Population in India Essay

India is an extremely large country which is sometimes referred to as a subcontinent. The enormity of the population of India has been of great apprehension and concern since the 1940s. There are many reasons for this serious dilemma in India, however, many initiatives have been implemented to resolve the crisis. In the following essay I will investigate and discuss the situation.  Firstly, a significant cause of overpopulation in India is the massive death toll. In one year in India, 5 million children die and approximately half the total deaths every year are of infants under five. This horrific reality is due to disease, malnutrition and diarrhoea. Dysentery is caused by bad diets and unfit drinking water, resulting in the loss and reduction of fluid needed in the body and consequent dehydration. A large majority of children die from acute cases of diarrhoea, despite the fact that there is an injection to cure it which costs 1p. Demise because of this relatively curable illness must cease. In addition, another widespread fatal disease is T.B. which numerous children die of. The disease occurs in the lungs and consists of the sufferer loosing blood through coughing. Moreover, a major reason for the high numbers of infant mortality in India is not simply sickness of the child, but of the pregnant mother as well. If the parent is unhealthy, it is very probable that the child they produce will also have contracted illness. The monthly increase in population is 1 million. This overwhelming figure is because large families are needed to work on farms and in other jobs. However, the Indians have more offspring than they actually want or need because they realise some may not live long and ,therefore, won’t have the skills to assist and help in the fields. For example, a couple may want 6 children but have 8 for good measure and in case some die. This only resolution to this problem is to reduce the death of children so that parents can feel positive that their children will not die. Subsequently to having more children than needed, many do not die as expected, accordingly, the population increases. In the 1950s the Indian population was a mere 350 million, since then, it has increased to 750 million. The population in India is so immense that for every 1 person in UK there are 12 people in India! Furthermore, another cause of the high population is the requirement of more children as labourers in the country than in the town. There are larger families in the country, because, with more people to help an increased yield is produced, ensuring a larger income, prosperity and affluence. However, if a family has less children, labourers have to be hired which costs money and therefore a reduced surplus. 300 million people don’t have an education or enough to eat in India. In the countryside every man woman and child works and all the jobs are manual, because suitable and affordable implements have not yet been introduced. Because of this, boys are seen as more useful than girls because they can partake in the heavy labour. If a family does not get a boy the first time, they have more children until they get one. When a marriage happens the girl goes and lives with her in-laws which provide extra help in the fields. The more sons a family has the more successful it will be. There are also a wide variety of differences between the country and town environment. In the Indian countryside, children are a vital requirement, whereas, in towns children are not needed to do manual labour so the families are smaller. Besides this, in towns medicinal cures are available so fewer children die and parents have an improved chance of keeping themselves and their children healthy. There is a higher infant mortality in the countryside because cures are not available, although, larger families mean more money. If a family has a son they very often move to the cities and send the money they earn to their families in the country. In the city it is harder to afford so many children because food has to be purchased unlike in the countryside. There is however a much decreased infant mortality in the city as a result of accessible remedies. Ghandhigram is a charity established to help children and young mothers in the countryside. 75% of India’s population live in the countryside, where the health service is basically nonexistent. Ghandigram has presented the solution of looking after and concentrating on the health of very young children. A dramatic improvement has been seen already and the situation of children is gradually recovering. As well as health in the countryside, the organisation is also persuading many more mothers to send their children to school. Children are being educated with the incentive of free school meals provided. As a result of this a large proportion of the future generation will be healthy and educated, consequently, good jobs will be obtainable to them. In the villages where the scheme is operating feedback is very positive and Ghandhigram will hopefully create further alterations and enhanced conditions.