Population Explosion Essay
Essay on Population Explosion
After the Republic of China, India is the most populous country in the world, Presently, India is
the second-largest populated country in the world that occupies 2.4% of the world’s land area
and represents 17.5% of the world’s population. This means that one out of six people on this
planet is an Indian.
It is estimated by the United Nations that India with 1.3 billion inhabitants would surpass
China's population of 1.4 billion by 2024 to become the world's most populous country.
Population Explosion is considered as a threat and burden on the Earth.
What is Population Explosion?
Population Explosion refers to the rapid increase in the number of people in an area. It is a
situation where the economy of the country cannot cope up with the rapid growth of the
population. Furthermore, in simpler words, it is a situation where the economy cannot provide
proper facilities to its people.
Evidently, the largest contributing countries to population explosion are the poorer nations and
are termed as developing countries. In India, the state of Uttar Pradesh is the most populated
state and Lakshadweep is the least populated. Hence we can say that population explosion is
inversely related to the development of that area.
Population Explosion has become the mother of evils in our country because too much
population is trapping people in a web of poverty and illiteracy that further escalates the
problem. Any time of the day, whether it is a metro station, airport, railway platforms, road,
highway bus stop, shopping mall, market, or even a social or religious gathering, there is
always a swelling crowd of people in India.
Causes of Population ExplosionThe major cause of this population explosion is the difference between the birth rate. The birth
rate is the number of individuals bom in a population in a given amount of time. The human
birth rate is the number of individuals born per year per 1000 in the population. For example, if
36 births occur per year per 1000 individuals, the birth rate is 36).
The death rate is the ratio between deaths and individuals in a particular population during a
particular period. In simple words, the incidence of deaths in a given population during a
defined time (such as one year) is expressed per 1000 individuals).
Apart from these, some other factors are partially responsible for population explosion, such as:
* A decrease in infant mortality rate (Mortality rate refers to the number of deaths of infants
below the age of 6 months.),
* The increase in life expectancy (An estimate of the average number of additional years
that a person of a given age can expect to live).
Earlier the life expectancy of people was around 55-60 years. Now the average age of a person
has increased to 70-75 years.) but due to better and improved medical facilities, we can now
increase the life expectancy of people.
Earlier, there was a balance between the birth and death rate due to limited medical facilities,
people dying in wars, and other calamities. According to the 2011 census, the birth rate has
actually come down but then the death rate has also declined due to the medical
advancements.
Illiteracy is another cause of an increase in population. Low literacy rate leads to traditional,
superstitious, and ignorant people. For example, Kerala has a very high literacy rate and it
constitutes only 2.76% of India’s population as compared to Uttar Pradesh having maximum
illiteracy rate and forms 16.49% of the population. Educated people are well aware of birth
control methods.
Family planning, welfare programs, and policies have not fetched the desired result. The
increase in population is putting tremendous pressure on the limited infrastructure and negating
India’s progress.
The superstitious people mainly from rural places think that having a male child would give
them prosperity and so there is a considerable pressure on the parents to produce children till a
male child is bon. This leads to a population explosion.Poverty is another main reason for this. Poor people believe that the more people in the family,
the more will be the number of persons to earn bread. Hence it contributes to the increase in
population
Continuous illegal migration of people from neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh is
leading to a rise in the population density in India.
Religion sentiment is another cause of the population explosion. Some orthodox communities
believe that any mandate or statutory method of prohibition is sacrilegious. It is difficult for India
to exercise a check on the religious grounds for its secularism.
Impact Due to Population Explosion
The growth of the population has a major impact on the living standards of people. That is why,
despite our incredible progress in the agricultural and industrial spheres, our capita income has
not risen appreciably.
Hence given below are some of the major problems which are just because of the population
explosion:
* Natural Resources of that particular region: Natural resources are materials from the
Earth used to support life and meet people’s needs. Hence if there are many people,
then there is a high requirement for Natural Resources.
* Unemployment: When a country becomes overpopulated, it gives rise to unemployment
as fewer jobs support many people. The rise in unemployment gives rise to crime, such
as theft, as people want to feed their families and provide them with basic amenities of
life.
* High Cost of Living: As the difference between demand and supply continues to expand
due to population explosion, it raises the prices of various essential commodities,
including food, shelter, and healthcare. It means that people have to pay more to survive
and feed their families.
* Poverty: Another major issue of population explosion is the increase in poverty as
people are unemployed due to a lack of job opportunities and an abundant workforce.
‘Illiteracy: Because of unemployment, they cannot provide better education to the
coming generation, giving us back population explosion.
* Starvation: When resources are scarce, starvation, ill health, and diseases caused by
diet deficiency such as rickets become eminent.Some Major Effects of the High Population are as Follows
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|. The rapidly growing population in India has led to the problem of food scarcity and heavy
pressure on land. Even though 60% of its population is engaged in agriculture, yet
people do not get even the barely necessary amount of food.
. Generating employment opportunities for such @ huge population in India is very difficult.
Therefore, illiteracy is growing rapidly every year.
. Development of infrastructural facilities is not able to cope up with the pace of growing
population. So facilities like transportation, communication, housing, education, and
healthcare are becoming inadequate to provide provision to the people.
. The increasing population leads to unequal distribution of income and inequalities among
the people widened.
. Unmanageable population size may lead to the failure of the government to provide the
basic facilities to the people.
Economie development is slow in @ country where the population is growing at a very fast
rate. This also leads to low capital formation
Ignorance, illiteracy, unhygienic living conditions, and lack of recreation have always
been the cause of population problems in India.
. Rapid growth in population is also an indication of the wastage of natural resources.
Preventive Measures
To tackle this problem, the government needs to take corrective measures. The entire
development of the country depends on how effectively the population explosion is stemmed.
The government and various NGOs should raise awareness about family planning and welfare.
Hoardings with slogans like “Hum do, humare do” and “Chota Parivar, Sukhi Parivar” should be
put up in hospitals and other public places. These slogans mean that a small family is a happy
family and two children for two parents. The awareness about the use of contraceptive pills and
family planning methods should be generated
The health care centres should help the poor people with the free distribution of contraceptives
and encourage the control of the number of children.The government should come forward to empower women and improve the status of women
and girls. People in rural places should be educated and modern amenities should be provided
for recreation.
Conclusion
So we can summarise the topic by stating that population explosion is a term used to state the
rapid growth of people in a particular area. It is because of lack of education, illiteracy, lack of
proper knowledge of sex education, rituals, and superstition in the country’s most populated
area.
Overpopulation results in a lack of development and exploitation of resources, whereas India's
strength in the global world in various fields cannot be ignored. By raising public awareness
and enlisting strict population control norms, India will be able to tackle this issue.
It doesn’t mean that will happen very quickly and without any effort. It will take time because
India constitutes one of the huge countries of about 138 Crore (2020) people. Proper, effective,
and steady steps will lead India to a greater good.
It helps the country control the population explosion and also helps to provide good results in
several other things like the good environment, abundant natural resources, proper
employment, proper literacy rate with high growth in development, etc.
All this could be possible if we take some measures and be good citizens of this country. So
that is how we can overcome this issue of population explosion.