Over-population is the most pressing of India’s numerous and multi-faceted problems. In fact it has caused equally complex problems such as poverty, under-nourishment, unemployment and excessive fragmentation of land. Indisputably, this country has been facing a population explosion of crisis dimensions. It has largely diluted the fruits of the remarkable economic progress that the nation has made during the last four decades or so. The entire battle against poverty is thwarted by the rapid increase in the population. The tragedy is that while over-population accentuates poverty, the country’s stark poverty itself is in many areas a major cause of over-population. What is the irony behind the overpopulation of India ?

Over-population is the most pressing of India’s numerous and multi-faceted problems. In fact it has caused equally complex problems such as poverty, under-nourishment, unemployment and excessive fragmentation of land. Indisputably, this country has been facing a population explosion of crisis dimensions. It has largely diluted the fruits of the remarkable economic progress that the nation has made during the last four decades or so. The entire battle against poverty is thwarted by the rapid increase in the population. The tragedy is that while over-population accentuates poverty, the country’s stark poverty itself is in many areas a major cause of over-population. What is the irony behind the overpopulation of India ?