Indore (Madhya Pradesh): BJP MP Gajendra Patel gave a controversial statement regarding marriage and children in Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani, a video of which is going viral on social media. He urged people, referring to Hindus, to have ‘atleast’ 4-5 children. Referring to traditional family structures, Patel said families had been larger in the past and stressed the need to expand family lineages. He also linked population growth with national unity and urged people to marry in early 20s.
Gajendra Patel urged community to have larger families
Speaking in Barwani, BJP MP Gajendra Patel said families in the past had often been large, with people having five, seven or even ten siblings. He said family sizes had become smaller over the years.
Patel urged the community to increase its numbers and expand its family lineage. He said people needed to have at least four to five children in the present situation.
According to Patel, the scope of work and businesses had also expanded, creating a need for larger families. He said his appeal was aimed at encouraging the community to expand its families while continuing traditional practices.
He said, “Hum purane samay se ye karte aaye hain, to abhi vartaman samay me bhi kam se kam 4-5 bacchon ki awashyakta hai kyuki hamara vistar bhi hua hai, hamare karya ka bhi vistaar hua hai, vyavasay ka bhi bhi vistar hua hai, isliye iski avashyakta hai vartaman samay me.”
Patel linked larger families with national unity
The BJP leader said increasing the size of families would also help strengthen the unity of India. He said maintaining community numbers had been important and called upon people to follow practices that had existed since ancient times.
His remarks came amid wider discussions around population growth, family size and changing social practices in India.
BJP MP spoke about marriage age
Patel also spoke about the marriage age among followers of Sanatan Dharma. He said people had started getting married much later, with marriages increasingly taking place at the age of 30 or 35.
He suggested that people should return to the traditional practice of early marriage. Patel said followers of Sanatan Dharma should ideally have married at the age of 20, 22 or 23.
Focus on traditional family practices
Patel said traditional practices had remained important in the present-day context. His comments focused on Sanatan Dharma, family size and the need to maintain community numbers.
The statement drew attention as it touched upon sensitive issues including population, family planning, larger families and the appropriate age for marriage.
