Under the reign of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, India was one of the first countries to implement an official family planning system. India is the second most populous country in the world after China. The country's population grew from 361 million in 1951 to 1210 million in 2011. (Around 3.5 times). Under the tenure of Sanjay Gandhi, the government initiated a sterilising campaign in 1974[2]. The government attempted coercive sterilisation during the period, and millions of impoverished men were sterilised. In only one year, 6.2 million individuals were sterilised.[3]

Then, in 1992, at the time of P. V. Narasimha Rao, the 79th Constitutional Amendment Bill[4] was brought before the Rajya Sabha, and it also talked to two child policy. It wasn't discussed as the then health minister, Makhan Lal Fotedar, resigned[5]. It mentioned two-child norms for all government employees, MPs, and MLAs.

Since independence, more than 35 private member's bills have been submitted in parliament for the goal of pollution regulation. Several states still have two child standards in place today. Candidates with more than two children are not eligible for government positions in Rajasthan. Two more district judges in Madhya Pradesh were fired a few years ago for breaking the two-child rule. They later proceeded to the High Court, where they were restored only because there was no opportunity to fill in data about the number of children on the previous form, and the HC ruled that their application should have been cancelled at the time.

Research question?

1. What is the 2-child policy?
2. When did the policy came into existence?
3. Does India need a Two-Child Policy and is it violative of fundamental rights?

Population Control in India, History

In 1952, India became the first country in the world to make family planning a state-sponsored programme[6]. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, India's population control programmes were mainly reliant on sterilisations and intrauterine devices, with World Bank, UN Population Fund, and Ford Foundation financing.

The pressure was so great that during the 1960s famine, US President Lyndon B. Johnson refused to deliver food help until India granted incentives for sterilising. During the Emergency, the principal purpose of Sanjay Gandhi's Five-Point Programme[7] was coercive male sterility. Approximately 6.2 million Indian males were sterilised in a year, "15 times the number of persons sterilised by the Nazis", according to scientific writer Mara Hvistendahl.

Since then, the focus of population control has shifted to women's bodies. Female sterilisation increased from 25% to 80% in 1977-78. Since then, the proportion has remained constant.

Some states have already implemented a two-child policy in various forms, all with the goal of population control. Individuals having more than two children are barred from winning elections under the Odisha Zilla Parishad Act 1991[8], the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act 1994[9], the Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1994[10], the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act 1994[11], and the Gujarat Local Authorities Act 2005[12]. Those having a third child born after 2001 are barred from government and judicial service under the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (General Condition of Service) Regulations.

Some states have already implemented a two-child policy in various forms, all with the goal of population control. Individuals having more than two children are barred from winning elections under the Odisha Zilla Parishad Act 1991, the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act 1994, the Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1994, the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act 1994, and the Gujarat Local Authorities Act 2005. Those having a third child born after 2001 are barred from government and judicial service under the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (General Condition of Service) Regulations.[13]

Incentives And Disincentives in Two-Child Policies

Many socioeconomic characteristics impact reproduction rates, according to data from numerous Indian states. According to the (National Family Health Survey, 2019-20) NFHS-4, TFR(total fertility rate) among Indian women with 12 or more years of formal education is 1.7, whereas it is 3.06 for women with no formal education. Kerala, for example, decreased the state TFR to 1.6 by investing in girl-child education, job prospects, and a robust healthcare system. [14]

All of the disincentives stated in all two-child programmes entail limiting broad public access to State-sponsored welfare systems. According to the Hunger Watch poll done by the Right to Food campaign in October 2020, welfare systems such as the public distribution system (PDS) failed short during the epidemic. According to statistics from several Indian states, several socioeconomic factors influence reproduction rates. TFR among Indian women with 12 or more years of formal education is 1.7, but it is 3.06 for women with no formal education, according to the NFHS-4[15]. Kerala, for example, reduced its TFR to 1.6 by investing in girl-child education, career opportunities, and a strong healthcare system. a warning that when individuals are already in poverty and debt,

Demographer Srinivas Goli, the Australia-India Institute NGN Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, called for greater attention to the TWFR. "The difference between these two data points has a different story to tell about the lack of choice and agency of women," he told Article 14[16]. predicted that implementing the newly planned two-child policy, particularly the incentives for those undergoing sterilisation, would be difficult.

