Population Explosion Essay
Hail to us, we are the second most populated country in the world! We are proud of this achievement; isn’t it? Okay, we all know that we are the 2nd most populated country in the world and if we continue rising at the present rate, we will soon be the world’s most populated nation crossing China by 2025.
Before getting into the minute details of the issue, here are some statistics: As per the census report of 2011, our total population is 1, 21, 01, 93,422. We are the 7th largest in terms of area in the world.
The numbers are rising every minute, but the area is constant at 32, 87,263 square kilometres. Therefore with the increase in the number of person per square kilometre is increasing degrading our standard of living.
Population explosion is a bigger problem than it seems. It is one of the driving force which leads to other problems like unemployment, stagnant development, a lower standard of living, illiteracy & so on.
The population density of India is as high as 416 people per square kilometre which ranks 31st in the world. Only we can be held responsible for such kind of scenario where having no kids is a bigger problem than kids forced to beg on the streets.
Despite the government’s efforts and policies, we have failed miserably to tackle the problem of the population boom. To know the ways of tackling this humongous problem, we need to first peep into the reasons for the occurrence.
Causes of Population Explosion
A birth rate higher than death rates – Due to advancement in healthcare & medical facilities, the death rate fell quicker than the birth rate. It led to exponential growth in population.
Birth Control Measures – The use of birth control measures are quite limited in India. It has several reasons like people are not well aware of sex education. It is not generally discussed at an early age in India. People are not much reliance on these measures.
Gender Biased Society – Many cases of gender biases are heard & highlighted in India. Parents always prefer a boy over a girl to carry forward their family legacy. So to fulfil this, they keep on increasing the childbirth till they get a male child in the family.
Illiteracy Rate – The literacy rate in women in India is the biggest problem, as they are considered for marriage at a very early age. Nor any particular program was given to them at an early age for family planning. So they do not have any extensive knowledge about contraceptive & birth control measures.
Poverty – Poverty has also emerged as one of the cause which adds on to population explosion. As to fulfil their basic needs, people think that having more children means more person in a family to earn. This set of thinking has given rise to more severe with population growth.
Life Expectancy Increase – The life expectancy of people which used to be 55-60 years has increased to 70-75 years. This has been possible by the contribution of emerging & developing health care sector.
Effects of Population Explosion
Dwindling resources – With an increasing number of people, resources are getting depleted slowly as few of them are non-renewable resources. The sole cause is the limited number of resources with the overgrowing population. Water, forest, coal, etc. are depleting at a swift rate.
Unemployment – As the population is increasing so as the demand for jobs in the market. But it has become a challenge for the existing government to tackle the situation. The working-age population is growing day by day so as the employment demand leading to a rise in the unemployment rate in India.
Cost and quality of living – With the increase in population density & limited resources day by day, the standard of living is decreasing. We need to compromise on the quality of living as the demand is more demand & limited supply, which is the disruption of ratio.
Environmental havoc – Population explosion has given rise to significant environmental hazards. A significant amount of resources are exploited, leading to environmental degradation. Pollution is surfacing as another significant challenge which is directly or indirectly is affected by the growing population.
Prevention of Population Explosion
Family planning and its implementation – Government needs to work on the implementation of family planning policies. There should be strict monitoring of the birth ratios. People should also support the government in this advent.
Educating and empowering females – The main hurdle and stigma that is needed to conquer is gender discrimination. We need to operate this tumour from the minds of people that a girl child is less or inferior in any way from the male child. The primary weapon to win this battle is education and literacy of both females so that they can make rational decisions about family planning.
No hesitation in using contraceptives – Educating people about the usage & benefits of birth control measures must be taken as a severe social job to be done. Using birth control is far better than giving birth to unwanted kids.
Regulation of strict policies and norms – Mere formulating laws will not help. The government must cling on strict monitoring and even make room for punishments in case of violation of policies. This will create seriousness among inhabitants, and they will understand the importance of the issue.
The mother earth is suffering from cancer called population explosion. We will consider all possible steps to cure her ailment. To conclude, let us pledge to dig this problem to roots and throw it away and get rid of half the global problems we face today.
Population control cannot be imposed but can be achieved through acceptance of the current population. Giving birth to the human race has always been a choice and not a duty.
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