The decision to divide Uttar Pradesh into four states by
Chief Minister Mayawati has set a new agenda in the state's politics. This
will have far reaching consequences for the coming assembly polls as well.
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The demand to divide Uttar Pradesh into four states is
nothing new. It had been a long standing demand from former Prime Minister
Charan Singh that western Uttar Pradesh is carved out into a separate state.
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Similarly the advocates, youth and peasants of western
Uttar Pradesh had been demanding a separate bench of the high court in
Meerut, an important city of western Uttar Pradesh and close to Delhi, on the
grounds that the existing high court in Allahabad was too far to travel to
and took many days
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Another region known as Bundelkhand too has been asking
for a separate state. There have been dharnas, street protests and hunger
strikes by the intelligentsia of Bundelkhand which drew wide support from all
sections of the society cutting across party lines in the region.
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This
area is also one of the most backward and underdeveloped regions not only in
the state but in the country as well. Agriculture here suffers due to lack of
irrigation facilities and other modernisation initiatives.
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Similarly,
Poorvanchal or eastern Uttar Pradesh suffers from backwardness in all spheres
of developmental and social indexes. The region attributes this to the policy
of neglect by the ruling powers. In spite of being the most fertile region of
Uttar Pradesh, the agriculture yield is low due to non availability of inputs
required by the farmers.
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They
are not provided with any assistance whatsoever due to unwillingness of the
state and a policy of indifference adopted by officials and the bureaucracy.
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The Awadh region or the fourth segment is a very
important political region. Kanpur, which was once a hub of textiles, is now
a decrepit town with a huge sick industry.
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Other industries are no better as progress has completely
choked due to lack of electricity and other modernisation inputs. There has
been a flight of skilled labour into other regions of the country because of
low income and economic depression in central Uttar Pradesh.
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Faizabad, popularly known as Ayodhya, saw the demolition
of the Babri Masjid, and surrounding areas like Tanda which had a huge
handloom industry came to a halt at that time.
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At one time it was one of the well known areas of weavers
and handicraft workers. This area also has the largest orchards of mango and
guava and other cash crops. But due to complete apathy towards modernizing
these institutions there is a feeling of neglect.
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Uttar Pradesh also needs to be viewed historically to
understand the different facets of the problem it is facing today. The
Britishers carved the province and called it United Provinces in the early
20th century. This was also the region that revolted in 1857 against British
rule.
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Division games
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From an administrative point of view, Uttar
Pradesh is truly an unmanageable State. Cutting it up into four smaller States
as Chief Minister Mayawati has proposed, roughly along regional cultural
divides — Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh, Purvanchal, and Paschim Pradesh — has its
merits as an idea.
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It could lead to more equitable development of
these regions, and relieve the pressure on Lucknow. The idea itself is not new.
But politically, it is counter- intuitive — the Chief Minister of a State that
elects 80 Lok Sabha members wields much more influence than one that sends
one-fourth that numbers.
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Even with Ms Mayawati's confidence that her
party would rule all four proposed States; the instability of governments in
small States makes it an unattractive political proposition. And administrative
manageability could be achieved by a more effective decentralization. So it
seems more plausible that the Chief Minister rolled out her promise of a 1x4
division of U.P. in the knowledge that it will not become reality, at least in
the near future.
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It is certainly a clever political gambit by Ms
Mayawati ahead of the elections, and it has already succeeded in confusing the
opposition parties. There are no popular agitations for the division of Uttar
Pradesh, yet the idea is not without some resonance in the four regions. The
Congress has always opposed the creation of smaller States; its dilemma is all
the greater now as its reaction to Ms Mayawati's move would hold immediate
significance for the Telangana agitation.
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Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party is set against
any division of U.P. as his party's backward caste vote base is not as evenly
spread as Dalits are across the four regions.
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Only the Bharatiya Janata Party favours smaller
States, but it too has been taken by surprise. As hot air builds under the
proposal, it is bound to deflect attention from other issues, such as the BSP
government's track record and allegations of corruption against the Chief
Minister.
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While there is no doubt that Ms Mayawati has
stolen a march over her rivals, it is surprising that for a politician with
national ambitions, she seems to have not fully thought through the ripple
effect of the move on statehood demands in other parts of the country. There is
no denying that the disappearance of single party rule at the centre and the
growth of regional politics have brought about a more federal polity, and a
more equitable sharing of power. But fragmentation of the country on the basis
of ever-narrowing identities hardly represents a progressive idea of India.
‘Division of U.P. –
Future Implications for Western U.P’
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- A panel discussion on ‘Division of U.P. – Future Implications for Western U.P’ was organized by Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) with the partnership of Parichowk.com in its Greater Noida campus. The India Centre for Public Policy (ICPP), a think tank and research centre of BIMTECH, convened this enlightening discussion in the backdrop of U.P. government proposal to divide the state in four parts – West U.P., Poorvanchal or East UP, Bundelkhand and Awadh Pradesh.
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- The honored panelists were Mr. M. Ramachandran - retired IAS of U.P. cadre and former adviser of U.P. government on infrastructure, Mr. Shravan Kumar Sharma - a former bureaucrat in U.P. government, Mr Sanjeev Rampal – VP of JP Greens and veteran journalist Mr. Pratap Somvanshi. The discussion was moderated by Dr. H. Chaturvedi, Director of BIMTECH. This was attended by senior bureaucrats, defense personnel, media personalities, civil society, academicians and politics in addition to academics.
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- Dr Chaturvedi started discussion with the glorious history of U.P. and its contribution in the national movement of independence. He set a background by comparing the size of the state and big population of 19.95 crore. The point of discussion were are small states are more efficient and governable? What does history suggests in this regard especially the cases of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh? Would the proposed states like Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal be economically viable and sustainable? He also asked the panel to make comment about the law and order situation in Gautam Budha Nagar and its impact on future investment.
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- The panelists seemed unanimous for division but they expressed forcefully that it should be a well thought out plan and not a political opportunism. They said about lack of clear blueprint or roadmap for such division. The view was the focus should have been improving law and order situation first with reducing corruption and then think on these issues.
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- Small states are more administratively viable and fulfill people aspirations and need so the division must not be opposed on emotional issue but it should be well thought out. The panel also stressed that earlier division of many states came through popular movements of people and on the basis of culture and language and not mere comparative politics. The role of leadership and resources for success of small sates were put by Mr. M. Ramanchandran as he made his case and comparison for successful divided states like Chattisgarh and Uttaranchal and failure to some extent Jharkhand. The law and order as an issue for proposed West U.P. was expressed as concern.
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- There have been a near unanimity for division but people participated and panelist clearly voiced that any division must be with wider consultation and must not necessarily a number of 4 will suit to the purpose, it must be done with the process of Vision and Leadership so the development agenda is met and cultural heritage of U.P. remains preserved.
