The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has said that it will adopt a policy of persuasion through education to control population and quoted the 'Quran' to claim it favours small families for those who can't afford to raise big ones.

Stressing that the government should formulate a national population policy to check the “demographic imbalance” as evident through “increasing” population of Muslims in the country, the RSS on Friday said it would create awareness on the issue. The RSS said the issue of population control needs to be made religion-neutral and its affiliates will persuade communities including Muslims to strive for smaller families.

Briefing reporters about the just-concluded RSS meeting in Ranchi, Delhi state’s co-in-charge Alok Kumar told reporters, “we want persuasion through education. Our members of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch found quotations from the Quran, where it has been stated that if you are unable to rear your family, its size should be kept small and should be limited to what you can raise.”

“We feel it is a sage advice. It is a correct advice. This is the correct advice for every section of society... we don’t want to repeat the Emergency days when things were done by force. Persuasion is the right way to do it,” Kumar said.

He said population policy should be religion-neutral, but steps need to be taken to check the imbalances. "I agree that population policy should remain religion-neutral. But where it has not been accepted, we feel persuasion efforts should be increased there. I want to re-emphasise that we have not raised any questions on the religion-neutral policy," he said.

The Sangh hoped the government will agree to its demands in taking effective steps to control population and remove imbalances.

On Minorities, he said the views of RSS are very clear as it feels that all citizens of the country enjoy equal fundamental rights. He said during the three-day meet at Ranchi recently, RSS called for control on population and remove the imbalances created due to increase in population of certain sections.

"Sangh is urging the governments to stop infiltration from borders, governments are working and society should be aware," he said. He felt that infiltrators who cannot be pushed back immediately, their voting rights should be revoked so that they do not become vote banks.

On the issue of reservation, he said, its aim was to lift such communities and sections that were under-privileged. "We are in favour of the current reservation. But we don't consider reservation should be religion based and not consider it as per the Constitution," he said.