Human evolution took several centuries. But civilisation developed mostly during the last five hundred years or so. During this period, people initially travelled for trade and to acquire things and materials for sustenance of life. Then some attempted to occupy territories to expand their empires. This started the era of colonization. Over time, this led to disturbances between local people and invaders which resulted in major wars. This upset the normal life of people and ended in loss of many lives and economic upheaval. People realised the necessity of maintaining the sanctity of the borders of countries.
When peace prevailed in the world, the western countries in mostly Europe and North America embarked upon growth and development. Inventions, scientific discoveries and industrial development lead to faster growth in lifestyles and the economy. Japan, deprived of essential resources like oil and coal, was the only country from Asia to provoke Europe and America in a bid to capture control over natural resources in the colonised countries. The twentieth century saw tremendous growth in economy in Europe, North America and Japan. India and China, being populous countries had their own internal problems to overcome poverty and also ensure growth, albeit at a slow pace, within their meager resources. The fast-paced development in Europe and North America opened up tremendous opportunities for manpower. This resulted in large scale migration of Asians towards these continents.
When the West was immersed in its development process, the people residing in these countries got busy with their daily schedules and work pressure. Their attention towards their family lives declined. In their quest for innovation and growth, they did not pay much attention towards marriage or bearing children. Even otherwise, their culture and lifestyle believed in nuclear families and children aged eighteen and above were expected to leave home and manage themselves on their own, either for higher studies or for sustained living. This is basically because they placed a high value on independence, personal freedom and individuality. Their belief that growth and independence will make their future brighter has proved wrong. Their uncontrolled lifestyle has resulted in climate change, ruined habitat and biodegradation affecting even the animal and plant life. Marriage gradually lost its relevance among adults. For this reason or for economic reasons, in the US, the fertility rate declined from 3.3 in the 1950’s to 1.6 at present. In Europe, the fertility rate was 3.5 in the 1950’s, which has dropped down to 1.38 in the 2020s (All figures from Google Gemini AI mode on the net). Similar trends are seen in Japan and Australia, too. The main reasons behind the drop in fertility rate in these countries are reported to be the high cost of childbearing, increased female autonomy, and a shift in values. This drastic drop in fertility rates has resulted in the countries losing out in the working age population and the median age of people resting between 38 and 46. Per cent of people over sixty years range between 20-26, while in Japan it is 35%.
Since the 1980s, China embarked upon massive growth of 10% per year until 2010, and its GDP increased from $300 billion to $6 trillion (Source: Google Gemini AI mode). Now that the economy is mature enough, the country is concentrating more on domestic consumption, and the growth rate is hovering around 6%. As China was the most populous country in the world, it introduced one child policy in 1979. It was disbanded in 2015. But this resulted in the median age reaching 40 years. People aged over sixty years stand at 21% now (Source: Google Gemini AI mode).
India has been having fluctuating growth rates during the period 1980 to 2025, varying between 3-9%. Presently, the growth rate has been around 6-7% with the GDP reaching around $3 trillion (Source: Google Gemini AI mode). Like China, India is becoming self-reliant and concentrating on local manufacture and consumption. With its education policy, India is producing more graduates in the STEM fields, which is the most desirable requirement globally. The median age in India now is only 29 years, and the percentage of the population over sixty stands at only 11% (Source: Google Gemini AI mode). Comparatively, India has a much younger population and more working-age people. It can thus claim to have a demographic dividend. India is therefore at a competitive advantage compared to all the developed economies in the world. But the disturbing trend is in the fertility rate. Although marriage has not yet lost its relevance and significance in India as much as in the West, the cost of living vis-à-vis GDP growth rate has risen so much particularly in the last two decades, the majority middle class find it financially prohibitive to beget a child and rear the child for growth, curricular and co-curricular activities as well as they themselves had when they were young. The fertility rate has gradually declined from 4.8 in the 1980’s to less than 2 (Source: Google Gemini AI mode). This is less than 2.1, which is somewhat below the replacement fertility rate. This trend is seen among young adults living in the country as well as the vast Indian diaspora. Unlike the past, there are significant gaps in generation, technological awareness and educational background, as well as financial dependence between the parents and young couples. High costs in children’s education and upbringing in present days’ growing economy, besides family responsibilities of housing and lifestyles, are the main concerns of today’s couples. If this trend is allowed to continue, India will also join the ageing populations of Europe, America, Japan and China. Unfortunately, we have not learnt lessons from the disasters of Western philosophy of growth and independence. We have blindly followed the developed economies. Life has therefore turned topsy-turvy. Considering the fact that family support systems and affordable service facilities are still prevalent in India, unlike the West, young couples need to be encouraged to have two or three children to offset the replacement rate criteria. Some drastic action needs to be taken by the authorities and agencies concerned to make the cost of living, education and other activities affordable so that married couples don’t hesitate to beget children like their parents earlier and also bring the lifestyles to reasonable standards.