Hindu women to have 4 children to stop rise of Christianity in India

The statements of a parliamentarian from the Hindu nationalist party in power have fueled the existing controversy on conversions to Hinduism in India with a large number of Muslims, Christians and Buddhists.

A parliamentarian of the Hindu nationalist party in India asked Hindu women to have at least four children to "protect their religion" from a looming drop and possible extinction.

Sakshi Maharaj said Tuesday that  "The time has come for Hindu women to have at least four children to protect the Hindu religion"

Muslim and Christian groups as well as opponents of the government have accused the Indian radical organizations of forcing or inducing members of religious minorities to convert to Hinduism.

Hindus account for 80% of India's population of 1.25 billion. The country is officially secular and has a large number of Muslims, Christians and Buddhists. The birth rate in India has dropped dramatically in 20 years, in part because of better education of women, according to a recent government study.