History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s2.69.1

v7.c96.s2.69.1

This table shows that the birth rate in our country is not very high or abnormal and the death rate is also similar to that of such progressive countries as France and U. K. Many Western countries have no definite population policy at Govt. level. But the case of our country is entirely different. Our country has already a huge population, most of which is on the margin of subsistence level. Supposing that by means of our two Five Year Plans the national income in the ten years (1951-1961) increased 30 percent, the growth of population in the same period would come to about 22 percent, so that most of the additional wealth produced would be eaten up by the new mouths that have to be fed and the standard of living of the average Indian would practically remain the same. Therefore, the main problem that faces the Government, the planners and the people is how to control the large growth of population. Population control will not solve all the problems of our country, but our other problems will not be solved without solving that problem. The Government of India and the Planners had no well thought policy about the control of population. Government appears to lay far more emphasis on industrialization and agricultural production than on population control. In the first Five Year Plan only 65 lakhs of rupees were allocated to the schemes of population control, in the 2nd Five Year Plan the allocation was raised to five crores.