Uttar Pradesh and Assam are pushing for the policy despite scant evidence that it works. The fertility rate of Muslims is also cited as a major reason for such norms, and that’s disinformation at its worst.
The clock began ticking on Mitwa’s tenure as the pradhan of a local panchayat, or village council, in Rajasthan when she became pregnant a third time. As the intermediary between her village and the local administration, she was expected to adhere to the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act of 1994, which disqualifies elected local leaders from elections if they have more than two children. Her state had been the first in India to impose the two-child policy for panchayat and municipal leaders, and she was well aware of that. For this reason alone, she wasn’t keen on baby number three. But …
Roshni is a features writer and former editor of The Morning Context's Chaos team. Her career spans The Ken, Reuters, the Hindustan Times and DNA. She is a recipient of the UNFPA Laadli award and was shortlisted for the RedInk Awards 2016 for her story on Mumbai’s leprosy colonies. Her far-flung ideas would sometimes drive our editor-in-chief Ashish up the wall, but he wouldn’t have had it any other way (even if he didn’t admit it).
roshni@mailtmc.com