Mohan Bhagwat, head of the influential Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has called on Indian families to have three children, saying the country needs "controlled, yet sufficient" population growth to safeguard long-term economic capacity and cultural cohesion. Speaking in New Delhi during events marking the RSS centenary, Bhagwat warned that the current decline in fertility threatens demographic stability. India, the world’s most populous nation at 1.46 billion people, now has a total fertility rate of fewer than two children per woman, according to the UN Population Fund’s 2025 report. While birth rates have fallen across religious groups, nationalist leaders have voiced concern that a sustained drop could accelerate population ageing and weaken the labour force. Bhagwat’s remarks come amid a broader international debate on shrinking family sizes. New research highlighted by the Financial Times this week shows that in many developed economies the recent fall in births is concentrated among left-leaning voters, leaving conservative households largely unchanged. Economists warn that such trends could shift political balances and complicate efforts to finance ageing societies.