Every family should have 3 children, says RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday (August 28) called upon every Indian couple to have three children in the interest of the country.

Bhagwat made the remarks while addressing a press conference in New Delhi. He was answering questions on demographic change and population control.

Why 3 children

“Doctors have told me that marrying at the right age and having three children ensures that both the parents and children remain healthy. Children in homes with three siblings also learn ego management and there is no disturbance in their family life in the future. This is what doctors have said... Our country's population recommends a birth rate of 2.1, which is fine as an average, but you can never have 0.1 of a child. In math, 2.1 becomes 2, but when it comes to births, after two, it has to be three,” the RSS chief said.

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“There is a concern as well. Population can be a boon, but it can be a burden as well. You have to feed everyone at the end of the day. This is why the population policy exists. So, to ensure that the population remains controlled and enough at the same time, every family should have three children but not too many more than that. This is to ensure their upbringing is proper. This is something everyone should accept,” he added.

Gurukul education

He also encouraged the integration of Gurukul education with mainstream education, saying the former is not about living in an ashram but learning about the country's traditions.

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Responding to a question, Bhagwat said he is not in favour of making Sanskrit compulsory, but it is important to understand the tradition and history of the country.

“The 64 aspects of the Vedic era that are relevant should be taught. Gurukul education should be integrated into the mainstream, not replaced,” he said.

He said the mainstream should be linked with Gurukul education, whose model is similar to the education model in Finland.

"In Finland, which is a leading country in education, there is a separate university for training teachers. Many people come from abroad because the local population is small, so they accept students from all countries.

“Education up to the eighth grade is conducted in the mother tongue of the students... so Gurukul education is not about going and living in an ashram, it has to be linked with mainstream,” he said.

Bhagwat lauds NEP

Lauding the new National Education Policy (NEP) as the right step in the right direction, Bhagwat said the education system in our country was destroyed long ago.

“A new education system was introduced because we always remained in slavery to the foreign invaders who were the kings of those times. They wanted to rule this country and not develop it. So they made all the systems keeping in mind how we can rule this country... But now we are free. So we don't just have to run the state, we have to run the people,” he said.

The RSS chief said the mindset should be built, all the information needed should be given to the children about the past, so that pride can be instilled in the children that “we are also something, we can also do it”.

“We have shown that. All this had to change. A little bit has happened in the last few years, and its awareness has increased,” he said.

(With agency inputs)