Population growth: RSS-linked magazine echoes oppn's delimitation fears, but flags 'religious imbalance'

NEW DELHI: RSS-linked magazine Organiser Weekly, in its latest edition, may have echoed the concerns of opposition on the possible adverse political impact of delimitation on the southern states - which Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin had once described as a "Damocles Sword" hanging over the state.
An editorial published in the magazine flags both regional and religious imbalances linked to population growth and demands a comprehensive national population control policy."Regional imbalance is another critical dimension that will impact the delimitation process of the Parliamentary Constituencies in the future. The States from the West and South are doing relatively better regarding population control measures and, therefore, fear losing a few seats in Parliament if the base population is changed after the census. Hence, we need policies to ensure that population growth does not disproportionately impact any single religious community or region, which can lead to socio-economic disparities and political conflicts," the article titled "Demography, Democracy and Destiny" reads.
This is exactly what the southern leaders fear post Census, which is likely to happen in the third term of PM Modi. Union home minister Amit Shah had in September last year asserted that census and delimitation will begin soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Delimitation means the process of fixing the number of seats and boundaries of territorial constituencies in each state for Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies based on the population as determined by the latest Census. It also includes determining seats to be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in these houses. Article 82 and 170 of the Constitution provide that the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies as well as its division into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted after each Census.
The first delimitation was done in 1952 following the 1951 census which fixed Lok Sabha seats to 494. The next one came in 1963 following the reorganisation of states in 1956, which saw the number of Lok Sabha seats go up to 522. The third and last delimitation, carried out in 1973, raised the number of Lok Sabha seats to 543, which remains till this day.
The debate around delimitation began after the Women's Reservation Bill was passed by Parliament last year. The landmark Bill tied its implementation to the delimitation of the Lok Sabha and all state assembly constituencies based on the first Census data after the law was enacted.
Several leaders of the south have voiced concern over losing political heft in Parliament after the process of delimitation. While Stalin had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allay the fears of southern states, K T Rama Rao, former minister of Telangana, had called for united action by all political parties of the south against the "injustice" being done through the process of delimitation.
These leaders fear the north getting a bigger share of parliamentary constituencies because of their higher population density and the south losing its clout substantially because of effectively implementing population control measures.
'Religious imbalance'
And while the article highlights the opposition's concerns on regional imbalance, it slams leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee for ignoring the perils of religious imbalance citing the growth of Muslim population in some states.
"There is a significant Muslim population growth in certain areas, especially bordering districts. The bordering States of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Uttarakhand are witnessing unnatural population growth due to illegal migration across the borders. In a democracy, when numbers are critical regarding representation and demography decides the destiny, we must be even more cautious of this trend," the article reads.
The article then goes on to slam some of the opposition leaders for their appeasement politics.
"Politicians like Rahul Gandhi can afford to insult Hindu sentiments now and then, Mamata can play the blatant Muslim card even to accept the atrocities on women by the Islamists, and Dravidian parties can take pride in abusing the Sanatan Dharma only because of their confidence in the consolidation of so-called minority vote-bank developed with the population imbalance. Learning from the horrors of the Partition and what is happening with the politically correct but socially and culturally incorrect migration from West Asian and African countries, we have to address this issue urgently, as pointed out by various Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh resolutions and judicial pronouncements," it reads.