Assam moots 'Population Army' to check minority population growth

In order to check the growing population in minority-dominated areas of the state, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the government is mulling to create a workforce called "Population Army." He also said that the government is also considering raising the marriageable age of girls to 20 years from the existing 18 years.

Guwahati:The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Assam government is mooting to create a workforce called "Population Army" to check the growth of population, particularly among the religious minorities living in sandbars and small river islands across the state. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said this on Monday while replying to a question by Congress legislator Sherman Ali Ahmed.

"We are planning to create a Population Army by engaging at least 1,000 youth from Char Chapori (riverine sand bars) areas of the state to check the population growth in those areas. Apart from this, we are also planning to create a separate workforce in the lines of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers to disseminate information about birth control measures and also to distribute contraceptive tools among the women in those areas," said Sarma.

He also said that the government is also considering the issue of raising the marriageable age of the girls to 20 years from existing 18 years. Ali, while raising the issue of population policy of the government, demanded action to establish educational institutions among the Char Chaporis and also to check the tradition of early marriage of girls in some districts of the state.

The Chief Minister, while replying to the queries of Ali, said that the government's proposed policy on population is not anti-Muslims but anti-poverty. He said that between 2001 to 2011, the population growth rate between the Hindus and Muslims have undergone a change.

"While the population growth rate among the Hindus has decreased, it increased among the Muslims which has led to certain problems," he said adding that while the reduced population growth rate among the Hindus has led to improved lifestyles, the increased growth rate among the Muslims has affected their lifestyles.