New Delhi, March 28 The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday called for a clear definition of Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution governing minority educational institutions and demanded a national population management policy to address the issue of "demographic imbalance".
Addressing a press conference on its recently concluded "Sansad Sampark Abhiyan" where the organization reached out to Members of Parliament, VHP secretary general Bajrang Lal Bagra also sought the creation of a separate pilgrimage tourism department under the tourism ministry.
He said the organization raised these three key issues before the MPs.
Regarding minority educational institutions, Bagra said the VHP has no objection to the constitutional provisions in principle, but raised concerns over their implementation.
"In principle, there is no objection to Articles 29 and 30, and it is welcome that minorities should have the freedom to run their institutions without state interference.
"However, the concern arises from how these provisions are being implemented in practice, as in many cases schools classified as minority institutions have 90 to 95 per cent Hindu students, and in some cases even more," he said.
Bagra said such institutions do not fulfil the original intent of the constitutional provisions.
"The original intent was to allow minorities to educate their own community and preserve their traditions, but where an overwhelming majority of students belong to another community, such institutions should not be considered minority institutions," he said.
He also flagged "imbalance" in the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
"The intent of the RTE Act was that all private schools should reserve 25 per cent seats for economically weaker sections, but minority institutions claim exemption and are not bound to provide these free seats," he said.
"This creates an imbalance because if a school is run by Hindus, it must provide 25 per cent free seats, whereas if a school claims minority status, it does not," he added.
The VHP demanded that a clear definition of minority status be laid down.
"At present, even if less than two per cent of students belong to the minority community, institutions still claim these special rights, and therefore there should be a clear definition," he said.
"Alternatively, if such rights continue, then similar rights should also be extended to institutions run by the Hindu community," he added.
On population, Bagra expressed concern over "demographic imbalance" and said India needs a clear national policy.
"India is now the most populous country in the world, and there is a limit to how much population pressure the country can sustain. There is no comprehensive population policy in place," he said.
"We have urged MPs that the government should formulate a population management policy and clearly define the upper limit of population," he added.
Bagra also cited concerns related to "demographic imbalance" and their implications.
"After Independence, the first Census in 1951 showed that Hindus constituted about 90 per cent of India's population. Since then, in every Census, the proportion of Hindus in the total population has been declining.
"The 2021 Census could not be conducted due to the COVID pandemic and is expected to be carried out soon. There are concerns that this trend may continue.
"If this continues over the next 25-30 years, a distorted situation may arise, similar to the conditions before Partition in 1947," he claimed.
Bagra cited the decline in the birth rate among Hindus, who earlier used to have six or seven children, but now it has been "reduced to one or two".
"In contrast, birth rates among Muslims and Christians are higher, with larger family sizes," he claimed.
"Additionally, illegal immigration from neighbouring countries -- primarily involving Muslims -- is contributing to the imbalance," he said.
"Due to differences in birth rates and illegal immigration, a demographic imbalance is emerging, which could pose risks to the country's cultural heritage, political stability and national security.
"There should be a public debate on these issues. Based on a consensus emerging from such discussions, a population management or population control policy should be formulated and implemented uniformly across all communities -- Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists," the VHP leader told reporters.
On pilgrimage tourism, Bagra said the sector lacks focus.
"Nearly three-fourths of important sites in the country are associated with pilgrimage, but government attention is largely focused on general tourism, and many pilgrimage sites lack infrastructure and cleanliness," he said.
He cited examples like Kashi, Ujjain and Ayodhya, where tourism has increased due to better infrastructure, and demanded a separate department.
"Wherever infrastructure has been developed at pilgrimage sites, the number of visitors has increased and it has contributed to the economy," he said.
"We have proposed that a separate department for pilgrimage tourism should be created so that dedicated policies, budget and guidelines can be developed," he said.
Giving details of the outreach programme, which was conducted over three weeks from March 9 to March 27, Bagra said, "The campaign lasted for three weeks and out of 784 MPs, we connected with 375 MPs, while others could not be met due to their engagements, although our effort was to reach every MP."
He said the campaign was aimed at engaging MPs and raising awareness on these issues.