By Sushil Kutty
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin wants eligible Tamilians to have larger families. He said he was speaking in jest, but such childish jokes don’t draw genuine laughter. Who is Stalin to offer unsolicited advice, asking “why not have 16 children”? He wasn’t alone, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu spoke first, saying couples having more children will be rewarded.
If MK Stalin was Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator after whom he was named, his word would have been law and his orders diktats. Joseph Stalin made life easy for himself and difficult for those who looked askance at him. . MK Stalin has son Udayanidhi Stalin and a daughter who is an entrepreneur.
Udayanidhi Stalin is an actor and a politician, currently Tamil Nadu’s Deputy Chief Minister. Udayanidhi’s grandfather was also Chief Minister. If MK Stalin had a larger family, there would have been more than one Udayanidhi Stalin fighting for the plum post.
Like MK Stalin who stole the scene from elder brother MK Alagiri. Point is, Stalin and N Chandrababu cannot just go and ask couples to go on the rampage and produce more children. There must be a reason, a sound reason, one that tugs at the heart. So, why do Chandrababu Naidu and MK Stalin want couples to have large families?
It is not their grandfatherly instincts. Politicians are not the sentimental sort. Nepotism is in their blood but it is very rarely that they are bothered about how many children families of the electorate should have. So, why do Naidu and Stalin want every Tom, Dick & Harry to have large families?
MK Stalin’s ’16’ is a number. He should have at least clarified 16 from how many wives? Which modern Indian woman/wife would agree to deliver 16 children? What was MK Stalin smoking? Whatever happened to mother and child’s health? Whatever happened to ‘Hum Doh, Hamara Doh”? Remember ‘Hum Doh, Hamara Barah’ had censorship problems.
Was MK Stalin saying ’16’ at a “Muslim ilakha”, to 16 Muslim hubbies? No Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh would dare ask a wife to have 16 children, not if they want to survive the night! Or, unless there is a BMW or Mercedes gift for every child born.
Then again, what about India’s demographic dividend, which is valued and protected, even boasted about? India is not China which is walking a geriatric tightrope. China’s one-child policy drained China of youth. And the old enjoy long life-expectancies. China needs ’16’, India should stick to “ek, doh, teen.”
But wouldn’t Chandrababu Naidu and MK Stalin know that what is good for China is not good for India, Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh? Apparently, it’s got to do with politics. Naidu and Stalin are advising people to have larger families as it will impact the impending ‘delimitation exercise’ for the greater good of the two states.
Naidu has in a few words “renewed the debate over delimitation and its impact on southern states afflicted with lower population.” And just so that nobody took offense, MK Stalin spoke at a mass marriage event in Chennai when 31 couples tied the knot.
Stalin also blessed the newlyweds and referred to an old Tamil saying from the book ‘Manamakkalukku’ which enumerated 16 types of wealth – from cows and land to children and education. And while at it, he spoke of the fall in South India’s share in Lok Sabha seats due to falling population growth rate. “So, why not aim for 16 children?”
Nice try! But being the caring Chief Minister, he shouldn’t forget that charity begins at home! Udhayanidhi Stalin and Stalin’s daughter first! After all, Chief Minister MK Stalin has only the good of Tamil Nadu and South India at heart. Imagine becoming grandfather to 16 plus 16 — 32 grandchildren!
Such luck doesn’t come to everybody. It is like winning the bumper prize of the Meghalaya State lottery. Naidu had earlier spoken of Andhra Pradesh’s ageing population and that his government was thinking of bringing in legislation to reward couples who have more children.
Clearly population control is out the Tamil and Andhra windows. There will be only one policy from now on – ‘Hum Do, Hamara 16’. There will be more cribs and less cribbing about delimitation. An aging population would put a strain on the “South’s economy”, like in Japan, China and parts of Europe.
There are villages all over India where there are only old people as the young have gone out into the world to make a life. Fertility rates have been plummeting in the southern states and are below 1.6, the national average. Naidu also promised a law to reward ‘high productivity couples’.
But Naidu and Stalin have a big task to convince people. Governments and laws can only ask and lure. People cannot be forced to “bed”, and it is not like forcible sterilization. Naidu and Stalin will have to drum into people that a falling population will reflect in the respective state’s political clout.
Also, population determines the devolution of central funds. And population is also a marker for deciding constituency boundaries. Delimitation will take place after the Census is completed. The number of Lok Sabha seats for states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh will fall.
Point is, the population is not fairly distributed among the states. Chief Minister MK Stalin wasn’t speaking in jest – having 16 children is no joke, not for the wife and mother, while the husband will have all the fun and the children will need roti, kapda, makaan and education. But like it always happens, it’s the woman of the house who does the hard work for the good of the entire family; in this case, for the good of even the state. (IPA Service)
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