Will create imbalance: Vishwa Hindu Parishad objects to UP's proposed 1-child policy

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has written a letter to the Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission, seeking removal of the one-child norm from the draft of its Population Control Bill.

In a two-page letter, the VHP said that it agreed with the objects of the draft Bill but certain sections need to be reconsidered as they go 'beyond the said objectives'.

The organisation said the one-child policy norm in the draft proposal is likely to lead to furthering of the imbalance between different communities and contraction of the population as well.

"The preamble of the Bill states that this is a Bill, inter alia, to stabilise the population and promote the two-child norm. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad agrees with both objectives. However, sections 5, 6(2) and 7 of the Bill, which incentivise public servants and others to have only one child in the family, go well beyond the said objects," VHP working president Alok Kumar said in the letter to the state Law Commission.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has also urged the Uttar Pradesh government to remove the one-child norm from the draft of its Population Control Bill, saying it will lead to an imbalance in society.

The Yogi Adityanath-led government had recently put up a draft of its population control Bill on the website of the Uttar Pradesh Law Commission inviting suggestions from the public till July 19.

Also read: Yogi Adityanath unveils population-control policy for UP

The VHP further sought attention towards Total Fertility Rate (TFR) mentioned in the document, saying the Bill has an objective to bring it to 1.7.

A policy aiming at an average of less than 2 children per woman leads to contraction of the population over time, which has several negative social and economic consequences, the VHP letter said.

In a contracting population, the ratio between the working-age and dependent population gets disrupted, said the VHP and added that "in extreme cases, the one-child policy would lead to a situation where there is only one working-age adult to look after 2 parents and 4 grandparents".

It further cited the example of China's one-child policy and said it was never applied to more than half of the prospective parents and was withdrawn later.

It said that the one-child norm would create an imbalance between different communities because they are known to respond differently to the incentives and disincentives related to family planning.

The letter said that the policy needs to be tailored to redress the imbalance otherwise the one-child policy may end up doing the opposite.

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