Overpopulation and the Impact on the Environment

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Figure 3. China's population before and after one-child policy.
Source:
 
The Economist Online. 
''China's one-child policy: O brother where art thou?'' 
The Economist.
August 2, 2011.
 
2.2. INDIA 
As of 2016, the current population of India is 1.34 billion and that makes it the second most 
populous country in the world after China (Indiaonlinepages.com). Despite India’s agriculture and 
improved farming industry, the increasing population lowered India’s chances for an acceptable 
standard of living. During its independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi called attention to 
population growth and relied on abstinence as a solution. However, the government was first in the 

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world to establish family-planning program first involving birth control, and then moving on to 
sterilizations. In 1956, seven thousand people were sterilized, and strong campaign advocating 
along with incentives aimed to encourage couple to limit themselves to two children per family 
(Aaseng 80). 
When this policy turned out to be ineffective, the government ordered sterilization of mn 
with more than three children, but it soon expanded to sterilizations of even homeless and beggars. 
“Up to 8 million vasectomies were performed in India in 1976, many of them under questionable 
circumstances” (Aaseng 82). People fiercely opposed entire family-planning movement and when 
Indira Gandhi came back to power in 1980, her approach to population control was different than 
before and she remained silent on birth control. 
In addition to a lack of attention, different religions in India played a crucial role in 
population growth. “Approximately 85 percent of the country is Hindu, and 10 percent is Muslim. 
In addition, there is the small (14 million out of 820 million) but outspoken population of Sikhs” 
(Aaseng 83). Muslim religion requires reproduction at the highest and fastest rate, so government 
policies seemed to be intended for this part of population only. Muslim men were forced to leave 
their homes and they underwent vasectomies against their will.
Another issue that prevents population growth is poverty and illiteracy. Due to expensive 
contraception, couples rather neglect birth control than undergo sterilization. Aware of the fear, 
government offered to pay people for sterilization, but only the poor were attracted to this idea, and 
the illiterate women, who cannot understand the advantages of family-planning groups. Rumors 
about contraceptives and family-planning efforts caused misunderstandings and affected population 
number. “Almost forty years after the efforts started, nearly two-thirds of India’s 120 million 
married women still use no birth control method at all” (Aaseng 87). With poor economy, low 

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standard of living increases population by “15 million Indians every year” (Aaseng 86), almost 
allowing India to surpass China in the rank of most populated country.Figure 4. below shows 
overpopulation in India.