate or statutory method of prohibition to be sacrilegious. India being a secular state, she cannot exercise any check or restraint on religious grounds.
Another great factor that contributes to the population growth is the cursed voting system. It is based on number. On the other hand the voting pattern, especially in northern India, is based on caste. Naturally, the caste that outstrips the other castes in sheer number of votes enjoys a comparatively higher leverage in the domain of powers.
Early marriages not only leads to high-population and thwart the progress of our young population, they entail an enormous amount of trouble to young mothers. These young girls, in most cases, are not healthy enough to bear the burden of childbearing.
The importance of a higher standard of living should be inculcated in the mind of the mass of the people. The desire for better living conditions automatically works as a deterrent to heavy increases in population. It restricts the population explosion and thus tends to keep high the efficiency of our existing population.
Education at the grass root, more equitable distribution of the natural wealth, restrictions on religious fanatics that would damage the country’s economy by unnecessary births, and lastly, weight age to voting not by number but by some other method – these alone can bring about a kind of effective control over the population problem.