Sadhvi Prachi needs to enroll for a class in Vedic maths.
On Tuesday, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader declared that any Indian who produces more than two children should be stripped of their voting rights. Prachi made this exhortation at a Hindu Sammelan in Bahraich, a town in northern Uttar Pradesh (while also claiming that people who slaughter cows, don’t sing Vande Mataram or insult the tricolour have no right to live in India).
But barely six weeks ago, at another Virat Hindu Sammelan organised in another UP town, Sadhvi Prachi spent her time congratulating Hindus who had given birth to four or more children. She took pains to defend a statement she had made in January, asking every Hindu couple to have four children.
“I said I have only advocated four children for Hindus, not 40 puppies. And it is important because the country needs it,” Prachi said at the gathering in Badaun on February 2, while accusing Indian Muslims of trying to convert “Hindustan” into a “Darul Islam” by having 35-40 children.
In her zeal to prove her patriotism to Hindustan, the Sadhvi has evidently missed the contradiction in her own speeches.
What would motivate Hindu women to have four children each to serve the nation if their voting rights are forfeited after just two? Despite the VHP’s deep-seated fears of being overtaken by fast-breeding Muslims, Hindus still comprise 80% of India’s population (and will continue to do so for a long time). If aadarsh Hindu parents with four or more children are disenfranchised, that would most likely dent the vote share of the VHP’s favoured political party.
Clearly, Sadhvi Prachi hasn’t thought this through.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
On Tuesday, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader declared that any Indian who produces more than two children should be stripped of their voting rights. Prachi made this exhortation at a Hindu Sammelan in Bahraich, a town in northern Uttar Pradesh (while also claiming that people who slaughter cows, don’t sing Vande Mataram or insult the tricolour have no right to live in India).
But barely six weeks ago, at another Virat Hindu Sammelan organised in another UP town, Sadhvi Prachi spent her time congratulating Hindus who had given birth to four or more children. She took pains to defend a statement she had made in January, asking every Hindu couple to have four children.
“I said I have only advocated four children for Hindus, not 40 puppies. And it is important because the country needs it,” Prachi said at the gathering in Badaun on February 2, while accusing Indian Muslims of trying to convert “Hindustan” into a “Darul Islam” by having 35-40 children.
In her zeal to prove her patriotism to Hindustan, the Sadhvi has evidently missed the contradiction in her own speeches.
What would motivate Hindu women to have four children each to serve the nation if their voting rights are forfeited after just two? Despite the VHP’s deep-seated fears of being overtaken by fast-breeding Muslims, Hindus still comprise 80% of India’s population (and will continue to do so for a long time). If aadarsh Hindu parents with four or more children are disenfranchised, that would most likely dent the vote share of the VHP’s favoured political party.
Clearly, Sadhvi Prachi hasn’t thought this through.