Agencies
NEW DELHI: Last month, VHP leader Ashok Singhal said in Bhopal that Hindu couples should “produce at least five children” because the Hindu population was growing at a much slower rate than that of Christians and Muslims.
If the Hindus don’t produce five children per couple, he warned that they would be reduced to a minority India.
“Hindus should not restrict themselves to two children per family. Only when do they produce five children will the population of Hindus remain stable,’’ Singhal said.
Now comes a similar advice to Sikh couples by the jathedar of the Akal Takht.
Speaking on the last day of the six-day Hola Mohalla festival in Anandpur Sahib, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh called upon Sikh couples to have four children.
The jathedar said he making the appeal because he was concerned over the `decline’ in the Sikh population.
He said the Sikh population has reduced substantially since the times of Sikh Gurus.
Blaming the family planning for it, he said, “The government in the past propagated family planning with the slogan of ‘Hum Do, Hamare Do’ and since then, the number of Sikhs has been on the decline.’’
To reverse this trend, he said, “Sikh couples should now have four children so that the population of the Sikhs increases and in turn will help in the propagation of our religion and the development of the country.’’
One wonders where he got the facts that the Sikh population has fallen since the times of the gurus. Shouldn’t religious leaders should first focus on eradicating social evils before intruding into people’s personal matters?
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