"For starters, the fertility rate for people with more than ten years of formal education is already below two. Because most government employees are expected to have at least that many years of education, we may infer that the majority of them are already qualified for the incentives. Is the state equipped to handle this?" He noted that if half of the almost 15 million below-poverty-line households in UP apply for these incentives, the fiscal burden would be enormous.

States implementing the policy

• Rajasthan: Candidates with more than two children are ineligible for government positions. According to the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act of 1994, if a person has more than two children, he is ineligible to run for election as a Sarpanch or a member. The previous BJP administration, however, loosened the two-child rule in the event of a crippled child.
   
• Madhya Pradesh: Since 2001, the state has adhered to the two-child rule. If the third kid was born on or after January 26, 2001, one becomes disqualified for government work under the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (General Condition of Services) Regulations. The regulation also applies to higher-level judicial positions. The two-child rule was observed by MPs for candidates in local body elections until 2005, when it was repealed by the then-BJP administration after concerns were expressed on the grounds that such a regulation did not apply in assembly and parliamentary elections.
   
• Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: A person having more than two children is barred from running for office under Section 19 (3), read with Sections 156 (2) and 184 (2) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. Nonetheless, a person will not be disqualified if he or she had more than two children before May 30, 1994. The same portions of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, apply in Andhra Pradesh, where a person with more than two children is barred from running for office.
   
• Gujarat: The Gujarat Local Authorities Act was revised by the government in 2005. Anybody having more than two children is barred from running for office in panchayats, municipalities, or municipal corporations under the amendment.
   
• Maharashtra: Anyone with more than two children are barred from running for local body elections under the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act (gram panchayats to municipal corporations). According to the Maharashtra Civil Services (Declaration of Small Family) Regulations, 2005, a person with more than two children is ineligible for a position in the state government. Women who have more than two children are likewise barred from receiving benefits from the Public Distribution System.
   
• Uttarakhand: The state administration resolved to prohibit anyone with more than two children from running in panchayat elections and enacted a Law in Vidhan-Sabha to that effect. Nevertheless, those planning for village pradhan and gram panchayat ward member elections contested the ruling in the High Court, and the court granted them relief. As a result, the two-child standard was enforced solely to those who ran for zila panchayat and blocks development committee membership.
   
• Karnataka: Those with more than two children are not barred from running for local government positions under the Karnataka (Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj) Act of 1993. The legislation, however, stipulates that a person is unable to contest "if he does not have a sanitary toilet for the use of the members of his household".
   
• Odisha: Anyone having more than two children are barred from running for office under the Odisha Zilla Parishad Act.

Criticisms
These laws have been challenged almost from the start. Everyone is quick to point out that India has a thriving technology sector that depends on young people. There is concern that limiting fertility will result in a shortage of the educated youth required to continue India's technological revolution.

The one-child policy in China is already known to have issues. The gender imbalance that results from a strong preference for boys is the worst of all. Additionally, millions of undocumented children were born to parents who were already parents of one. When a two-child policy is implemented, these issues may arise in India. The birth-rate in India is slowing to levels that are sustainable, which is the most important development. The fertility rate was still 3.3 children per woman in 2000, which is still a high number. That number had already decreased to 2.179 kids by 2021. Additionally, in the years preceding 2019, India's economy grew by 6% annually, which was more than enough to support modest population growth.

Another criticism levelled at two-child restrictions is that it discriminates against Muslims. Muslims are more likely to be disqualified from office because they are more likely to have more than two kids. In India, Muslim fertility rates are a little higher than Hindu fertility rates, which has led to irrational worries that Muslims will take over the nation. Some people think that the RSS wants to restrict families in order to maintain India's current ratio of Hindus to Muslims[29].

The laws' violation of women's rights is the last criticism levelled at India's two-child policies. Human rights advocates contend that by encouraging abortion or infanticide of females, the laws discriminate against women from the moment of conception. Men who want to run for political office may be enticed by the two-child policies to divorce their wives and give up their families.

