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Assam’s Population Policy, 2017
Assam’s 2017 Population and Women Empowerment Policy claims to have as its focusthe inclusive and sustainablewell-being of its population, rather than population control. However, it displays an overriding concern with population “explosion,” exaggerates the actual increase in numbers, and is suggestive of a targeted approach.
The Assam government adopted the Population and Women Empowerment Policy of Assam (PWEPA) on 15 September 2017, within six months of publication of its draft population policy in March 2017. Both the draft population policy and its subsequent incarnation as PWEPA primarily aim to curb the “exponentially expanding population” in the state. One of the authors of the draft population policy regrets that
a section has reduced the draft to a mere population control policy, and has engaged in making uninformed comments about it! I re-emphasise that it’s not only a population control instrument, but a population policy, the scope of which is much broader. The latter includes, besides others, strong steps towards expansion of health and education infrastructure in the state. (Sharma 2017)
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