A REMARK made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin in jest over couples and children, on the heels of his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu advising people to have more offspring, has renewed the debate over delimitation and its impact on southern states with their lower population indices. Speaking at a mass wedding ceremony organised of 31 couples by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department in Chennai Monday, Stalin mentioned how blessings for newlyweds had changed over time, and went on to refer to an old Tamil saying from the book Manamakkalukku that enumerated 16 forms of wealth – ranging from cows and land to children and education. Referring next to a potential reduction of South India’s share in parliamentary seats due to lower population growth rates, Stalin joked: “Why not aim for 16 children?” On Saturday, Naidu warned against the effects on Andhra of an ageing population. Addressing a public gathering, he said his government was contemplating legislation to incentivise families to have more children, reversing earlier policies aimed at population control. The CM cautioned that a rise in the proportion of the elderly could strain the South’s economy, a phenomenon being experienced in many of the developed countries. He cited the examples of Japan, China, and parts of Europe, where ageing populations outnumber younger generations. “In many villages, only elderly people remain as the young have migrated to cities or overseas,” Naidu said, citing that the fertility rate in southern states was well below the national average at 1.6. He promised legislation under which the government would provide benefits to families with more children. Where Naidu will strike a chord with his Southern counterparts is the threat implicit in his remarks regarding a fall in population numbers affecting the states’ political influence. If population is the criterion for deciding constituency boundaries, the delimitation process, scheduled to occur after the new Census, would reduce the number of Lok Sabha seats in states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The DMK has also raised the unfairness of population numbers determining devolution of Central funds in Parliament, saying it “penalises” southern states for meeting population goals.