Additionally, two-child policies are frequently unknown to Indian women. There have been instances where women with numerous children attempted to run for political office but were rejected due to laws, they were unaware of.

How has the Supreme Court viewed the two-child norm and a policy on population control?
Entry 20-A of the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule, added in 1976 by the 42nd constitutional amendment, allows both the Union and state legislatures to pass legislation on population control and family planning. This article in the Seventh Schedule provides the basis for the demands for a population control law.

There is no official policy limiting the number of children a couple can have. As a result, the Supreme Court has not had the opportunity to consider such a policy. Nonetheless, petitions have been filed asking the Union government to issue a directive requiring the implementation of a population control programme based on the two-child rule.

The Supreme Court maintained a clause in 1981 that made a third pregnancy a reason for terminating the employment of an Air India flight attendant. "When the entire world is confronted with the problem of population explosion, it will not only be desirable but absolutely essential for every country to see that the family planning programme is not only whipped up but maintained at sufficient levels so as to meet the danger of overpopulation, which, if not controlled, may lead to serious social and economic problems throughout the world," it stated. The two-child policy in states was first questioned before the Supreme Court in the 2003 case of Javed v State of Haryana[30], which featured a challenge to Section 175(1) of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court, on the other hand, upheld the statute, stating that the categorization it formed was "grounded on intelligible differentia" and was based on the goal of restricting population increase. With respect to the argument on reproductive autonomy under Article 21, the top court said "the lofty ideals of social and economic justice, the advancement of the nation as a whole and the philosophy of distributive justice cannot be given a go-by in the name of undue stress on fundamental rights and individual liberty". Nonetheless, the two-child rule was eventually repealed in Haryana.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the birth of a third child immediately disqualifies a person from running for panchayat elections or serving as a member or sarpanch. Nevertheless, in March 2018, the Supreme Court refused to hear a petition requesting that the Government implement harsh population control measures by making the two-child policy mandatory throughout the country. The petitioners were directed by the court to approach the government.

A year later, in March 2019, the Supreme Court denied a plea by BJP leader and attorney Ashwini Upadhyay, seeking a directive to the Election Commission to impose an extra condition that "political parties should not stand-up candidates who have more than two children". Nonetheless, Upadhyay's campaign for a state-wide two-child policy led the Supreme Court to look into the matter. The Supreme Court requested a response from the Centre on Upadhyay's plea for a population control law in India in January 2020.

In its response, the Centre stated that it is "unambiguously" opposed to forcing families to have just a set number of children in order to regulate the population. In their affidavit submitted in December 2020, the Union government claimed that the family assistance programme in India offers couples the right to decide the size of their family without compulsion, rejecting the necessity for a two-child standard or a particular rule regulating the number of families in India. It went on to say that India was a signatory to the World Conference on Population and Development's 1994 Plan of Action (POA)[31], which was unambiguously against coercion in family planning.

Conclusion
Concluding the research paper, India is greatly at par with China when it comes to rise of population. SC in case of Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay vs. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare SLP (C),[32] refused to entertain the pleas made on the population control bill. "Population is not something that one fine day it stops," a bench of Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka observed orally.

Further in arguments, high court alleged the population of India had marched ahead of China, as about 20 per cent of Indians did not have Aadhaar and, therefore, were not accounted for, and there were also crores of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis living illegally in the country. It had claimed the "population explosion is also the root cause of corruption", Apart from being a factor in terrible crimes such as rape and domestic violence.

Adding to this, India does need a system to control its growing population. We have been seeing the population of India growing at a very fast growth rate.

Notes:

• P. V. Narasimha Rao
  Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao, popularly known as P. V. Narasimha Rao, was an Indian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the 9th prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996.
• Makhan Lal Fotedar
  Makhan Lal Fotedar was an Indian politician who was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress political party.
  Born: 5 March 1932, Died: 28 September 2017, Gurugram.
• Scientific writer Mara Hvistendahl
  Mara Hvistendahl is an American writer. Her book Unnatural Selection was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. She graduated from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and Columbia University in New York City. She is a former contributor to Science magazine.
• Demographer Srinivas Goli
  Dr. Goli is an Associate Professor in Demography at the International Institute for Population Sciences.
• Article 14 - Equality before law
  The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.

