The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s two-day ‘Yuva Sant Chintan Sammelan’ in Kanpur ended on Tuesday with sants discussing the “decreasing population of Hindus and saffronisation of politics”. The sants expressed concern over the ‘one child’ concept being widely implemented among Hindu families and claimed that India will only thrive if it had “Hindu politics” and “politicians with morals”.

The Sammelan was attended by around 175 young saints.

Speaking to The Indian Express, VHP national secretary Ashok Tiwari said, “The decreasing population of Hindus had always been an issue of concern. The sants have decided to create awareness among Hindus to produce more children.” He added, “India has always been a Hindu country, hence all those who speak of saffronisation should remember that the country will thrive only if it has Hindu politics and politicians with morals.”

Swami Akhileshwaranand Giri, president of VHP’s Yuva Sant Varg, said that morals and traditions among Hindus were decreasing with each passing year, adding that the only way to save Hinduism was “to create awareness among people to produce more children and make them morally and traditionally rich”.

Tiwari said cow protection was another talking point at the Sammelan. “People should not let loose cows on the roads after getting milk. This should be banned,” he said, adding that the sants will be creating awareness among masses about taming cows. Violence in the name of cow protection is causing anger among people, he said.