news details |
|
|
| Formation of Smaller states in India | | |
Er. H.R. Phonsa
Besides Dr. Ambedkar,
Pt Jawaharlal Nehru,
Dr Rammanohar Lohia, Choudhary Charan Singh, Satish Kumar and other Indian leaders have expressed their views in favour of Linguistic and smaller states. This set in motion the process of Reorganisation of states on Linguistic divisions. Till 1971 India had 16 States adding up to total of 28 States and 7 Union Territories now.
As per the recommendation of SRA, On November 1, 1956, Andhra Pradesh was formed including Telangana region with Hyderabad as its capital. But the recommendation of maintaining separate identity of Telangana was ignored. Likewise against SRA recommendation states of Kerala and Karnataka were formed the same day in 1956. This process once set in motion resulted in formation of Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1960, Chandigarh(UT ) Haryana & Punjab in 1966,Himachal Pradesh in1971, the States of the North East Region took shapes from 1960 to 1980, Goa in 1987 and in 2000 States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand & Uttaranchal were formed .
Almost all political parties have supported the formation of new linguistic states in their own way as the States of Chhattisgarh; Jharkhand& Uttaranchal were formed when NDA headed by BJP was bearing the Government crown of Delhi. The formation of linguistic states is the single most important event in the history of South Indian languages, as it provided an opportunity for these languages to develop independently, each of them having a state to support. Factors other than language also crept in the criterion for separation, as a separate state of Uttarkhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000 by NDA Government headed by Shri A.B. Vajpai caring less of these both being Hindi speaking regions. The Centre has received demands for India to have at least 50 states, including a separate Mithilanchal in Bihar, Saurashtra in Gujarat and Coorg or Kodagu in Karnataka, Gondwana in Madhya Pradesh, Mahakoshal in Orissa, Bodoland in Assam, Gorkhaland in west Bengal, Vidarbha in Maharastra, Bundelkhand in UP & MP , Harit Pradesh & Pooranchal from UP, Telangana from Andhra Pradesh . Voices are also being forcefully raised to give Ladakh at UT status & Jammu separate state in J&K, special status for Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal and Yadagir, Tulu Nadu areas in Karnataka , Kukiland in Manipur to Kongu Nadu in Tamil Nadu as their progress is lacking behind as compared with their parent states more advanced regions. As per survey the smaller states have better performance after their creation than when they were a part of larger state territories. As per the 11thPlan document, the yearly achieved Gross State Domestic Product ( GSDP) of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand& Uttaranchal during 10 th Plan Period were 9.2%,11.1% & 8.8% respectively as compared to their parent state combined expected targets of only 6.1%,6.9% and 6.8%. This shows that these regions as part of greater states remained finance starved with their creative energies remaining suppressed. Avenues for better governance with more time to attend to the needs of the peoples, exploring new resources, their analysis, planning and proper utilization due to relatively homogeneous status of the smaller states. British time adopted police and bureaucratic suppression is still prevailing in the out of site far flung and remote areas. These factors promoted Sh. K .Chandrasekhara Rao, the President of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti to undertake fast unto death so compelled the Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram, to make an announcement in the Parliament on 9th December, 2009 to initiate action for the formation of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh as 29th Indian State. The agitation is continuing for the formation of Telangana a separate state out of Andhra Pradesh with Hyderabad as its capital. The demand is just and is bound to be accepted may be after still more avoidable troubles.
The ideal of brotherhood between rich and poor Indians for retaining a larger state as single unit also do not hold water. When we see that prosperity avenues of Mumbai and Maharashtra are inaccessible to the neglected peoples of Vidharbha a part of Maharastra, majority of whose farmers & laburers are under Bania's (Money lenders) debt traps having no choice but to resort to suicides. From 1995 to 2010 over 50,000(17368 IN 2009) Maharashtra farmers are reported to have committed suicides with 70% of them from Vidharba region despite the facts that Vidharba region is gifted with immense natural resources. Is it not a national shame that an average per capita debit (Note:-not income) stands well over Rupees 50,000/= for Vidharba area poverty ridden Maharashtrian brethren.