End Notes:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org
2. https://www.bbc.com
3. Ibid
4. https://www.india.gov.in
5. Vohra, P. (2009) Fotedar, the only minister to resign after demolition, Hindustan Times. Available at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/fotedar-the-only-minister-to-resign-after-demolition/story-O69fBX3ceSdr9SGDyskQRK.html (Accessed: March 9, 2023).
6. https://nhm.gov.in
7. Ibid
8. https://panchayat.odisha.gov.in
9. https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/8492/1/Act 5 of 2018.pdf
10. http://dtcp.ap.gov.in/dtcpweb/act/Panchayathraj Act.pdf
11. https://www.panchayat.gov.in/documents/20126/0/The+Haryana+Panchayati++Raj+Act+1994.pdf/6045c87f-2008-4796-fdf4-1ec30d951b00?t=1554877646549
12. https://sec.gujarat.gov.in/Images/pdf/18-06-2005-%282%29.pdf
13. https://mpmsme.gov.in:8080/mpmsmecms/Uploaded Document/Documents/M. P. Civil Service Rules 1961.pdf
14. DASH, S.W.E.T.A. (2021) Behind the BJP's 2-Child Policies, An Anti-Muslim Agenda That Will Endanger All Indian Women, article 14. Available at: https://www.article-14.com/post/behind-the-bjp-s-2-child-policies-an-anti-muslim-agenda-that-will-endanger-all-indian-women--613823097d3c5 (Accessed: March 9, 2023).
15. Ibid
16. Ibid
17. India.com, I. (2014) Rajasthan: Two Child Policy To Be Amended For Govt. Employees, www.india.com. Available at: https://www.india.com/education/rajasthan-two-child-policy-to-be-amended-for-govt-employees-1576192/ (Accessed: March 10, 2023).
18. https://rajpanchayat.rajasthan.gov.in/en-us/actsrules/act.aspx
19. Tomar, S. (2022) 954 MP govt staff with more than 2 kids served notices, hindustantimes. Available at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/bhopal-news/954-mp-govt-staff-with-more-than-2-kids-served-notices-101648929730652.html (Accessed: March 10, 2023).
20. news, E. (ed.) (2019) Two-child policy in Indian states, indianexpress. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/two-child-policy-in-indian-states-6082879/#:~:text=Telangana and Andhra Pradesh%3A Under,she will not be disqualified. (Accessed: March 10, 2023).
21. https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/8492/1/Act 5 of 2018.pdf
22. Raja, A. (2021) Gujarat's two-child policy: Why 3 civic candidates were disqualified, indianexpress.com. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/gujarats-two-child-policy-why-3-civic-candidates-were-disqualified-7181791/ (Accessed: March 10, 2023).
23. Kulkarni, S. (2021) Explained: What is Maharashtra's two-child norm for government employees?, Indianexpress. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/maharashtra-two-child-norm-for-government-employees-explained-7292173/ (Accessed: March 10, 2023).
24. https://lj.maharashtra.gov.in/Site/Upload/Acts/The Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961.pdf
25. https://mat.maharashtra.gov.in/Site/Upload/Pdf/O.A. 562 of 2015.pdf
26. Rawat, M. (2019) Explained: What is Uttarakhand's 2-child condition, education criteria for panchayat polls, Indiatoday. Available at: https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/what-is-uttarakhand-2-child-condition-education-criteria-for-panchayat-elections-1557153-2019-06-27 (Accessed: March 10, 2023).
27. https://karsec.gov.in/CommonHandler.ashx?id=315
28. news, E. (ed.) (2019) Two-child policy in Indian states, indianexpress. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/two-child-policy-in-indian-states-6082879/ (Accessed: March 10, 2023).
29. Behind The BJP's 2-Child Policies, An Anti-Muslim Agenda That Will Endanger All Indian Women by, SWETA DASH 08 Sep 2021
30. Writ Petition (civil) 302 of 2001
31. https://www.unfpa.org/icpd
32. No. 27597/2019