Sikkim, located in the Himalayas and surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet, is a unique state in India. It boasts the country’s tallest peak and is the world’s largest producer of smoky black cardamom. However, it also has India’s smallest population, with less than three-quarters of a million people, and the lowest birthrate. State leaders are concerned about the survival of Sikkim’s distinct culture, which is a blend of ethnic groups, religions, and geography.
While India’s population is expected to soon surpass 1.4 billion, the situation in Sikkim is so dire that the local government is essentially paying people to have babies. This effort highlights a demographic reality in India that is often overshadowed by its sheer size. Population growth is highly uneven, with a few states in the underdeveloped north accounting for much of it. Other parts of India, particularly the south, where incomes are higher and women are better educated, have aging populations that are shrinking or will be in the coming years.
In Sikkim, officials say the birthrate has plummeted due to a lack of economic opportunity, which often forces men and women to search for jobs outside the state, leading to marriages later in life. Women in Sikkim have traditionally enjoyed greater freedom than those in many other rural parts of India, with a female labor force participation rate of 59 percent, much higher than the national average of around 29 percent. Young people are choosing careers over early marriage and having fewer babies as a result.
State officials want couples to have at least three children. Government statistics show that women in Sikkim are having 1.1 on average during their reproductive years, well under the national rate of 2 and below the rate of 2.1 needed to maintain a steady population without migration. State surveys put the figure at 0.89, a rate just above that of South Korea, the least fecund nation in the world.
Countries have tried various measures to raise birthrates, but have found only modest success at best. In Sikkim, the government is using a three-pronged strategy. Since August, it has been offering cash to childless citizens of reproductive age for in vitro fertilization treatment. It is also offering couples with one child a monthly stipend of about $80 if they have more. Civil servants are being offered salary increases, yearlong maternity leaves, and even a babysitter if they expand their families.
Much is at stake as birthrates decline precipitously among all of Sikkim’s dominant ethnic groups: the largely Hindu Nepalis, the Lepchas, and the Bhutias, both mostly Buddhist.
“They have to either see their culture vanish or lure people to…
2023-05-29 02:00:24
Link from www.nytimes.com
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