A decade after Meghalaya announced cash incentives to women with 15 or more children, an organisation in the Christian-majority Mizoram has asked the tribal people in the State to have more children.
The appeal is seen as an outcome of the fear that “outsiders”, primarily non-tribal migrants, could outnumber the indigenous communities in the near future.
On Friday, Young Mizo Association (YMA) president Vanlalruata said Mizoram needed a “baby boom” to ensure that Mizos can fill the space taken up by “thousands of migrant workers and labourers”.
The YMA is an influential organisation that has a say in most community issues in Mizoram.
The annual population growth in Mizoram, about 1.6%, is below the national mark of 2.37% recorded in the 2011 census.
The Church in Mizoram too believes that the Mizos are underpopulated, he said.
Illegal migrants a worry
“We cannot move ahead as a society unless we have a higher population. Besides, we face the problem of illegal migrants. Bangladeshis move into Mizoram via Assam. There are migrants from Myanmar in the south as well as the [issue of] infiltration of Chakmas on the west,” Mr. Vanlalruata said on Saturday.
Mizoram has about 1.1 million people. The State, with 52 people per sq.km, has the second lowest density of population in the country after Arunachal Pradesh. The national average is 382 people per sq km.
