Go ahead and multiply.

The title of this post can be found at more than one place in The Bible. Over the years,
this exhortation has lost its relevance because today we are in a different age and the
above maxim can prove suicidal, if followed.

The Earth can support only so many people and resources being finite, this could have
a huge impact on the planet and the people on it. No wonder, even the Christian leaders
do not ask their following to toe this line as they are aware of the negative fallouts. Even
when they are against contraceptive methods like condoms / pills etc, they do not suggest
unlimited procreation. Instead they suggest methods like abstinence which I know are not
really very helpful.

I personally do not think the Bible is against condoms and believe that condoms are the
best bet to control the burgeoning population and also to control the spread of AIDs.
However, I am digressing from the topic.

This post is a reply to the call by Mr.Sudarshan (top RSS leader) to Hindus to go ahead
and have a minimum of 3 kids. Ofcourse he would be happy if they have more.

Reason behind this twisted logic is to overcome what he feels is the high rate of growth of
Muslims, which was made infamous by the 'butcher of Gujarat' by the line "Hum Paanch, hamare pachees", which translates to "We Five, Ours TwentyFive". This refers to a muslim
man & his 4 wives (the max they are allowed) and their kids. Other than illiterate Muslims,
I am not sure how many of them have more than 1 wife. The Muslims I know, do not, in
any case.

As mentioned earlier on this blog, there is no way any of the minority communities (all of
which total up to a mere 15%) can be a threat to the 85% majority. But then logic is useless
to politicians and fundamentalists who find it better to serve up absurdities to the majority public who are illiterate and will swallow whatever they say.

The main obstacle today to India's development is its high population. The reason why
infrastructure fails to keep with the demand, the reason for illiteracy, the reason behind
hunger etc. And here we have a leader exhorting his cadres to go ahead and spawn more.

When will our leaders ever start talking sense ? When will they rise above the petty hatred
and think of the national well being. As far as I can see, not in the near future.

So, what can be done about this situation ? Is there nothing we can do as Indian citizens ?
Yes, there is a lot that can be done. To start with, we could stop talking about change and
instead be instrumental in bringing it about. The following maxim sums it up well,
"Be the change you want to see in the world."

Let us not rely on our so-called leaders to lead the way to a better India. Let us instead
think of contributing our efforts to making this happen.

Jai Hind.