New Delhi: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has issued an appeal to Hindus: get married at the age of 25, and have at least 2-3 children. The stated objective of the appeal, issued by means of a resolution, is to offset the decline in total fertility rate (TFR) of Hindus, which VHP argues ‘may lead to Hindus becoming a minority in India in the next 50 years’.
The RSS-affiliated organisation also sounded an alarm over ‘danger to the institution of marriage’ and an ‘increase in live-in relationships and wild lifestyles’. The resolution was passed during a three-day meeting of VHP’s central board of trustees held at the group’s camp in Sector 18 of Maha Kumbh Nagar in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, from 7-9 February.
VHP joint general secretary Dr Surendra Jain confirmed to ThePrint that a resolution to that effect was passed during the meeting, where emphasis was laid on a host of issues from freeing Hindu temples from government control to ‘population imbalance’ and rising drug addiction.
“Population imbalance is proving fatal for the existence of the Hindu society. In 1951 CE, the population of Hindus in Bharat was 84 percent which has now decreased to 78 percent. The average fertility rate of Hindus has become 1.9 which is less than the population stability rate of 2.1. The birth rate of the Muslim society remains much higher than that of the Hindus. Due to late marriage and the misconception of a bright future, the birth rate in case of Hindu couples is decreasing,” read the resolution.
It went on to add, “If this trend continues, then Hindus may become a minority in Bharat in the next 50 years. The tendency of having fewer children has become a threat not only to the existence of the Hindu society but also to the happy and secure future of the family.”
The resolution used the terms birth rate and total fertility rate interchangeably, though both are separate metrics. TFR, or average number of children born to a woman, stood at 2.0 at the time of the last National Family Health Survey (NFHS) in 2019-21—a decline from 2.2 in 2015-16. While TFR is still highest among Muslims, all religious groups including the Muslims witnessed a decline in TFR between 1992 and 2021.
This story was originally published in theprint.in. Read the full story here.
