History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s2.69.2

v7.c96.s2.69.2

The Planning Commission has now realized the gravity of the problem of the enormous growth of Indian population, has provided 50 crores of rupees in the Third Plan for the various schemes of population control (vide pp 676 ff of Third Five Year Plan). In the whole world about 100 people are born every minute, about 6000 persons every hour, about 140,000 every day and about five crores every year. This problem of the phenomenal growth of population overshadows in urgency and importance almost every problem of the contemporary world, much more so of India. Very little is being done to control systematically the terrific growth of numbers. Sweden in the early 19th century was a poverty-stricken country, but now it is one of the progressive and prosperous countries of the world owing to hard work, co-operation, honesty, social and personal discipline. Birth control is a very difficult and delicate problem. Religious beliefs and prejudices have to be taken into consideration. In Ṛgvedic times the prayer to God Indra for a newly married bride had been 'O bountiful Indra! may ten sons be born of her and make her husband the eleventh (member of the family).' Later on some kindly soul took compassion on women and made the blessing to be ‘of eight sons’. The Mahābhārata said that a sonless man does not reach blessed worlds (heaven &c).