CALLOUS COMMENTS AND POLITICAL PROPAGANDA

Contrary to national population control campaigns of several decades, including ones that he supported, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently stated that couples should be encouraged to have more than two children, in order to stabilise population growth in the state.

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Subsequently, it was widely reported that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said at a mass wedding ceremony organised by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department that the newlyweds might want to consider having 16 children.

It has been suggested that the latter was a case of decontextualised misquoting, possibly a result of mixing up remarks about a Tamil proverb that blesses newlyweds with 16 forms of abundance with remarks about the Lok Sabha delimitation process (which will realign constituencies based on population figures). Else, it is believed to have been a joke, unlike the former's straightforward comments. Nonetheless, between the two chief ministers' related statements being in the news within days of each other, the notion that the South-Indian states need to boost population growth for political and economic reasons has entered general discourse.