Increasing population is a misleading way to solve the riddle of Lok Sabha.

Political leaders and Hindu religious leaders are appealing to the public at large to have more children, which is a major cause for concern.

Apart from leaders of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other similar organizations, people like Sakshi Maharaj and Sadhvi Ritambhara have been appealing to Hindus to have more children. The irony is that many of those making such appeals have preferred to remain unmarried.

Hindu religious leaders want Hindu women to have more children to maintain the large gap between the size of the Hindu and Muslim populations. In a country where most people have said goodbye to facts, logic and logical analysis of facts, it is easy to convince the population of even the biggest lies.

One such lie being spread is that the number of Muslims in India will exceed that of Hindus in the coming years, with some reports claiming that this will happen by 2050. The claim is a misinterpretation or deliberate misrepresentation of an international agency report which said India would have the largest population of Muslims in the world. Which in simple words means that India will have more Muslims than any other country.

At the current growth rates of both communities, it will take centuries for Muslims to overtake Hindus in India due to natural population growth. Research has shown that most couples with higher educational attainment have fewer children. In that case, the emphasis should be on ensuring that people have easy access to education that is affordable for all, rather than the current prohibitive cost making it less accessible to many. Affordable higher education is a distant dream in the country, with government (public) schools closing down in states like Maharashtra and education going to the private sector at an increasing rate, where profit is the only motive.

Those who believe that there is a need to increase the Hindu population in the country often ignore the fact that the unemployment rate in the country has increased and the income of many people has declined in terms of purchasing power. In this backdrop, it has become difficult to maintain a monthly budget even for middle class families, leave alone those with low income or below the poverty line.

Hindus or Muslims need sensible minds to inspire the followers of their religion to think about what is good for the country and for them at the micro level, and not what is good for the shape of their religion. Followers of both religions need to be told that the greatness of a religion does not lie in its size or its festivals, but in how it helps individuals to increase their spirituality on the one hand and that of others on the other. Enhances their ability to do good, even if they follow another religion.

In a survey published by US News in September this year, India has been ranked fourth in the list of most religious countries in the world. The United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia are at the bottom of the list, with Switzerland in second place. However, the same survey states that Switzerland is the best country in the world in terms of perception of safety and low levels of corruption, among other factors. The ranking of other countries is also inversely proportional to its religious ranking.

Two chief ministers, Andhra Pradesh's Chandrababu Naidu and Tamil Nadu's MK Stalin, have now joined religious leaders in appealing to people to increase population in their respective states. However, his cause is political, not religious. Both the leaders want the population size to be larger, so that they get more representation in the Parliament, which is decided by the size of the state's population.

The number of seats in every state is fixed and the boundaries of constituencies are demarcated by the high-powered Delimitation Commission of India, whose decision cannot be challenged in court.

Looking at the population size based on the last census conducted in 2011, states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Bihar have a larger share of seats than the southern states. After the formation of Telangana by separating from Andhra Pradesh, the number of Lok Sabha seats later reduced from 42 to 25. Tamil Nadu has 39 seats, while Uttar Pradesh has 80.

It may be reasonable to expect more representation from both the leaders in the Lok Sabha, when the development of the country is now controlled by the numbers game due to the narrow-mindedness of the political leaders, who are more concerned about the development of their respective parties. Especially compared to those states where his party is not in power.

The present criteria of delimitation are unfair to states which have less population but have performed better in terms of development of the state and its people. States showing better social and economic parameters are not rewarded for their achievements in terms of number of seats in Parliament.

There is a need to reconsider the delimitation. Instead of just looking at the population size and geography of the area, parameters like child mortality rate, health index, employment level, percentage of population completing higher education, safety of women, overall security of the population should be considered. , keeping in mind the safety of Dalits, lower castes and minorities. This will not be a violation of the universal suffrage granted by the Constitution.

There should be weightage for each of these parameters and the number of seats for each state should be allotted on that basis. This will not only bring fairness but will also encourage the parties in power to perform better.

The author is a senior journalist and media trainer. He tweets at @a_mokashi