Synopsis The question of population has occupied attention of statesmen and philosophers since ancient times. Plato and Aristotle were interested in the question of population size in the context of a city - state. Mercantilist doctrine emphasized the economic, political and military advantages of a large and growing population and favoured various measures to stimulate population growth. Malthus reacted against mercantilist doctrine. According to him the population increases in arithmetic progression while the population increases in geometric progression. Thus, the power of the earth to produce subsistent for men. Population theories since Malthus; Malthu's place in population; theories of population growth; Post-Malthian Theories; Biological theories of population; Family planning policies and strategies for developing countries; New population policy ; Population policy in India; Population research in India and many more topics are elaborately dealt in this book.