Naidu and Stalin Join Calls for Higher Birth Rates in South India

Add to that N. Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh, who appeals for people to have more children, and M. K. Stalin of Tamil Nadu, who offered the tasteless comment 'why not 16 children', and you have the growing buzz for demographic balance in South India, where the declining fertility rate has become a point of worry.

While it is not new for Naidu to be in favor of having more children, what is new is his proposal for bringing in a legislation that one can contest panchayat or municipal elections only if they have more than two children. This surely shows that he is going to get beyond just words.

President of the Telugu Desam Party had for the last few years been championing an increase in population rate on par with the national average. However, Stalin's call close on the heels of Naidu's latest assertion appears to have given a push to the whole debate.

Stalin on Monday remarked that maybe it's the right time when newly-weds should think of having 16 children, rather than '16 forms of wealth' as desired in the Tamil marriage blessing.

"That blessing does not mean you should have 16 children. but now a situation has arisen where people think they may have to, literally, raise 16 children and not a small family," Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said while speaking at an event where 31 couples were getting married under the government-funded marriage scheme.

Stalin made this suggestion a day after Naidu revealed that his government was planning legislation allowing only those with more than two children to contest local body elections.

At one time, if you had more than two children, you could not contest panchayat or municipal elections. Now I am bringing a new law. Only if you have more than two children, you can contest panchayat or municipal elections and get more benefits for your family,\" he said at a gathering at Amaravati.

At one time, I had called for observing family planning but I am now making an appeal to people to beget more children," said Naidu while calling for maintaining demographic balance. The TDP-led NDA government in August repealed the legislation that barred people with more than two children from contesting local body elections.

Voicing concern over the fertility rate in the state declined to 1.5-1.7, he called for increasing the same to 2.1 percent at par with the national fertility rate.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is the average number of children a woman (15-49) would have if she lived to the end of her childbearing years and gave birth in line with current fertility rates.

He repeated that the population must be treated as an asset rather than a burden.

"Population in North India is growing but it's declining in South India. You should keep this in mind," he had said at a public meeting in August.

"If we don't think with foresight, the population will decrease. The ageing population will increase. If children are not born, who will take care of the aged ones?" he asked.
He warned that the demographic crisis may push the state to a situation more similar to that of Europe, China, and Japan, which possess more ageing populations.

It is not the case only with Andhra Pradesh. The total fertility rate of five southern states - Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu - worked out at 1.73 against the national average of 2.1.

The average TFR of five big heartland states - Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand - works out at 2.4.

Officials claim the average reproductive age of males in Andhra Pradesh is 32.5 years and could rise to 40 by 2047. For females in the state, this is at 29 years and will rise to 38 by 2047. It is expected that the population that may be able to contribute to economic growth will drastically reduce.

Today, 11 percent of the population in Andhra Pradesh is above 60 years. This will rise to 19 percent by 2047.

While speaking his mind from a demographic perspective, Naidu, a key ally of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, could not remain silent at Stalin and some other politicians from the region pointing out how the southern states would lose out in delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies owing to shrinking population.

An exercise to redraw the parliamentary constituencies on the basis of population is due in 2026. This will raise the Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 753. Regional parties in the South fear that while this will result in a huge jump in the number of seats in states with higher populations, the increase in the South will be minimal.

The leaders of these parties believe that the southern states have been penalized for good family planning over the last few decades and that states with a higher population density would enjoy more representation in the Lok Sabha.

K T Rama Rao, working president of Bharat Rashtra Samithi, warned a few months ago that if the representation of South Indians comes down in Parliament due to proposed delimitation on the basis of population, there would be a southern uprising.

He said that southern states cannot be penalised for performing well to control population on the advice of the Government of India and in the interest of the nation, he said cutting across political lines, people of South India would voice their concern.

BRS leader As this was reacting to AIMIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's comment that South India is sitting on a powder keg as far as delimitation is concerned.

If you think that you are going to silence our voices and our voice in the Parliament because of this delimitation, because of the population parameters you are taking, then I will promise you, you will see a southern uprising because this is unfair. This is extremely unjust because it was the Government of India that wanted Indians to control their population," KTR told a news conference.

Talking of the projected seats in Parliament after delimitation, he said: "What will be more atrocious is that two states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, after delimitation together will have more MPs than the entire southern India."

"States that have done well because of the advice of the Government of India will now be penalised. Wisdom needs to prevail. We are all proud Indians. The South is the largest contributor to India's economy. Nineteen percent of the population is contributing nearly 35 percent of India's GDP," Rama Rao said.