NEW DELHI, Nov 28: A leading Hindu hardliner has angered women and Muslims by pressing Hindus to have as many children as they can to avoid being swamped by Muslims. K.S. Sudarshan, who heads the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party which led India until last year, said a higher Hindu birth rate was vital to check a ‘population imbalance’.

“Whenever new people come to me for blessings, I tell them: ‘Not less than three (children)’. The more you can, the better,” he said at a function broadcast on television recently.

Women’s groups said they were insulted and one group labelled Mr Sudarshan’s stand an ‘agenda of hatred’.

“It is implied in his statement that a woman’s reproductive faculties are to be employed solely to fulfil the agenda of a Hindu nationalist state — like a reproductive machine,” said Malini Bhattacharya, a leading activist.

“As if the question of a woman’s right does not even arise — her right over her own body and health.”

The RSS holds considerable sway among the large, conservative Hindu population, especially in impoverished northern India.

It has often expressed concern about what it calls a higher growth rate among Muslims, especially in areas bordering Nepal and Bangladesh where India alleges illegal immigrants, mainly Muslims, infiltrate into the country.

More than 80 percent of Indians are Hindus, more than 13 per cent Muslims and the rest Christians, Sikhs and other minorities. The Muslim community grew almost by 30 per cent between 1991 and 2001, according to census data, while the number of Hindus rose by 20 per cent. Both growth rates are lower than a decade earlier.

But the RSS is worried at the higher growth rate among Muslims and has called for a strict implementation of population control — such as the government’s declared policy of a two-child family — for Muslims.

FEAR PSYCHOSIS: After Mr Sudarshan’s comment, the big central state of Madhya Pradesh, ruled by the BJP, said it would consider dropping a policy barring people with more than two children from contesting local council elections. It is not clear if the move was prompted by the RSS stand.

“There is a difference between the growth rate of Hindus and the Muslims,” RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said. “While all religions should flourish, we want this demographic imbalance to be checked.

“What the RSS chief was trying to say is there should be a uniform population control policy. You cannot have population control for a certain section while there are imbalances in other sections. If Hindus want to have three children, why not?

“India’s Hindu character should be maintained. If there are over 80 per cent Hindus, it should remain so.”

Population is one of the biggest challenges for India’s rapidly growing economy, where planners push for a ‘two-child’ norm. But the policy is rarely implemented strictly.

Pointing to recent riots in France, Mr Madhav said the RSS felt population imbalances were a real threat.

“Imbalances in India’s demography are worrying us,” he said. “What is happening in France today? What is the reason for it? Is it not an outcome of demographic imbalance?

“India is not realizing the threat.”

Leading Muslims said there was no threat.

“Demographic imbalance is one of the emotive issues the RSS uses to polarize Hindus and nurture (a) fear psychosis in the majority community,” Zafarul Islam Khan, editor of The Milli Gazette, a leading Muslim newspaper, said.

“Serious research ... has shown the claim that Muslims are reproducing more than other communities is false.”—Reuters