One nation, one code: RSS chief on UCC, population policy

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Making a case for Uniform Civil Code and implementation of a uniform population policy, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said that people of one nation should be governed by a common law.

"When people talk about Uniform Civil Code, they usually talk in the context of Hindus and Muslims. But that is not all. (When such a code is implemented) There will be change in customs of all communities including Hindus," he said in response to a query during a question-answer session at the concluding day of the outreach event here.

He said there should be an attempt to bring a consensus among the society for a uniform code while taking into account the diversity of the country.

"People of one nation should live under a common law," Bhagwat told the gathering here.

He said the Uniform Civil Code was meant to bring unity in the country and should be brought gradually in a way that it does not create any divide.

"This has also been suggested by those who drafted the constitution that the government should take the country in that direction... that it figures out what kind of a code there should be, how to convince the society in its favour and then enforce it," he said.

Asked about population control and what would be the position of Hindus after 50 years, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief made a strong case for planning for India's rising population with a 50-year perspective.

"Population is thought of as a burden. If population increases, food consumption also increases, pressure on land increases and environmental problems also increase. But population also provides the human resource," he said.

"There should be demographic balance. There should be a population policy applicable to everyone and should be uniformly implemented without exception.

"Where there is a problem, it should be implemented first like (in families) where there are more children and not enough resources," he said.

However, he added, it cannot be achieved only through enactments but there should be a change in mentality in the society.

Bhagwat said that India is a young nation with a significant young population and one needs to consider the kind of population mix the country will have in 30 years: whether it will be a young or an old population as in the case of China.

"We have to see population with this perspective looking at a 50 year horizon and then plan for that: how much resources will we need then and how much impact on environment that kind of population will have," he said.

--IANS

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