SARNA: China’s two-child policy a step in the right direction

China made headlines Thursday after declaring it will lift its one-child policy by allowing its citizens to have two children. The one-child policy was implemented in the late 1970s by the core Communist Party leader Deng Xiaoping, who wanted to ensure that “the fruits of economic growth are not devoured by population growth,” he once said.

As I hail from India, the second most populous country in the world, I understand and support China’s need for such strict policies. While the one-child policy was, in my opinion, more harmful than beneficial to the country’s long-term progress, the new policy looks promising not just explicitly but also implicitly. Though it is still too early to say, the new policy is already seeing more positive reactions, compared to the tumultuous reactions generated by the implementation of the one-child policy. The undercurrents of intense resentment felt by a large chunk of families are starting to drift away into calmer waves, resulting in a happier family future, or at least the right to make familial decisions without adhering to the rules and norms imposed by the government.

In other words, the people of China can finally plan their own families.

The two-child policy arose out of national concern that stems from studies claiming China will soon suffer from a shrinking and aging population come 2025. This is a matter of panic given how focused China is on its economic advancements. To maintain its high standard, policy changes were very much required. An aging population looms a threat of poor productivity toward China’s already-established name as one of the “fastest-growing post-industrial economies” by The New York Times.

Another negative that resulted from the one-child policy was the skewed sex ratio. As families preferred boys to girls, China saw a large discrepancy in its male to female count: 118 males for every 100 females, according to NPR. Hand-in-hand with this was the rising problem of female infanticide.

Because I am a clear opponent of the one-child policy, I view the two-child policy as a decision of sheer brilliance. It serves a greater purpose than just ensuring economic growth and technological advancements. I view the two-child policy as a boon to not just economy, but also the quality of family life. An interesting read from the Times focuses on the psychological impact of these policies and points out that the people born after the one-child policy were less trusting and less trustworthy as opposed to those born before it. Hopefully with the advent of the new laws, the Chinese can return to their natural dispositions, making their familial lives richer in quality and more satisfying.

It’s amusing to me that I’m writing about the state of China after its one-child policy implementation, especially imagining India as it is now: mostly free of any impositions. I’m not referring to the developed urban cities of New Delhi or Mumbai, but instead the areas that make up a larger chunk of our population, the grassroots that are the hardest to reach out to but also the most important to educate and bring awareness to. With its humongous population escalating at lightning speed, India is set to become the most populous country by 2022, according to the United Nations.

I retrace my steps and repeat: I understand why China felt the need to implement its population policies. Between the 1990s and early 2000s, 11 Indian states passed two-child policy centric laws, but multiple states repealed them when they proved ineffective. But maybe we really should try to take note of China’s policy. If implemented at the right intensity and within strategically chosen strata of society, population policies can be the changing face of a faster and smarter developing India.