Their poverty is forcing them not to revolt against status quo of inequalities. Rich Mumbai the Business capital of India (Mumbai Contributes15% of India's Industrial Output & 13.2% of its GDP) seems not worried for their poverty ridden Maharashtrians. Maharashtra State has software parks in Pune, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Nasik, and is the second largest exporter of software with annual exports of Rupees 18 000 cores claiming 30% of India's software exports but to what use this to the poverty suffering Maharashtra poor population. Dissenting note of K.M. Pannikar in the report of The States Reorganization Commission (SRC) 1956. Others including Socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia supported division of UP and suggested to have smaller states for administrative benefits. So taking clue from these with other circumstances in view, Behan Mayawati the U.P. Chief Minister wrote letter to the Central government in 2007 itself after taking over government reigns in May, 2007. The present day U.P State has 19.95 crores population with 75 districts and 80 MP's. It holds the distinction of being world's 6th largest administrative unit with 2, 36,286 Sq. km area. It is proving un- manageable unit. UP state which have given 8 out of 14 Prime Ministers ( Guljari lal Nanda twice as acting PM included) to India with their commutative 46 3/4 years rule since 1947. Present UP has GDSP of Rs. 23392/- and Uttarakhand Rs59316 /-against all India figure of Rs. 46117/- with annual growth rate UP (6.10%) Uttarakhand (11.12%) compared to all India rate of 8.39%. Also Per capita Income of all India is Rs46117/-where as UP (Rs23392/-), Uttarakhand (Rs 59316/-), Delhi (Rs 129247/-), Goa (Rs 148136),Haryana (Rs80759/-), Punjab (Rs62605/-) Chandigarh UT(Rs118136/-) Pondicherry UT(Rs88158/-) respectively. UP State as approved by UP Assembly shall be divided into four states of Bundelkhand , Purvanchal ,Awadh Pradesh, and Paschim Pradesh . Each new state shall have respectively 17 ; 21 ; 21 and 26 districts and population of 80,30,000 ; 7,65,30,000; 3,65,40,000 and 7,67,40,000 to care. Behan Mayawati the MP and BSP National President has repeated her earlier statement of division of UP State. The easily visible solution to equitable progress of all regions for finding solution to their present day poverty, hunger, lack of development and absence of infrastructures is by dividing the bigger states into smaller administrative units. This will save smaller fish from the bigger sharks.
Religion, language, territory do not forge a "Nation". What unites a people is the willingness to suffer together, a feeling we are lacking, so the difference of opinions is raised to create more State out of the existing bigger Indian States, showing mistrust in the ruling methods of ruling bosses. Bigger state bureaucracy & political bosses are not playing their roll of responsible bigger brothers towards their left over lot. The bigger states have faired poorly to attend to the needs of the poor rural population. As per Government figures UP& Orissa States stand at poverty ratios of 32.8% &46.1% respectively despite their large sizes. Neglected people need early solution to their poverty alleviation and not to boost to belong to a bigger state in area and population which cannot provide them avenues for improved life conditions. Formation of District Development Boards in J&K State provided some solace to under developed rural far flung areas. People are interested in their decent bread earning means near to their place of living.
They are definitely not interested to be boosting of being residents of bigger states but finding means of livelihood else where particularly if their areas happens to be rich in natural resources. Freedom struggle was for carried for equalizing not for promoting Black Angrej
If we study without bias the psyche of Indians they are divided on Castes, religion, region, sex, economic, education, opportunities lines. For long Caste status used to decide their social, education & economic needs. Their views of life and sharing opportunities with peoples of the different status & category were different. The caste monster is to be killed or nailed first before unity succeeds. The caste theory was done away with the adoption Constitution for Free on 26 th January 1950. But majority of elite want to keep the things linger on till the time it starts slipping out of their hands. But the sense of accommodation is nowhere to be seen even after63 years of democratic rule. The government funds are utilized more for the advanced section rather than on left over lot ignoring their first claim on these funds. The Indian elite section have produced since independence a few hundred multimillionaires majority by fraud & deceit, leaving mathematical majority as food-insecure, consuming less than 80 percent of minimum energy requirements and are forced to live below poverty line. According to the report, in 2001 an estimated 23.7 percent of the urban population was living in slums amidst squalor, crime, diseases and tension. A rich Indian spends thousands for his single night stay in multi Star Hotels, where as a poor Indian yet searches out a dust bin outside a Hotel, to live on.
One elite Indian gives an airplane to his wife as birthday gift where as another couple from poor strata spends nights in a half choked sewage pipe. An elite Indian eats mangoes priced Rupees 4000/- per dozen where as another dies helplessly having no money to purchase needed medicines. So where is the fellow feeling except on the lip service? Now heart service not lip service shall strengthen India and the world brotherhood. The distance between proclaiming, wish and practice will have to be reduced to forge fraternity among all Indians. All these factors in a country of nearly 1652 languages have given birth to over 1000 political parties or groups majority of them with regional character and programmes, projecting their people's demands for better life avenues so far ignored. To me solution lies in heeding to advice of Baba Sahib Dr. BR Ambedkar to demonstrate Nationalism in true spirit. The progress of developmental projects needs reversed from present days trends of from Cities towards Villages to from Villages to cities so as to give a sense of belongings to the rural masses. We shall have to reach them quickly else more and more agitations shall be seen & more divisions of the states and territories shall be inevitable. This will give solace to Mahatma Gandhi's words, "India lives in Villages". |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
