Tuesday, 12 July 2022 | Dr BKS Sanjay
GUEST COLUMN
Dr BKS Sanjay
The world population day was observed on July 11 as in past years to raise awareness on various population issues like importance of family planning, removal of poverty, improving the general health particularly maternal and child health and human rights issues. At the turn of the 18th century the world population was almost a billion but in the last just over two centuries, the population has grown to almost eight billion.
India and our neighbouring country China comprise just over a third of the world population. Currently, China is the most populous in the world but India is going to take over that spot and will be the most populous nation by the end of this year if the population in India grows at the current pace. There is need to introspect about the exponential increase and we collectively need to find a solution to the growing population issues. The major causes of population explosion are many but the main is the decreasing death rate due to technical and medical advancement, particularly in the last century. One believes that human resource is the greatest resource on the earth and health is not only an asset but a resource which must be nurtured by all. Considering this, people should be a part of the solution and not the problem but there is significant demographic difference in different countries of the world. There are the countries which have older people contrary to countries where more than half the population is aged below 35 years. The latter is seen in many South East Asian countries including India. The situation is quite alarming, as a billion people are increasing every 12 years on our planet which distributes the entire eco system among the humans and billions of other species. The ever growing population is competing for all resources of the planet which are shared by the all micro, macro and gigantic species. The human race has taken over other species by its innovative scientific technology and application of research. Whatever humans are doing is mainly for their advantage, but the indirect cost is being paid by other species and our environment which is being seen with the recent drastic climate change and increased number of natural disasters occurring all over the world very frequently nowadays. Natural disaster are not new to mankind but what is new is the frequency and seriousness of these disasters. The author believes that population is a serious and an urgent issue which should not be left to the government alone. We all should come together whether it’s non-government, social and public organisations should all come together and should find a solution together. This should be the duty of all citizens irrespective of caste, creed, religion, gender, area and country to make efforts to control the population because the ill-effect of over population is affecting each and every one of us. We are all interconnected not only with humans but all species living together on earth.
In 2011, the world reached a population of seven billion and this year the number will hit eight billion. To reduce the population surge we need solution among ourselves and no other species can contribute or control the influx of human population. There can be many means to control the population but an important one is to increase the awareness about the ill-effect of overpopulation which is the root cause of all ills. I believe that if any change is needed to change the society then we have to change the thinking process of the individual. As it is rightly said in Buddhist philosophy, our life is shaped by our minds, we become what we think. The religious, spiritual and political leaders have great control over millions of minds across the world and they have immense power to influence their followers. They can emphasise the ill-effect of overpopulation.
Overpopulation is depleting all the resources of the planet which is under so much stress which it has never been in the past. The ground water level is falling gradually in most parts of the country which is more marked in the summer season due to increased demand. Similarly because of overpopulation and pollution the quality of air is deteriorating across the country but mainly in the metros and big cities which is quite visible in the winter season in northern India as seen in the form of smog and increasing number of pulmonary diseases during that time. Food is becoming scarce. A recent report suggested that a third of the world population is not having even two meals a day. Procuring this food is becoming tug of war for many countries because of their geographical location as they are not able to produce food grains and other food items and are dependent on imports. However any geopolitical change in the exporting countries can disturb the food chain supply as seen in the past during conflicts between countries and recently during the Russia- Ukraine conflict.
It is said that Ukraine was the second largest exporter of wheat and many countries in Africa and Middle-East which were dependent on it have been badly affected. Overpopulation is one of the main causes of contamination of air, water and food which are vital for every living creature. Overpopulation is fuelling climate change and ultimately affecting not only the longevity and existence of the human being but of every creature on the planet. India is suffering a serious decline of freshwater due to over use of water for its agriculture and industrial demands.The situation is so alarming that none of the cities in the country has a continuous 24 hours safe drinking water supply. Overpopulation is leading to undue stress with increasing competition and conflict.Overpopulation in India is an urgent and important issue which should be noted by all but definitely by the policy makers. The main cause of overpopulation in India is poverty and illiteracy which are leading to ignorance of health, education and nutrition or in other words the quality of life. It is suggested that to control the population, we must have awareness about the overall deterioration in quality of life for all due to an increased need to compete with all natural resources and manmade resources among humans. This rat race which we are running needs a serious thought and we should spread this message among all stakeholders. We need to educate the underprivileged, downtrodden and ignorant population that if one is divided by more than one then quotient will be less than one. The easiest and simplest way to control the population is to give quality education and health to all, preferably free or at subsidised rate to all. If this is done the results will be long lasting.
(Padma Shri recipient Dr BKS Sanjay is a senior orthopaedic surgeon. Views expressed are personal)
