It's a common argument, isn't it? Muslims have four wives and hence they can have more children, which then leads to a growing Muslim population. Obviously, this argument doesn't take the human reproductive system into consideration. Let me explain.
Group A has 25 men and 100 women. Leaving aside the chances of twins, triplets and more, what this basically means is that by the end of a year this group could have 100 children. So the population is 225.
Group B has 100 men and 100 women. At the end of the year, this group too could have 100 children. Total population is 300.
Group C has 100 men and 25 women. At then end of the year, this group would have 150 people.
It's simple really, if you want your group to grow the best way is to make sure you have the most number of women. Reduce the number of women and your clan, religion, caste, nation is in trouble.
It is in precisely this area that north India has shot itself in the foot. Decades and generations of female infanticide has meant that there are now more men than women in our communities.
The map here makes for an interesting study. All the areas marked in the various hues of blue indicates places where men outnumber women by 15-25%. Generations of wanting male children only has brought us to the point where one out of four men may not find a bride.
On almost every measurable parameter relating to women, India lags behind. Let's look at a few of these.
The best place to start is gender ratio. Interestingly, if we were to take the data from 1941 to 2011, India has made virtually no progress on this front. In 1941, we have 941 women for every 1000 men. In 2011, it's 943 women for every 1000 men. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/617361/gender-ratio-india/)
The numbers are just as dire when you compare education of boys to girls. It is 258.71 to 188.51 in favor of boys. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/617899/popualtion-level-of-education-india/)
As a society and as a nation, we have failed our women. This after almost 80% of the nation prays to one female deity or another. How do we intend to progress as a nation when 50% of the population is left behind?
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