UP’s Draft Population Bill Legally Violates Privacy & Socially Alienates Muslims – By Ishika Garg
In yet another ill-thought out and immature move, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has churned out the draft Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021…. The multi-layered issues in this Bill require urgent attention. First, there is the obvious argument that coercive population control measures are probably not effective, especially in the Indian context. Second, the Bill will disproportionately affect Muslim families in Uttar Pradesh, effectively lowering their social, economic and political status.
In the past decade or so, there have been growing calls for the implementation of coercive population control policies in India’s most populated state. However, the one crucial thing these demands lack, is concrete evidence.
To further lower the strength of their calls, the review of these policy measures enforcing a two-child or one-child norm, shows no proof of effectiveness, and on the contrary, bring out adverse outcomes. Thus, it becomes important to analyse this new draft Bill from a more fact-driven lens and pay due attention to its possible negative consequences….
