The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India

The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India

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  • Create Date：2021-04-06 16:51:11
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：S.Y. Quraishi
  • ISBN：9390351545
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Summary

The Population Myth reveals how the right-wing spin to population data has given rise to myths about the 'Muslim rate of growth'， often used to stoke majoritarian fears of a demographic skew。 The author， S。Y。 Quraishi， uses facts to demolish these， and demonstrates how a planned population is in the interest of all communities。

The book delves into the Quran and the Hadith to show how Islam might have been one of the first religions in the world to actually advocate smaller families， which is why several Islamic nations today have population policies in place。 This busts the other myth - that Muslims shun family planning on religious grounds。

Based on impeccable research， this is an important book from a credible voice about the politicization of demographics in India today。

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Reviews

Varunkumar ，

This book presents excellent fact-based analysis， breaking several myths regarding how population is growing in various religious groups in India。 If idea of book has to be summarised it can be said that purported population explosion cannot happen even among muslims because skewed sex ratio which restricts number of pregnancies despite polygamy。 Furthermore， TFR gap between Hindus and Muslims too is closing， thereby mitigating fears of their population overshooting those of Hindus。 This has als This book presents excellent fact-based analysis， breaking several myths regarding how population is growing in various religious groups in India。 If idea of book has to be summarised it can be said that purported population explosion cannot happen even among muslims because skewed sex ratio which restricts number of pregnancies despite polygamy。 Furthermore， TFR gap between Hindus and Muslims too is closing， thereby mitigating fears of their population overshooting those of Hindus。 This has also been proved through mathematical modeling explained in Appendix 1 of the book。 While there are several opinions author has expressed in the book which one can disagree with， the facts mentioned speak for themselves。 It has been an eye opener， even though I don't think that the author has fully analysed tenets of Islam as they are practised rather than what is prescribed in religious texts。 。。。more

Md Akhlaq ，

With the emancipation of the Census 2011 data on religion and deceiving reports in the media， the growth of the Muslim population has become the focus of the debate。 In 2004， a similar but sharper controversy had erupted when the government released the Census 2001 data on religion。There were strong but misguided media debates on the differentials in population growth by religion about Census 2001。 The debate was so intense， and often so malicious， that the Union government established a committ With the emancipation of the Census 2011 data on religion and deceiving reports in the media， the growth of the Muslim population has become the focus of the debate。 In 2004， a similar but sharper controversy had erupted when the government released the Census 2001 data on religion。There were strong but misguided media debates on the differentials in population growth by religion about Census 2001。 The debate was so intense， and often so malicious， that the Union government established a committee to find out the “social， economic and educational status of the Muslims”; it published a report， popularly known as the Sachar report， which has dispelled misconceptions about Muslim population growth， as well as the status of social， economic and educational conditions according to major socio-religious categories。 Now， over a decade later， it is appropriate to ask what has changed that pertains to the Muslims of India。The Population Myth is written by former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi which evaluates India's demographics from a religious viewpoint and bust out the myths and fallacies that had been made against the 'Muslim rate of growth。'This book delves into the Quran and the Hadith to demonstrate how Islam might have been one of the first religions in the world to endorse smaller families， which is why several Islamic nations today have population policies in place。This book encapsulates two major arguments。 The first is the common preconceptions about the Muslim community that are frequently communicated and used for political polarisation agendas e。g。 that Islam encourages polygamy， which leads to a spurt in population growth。 The reality is that Islam permits polygamy and giving them subject to two conditions: marrying orphans and giving them orphans two equal treatment。 Even this permission has to be understood in the historical context。 It is mentioned only in the context of the treatment of the orphans。This is also accompanied by the implicit recognition in the Quran that no man will be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is his ardent desire to do so。 Similarly， the belief that Islam encourages large families is also misplaced。 According to Quraishi， there is “no text prohibiting birth control in the Quran”。It is generally believed that under Muslim law a husband has the unfettered right to marry again， even with his earlier marriage subsisting。 On close examination of the relevant provisions of the Quran and the other sources of Islamic law， this does not seem to be the truth。 The rule of Muslim law conditionally permitting bigamy in fact visualized two or more women happily living with a common husband。 Taking a second wife after forsaking or deserting the first was not Islam's concept of bigamy。 Bigamy with no restrictions or discipline whatsoever was rampant in the society Where islam made its first appearance， and also in many other societies across the globe。 The Holy Quran put restrictions on it。 To this Quranic reform， tne Prophet added a highly deterrent warning: A bigamist unable to treat his wives equally will be torn In India， bigamy is not very common among Muslims。 In tact， great disfavour。 A bigamist is looked down ， looks upon as an outsider im apart on the Day of Judgement。' the Muslim society of India， in general， looks at polygamy with my with an outsider in his family。The other major argument is the social and economic deprivations of Muslims， rather than religious or ideological factors， which account for the community having adopted contraceptive practices at a delayed and slower pace to that of Hindus。 So while it is true that the population of Hindus has come down in seven decades in direct proportion to the increase in the minority population （4。3 percentage points and 4， respectively）， it is also true that this trend is changing。 If the growth rate of the Hindu population slowed down from 19。2 per cent to 16。76 in the decade 2001-2011， the slowing down of the Muslim population has been more pronounced — from 29。42 per cent to 14。6。 In other words， the Muslim population is on the same trajectory of gradual decline as the Hindu population。 This should be read along with the National Family Health Survey data from 1992-93 to 2015-16， which indicates that the pace of adapting to contraceptive behaviour has been faster among Muslims than Hindus。This is truly an eye-opener book to understand the complicated courtship between population dynamics and fertility in religious and political viewpoints。 Also important for a better understanding of public health administration， health policies not only of India but of other relevant counties also。This book ends up answering the question。 Will Muslim population overtake Hindus？ With the help of two mathematical models - the polynomial growth model and exponential growth model （ prepared by professor Dinesh Singh， former vice chancellor Delhi University and professor Ajay Kumar， K R mangalam University， Gurgram）- that are fitted into the population data。 It indicates conclusively that the Muslim population in India will never surpass the Hindu population。 。。。more

Reference

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