- The political class across the universe have one phenomenon in common. To hit upon certain ideas/thoughts/policies that they firmly believe as earth-shattering or big game changers altering the very course of humanity, no less. Some of those ideas propagated are such ridiculously irrational and irrelevant utterances that it will make one cringe as to how on earth our elected representatives can even think about the same, forget about pronouncing with gusto. The Indian political class is no different either. Yes, we are aware of how our political leaders would go to any length to ensure their assiduously built vote banks are not only consolidated further but also would desperately wish to add on through populist measures/pronouncements.
PC: The Daily Guardian
- The moot point to ponder over here is why citizens sit up to notice such pearls of wisdom despite knowing some of those exhortations will fail to cut much ice with the most. One discernment can be that politicians world over think their words can change people’s life choices for the better. Needless to say, they’re always wrong. Look at some of the recent absurd exhortations emanating from seasoned politicians from South India. It is strange and amusing at the same time to notice how some politicians are asking women to have more children. Yes, you read it right. Chandrababu Naidu, the CM of Andhra Pradesh, is asking Andhraites that it is their responsibility to have more children, not for themselves but for the nation. Can you believe this?
- The Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin is asking Tamilians to rethink the small family as it is likely to decrease Tamil Nadu’s seats in Parliament. But nowhere in the world do people have children thinking of their nation or legislature or government. Do these two CMs imagine that it is political slogans that brought down the country’s total fertility rate from 4.6 in 1980 to 1.91 in 2021? No slogan, from no political dispensation, can railroad this into existence. India’s experience with heavy-handed government interventions shows how counterproductive they can be, while China’s shows what terrible side effects they can have. Remember, Sanjay Gandhi’s slogan, Hum Do Hamare Do, didn’t make Indians have fewer kids.
PC: Business Today
- What did was that, over decades, there has been – imperfect but still substantive – work on school expansion and healthcare provision, including contraception options, alongside wider availability of economic opportunities. Hence, the great change in what people want from their lives and their children’s lives. The same is true for girl child education. Slogans won’t do the trick. Targeted fiscal incentives aimed at social groups that see girl children as burdens will possibly change minds. Society is an incredibly complicated system, tweaking it to a government’s desire is a fantasy. But it’s a fantasy fervently believed by politicians, in the West or the East, in democratic or dictatorships. Just how complex it gets is clear from this case. Such calls should be ignored.
