"The Politics of Population"
By Sumit Paul, New Age
Islam
11 June
2024
A classic
example of how long-held prejudices create false narratives can be seen in the
Hindi film Humare Baarah which
further consolidates the misconception that the Muslims churn out kids and their
women are child-producing factories. Hindus derogatorily call it ' biological
terrorism.'
These oafs
must read S Y Quraishi's book, "The
Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India,"
published by Harper Collins, India. This book hit the stands in April, 2021.
With logic and data from unimpeachable sources, former chief election
commissioner S Y Qureshi’s book debunks the myth around exaggerated fears of
Indian Muslim numbers.
An
impartial analysis of Islamophobia in India would reveal that what generated it
was not Islam but a sense of political insecurity born out of exaggerated fears
of Muslim numbers. These anxieties came to the fore in the early 1900s after
the partition of Bengal, the passage of the Punjab Land Acquisition Act of 1900,
and when the Indian Councils Act of 1909 introduced separate electorates for
Muslims.
More
recently, in September 2004, the VHP working president of north Gujarat region
Chinubhai Patel expressed alarm at the 36% rise in the decadal growth rate of
Muslims recorded in the 2001 Census and said that the community was “conspiring
to convert ‘Hindu Rajya’ into a
Muslim country.” And in October 2019, BJP leader Surendra Singh warned that
Hindutva will become endangered in the next 50 years unless population control
laws are enacted in the country.
A very
flawed notion of Muslims producing children with a view to outnumbering Hindus
and establishing an Islamic rule is embedded in the psyche of even 'educated'
Hindus. Mind you, this has been ingrained for a pretty long time, much before
BJP came into power in 2014. The current dispensation only intensified it and
WhatsApp University has made it an axiom. It's a myth that must be detonated.
In fact, quite a few Hindus are aware that this is not correct but they want
the perpetuation of this myth to run down the entire Muslim community in India.
Continuation of certain myths always helps a particular section of the society
to retain its hegemony. The myth of 'Muslims and legions of offspring' is very
useful to the current government and Islamophobic Hindus.
Agreed,
there are Muslims who have battalions of children. But then, many Hindus also
have wholesale productions. Saying that Islam never cared for family planning
and methods of contraception is fallacious. Though not very effective and also
quite iffy, Al-Azl (coitus
interruptus or withdrawal method) has been in practice since the inception of
Islam. Muslims resort to other methods as well and don't always say that it's
all Allah's 'grace.'
“The
Politics of Population” succinctly exposes the bigotry of the proponents of
Hindutva who deliberately perpetuate this myth and strengthen it by encouraging
the screening of a factually incorrect film like Humare Baarah. Lastly, for the next 600 years, Muslim population stands
nowhere, “the mathematics model by Prof Ajay Kumar and Prof Dinesh Singh of
Delhi University says Muslims can never overtake Hindus…” So, Hindus needn't
worry.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in
comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed
articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including
Persian.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/politics-population-muslims/d/132486