The demand
to divide Uttar Pradesh into separate states has been raised off and on for the
last two decades. But the bitter truth remains that such a demand has never
received popular support. There has been no movement in any part of the state;
only in Bundelkhand one has witnessed infrequent dharna’s, demonstrations and a
few meetings on the issue.
To be
honest, the division of Uttar Pradesh is not a peoples’ issue at all. Guided by
the whim of politicians the issue of division of Uttar Pradesh is periodically
raised merely to serve their selfish political goals.
The
latest attempt in this regard has been made by the BSP supremo Mayawati .It is
an open secret that during the last four and a half years her government has
miserably failed on every front. This move is an attempt on her part to
divert popular attention from her failures.
Looking
back we see that attempts have been made to divide the people in the name of
religion, then on caste and now a fresh effort to segregate them on
geographical lines in order to help the capitalist forces remain in command.
The
argument that smaller states accelerates the process of development
appears strange. Development depends on the political will of the ruling class
and the equitable distribution and utilization of resources across regions.
Merely carving out smaller states is definitely not enough.
To create
the very basic infrastructure in the newly created states and to run it
efficiently requires huge and recurring investment in infrastructure. As
corruption is most rampant in the creation of infrastructure, a sizable amount
of this money would be siphoned off in that direction.
In any case
such huge resources being diverted to set up the fresh infrastructure in these
new states would impact the availability of resources for the overall development
of the states.
If the newly
created state is backward and not able to raise sufficient resources then the
chances of it further falling back remains high. It remains dependent on
the central government’s largess. If the central government and state
government are not from the same party the political tussle between them would
be at the cost of development of the newly created state.
It is also
completely misleading to claim that industrialization would pick up pace with
the creation of smaller states. Under the neo liberal polices governments
are selling off the existing industries in the public sector. Under such
conditions the government is no where near promoting the setting up of new
industries in the government sector.
As
regards the private sector, entrepreneurs invest as per their priorities and
not as according to the requirements of the state. To attract investments
governments forcibly acquire land from farmers and hand it over at throw away
prices to industrialists to set up industries. After acquiring such land at
dirt cheap prices at times industries never come up or even if they do,
industries often closes down due to various reasons. The land is sold off as
real estate at huge profits. In the deal the farmer is left high and dry.
The rampant crony capitalism
witnessed in the recently created states of Uttrakhand, Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh needs no recounting. The unscrupulous nexus between politicians –
capitalists and middlemen has led to the open loot of the state’s precious
resources – both natural and man made.
Such
capitalists find it easier to ‘manage’ the governments of these smaller states.
Controlling the numerically small vidhan sabhas on the strength of their money
power is relatively easier just as pushing through legislations which go in
their favour.
In such a
manner the mineral resources, land and forest resources of these smaller states
have become vulnerable to the whims and fancies of such crony capitalism.
Correspondingly
the strength of the people’s movement to raise their voice against such a
collective sell off diminishes after divisions. For such crony capitalist
forces convenient division of states serves the purpose of further decimating
the voice of the struggling people fighting for justice and their rights over
resources.
Uttar
Pradesh now a state of close to 20 crore people , plays a
politically significant role in the country’s polity. Every citizen
of Uttar Pradesh is proud of this fact. Many symbols of Hindu-Muslim’s
composite culture are visible all over the state.
A resident
of West Uttar Pradesh considers it an honor to visit places of religious
significance like Varanasi, Sarnath, Prayag, and Gorakhpur. Similarly, any one
from East Uttar Pradesh always wishes to visit the Taj Mahal, Mathura and
Jhansi.
The proposed
Bundelkhand, Purvanchal and Awadh Pradesh are relatively backward compared to
the prosperous Pashchim Pradesh. The revenue generated from the better off
region helps the development of the remaining parts. This is the natural equity
within the state. Disturbing this arrangement would make the new states
completely vulnerable and dependent on the generosity of the central
government.
Why should
the people of Uttar Pradesh pay for the idiosyncrasy and political ambitions of
a certain politician or political party? Why should the people suffer
from the additional burden of a division? The people should pledge not to
accept such a division at any cost.
- Dr Girish, Secretary.
CPI Uttar Pradesh
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