Chennai, March 9, 2025 – Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin held a discussion with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Members of Parliament over pressing issues regarding the National Education Policy and the anticipated delimitation exercise. The assembly reached a firm decision to fight against policies perceived as retaliatory toward states that greatly undertook population control measures effectively.
The core meeting had its focus on the delimitation exercise scheduled for 2026, which will draw parliamentary constituencies on the basis of fresh population data. The exercise of delimitation has traditionally been postponed as punitive and penal to states where population control has been a bastion to take pride in.
Leaders of the DMK see this exact approach likely leading to further undercutting of representation for Tamil Nadu, which boasts of being among those prone to success in family planning. For their part, Stalin insisted that any such move would result in unfairly punishing states that have taken the family planning attempts seriously.
He threw his weight behind the argument for representation in Parliament as fair and just, considering the extent to which states have expanded towards population control. Extra Alliances: The DMK resolved to set in place a coalition made up of states with which it would mount serious opposition to the delimitation exercise.
It resolved to create a united front against any intention to whittle away at the federal workings of states while ensuring proper representation. This resolve feeds into the partys pledge of protection for Tamil Nadu and similar provinces. The meeting also recognized the importance of joining hands with the Opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc and other democratic forces.
Aside from delimitation, the DMK MPs voiced their staunch opposition to the NEP and the so-called Hindi imposition. The party has been unwavering in its opposition to the NEP for attacking the autonomy of states in educational matters and imposing a monolithic approach to all. The opposition to Hindi imposition has stemmed from a desire to carry on with the preservation of multiplicity in languages and to protect and promote the use of regionally-acclaimed languages.
The DMK sees the basis of such a measure in the belief that all education policies must be formulated in connection with the specific cultural and linguistic contexts of each state. Another important problem brought up was that of central fund allocation.
The government insisted that said funding should therefore be fairly provided to Tamil Nadu in view of Tamil Nadu’s contributions to the national economy, adding that fiscal federalism mandates equal distribution of such resources to enable states to effectively attend to their developmental needs. In one satirical lash against the proposed delimitation, Chief Minister Stalin said he would now like to advise newlyweds to “immediately have babies and name themgrammatically, beautiful Tamil names.”
This statement evokes the irony that states like Tamil Nadu-micro, implementing population control successfully-might lose what little representation they have in Parliament due to the new delimitation threats. The comment highlights a critical area of concern with such new policies to create whatsoever rationality for evolution of such new criteria and what fairness they seek for their implementation. .
It is clear, then, that the DMK in a firm and commitment-mode wide against the proposed delimitation or issues related with the NEP also stand for another Madras moment, preserving the rights of states which have engaged seriously and with some results in population growth and education policies.
