Islam is not hostile to family planning, Muslims are least polygamous: Former CEC SY Quraishi

New Delhi

Declaring that the time has come to bust "myths created by Hindutva groups" to demonise Muslims, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi says Islam is not hostile to the concept of family planning and Muslims are the least polygamous among all communities in India.

There is also no organised conspiracy by Muslims to overtake Hindus in terms of population and their number can never rival that of Hindus in the country, Quraishi argues in his newly released book "The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India". He uses facts and figures to demolish propaganda that he says is reaching a "crescendo". "If you repeat a lie a hundred times, it becomes the truth," Quraishi added in an interview to PTI on his book.

The propaganda, he said, has become "very blatant" and gained traction, and it's time to challenge the narrative perpetuated against the community over the years. One myth, which most Muslims also believe, is that Islam is against family planning. But that is not so at all, Quraishi said.