Third Baby Police

A housing society in Odisha made a strange rule: if a family has more than two children, they can lose their membership. A family challenged this in court, hoping the judges would say the rule was unfair because people should be free to decide how many children they have. Instead, the court supported the housing society. It even repeated an old idea that too many people are as dangerous as very powerful bombs.

The problem is that this idea is outdated. Years ago, many people worried that India’s population was growing too fast. But today, the country’s birth rate has fallen below the level needed to keep the population steady. Some states are now worried there won’t be enough young people to work in the future. In fact, Andhra Pradesh is even offering rewards to families who have a third or fourth child.

Long ago, a thinker named Thomas Malthus believed that population growth would cause terrible shortages. But many of his predictions turned out to be wrong because farming, technology and healthcare improved. Even today, people often blame “too many people” for problems like traffic or pollution instead of fixing poor planning.

Having a third child is a personal family decision. The biggest challenge for those parents is probably paying the bills and getting enough sleep—not creating a national crisis. Housing societies should take care of buildings and shared spaces, not tell families how many children they are allowed to have.

END OF ARTICLE