Assam CM to set up 'Population Army' to control Muslims' birth rate

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who is anxious about the Muslim population in the state has decided to set up a 'population Army' with the intention to distribute contraceptives and create awareness about birth control in Muslim-dominated areas.

Addressing the Assembly, Sarma said that a team of thousand volunteers from youth will be prepared for the mission who will be sent to areas in Lower Assam with contraceptives and a message to the importance of population control.

ASHA (accredited social health activists) workers will also be inducted with the same task, he added.

According to the CM, higher population growth among Muslims hinders the progress of the community as compared to Hindus in the state who make a better living with spacious houses, vehicles and their children becoming doctors and engineers.

However, no concrete data is there to confirm the claim the Chief Minister Sarma was made about the lower population rate bettered the living standard of the Hindus in the state.

Ever since he took charge as CM, Sarma has been talking about the population control of the Muslim community. He reasoned the population control measures targeting the state's Muslim community with the population explosion, which he believes has been driven by the minority population.

Part of these measures is voluntary sterilisation and enforcement of a two-child limit for couples looking to access state-run welfare schemes.