Population Explosion - The Biggest Fear Today

The world’s seventh nation in terms of area is likely to become it's first one in terms of population.

We are already the second most populous country in the world. As per census 2011, the total
number of people dwelling in India was 1,210,193,422. The population density was 382 persons per
square kilometre. In one decade India added 181.5 million to its population.

The growing population levels have given rise to a new set of woes. The rural people are migrating to

cities in search of jobs. Thus the cities have become more congested, inhospitable and materialistic.

The environmental resources of these cities are under threat of extinction, though we may find a
veneer of economic progress above this lurking danger.
The major cause of this population explosion is the widening gap between the birth and death rate
due to increased medical facilities. Another social cause in India that contributes to the growth of

population in India is the low age of marriage. Early marriages should be discouraged at any cost
which can be only done through education and spreading social awareness through various means
as television and the cinema to the illiterate masses. This brings us to another related problem that

of high illiteracy rate. Due to illiteracy measures like family planning get defeated. Education makes

people broad-minded, liberal, open to new ideas and logical. It helps to keep away orthodoxy and
superstitious thinking. It is evident from the fact that Kerela which has an overall literacy rate of

93.31, has the lowest birth rate while Rajasthan with a low female literacy rate of about 52.66% has

one of the highest birth rates.

IMAGE SOURCE : INTERNET
The uncontrollable and unplanned growth of population affects the living standard of the people.
Our spectacular progress made in agriculture and industry has been minimized by population
explosion. The mushrooming cities have led to a breakdown of transportation facilities, electricity,

housing facilities and employment opportunities. The nation is on road to prepare an army of
unemployed, angry, violent and desperate people and who will threaten every social and economic
foundation of the country.

In 1993, the Swaminathan Committee was appointed for purposing a national policy on population,
which submitted its report in 1994. In fact, India was the first country to run a family planning
programme in the 1950s at a time when the world was not even aware of the impending
programme. Just hampering upon the cause is not any permanent solution to this grievous problem
but our government and we should work together to tackle this problem. We can study the model of
China as of how China has been successful in reducing the birth rate from 5.82 too 2.5.
The road is long and sturdy for India but it is not an impossible destination to arrive at. The
government has to adopt strict measures like 2 child policy, spread education and awareness among
women etc. Population explosion is the root cause of all the problems of the society and it should be

eradicated as soon as possible.