Ramesh Tiwari

Once Emperor Akabar asked his ministers what punishment he should mete out to someone who happened to pull his beard. One of the courtiers replied, “Your Majesty, it'd be the most serious crime so a severe sentence is necessary. Another minister said that he should be hanged without delay and then similar replies came from the rest of them. At last, the king referred the matter to Birbal, the wisest of his ministers, who said, “Your Majesty, you’ll hug and kiss him. “I must hug the insolent!” echoed the king in surprise. “Do you know what you’re saying?” “I know well, my Lord. None but your grandson can dare touch Your Majesty’s beard.

The birth rate i.e. the total number of live births per 1,000 of a population in a year, along with mortality and migration rate are used to calculate population growth and another important term is ‘demographic transition’ that explains the relationship between population and economic development. Now it has been found that the western countries have moved from a condition of high birth and death rates, to a condition of low birth and death rates which led to a slow rate of growth of population. This has been the experience of countries going through a process of modernizing economic and social development.  As far as India is concerned, its people have been reproducing themselves at such a rate that their numbers threaten the ecology. According to the Indian census, carried out in 2011, the population of India was exactly 1.21 billion. This is the second most populous country of the world after China. Early marriages, poverty, illiteracy are certain major factors that l...