“Population control should be delinked from politics”

Khevna.P.Shah, INN/Bangalore

@Shahkhevna1, @Infodeaofficial

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called for delinking the population control issue from politics and adopting a realistic solution with emphasis on education, health, ending child marriage, and financial inclusion to solve the problem among the Muslims of the state. The problem is more pronounced in Muslim majority districts, he said.

Unlike health, population control shouldn’t be involved in the political play. Instead of coming up with laws for population control, the government can come up with other realistic solutions like education, ending child marriage, and educating girls regarding birth control.

It has been accepted by all members of the assembly that population increase among the minority community of Lower and Central Assam is a matter of concern, Sarma claimed during a discussion in the House initiated by opposition Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed on various issues related to the Muslims living off the ‘Char-Chaporis’ (sand bar areas). Opposition members who participated in the discussion said that using the issue politically would not solve the problem but asserted that there should not be a population control policy for the Muslim community alone.

According to the 2011 Census, Muslims comprise about  34.22 percent of Assam’s total population of 3.12 crore and they are in majority in several districts. To bring down the population growth rate among the Muslims particularly those settled in the ‘Char-Chaporis’, Ahmed proposed establishing educational institutes, stopping child marriages, improving health and communication services, providing jobs in government and private sectors based on population representation, and facilitating easy availability of birth control measures among women.

The chief minister said that his government has no objection to the proposals, except those related to providing jobs as this has to be based on merit and not population representation.

I am glad that this proposal has come from a Congress MLA. If it had come from me, people would have said I am doing politics. I thank the opposition member for initiating the discussion as our population policy is not anti-Muslim but anti-poverty,” said Sarma. The government has already planned to appoint 10,000 ASHA workers to distribute contraceptives among Muslim women and set up a population army of 1,000 youths to create awareness among the members of the community, Sarma further added.

The government is also deliberating on increasing the marriageable age of girls to check child marriages while it has initiated measures for expansion of educational institutions for girls and measures would be taken for improving health facilities, communication network and increased financial inclusion of women, he said.

According to the census data of 2011, the population growth among the Muslims in the state has declined to 29 percent from 34 percent earlier while that among the Hindus has come down to 10 percent from 19 percent. Sarma said that with the decline in population growth of the Hindus in the state, there has been an improvement in their lifestyle and education level but,  with a 29 percent growth rate, the Muslim community is currently in a state of crisis.

 “In recent times, we have seen that due to lack of living space, many people move to vacant lands, mostly in forest areas, out of compulsion and consequently come into conflict with the law. Migration to Kerala has also increased within the community and women are lured and forced into the flesh trade”, Sarma added.

“There is social tension within the community in Lower and Central Assam but we cannot blame the poor. If the growth rate decreases by another five to six percent, there will be no problem,” he said. On Ahmed’s allegation that Bengali-speaking minority community members were not invited to the recent discussions that the Chief Minister held with members of indigenous Muslims, Sarma said that religion is the only factor common between them but they are different so far as their linguistic and cultural traditions are concerned.

We have decided to meet both the groups separately and we will hold discussions soon with the intellectuals and socially conscious people, not political persons, of the Muslim-dominated districts,” he said. He proposed that a seven-day study tour of the MLAs of Upper Assam to Lower and Central Assam and those from the latter areas to the former should be organized so that they understand the problems of each other.

“There should be a strict law for population control but it should not be for Muslims only,” Sikdar said. AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam said the issue should not be used as a political weapon to target a particular community as it will demoralize people and the problem of underdevelopment will continue.