RSS chief’s population imbalance remark aimed at creating communal animosity: Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday, October 6 hit back at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's community-based population imbalance remark, alleging that it was a "false propaganda" aimed at "unleashing communal animosity" in the country. In a statement issued by his office, Pinarayi alleged that the RSS chief's Vijayadashami Day speech was not based on any facts or figures; instead it was a "lie" aimed at the gains during the upcoming elections.

Bhagwat, on Wednesday, had said that the nation should frame a well thought-out, comprehensive population control policy applicable to all social groups equally and flagged the issue of demographic "imbalance" as he also asserted there was no danger to minorities. He had also said that community-based "population imbalance" is an important subject and should not be ignored.

Reacting to his speech, Pinarayi alleged that it was only a reiteration of the ages-old lie of the Sangh Parivar that Hindus would become a minority in the near future, said the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) statement. The Chief Minister, in the statement issued by the CMO, said the population growth was measured in terms of 'total fertility rate' (TFR) which, according to the Union Health Ministry's National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of 2019-21, has been decreasing more in the Muslim community as compared to other religions.

Citing figures in support of his claim, Pinarayi said that TFR of Hindu and Muslim communities were 1.9 and 2.3 respectively, according to NFHS 2019-21 and in 2015-16, the TFR of Muslims was 2.6 and in 1992-93 it was 4.4. Therefore, there was decrease of 46.5 per cent in the TFR of Muslim community since then, while that of Hindus decreased only by 41.2 per cent, he claimed in the statement. He also claimed that according to the census figures, there has been a decline in Hindu population growth by 3.1 per cent, while at the same time there was a decline of 4.7 per cent in the growth of Muslim population.

According to a report in The Wire, the National Family Health Survey (2019-21) states that the difference between Hindu (1.94 children per woman) and Muslim (2.36 children per woman) fertility is only 0.42 children per woman. This is as compared to the situation in 1992 when Muslim women were estimated to have an average of 1.1 more children than Hindu women.

“The actual picture emerges with much more clarity when we take into account the ‘trend’ rather than ‘point estimates’. In the last two decades, it has been found that Hindu fertility has dropped by 30% against 35% in Muslims. In fact, the rate of decline in population growth in Muslims has been greater than that in Hindus in the last 20 years. This establishes that Hindu-Muslim fertility rates are on track to absolute convergence, presumably by 2030,” the report states. 

It is when such figures are available in public that RSS spreads communalism by saying false things, he alleged in the statement. Pinarayi further said the secular society needs to recognise such dangerous moves of promoting hate politics for electoral gains.