CHICAGO (Islam Online) – Just months after announcing he did not mind extremist Hindus constructing a temple on the site of the Babri Masjid, the Indian chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has fired off another controversy. This time it is about introducing legislation banning the construction of religious places (especially mosques) without government approval.
Ram Prakash Gupta is seen by the Muslim community of the state of Uttar Pradesh, one of the biggest in India, as terrorizing and victimizing the Muslims. The UP government has decided to introduce legislation that will target “specific groups and communities, which have a higher rate of growth of population.” Read: Muslims. They are constantly stereotyped and ridiculed in the media for having large numbers of children.
Announcing the decision that the policy will be implemented in three months, the chief minister said, “There are groups and communities which feel that if they go on increasing their number they will capture power one day. Such a way of thinking has to be faced with disincentives.”
The disincentive in this case means banning those having more than two children from contesting in some elections held at state and local levels.
This measure will push the already politically backward Muslims even further off the playing field. Opposition parties have vowed to fight it. In the early ‘70s, former prime minister Indira Gandhi had introduced similar legislation throughout the country, which eventually led to her downfall. If implemented, Uttar Pradesh will become the only place after China to enforce such a strict population control measure.
It should also be noted that the country bordering the state, Nepal, had also allegedly experienced an enormous growth in the Muslim population. In just a few decades the Muslim population of Nepal has risen from 2% to 9%.
In India there are more than 150 million Muslims, out of a population that has topped 1 billion.
