Pinarayi Vijayan quoted the figures from surveys conducted by the Union government to counter the claims of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (Wikimedia Commons).
In a searing attack against the remarks by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that the former’s opinion was baseless and was aimed at communal polarisation.
Vijayan’s remarks came against the backdrop of Bhagwat’s annual Vijayadashami address in Nagpur.
In the address on Wednesday, Bhagwat primarily focused on population control, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and Sanatana Dharma.
The RSS chief stated that a population imbalance had arisen in the country.
He added: “Population control and religion-based population balance is an important subject that can no longer be ignored.”
On Thursday night, Vijayan refuted the RSS chief’s claims via a Facebook post.
The response was posted with his statement along with an image that said: “The RSS’ population lie a planned move to unleash communal tensions. Secular society should identify and isolate it.”
In the post, Vijayan wrote: “The RSS chief’s statement that there is a religious imbalance in the country’s population is a planned move to open the gates of communal animosity.”
He claimed that the campaign had no backing logic, nor was it based on facts or figures.
“The Sangh Parivar has been spreading this lie for many years, that Hindus are going to be a minority in the near future. The RSS is reusing the same weapon all over again,” he said.
Vijayan also clarified that population growth was measured through something called the “Total Fertility Rate” (TFR).
The figures of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted in 2019-21 and released by the Union Ministry of Health of the Union Government, indicated that the total fertility rate of the Muslim community had been decreasing compared to other religions in the country in the last 20 years.
Explaining the details of the survey, the post said: “According to the survey, the total fertility rate of the Hindu and Muslim communities was 1.9 and 2.3 respectively. The difference is only 0.4. The total fertility rate of the Muslim community declined from 2.6 in 2015-16 to 2.3 in 2019-21.”
He also recalled that the fertility rate of Muslims stood at 4.4 in 1992-93, and that there had been a decrease of 41.2 percent in the population of the Hindu community and 46.5 percent among the Muslims in the last 20 years.
The post concluded with the statement that the Sangh Parivar’s population lie was targeting the upcoming elections.
“The secular community needs to recognise this dangerous move by the Sangha Parivar to gain electoral advantage by promoting hate politics,” said Vijayan.
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