Thoughts
on World Population Day, 2020
The corona virus
catastrophe has struck the world. It is wreaking havoc in every corner of the
globe. Millions are suffering, many are dying and almost all are living in
fear. The irony is, the experience of pain and apprehension is shared by all, a
population of seven billion. The gross inequalities afflicting our world is
absent though temporarily in this shared experience of anxiety and
helplessness.
World today has
a population of more than seven billion. A hundred million more will be added
during the next year. While the population was growing, mankind has made
exceptional progress in every arena. Very soon we would be on planet Mars. Yet
with every passing day, the gap between the rich and the poor is growing. While
a few are rejoicing in opulence, every minute someone is dying from hunger.
We are confident
today, there will be a vaccine against corona virus within the next six months.
Not so long ago millions would die in a pandemic while waiting for a cure or a
vaccine. Medical science has made immense progress. Yet, a mother who sustains
the world population by giving birth to a new life, has high risk of dying
while giving birth. Maternal mortality not only affects third world countries
of Africa, the rate is still alarming in our country. Poverty adds to the
misery of ill health.
We are confident
today, there will be a vaccine against coronavirus within the next six months.
Not so long ago millions would die in a pandemic while waiting for a cure or a
vaccine. Medical science has made immense progress. Yet, a mother who sustains
the world population by giving birth to a new life has a high risk of dying
while giving birth. Maternal mortality not only affects third world countries
of Africa, the rate is still alarming in our country. Poverty adds to the
misery of ill health.
In the world
population of seven billion, everyone is not born equal. There are multiple
divides. The starkest among these is the gender divide. We have an almost equal
number of male and female. In most part of the world, females do not have an
equal right, equal opportunity and even equal space to live as males. News
articles on atrocities on women fill our daily newspapers. Female foeticides
and infanticides are rampant. We celebrate the success of a few women while
subjecting others to suffer from the unjust diminution imposed by the
artificial divisions of the world population.
Mother Nature
provides us with everything that we need. The food we eat, the air we breathe
and rejoice in the bounty of nature. We often forget natural resources are not
limitless. Every addition to world population puts new demand on these
resources. Unfortunately, technological progress has made people demand more
from nature and give a lot less. It is getting clearer that such behaviour is
not sustainable. The increasing frequency of natural disasters and even the
ongoing pandemic are alarms, that if we do not mend our ways bigger
catastrophes are awaiting mankind.
The population
is a resource. Countries like India have a demographic dividend. But, the
resources must be used the right way. There is an ancient saying ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, meaning that the
world is one family. In a family, no one should feel neglected or left behind.
A family is called a happy family when every member is happy. I remember a line
from the movie Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Our
achievements give us immense power, let us pledge on the world population day
that we would use that power for the happiness of all. Let us pledge we would
live responsibly so that generations to come are proud of us and not fight the
war we start.
by a Middle School student in India
