NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh will hold a seminar for Muslim women on ‘Small Family, Happy Family’ in Ajmer on Thursday. The move comes close on the heels of the RSS exhortation to the government to revise the population control policy to ‘counter’ the ‘expanding numbers’ of Muslims and Christians. The event will be organised by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, an affiliate of the RSS.Senior RSS leader and Muslim Rashtriya Manch mentor Indresh Kumar told ET at least 5, 000 Muslim women from across the country would participate in the twoday event. “The increase in Muslim population in the country has not only led to unrest in society but also increased poverty and stalled the growth of the country. Illiteracy, health problems and unemployment are rampant because of this,” he said, adding: “The Quran says it clearly that one must have only that many children that he can take care of, nurture and educate. This is a lesson that all Muslims should follow.”Earlier this month, after a three-day national executive in Ranchi, the Sangh had asked for the reformulation of the national population policy keeping in view the availability of resources in the country and future needs. The share of population of religions of Hindus has slipped from 88% to 83.5% between 1951-2011 censuses while Muslim population increased from 9.8% to 14.23% in the intervening period, the resolution passed by the RSS said.The same theme was deliberated upon by RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat in his Vijayadashami speech in Nagpur this year. Kumar said various RSS leaders and sangh sympathisers in the Muslim community will speak to women about the need to have “small, manageable families,” “worrying increase in Muslim talaqs” and “getting husbands to work and earn through rightful means”, among other issues, at the event. “We won’t go into the debate on Talaq. That is an internal matter of the community.The number of divorced women is increasing in the country and several of them are from the Muslim community. Why is this happening? We want the men who say talaq to their wives easily to get rid of their other bad habits,” Kumar said. “We also want to tell the women to ensure that the money their husbands earn comes from rightful means and is not haram.The money they earn should not come after committing crimes on others,” he added. Indresh Kumar said Ajmer is a holy spot for Muslims, hence it was chosen to be the venue for the event.The RSS listening to Muslims is a welcome surprise — even as it must understand that it needs to clear doubts about its intentions. ‘Family planning’ became anathema because of the Emergency-era Congress. By holding similar camps as the one scheduled in Ajmer for other religious denominations, the RSS can ensure that it isn’t seen pushing for ‘selective’ family planning. Issues like Muslim divorce and plight of women, another realm where the Congress polarised matters, the RSS can do well with a less cynical set of listeners. Whether the RSS can provide that ear is for the RSS to prove.