India's population is now over 1.425 billion based on census data, United Nations estimates of birth and death rates. In 1950, the United Nations started keeping records of the census and since then India now has the largest population for the first time. India has left behind China in terms of population.
However, this news is not being seen everywhere in the world as a sign of India's emergence as a global power. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin sparked controversy by saying that India may have more people, but China still has more "talent".
The German magazine Dare Spiegel published a cartoon on the news of India overtaking China in population, showing an overcrowded Indian train overtaking a 21st century Chinese high speed train.
Many politicians and other people have termed this cartoon as racist. Sarvesh Kaushal, former chief secretary of the Punjab government, tweeted, "Why don't developed countries leave any chance to attack India from below and humiliate its people? The reason for their concern is clear: they should enjoy the old glory." while a dark future stares at them."
The question that arises from this discussion is that apart from symbols, what matters in India becoming the largest populated country in the world?
The challenge before India is to take advantage of the population
Srikant Kondapalli, professor at the Center for China Studies at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, has said that some of the responses are prejudiced and racist against India. "We understand that population is an asset, not a problem," Kondapalli told DW.
India's average age is 27 years, which is lower than the global average. Pointing to this, he said that it would help the country reap the "advantages of population". Kondapalli says, “Basic indicators are moving forward, our literacy rate is increasing, our healthcare indicators are getting better. Today we are the fifth largest economy in the world and by 2030 we will be the third largest economy. "
India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the World Bank estimates that it will grow at 6.9 per cent in 2023. Similarly, the International Monetary Fund has projected a growth rate of 6.1 percent in the next five years.
However, on the one hand, where the youth of the country are seen as a resource, the high rate of unemployment among them is also a big problem. The urban unemployment rate was 10.1 percent in December last. The problem has been compounded by the large number of layoffs after the pandemic. Trained youth are facing an acute shortage of high-paying jobs. Unemployment is highest in production centres. In some cases it has reached up to 20 per cent. Unemployment and inflation are expected to become the biggest political issue in next year's general elections. These elections are to be held in May 2024.
Kondapalli says it is clear what government policies need to focus on if they want to take advantage of the growing population in the coming years. "Work has to be done on improving infrastructure, skill development, job opportunities for people, improving work environment and improving the basic indicators of human resource development," he said.
For China, India's overtaking in population is not just symbolic. Despite China's economy being four times bigger than that of India, there is concern about the decreasing and aging population there. The number of Chinese people over the age of 65 will double by 2050. The burden of all these will fall only on the people working in the present era. The ruling party of China has taken several measures to increase the birth rate in the country. His disappointment is clearly visible in the manner in which India's overtaking of China in population was published in the Chinese government media.
big but no superpowers
Kondapalli says that China is ahead of India in many respects including literacy rate, health services, but the difference is not as much as China is showing. However, along with this, he also pointed out that increasing population does not mean that India will become a superpower. He says, "Superpowers are formed on the basis of GDP, on the basis of technology, on the basis of military power or on the basis of soft power. No country becomes a superpower on the basis of population.
He also believes that China is completely different from India in terms of ideology. Kondapalli said, "India's ambition is not to become a superpower. We have seen Xi Jinping saying that China wants to occupy the center and come in the middle, but no Indian leader has said that it wants to become a superpower." .
One of the things on which China's status depended, has gone out of its hands. Now when India will get used to this new identity, perhaps its ambitions will also change.
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