Indian Prime Minister Damns Illegal Muslim Migrants Who Allegedly Produce More Children. Illegal Indian Migrants In USA Have Comparatively High Fertility Rates

 

by

P.S. Sahni

 

The Islamophobic campaign spearheaded by Narendra Modi is replete with speeches blaming Muslims on this or that pretext. In one such statement he refers to Muslim infiltrators from across the border – to wit Bangladeshis – who have a high rate of producing children. Apparently, the Indian Prime Minister has a weird worldview; one is not sure if he has read any book after he completed his formal education. Would he know or care to know that a large number of Indians try to enter USA illegally year after year? The total number is said to be 7,25,000. It is safe to assume that the vast majority of these illegal migrants would be Hindus, Sikhs as 80% of population in India belongs to the Hindu community. Most are from Gujarat and Punjab in search of jobs, since Modi government is on the path of jobless growth. This situation has become acute in the last 10 years of Modi’s rule. The issue has to be seen in a humanitarian way. Most Bangladeshis who enter India do menial jobs and are just about able to exist. They provide cheap labour and do not burden the administration for freebies. Worldwide such labour boosts the economy of the countries wherein migration occurs, legal or illegal.

 

It might surprise the Indian Prime Minister that the fertility rate of Indian migrants to USA is higher than that of those born in USA itself. Has Mr. Modi ever once called Indians going to USA illegally as ‘ghuspetiyas’ (infiltrators)? Has he ever condemned the high rate of fertility among illegal Indian immigrants in USA? Or such homilies are reserved only for Muslims from Bangladesh and their alleged high fertility rate? As I have quoted reports in this article, the fertility rate of women in Bangladesh are lower than that in India due to the successful family planning programmes. It is these women from Bangladesh who are being damned by the Indian PM.

 

The Washington Post (3 March 2024) informs:

 

“Indians have come to make up the third largest group of undocumented immigrants in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center’s 2021 estimates, which put the number of such Indians at 7,25,000. The immigrants are often from middle-class families”. (c.f. Bangladeshis in India who are poor).

 

Again thehindubusinessline.com (30 November 2023) states:

 

“Close to 21% of Indians residing in the US are undocumented, show data.”

 

In the USA immigrant fertility rate in 2008 was 2.75 children; for native-born it was 2.07; by 2019 Total Fertility Rate (TFR) had fallen to 2.02 for immigrants and 1.69 for native-born.

 

The Center for Immigration Studies reports:

 

“The birth-rate of illegal alien women was 3.1 children on average in 2002 or about 50% higher than the 2 children natives have on average. The birth rate for legal immigrants is 2.6 or about one third higher than that of natives.” Steven A Camarota (1 October 2005).

 

The New Indian Express (9 May 2024) reports:

 

·      Population growth rates are not linked to religion and the TFR among all religious groups is declining with the highest decrease observed among Muslims.

·      States with better access to education, health-care and socio-economic development such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, exhibit lower TFRs across all religious groups. For example, the TFR among Muslim women in Kerala is lower than the TFR among Hindu women in Bihar.

·      Successful family planning programmes in Muslim-majority countries like Bangladesh and Indonesia have resulted in lower birth rates compared to India.

 

Is the Indian Prime Minister listening?