Makarand Desai

This series aims to give readers a basic understanding of the perplexing puzzles that the strange arithmetic of population poses to democratic systems today! In this sixth installment, we’ll explore India’s birth rate dynamics, state-wise variations, interstate migration, urban migration waves, and the resulting challenges... Part 6: The Arithmetic of Mumbai’s Crowded Locals So far in this series, we’ve examined birth rate trends through examples from various global regions. Before diving into India’s birth rate math, let’s recap the concept briefly: the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) indicates, on average, how many children women in a reproductive age group give birth to in a region. If a population’s TFR is around 2.1, it can sustain itself without external migration. This is called the replacement-level TFR. Above 2.1, the population grows; below it, the population shrinks. India’s TFR, according to the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) from 2019-20, was recorded at 2.0. Back...

This series aims to give readers a basic understanding of the perplexing puzzles that the strange arithmetic of population poses to democratic systems today! In this fifth installment, we’ll explore birth rates, the impact of women’s empowerment on birth rates, feminism, the stances of anti-feminist groups, and related topics... Part 5:  Women, Birth Rates & Social Shifts The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) indicates, on average, how many children women in a reproductive age group give birth to in a given region. In the first part of this series, we explored the issue of declining birth rates through the example of South Korea! To recap briefly: if a population’s TFR is around 2.1, it can sustain itself without importing people from outside. This is called the replacement-level TFR. If the TFR is above 2.1, the population grows; if it falls below, the population starts shrinking. Let’s dive deeper into the biological and social math behind this number. The growth of a mammalian popu...

This series aims to give readers a basic understanding of the perplexing puzzles that the strange arithmetic of population poses to democratic systems today! In this fourth installment, we’ll explore migration-related issues, focusing on the conflict between locals and outsiders in the Western world, the rise of ethno-nationalism, Western cultural nationalism, and related topics... Part 4: The Rise of Ethnic & Cultural Nationalisms in the West In the previous part, we discussed in detail the neoliberal policies that bolstered Western economies, the welcoming political climate for migration, and the cultural blending that followed. The data we reviewed made it clear that the wave of migration to Western countries over recent decades has benefited both their economies and the migrants themselves. But, as nature’s rule goes, where there’s honey, there are stinging flies—and this case is no exception! Take a moment from Donald Trump’s recent re-election campaign against Kamala Harris. ...

This series is designed to give readers a basic grasp of the confounding puzzles that the strange arithmetic of population poses to democratic systems today! In this third installment, we’ll wander into the world of the fair-skinned—the West—to discuss population and democracy issues tied to migration... Part 3: The West’s Invitation! Migration to the West isn’t exactly a new phenomenon for India. Every year, thousands of Indians become non-residents for reasons like education, jobs, or personal growth! Lately, as communication and transport have become easier, more accessible, and cheaper, this trend has only grown year after year... Now, here’s a key point: for decades, Western countries have consistently pursued migration-friendly policies! In the last part, we saw how the UAE puts tight restrictions on granting citizenship to migrants. Western nations, on the other hand, adopted liberal policies, and as a result, talent from across the globe started pooling in the West. Take Americ...

This series aims to give readers a basic understanding of the perplexing puzzles that the bizarre mathematics of population poses to democratic systems today! In the last part, we explored South Korea’s population problem. Now, in this second installment, we’ll take a stroll through the Gulf region to discuss issues tied to migration... Part 2: The Wealthy Gulf’s Non-Citizen Residents! We recently won the Champions Trophy! Thanks to the grace of Shri Shri Shri Jay Shah, India’s matches weren’t held in Pakistan but breezed through in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with stadiums packed to the brim with Indian fans in Dubai. Bollywood songs echoing through the stands? We’ve been seeing this since the 2020 IPL in Dubai... So why do big cricket tournaments, IPL auctions, and such events flock to the UAE? It’s because of the reputation it’s earned—especially Dubai—as a business hub. With an efficient administration, business-friendly laws, reasonable taxes, and strict law enforcement, these...

Democracy and population aren’t new concepts to India! Democracy has been thriving here for almost three-quarters of a century, while in terms of population, we’ve made such “stellar progress” that we’ve now clinched the number one spot globally! The goal of this series is to give readers a basic introduction to the complex conundrums that the bizarre arithmetic of population has thrown at democratic systems today! The main focus of this series will revolve around India’s upcoming delimitation, the ongoing North-South tussle related to it, its impact on Maharashtra, the BIMARU states being sustained by the tax revenues of progressive states, and similar issues. But since this is a global question, before diving into India’s mess, I thought we should first get a little more acquainted with the topic. So, in this series, we’ll take a detour through places like Korea and the Gulf before tackling India’s problems head-on! With that, here’s the first installment of this series...