No man in India has a full wife

The former Chief Election Commissioner’s uses census and family health survey data to debunk misconceptions about Islam and family planning in India

1Polygamy is associated with the Muslim population. Why do you say it is a myth? Polygamy is not confined to Muslims alone. The Status of Women in India report of 1975, the only study on this so far, shows that all communities in India are polygamous. I studied the census from 1930 onwards and found that in every census, Muslims were the least polygamous, followed by the Hindus. In both communities, polygamy was going down. That polygamy leads to population growth is also a myth. Polygamy has its own limit in India statistically. In India, for 1000 men, there were 940 women. Statistically, no man in India has a full wife but a 0.9 wife. So where is the second woman coming from for polygamy?

2 Which community is the most polygamous?

Tribal communities have 16% polygamy, Hindus are 5.8% and Muslims are 5.7%.

3 Next, you deal with the myth that Muslims do not believe in family planning. This was a belief that both Hindus and Muslims had. Before I accidentally started this study 25 years ago, even I believed Islam is against family planning. But when I studied the subject I found that nowhere does the Quran prohibit it. In fact, there are interpretations which, according to my conclusion, show that not only is Islam not against family planning, Islam is a pioneer of family planning. It is surprising and remarkable that 1,400 years ago, when there was no population pressure anywhere in the world, the Quran was talking about planned families. For instance, a verse in the Quran says: “Young men you should marry when you can afford it, when you can bring up a family.” One person seeks a clarification from the Prophet and asks: “I’m a poor man but I have sexual needs so what should I do?” The Prophet repeats the words of the Quran and tells him to try fasting as that represses sexual desire. These two verses of the Quran are, according to me, a recommendation to family planning.

4 What about the Muslim birth rate being the highest?

The allegations from the right wing have been that the Muslims have been multiplying fast as an organised conspiracy. I admit that the Muslim birth rate is the highest and demography has changed in the last 70 years. 84% Hindus has come down to 79.8% and Muslims have gone up from 9.8% to 14%. But Muslims are catching up fast with family planning and they will not overtake Hindus in birth rate. The projection is that in 2100, Muslims will become 18% of the population. There is no question of Muslims overtaking.

5 So the slogan Hindu Khatre mein Hai” (Hindus are endangered) is fake news?

Absolutely fake news; it seems to be mischievous propaganda. Likewise with Hum Paanch, Hamaare Pachees (We are five, and 25 are ours). I want to challenge them - give me one Muslim with four wives and 25 children; one in a population of 1.3 billion!