‘Will disturb peace in classrooms’: Tamil Nadu educationists on questions posed by MHA’s demography panel

The State Platform for Common School System – Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) has said the questions posed by the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) are "sure to disturb peace in schools and colleges, as children and youth may begin to view their classmates as individuals who have come to occupy their place of study or future occupation”.

In an appeal addressed to Indian lawmakers, political parties and the people of India, SPCSS-TN general secretary PB Prince Gajendra Babu asked the people of India to ensure that the ministry of home affairs (MHA) "dissolves the HLCDC and ensures that nothing is done to disturb the peace."

In Tamil Nadu government schools

The appeal says that thousands of Indians from the northern and northeastern states of India have settled in various districts of Tamil Nadu.

According to the letter, children who have settled in the state and study in government-run schools are eligible for all rights, including the 7.5% reservation for government school students in professional courses. It notes that such a reservation, particularly for undergraduate (UG) medical admissions, is not offered in any other Indian state.

"Should the respondent consider this a major demographic change?" the appeal asks. "Will this not lead people to view these children as outsiders who have come to grab seats in Tamil Nadu's government professional colleges?"

Also read World top 2% scientists list a measure of influence, may not be of reliability

Aimed at ‘polarising people’

The HLCDC is the panel the MHA constituted to study demographic changes across the country. Babu said it "has sought responses from the general public and organisations regarding observed demographic changes in their neighborhoods or anywhere in India." He said this step "reinforces earlier doubts about the committee's intentions, which arose when it previously sent a questionnaire to various state governments."

The appeal objects to asking respondents to describe major demographic changes over the past 15 years, saying that this could disturb the peace, as people may start viewing recent settlers as encroachers on space meant for traditional residents.

“The concern is whether the questions are aimed at polarising people and creating animosity among different groups by invoking the 'Sons of the Soil theory'," the letter says.

The appeal also says the designated portal "mandatorily requires respondents' personal details, along with their consent to process their personal data." The letter calls this practice "new" and says "the intention is highly suspicious."

Also read For every 100 boys, only 59 girls in rural India complete Class 12: UNESCO Report

‘Stop this exercise’

The appeal says the MHA “should be asked to stop this exercise forthwith,” and that Parliament “should hold a special session to discuss the reasons for constituting the HLCDC when the census process is underway.” It says the census should be completed in accordance with the Census Act, 1948, and that its data “should be sufficient for planning and development.”

“State governments must categorically inform the demographic panel that it is impossible for them to respond to queries aimed at maintaining records based on religion, which effectively results in the segregation of people,” a previous appeal, sent on September 29, said. “India stands united, and its national integration remains possible only through the Constitution of India.”

Also read JBIMS Placements 2026: 11 students with no jobs despite ‘excellent’ hiring season

What is the HLCDC?

The MHA constituted the HLCDC on May 26, 2026, through a resolution published in the Gazette of India. It is to "undertake scientific study of the nature, causes and consequences of such demographic changes occurring across the country and to recommend appropriate policy, administrative and legal measures."

The resolution attributes the changes to "external abnormal factors such as illegal immigration, irregular population mobility, and administrative laxity." It says they are "most visibly concentrated in the border districts" but now affect "urban centres, industrial corridors, tribal regions, and other socially and economically sensitive areas."

Its Terms of Reference include analysing "structural population changes at the level of religious or social communities" and recommending "a well-organized and permanent operational system for the legal, fair and time bound identification, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants already residing in the country."

The HLCDC's website says its work is guided by "transparency, objectivity, inclusiveness, stakeholder participation and evidence-based policymaking."