New Delhi, Oct. 29: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is expected to flag the issue of population tilt - allegedly away from the Hindus - at a high-level meeting that begins in Ranchi tomorrow.
The RSS's Akhil Bharatiya Karyakarani Mandal (All India Executive Council) is gathering in the Jharkhand capital for three days for the annual meeting. This time, the alleged imbalance in the Hindu population and the "increase" in that of Muslims is likely to dominate the deliberations and yield in a resolution, demanding a national population policy, which the RSS hopes will "restore parity" in the religious demographic count.
The issue was pegged on the Census 2011 data on population by religious communities released in August this year by the registrar-general and census commissioner.
The data claimed that the proportion of Hindu population to total population declined by 0.7 percentage point, that of Sikhs by 0.2 percentage points and of Buddhists by 0.1 percentage points during 2001-11. It said the proportion of Muslim population to total population rose by 0.8 percentage points while there was no significant change in that of Christians and Jains.
Stating that the population growth rate in the same decade was 17. 7 per cent, the data put the growth rate of Hindus at 16.8 per cent, of Muslims at 24.6 per cent, of Christians at 15.5 per cent, Sikhs at 8.4 per cent, Buddhists at 6.1 per cent and Jains at 5.4 per cent.
Sangh spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya told The Telegraph, "Yes, we are concerned with such findings. Society and the government should be equally worried by this imbalance. That is why it is a focus area for our meeting."
However, political observers have not missed the larger political implications of a potentially inflammable issue.
Ranchi is next door to Bihar. The RSS's resolution, the Bihar opposition fears, will be exploited by the BJP in its campaign for the remaining two phases of the Assembly elections in that state to try and stoke fears in Hindus about their supposed shrinking numbers in proportion to a purported rise in those of the Muslims.
Already, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ratcheted the communal pitch by raking up the matter of religion-based reservations in one of his speeches while today, BJP president Amit Shah, addressing a rally, warned that a victory for the Lalu Prasad-Nitish Kumar combine would trigger celebrations in Pakistan.
The census data had already been decoded by the Sangh to suit its agenda.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad was the first off the flock. Back in August, its general secretary Surendra Jain had told the press, "Muslims are increasing their population as a mission. We must curb this mentality."
The RSS's English weekly, Organiser, picked up the cue. An editorial in an edition, published shortly thereafter, wondered, "Is this growth about the growing size of Muslim families? Is it a larger conspiracy to Islamise Bharat? Bharat is expected to have 311 million Muslims by 2050, which is 11 per cent of the global total. This will make India home to the largest Muslim population in the world."
RSS "sarsanghachalak" Mohanrao Bhagwat disseminated the official line in his Vijaya Dashami speech delivered in Nagpur on October 22.
Bhagwat said, "we need to seriously ponder our population policy", and added that the discussions must centre around the question of whether population was a "boon or a bane" and if India's resources and systems were adequate to cope with the projected rise.
Finally, Bhagwat brought up the issue of the census "imbalances".
"Facts and figures of the last two census reports and the imbalances have come to notice as a result of being widely discussed. Our present and future is getting impacted by the same," he warned and urged for the need to "rise above vote bank politics" and "formulate a holistic approach, equally applicable to all citizens, towards the population policy".
The only sweetener the RSS chief offered was such a policy cannot be enforced by the state, but must be brought after "tuning society's psyche to the same".
